From Smoker to Sssssmokin’!

[AliK]

Oh man, that was my biggest fear when I removed this a few weeks ago.

Well done!

Thanks Pete - I drilled the seized ones all the way through and will secure the splash guards with long bolts through and nut at the back of the strut assembly.

Now THIS is the very definition of frustration!!!!

The sun is shining and Sean has kindly sent over the JDM box for some testing fun - but i am missing some small bits off the car !!!

 

[AliK]

After homeschooling, cooking lunch, taking the boys dirt jumping, cooking supper, I finally got the opportunity to hand them over to my wife and got 1.5 hours Z time. As Deadpool put it “maximum effort”.

I took the rest of the parts I wasn’t happy with back to metal - it’s a horrible job with all the dust and mess. However, a lovely job when you see it’s all surface rust below the under-seal. I also beat out a dent in the floor where the car has clearly had an off in the past and slightly dented the front of the passenger floor.

I took back the rest of both chassis legs to the bulkhead and treated with rust converter.

Then I set about the bits i’d finished last night with this super expensive can of wonder ...

I was in two minds about it but having out the first coat of 3 on and walked away for 2 hours before touching it, I am utterly stunned and how solid it feels. I now realise I had wasted money with the other stuff I’ve been using and should have just bought two tins of this @ £54 a can.

I will put two more coats on tomorrow and on the newly naked bits curing this eve.

It’s a bit shiny, but I plan to go over it with some stone chip protection spray that will protect it against UV (not that the underside will see too much of that) and act as an extra sacrificial layer.

Last night I was thinking that I may as well replace all the brake lines while I’m about it, so I put a Rockauto order in for some and felt a bit extravagant as the current ones are working OK. Then today I had a look at them and felt glad I got new ones.

Made in jan 2003 when the PO bought the car ..

[

I then thought, OK so what, they look in great condition, until I put stress on one and the cracks appeared ...

I thought very hard about steel braided ones for a firmer pedal feel but I know two friends who’s braided lines hid the defects / leaks and one had his go pop on the track in his S2K. The rubber on stock hoses perishes slowly and shows defects. The Teflon used in braided hoses goes all of a sudden. Or so I’m told. Either way new ones will feel better and make me feel better than the old rubber that came off. Note to self, never use old rubbers!

Finally, given the obscene costs from the US and the fact that the PO had twisted / crushed one of the hard lines, I decided to have a go at making some.

This is the old one and I can see why it had started leaking (and I now know where that leak was coming from)! One of the flares has disappeared into the nut - very likely my fault for over tightening at some point.

More of that after tomorrow’s maximum effort hour!

 

[Makesy]

Amazed what you manage to achieve in 1.5 hours Ali. It usually takes me that long to figure out what needs doing next!

 

[AliK]

Amazed what you manage to achieve in 1.5 hours Ali. It usually takes me that long to figure out what needs doing next!

Thank you sir, but it’s probably because I lay in bed at night thinking about it and planning so that when I get there it’s all action!! Oh and finding where the heck I put that small something that was put somewhere safe!!

I forgot to mention I managed to make one of these - but not being happy with the tool, I’m returning it and getting a different one.

Managed to damage the seal on one of my callipers while cleaning it up last night before bed, so the very kind Mr Toopey has mailed me a spare set. He’s a top man, no matter what they say![emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

Every day is a bit like Christmas at the moment with a new parcel or three arriving: today’s excitement was brake hoses and ball joints. Playing with them hit home how utterly FUBAR my existing ones are. Can’t wait to drive the car again and feel the difference.

So to today’s maximum effort 3.5 hours:

For a giggle I spent a couple of mins experimenting with “Saudi Prince super car” look callipers ! The are very bling and I laughed a lot but strangely they have grown on me - don’t fear, they won’t go near my car like that.

Today’s job was to get as much prep work done before the shocks arrive - which have today landed at Stanstead! And I should see them by the weekend I hope!! Need to pull my finger out. Oh and let’s hope MSA have sent the correct ones for my car.

Having de-rusted and rust converted the driver side strut, I was wondering how the heck to get the gland nut off. My plumbing tools weren’t really doing it, so I opted to make a tool; Using an old very strong bracket, a step drill bit, M5 drill bit and 4 x 8.8 bolts.

The holes in my gland nut have a sticky out bit that wouldn’t give me leverage, so I created my own holes:

And here with the tool on

The big bolt was for leverage with a breaker bar but it wasn’t required in the end.

