1972 Granada Mk1 coupe build - Still going... 14-10-2024

[ivan141]

Such a letdown, sorry this had to happen to you Alex.
Perhaps some more local (shorter) drives are in order for proper shakedown, but I'm afraid a lot of these
mechanical mishaps will always be lurking when you've taken a car apart completely.

I'm with Thomas on the bearing adjustment, cant imagine a torque wrench being of any use on the cars I've done
the bearings on (my AE86 and the Volvo 360). I was taught by a Volvo dealer senior mechanic to tighten until there
was no more play, but you cant really feel this by pulling on the disk, you need to mount a wheel and grab it at the 12
and 6 o clock positions, then give it a feel (avoids slop in the steering interfering with your observation, and boy did
the 360 have some of that).
After that you take it for a drive and do the whole thing over again (check if the wheel doesnt get hot and if it hasnt developed
any new play). I know you're a capable mechanic so sorry if I bore you with this but you never know what tip might come in handy.

[eurogranada]

Jun 17, 2019 6:42:46 GMT ivan141 said:

Such a letdown, sorry this had to happen to you Alex.
Perhaps some more local (shorter) drives are in order for proper shakedown, but I'm afraid a lot of these
mechanical mishaps will always be lurking when you've taken a car apart completely.

I'm with Thomas on the bearing adjustment, cant imagine a torque wrench being of any use on the cars I've done
the bearings on (my AE86 and the Volvo 360). I was taught by a Volvo dealer senior mechanic to tighten until there
was no more play, but you cant really feel this by pulling on the disk, you need to mount a wheel and grab it at the 12
and 6 o clock positions, then give it a feel (avoids slop in the steering interfering with your observation, and boy did
the 360 have some of that).
After that you take it for a drive and do the whole thing over again (check if the wheel doesnt get hot and if it hasnt developed
any new play). I know you're a capable mechanic so sorry if I bore you with this but you never know what tip might come in handy.

I don't consider advice boring. I take from it what I feel is good to take from it and ignore what I feel I can ignore. But it's always aprreciated.

The car had made about 10 to 15 trips in the region of 10 to 30km. Never had an indication anything was wrong. The wheel bearing either did not get loud or the exhaust note has fully overcome the sound.

[eurogranada]

So, just got an update from the home front. My car was delivered home on a flatbed three car loader. Being last one on/first one off.

They had wanted to start the car, but I wasn't going to allow that. Didn't give my wife much trouble when she had to tell the man. I said he could choose the easiest place for him to unload, but he ended up just putting it back onto my drive.

So tonight it'll be put back inside until parts have arrived.

I know I'll sleep better tonight!

[rblote]

G'day Alex

What an unfortunate thing to happen. I feel for you
I am a little confused about using a torque wrench.
When I went to trade school (LTS in Dordrecht) and tried to become a mechanic.
I remember a Opel Record, kever and a Granada we could work on.
However I can not remember ever using a torque wrench on that part of a car.
I really would look into this thing as I think that things might have been a
little to tight or lose for that matter.
Cheers mate

[eurogranada]

Got the car into the garage no problem.

PAS fluid is way down again (about half to 3/4 of an inch or between 1,5 and 2 cm). But again, no drips showing from the car underneath. So as I'm looking for spares anyway, I'll be taking those boots of after all to verify whether it did or did not go into them. If it didn't, then it has to be leaking on some connection or other. If it did, I'll be adding a MkIII steering rack to the list. Thankfully I have sources...

Slept like a log anyway though...

[spot]

The email said "Well, see RR for how I fared..." so I did!

Well curse word me, I was not expecting THAT!

I thought I'd be seeing you posing for a magazine shoot between a gaggle of beautiful ladies trying to hold onto your dignity -  or at least a runners up cup for 'most unshow-worthy engine bay'

Jun 12, 2019 12:45:55 GMT eurogranada said:

Jun 12, 2019 8:24:13 GMT spot said:

Ah rude word, I thought the boss and I would make this year too. We had planned to 'borrow' your car for the night after pulling out your tent pegs and kicking over your squat bucket!

Let me check the validity of my passport

You really have a thing for that bucket, don't you! Haha, my tent stays up without the pegs, it's just less secure but with my weigth in it, it won't be going anywhere.

I would have loved to see you (both)... and you could have just asked if you could have the car for a night on the rural villages, lol. I'd have given you the key immediately....













....would have just kept the PATS key needed to unlock the security functions.

Your car was in no danger because we had no plans to drive anywhere, we were just seeking a warm shelter for the night and to test how stainfast your interior is!

******

Joking aside. I feel for you!

Let me know if there is anyhing I can do...

[eurogranada]

Hey spot!

Yeah, well I wasn't really expecting this either. I was already polishing that best of show award in my mind, lol!

(Cocky, who me??!)


I thought I had the car properly sorted now. Ah well, I'll fix it as soon as possible. But I think I'm going to experiment a bit at the same time.

First will now be to check the steering rack gaiters. I'd so like to prove they are not full of fluid! Cause if they are not than the leaking fluid can only be leaking from some connection in the system or a cover plate or such. Also this will help determine if I need a spare or not. But my hopes aren't too high, given the fact no fluid drips are found, the logical conclusion would be that it drains into a closed area (the gaiters fitting that bill perfectly).

