Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: gideon on Friday,December 29, 2017, 01:35:58 PM
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We rolled her off the trailer and into the garage this morning. The frame is rusted out at the front, but I have a good replacement frame. This will be my first old car restoration project - what things would you do before dismantling anything?
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:Welcome:, gideon!!
You've probably thought about most of these already but...
While it's sitting in your garage, you might take note of whether and where it's leaking. Of course, you have to keep in mind how many miles are on major components (engine, tranny, gauges, alternator, etc.) and try to assess how hard those miles were.
I think you should figure out what you want to have when you're done - what mods, enhancements, etc. Then start to line up suppliers - see this page to start: http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=1389.0
Europas are pretty simple cars, but it would not be a bad idea to take a bunch of pictures of each area before and during your disassembly. This can help you remember how it's supposed to go back together. Take pictures of how it goes together. It can also serve as a record. Toward that end, I would advise that you keep a notebook or log of what you've done. I wish I had started mine when I started my build. Note specifics like spring rates, and other specs. Label each wire you disconnect. You should also keep track of where you took off each nut and bolt even if you plan on replacing them (and I would advise that you plan on replacing most of them).
Hopefully, that will get you started. Don't forget to post lots of pictures here as you go and don't be shy about asking questions!
Good luck!
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Welcome Gideon, you are in the right place to start.
I second all BDA said and I’ll add build some shelves to store the items taken off. Place in large zip lock bags . Tag items as to work or sent out , ie chroming, machinists . We here love pictures. Waiting to here more of your progress and info on car.
0452 Dakazman
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Something I didn't mention is that you should familiarize yourself with the workshop manual while taking it apart and refer to it often when putting it back together. Having a physical version is handy but it's nice that it is online and searchable here: http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/index.htm
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:Welcome: Gideon! Great group of guys on this forum who are very knowledgeable and perfectly happy to look over your shoulder to provide sage advice. Trust me, you will be very happy to have it :beerchug:
I agree with all of the above comments. Zip lock bags and a sharpie should be permanent parts of your shop. Plus those paper tags with wire on them. Tag everything (and I mean everything) and label each and every bag. And then take lots and lots of digital photos along the way of every angle you can imagine. A couple of months (or years) down the road you will be happy you did when your trying to put everything together.
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Only work on the car when you are in the right mood, or you will make mistakes.
Take your time, dismantle everything, except the gearbox unless this is essential, clean everything thoroughly when putting it back together, use new bolts, spring washers, and self locking nuts where needed whenever possible.
Expect some bolts to shear off through rust, you will have to drill them out and oversize or line the larger hole with a new spring thread.
You will needs lots of sharp drill bits (many will break), and a variety of rotary wire brushes to put in a battery drill.
When in doubt about ANYTHING, just ask here, someone will have trod that path before.
Alex in Norfolk, the home of Lotus.
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welcome Gideon, by the time you have finished you will have gained so many skills, good luck and keep us posted :lotus:
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Thanks for all the words of advice. It may be unexciting, but I think job number one is to organize the garage better, find somewhere else to keep all the garden implements and maybe put up some shelf rails.
One thing I was wondering about - the replacement frame _looks_ straight, but do you know of practical methods to verify that it is indeed straight enough? By the way, the PO, welded some reinforcing patches to the front cross member, on the theory that it is a known weak point and should be reinforced. The original frame collapsed there, so that may have been a motivating factor. I'll post some pics later, see whether you think this is a good thing or a bad thing.
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One thing I was wondering about - the replacement frame _looks_ straight, but do you know of practical methods to verify that it is indeed straight enough?
The dimensions of the S2 chassis are given in the manual, if you haven't got a copy yet, BDA posted the links earlier on which will sort you out. That will give you an idea of how good your chassis is to start with at least.
If your chassis is distorted then at the front there's not a lot you can do to modify the suspension angles without resorting to adjustable wishbones. And I think they would probably be a custom build, so personally I'd be concerned about any welding/distortion on the front T arrangements.
