330 replies to this topic

[Peter UC]

Just use brake fluid

[stevemc32]

Cheers Peter, the caliper pistons showed up today so I got them fully assembled.  Went with brake fluid on the piston seals and a little bit of rubber grease under the dust boots.

 

Finished cleaning up the crossmember and did a quick repair in the usual spot, then hit it with a couple of coats of primer.

 

Next job is figuring out how to get those upper control arm bushes out, a bit of research is needed!

 

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[gtrboyy]

Does this really need engineers report for efi engine or just engine numbers?

 

I've found on lot of older cars as long as car is roadworthy & looks legal even the stricter blueslip inspectors pass the cars...maybe they're too young to know what factory spec is but as long as it shows up on RMS cars pass much easier than 90-00's era if had late model engine in old car bs

[stevemc32]

I think my fuel tank mods and the replacement transmission crossmember are the only things that really need certification as the EFI still retains the 1973 emission controls which is just the PCV.  I don't expect it will be any real issue.

[Rockoz]

How we did upper bushes back in the day without a press.

 

Place control arm in a sturdy vice.

Put a nut back on one side of the link.

Get a very large hammer and start belting the link.

The raised portion on the link will push the opposite bush out.

Then put the nut on the other end and bash it back the other way.

 

Did hundreds of them.

 

These days I would use a press, but the basics are the same.

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[stevemc32]

Thanks Rob, I'm a little more hesitant to start bashing things with a big hammer these days since the parts are becoming harder to find.  Some dude on youtube posted a video of removing the upper control arm bushes from his LX while it was still in the car and I was able to follow that method fairly easily.

 

I got all the ball joints removed.  My little one man powered press made light work of the bottom ball joints.  I looked at the lower control arm bushes and decided a few days of penetrene might be a good bit of preparation before trying to push them out.

 

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Started stripping down the rack as well to fit new rack ends and tie rod ends.  I'm struggling to work out how the rack ends come off as they don't seem to have a pin like the old workshop manual shows but instead looks like the lock nut is bashed into the pin hole to secure it?  I'll try to pry out the lock nut parts before attempting to remove it.

 

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[smeer]

Not really worth the risk damaging the threads of the rack by drilling out the peening.

Dremel a small cut in the lock ring and crack it in 2 with a screw driver. It's not very strong and should break off the threads allowing you to remove the unit.

I think there is a preload spring inside but replacement ends are a much simpler one piece item and simply thread onto the rack, no lock ring or whatever.

Edited by smeer, 26 January 2022 - 09:49 PM.

[S pack]

If possible pries the indentations up in the lock collar, the metal is soft but be aware bits might break out or tear. If you need to drill them out that is fine as there are no threads near the indentations, just use the smallest size drill bit required to do the job.

Personally, if your existing original tie rods and seats (keep the parts as a matched set) are in serviceable condition I would re-use them rather than those aftermarket things, but that is just my preference.

[stevemc32]

Thanks for the info Gents, I'll get onto it today.

 

I did consider keeping the old rack ends but they are a bit floppy so I think it'll be best to swap them out for new ones.

[S pack]

They may just require adjusting.

[stevemc32]

Got them both off.

 

It's hard to get a decent photo but this is the passenger side one and it's pretty worn.  I can feel a catch in this one also so I'm not really happy to put it back on.  I didn't do any damage getting them off so I will keep a hold of the originals and maybe revisit them if there's an issue with the replacements.

 

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[S pack]

If you can feel distinct wear marks then they are probably done unless a machine shop could build up the worn spots with weld, machine them and re-heat treat them.

[stevemc32]

Yeah into storage for those for now.

 

The crossmember is painted and the rusted lower control arm bushes came out without too much fuss after a few days of WD.  Just need to clean up and paint the arms and hubs so I can start putting it back together and then get onto the rear end.

 

Made up a new set of crossmember brake lines today and have a new master cylinder to fit also.

 

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[Indy Orange]

Nice job.

[RIM-010]

Nice! I really enjoyed making brake lines for my Torana, it's a cool process over a couple of beers.

[stevemc32]

Yeah I agree, it's good fun making up new brake lines.

 

Not much progress this week due to work but I did get some time in on the wire wheel.  Didn't really enjoy that part but the pieces are slowly getting painted up and should have the front end going back together soon.

 

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[claysummers]

Nice work. I love wire wheels on the 18v drill.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[stevemc32]

Got some painting done and stripped down the rack today.

 

A few questions on putting it back together.  One of the spring washers was broken and there was only about a third of left in the housing, not sure where the rest went but probably stuck in the crappy boots I took off it...  I've done a search for replacement washers but could only come up with Rob's lawn mower blade Bunnings items, are these still the best bet or is there another solution?  Are there gaskets available for the covers or should I just cut some myself from gasket paper?  Finally I've noticed people are not bothering with the gear oil and just lubing the rack with grease, is this the way to go, there was certainly no oil left in it when I dismantled it!

 

Here's the remains of the spring washer!

 

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The rest of it looks ok but I'll probably change out the bearings since I've got it stripped.

 

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[stevemc32]

Fitting the upper control arm bushes and not having much luck.  Only one of the bushes needed to be pressed in, the other three are loose in the holes.  Are there oversize ones available or another method of making them fit?

 

Also not sure if I should be using the washer on the inside of the bushes.  This was how they were fitted when I removed the old bushes but I can't see that washer in any of the service or parts manuals and it seems to be making the control rod too wide for the bushes to seat in the upper control arm.  Should I ditch them?

 

This is the washer, inboard of the bush on the control rod.

 

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This is the extra space on the right hand side that the bush hangs out of the upper control arm with the washers fitted.  I have measured the upper control arms and they are the correct width, just over 8 inches apart.

 

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[MustardGTR]

The rest of it looks ok but I'll probably change out the bearings since I've got it stripped.

 

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I would be interested to know how you go if you decide to replace that lip seal. At the time I struggled to source a new replacement. 

[warrenm]

Take the inner washers off, that will allow the bushes to go in further.

[stevemc32]

I took the washers off the control rod as suggested and had a better result today.  Pondered the problem of the bushing holes being too big to hold onto the bushings for a while and decided to try resize the hole instead of the bushing.  I cut down a bearing race from the front hub and pressed it over the flange on the upper control arms to squeeze it in a little and it worked a treat.  Only needed about a quarter of a turn on the hand press to sort them out.  Got all the front end bushes and ball joints pressed and fitted today.

 

With regards to the oil seal on the rack, the one I have doesn't seem to be in bad shape.  I'll add it to my list of shims and spring washers that I need to find for the rack rebuild and see what I can come up with.

 

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[neglectedtorana]

Nice work re-sizing the bushing hole Steve, that's a great idea!

[Bruiser]

Yeah, i'm impressed with that, too
Very clever

[Heath]

Mate, that is really impressive! Nice work with the re-sizing. I've got a big grin after reading that.