I still have a very slight wobble in the front wheels. I still think it's either caused by the wheels not having a proper centre ring as the hole is bigger than the hubs or by the powdercoating not being uniformly thick. So the fact that new spindles are needed means I'll source a set of spindles and hubs. Change the bearings on those for new ones as a precaution and test drive. Adding centre rings was on the list, but the powder coating throws off the fitment. Another reason for uncoated replacement hubs with just a lick of paint.

Next up I think my driveshaft needs balancing as I lengthened it 20mm. I used a thick walled heavy piece of steel that just fit the bill, but in hindsight that may not have been my smartest decision. So I'm picking up a different front section to replace mine and have that balanced.

Driving the car for 75km without the radio on at motorway speeds, means I got to judge sound levels in the cabin. And they are not what I would expect. It's very hard for me to determine if this is exhaust note or driveshaft induced. There's sort of a constant drone there. The changing of the driveshaft for a known balanced one should put a stop to any driveshaft noise so what remains should be exhaust noise. So plan is to change the current design of two direct pipes between engine downpipe (after CAT) and rear muffler back to a more original style one small muffler per side in the tube leading up to the larger rear muffler.

These are relatively low cost things to change. And it would mean she'd be on the road in a better than ever condition.

If I could add the temp gauge working and the mechanical oil pressure gauge working to the list that would be perfect. But the latter needs the fitting crimped in the line which just did not want to work for me and needs a T so both the oil pressure light sender and the mechanical feed can be installed. Hope there's room for that.

Strangely, as much as I was truly and utterly gutted last friday, a drive to get the car to the best it can be has taken possession of me. I'd like to use this weeks evenings to do some research, next week to gather parts and then the weekend after that to put the car right in stages.

Once completed, it's going to get a full shakedown. It'll start with a short trip and if that proves nothing amiss, then a long trip of at least 100-150km's. I either get stuck again, or the car passes with flying colours. If it does, I'll confirm RRG. Something I'm a little scared of right now. It's a pretty expensive trip to make and I will only do that with enough confidence in the car.



Thanks Paul, but I don't think there's much you can do. I'll source the parts and just get going. Motivation is there. The great unknown is the steering rack.

[westbay]

Alex

"I still have a very slight wobble in the front wheels. I still think it's either caused by the wheels not having a proper centre ring as the hole is bigger than the hubs.."

You need to search for "spigot rings" .... €5 - €10 ish for a set of four, depending on size etc ...

...might be the source of your bearing failure , i.e. 'uneven loading'.

[eurogranada]

Jun 18, 2019 12:43:44 GMT westbay said:

Alex

"I still have a very slight wobble in the front wheels. I still think it's either caused by the wheels not having a proper centre ring as the hole is bigger than the hubs.."

You need to search for "spigot rings" .... €5 - €10 ish for a set of four, depending on size etc ...

...might be the source of your bearing failure , i.e. 'uneven loading'.

The wheels are pulled central by the conical wheel nuts. I’ve not had problems without the rings even in the years before restoration. When the car was used daily. Also the fact that the bearing that failed was the exact one that I adjusted only weeks before is much more of a clue, lol!

The rings I would have but couldn’t buy because the powder coated surface meant they wouldn’t fit. Hence not powder coating the replacement spindles and hubs.

[eurogranada]

Another little update...


No bueno!









So, even though it was rediculously hot in the garage yesterday evening I took a stab at some of my proposed steps to bring the car to the best it can be and has even been.

First up, the rack check. As I had no drips but after my 75km drive and loads of unassisted steering handling getting the car recovered, did miss a lot of fluid, I started with jacking up the front. I cut away one of the metal straps on the passenger side (RH) gaiter and plopped it off. I was greeted with a full blown shower of fluid! Curse word curse word! Thankfully as I honestly expected nothing less I was prepared and had a catch tank underneath and myself out of harms way.

This of course is a major bummer. Leads me to believe the rebuilder just couldn't get it right and sent it off for me to discover it's just not right still. Ok, he didn't charge me either... But still in reality I paid 400 euro's or something 3 years ago to have something fixed that hasn't lasted even a 1000km's or 3 years of hardly using it. And I now have to find a spare from a later more reliable model and adapt the hoses to suit the application. Finding a non leaky rack may prove hard. Buying new is possible but including shipping I'd be out a 1000 euro's as I don't have a rebuildable core.




