Roy Lewington

Sorry I don't know the answer to that-------but if you do wind them right down and allow them to adjust automatically you can't be any worse off. Good luck Roy.

Distance for cable to caliper lever is RH 65mm, LH 50mm. This is measured from the inside of the L shaped bracket where the cable exits and the point where the cable goes into the caliper lever (ie not the nipple side). Having said all that I don't think that is the important point. Ian is right about having plenty of travel at the handbrake lever. The important thing at the caliper is that the caliper lever must be fully off. It must be still fully off when the handbrake cables have been connected and adjusted. Too tight and it will start to pull the lever away from its stop. With the cables disconnected put an adjustable spanner or a metal tube onto the caliper lever. Pull it on, if it locks the disc problem must be handbrake or cables. If it doesn't lock the disc then you have a caliper problem. Workshop manual advises to ensure that the piston is fully screwed in along the handbrake adjuster mechanism and then positioned with the piston slot parallel with the 2 support wings and the groove toward the bleed nipple side. Regards Roy.

Now that seemed like a good idea. Friend of mine has just bought a Mazda MX5 which has its battery in the boot. Fitted as standard are battery pipes venting to the outside through an inner wing fitting. My battery had the vent holes so a couple of L shape connectors, a T piece and some clear plastic tubing was all I needed. I put a connector through the boot channel drain pipe and vented it out the bottom using a short length of copper pipe. Roy.

When I did mine I used a closed cell foam sleeping mat from a camping shop. Cut it out in one complete unit a put it in with Evostick Adhesive. I would have thought the difference between 20 and 25mm would take up in compression as the bonnet is closed. So 25mm would be the preferred option.

No spark. !2 replies offering help. Whilst this is probably valuable reading for members---------no reply. 'Good' and 'Manners' comes to mind.

Thanks Brian, I checked and you are right so I have swopped them round. I was in panic mode thinking that I had not locked the plates in correctly. Fortunately it doesn't affect the brake operation or security but does make it a lot easier to tap the retaining plates out when the next pad change is due. Cheers Roy.

*I decided that the winter project for this year was an overhaul of the brake calipers (standard set-up). These seemed to be working fine although they did have a tendency to pull to one side slightly but centralised very quickly as more pressure was applied. They had passed 2 MOT's so they didn't really need doing did they? To be fair on the last MOT they did say that generally the brakes were a bit 'sticky' and not very well balanced at the front. Worth doing? It absolutely was. What I found was a wee bit scary. Maybe a bit of history first. When I acquired the car and indulged in some spirited driving I didn't suffer brake fade (Mintex pads) but the pedal ended up on the floor and needed a lot of pumping to get me home. I assumed it was a faulty master cylinder and contacted SJS to get a replacement. Having explained what had happened they said:'We are quite willing to sell you a master cylinder but you have probably just boiled your brake fluid and a bleed should cure it'. I switched to high temperature racing blue fluid, fitted a couple of braided hoses, bled the system and all was well. I have to say having got such honest advice from SJS I have since mostly used them for any parts (and advice) needed. FRONT. I fitted new seals, greenstuff pads, 2 new pistons (the old ones weren't leaking but were badly pitted) and one new hub oilseal. I think the hub had been overpacked with grease and the seal was starting to weep oil and get near the disc. What I did find was that one of the stainless clips had been incorrectly fitted putting the pad at a slight angle. This had resulted in the thick metal backing plate being bent and the friction part starting to come away (see pic). REAR. These were binding quite badly so I fitted new seals and green pads and together with a handbrake adjustment they were sweet again. What I did find was that the last person to work on the rear offside caliper had forgotten to replace the locking pins. These pins stop the retaining plates locating the whole caliper on the bolted frame from moving. The retaining plate was half way out! Whilst this would probably not have led to a crash it may have done a fair bit of damage to the caliper and rim had it let go, (see pic). The brakes are now good again (still bedding in the pads) considering I didn't think they needed any attention! Any tips? Not really. Do one side at a time, any problems you can check the other side. It would probably be difficult to remove pistons without an air compressor, but you could always take the caliper to your local garage and get them to blow them out. If you are not confident, even with a workshop manual, draw loads of pictures to make sure you are happy with the finished job. What did it cost? Doing all the work myself around £245--parts, delivery and VAT. £115 of this was green stuff pads so standard pads would be cheaper. PADS> I did some research and took advice. I intend to do one track day this year. I liked the look of Ferodo DS2500 but couln't find anyone who stocked them for my model. The choice really was EBC. Anything above Greenstuff (ie. yellow or red) would appear to eat the discs so I shall be interested to see how the Greens manage the track day. As the man said'If you want track brakes then you basically have to upgrade the whole system'. Fair comment. Roy.

