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Post by ozriderp5 on May 13, 2017 7:30:22 GMT
Car's running, looks like it was dodgy accessory wiring, when I pulled the ignition switch out and checked connections everything come up ok. Reconnected everything one wire at a time, left off the dodgy connector and all fired up Checked the steering box and basically it turns to the stops and beyond left and about 30 degrees to the right. I'll put it on ramps and try and get the arm off with a puller. Brakes seem to have freed up, servo and master cylinder look new, there is a bleed nipple on the cylinder so may bleed tomorrow. If all goes well, fit a seatbelt and book a RWC.
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Post by ozriderp5 on May 14, 2017 8:33:08 GMT
Checked the steering box and basically it turns to the stops and beyond left and about 30 degrees to the right. I'll put it on ramps and try and get the arm off with a puller. Pulled off the steering box and tried to move the pitman arm on the shaft to centre it. No go, the shaft has 4 big splines so it can only move a full quarter turn. I may have to disassemble the steering box again and try and figure out how to rotate the shaft in relation to the steering mechanism, One thing I didn't touch when I put the bearings back in last time. On a positive, fitted an inertia reel seat-belt to the front drivers side and shimmed the linkages on the transmission selectors so it no stays in park on the column shift. I'll adjust the handbrake and that should be it for a RWC.
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Post by ozriderp5 on May 14, 2017 21:31:26 GMT
Removing Pitman Arms is the subject of many videos on YouTube.They all seem to have one thing in common:A reluctance to part company with the shaft😐 You do need to get hold of the Workshop Manual before working on the car. Getting it off was no problem, changing it's position on the shaft was. I have a bad manual that shows some basic stuff, 90% of the rest of the car is pretty much the same as every other car.
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Post by ozriderp5 on May 16, 2017 20:53:14 GMT
The conversation re the WM was a bit of a waste of time then! Good luck.You'll need it. Really! Already ordered one based on recommendations, we'll see if it covers the 10% that is unique to make and model.
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Post by ozriderp5 on May 17, 2017 3:35:42 GMT
Sometimes it's handy to have both an original factory manual, and one published by someone else (Autobooks, Haynes, etc.) for the reason that Richard gives. Something to bear in mind however is that reproduction factory manuals tend to be reduced in size to reduce the shear volume of paper and, presumably, the cost of production. They are printed with 2 pages on one. This makes some of the diagrams a bit hard to read without the aid of a magnifying glass. I scan the pages I'm working with and magnify them on the computer screen 😊
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Post by Warwick on May 17, 2017 7:23:00 GMT
I print them.
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Post by ozriderp5 on May 20, 2017 6:29:23 GMT
Car's running, looks like it was dodgy accessory wiring, when I pulled the ignition switch out and checked connections everything come up ok. Reconnected everything one wire at a time, left off the dodgy connector and all fired up Checked the steering box and basically it turns to the stops and beyond left and about 30 degrees to the right. I'll put it on ramps and try and get the arm off with a puller. Brakes seem to have freed up, servo and master cylinder look new, there is a bleed nipple on the cylinder so may bleed tomorrow. If all goes well, fit a seatbelt and book a RWC. Basically everything is finished for the RWC, final adjustment of the handbrake and that's it. New tyres fitted, brakes all good, steering fine, seatbelt fitted.
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Post by ozriderp5 on May 21, 2017 7:29:41 GMT
Basically everything is finished for the RWC, final adjustment of the handbrake and that's it. A simple adjustment of the handbrake I said .......the mini has 2 cables that run of the handbrake lever, through 2 cams and pull the brakes on, that's a simple thing to adjust.....this thing has a cable and countless linkages. Every one of them has slack in them.... . On the bright side we took it for a drive today, my daughter and her friend didn't know what to do with the static seatbelts, first time they've ever seen them.
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Post by Phil Nottingham on May 21, 2017 9:15:45 GMT
The handbrake linkage rarely requires adjustment unless someone has tampered with it. The only regular adjustment is just the lining adjusters + keeping moving parts especially the floating rear cylinders lubricated. It is essential the WSM is followed to the letter otherwise the what should be a super efficient operation will be not much better than useless and will never stop the car in an emergency or hold it on a slope Our Mini's handbrake is crude and requires constant attention to prevent seizure
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Post by ozriderp5 on May 21, 2017 10:36:54 GMT
The handbrake linkage rarely requires adjustment unless someone has tampered with it. The only regular adjustment is just the lining adjusters + keeping moving parts especially the floating rear cylinders lubricated. It is essential the WSM is followed to the letter otherwise the what should be a super efficient operation will be not much better than useless and will never stop the car in an emergency or hold it on a slope Our Mini's handbrake is crude and requires constant attention to prevent seizure This one looks like 57 years of no maintenance or adjustments, linkages wear, metal and cables stretch. I'd estimate 2-4 inches of play through the length of the assembly. The main pivot assembly at the rear had a minimum of a 1/2 inch of slack, I've stripped it, cleaned and shimmed it to get it back to functional. Unfortunately in Victoria where I live a RWC (MOT) is only required when a vehicle changes hands, apparently this one is only 2 owners, the second, it would appear, 'knew someone' rather than fixing everything.
