Silverbullets' resto: Engine, gearbox, suspension

[Silverbullet]

Also did you slyly slip on a supercharger... that whine

Err no, best I can tell that's actually the P/S pump I put it down to being a re-man pump, it will never be quiet like a new OEM pump.

Spent some quality time in the shed today with the hand tools. There's a camping trip planned at the end of this month and I need my spare wheel carrier back (as well as for the Sydney trip in Sept) Swore never to put that junk back on the car until the hinge and latch situation were improved. The hinge is done (no pics) it has 2 teflon bushings and a smooth hinge pin, moves like butter now compared to the flogged out piece of all-thread that existed before.

The latch is a bit harder. There's nothing off the shelf that will suit my application being all made for canyonero spec "trucks". There was an over-center latch before that kept popping open on bumpy roads and did nothing to support any weight at that end of the swing arm whilst also being a huge PITA to get open in the dark one handed.

It's in the early stages but hopefully you can tell from the pics where I'm going with this. There will be springs involved later, picture the hood latch mechanism. The plan is for me to be able to slam it shut against the spring and open it again with the flick of one finger. The pin will poke out perpendicular to the bar, the part with the hole will be attached to the swing arm. Both spring loaded.

[El_Freddo]

Ooh I like the look of that latch design! I’m keen to see how this all goes together with the slings etc.

Will you be adding gas struts? Worth it if your hinges are silky smooth, otherwise one arm will always want to close when you’re parked on a slight angle. Something to think about!

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

Returned from the Sydney/Subinats trip 99% trouble free (barring the broken exhaust hanger which on further inspection might have broken before I even left home ) and seeing how much my car enjoys highway driving, it did 10 hours almost non-stop in both directions without even a single hint of giving any trouble in fact it has never run better in its life. The longest road trip I've ever done, the furthest from home that car has ever been in its life. On a whim I put in google maps how many hours to drive from here to Coffin Bay N.P....8-ish hours...can we just pack the car and go right now?

Always thought of Eyre peninsula as a far away place that I would struggle to reach, pristine blue waters and white sandy beaches at every turn. Beach fishing like I've never experienced. It's always been on my list, now it seems so easily attainable I'm looking to when I can book more time off Soon, soon.

[El_Freddo]

That’s so good to hear Sam! Epic trip and I’m glad to hear the EJ conversion is working well for you - it should considering how much time, money and effort you put into it!

Funny how perspectives change like this. Once you’re at the point you are with your build now, it’s all about time to do it and money to support the trip!

Personally, I drive long distances all the time and don’t really think twice about my brumby not getting me there. For the bigger trips I’ve got “a bit” of a kit that will support me if I’m stuck. Really once you know your car it should only be major component failure (eg, engine or gearbox) that really lets you down and leaves you stranded.

So what have you planned in the week since Subinats? Will the Silverbullet need more regular oil changes in the next six months?

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

Time for a little update!

The fuel tank is causing grief again in the last couple of weeks. Reckon a hose has popped off the top of the fuel tank, most likely the short piece of dead hose I used to block up the un-used vent port in the fuel pump assembly. Now it leaks profusely if I park pointing up hill with anything near a full tank of fuel This will have to be fixed this weekend (4WD club trip to Beachport next weekend) which means dropping the diff, and of bloody course it's 36 degrees both days and I can't get the car in the shade to work on it Might be doing some late night tinkering tonight...

So for yesterday arvo and this morning in the name of procrastination I rebuilt an alternator. This one died the night before the last 4WD club fishing trip, it was also 38 dgrees that day This will also go on the blue car tonight. The old brushes were lets say, well used. That engine must have had some crazy high KM's on it, glad I got it rebuilt. Got a reuild kit from the USA off ebay, new voltage regulator assembly plus front and rear bearings.




Also my brothers car bit the dust big time this week. He's taken up my offer of a lend of the Forester while they find/decide on a new car. Which meant a trip to U-pull it yesterday after work to get an alternator (I pinched the forries alt to get the blue car going again night before that trip) and an ignition coil also pinched to keep the blue car going...glad I didn't sell that Forester just yet it's been a life saver

While at U-pull it I saw this pair. I'm sure I saw these two in running/driving condition in the front yard/street of a house <1km from mine. Less than a year ago. Now I found them again being picked to pieces The doors and guards, tailgates were remarkably straight and rust free. The body had some bad rust at bottom of the A pillars.



That's all for now!

[Silverbullet]

Update to the update: The leak wasn't a hose as I suspected. But actually the clamping ring that holds the fuel pump assembly down. 6 x M4(?) stainless cap screws hold it down and some of them were not as tight as they could be. Cinched them up as much as I dared and seems to have fixed it. If they come loose again I'll have to loc-tite them.

Rebuilt alternator is in and pumping out 14.4 volts

[El_Freddo]

Good effort on the alternator rebuild! I might have to look into this at some stage as I dare say I’ll be doing one or two of these in the future. Any tricks to share or is it pretty straight forward?

Having needed to drop the tank to check the fuel pump leak I’m surprised you didn’t go straight to the locktite treatment!

Since you were at u pullit, did you grab another coil pack or two for spares? Got a solution yet?

Cheers

Bennie

[Silverbullet]

Good effort on the alternator rebuild! I might have to look into this at some stage as I dare say I’ll be doing one or two of these in the future. Any tricks to share or is it pretty straight forward?

