The Skippy Kitten

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Whoohoo! Went round the block and the fault lamps cleared. Then took it out for 10 miles with some bumps and twists and it didn't come back on. Happy days :p

Then went for a more spirited drive now everything is working: poly ARB bushes and new rear top mounts were well worth the effort.
 
Today's little job was replace the left rear wheel bearing. Thanks to the great guide on here it was very straightforward. It now turns very nice and freely and no play. :cool:
 
New right hand headlight fitted today. It'll get a polish in the winter but it's pretty tidy. Not cloudy at all. The rear bearing seems to be absolutely fine after a 10 mile test drive.

I gave up trying to replace the front top mounts. It's handling great so that can wait. That really leaves just the slow oil leak (engine side, top of gearbox somewhere) to sort really. There's rust, but nothing that I don't think can wait too.

Thanks to all those who have helped me with this project so far.
 
Some pictures

HEL braided hoses holding up well with the modified brackets
IMG_5096.JPG


Hammerite on spare wheel carrier
IMG_5090.JPG


New headlight fitted (no cracks on this one)
IMG_5108.JPG
 
So the modification to the brake bracket is to invert it and twist the bottom section inwards? May have to have a go at that!

Loving the wheel carrier - far better than my effort! How did you get it so pristine?
 
Essentially yes, just on backwards and twisted to direct the hose round the back of the shock lower. I'm going to do a 'how to' with the brackets when I get a moment.

The tray was just wire bushed then wire wooled and degreased. The other side isn't a good needless to say.
 
Potted summary:

Remove hose brackets
Open up hose brackets so that the 'grommets' on the hose can be pushed in
(Optional) drill a small hole so that a zip tie can be fitted around the grommet in the bracket. This holds it without clamping down.
Put the bracket in a vice and bend it as per the photos. The aim is to guide the hose out back from the calliper between the suspension leg and the inner arch wall. This is easier to do with the brackets on the opposite side to normal. As the angle between calliper and bracket doesn't change this can be a fairly sharp angle as viewed from the side. This gives the chassis union a smoother bend.
If you have them fits the protector springs onto the braided hose. I had to use zip ties about 20mm apart.
Fit the hoses. I warmed mine up a little bit to ease guiding them into shape. Do not twist or force them! (You knew that already)
Try the guide bracket on the hose. Fettle the angle to get a smooth but fairly tight line out of the calliper. Observe where the loop of hose goes behind the strut. I had mine closer to the strut than inner arch.
Position the second grommet with a zip tie on either side such that it protects against contact with the inner arch.
Try the suspension lock-lock. Fettle again as necessary. Be aware that things with close up once you're back on the rubber.
If necessary, refit the wheels and drop onto polythene so you can try it lock to lock under normal conditions.
Once happy, bleed.

Test brakes, test drive round block. If happy go for short test drive. Back to the polythene and inspect the hoses. If necessary, jack up and fettle. And repeat!

I think that's about it. Ideally I would have made new brackets that went down closer to the calliper, but this is a good compromise.
 
Just a note on the brakes. They're standard (2000 update) 258mm calipers and standard springs on the front. This probably does make a difference.
 
So are mine - I upgraded them a while back as the original tiny bottle top disks were terrible. The larger disks are still terrible, but better than they were!
 
Well I decided to swap the track rod ends today. Well I started! No joy getting the bolt out of the hub end, and no joint splitter to encourage it. Why are they stubborn???
 
That bit I didn't struggle with - just a metal hammer and a few wallops upwards. I've since read that giving it a few whacks on the hub carrier on the side of where the bolts go through is far easier. Couple on each side usually frees them apparently.
 
Tell me about it. I couldn't get my damper out of the hub. And can't think of a way to do it.

A joint splitter would be of assistance for you. I've got those but still a pain in the a** to get them out. Probably on since the car left the factory 14 years ago...
 
I bought a sparewheel carrier today, It was off an '02 model and in fairly good condition. I was halfway through writing this:

"At home, I attacked it first with a scrapper to get off the worst rust (not that much) and then a wire-wheel on a drill. The idea is/was that I clean it up, sand it down, rustproof it, spray it with a thickish zinc primer and then a few coats of paint. And that’s where it got interesting:
(i) the paint appears to be a smooth plastic sort of finish that is put directly onto the metal. (It has worked as a protective coat.)
(ii) As I ran the rotary wirebrush over the underside the coating/paint came off in circles even in areas where there appeared to be no surface rust. I can only assume that a very small amount of water was underneath and these create circular “blebs” in the coating, although many had no rust under them at all... perhaps they had had some greasy/oily stuff under them?


I’m at a bit of a loss now. It looks like the coating is not going to sand well because of its plastic texture. Has anyone dealt with this coating before? Is it a “Ford Part” paint?"


when I came across your project at http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=24269&p=317460&hilit=carrier#p317460" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Arch Bishop said:
Loving the wheel carrier - far better than my effort! How did you get it so pristine?
Skippy said:
The tray was just wire brushed then wire wooled and degreased. The other side isn't a good needless to say.
A few questions:
1. Did you have any problems overcoating the original paint/coating with Hammerite?
2. Did you use a brush or spray?
3. Are you happy that the original coating will not lift below the Hammerite?
4. Have you used Hammerite before? How did it perform over time?
5. The photo looks a good job: was the evenness uniform? (i.e. did the Hammerite cover up small imperfections?)
 
1. I was rubbed down a bit, so hopefully something to key into
2. Spray. Roughly a can of satin black smooth
3. The original coating seems intact... So far
4. I have used it before. Durability is very dependent on prep, so we'll see.
5. It's even until you look up close!
 
Track rod ends swapped. I had to get a ball joint splitter to get the old ones off. New ones were treated to assembly grease and a little Ferrosol.
 
Many thanks. I was undecided about 1. spending money on dipping or sandblasting or 2. spending hours and hours with a sander 3. doing what you did.
Skippy said:
5. It's even until you look up close!
Only people who you run over get the opportunity to comment on the quality of the finish :twisted: and, after all, the main object is protection.
 

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