poorly_felicia

nah, i had the car tilted quite a bit and got the new one in quick as

when i changed the nearside one on our old felly i found that you dont need to disconnect everything and remove the hub. I found that if i simply popped off the steering track rod end (by undoing the balljoint nut on it and tapping it free) i had enought "turn" in the whole suspension to get enough clearance to remove the shaft. You will most likely need a breaker bar for the hub nut, and its a 30mm nut. They are done up very tight. I had to jump with my whole weight on mine to crack it loose, with the wheel on the ground and a trolley jack positioned to balance the large 30mm socket to keep it straight and not rounding the nut. a soft mallet or hammer+wood will tap the old shaft free from the gearbox nice and easy. when fitting the new shaft to the gearbox end, use soft mallet or hammer+wood to "click" it into place. i lost about 0.5l of oil. hope this helps

strange, all the places down here dont apart from 1, but i never use that company as they are more expensive than everyone else...

i was never treating them as a service item, just saying that its sods law that he doesnt buy them and then it turns out they are needed. if they are unopened, they can be returned for a refund!! i never thought mine were knackered (looked dry through wheel bolt holes) but when i took the drum apart one was most definately foobared and it cost me a day

i would definately get some new rear brake cylinders for your peace of mind. When i did the rear brakes on our old felly i didnt purchase any as i saw no signs of leaks at all, until i opened up the rear drum (it was a real mess!). Its worth it for the piece of mind, and saving yourself a day or two if you dont buy them and then discover that you do need them :p You will be able to get front pads, rear shoes and rear cylinders from pretty much any motor factors, and dont discount going to a skoda dealership as the are not much more expensive, and i always found genuine skoda brakes to be of excellent quality. Last lot i got off them was all ferodo premium stuff and have lasted well over 40000 miles, and plenty left to go on the rears!

i did this on a mated diesel felly, i used a cut up coke can for the gasket still working to this day

SUPERCHARGER! add togther with rat look would be an awesome sleeper

indeed, sorry i thought it does have a oil component though? well, it wsa the right idea

could this be a bad earth somewhere ? (im im reading it right)

mechanical things to ckeck - the easy way 1 - pop off oil filler cap and check for mayo. Also, put your finger right inside and rub around the inner surface, lots of sellers are cunning and will wipe away mayo, but ive never met anyone who wipes away from the indise rim 2 - if you can, run the engine from cold and make sure temp guage get about half way up and stays there. Any more or less and themostat likely gone 3 - when cold, take coolant tank cap off and check the coolant - should be no mayo / oil blobs / sludge. Colour should be green, blue or a sorta vivid barbie pink 4 - car in neutral on flat, pull up handbrake a modest amount (3 clicks) and try and push / pull the car - should not move 5 - with engine off, pump the brake pedal. it should,after a few strokes, get really hard not very far down 6 - using a torch, look underneath all 4 wheels for signs of brake fluid leaks. Even if wiped, because it oil based it will usually stain and look wet 7 - while your underneath, feel the CV boots and look with the torch for tears 8 - still underneath, run your hand along the radiator bottom support bar - any wetness here and its leaking 9 - in a flat safe area, drive slowly turning on full lock, each direction. Listen for clinks, clicks or bangs 10 - car in neutral, handbrake off. shake all 4 wheels vigorously at 6+12 o'clock and 3+9 o'clock positions. you should feel no play, clunks or wobbles 11- using your torch, look at all 4 suspenstion turrets to check condition of shoks (leaking) and spring cups (badly rusty) 12 - listen to the engine at idle. If its a 1.3, expect it to be quite noisy and rather rattly (its the design) . It should idle at a constant speed. There should not be any bangs or knocks coming from the engine. Blip the throttle for 3 second bursts and have someone look for excessive blue / black smoke from exhaust. 13 - check steering wheel fro free play (quite common on these) - look at the front wheel at the same time - the wheel should move with no free play in you turning the steering wheel 14 - wibbling the exhaust pipe (when its cold) it should feel nice and solid (solid rubbery feeling) and not clonk around 15 - lastly, check all the tyres. If a seller ever has a problem with a potential buyer having a damn good poke around a car then they most likely have something to hide! Hope this helps, gav

or the top mount bearing? might also be a engine/box mount?

cool, thanks! how much tolerance is there you think (im bound to spin the tie rod a little when i undo the locknut) before its re-tracking time again? would 1/2 turn each side difference make no real significant difference or is it tighter than that?

no i got big manly hands thank-you-very-much in all seriousness, it was a pain getting the socket to stay on the rear bolts, even with the UJ, and i was sorta half in the bay with one leg in the air. was a proper comedy look i reckon the only diffucilt bit now is getting the steering wheel 100% straigh, its ever so slightly cocked to the right, butmoving the wheel one spline is too much. and yes, i did properly centre / align the rack and i got it tracked at the same place i entrust my MR2 with, and it drives straight and proper, its just a little wonkey. hmmmmm - any ideas? by the way i changed the whole lot - recon rack, new rod ends and rod end locknuts IDEA : can i correct the wheel by adjusting each rod end by say 1/4 turn and see? as its cocked to the right i think drivers side come in 1/4 and passenger out by 1/4 would that work?

Tom, i cannot believe that you of all people do not own a 1/2 inch drive UJ for sockets etc! i didnt have to drop anythhing with the UJ - was still a pain in the rear though (had to bend all funny)

well, swap is done. what a stupid place to put the rear clamp botls though thank god for my dads 1/2" UJ ! (i dont have one lol and i could not figure out a way of removing the rear bolts without one lol)