Well I was 2/3rds through putting it back together before I thought; "Damn this is pretty technical, I should have made a tutorial video!"
Hardest part was getting the old bearings off the shaft as there's nothing to grab onto, not enough room to get behind them. I ended up slicing through with the angle grinder and cold chisel to split them apart.
Next hardest part was removing the old voltage reg assy without damaging the diode bridge assy. Because they're soldered and crimped together, you need to save enough material to solder the new bit to, and there's not much material there to begin with...also a mechanically strong joint is recommended before the soldering takes place. Best tip, cut the old voltage regulator off then de-solder the leftovers. 60 watt iron required.

Having needed to drop the tank to check the fuel pump leak I’m surprised you didn’t go straight to the locktite treatment!

I didn't have any to hand Time will tell if I will regret this lack of foresight...

Since you were at u pullit, did you grab another coil pack or two for spares? Got a solution yet?

Yes, definitely
And no solution yet. It hasn't killed any more coils since I put the 20yr old OEM one on. What does that say about modern components?

[Bantum]

Great to see some 'detail' shots of reparing an alternator & what is required to fix it - by the looks they aren't really designed as a 'repairable' item, so where did you find the commutator brushes ? Link would be good ...
Ciao, Bantum ...

[Silverbullet]

Not alot has been happening in the last few months, except a number of little niggles building up into quite a list that makes me consider taking it off the road till they're all sorted!

I noticed a split front inner CV boot earlier this week while investigating a small patch of P/S fluid on the driveway coming from the rack It was the silicone stretch boot I put on there what feels like only a month ago (it was longer, but less than 5000 k's) So today I got to pulling that side apart and replacing the boot. Took a photo of the offending article and was alerted by Subarino Dave that it had been rubbing on itself, obvious in the photo. I never even noticed! Had to go back out, crawl under the car and yep, sure enough the new one is touching itself too (mind out of the gutter people)
So no wonder the Brumby boots I used to have lasted so much longer! the reduced 2nd rib made some clearance. These are L series front shafts don't forget. So how can an L series boot on an L series shaft cause such problems? Considering the CV angle should be close to stock if we are to believe that body lift doesn't change CV angle. All I can think of is that L series front end in a MY/Brumby car makes the inner DOJ push iself too far into the cups, compressing the boot too much. Which lines up with the wear I noticed inside the cups, all up one end closest to the gearbox. So tomorrow I will cut that small end clamp and pull the boot out further, hopefully I can separate the ribs. If that doesn't work then it's back to Brumby boots.

Ironic that 2+ years ago the wrongly supplied Brumby inner boots (I thought I ordered L series) actually saved some headache with the smaller rib. And I only just noticed this week. Another thing that doesn't help is my (suspected) sacked out and sagging rear torsion springs. The front of the car pitches upwards by a decent amount under acceleration, increasing CV angle. My rear shocks leak all their air out too in about 2 1/2 days which exacerbates things.

[Silverbullet]

Went on another 4WD club outing this weekend. At a place called Peake, there is a farm property which encloses a very large area of big sand dunes (in the middle of mallee/bare flat lands, go figure) The owner lets groups and clubs use the camping area and sand dunes for $20 per car per night. And a very ince spot it is too! The weekend had an emphasis on training for those members who might not have done sand driving before. Still a great trip even if you had done it before.

I didn't get many photos, not worth a trip report thread. Was only one day (saturday) of full on 4WDing. The car loved it and I only got stuck once. High-centered at the top of a pointy dune; lost track of where my front wheels were pointing while only being able to see sky and lifted off the throttle too early. Tried a self recovery but couldn't get the cars weight down onto the traction boards, so no grip front or rear. Got a slight tug over the top from another vehicle to get down again.

The only trouble I had was with the starter motor. I had been turning the car off a few times during the day while other recoveries were happening. The starter was cranking slower each time until the very last dune of the day, we were all about to head back to camp and it wouldn't start at all. Battery definitely wasn't flat, we tried jump start anyway to no avail, almost burnt a finger on the hot starter solenoid. Got a short tow to do a bump start and parked it on a hill last night.

Got home past mid-day today and Phizinza helped in my search for a replacement. Who knew the starter from an auto EJ22 2nd gen Liberty would work on an EA81 flywheel with only a few mm of washers to space it out.

Here are a few photos.

Arrived at dusk and setup camp


A foggy, dripping wet Saturday morning, staging up to set off in 2 different groups. Note the Toureg(!) That thing did surprisingly well.


We came in and left again from the middle track. Didn't try that one on the right (far too tall and steep)


To the right of that previous image was this one. Pretty tall and the Ranger got stuck. When it was my turn I aimed a bit to the left of where he was and got it first try.


Round the other side of that previous hill. A moment for a group shot materialized. That track to the right caught a few people out. Extremely fine dry powdery sand at the top which removes all momentum.


And more dunes were climbed from there


Everyone brought some fire wood (have to bring your own if you camp here) Saturday night we had a big pile to use up, a nice bonfire was had. Forgot to bring any marshmallows though!

[El_Freddo]

Noice! Over here councils are cracking down on land owners that rent campsite spaces out if they don’t have proper approval by the council. It’s ridiculous, not that I typically use places like this but it also means that camping on my parents property could be in jeopardy.

You’re lucky to still be able to access places like this that you shared with us.

Glad to hear the wagon was wearing its ol’ faithful strips again.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Bennie