Ok, I think you need to go back to basics rather than just renewing everything you can think of. It is not money wasted of course because you will have new parts, but even then it may not cure your problem. First check is to pull back the rubber boot on the big fat ht lead that goes into the centre of the coil. Makes sure the metal end is pushed down as far as it will go into the coil tower as this is a common non-starting problem. Not fixed? Buy, or make yourself, a remote starter. A push button switch connected to 2 leads with a crocodile clip on each. Remove the large spade connector on the starter motor (red/white I think) and connect one lead to this terminal on the starter. Connect the other lead to a 12volt feed---battery positive is fine, press the button and the starter will turn the engine over (ignition does not even need to be on). With this bit of kit you can now conduct all sorts of tests in the engine bay without any assistance. With your multi-meter set to dc volts turn on the ignition, you should have 12v at both sides of the coil. No 12v means an ignition switch or ign. feed problem. To prove this you can make up a jump lead and connect 12v direct to the positive side of the coil. Be careful, ignition coils can work even if the polarity is incorrect. Make sure that the wires from the + on the coil do not go to the distributor which would mean it is incorrectly wired. If you feed 12v direct to the wires that go to the distributor you can fry the electrics, so take care. So with 12v fed to the + on the coil you will have dashboard lights. Spin it over by pushing the button on your remote starter. If engine fires, you have an ignition key/ wiring problem. If it doesn't fire check for spark. Pull out the big fat ht lead from the centre of the coil (the one that looks like a spark plug lead) and tape in a length of insulated copper cable (mains household cable is fine) Bare cable at each end, tape one end into the coil tower. Ignition on, hold the other end 1/4 inch from the engine block, spin over with your remote starter. Good fat spark means problem is in main coil ht lead going to distributor or rotor arm. You can prove this by doing the same test with the original ht coil lead replaced into the coil tower. Make sure this is pushed fully home well down into the coil tower. Remove the ht lead at the distributor cap and hold 1/4 inch off block. Spin engine (ign. on) with ht lead 1/4 inch off block. Good fat spark here means rotor arm problem Spark with the copper cable but not with the ht lead---replace the ht lead. If you take out the spark plugs it will make the battery last longer and be easier on the starter motor, but you won't know if it sounds like it is going fire up. Still no spark with the copper cable? This means removing the distributor. With the distributor out leave all the electrics connected. Attach an earth lead to the distributor body and then by spinning the dizzy by hand (ign on)as you check and change things you can see if you have recovered your spark at the coil ht lead held just off the block. At this stage you are left with an ignition amplifier fault or an internal distributor fault. I have also known new ignition coils to be faulty (1 particular make comes to mind) so you could repeat some of these tests with your original coil. Probably enough to keep you busy here. I think the pick-up assembly is the same on most Lucas '45' distributors as fitted to Metros so a visit to the breakers may help, the ignition amp. you may find on early Range Rovers or Jags. Good luck, Roy.

With the front wheel off you can get a spanner or grips on the lower UJ joint and hold it tight to stop it moving. Moving the steering wheel now will indicate where the play is, either above or below this locked point. Taking the drivers seat out will also make life (and your back) easier. Roy.

I had the same trouble on mine and was fairly convinced it was the UJ's. When I got the UJ's off the splines they were perfect and all the play was from the inner and outer collapsible column. I cant explain it very well but with the steering column pulled out of the top UJ the splined part slides in and out of a sleeve which I seem to remember is of triangular shape. This was where my play was and other than packing it with grease it wasn't enough to worry about. It doesn't seem to show this in the manuals. What is very important is to get the correct orientation when refitting (30 degrees back from straight ahead). Mine had been wrongly fitted and when I replaced it in the correct position it improved the feel no end. This, and a trip to a local company to have the suspnsion set-up (toe-in etc) on a 4 wheel laser machine for £54 has transformed it. regards Roy.

