Benn's on going build

[nova_niek]

Benn, your updates are never boring mate. I love how you took the steering rack out just because you can. To me, that would be a challenge of epic proportions but to you it's just another 5 minute job. Hero.

[Benn]

haha it was tho.
I have a rack i'm slowly rebuilding so might as well done it while there is the extra space. It wasnt a 5min job tho. Due to the car being right over to the drivers side in the garage (so i can work on the Gbox side) Getting to the track rob end was a nightmare. Had to lay over the engine, with my arm just tucked backwards in to the arch behind the wheel. I might of sworn a few times. Cheers too Niek.

Next bit of update,

One dirty box...







2 paint brushes, 3lts of hyper clean degreaser and a few sprays of my very very expensive wheel cleaner and a jet wash in the dark...







Hhhmm think it's been opened before.




Things learnt from today.

Holding a F28 in your arms above nipple height down the side of your nova in your single garage isn't easy!

[Benn]

More gearbox fun today... Well kinda.


Take ome old box, strip.





Pete weiling the hammer





Oh that is very minging in there. Thick dirty oil..





Here is why you dont use rtv on the mating surfaces...





Cause all it does it squeese out the sides...





Do the same to the new box... Standard diff removed.





Ooo show me what you got...





Swap the diffs over in to the nice clean box..





Time to seal the boxes back together with 0.0 glue/sealant.








Put the two parts of box back together bolt back up... Luckly Pete stopped the check all the gears where lining up...
oh good they dont. Que taking the box apart 4times... then end up all of us staring in to the box not understanding why there is no 3/4 gears...


After much head scraching pete noticed a odd bit of casing in the bottom.. turn the box over to look at the end plate. Hhhmm why is one bolt different?! Looks like some one has wound a bolt in the too long breaking a bit of casring away that is now stopping me getting 3/4! F**king great.
So Pete has offered to swap all the gears over in to my old box, to make one good for two... Delaying things more so.


Big thanks to Pete for stripping my boxes over and over.

[Iain]

Weld, drill and helicoil the casing?

[bazzap8389]

Any pics of the broken part?

[Benn]

Weld, drill and helicoil the casing?

Casing is the issues really.. It's the bit stuck in the gears... The bolt would prob make a ok seal with something on the threads. But gotta find the broken kit, which means gears out...

Any pics of the broken part?

Where it's broken from? Or the bit? I'll get a pic of the bit when we find it...

[bazzap8389]

I was just curious to see if it was repairable or not.

[Benn]

As said, the bolt will make it water tight, chemical metal i'd think would repair it... I'll get you a pic.

[Benn]

While the gearbox is away I've tried to get a few bits done. Well after a lil holiday..


I wanted to renew everything on the rack before refitting it. Finding steering arms in a good make was looking tricky. ( i like these Moog ones are they are a good make, well made, the ends are thicker than most with a more enclosed ball joint cover) Then i found one... Few months late a 2nd. Had a plan of getting them chromed... Took them to the chromed, open the boxes and find i've got two different. Looks like some greasy mech has had two boxes open and then put the wrong arm back in the wrong box... Queue the search for another.
Finally find one. Not i dont really have time to get them chromed as my chromer is very busy and i wanna get cracking.
They come in black, but the finish isnt great so...


Flatted back..





This is where i find one arm has been lost... Either here or while at work.. GGrr so start searching again. No one has anything.


Painted the arm i did have. Much better finish.





In the mean time i stripped a arm from my old rack.. Sanded and painted that too.
But i wasn't happy with fitting all new and one old arm... OCD/just wanted all new. Luckly the one i've ordered about 6 times has finally come in! Yay!





Got them home, sanded and painted...





Rod ends where the same, in a lose light coat of paint.. Couldn't have that.
Sanded back..








Painted. Look better i think.








So now i can build my rack up and get that fitted all in.


Also got the chassis leg and bit of bulk head (i wasn't happy with the finish there so..) Painted.







Bit of good news is my F28 isnt as damaged as we thought. Bit of it was dry and not lining up. So My differ is now going in to better geared box. Which i could be collecting over the weekend and dropping to be painted next week.

[kevster]

Nice work mate