I then had to hold the strut body tightly - what better way than bolting it to the garage floor:

Now I have a permanent strut holding station

Two taps with the blue hammer and it was spinning like a ballerina - out came the busted tockico blue complete with the oil it’s supposed to have in the strut tube. A very happy moment!!

Knowing how well it worked and how deep to go, on the next gland nut I won’t go that deep and drill the shock itself [emoji15][emoji33]

Meanwhile, I got the third and last coat of the magic POR potion on the underside and the steering / suspension components as well as the now happy strut assembly - which I feel may have been overdone but I will hopefully never have to look at it again now.

I then set about dismantling the other strut tube by first drilling out the splash guard and filing huge amounts of rust from behind it.

Bed time !! Munchkins were up at 05:30 this morning demanding breakfast and attention!!

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Super Mario completed a lot of levels today!

 

[Makesy]

This build malarkey is all very well and good Ali....


...but what free fridge magnets did you get with your Rockauto order?

The people need to know!

 

[AliK]

This build malarkey is all very well and good Ali....


...but what free fridge magnets did you get with your Rockauto order?

The people need to know!

Too funny!!! I had several but this I thought went well on the family side of the fridge!!!

Another day, another parcel but a very exciting one!!

Yesterday started off looking like Christmas !!

I wasted a little time comparing my steering gaiter boots and while the Montego one was a perfect fit at the ends, it rubbed on the knuckle by where the track rod end ball joint is. So I gave up the experiment and went with the Peugeot one.

And I hate the way it compresses as it’s too long.

Onto more exciting things. Three things that didn’t go smoothly as planned:

Firstly, numpty boy ordered two left handed tie rod ends but the kind Mr Franky is coming to the rescue on that one. Oh and I managed to order the most expensive ball joints on RoackAuto (ACdelco brand) which are the only ones without a grease nipple! [emoji849] Lets see how long they last but at least it’s an easy procedure.

Secondly, the Roackauto supplied Moog shock absorber dust covers / gaitors are hard plastic and don’t fit - so they are going back! At least the old ones at the front are OK. What is everyone else using? The dimensions on the rubber ones are 67 mouth, 54 mouth, 170 length (all in mm).

Thirdly, Getting the near side ball joint on became a ball ache as the FSM says the bolt should be at a max of 51 lb ft but it sheered at around 39 on the digital torque wrench.

So after cursing and crying, out came the inner Deadpool ...

... lots of drilling and dithering sound effects, a sugary cuppa and it finally came out without any damage to the threads.

Now with faith shaken in the AC Delco supplied bolts I went through my bolt tin and found 10.9 grade bolts that I replaced on my previous Audis (4 of which are totally unused from ARB bush replacements). Sure, they won’t look stock when someone jacks the car up but I don’t care for that when it comes to my safety.

Putting the Audi ones in, I realised that is a HECK of a lot of torque for a little bolt and stopped at 30lbft - with the green threadlock, I doubt it will be moving any time soon!!

Here are the front shocks next to a rear shock for comparison.

I modified my tool slightly and tapped it so the bigger bolt of the two locks in place with a nut.

The two bolts are such a perfect fit for the Koni gland nuts that it needs a light tap of the hammer to seat them on and the “tool” now holds itself on.

The spec says 89lbft so i equated that to three heavy hits with the hammer

Huston, Strut 1 has landed!!

Strut 2 has been coated in the magic PORtion15 and I thoroughly cleaned up the insides of the strut dust covers that I will reuse. Throttle body cleaner and micro fiver cloth did an amazing job

I gave the underside of the car the final coat of the stone chip protection as the POR isn’t UV stable. Quite like the finish but it puts the rest of the car to shame. Give it one wet trip and it’ll all look the same!

With both ball joints and one tie rod on the car, I may yet be able to get both struts in today. I will likely use the old track rod end while awaiting Mr Franky’s rescue package. At least I can get the car down onto it’s wheels and start on the rear.


Now what to do with gold!? [emoji1787]

 

[peter_s]

Looking really good! Keep it up!

 

[jonbills]

They must be the clubs best travelled track rod ends!

 

[Rob Gaskin]

They must be the clubs best travelled track rod ends!

No I did 80k miles with those on my 370Z.

 

[bigh]

Love the build thread Ali, so much useful info here, and inspiration to us new guys about to venture down this road.

