Update time...
Last updates were about me checking the brakes/bearings (and generally feeling like a lousy mechanic) and having been away driving old Daf cars for a day. I think I may have told you about setting a date for the alignment, as I felt that maybe some of the brake pull would be caused by misalignment after having exchanged the steering rack and this would help with further diagnosis.
Though I was determined to have some things happen after ordering parts, things got a little tight so not all parts were ordered. At least the alignment took place!
I went to a local business that I know also specialises in Oldtimers when alignment is concerned. Not the cheapest, but supposedly the best. Also pretty close by so not too long a trip for the bearings that I still had trouble trusting.
The alignment guy was very cheerful when I arrived. The guy owns a survivor Granada MkII 2.3 that has been in his life his whole life via grandfather and a friend eventually ending up with him as he'd hate to see the car go anywhere else. It's supposedly never welded, but has known a few scapes and accidents so has had an early 80ies respray and later models bumpers fitted as an upgrade. Something the current owner now has mixed feelings about. The MkII bumpers would be model correct, but in the car's life story the MkIII bumpers are part of the story. Great looking car only let down by a few dings that paintless dent removal would probably get sorted eassily. Yes, I'm that type of person, lol.... Sorry.
So upon rolling in I was greated...
This was his survivor...
And side by side while the granada was being worked on...
All through the alignment we had a good time. He showed me everything and explained everything as he could see by the level of workmanship I could appreciate that and I think it was a way for him to add value to the experience. This guy at least takes pride in his work still.
The front was out enough to have caused unpredictable driving behaviour. I told him the car seemed to track fine except while braking. With the front wheels aligned, he showed me what in his opinion could contribute to that and the pull I had experienced upon braking. The replacement rack I have put in seems to have worn steering rods. The balls on the end at the rack side have worn and on the left there's a very slight play, but on the right the play is pretty severe. He says I should replace these before the next MOT, but that is 1,5 years away so I have some time... He expected that play to be at least part of the cause for my brake pull.
The alignment computer told the guy that the rear was non-adjustable, but 14 years ago the guy who was there knew that the rear was adjustable and I knew from last alignment elsewhere that the rear was adjustable as well. So I told him the rear was adjustable and that it had an eccentric disc fitted to aid alignment. When he checked he saw I was right and in disbelief he checked his own car out as well only to now notice the same setup. So he set those as well, needed very very little adjustment. But details like this make the job perfect.
With the alignment now done the best he could, it was time to pay up and try it out. The brake pull is less pronounced now and the car feels very solidly planted on the road.
I'm a bit miffed that my rack again needs work, but this jon should be doable with it in the car. Although I'm in doubt about saving up for a 400 euro "new" replacement (description doesn't say rebuilt) and doing all that work again or just going for new steering rods.
Some time after that SamJ contacted me to see if I'd still appreciate some help on the Granada. Despite not being able to do all I planned to do, I really wanted him to have a look at the wheel bearings. Well that day was yesterday...
So with the car prepped outside, Sam and I set to work checking out the bearings. Upon removal the grease directly in contact with the bearings had grayed all to different extents. The rest of the grease being nice and clean. I still feel the gease was a little runny given how it had worked its way from under the cap onto the hub. And the bearings themselves despite definitly carefull packing looked rather light on grease. But on the other hand not damaged. There was also no further proof of runny grease inside the hubs themselves. The grease was still where I put it. As the grayed grease was sitting uneasy with me and I had new bearings anyway, we put those in. Although Sam didn't see anything to suspect the old bearings had been overloaded in any way. There was no blueing or other kind of discolouration and no visible wear marks on the rotating parts.
We used a different type of grease that felt less runny while applying. And this time Sam packed the bearings, But seeing what and how he did it and how much or little grease he used made me feel sure I had not done anything wrong in that department. Same when he adjusted them. We both had a good feel and you could feel even a hair of a turn having effect. In the end the bearings were set feeling exactly the same as when I last did them. Doing the screwdriver vs washer test also felt the same. So this built some confidence and by now the only thing I doubted was the suitability of the previous grease.