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Post by Phil Nottingham on May 21, 2017 13:20:22 GMT
Both the P4 and P5 handbrake have a bad reputation in the UK solely because "mechanics" do not know what they are doing or no routine maintenance has been done
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Post by ozriderp5 on May 24, 2017 8:04:33 GMT
New 'old' manual arrived today, the aftermarket 'Autobooks' one is a disgrace in comparison, it's basically a few sections copied and then reprinted with whole chunks missing.
Looking at it so far the car has a different Brake servo, possibly been replaced at some stage.
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Post by ozriderp5 on May 29, 2017 8:25:34 GMT
Car passed its RWC today, now I need to get it Club Plated.
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Post by petervdvelde on May 29, 2017 17:56:44 GMT
congrats with passing the RWC! Always nice to see that your fair amount of spannering time is rewarded. Enjoy driving it now.
Peter
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Post by ozriderp5 on Jun 1, 2017 9:00:02 GMT
This is the basic list....it doesn't include the things like replacing wire smoke and rerouting horns to bypass last minute gremlins 2 hours before RWC Test
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Post by enigmas on Jun 1, 2017 9:22:43 GMT
You can put the lowering blocks back now Oz. PS. I'm going to drop the rear of mine another 1".
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Post by ozriderp5 on Jun 1, 2017 9:35:45 GMT
You can put the lowering blocks back now Oz. PS. I'm going to drop the rear of mine another 1". All bets are off now I'll refit them but leave the front up, I'll look at beefing up the swaybar to try and get rid of the body roll, but to be honest the ride was pretty good with the suspension wound all the way down (adjusters removed...) Post some pics of yours.... Lowered Standard
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Post by Phil Nottingham on Jun 1, 2017 16:25:27 GMT
Is that all I have pages of foolscap of the work I have done and done again over the years - 3 or 4 times round
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Post by ozriderp5 on Jun 1, 2017 20:53:39 GMT
Is that all I have pages of foolscap of the work I have done and done again over the years - 3 or 4 times round I bet you do...I'm only starting this one That's just the RWC list.
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Post by ozriderp5 on Jun 3, 2017 6:13:57 GMT
Major win today, I got the heater and demister working....yeah Fuel gauge doesn't work though, any idea of what readings should be coming from the sender?
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Post by petervdvelde on Jun 3, 2017 6:23:57 GMT
Oz,
I am working on my fuel tank at the moment and found the arm in the sender was stuck, With a little force it was free and it works oke. I believe the sender is on the end so connected to earth so it won't give a signal itself.
Peter
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Post by ozriderp5 on Jun 3, 2017 7:07:16 GMT
Oz, I am working on my fuel tank at the moment and found the arm in the sender was stuck, With a little force it was free and it works oke. I believe the sender is on the end so connected to earth so it won't give a signal itself. Peter Thanks Peter. Mine has had an alternator fitted and is now negative earth, the connector to the sump is also snapped off (Oil Level I assume). Gauge shows full all the time. Previous owner fitted a set of after market gauges but never connected them, 1'll move them from the centre glove box and mount somewhere else. If I can get them all working I'll put a later model Tacho in the binnacle instead. I'll try hooking the new gauge directly to the sender and see what happens.
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Post by ozriderp5 on Jun 4, 2017 11:35:00 GMT
Took the car on it's first outing today, everything went well until 10 minutes from home.... Car spluttered then died, it felt like it was out of fuel. I tried restarting but the engine just spun, extremely fast as it turned out, which was strange. I could hear a rattle but couldn't turn the starter and be under the bonnet at the same time. Anyway, the wife brought some fuel out which made no difference but at least I could be under the bonnet while she turned it over. I could hear it sucking air, turned out the oil cap screw on top of the carb was loose. I tightened it up and the engine returned to normal cranking, unfortunately by this time the battery was flat. I'm assuming that with this loose the engine was just sucking air instead of fuel, there was no fuel smell as you would expect trying to start an engine. Tow truck got me home. Any suggestions?
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Post by enigmas on Jun 4, 2017 12:58:13 GMT
Not exactly Oz. If you're referring to the dashpot damper that screws into the top of the dome that the SU air slide functions in. The dashpot damper's job is to provide a richer mixtture (like an accelerator pump) when you floor the accelerator pedal suddenly. The oil within the chamber acts on the one way valve mechanism at the base of the damper to slow the air slide as it lifts...this momentarily enrichens the mixture during hard acceleration. Leaving the damper off will not cause a vacuum leak nor will it affect the engine's mixture during gentle driving. Only during hard aceleration will the engine run slightly lean or have a flat moment. Whatever is currently at fault is elsewhere!
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Post by ozriderp5 on Jun 4, 2017 21:05:11 GMT
Not exactly Oz. If you're referring to the dashpot damper that screws into the top of the dome that the SU air slide functions in. The dashpot damper's job is to provide a richer mixtture (like an accelerator pump) when you floor the accelerator pedal suddenly. The oil within the chamber acts on the one way valve mechanism at the base of the damper to slow the air slide as it lifts...this momentarily enrichens the mixture during hard acceleration. Leaving the damper off will not cause a vacuum leak nor will it affect the engine's mixture during gentle driving. Only during hard aceleration will the engine run slightly lean or have a flat moment. Whatever is currently at fault is elsewhere! I was reading up last night and I'd agree, anyway, we'll sort it.
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