At the rear you can get adjustable lower links to modify the rear camber and the rear toe is set up with shims anyway so I'd be relaxed about the geometry from the Y backwards unless it's very, very far out from the manual.
Brian
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When you have taken the gearbox out, you will find the car very difficult to move.
I screw 2# 4"x2" at 4ft long, to a wooden pallet. Screw 6" trolley wheels to the 4 corners of the 4" x 2"s. Jack the car up at the front (very light), and put axle stands under the front cross member with a wooden spreader if the chassis is rusty there. Then jack up the back where the rear of the gearbox attaches to the bottom hoop. Slide the pallet trolley underneath, and unjack both ends.
Then you can move the car in any direction quite easily, just like Formula 1 pit crews.
To drop the fuel tanks, you need the shell as far back on the pallet as you can without it tipping off, as the tanks have to come out through the bottom. Most tanks have very rusted tops as the water just lays there and rusts away.
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The workshop manual gives some dimensions to check against. If you also ensure that the 'T' is at a right angle to the backbone and your cross measurements (left front to right rear and vice versa) match, you should be good. Thinking about it, those are somewhat redundant but better to be safe than sorry.
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I tried a few things to decide whether the front T piece is perpendicular to the backbone. It's not easy to make accurate measurements at this scale, using household items. One test that I found worked well was to use a piece of very low stretch line, dyneema aka ultra-high modulus polyethylene rope with a ball stopper at one end, threaded through the upper wishbone mounting tube, and then measure to the welded in tubular mounting point low on the rear end of the backbone (what is that for?). Fortunately, it came out to within 2mm one side to the other, which was very reassuring.
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Photos.
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My guess is that is the seatbelt mount. If so, it should be threaded. You should try to do cross measurements from the front suspension to the opposite far end of the frame. That would give you a more accurate indication of how straight the frame is. You might also do cross measurements on the front suspension pick ups (top left to bottom right and vice versa). Measurements from the each rear "leg" to the center of the "V" at the end of the backbone would be a good idea. You might also try to determine that the sheet metal of the 'T', the backbone, and the rear "legs" is flat with a straight edge. If there are any damage, the chances are that there will be some bowing, creases, buckling, or wrinkles in the sheet metal.
From your pictures, it appears that your frame is straight but it's good do your best to make sure. Our own Serge has a few videos of the repairs he did to his S1 frame. IIRC, he explained some of the measurements he used to ensure his frame was straight. You might want to take a look at them for inspiration here: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC4SCAucoAQf4XFesjFsTtKQ
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G’day, gideon,
Establishing the status of the frame could be tricky.
I cut the rear hoop out in order to install a 5-speeder and of course lost any datum points associated with the transaxle in the process.
Given your front T section appears to have a panel welded (and pop riveted?) over the top face, I’d want to make doubly sure it’s all kosher.
Here’s what I’d do . . for what it’s worth.
Use two pieces of angle iron to lay on each top side / corner of the backbone. Weld cross pieces to join the long side pieces to each other.
If you follow the way I drifted here, I envision a ladder structure with only two rungs that will drop snugly on to the top of the frame’s backbone.
With the frame on a pair of saw horses, use a spirit level on the ladder adaptor you’ve constructed to establish the adaptor as being level both lengthwise and laterally. Use wedges under the saw horse feet as needed.
This provides a solid reference plane.
Make up a simple set of telescopic trammel bars from square tube. These will be endlessly useful for setting up the suspension and lots of other things later in any case . . and far superior to the rope idea, I think.
With the combination of trammel bars, a level and a tape measure, I reckon one could get a pretty good idea of what’s what . . or at least to within the original spec of the frame.
Anyone see any holes in that idea?
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G'day Gavin. Thanks for the suggestion, but it sounds like more work than is necessary. I'll take some more comparative measurements using string (dyneema) and bits of wood when I next take the frame down. I strung it up to the garage ceiling to get it out of the way.
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In the meantime, does anybody know what this?
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Looks like a charcoal canister for the fuel tank vent.
