Hi Simon,I’ve already fitted the bearing into the housing, which was pretty snug fitment

The thing at the minute is the 17mm nut that holds the pipe into the pump

I’ve already given it some effort and it didn’t move, and I don’t want to give myself another problem as I’ve had to disconnect the oil cooler pipes to get the power steering pump out

Cheers Jamie

I think what you'll end up needing to do is use the thread on the pump shaft to tow it in. Dress the shaft, add some grease, a big spacer to stop the inner race coming out, and try and pull it in?

Probably something like that Matt

I do have some ROST ice which I’ll use to see if I can get any shrinkage on the shaft

Cheers Jamie

For anyone who doesn't have access to a hydraulic press.

I used to be a mech fitter for a concrete floor company. They used ride on power floats for finishing the surface for a mirror finish for FLTs to run on. The gearboxes should get thrashed pretty regularly and out in the "field" I had to rebuild. To remove the outer race I used to run a bead of weld inside the outer race all the way around, flip the box over and go for a cuppa. When tea drunk and race cooled down it would have fallen out with gravity.

Quick picture in the google drive of the Kevlar friction plate I’ve just got back from CG Motorsports, and then onto fitting it

Also managed to get a new OE rear engine mount from Steve at Alternative autos as the original one isn’t in the best condition, so for £60 it will last another 25 years or so

Cheers Jamie

Right,jobs done today

Clutch assembly all fitted with new Kevlar friction plate

Cambelt all done, all tensioners replaced,rocker cover gasket replaced etc

managed to get the power steering pump all in with a bit of persuasion, just got to connect the pipes and fill it with fresh fluid

Changed over the new rear mount for later on in the list of jobs

Prepped and painted hub carriers, driveshafts, clutch slave cylinder bracket and the rear gearbox mount in smoothrite black (will give them all a second coat tomorrow)

Degreased the gearbox inside and out, ready for splitting the box open to start fitting the differential.

Cleaned all wishbone bolt threads ready for assembly

Won’t get much done tomorrow apart from a bit of painting

Some photos in the google drive https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bv_IyVF6GCa8Iy3VzYooOsIdeRZLHG4R

Cheers Jamie

You are a machine Jamie

I’m a sucker for punishment Simon

Cheers Jamie

Pictures incoming

Not much done this weekend, just too hot to be boiling yourself under a car

Anyway diff switch out in progress , started off pretty straightforward then I made a Freudian slip with the speedo nylon gear and I need another one. So I’ve messaged Joe for one, or I’ll have to source one elsewhere…..

Inner tie rods changed, had to buy another tie rod tool as the original one I bought was too large a diameter to work, anyway pretty easy to change with the tool

Broken gear selector mechanism changed, this is a pretty fiddly job, as you have to access it from underneath

Anyway I took some advice from Joe and reused the roller bearing, as these generic parts kits just use a bushing for this.

Cheers Jamie

Managed to get the gear selector assembly bolted back underneath the car

Fitted the missing idler tensioners as I’d struggled to source the right ones for both the AC and crankshaft (I’ve taken a photo of the box and put it in the google drive in case someone needs it)

Replaced the copper washers on the turbo oil feed pipe as there was a slight leak

Fitted the nylon speedo wheel into the gearbox (the right way round this time), just waiting for a new bearing and the gearbox will be ready to go back in.

Cheers jamie

So gearbox is now all back together, and now I have the painful task of trying to fit it on my own

I’d say the diff job is pretty straightforward (just make sure to put the speedo gear on the right way round!). The driveshaft cover plates have different spacing to control the movement position of the assembly, so you can’t get it wrong really

It costs around £800 to do in parts

I’ve got to get the engine mounts for the engine mackled back up after doing the cambelt job, this should then allow me to get the gearbox offered up

Cheers Jamie

Don't do yourself a mischief!

Hope all goes well....

