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Snake oil and handbrakes

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I found one of these "fuel saver" magnets that you clamp onto your fuel line for sale on Ebay. They are supposed to sell for around =A350, but just for fun I put in the starting bid of =A35 and - to my surprise - won it.
I'm a complete non-believer, but since I now possess the thing I've decided to stick in onto the 80 on the principle that it can't do any harm. It's clamped onto the steel fuel line as close as I can get it to the injector pump, and we'll see if it makes any difference. There is a whole load of scientific codswallop on the packaging about resonance, and apparently the bloke who invented it has also patented a "light bulb life extender"!
I keep a close watch on fuel consumption, and the machine's long-term average is about 27 mpg in winter rising to 29 mpg in summer, the latter being due (I believe) more to fewer school runs than to warmer weather. If it *does* make any difference I shall let you all know, but I expect it to be about as effective as the acetone I tried a while back.
On a related fuel consumption note we are now the proud possessors of a Fiat Panda 1.1 for my daughters to drive. (The poor thing has already acquired the statutory teddy bear, and the name "fred"). We haven't used a full tank yet, but if the gauge is to be vaguely believed it's doing around 40mpg on a mixture of short to medium range journeys.
I'm quite surprised as I thought it would do better than that, and I'm not sure whether I should be impressed by the relative frugality of the 80 series, or worried by the profligacy of the Fiat. The Panda is much more fun to drive around town though, and *far* easier to park.
Getting back to 80 series issues: I'm minus a handbrake at present. I've got disk brakes all round, and the handbrake works on integral drum-brakes on the rear wheel hubs. The shoes were worn to the end of their adjustment, so it has just received new ones. However now the handbrake is sticking on because the cable is rusted and engaging in an unfamiliar place and I've got it back from the garage while they wait for the new cables from Mr Toyota=2E
I've been expecting this because the handbrake jams if left on in freezing weather due to ice in the cables, so obviously water is getting into there. Does anyone have any preventative measures to suggest in the future?
Christopher Bell
Devon, UK
1996 1HD-FT
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Preventative measure is to never use the handbrake when parking in
sub-zero temperatures. That's what the folks of the north countries do.
Just engage first gear of a manual, or the P of an auto. Handbrake is
then for emergency use only, or to turn quicker ;-).
Afaik it's the shoes freezing onto the drums as they cool down. Never
heard this about the cable before.
--
Ugo Hu, Oslo, Norway
HDJ100, Auto, AHC, 2001; ex HZJ80
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 10:32:31 +0200, Christopher Bell
<[Email address removed]> wrote:
 
Ugo
| Preventative measure is to never use the handbrake when parking in
| sub-zero temperatures. That's what the folks of the north countries
do.
| Just engage first gear of a manual, or the P of an auto. Handbrake is
| then for emergency use only, or to turn quicker ;-).
| Afaik it's the shoes freezing onto the drums as they cool down. Never
| heard this about the cable before.
That's what I do - leave it in gear with the handbrake off ... if I
remember, and I know it's going to freeze. I usually get caught out
once or twice, inevitably when late for taking the children to school
and when the windscreen is also frozen, etc, etc.
I'm fairly sure it's the cable though, possibly as well as the shoes
freezing. If you leave it off when freezing it is initially hard to pull
up and then the handle is not pulled back down by the return spring.
I'm slightly shuddering at the thought of how much money Mr T. is going
to want for the new cable assembly ... we find out on Thursday. And in
the meantime I'm trying very very hard to remember not to use it,
because if I do then it will be stuck on until I crawl underneath to
free it...
CB
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Hi Christopher,
The handbrake cable is only enclosed for the run from the handbrake to
just above the rear axle where it opens up and there is a mechanism to
split it to either hub.
The end nearest the handbrake is pretty well sealed so anny moisture
problems is most likely coming from the other end.
What you need is some sort of lubricant that also expels water -
something like a silicone spray or some grease should do the job. I
would be tempted to get your fitter to try and force as much as
possible into the cable before he fits it.
As for water in the drums, the rear axles suffer a lot from water and
mud being thrown up by the front wheels and I often see LCs with seized
calipers, etc on the back axle (I rebuilt a caliper with new seals and
piston only yesterday!).
The key thing is to try to reduce this spray - you can either
experiment yourself and get some strips of thick rubber and hang them
down from the chassis to stop the spray hitting the rear hubs/calipers
(something you can see on a lot of other cars) or you if you look over
to France some of the 4x4 companies (like Paris 4x4) sell 8mm
polyurethane guards that bolt onto the suspension and protect the whole
hub, caliper, shock absorber assembly from stones, mud and spray - see
attached for an example.
Having seen the various problems on the rear axles I think these are
well worth the investment if you are keeping the car for a long time or
considering some major off roading - I certainly have them on my
shopping list.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Skype: julianvoelcker
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift
[Attachment FILE://"C:Usersjulian.000DesktopPROTECTIONAR.jpg" sent]
 