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Thank you, that was the clue I needed. It's actually the fuel catch can. The charcoal canister would be next to it, if it wasn't missing. Here's the relevant diagram from the S1/S2 workshop manual. I'll probably reinstate this system, otherwise the wife will complain about the smell (she has a sensitive nose).
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I got one door off yesterday. A week after I started trying to get it off. Victory was only obtained after I went out and bought a reciprocating saw. I tried cutting it off by hand with a hacksaw, but it was oh-so-slow. Maybe I'm not going it quite right, but I don't have that kind of patience. I did find that I could get a dremel type tool inside the door to cut through the pin inside, and that helped me to get the rusted nuts on the bottom end free.
I got the passenger's seat out, it left a little puddle of water on floor next to the car. God knows how long that water was trapped in the seat. It's a pity they didn't think to drill a hole or two in the bottom to let the water out. The seat is rusty, but I think its salvageable. I've never done any welding, but I might need to weld a patch in the bottom. Maybe this is a good project to learn on.
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Drill the door pins. Start with a thin drill and increase until it breaks.
You can pop rivet patches when the seat is rusty.
Been there, done that, a few times.
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Glad to see you're making progress on your journey! I'd listen to 4129R. I'm sure he's seen it all!
Good luck and keep us posted!
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A reciprocating saw is a 'man on a mission' kinda tool.
It takes no prisoners. Well done.
I recall cutting my door pins out with zip disk on an angle grinder.
It was a tight fit in the door space and I was worried about the disk jumping and cutting a slit in the door.
In the end, I figured it'd be quicker to repair a slit in the door than crouch down for the afternoon with a hack saw blade in my hand. ;D
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I also used an air grinder with a cutting edge. Took some time but it worked.
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The seat back was initialed, JS, the same as Tubes63's car.
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I grabbed this picture from here
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=140&t=1672442&i=60
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And this is how I got the steering wheel off.
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What is it about these cars we love so much???
we must all be half crazy.
Nice progress Gideon. I posted some dimensions on the seat frame that may help you repair.
Dakazman
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Half crazy I can live with, that means I must be still half sane.
I saw your measurements for the seats, and I'm sure I'll refer to them when I get around to doing something about the seats. Thank you for posting them.
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I've been trying to get the master cylinder off but without success so far. My goal at this point is to do enough to lift the body off. It looks as though there is enough wriggle room to get the body over the brake linkage box, if I can get the master cylinder off. I can wiggle it, but I can't get it any further out than you can see in the picture. I have got the pedals off, and I have tried pushing and pulling on the brake linkage rod inside the car, but it doesn't move. I also tried tapping it with a hammer, but still no movement. There is barely enough room to get a spanner onto the nuts holding the brake linkage box on, and in any case they are very rusted underneath. It seems the brake linkage is frozen. If I can undo the brake linkage pivot bolt, might that give me enough wiggle room on the linkage to get the master cylinder off. Any other suggestions?
Also, I'm not sure how to get the steering column off the splined connection at the rack. Should I try using a rod and a hammer to push the universal joint back into the car to break the connection at the splines, or is there a better way to attack it?
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I've been soaking the splines in rust penetrant, and I've got the pinch bolt loose. Here's a couple of close ups of the rack to steering column connection.
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Brake m/c first:
http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/s2parts/j/jb.htm
I believe you have to take the linkage box off to remove the m/c. As you can see from the above diagram, there are clevis pins that can only be disconnected from the other side.
Steering flex-joint:
You have to completely remove the pinch bolt. It slides into a recess on the pinion shaft:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9npIZggaeug/VgDfMQ8XUmI/AAAAAAAAEYw/xTy8-ObInHo/s1600/IMG_5389.JPG
Then loosen the column and you'll be able to push it off.
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There is a safety wire in your photo. Need to remove that too. As JB said, remove pinch bolt entirely. Mine was a bear to remove with no rust ........
Regarding rusted nuts and bolts, I use PB Blaster, it seems to work better than WD 40. Spray the parts every day a little bit for a week. (If it’s dripping on the floor you sprayed too much). You want the liquid to slowly seep into the rusted or corroded areas. If that does work, use a torch. I’ve got one where the torch head is on a hose (it’s a plumbers torch) great for getting into tight spaces. Rembered, heat expands the metal so you want to heat the nut, not the bolt. (A fine tip torch is the best). Be careful of rubber bushings as you will ruin those with a torch. Be extremely careful you don’t have any fuel in the tanks if your working in the rear of the car.
