Found Object

[my8thholden]

Gents ..Rob the chanel is there on the car intact ,dumb me I just didn't question during rebuild why was it there , more haste less speed Vern ..there is always mud flaps ,they have been on the car previously and we knew that and I have left that option open ,Steve is also reluctant to re visit under the rear bumper ,and Maco said he wouldn't drill or rivett or anything like that ..so its status quo .as Errol 62 says wont miss something you've never had...
Just a bit of trivia ,seeing we are not sitting around and talking , a was talking to the bloke who bought the Hillman Hunter I restored ,he said I bought a Holden ,takes his stable to 9 mixed make cars , its a HZ sedan with 14,000kms ,came from Tech College in Hobart ,used as instruction vehicle for apprentices ..there is even Government shed finds ..stay well Vern

[ardiesse]

The fuel tank is out.



As usual, no trouble at all.  Seven of the ten screws loosened, three didn't want to let go.  I broke my No.2 Phillips impact driver bit on one, and then elected to use heat instead . . . and the three stubborn screws moved.  Unscrewing the nut from the tank sender terminal was another exercise in patience.

Hydraulic jack under the tank to separate it from the boot floor, and then I could lift it out.  The flange isn't rusty; but I wish I could say the same about the rest of the boot floor.

Rob

[ardiesse]

Threaded Fasteners Chapter LXXVIII: Tie Rod Ends



The rail has made another appearance.  I have never had as much grief separating a tie rod end as with this one . . . but I will reserve judgement until I've separated the right hand one.

And then I mooshed up the threads on the nut and had to run a 1/2" UNF tap through to restore them.  The tie rod end itself is good, it just needs a dust seal.  You used to be able to buy replacements for the OEM tie rod ends - are they still available?

Oh yeah . . . I took the front spring out and replaced it with my patent Infiniti-Rate version (a 4x2, 6" long).  The front spring has a broken coil, as expected.

Rob

[mcl1959]

Rob, you just need a bigger hammer!
By the way, is that a drum retainer clip on the wheel stud?
They are rare things to find.

Ken

[ardiesse]

Ken,

No, it's not a drum retainer clip - probably an errant cobweb.
Bigger hammer?  It seems I more often need one (1) ACME 500 lb. anvil, although preferably not dropped from a great height.

Rob

[Errol62]

The rubber boots are available from time to time Rob but I reckon they are about the same price as a new outer tie rod end with rubber included.

I must have been lucky with tie rod end outer tapers on my ute. Just jacked up and support with a stand under the steering arm. Wind out the castleated nut and bfh. Ping, off she popped, both sides. You’re going to apply heat you devil.


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[ardiesse]

Clay,

How you describe separating tapers is my normal experience.  I was thinking of heat, but didn't like the idea of heating suspension components.

Didn't think of putting jack stand under the steering arm though.  Did try dolly supported by hydraulic jack, and got nowhere.

Rob

[Errol62]

Isn’t there a separator claw tool you can use if you want to be mechanical Rob?


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[ardiesse]

The Threaded Fasteners Wars Parts CXXIV and CXCI -

The RH tie rod end's taper let go with the help of B.F.H. and the rail.

RH lower outer pivot bolt next.  For some reason, a replacement had been installed from the rear of the control arm, so that the grease nipple (if there had been one) was at the rear rather than the front.  The nut was little better than finger-tight.  Cue false sense of optimism.  The bolt didn't want to move.  Not with a socket ratchet.  Not with me leaning off a torque wrench.  In cases like this, I usually put a jack under the free end of a ring spanner and lift.  Which I did.  I thought the bolt began to move, but it didn't feel right by hand.  Heat around the bolt head and try again.  It seemed easier.  Cue second sense of false optimism.  The bolt head broke off, leaving the pivot bolt still firmly stuck inside the control arm.

Brief pause for labio-dental fricatives.

Options:

(1) Remove king pin from steering knuckle support, move brake assembly and steering knuckle out of the way, and cut through the pivot bolt with angle grinder, taking care not to damage the control arm in the process.  OK.  So I can remove the front spring, but then what?  There's still a section of pivot bolt stuck in the lower control arm.  And who knows what dramas await, particularly the removal of the cotter pin from the steering knuckle support?

(2) Get out with Mister MIG and weld a nut onto the protruding length of pivot bolt at the front.  Encourage the stuck bit of the bolt, which is at the rear, to move with the MAP gas torch and a few hammer blows.

I decided to pursue option 2.  I think I've managed to get the bolt to move a few degrees of rotation, but the weld has just let go.  I ground the weld off and laid a bigger one in.

So far, yet another tactical victory for the threaded fasteners . . .

Rob

[ardiesse]

The Threaded Fasteners Wars Part CXCIX:

My bigger weld came unstuck also.  I ground it off and put a yet more substantial weld in.  It burned down, fell over and sank into the swamp.  No.  The third one stayed oop.

I wondered if taking the spring tension off the bolt would make it easier to unscrew.  I had a length of threaded rod which I put in where the shock absorber goes, and cranked it up until the suspension came off the rebound stop.  With the load off, I could tell that the upper outer pivot was flogged out.  It had enough free play for me to discover that the lower outer pivot bolt wasn't seized in the control arm (like I thought), but in the steering knuckle support.  So I redirected the heat onto the bush in the support.