Thanks for the info, I think Ferodo DS2500 is what I am looking for. Next question is where can I buy them (I drew a blank on the web). Does anyone have part numbers for front and rear (Stevens X180 Turbo 1988) still on the original calipers---Bendix I presume. Cheers Roy.

Hope everyone had a nice stress-free Christmas. My winter job this year is a brake caliper overhaul, new seals, pads etc. Should I go for 'Green stuff' pads. Are they poor for normal driving until warmed up, do they chew the discs or should I stick to the standard pads. I will probably do one track day this year. What would you recommend? Cheers Roy.

OK, this is what I did with my jack. Still the easiest way to get a wheel off the ground, what with the low ride height, lack of jacking points etc. I still find the rear a problem, very easy to bend a suspension part if you are not careful. I found an old (fairly deep) half inch drive socket. I cut a groove in it and drilled it out to take a nut and bolt. The addition of a couple of rubber washers stops it slopping about when attached to the jack. I just wind it up and down with a nice rachet drive. Working OK so far . Regards Roy.

Hi Simon, how is Adelaide? Spent some good times there, my mother used to live in Fairview Park. Email me on roymobile@talktalk.net. Roy.

It never made much sense to me to put water (even with additives) into an aluminium engine. I bit the bullit and fitted a nice new aluminium radiator and then ran it on Evans Waterless Coolant. It is expensive but lasts forever (unless you have a leak of course). It is like a very fine oil--no corrosion, doesn't expand when hot, doesn't boil, doesn't freeze so no pressure on the hoses. I can sit in a traffic jam all day (not recommended) and it's fine. I have to say I am very impressed. Cheaper than a head gasket if your fan doesn't kick in! Roy.

Hi People, thanks for your input. Radio is fine now and this is what I did. With the cover off the A frame windscreen pillar (n/s). Well let's start there- a well documented pig job. With the rubber door seal off you can get a couple of thin levers in (take care not to damage any wiring) and prise. As you can see from the pics they need to be pushed horizontaly (ie towards the drivers door). Once popped out it is still stuck. I had to remove the dashboard speaker, drop the headling a bit and protect the dashboard leather from damage (an old plastic milk botle cut up is good), strong and quite slippery. I broke one of the springs but SJS Sports Cars in Crediton had them in stock. I ordered at 11am and they were on my doorstep next day at 8.30. Now that's what I call service. The only job worse than this is getting it back on again but now you know the system it is just peserverance and care. I then went to my 'it might be useful I'll keep it box'---covers most of the garage and found a sheet of copper to make up the earth plate. My use of aluminium was frowned on in previous posts but I'm not sure why as lots of car earths are bolted to alloy blocks/cylinder heads etc. This time I made sure the aerial film was supported by some thin plastic (another old piece of milkbottle) and not sheilded by the earth plate. Well all done and dusted. Plenty of stations to choose from--most of which aren't worth listening to. At least I can now listen to my own music without the stupid aerial coming up. It didn't really take me this long to fit a radio but I am a bit of an anorack and had to wait several days for dry roads so that I could try it and make sure it worked OK. You know what it's like wet roads=half a day cleaning and polishing again. Cheers Roy.

Hi Simon thanks for your reply. I don't have to turn the DAB antenna on and the old analogue/FM aerial is disconnected at the moment. I have made some enquiries including speaking to a very helpful chap in my local radio fitting workshop. It seems that my aluminium earth plate should work OK but he thought that also sticking the film part of the DAB antenna to the plate might mask the signal. I'll let you know how I get on. Roy.

Thought I had done well to buy a hardly used Sony DAB with good spec---Dab and FM, USB and Aux ports, CD player. I carefully followed the forum advice and made up an aluminium plate bolted to the earth post on the passenger-side windscreen pillar. Aerial is also 12v powered. Now I have some questions as the reception is very poor and inconsistent, dropping out completely in many areas. Background interference sounds like somebody drowning. I have 2 digital mains powered radios at home which are excellent. ---I have stuck the complete aerial onto the ally plate, including the film part will this affect reception? Maybe the film part should be on glass or glass- fibre. ---The radio at the rear gets quite hot, is this normal or have I been sold a faulty set? My previous set barely got warm. ---Just had a thought, I left the excess length of aerial coiled, would this make any difference? Apart from the DAB all other funtions work fine with good speaker sound. I am on the south coast near Brighton where dab coverage is supposedly good. Any ideas? Thanks Roy.