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Regarding the M/C removal, normally after removing the bottom nut and loosening the top nut, the M/C should pull out enough to allow you to remove the "C" clip holding the pushrod to the master cylinder and allow you to pull it out. In your case, the pivot linkage inside the linkage extension box may be seized (see attached pic of box). You can try to remove the bolt at the top of the box and see if that will free up the pivot to partially pull out the M/C and remove the clip. In the meantime, I would start applying PB Blaster or your equivalent of thread penetrant to the four bolts holding the linkage box to the chassis. The bolts secure the box to the backing plate inside the "T" section of the chassis.
FWIW, I'm doing the same job on my S2. In my case I have to remove the extension box.
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Spent the morning working on removing the M/C from my S2. I managed to get the four bolts holding the linkage extension box off from the spare tire compartment at the front. I then found out the steering rack interferes with the removal of the box from the front, the closing plate has to come off. To remove the closing plate, the anti sway bar may also have to come off. I decided to call it a day.
To gideon, you have to remove the closing plate in order to remove the body so I would remove the closing plate and remove the four bolts from the linkage box. This also makes accessing the two bottom bolts easier from the bottom. Just hope the fasteners aren't too badly corroded. The attached picture shows how far out the M/C pulls out with the linkage fully extended. You should be able to remove the retaining clip from the pushrod and remove the M/C from the linkage box.
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Grumblebuns
Not a good idea to have brake fluid and coffee near each other.
So that’s what my missing brake cylinder is supposed to look like ...
Gideon , hope you got those rusted bolts out if your not going to use any of those components again and want to get the rust off to free it up my last resort is to use full strength muratic acid dripped on just the nuts. It will eat the rust immediately. Available at Lowe’s or a pool supply company. Wait 10 seconds and douse with water to neutralize . It also will etch concrete off brick and clean garage floors. Use a respirator.
Afterward use your pb blaster.
Dakazman
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Thanks for the advice guys. I got the steering column off fairly easily after I removed the pinch bolt entirely. I didn't realise that was necessary. The workshop manual says "release the pinch bolt", not "remove the pinch bolt". I also rigged up a support for the front end of the car using a piece of 4x4 lumber and a pair of large caster wheels. Now I'll be able to remove the front wheels and get better access to the brake linkage box to work on removing it.
The muriatic acid trick is interesting. I've used citric acid in the past to remove rust, it's a lot slower but a lot safer to work with. I read that hydrochloric (muriatic) acid leaves chloride ions behind, even after a thorough wash, which then promote further corrosion. Citric acid doesn't do that. Plus, I don't think citric acid will mark the fiberglass, should it come into contact. I think a little experiment might be in order.
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That’s correct Gideon...muriatic acid does leave residue, but i said if you were going to throw out the component, but I have used it and sandblasted the components. It will also that chrome off..lol.
Thin metal there won’t be anything left to blast. Do not use on bolts , it will change the size or leave you with no threads .
Glad your moving forward, be careful with those 4x4’s
Dakazman
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It's been a while since I posted any updates. It's hard to find time for sailing and fixing an old car, but now the boats are all put away I've been able to get back to it. Today, we lifted the body off the frame using 4 ratchet straps up to the ceiling, attached with some cord to the 4 corner body to frame attachment points.
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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step! :beerchug:
Good luck and keep us posted!
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After getting the replacement frame down from the ceiling and having another look round it, I decided that I really wasn't happy with the work the PO did to the front T section. There are some pics earlier in this thread - he covered the front, top, back and bottom of the T section with another layer of steel that was welded in places around the edge and held with aluminium pop rivets in the middle. So, I decided to drill out the pop rivets and cut the welds with a thing cutting disk on a dremel. I was able to prise some of the welds off with a screwdriver. The attached pictures show what I found underneath. It appears that the T section had been weakened by corrosion and bent. The front, back and top panels are not close to flat. There are signs that sand blasting has deformed the metal where it was weakened by corrosion.