The absence of a grease nipple in the pivot bolt was significant after all . . . this was a complete lubrication failure.  The bolt could only turn the angle corresponding to the suspension travel.  Bit by bit I got the range of motion to increase, but it behaved like a thread had picked up inside, which meant a couple of hours of turning the bolt back and forth, alternating between heat and WD-40.  And then -



Sure enough, you can see where the thread picked up, about five turns in from the left hand side.

I pulled the RH front spring out (broken coil also) and ratted my bin of clapped-out suspension parts for a lower outer pivot bolt.  I fitted the patent Infiniti-Rate front spring and sat the car back on its feet.

Let's just see what surprises are in store next.

Rob

[Errol62]

Sounds like you’re in front then?!


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[ardiesse]

Exploded Diagram (II)



Motor's out.  Now I have to work out a strategy for dropping the front suspension and unbolting the subframe, before wheeling in the rotisserie at the front.  I'd probably better take the fixed glass out too.

Rob

[ardiesse]

I took the fixed glass out and unbolted the front guards, had a think and then decided, "next weekend."  The car still rolls, steers and stops.

Rob

[ardiesse]

The Threaded Fasteners Wars Parts CCVIII and CCIX: Rear Spring U-bolt Nuts and Tailpipe Clamp Bolt.

The rear spring U-bolt nuts let go with MAP gas and swearing on the left hand side; and with wire brush and WD-40 on the right hand side.  The difference is that the right hand side of the underbody is coated with greasy road grime, whereas the left side isn't.  Is it a coincidence that the crankcase breather pipe's on the right hand side?

The tailpipe clamp bolt just turns in the spare wheel well.  So far it has defeated me.

Next:  Boot Hinge Spring Pin Removal.  I can amend RET's instruction sheet as follows -

Removal:

1.  Remove boot lid.  Remove boot mat.  Drain and remove fuel tank.  (It's a lot easier to sit in the boot with your feet on the ground than assume fetal position inside the boot.)  Remove spare wheel clamp assembly.
2.  Lift boot hinge pin retaining tab with screwdriver, remove hinge pin and boot hinge assembly.
3.  Mark and centre-punch the centre of the spring pin.  Drill a pilot hole at least 5/16" deep.  Enlarge pilot hole with a 1/2" drill so that the outside of the 1/2" hole is 1/16" deep.
4.  With a hacksaw, cut through the hinge spring post flush with the support panel.  Dress the rear face flush with a file.
5.  Using a 1/2" diameter round file, enlarge the 1/2" hole just enough to admit the adjustable hinge spring pin.  Or use a 14 mm step drill.

So.  I thought that maybe I'd have the rear axle out, and the back end of the car on the rotisserie.
No.  The rear mounting brackets need rework.  But seeing as how there's a rotten section at the right hand rear corner right above the bumper bracket, I'm thinking about a pipe-and-trammel arrangement to go on the rear spring hangers instead.

Rob

[Errol62]

Put some tack welds on the coach head bolt head in the spare wheel well to stop it spinning Rob.
Why the need to mess with the hinge? Are they busted?
On my van I fixed the rotisseriemount with s bolt through the rear spring hanger, as well as the two bumperette iron mounts. They are (almost) in the ssame plane.

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[ardiesse]

Clay,

Having commercials, you are spared the dubious joys of busted boot hinge spring posts.  I "only" have to replace the passenger's side (the driver's side ain't broke, so I won't fix it . . . )
Bumperette mounts would be a good option for the rotisserie brackets, but it's a sedan . . .

Welding the coach bolt head to the spare wheel well is one option, or some steel strip with a 1/2" hole in it.

The pipe-and-trammel arrangement's taking shape, mentally anyway - I've probably got enough 1" water pipe, and perhaps even two short lengths of 1-1/2" to go over the 1" pipe.

Rob

[Errol62]

The bumperette mounts are the same as sedan bumper iron mount holes Rob.


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[ardiesse]

It's dark outside, and it's raining lightly.  But my backyard metal fabrication project has yielded results:



The distance between the spring hangers is 947 mm, about 945 between the rubbers.  I cut off a 940 length of 1" water pipe.  I had some M12 nuts, of the style that looks a bit like a lampshade, or a nut with integral washer.  The cone bit of the nut sat very nicely on the end of the pipe.  I bevelled the pipe ends and welded the nuts in place.  Then I cut off two 100 mm lengths of 1-1/2" pipe, drilled the pipe and welded two M10 nuts onto each.  Then I got two 1" x 3/16" steel strips, curled one end up a quarter turn, and drilled a 31/64" hole in the other end to take an M12 bolt.  I welded the strips onto the 100 mm pipe sections, slid the 1-1/2" pipe sections onto the 1" pipe, and put the 1" pipe between the spring hangers.  Two M12 x 80 bolts with flat washers went through the spring shackle rubbers and into the nuts at the ends of the pipe.  Then it was a case of sliding the "tongues" of the rotisserie onto the T-bar and picking up the mounting holes on the 1-1/2" pipe.  It came together quite well.

This photo shows the arrangement in more detail, and even the rotten section next to and behind the bumper bracket.  The rotten section is why I decided to go with the pipe-and-trammel setup:  I can move the attachments laterally on the cross-pipe so they don't get in the way when I'm repairing rust in the car's rear.  Brackets attached where the bumper bracket bolt-holes don't allow me to do that.



And this is what the trammel looks like from the front, with the M10 clamping bolts.



And then I unbolted the rotisserie from the trammels, moved it out of the way, and rolled the car back into its resting place in the car port.  Another weekend gone . . .

Rob

[mcl1959]

Ingenious Rob, a weekend well spent

Ken

[camxsmith]

Great idea