While Sam was working on one side I finished off the other by cleaning all mating surfaces and putting the wheel back on. I also extended the original temp sender wire to test if the temp gauge would show temp as we tested the car. A final check of how nicely the wheels turned was done and they roll on beautifully.
With the car back together I took Sam for a drive. We put in some fuel and I showed Sam how "fast" the granada was. Or at least feels. Not being too gentle with the car so to mimic my usual drving in this car. I so have to watch out to not become a traffic hooligan... After a short run we stopped to feel the wheels for heat as I'd noticed that a short but spirited drive before lead to rather warm wheels and hubs. Now after this drive they seemed a lot less warm, though you could feel they'd warmed a little. This felt a lot more normal. Temp gauge still didn't register. Which in a way is funny because with the wrong sender in it used to read over all the time.
Well, that will be for another day. I'll now plan on buying the last couple of things and see if we can find room in our schedules to meet up again. But at least I now trust the mechanicals fully. I will give her some miles and see how things develop.
But as it's an old car there's still a list of things to do...
- The drivers side door won't easily close. When pulled or pushed closed it usually doesn't fully latch. The harder you push or pull the less likely to work. A gentle short pull or push works best. In warm weather this is not a problem.
- The aftermarket motors for the central locking have issues with their micro switches. From the drivers side it unlocks and sends a signal to the other side, but upon locking it doesn't. The motor on the other side doesn't signal back at all.
These are jobs where the door panels need to be removed and I kind of dread that. The board is relatively soft and the clips relatively strong, but I have a proper tool to undo them so should be okay. I have a set of new motors laying around already.
- The prop shaft needs to be removed and the front section replaced. The one on the car now was lengthened witha lump of iron that fit the purpose, but I feel it causes noise at higher speeds.
A quick and easy job in itself. A new front half is present as well.
- Gauge cluster: temp gauge circuit check as it does not read from the sender. Mechanical oil pressure gauge to plumb in.
The temp sender thing can't be difficult as the circuit is simple. But for now it baffles me. The mechanical oil gauge is more difficult. I need to shorten the line, but I can't get the fitting back on to the end of the line. It just wont go. Heating the line, cooling the fitting, nothing works. Also I need to find out what to order to plumb in someting so I can have two take offs. One where the original sender can screw in and one where the oil line fitting can screw on. I'm for now unsure of what to buy in what threads etc. I shoud try and see on my spare engine.
- Address the floormat situation.
I need to get some mats made up or ordered up to go over my carpet as I went too cheap and it is showing wear. Thankfully I made these as separate pieces so if I ever want to redo this it's pretty easy.
- Make cubbies in the back and wire in the power feeds for phones and what not.
I'd like to do this in glasfiber, but as of yet not quite sure how to approach this. I'm contemplating making a wire frame and covering that with a panty or t-shirt or something.
- Put in centre rings on the wheels and add centre caps.
Check measurements and order rings. Same for the caps. This was one of those things that needed to wait for some finances. At the rear I need to have some spacers 3d printed as the spindle sticks out 3-5mm from the mating face of the centre cap. Should be able to get that doen at work after having done the math.
And I believe that is well and truly it for this car to make it perfect. Well for what it is now. Oh, and a good clean/polish/wax.
Long term I would like to either take the engine out and regasket but at 280k km's ideally I'd like to build a spare and swap out. But the 280k one hasn't exploded yet even at high revs as Sam experienced yesterday.
No pics of our work together. It's nothing new except for the blue colour grease, which I hadn't expected but liked for some reason and we were more focussed on getting it done without it taking all afternoon as Sam was kind enough to donate time to this cause from his own busy life.
Thanks again Sam. I'll try and be a better host next time as I realised we dove so into work I forgot to even offer you anything to drink...