The good news is that the rest of the chassis is straight and hasn't been compromised by corrosion. I could try to repair the T section but it seems as though it might be easier and better to cut the T off and replace it. To that end I have rejoined a local makerspace, which gives me access to MIG and TIG welding equipment, a large sheet metal brake, blasting cabinet, and assorted other equipment.
Before I get started on making a new T section - does anybody have a good replacement T section, or have heard of anybody with such a thing? I know there are some good, complete used frames out there, but I think the going rate for a good used frame is more than $1000, plus the cost of cleaning and painting. I'm trying to keep the budget down, even if it takes a bit longer.
I plan to TIG weld, though I have not done any welding before, so step 1 is to get some sheet steel and start practicing. My first question is: what kind of steel should I buy? I think the sheet thickness is 16 gauge originally. Is that correct? I think I should use low carbon (mild) cold rolled steel, is that the best choice?
Yes, I have seen Serge's videos on this topic. Does anybody have any other tips on how to do this? I was thinking that I would get the sheet metal CNC cut (plasma cut?), then dry assemble it all with temporary cleco rivets before doing any welding. I am wondering what kind of jig I might be able to make, both for building the T section and attaching it to the backbone.
I'm going to use the drawings by Eddie Kirby as a starting point, here
http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/misc
he seems to have drawn a better-than-original way to join the T to the backbone at the bottom. Does anybody have any comments or suggestions about the drawings?
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Sorry I don't know the specifics about the frame. I think you're right that it is 16 ga. but hopefully someone will know for sure. I would assume that low carbon cold rolled steel is used since it's cheap and stronger than hot rolled.
Learning to weld has been a goal of mine but in my present situation, I can't weld indoors very easily so unless I use a flux core welder, I'll have to practice at a friend's place. I barely got my toe damp at our local MG club welding "clinic" and I realize that I'd need a lot of practice. I would think it would be good advice for you to practice a lot first, too.
Your link didn't work, but I think this link will: http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/misc/Lotus%20europa%20chassis%20drawing.pdf
Eddie's drawings are really good. It's too bad he didn't include the answer to your questions in them.
Good luck and keep us informed on your progress!
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I plan to TIG weld, though I have not done any welding before, so step 1 is to get some sheet steel and start practicing. My first question is: what kind of steel should I buy? I think the sheet thickness is 16 gauge originally. Is that correct? I think I should use low carbon (mild) cold rolled steel, is that the best choice?
If you haven't done TIG and are a newcomer to welding in general, then you might find it's a steep learning curve. TIG seems to have some mystical reputation that seems to elevate it to "best" position, but in truth it's just another way of joining metal. And if you're doing carbon steel then there's an argument that says it's not the most efficient way of doing the job.
Don't get me wrong, I bought a TIG set a few years ago simply because "I wanted a go at it" and after a few hiccups I can stick metal together without it leaking or breaking, but it's not my go-to welding method. It's quite slow compared with metal arc or MIG but it does give you a sense of pride with good looking weld beads.
When I repaired my chassis I used MIG. It's quick and relatively easy to learn, especially if you have someone there to get you in the right ballpark with wire feed/amps. For something like the chassis, which is mostly thin steel plate, it's very easy to stitch it together with minimal distortion.
As for the steel, I just bought 1/16",(16g, 1.5mm) low carbon steel (mild steel) for the sections I was doing. From memory that was fractionally thicker than the original, but of course corrosion and grinding preparation could account for that. It might sound a bit cavalier but I can't see you going wrong with whatever you buy because it's the design that gives the strength, not the inherent tensile strength of the steel.
I can't recall because it's so long ago, but it would be worth looking at the original chassis to see if there are any thicker reinforcing sections around the wishbone mounts or where the spring/damper feeds into the chassis. It might be thicker or reinforced there to stiffen the mount up.
Brian
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I want to learn TIG welding so I can do some aluminium welding too.