Had a quick go at it Simon, but lying on my back trying to manoeuvre it, I quickly realised that I need another pair of hands. So I should have it sorted in the next week

I’m not a spring chicken anymore

Cheers Jamie

When I did mine I found it easiest to lean over the inner wing and lift it up into place from above. It was a bit of a faf, but you sort of rest it on the subframe to allow you to reset your grip and them send it home

Ah, I’ll give that a try when I have my helper

Cheers Jamie

So the gearbox is in, I’m still of the view it is the worse job to do on a coupe

I’m hoping after the weekend it’s back on the ground and I can start bedding the clutch in

Cheers Jamie

So got all the gearbox linkage and driveshafts fitted and Motul 300v gearbox oil put in

Left hand side of the car all back together apart from the wheel arch liner

Still to do

Fit the circlip for the clutch cylinder

Fit the whole exhaust system

Connect the power steering pipes and fill it with fresh fluid

Fit the drivers side hub assembly

Put the wheels on

Start her up !!!


Cheers Jamie

Well car started up first time, checked for leaks, all ok

Quick drive around the block, absolutely fine

Decided to go for a small sedate drive

Car feels brand new as everything has been changed

Drove for about 15 miles, then…….

Disaster,got the car recovered home

Cambelt tensioner has failed, quick check of timing looks like it’s 5 or so teeth out, so I’m expecting to need all 20 valves

So top end rebuild is the next job

Quick shout out to Joe for some solid advice, who knows more than most folks

So I’ll do a full top end refresh, and change the big end shells as a precaution

A not so happy Jamie

Really crap. I am sorry to hear that.

I’m more annoyed that I’ve taken the time to change everything, have done more than 100 cambelt over the years and never had any problems

Initially I wondered if I’d simply not tightened the securing nut for the cambelt tensioner correctly

But when I checked today, everything was tight and the centre of the tensioner was loose

As I haven’t taken the everything to bits yet, I can’t fully understand/diagnose why it went wrong

But rest assured I won’t buy a SKF tensioner again

Next kit will be a Gates kit

Thanks Jamie

I do understand your frustration, I really do. The marks (or makes) we all used to trust seem to have all lost their value. I used to swear by Gates belts but have recently found them to be lacking. Sometimes it really does just come down to bad luck. All the best with the repairs.

Cheers Clanger

In the words of Arnie

‘I’ll be back’ or the car will

Cheers Jamie

As far as I’m aware and from what I’ve seen, all the tensioners in the coupe kit are made in Canada by a company called litens, so I don’t believe a change of kit will help if the tensioner was at fault

Adam

That's a stinger Jamie, feel for you. Disappointing to hear an SKF part fail, I use their bearings rather than a certain a/m one from Italy.

I’ve used SKF without issue many times, but now that’s it

Cheers Jamie

That's a royal pain. Hopefully you've some redress over this as you've documented the work so should be able to show it's all been IAW the manual. Take photos and push it back to the supplier as that's not right that 15 miles has taken your engine. What if that'd been a wheel bearing?

Not that it'll help, but I fear this will be ongoing issue for the cars now. Can you buy new new parts any longer, or are we left with new old stock?

I have thought about ‘compensation’ , but as kerbside autos isn’t an official business, I think I’ll get nowhere with it

So I’ll take my medicine and just fix it

At least afterwards I can be sure that with a top end refresh and replacing the big end shells, that should be the end of it

Cheers Jamie

I’ve had 2nd thoughts about getting some contribution from AUTODOC, so the worse they can say is no


So I’ll see how it goes

Cheers Jamie

Yes, go for it, there should be some guarantee involved, although not sure how much they would contribute to the collateral damage.

What about your insurance?

So I’ve got the head off and it looks to have only done the inlet valves

I haven’t got everything off, but so far I haven’t been able to determine what went wrong

I’ll carry on Saturday morning,where I’ll have everything off and get to the bottom of it


Cheers Jamie