Last updates were about me checking the brakes/bearings (and generally feeling like a lousy mechanic) and having been away driving old Daf cars for a day. I think I may have told you about setting a date for the alignment, as I felt that maybe some of the brake pull would be caused by misalignment after having exchanged the steering rack and this would help with further diagnosis.
Though I was determined to have some things happen after ordering parts, things got a little tight so not all parts were ordered. At least the alignment took place!
I went to a local business that I know also specialises in Oldtimers when alignment is concerned. Not the cheapest, but supposedly the best. Also pretty close by so not too long a trip for the bearings that I still had trouble trusting.
The alignment guy was very cheerful when I arrived. The guy owns a survivor Granada MkII 2.3 that has been in his life his whole life via grandfather and a friend eventually ending up with him as he'd hate to see the car go anywhere else. It's supposedly never welded, but has known a few scapes and accidents so has had an early 80ies respray and later models bumpers fitted as an upgrade. Something the current owner now has mixed feelings about. The MkII bumpers would be model correct, but in the car's life story the MkIII bumpers are part of the story. Great looking car only let down by a few dings that paintless dent removal would probably get sorted eassily. Yes, I'm that type of person, lol.... Sorry.
So upon rolling in I was greated...
This was his survivor...
And side by side while the granada was being worked on...
All through the alignment we had a good time. He showed me everything and explained everything as he could see by the level of workmanship I could appreciate that and I think it was a way for him to add value to the experience. This guy at least takes pride in his work still.
The front was out enough to have caused unpredictable driving behaviour. I told him the car seemed to track fine except while braking. With the front wheels aligned, he showed me what in his opinion could contribute to that and the pull I had experienced upon braking. The replacement rack I have put in seems to have worn steering rods. The balls on the end at the rack side have worn and on the left there's a very slight play, but on the right the play is pretty severe. He says I should replace these before the next MOT, but that is 1,5 years away so I have some time... He expected that play to be at least part of the cause for my brake pull.
The alignment computer told the guy that the rear was non-adjustable, but 14 years ago the guy who was there knew that the rear was adjustable and I knew from last alignment elsewhere that the rear was adjustable as well. So I told him the rear was adjustable and that it had an eccentric disc fitted to aid alignment. When he checked he saw I was right and in disbelief he checked his own car out as well only to now notice the same setup. So he set those as well, needed very very little adjustment. But details like this make the job perfect.
With the alignment now done the best he could, it was time to pay up and try it out. The brake pull is less pronounced now and the car feels very solidly planted on the road.
I'm a bit miffed that my rack again needs work, but this jon should be doable with it in the car. Although I'm in doubt about saving up for a 400 euro "new" replacement (description doesn't say rebuilt) and doing all that work again or just going for new steering rods.
Some time after that SamJ contacted me to see if I'd still appreciate some help on the Granada. Despite not being able to do all I planned to do, I really wanted him to have a look at the wheel bearings. Well that day was yesterday...
So with the car prepped outside, Sam and I set to work checking out the bearings. Upon removal the grease directly in contact with the bearings had grayed all to different extents. The rest of the grease being nice and clean. I still feel the gease was a little runny given how it had worked its way from under the cap onto the hub. And the bearings themselves despite definitly carefull packing looked rather light on grease. But on the other hand not damaged. There was also no further proof of runny grease inside the hubs themselves. The grease was still where I put it. As the grayed grease was sitting uneasy with me and I had new bearings anyway, we put those in. Although Sam didn't see anything to suspect the old bearings had been overloaded in any way. There was no blueing or other kind of discolouration and no visible wear marks on the rotating parts.
We used a different type of grease that felt less runny while applying. And this time Sam packed the bearings, But seeing what and how he did it and how much or little grease he used made me feel sure I had not done anything wrong in that department. Same when he adjusted them. We both had a good feel and you could feel even a hair of a turn having effect. In the end the bearings were set feeling exactly the same as when I last did them. Doing the screwdriver vs washer test also felt the same. So this built some confidence and by now the only thing I doubted was the suitability of the previous grease.
