Who is doing what maintenance today?

[Paul]

Well thats the winch removed, bigger job than it should have been with the combo i have but now to clean out half of Salisbury. Took two of us....cheers Tommo
And thats Tommo with new rear brakes.

Also put the special SMX-S in the gearbox to help with the gear changes....heres hoping

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Didn't do any diff work but I did cut my rack off so I can start again

 

[Chas]

Had a few things planned, but it's just too bl**dy cold.

 

[Chris]

Following rear brake rebuild and handbrake fettling, I adjusted the bias with the LSV. Seems to have had a satisfactory effect. Might need a little more, but deff got better front to rear balance.

Chris

 

[Andy]

Fitted the new autokool rad, fitted perfectly! only difference was the ATF cooler connections, the original had unions, the new one is push on & jubilee clips.
No problem though as will be altering when I fit the wholesale automatics valve body & replumb the atf coolers.

BTW any reccomendations as to what type of flexi (rubber?) pipe to use that will be ok with ATF & the temperature? should I go with the stuff with a stainless overbraid or would standard stuff suffice?

 

[Chris]

Timely question there Andy. When I fitted my AK rad like yours I used the same hoses and as the unions are brazed in place and not adjustable, the pipes were not the best length. I didn't cut them at the time. As you may have read on the Wales posting, one of them failed in the morning leaving 7lt of ATF on a humpback bridge. The hose had split. When we took it off (grunt, strain, swear) it was clear the the outer protective sleeve had sort of welded itself to the inner pipe. Now this wasn't a problem really but it showed that something had been going on over the years. We simply stripped it off and cut it shorter by a couple of inches and shoved it back on. Rest of the pipe looked good, but it's on the list to replace at some point. As to pipe type / quality I am not sure of the standard, but it's not very hard working pipe. I wouldn't have thought that braided stuff was really necessary. I'd guess that fuel hose would probably work. ATF isn't particularly aggressive stuff is it? What you don't want is a failure and bits going into your auto box.

I think that this could be a good candidate for preventative maintenance on all older autos really. Don't know what caused mine to fail but it wasn't rubbing. The hole was underneath the protective sleeve. I still have the bit I cut off if you need to know the bore.

Chris

 

[Andy]

I was ndering about fuel hose, but was a little concerned about the temperatures degrading the hose.

Saw this stuff & was wondering if its overkill or just the job!, it says ok for transmissions & will take higher temps

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

 

[Chris]

I think that it's a bit OTT really. Look at what is on there to start with. It's nothing special. Obviously one of the hoses will be hotter then the other but it's not like they are raging hot. Worth sticking your hand on it after a good run. Rad hoses run pretty hot and they're just rubber.

Chris

 

[Andy]

Chris, I have had atf temps up to around 130'c, according to Rodney at wholesale automatics, 'if the temp reaches 150c, pull over & idle in park until temp drops below 100c'

so what I am getting at is that the temperatures can go to 150 ish & would normal hose cope? I dont want to dump my ATF all over the desert!!!

Rad hoses dont get to that temperature, even though the waters boiling point is raised as the water is pressurised, I doubt that it will exceed 120c max

 

[Andy]

Not sure at what temp the ATF light on the dash comes on, any ideas?

 

[Chris]

Not a clue Andy. Never had it come on with any of my cruisers - ever. But never been across the desert not towed a trailer up a mountain pass. I would strongly suggest a separate oil cooler though whilst we are on the subject.

I would think that hose specs would be available somewhere like Goodyear or someone like that.

Chris

 

[warrenpfo]

What a weekend...

After finally getting the top bolt out of my rear actuator which involved welding a spanner to it late on Saturday afternoon i gave it a good clean and lube plugged her back in and she works like the day it came out the factory.

A little buff on the wire wheel and some primer and mat black she is as good as new and back in place working like a charm.

Its so pleasing when you do a job yourself and get the outcome you where hoping for.

The lesson I have learnt is that one cannot underestimate having the right tools for a job as it makes things go so much better,

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Made my drawers longer

 

[silvercruiser]

Changed my front pads and give the auto fluid another change

Joe

 

[TonyP]

Replaced the winch rope with a nice new Dyneema one. Fitted a new switch for the air spool, plus anohter one inside as I keep on forgetting to flick it back after spooling out which inevitably means I have to get out to engage the winch again....

 

[Paul]

New rear discs, callipers, hand brake shoes and pads.

Typical though, rained all the time i was doing it and then the sun comes out

Caught them in time as can be seen, evidence of burning too.

 

[Chris]

Nasty! Looks like a good move there Paul. Be stopping on a sixpence now. Well maybe a very large sixpence.

Chris

 

[Rob]

Its been a good day today, got the 80 going again with new control arm bushes put in (it now drives in the same direction regardless if im accelerating or on over run ) and a new(ish) starter. That meant I could drive to my stranded Volvo and replace a blocked fuel filter. Thats 2 cars back on the road in one day so im

 

[Chas]

A little while ago I replaced two Optima red tops with two Numax batteries, but because they were slightly bigger than the Optima's the clamp bars wouldn't reach so I bought some 10mm studding and today made some longer bars to clamp the batteries down securely. , the pieces of carpet I had to stop the batteries from leaping out and hitting the bonnet and causing a 4th of July firework display can now be disposed of.

 

[Scott]

Rear prop UJ's replaced, required the use of a big boy vice!