So with that at least confirmed for peace of mind, I went on to the next job. I thought it be handy to have the car rolling on a bearing again. So I located the original set I took out when I did the bearings a couple of years ago as part of the rebuild. Next I took the wheel off, took the caliper off (long hose meant it was easily put out of the way), took the hub and disc assembly off and was left with a stubb that had a bearing race melted to it.
Hamering was pointless. I used the small dremel cutting disc to cut a slit which went fine. The bearing race expanded, but was still not releasing. Some more hammering quickly proved it would require more work. I cut another slit and hammered the thing off in parts. One part came off relatively easy, the other was seriously fused with the spindle but did give in. It flew across the full length of the garage before hitting the door, lol.The damage from fusing together was clearly visible on the spindle. A new bearing might get hurt from that as well.
As that was only part one of my quest, I now set to cleaning the spindle, the hub and disc and hamering out the old damaged bearing race. All went smoothly and even hamering in the replacement went without a problem. I repacked both bearings with fresh grease and put the hub side back together and slid it on. I added the front bearing and it's washer and hubnut. All seemed well until the hubnut decided that it's threads were too damaged from having to have been undone whilst metal shavings etc. were in the way. So I couldn't tighten the hub down enough. I added the caliper back on loosely and put the wheel back on. At least it now rolls more easily.
A new nut will come with the bearing kit I'll be ordering. And the replacement hubs and spindles most like have them on as well. So I expect to be able to tighten it all down later. But at least the car is slowly movable now if need be.







Asif I wasn't already cooked for the day I still managed to look into the exhaust situation. I'm thinking I'm not going to be able to get this done without someone who can weld... It turns out it is a little harder than just cutting out a section of the straight tube and putting in a silencer. I do have two original style centre exhaust pipes lying around so I can see what type of silencer would work, but these have 45mm outside diameter connectors. The engine downpipes are 48mm inner. I have put pipes (48mm outer) into them to connect to the old 45mm tubing of the original rear silencer. For performance it may be best to build a new exhaust completely using a 48 or larger inner diameter. But although components themselves are pretty affordable I cannot make them into a fitting exhast system myself and the shape up and over the rear axle is rather complex. Not sure what to do with this, cause I don't think I know anyone who could help me with this.

I ended my evening on a parts hunt. Hopefully I'll soon hear if I can get some hubs and a steering rack.

[ivan141]

You could swing by Bastech (Hilvarenbeek) to get the exhaust done once you get it drivable again, Thomas and Dennis are regulars there.

[SamJ]

Whilst I can weld, I fear a full exhaust system - especially without the car on a lift - is beyond me... kiwiparts would be my first call - he made the roll cage for my buggy as well as doing full sports / race exhaust systems from scratch, but a bit of a trek over towards germany.

If I can be any help, let me know. I do frequent trips around belgium if you need parts picking up.

[eurogranada]

Jun 19, 2019 8:47:24 GMT ivan141 said:

You could swing by Bastech (Hilvarenbeek) to get the exhaust done once you get it drivable again, Thomas and Dennis are regulars there.

Yes, I thought of them, but I can't imagine a pro outfit fitting in my budget...

[The Doctor]

Bastech is very good value for money.

[Alpina99]

Hi Alex,
Really sorry to read of your latest issues, good news is that neither yourselves nor the car were damaged.
Just a thought, is there not an electrical power steering rack that would fit / could be adapted to fit ??
Please keep going though, we all really enjoy the updates on a stunning car,
Nigel

[eurogranada]

Jun 19, 2019 10:42:34 GMT Alpina99 said:

Hi Alex,
Really sorry to read of your latest issues, good news is that neither yourselves nor the car were damaged.
Just a thought, is there not an electrical power steering rack that would fit / could be adapted to fit ??
Please keep going though, we all really enjoy the updates on a stunning car,
Nigel

Well thanks for that Nigel. Always nice to get such a positive comment! Despite my recent troubles I still very much love the car and it is a great machine to drive. Also, quite a few people have met the car lately, and all were equally complimentary on what I had built.

On electrical PAS, there are the citroen/peugeot and vauxhall/opel corsa systems available. As far as I researched all of these have the main components under dash. Trouble in the Granada is that the dash area is rather full and there's a full cover plate there as well. Also me adding an ecu to hide, some timed relais to make the mirror fold work, central locking module etc. means that there's just so little room to work with.

But more than once I have considered going this route. For now the easier option is to source a later model rack that is leak free. This would slot in and just need some small adjustments to the lines.

Oh and rest assured I'm not giving up, despite sometimes having mojo issues as a result of the things that happen. I really want to enjoy the car for a while. But the things I've noticed so far, I want to take into account now I have to do some work anyway.

I was just informed that tomorrow my friends will see what they can offer me. And I was even told I'd get the spindles/hubs for free. The rack might be another thing entirely but I know my friends always treat me right. That is Karma at work I think.

[eurogranada]

I really do have some good friends! This morning even before work a friend dropped off a replacement propshaft that is unbutchered so I can see if any of my in car noise is actually from it.

I'll be replacing it after the spindles and hubs though, as that leaves me with a better reference to go from.

[eurogranada]

Jun 18, 2019 9:17:38 GMT spot said:

Let me know if there is anyhing I can do...

I can't seem to find my workshop manuals after my last quick sort out in the garage. Could you do me a favour and look up/scan the procedure for doing up the hub nut on the front wheels and how to replace the spindles?

On the first I don't want to repeat my mistake (if it was my mistake) and on the second I think it's pretty easy as there now is plenty of weight on the suspension, but its always good to check!

[ivan141]

Just remember to adjust it by feel instead of torqueing to a setting this time around.

[westbay]

C'mon Alex ! You can do this ... with theme from Rocky playing in background ...