While Sam was working on one side I finished off the other by cleaning all mating surfaces and putting the wheel back on. I also extended the original temp sender wire to test if the temp gauge would show temp as we tested the car. A final check of how nicely the wheels turned was done and they roll on beautifully.
With the car back together I took Sam for a drive. We put in some fuel and I showed Sam how "fast" the granada was. Or at least feels. Not being too gentle with the car so to mimic my usual drving in this car. I so have to watch out to not become a traffic hooligan... After a short run we stopped to feel the wheels for heat as I'd noticed that a short but spirited drive before lead to rather warm wheels and hubs. Now after this drive they seemed a lot less warm, though you could feel they'd warmed a little. This felt a lot more normal. Temp gauge still didn't register. Which in a way is funny because with the wrong sender in it used to read over all the time.
Well, that will be for another day. I'll now plan on buying the last couple of things and see if we can find room in our schedules to meet up again. But at least I now trust the mechanicals fully. I will give her some miles and see how things develop.
But as it's an old car there's still a list of things to do...
- The drivers side door won't easily close. When pulled or pushed closed it usually doesn't fully latch. The harder you push or pull the less likely to work. A gentle short pull or push works best. In warm weather this is not a problem.
- The aftermarket motors for the central locking have issues with their micro switches. From the drivers side it unlocks and sends a signal to the other side, but upon locking it doesn't. The motor on the other side doesn't signal back at all.
These are jobs where the door panels need to be removed and I kind of dread that. The board is relatively soft and the clips relatively strong, but I have a proper tool to undo them so should be okay. I have a set of new motors laying around already.
- The prop shaft needs to be removed and the front section replaced. The one on the car now was lengthened witha lump of iron that fit the purpose, but I feel it causes noise at higher speeds.
A quick and easy job in itself. A new front half is present as well.
- Gauge cluster: temp gauge circuit check as it does not read from the sender. Mechanical oil pressure gauge to plumb in.
The temp sender thing can't be difficult as the circuit is simple. But for now it baffles me. The mechanical oil gauge is more difficult. I need to shorten the line, but I can't get the fitting back on to the end of the line. It just wont go. Heating the line, cooling the fitting, nothing works. Also I need to find out what to order to plumb in someting so I can have two take offs. One where the original sender can screw in and one where the oil line fitting can screw on. I'm for now unsure of what to buy in what threads etc. I shoud try and see on my spare engine.
- Address the floormat situation.
I need to get some mats made up or ordered up to go over my carpet as I went too cheap and it is showing wear. Thankfully I made these as separate pieces so if I ever want to redo this it's pretty easy.
- Make cubbies in the back and wire in the power feeds for phones and what not.
I'd like to do this in glasfiber, but as of yet not quite sure how to approach this. I'm contemplating making a wire frame and covering that with a panty or t-shirt or something.
- Put in centre rings on the wheels and add centre caps.
Check measurements and order rings. Same for the caps. This was one of those things that needed to wait for some finances. At the rear I need to have some spacers 3d printed as the spindle sticks out 3-5mm from the mating face of the centre cap. Should be able to get that doen at work after having done the math.
And I believe that is well and truly it for this car to make it perfect. Well for what it is now. Oh, and a good clean/polish/wax.
Long term I would like to either take the engine out and regasket but at 280k km's ideally I'd like to build a spare and swap out. But the 280k one hasn't exploded yet even at high revs as Sam experienced yesterday.
No pics of our work together. It's nothing new except for the blue colour grease, which I hadn't expected but liked for some reason and we were more focussed on getting it done without it taking all afternoon as Sam was kind enough to donate time to this cause from his own busy life.
Thanks again Sam. I'll try and be a better host next time as I realised we dove so into work I forgot to even offer you anything to drink...