A couple of DIY checks you may like to try. If the engine runs put your ear on the handle end of a long screwdriver and press the blade onto the injector plug. You will hear it clicking if it is operating. Do it on all 4 so you will know because 1 and 4 are ok. If they are clicking it is very unlikely that both 3 and 4 injectors would be blocked. Coil pack: Just get a length of insulated copper cable (household mains is fine), remove plug lead from coil, bear each end of the cable for an inch. Tape 1 end into the coil tube where the plug lead came from and tape or hold the other end 1/4 inch away from the block or similar metal. Spin on key, no spark it's probably coil pack. Again if you are not sure what results to expect try it on 1 and 4. Roy.

I also had a leak on the overflow pipe from my SJS Alloy header tank. It was threaded so screwded in but bearing in mind the thickness of the ally it didn't seal. I refitted it with liquid metal------no leaks now. Roy.

Do it properly once. On my 88 esprit turbo I treated it to a new alluminium rad. I thought it was expensive but it was a beautifully engineered piece of kit and a direct replacement, a straight swop. I changed it without disconnecting the air-con but the oil cooler had to be replaced as It was damaged whilst undoing the hoses (ally threads picked up on the steel hose unions). Hoses I cleaned up ok. I then went for Evans Waterless Cooling Fluid. Again expensive and needing prep fluid as well as the final fluid. But this is for ever (assuming you don't get a split hose). It doesn't boil, doesn't freeze, doesn't corrode, doesn't pressurise the hoses, doesn't need replacing. Wonderful stuff which makes a lot of sense in a rear alloy-engined set-up. I repaired the fan cowling and refurbed the existing 3 fans. Running like clockwork and worth every penny (and time spent) to get to this stage. A metal radiator with antifreeze? Times move on. Roy.

I got myself a second-hand deflector which I also resprayed in matt black. I found it worth having with regard to reducing wind noise and buffeting. Roy.

Sorry, i just rechecked the manual. Check and make sure pinch bolt in upper uj is HORIZONTAL (not vertical) before turning 3 splines. I had never been happy with the steering on my car-- having a dead feel to it coming out of roundabouts and heavier than I thought it should be. Well, with the uj's correctly phased the steering is transformed. So if you don't feel happy with your steering, check the uj alignment. Roy.

Just done the steering joints on my '88 Stevens Turbo. Remove drivers seat, leave steering wheel on. You can now reach pinch bolts etc much easier. Remove cowling and take off the indicator and wiper stalks. I didn't need to disconnect any wiring as this gave me enough room to draw the complete steering column out by about 5 inches. Remove pinch bolt from upper UJ. Remove 2 large bolts from scuttle beam under dash and clamp bolt down at pedal box. Complete column including outer cage should withdraw enough to clear upper uj. Leaving steering wheel on gives you something to pull on but be gentle and don't wreck the wiring. If it is reluctant make up a long thin wedge to tap into the uj to open it up slightly on the splines. I ground down a rawlplug tool which was also very useful for reassembly. Remove upper uj from inside , and lower uj through wheel arch (gentle tapping with the wedge if needed) I was convinced I had a small amout of play in the uj's but they were perfect. The slight play was from the 2 part collapsable steering column running inside the cage. Packed with grease it's not enough to worry about. Reassembly has very precise instructions in the workshop manual. Fit lower uj to rack (only fits in 1 position). Fit upper uj to column (only fits in 1 position). With wheels off ground centralise rack approx then move wheels slightly so that lower pinch bolt is horizontal. Feed column in so that upper uj is just touching lower uj already on the rack. Check and make sure pinch bolt in upper uj is vertical. Turn steering wheel 3 splines anticlockwise --clockwise for LHDrive-- (or 30 degrees) and push steering column back in so that upper uj locates in the splines of lower uj. This is the correct orientation. Any other lining up can be done by moving the steering wheel on the splines to ensure lock to lock is the same. Minor tweaking to get the wheel in the straight ahead position can be done on the track rods. Move both track rods by the same amout to preserve toe-in. track rods should ideally be the same length give or take a few threads. If you don't have a workshop manual I can email the pages for you that I used---it's very good. Good luck, Roy.

Yes please, Roy lewington Esprit Turbo (Stevens X189).