Although showers were forecast for today, it was a nice day when I first got up so I decided to spend some time on the cars. Started off by popping Twinkle's front end up on the stands and checking out the play in that O/S driveshaft inner "tripod" joint. It's definitely got some radial movement in it but it's pretty minimal, hasn't changed since I last checked it but definitely more play than the one on the N/S. I briefly did some searching for a shaft last night but still can't find any suppliers with stock. Had a quick look at what it's gong to be like to remove the old shaft and it looks very conventional - The bottom ball joint is held to the lower suspension arm with three nuts and studs so I won't need to break the taper on the ball joint (Tony, the Cordoba, had bottom ball joints like this and it does make life easy) The track rod end will need to be disconnected and the main drive shaft nut undone - one use only so new nut needed - then it should be possible to tug the hub off the CV joint thus leaving the shaft hanging free. The inner joint is an ordinary looking tripod type which will come out of the final drive with a lever and a sharp "snatch" The lower edge of the oil filler plug is only very slightly higher than the bottom of the driveshaft seal so I recon I can pull the shaft without draining the box (as recommended) and only a very small amount of oil will be lost, maybe none if I can get away with only jacking up on the O/S as the oil will run over into the gearbox? I'll have my nice big metal drip tray under it just in case. All looks very doable if the circlip doesn't hang up!
Then, as I was putting her back on her wheels, the heavens opened and the rain poured down. A well, at least I got that finished, but I'd been going to do Becky's oil and some of her service. I decide to make a cup of tea and "lurk" in the garage for a wee while - the weather man said it was only going to be "showery". By the time I'd had a bit of a tidy up and drunk the tea, the rain suddenly stopped and the sun came out! Oh well, I'll try doing Becky's oil change.
The weather held, well almost, it did "spit" a couple of times but not enough to make me pack in. So I got her oil and filter done then I went on to take the calipers off, clean up the pads and caliper carriers, apply some appropriate grease and reassemble. These calipers are the type with just one slider pin at the top and a small pin with an "R" clip at the bottom. I find that if you do this simple clean up operation every year then the brakes never bind and it all stays nice and free working. The pads are known to seize in the carriers and the bottom pin too - if the bottom pin corrodes in place it's only too easy to break the little lugs it fits in and that's a real problem then. Better to spend a few minutes every year cleaning and lubricating. My top pins are also seized in the carriers and I've tried to get them out without success. So, rather than risk snapping them off, I simply slide the caliper inwards off the pin which then lets me clean the pins and lubricate them before sliding the calipers back over them again.
I noticed some time ago that inside the caliper, where the pins fit, there seems to be a couple of O rings which look like they're made from rubber, there are also rubber bellows to protect the pins from the elements. Because of the rubber I use silicone grease on these pins but I lube the brake pads and where they contact the carriers, sparingly, with ceramic grease. In years gone by I'd have reached for the copper grease but it's frowned on with ABS systems now a days. I've tried several propriety brands of ceramic grease but was finding that it didn't seem to be doing such a good job, after a year or so, as the copper grease. I'd mentioned this to Kenny at the wee Fiat garage and he said he uses Granville Ceramic Brake Grease, mainly because that's what his supplier sells, but he said he's very happy with it. So next time I was in at SRS I noticed a tube of it for sale on their retail display stand - so I bought one. This is the stuff: Amazon product ASIN B07VRCSKLZ I've been using it for maybe 18 months now and I'm very pleased with it. Becky's brakes were showing no signs of binding at all and I could see traces of the stuff I put on last year still there doing a good job. I'd be very interested to hear what you folks are all using these days?
Then it started drizzling again so I topped the screen wash up and checked the other levels, but forgot to check the transmission oil level, which I must not forget to do because she's got a very small leak at the gear selector. By now Mrs J was heckling me for the car because she wanted to go to Lidl so I closed the bonnet and rechecked the wheel nuts were tight, pumped the pads out and off she went with a warning to watch the brakes for the first few miles as I'd glaze busted the pads. As she drove away I remembered that I'd left the top of the 5 litre container of screen wash on the bonnet slam panel. It was still there some three hours later when I opened it after she'd come home! Asked about the brakes but she said they felt just like they always feel.