There's a half-open box piece that gets spot welded into either end of the T, so the sheet metal is doubled up where the wishbone mounts are welded in. That's the reinforcement.
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I have used MIG for years. Before that oxy-acetylene. With my latest MIG machine, you just set the metal and wire thickness and away you go. Pretty easy really. Most of the chassis is not welded, it’s spot welded: much less chance of distortion that way.
Take classes though. You need to learn what a good weld looks like. “Pretty” welds are not necessarily good welds. I’d take proper penetration over pretty any day.
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Does anybody have any tips on how to get the speedo angle drive out of a 336 box. I have backed the retaining screw right out (red arrow in photo) and put a couple of cable ties around it, so I've got something to grab hold of and pull. The cable ties are supposed to be good for 75lbs, and I've broken one by pulling on it, so now I have two. I'm using a pull and wiggle method, but no luck. I'm planning to drop the engine+trans, and lift the frame off, which would be easier if I can get this thing off.
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Completely remove the retaining bolt. Twist side to side with penetrating oil applied (o-ring probably stuck).
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Well, twisting with penetrating oil worked, but only after I separated the transmission from the frame. While still attached, the mounting bracket only allowed a few degrees of twist. Once I got the bracket off I could twist it through a much larger angle, and that allowed me to get it out.
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I'm trying to separate the gearbox and engine. I've managed to open up a gap between them, but I don't seem to be able to make the gap any bigger. The gearbox will wiggle up and down and left to right - the two dowel pins seem to be both moving freely, at least over some small amount of movement. What could be stopping them from coming further apart - could the clutch plate be stuck to the flywheel? Do you have any suggestions for a safe way to prise them apart?
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I just went and shone a light in the holes in the bellhousing and watched as I wiggled the gearbox. The bits of the clutch that I could see did not move at all with gearbox and did look like they were firmly stuck to the flywheel.
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G'day Gideon,
Is that a bolt still attached at the lower middle of the pic?
If all the bolts are out, the only contact between the box and the engine is the clutch splines and the flywheel pilot bearing.
I'd try some wooden wedges banged in evenly around the bell housing.
Cheers,
Gavin
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A couple of years ago I replaced the clutch on my car and had trouble separating the engine/gearbox. With all bolts removed it moved a fraction and then would only move sideways a degree or two. I ended up as Gavin has suggested and using levers to get it apart, not something I liked doing on the bellhousing but it was the only way.
Even after it was apart I still couldn't see any reason for it sticking. I could only guess at the gearbox input shaft on the clutch splines once it was past it's normal range of movement.
Brian
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Other than the bolt that Gavin mentioned, what is that wire rod to the clutch attached to? Does the arm move?
Dakazman
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All bolts out -- if it freely wiggles, probably yes.
Flywheel cover plate off -- looks like it might still be on.
No clutch bits (except the release arm and bearing) will be loose until the clutch plate is unbolted.
It's ok to pry but it is unusual. Double and triple check everything is undone and removed before going that way.
Had a chap call in because he couldn't get the cylinder head off his 1.3L Honda Civic. Asked him if he had all the bolts out: yes. Asked if he got the bolt hidden under the distributor drive: yes. Then it just pries off. He got it off. He had missed the hidden bolt and he pried so hards he snapped the head off the bolt!
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Thanks guys for all the replies. The answer was very simple. I'm an idiot and didn't realize you have to remove the flywheel cover first. Once I removed the cover it came apart easily. I did find a good quantity of mouse bedding inside the bell housing, of course.
Dakazman, the wire rod attached to the clutch lever goes to an additional spring adding some extra pull to the return spring. Is it not standard equipment?
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Glad you got it sorted. Don't be hard on yourself, we've all been there.
No, that spring is definitely NOT standard.
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I bought an engine stand from Harbor Freight, and made my best guess about the mounting arrangement, but had to remove the camshaft bearing housing to fit the mounting plate to the bell housing bolt hole next to it. The engine is an 821-30. I'm just wondering if there's a better way to do this. What do you think?
