1982 Eclat Riviera restoration......

[EXCEL V8]

Anything can happen with bits from SJ.  I'll measure my old ones tomorrow - see if there is much difference.

Pete

[Benco]

Thanks Pete

[EXCEL V8]

Hi Terry

2.75"/70mm from centre of ball pin to end threaded part.

Your chassis is looking fantastic BTW!

Pete

 

[Tony D]

Might be the photo's, but the track rod end looks to be significantly longer than I remember mine being.

Tony 

[Benco]

Thanks for the feedback, ok, I’ve measured mine being 78mm from centre of pin to end of the threaded part.

So on the face of it they’re too long.
 

But I also had a look at my pre-disassembly photos and see that I previously had the track rod ends connecting ‘up’ (nut on top) rather than ‘down’. So I took the steering arms off and swapped them over, thinking that the extra distance might help, but sadly not. 
That then has me thinking whether I’ve got the correct link arms/trunnions on the correct side.... which maybe a completely red herring. But just to check here: I’ve the right hand threaded trunnion / link arm on the drivers side and the left hand threaded link arm /trunnion on the passenger side. Is this correct? Does it make a difference which side they should be on, or is this just a quick avenue to close off as it’s irrelevant.

Thanks

Terry

 

 

 

[TAR]

Anything changed on the rack itself? Did you replace the inner rack arms, they may be longer? 🙂

[Benco]

Hi, sadly nothing changed on the rack - only some paint and new polymer mountings....

[dmottram]

Well, four possibilities

1.      Search at your motor factors for a different length rod end

2.     If the male thread is bottoming, shorten it

3.     If the female thread is running out of male thread, shorten it

4.     Combination of 2 and 3 

As long as there is a good length of thread engagement then all is well.

[Benco]

Hi, thanks, I’ve left a message with SJ - but given the dimensions shared by Pete, I guess that I could easily take that shoulder off of the track rod end to achieve 70mm....

[EXCEL V8]

Just noticed on fleabay what looks like the correct part from Lotusbits - check out item number 283894504640.  

Pete

 

[Benco]

Hi, with still a very good amount of thread engagement I did a couple of things:

• extended the male thread on each track rod
• shortened the track rod end

so now I have wheels that are roughly pointing in the same direction with room to adjust them further in, thanks all for suggestions .... I have ‘front feet’ on the ground!

[Benco]

Onto the backend.....I had some time today draining the oil, degreasing and cleaning up the diff. I’ve trawled the forum and see that I should be able to use a slide hammer to remove the output shafts, so I can get the brake backing plates off to clean, de rust and paint them. I’ve never been in the car when it’s been running and I understand that the diff itself might need work.... but willing to take the risk (and save a lot of cash potentially).

Any recommendations/watch points that I should take care with? I see quite a bit of silicon type sealant around the output shaft retaining plate - something to replicate after painting?

 

[EXCEL V8]

You may not need a slide hammer - they often come out fairly easily.  ISTR that the bolts holding the retaining plates are metric fine - M8x1.00mm?  Make sure you read the notes in the manual about the required "nip" on those bearing retaining plates.  When replacing these I put a small chamfer on the end of the diff tubes to help the o-rings slide in without damage - the edges are rather sharp.  Take the opportunity to replace the oil seals as well - they are prone to leak - possibly because of the heat associated with the inboard brakes.  If you decide to take the diff cover off make sure you can get the correctly sized gasket - SJ and Lotusbits gaskets were too small a couple of years ago.  I can see that your brake pipe retaining clips have corroded away - worth sorting something out before you find out too late!  Be careful with the breather and its elbow - they are made from some sort of mazak-type crap!  Where the brake shoes rest against the back plate there is often a wear ridge - worth grinding off to ensure free movement of the new shoes.  Don't put too much paint on the mating surfaces of the back plates - it may reduce the "nip" too  much.  Do the drain/fill plugs come out OK?  Can't think of anything else at the moment 😄

Pete

[Benco]

Hi Pete, comprehensive notes - thanks.

Yes both drain and filler plugs have loosened without a problem. Ok, will have oil seals, o rings ready and thanks for the tip about the chamfer. I’ve been worried about the breather, so handling it with kid gloves. I’ll try and avoid any paint on those backplate mating surfaces, and the backplate doesn’t look worn in places (but I’ll check properly when they are off). I’ve a couple of rivets to replace on the oil catcher strips.

If it all gets hot then maybe I should use a higher temp paint than the Rustoleum I’ve used on some of the front suspension parts?

Great pointers - thankyou!

[EXCEL V8]

Sorry - should also have said that to replace the oil seal you have to remove the bearing from the shaft by grinding/cutting the retaining collar off.  This is a major undertaking as you need bearing pullers to remove the bearing and to replace the retaining collar it has to be heated to cherry red before sliding back onto the shaft and holding down in a press until cool.  You can avoid this by buying reconditioned units, but this is not cheap.  However, it's pretty important to replace the oil seals.

Pete

[Benco]

….slowly getting things back together… diff (and all of the brake pipes and new fuel pipe) back on the chassis with some judicious ‘boot work’ to line things up 🙂.

(Pictures to follow as they are too big at the moment)

[Benco]

[eclat22]

Hi, do you have the brace bar that goes between the two long studs that the diff bolts on to, this is a strengthening part that was fitted to the later cars. Otherwise looking very smart

[Neil D.]

9 hours ago, eclat22 said:

Hi, do you have the brace bar that goes between the two long studs that the diff bolts on to, this is a strengthening part that was fitted to the later cars. Otherwise looking very smart

The details are in  service bulletin, can't seem to get my hands on it at the moment. But yes a worthwhile improvement.

 

[EXCEL V8]

I think it's there in the picture - waiting to be fitted.  Sitting on the chassis.

Pete

[eclat22]

[EXCEL V8]

Yep - that's the one - you can see it in the photos.

Pete

[Benco]

Hi, yes, I have that strengthening bar. It was used by someone before as a jacking point and horribly bent out of shape. Interestingly though it won’t fit at the moment, the distance between the holes is too small compared to the distance between the studs. Not sure whether I need to try and get this even straighter (although I thought it was straight enough), or do I ease the holes in the bar?

Other observation is on the amount of thread available from the stud is quite different on both sides. In terms of tightening, should I torque the rear studs completely before tightening the 2 front diff mountings?

Finally, just a quick question of the sealing of the rear diff cover - even with a new SJ gasket and correct torque I’m still weeping gear oil…..is it worth sealant on both sides of this? Or a different (non SJ supplied gasket)?

[eclat22]

Hi, I've got a diff reinforcement channel on the shelf, I can measure the cc of the holes as a comparison for you if you want. Re bolting the diff in tighten the front fixings first then the stud is shimmed to suit the chassis. I think it shows this in the workshop manual.

With regards the diff cover, I would use non setting blue hylomar sealant on both surfaces, it allows for vibration. I know people say only apply to one side to allow easy removal, but how often do you intend on removing the cover? Ideally never once you have it fitted.

Regards Dan

[Benco]

Hi Dan, that would be great - yes please would love to know the dimensions on that channel. Yep, will seal and only need to fit once! Thanks