Apart from forgetting to check the gearbox oil level - must do that seal sometime - the only other thing I've noticed is that the O/S front tyre is wearing sightly on the inner tread band (shoulder). Noticed this when I took the wheels off to do the brakes. The suspension and steering all looks in good order, no movement in bushings or ball joints and no "funny" noises when driven. I've a wee niggly voice in the back of my head saying " when you did the front end rebuild" - Struts, springs, top mounts, etc "you checked the toe and it was slightly out, wasn't it? but you did nothing about it!" It's also noticeable, well I notice anyway, Mrs J doesn't notice anything, that the steering wheel is just a wee tad off being straight ahead when you are traveling in a straight line. There's still stuff to do to complete her service so I'll be breaking out my home made toe checking tool to see what's going on. Looking at the wear patterns - inner shoulder on the O/S front tyre slightly worn but wear on the N/S tyre is completely even - my money is on her being very slightly toed out. Should be fun sorting it out because the track rod ends and rack side rods look well "married" with rust! Oh, and the wheels are a bit rusty too so I'm going to see what it might cost for a sand blast and repaint/powder coat. I suspect I may get a bit of a shock?
Then, as I was putting her back on her wheels, the heavens opened and the rain poured down. A well, at least I got that finished, but I'd been going to do Becky's oil and some of her service. I decide to make a cup of tea and "lurk" in the garage for a wee while - the weather man said it was only going to be "showery". By the time I'd had a bit of a tidy up and drunk the tea, the rain suddenly stopped and the sun came out! Oh well, I'll try doing Becky's oil change.
The weather held, well almost, it did "spit" a couple of times but not enough to make me pack in. So I got her oil and filter done then I went on to take the calipers off, clean up the pads and caliper carriers, apply some appropriate grease and reassemble. These calipers are the type with just one slider pin at the top and a small pin with an "R" clip at the bottom. I find that if you do this simple clean up operation every year then the brakes never bind and it all stays nice and free working. The pads are known to seize in the carriers and the bottom pin too - if the bottom pin corrodes in place it's only too easy to break the little lugs it fits in and that's a real problem then. Better to spend a few minutes every year cleaning and lubricating. My top pins are also seized in the carriers and I've tried to get them out without success. So, rather than risk snapping them off, I simply slide the caliper inwards off the pin which then lets me clean the pins and lubricate them before sliding the calipers back over them again.
I noticed some time ago that inside the caliper, where the pins fit, there seems to be a couple of O rings which look like they're made from rubber, there are also rubber bellows to protect the pins from the elements. Because of the rubber I use silicone grease on these pins but I lube the brake pads and where they contact the carriers, sparingly, with ceramic grease. In years gone by I'd have reached for the copper grease but it's frowned on with ABS systems now a days. I've tried several propriety brands of ceramic grease but was finding that it didn't seem to be doing such a good job, after a year or so, as the copper grease. I'd mentioned this to Kenny at the wee Fiat garage and he said he uses Granville Ceramic Brake Grease, mainly because that's what his supplier sells, but he said he's very happy with it. So next time I was in at SRS I noticed a tube of it for sale on their retail display stand - so I bought one. This is the stuff: Amazon product ASIN B07VRCSKLZ I've been using it for maybe 18 months now and I'm very pleased with it. Becky's brakes were showing no signs of binding at all and I could see traces of the stuff I put on last year still there doing a good job. I'd be very interested to hear what you folks are all using these days?
Then it started drizzling again so I topped the screen wash up and checked the other levels, but forgot to check the transmission oil level, which I must not forget to do because she's got a very small leak at the gear selector. By now Mrs J was heckling me for the car because she wanted to go to Lidl so I closed the bonnet and rechecked the wheel nuts were tight, pumped the pads out and off she went with a warning to watch the brakes for the first few miles as I'd glaze busted the pads. As she drove away I remembered that I'd left the top of the 5 litre container of screen wash on the bonnet slam panel. It was still there some three hours later when I opened it after she'd come home! Asked about the brakes but she said they felt just like they always feel.
Apart from forgetting to check the gearbox oil level - must do that seal sometime - the only other thing I've noticed is that the O/S front tyre is wearing sightly on the inner tread band (shoulder). Noticed this when I took the wheels off to do the brakes. The suspension and steering all looks in good order, no movement in bushings or ball joints and no "funny" noises when driven. I've a wee niggly voice in the back of my head saying " when you did the front end rebuild" - Struts, springs, top mounts, etc "you checked the toe and it was slightly out, wasn't it? but you did nothing about it!" It's also noticeable, well I notice anyway, Mrs J doesn't notice anything, that the steering wheel is just a wee tad off being straight ahead when you are traveling in a straight line. There's still stuff to do to complete her service so I'll be breaking out my home made toe checking tool to see what's going on. Looking at the wear patterns - inner shoulder on the O/S front tyre slightly worn but wear on the N/S tyre is completely even - my money is on her being very slightly toed out. Should be fun sorting it out because the track rod ends and rack side rods look well "married" with rust! Oh, and the wheels are a bit rusty too so I'm going to see what it might cost for a sand blast and repaint/powder coat. I suspect I may get a bit of a shock?
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