Also, I need to start looking for an engine machine shop to help with rebuilding this. What should I look for in choosing a machine shop? Can anybody recommend a shop in northern NJ?
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I made a wet blasting cabinet, and used it for the first time on aluminum today with the really fine glass beads. It came out well, though it shows up the flaws in the casting now.
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It looks good Gideon, the glass bead did a good job. Do you intend to keep it bare metal?
I have the same engine and stand . Get the crankshaft centerline in line with the rotating shaft centerline. It makes it a lot easier for turn over. See pics
I haven’t tried the way it is shown in the manual .
Dakazman
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I'll give the shiny aluminum bits a protective coating of something, either ACF50 or wax or something similar.
I fixed my earlier issue with the engine stand with the help of an angle grinder. I cut a corner off the arm that was interfering with the camshaft bearing. The engine stand pivot is nearly inline with the crankshaft.
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I tend to try to center the MASS of an engine more than the crank centerline.
Not fun if they suddenly rotate hard when not planned or expected.
Renault are pretty light so less of an issue but still a consideration.
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I used clear, hi heat , engine paint from a rattle can . So far it’s working very well and not yellowing
You can sand out some of those casting flaws or use a file then blast area again to match.
Rich,
I’ll give that another try . I think I had a shortage of metric bolts at the time to mount that way.
It would make building it easier.
Dakazman
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I must say that fan shroud looks brilliant, Gideon.
I've been eyeing off those wet blasting cabinet conversions too.
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Thanks Gavin. I converted a Harbor Freight 40lb blasting cabinet, and I feel like I've spent a lot of time sorting out the blasting cabinet while the car project lingers. I still have a few small leaks. If I had to do it again I'd use pop rivets to assemble the cabinet - it comes with a pile of tiny, fiddly little nuts and bolts that you have to hold on both sides, somehow, and take forever to assemble. This could turn into a separate thread, but it's been done a hundred times before elsewhere.
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Before and after shots of the rear hub carriers.
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I'm in the process of stripping down the steering rack. The manual says the following
Remove the circlip and withdraw the pinion assembly, taking care not to lose the dowel peg.
but the pinion doesn't want to budge, and I'm wondering if I've missed something or if I'll need to find the old steering coupling so I've got something to bolt onto the end of the pinion shaft, so I can apply some more welly?
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Apply heat. Then I seem to recall there is a hole in the back so you can carefully drift it out.
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It's been a while since I rebuilt mine but IIRC the circlip is the only thing keeping the pinion in the housing. That's not quite true because I think the pinion needs to be turned while you pull it out.
I would squirt some penetrating oil down in there and grab the knurled shaft with pliers and try pulling while you rotate back and forth. It might help on the margins if you were to take the rack adjustment "shoe" (underneath the cap nut, spring?, and shims) out and also take out the dowel that sits between the housing and the retaining ring (it keeps the retaining ring from spinning). Don't loose that (or be ready to make a new one!).
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So I applied a lot of penetrating oil and later I applied some heat, but still couldn't budge it. Then it occurred to me that an open ended spanner might slip around the 'waist' of the pinion shaft, and then I could lever it out without damaging the splines. A 1/2" spanner fits about right, and using an assortment of other spanners as pivots I was able to lever it out. I don't think I would ever have gotten it out with just a straight pull.
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Pretty clever of you! Congratulations! :beerchug:
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Be careful about blasting the rack hosing. Blasting grit can get imbedded and work loose later to the detriment of your rack. You can still blast but make sure you seal the openings.
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I got around the reassembling the steering rack. The workshop manual describes using a feeler gauge to "measure the gap between the sleeve nut flange, lock tab and cup nut face" then figure out the correct amount of shims for the ball joint. I didn't have much luck with that method - it always seem to lock the ball joint solid - so I just removed the thin shims one at a time then reassembled and tested again until the ball joint no longer locked up. Feeling happy with that I hammered the lock tabs flat and put the boots on (bit of a struggle getting the left hand boot on).
The manual goes on to say
Test adjustment by applying a load of 8 lb. (3.629 kg.) at the outer end of the tie-rod, when the tie-rod should articulate freely.