Nice work, that POR15 is a great product, have used it myself over the years, but very expensive, they also do a black chassis paint, alas equally as expensive.

 

[AliK]

Looking really good! Keep it up!

Thanks Peter - have to admit, today I’m a bit fed up with it and just want it done now. But it’s close, so I should be patient!

They must be the clubs best travelled track rod ends!

Do you know a more local place to source these chap?

Love the build thread Ali, so much useful info here, and inspiration to us new guys about to venture down this road.

Nice work, that POR15 is a great product, have used it myself over the years, but very expensive, they also do a black chassis paint, alas equally as expensive.

Thanks dude, you are too kind, but glad it’s useful. I’m a minnow compared with the greats like Richie, Franky, IbanezDan, Candyred, atomman, JohnyMD et al (too many to name) who are doing incredible work. I wish I had a fraction of their patience, ability and tenacity.

Today’s post homeschooling efforts were frustratingly slow as every time I got set up I had to run back into the garage with all the tools until the next shower passed overhead.

Got both struts on and bolted up, but forgot to drill out the remaining two splash plate bolts - it may end up being easier in situ.

I did have to rebuild the first strut 3 times as I kept messing up by leaving bits off etc.

I worry that I have an over greasing fetish, but the way I look at it is, it won’t go dry anytime soon! There was little grease and pretty dry at that when I took them out.

The bling clipper does crack me up every time I see it! Would look horrendous on the car.

Oh and I got this bad boy on ...

I have to say, I’m not fully sold on the idea of not having something soft there but also I do think it will sort out a lot of my juddering under hard braking and what I found shocking at how much it was acting as an “ARB spring” preciously (a few posts ago). While paying for shipping, I had to have a go - if nothing else as a relatively cheap learning experiment. Having said that, the poly bush that was there before was really not softer when I five it the bite test!

Made way better brake lines with my new tool.

Tomorrow I may set about changing the front bearings. If I find the enthusiasm for it, it would mean that everything on the front axle has been refreshed, serviced or renewed (barring suspension arms, brake pads and discs).

 

[Makesy]

Thanks Peter - have to admit, today I’m a bit fed up with it and just want it done now. But it’s close, so I should be patient!



Do you know a more local place to source these chap?



Thanks dude, you are too kind, but glad it’s useful. I’m a minnow compared with the greats like Richie, Franky, IbanezDan, Candyred, atomman, JohnyMD et al (too many to name) who are doing incredible work. I wish I had a fraction of their patience, ability and tenacity.

Today’s post homeschooling efforts were frustratingly slow as every time I got set up I had to run back into the garage with all the tools until the next shower passed overhead.

Got both struts on and bolted up, but forgot to drill out the remaining two splash plate bolts - it may end up being easier in situ.

I did have to rebuild the first strut 3 times as I kept messing up but leaving bits off etc.

I worry that I have an over greasing fetish, but the way I look at it is, it won’t go dry anytime soon! There was little grease and pretty dry at that when I took them out.

The bling clipper does crack me up every time I see it! Would look horrendous on the car.

Made way better brake lines with my new tool.

Good work Ali.

What brake line fittings did you use?

I ask because I bought a bunch on Rockauto for (probably) way over the odds for when the time comes to replace mine.

 

[AliK]

Good work Ali.

What brake line fittings did you use?

I ask because I bought a bunch on Rockauto for (probably) way over the odds for when the time comes to replace mine.

Thanks dude - not sure what you mean by fittings?

I did a mix of Audi bolts and original ones in the end if that is what you mean!? I decided that the small ball joint ones (the one I sheered) doesn’t need the crazy FSM torque and will hold just fine with thread lock and around 30lbft.

On the compression rods I used the 10.9 grade Audi bolts that are used on the A4’s ARB to drop links and also on the lower rear shock absorber to body mounting points. They were the perfect size! The jury is out on whether they should be 8.8 or 10.9 as the former is more flexible and less likely to sheer. But I figure if Audi think it’s worth using 10.9 everywhere on the high stress parts, then it’s good enough for me!

 

[Makesy]

Sorry, I meant the brake line fittings.

Mine were inverted flares but found them difficult to obtain in the UK

 

[toopy]

Have most of the larger bolts come loose without too much grief or have you had to use the impact driver on everything?

I still haven't bought one yet, am considering this https://www.amazon.co.uk/VonHaus-Electric-Impact-Wrench-Driver/dp/B06XKLYQZW which i think you may have looked at as well.