Julian
Thanks, that looks interesting. I see that person also has a guard on
the diff.
I'm in two minds about keeping it long-term: now that the horses are
winding down and we only have two of them I only have to pull about 1.9
tons, which is well within the capability of more ordinary vehicles, so
the 80 series is over-kill although we still need a 4x4.
On the other hand it's there, it works and it is reliable. I'll
probably keep it until it starts giving serious problems, which
hopefully means not for another 5 years or so in which time who knows
what will happen. Anyway, now that I've invested all that money in a
fuel magnet ...
CB
| The key thing is to try to reduce this spray - you can either
| experiment yourself and get some strips of thick rubber and hang them
| down from the chassis to stop the spray hitting the rear hubs/calipers
| (something you can see on a lot of other cars) or you if you look over
| to France some of the 4x4 companies (like Paris 4x4) sell 8mm
| polyurethane guards that bolt onto the suspension and protect the
whole
| hub, caliper, shock absorber assembly from stones, mud and spray - see
| attached for an example.
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I once read a report on some large boilers which claimed an improvement - if
I could be bothered to organise it I could get test results on a big
generator, we load test the big engines sometimes and use around 450 litres
an hour, the electronic governor displays the "rack position" which as they
are electronic is a notional figure, but if that reduces the magnet would be
working.
Malcolm Bagley
Stafford UK
FJ45 '75 & FJ45 '76
-----Original Message-----
From: [Email address removed] [mailto:[Email address removed]] On
Behalf Of Christopher Bell
Sent: 19 June 2007 09:33
To: [Email address removed]
Subject: [ELCO] Snake oil and handbrakes
I'm a complete non-believer, but since I now possess the thing I've decided
to stick in onto the 80 on the principle that it can't do any harm.
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.9.1/857 - Release Date: 20/06/2007
14:18
 
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Chris, Ugo is right.
When constantly in snow and slush especially in mountain climates or
the frozen north, any moisture in the handbrake cable will freeze it
up. Mine used to take about 15 minutes of driving home from work in
Sarajevo before the heat from the axle would thaw it out, not good
when doing handbrake starts on mountainsides in rush hour traffic.
The longer you leave it the more troublesome it will become, even in
the light frosts on the Devon riviera.
You can squirt, pour, spray, or douse it with whatever you like but
it will not make a hoot of difference. Its time to put a new cable
on. I used a Blueprint brand cable from Milner 3 years ago and it is
still good in freezing weather today. It seemed every bit as good
quality as the OEM.
Cheers
Jon
Tring,Herts
'92 HZJ80 ex UN Bosnia surplus
 
Jon
That was the garage mechanic's view too. The new cable should be
arriving today.
You don't realise how much you use a handbrake until you don't have one
.=2E. fortunately I haven't had to do any hill starts.
CB
| You can squirt, pour, spray, or douse it with whatever you like but
| it will not make a hoot of difference. Its time to put a new cable
| on. I used a Blueprint brand cable from Milner 3 years ago and it is
| still good in freezing weather today. It seemed every bit as good
| quality as the OEM.
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