If necessary, adjust the shim pack until correct operation is obtained.
When I did this test I got movement with about 1 lb of weight added to the end of the tie-rod. That seems a lot less than the 8 lbs mentioned in the manual, but the 8 lbs figure appears to be a maximum and no minimum is specified. So this is one of those things where experience matters. Do I need to take it apart again and add shims until it's closer to the 8 lb figure? If so, how much closer?
Yes, I should have carefully read the whole manual section before doing anything irreversible like hammering lock tabs.
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When I was taking my car apart, the rack was one of the first assemblies that was attacked. I regreased everything and when it came to the tie rods, I thought as long as there was no play, I thought "why would I make it tighter than it needed to be." So mine were very loose when I installed it on the car. It was horrible! At highway speeds, it wanted to jump into the next lane. The next time, I estimated what the force was to hold a gallon of water and shimmed to that. I was still unhappy with it so the last time, I used a spring scale and it's much better. I can't say that all of the unhappiness I blamed on the rack was actually due to the rack. I subsequently found out my shocks were shot and that could have been a cause for a lot of it. My advice is invest in a spring scale of some type and do your due diligence to get it reasonably close. The 8 lbs. they mention in the manual isn't called a max value.
I know it's overkill but my memory was that the tie rod cap nut was red Loctited originally. I know it's overkill but I continued the practice.
One confusing thing about rebuilding the rack for me was specifying "Cap nut Head/pinion housing clearance" and the resistance to turning the pinion (2 lb. at 8"). Those seemed to be two ways of measuring the same thing and they did not line up for me (shimming to get the gap they specified did not give me the resistance called for) so I chose to shim the pinion cap nut so that I got the resistance the manual called for. It seems to work! :)
r.d. has all the shims and lock tabs handy.
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I got some more shims and lock tabs, disassembled one tie rod and added one 0.002" shim and measured the force required to move the outboard end of the tie rod. With the extra 0.002" shim the force required went up from about 1lb to somewhere between 14 and 24lbs, depending on the position. It's a bit looser in the middle and tighter at the ends of the range. I double checked it by removing the shim and re-measuring then adding the shim and re-measuring. It's a repeatable result.
So, is it better to be too loose or too tight. What do you think?
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It's been a long time since I did mine but it sure seemed like I had more control over how much resistance was felt. A jump from 1 lb. to 14 lbs. is pretty stout! Did you grease the cup, tie rod ball, and cup nut interior? Did you remember the spring under the cup? I suspect there is something you're missing. The shims are really tensioning the spring under the cup so there shouldn't be huge jumps in resistance. Maybe your spring has collapsed? If so, I would try to expand it a bit. Make sure the hole for the spring is clean. Is it in coil bind when you tighten it down? Could the spring be caught on something so it won't compress? I really think there's something wrong with the spring and the way it's compressing or not compressing. Check that over carefully.
If you are sure you have everything right and you're still going from 1 lb. 14 lbs. resistance at the end of the tie rod, I'd go with the 14 lbs. got all of that and you're still seeing a jump from 1 to 14 lb. from a 0.002 shim, I'd go with the 14 lb. setup. 1 lb. is definitely too loose.
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+1, go with the tighter set-up. The joint has some wear which is why it is looser in the centre where it normally runs.
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Did you grease the cup, tie rod ball, and cup nut interior? Did you remember the spring under the cup?
I cleaned everything carefully, greased everything and definitely have the spring in place and the spring hasn't collapsed.
The joint has some wear which is why it is looser in the centre where it normally runs.
Then I think I'll replace the tie rods, cups and springs to be on the safe side. I didn't replace them because they looked ok to me, but perhaps that was a false economy. Maybe the old springs have also compressed with age.
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My theory is that both the tie rods and cups wear as might be expected but the issue only arises when we diligently look to refurbish them.
There's no way to reassemble the 'worn' parts back into their original comfortable orientations with respect to each other and upon reassembly, they seem notchy.
One day, I'll try some valve grinding paste on an old tie rod set to see it it brings them back to 'reasonable'.