 

[AliK]

Sorry, I meant the brake line fittings.

Mine were inverted flares but found them difficult to obtain in the UK

Sorry chap! I was writing this with eyes shut under the duvet! I misread. I bought the nickle / copper mix pipe and fittings off Amazon. Not sure what an inverted flare is. I know of bubble flares that you see at the end of the fuel pump and fuel rails and the double flare which is what I’m showing you above.

Have most of the larger bolts come loose without too much grief or have you had to use the impact driver on everything?

I still haven't bought one yet, am considering this https://www.amazon.co.uk/VonHaus-Electric-Impact-Wrench-Driver/dp/B06XKLYQZW which i think you may have looked at as well.

Firstly Mr T, thank you so very much for the speedy posting of the seals - they were on the doorstep yesterday going arf arrf arrf! [emoji12] I’ll be feeding them pistons today. Dad joke alert!!

I bought the Clarke one for about £80 off machine mart.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cew1000-electric-impact-wrench/

With hind sight, I would have preferred the Von Haus as it has a speed controller. At the time I was looking at getting 40 year old flywheel bolts off so I didn’t care much for speed control. The good thing with Amazon is, if you don’t like the tools you can send it back for a refund.

The only nuts I used the unpaid driver on were the ball joint to steering arm nuts and getting the shock absorber tip nuts off. Unlike other shocks, you must not use the impact wrench in the Konis though. The rest were pretty easy to get off. I worry about impact wrenching off small rust laden bolts as them may just sheer.

11:00 and just got outta bed! Not a good night of sleep last night note to self - don’t have kids again!!

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Hi Ali, you often mention the conflict between child responsibilities and jobs achieved on your car. You might like to know that I did a hell of a lot more work on my cars when I had young children (3) - like you are doing. I was a good dad but also had lots of energy and motivation. I was also a competitive runner during the same period and as I got older they started running too.

Trust me when you get older your work-rate slows down. You are at your prime of life enjoy it all.

ps I know you have a good balance and you should take the above with a pinch of salt (whatever that means).

 

[AliK]

Hi Ali, you often mention the conflict between child responsibilities and jobs achieved on your car. You might like to know that I did a hell of a lot more work on my cars when I had young children (3) - like you are doing. I was a good dad but also had lots of energy and motivation. I was also a competitive runner during the same period and as I got older they started running too.

Trust me when you get older your work-rate slows down. You are at your prime of life enjoy it all.

ps I know you have a good balance and you should take the above with a pinch of salt (whatever that means).

Hey Rob - thanks for the advice sir - I do genuinely appreciate it!!

I know what you mean about the work rate as I used to get so much more done just 15 years ago.

While I moan about the kids, I do love every second of being with them. Little monkeys were complaining today that I think too much about the Z - “I thought we were the most important thing to you, so you should spend ALLLLL your time with us”. They know how to get you! Nevermind the fact that I spend my entire days with them during the week.

So virtually zero progress today as it was raining and I spent quite a bit of time with the monkeys talking Minecraft!

I made up these two brake lines, only to realise, while they work well on stock callipers, on my S12W ones they have to be much shorter. I had templates them on the good one of the two that came off the car. That one was made of copper and bent about a fair bit by the PO.

I did make the next one up out of pure copper pipe as it’s much easier to manipulate and came up with this.

I still don’t like the design so I’m going to change the U shape to be vertical as that makes it much easier to move about while fitting, I think.

Cupronickel, as i understand, is generally considered to be the choice for brake lines but having worked with it, I’m worried it may be too hard and may damage the insides of the callipers when tightening to get a good seal. Copper on the other hand would deform more easily and potentially form a better seal.

I am also told that in high vibration applications copper will be more likely to degrade versus the cupronickel.

What are your thoughts guys?

 

[Huw]

Cupronickel won’t damage your callipers. Original brake lines were steel and that’s harder. If you have made your pipe end flares properly then there should be no issue with achieving a good seal.

Cupronickel is pretty much corrosion free and has a higher burst pressure than copper pipe. Copper also work hardens and will split if repeatedly stressed - brake lines will do that due to hydraulic pressure. So no I would not use copper on a safety system such as brakes. That’s just my opinion btw.

I would use cupronickel as it’s cheap and easy to work. However, if I were to redo my braking system again I would use stainless steel tubing. But thats much harder to work with than cupronickel.