Refurb underway (finally)

[Mazza]

@t-tony , No haven't tried it yet,

@Synclare , I want to clean and repaint everything ( was toying with shotblasting) but as they are, they’re heavy and a bit unwieldy.

I suppose I could remove the discs etc and that may help reduce a bit of the weight?????

 

[andyglym]

This is a great read, I tip my hat to you Sir

 

[Althulas]

If your just going to clean and paint rest it up on pallets and just paint the top half first and the bottom after drying as removing the hub means new wheel bearings.

To be honest if your fussy like me and going to keep the car and your going this far it would be rude not to impact the wheel hub nut off and change the wheel bearing and put new back plates on.

 

[Lee]

Bit disappointing today as I didn’t get as far as I had hoped.

I started by spraying all the nuts and bolts that need to be removed.
Then proceeded to undo everything to get the beam out of the way.
Using my impact gun, the diff bolts undid easily, as did the outer trailing arm bolts. Couldnt get the gun on the inner ones so use breaker bar with a push on ratchet attachment. ( bought it after seeing one a few months ago on here by @t-tony )
All good and beam freed off and put it out of the way.
View attachment 126589

Then, removed the ABS sensors and wear indicator wiring.

Now it started to go wrong...
Went to remove the 12 Torx bolts from the driveshafts to diff and had no way of holding the axle still
What I should have done was loosened them when I loosened off the 4 propshaft to diff bolts earlier in the proceedings
Eventually, after thinking about it, I put a wheel nut back on and held it still using a long breaker bar with my foot on it. Used a smaller breaker bar on the torx bolts and it worked Happy again!!!
View attachment 126587

Celebrated this achievement with a cup of tea.....

Now ...in my mind...I thought...that the driveshafts just pulled out of the hubs.....But mine wouldn’t
I did try pulling, but to no avail. And I remembered when @ZedHead did his refurb, one of his was also stuck.
So thinking that there might be something mentioned in my Bentleys manual....went to have a look.

OH F***, theres a bloody nut on the end that is torqued to 200nm, and it recommends that this is undone while the car is on the ground.......BIT BLOODY LATE FOR THAT

AND absolutely no blame on me for not reading the book first !!!

Now I have to find a way to get it undone ......suggestions on a postcard to Dummy of BOGNOR !!!!

View attachment 126591

At this stage I could have removed the calipers, discs, brake shoes, pipework etc .....but decided that I needed a break while I work out a cunning plan to get that nut off and release the drive shafts from the hubs.

You could bring them with you when you bring the beam up. I have a big boy nugga nugga gun. There’s also a tab locked in the end that you’ll need to remove first.

 

[Synclare]

Shot blasting usually nadgers up bearings however well you protect them
[QUOTE="Mazza, @Synclare , I want to clean and repaint everything ( was toying with shotblasting) but as they are,

 

[DrWong]

Fantastic effort Mazza! Keep the updates coming, I’m sure others will find them massively helpful when they come to do the job (ahem..)

 

[Mazza]

After having done nothing for two days ( had other new toys to play with ) thought I better get on with something. So to that end I will go and remove the callipers and discs etc so everything is ready to be cleaned. And think I may unbolt the drive shafts from the hubs. ( if I can find a way)

But before that, I have been sitting here this morning reading the Bentleys Manual ( better late than never ), and has thrown up a few queries that have confused me a bit. So any explanations gratefully received.

Firstly, nowhere in Bentleys are the side plates that hold the beam mentioned, in the strip down or reassembly, and therefore no torque values for reinstalling the two Hex drive M8 bolts on either side.

Secondly, when reinstalling the trailing arms, it says not to torque them until they are under normal load. Otherwise bushes may be distorted. Two things from this is, does this mean when its back on its wheels...in which case no way to get to them, plus there is no room anyway to get a torque wrench on the nuts, as they are on the outside of the trailing arm ( see picture) so how is this achieved??

Thirdly, to remove the driveshafts, the 30mmAF bolt is undone, then a lock washer removed, ( does this have to be prised out?) and then either gently tap or use a puller to ease the drive shaft away from the hub....but how is it reassembled ...does it have to go back in with the same splines lining up ? Or Is it a case of lining up the splines in any orientation, and gently tapping the other end of the shaft until you can fit the nut and washer to pull it in??

Grateful for any info on this.

 

[t-tony]

Morning Malc, 2nd point, you can put a jack under the rear suspension arm and lift it till the arm is level or just below level with the bottom of the sill. Do this before fitting the coil spring and shocker.
3rd point. Yes you will most likely need to use a puller to get the shaft out of the drive flange. I use a triangular file to clean the splines before refitting the shaft into the hub on rebuilding having applied a small amount of grease to both surfaces.

Tony.

 

[Mazza]

Thanks Tony,

On the second point, And I am being really dense here ....does that mean you torque on the bolt head and hold the nut.

On the third point, I do have a set of impact sockets that goes from 10 - 32 mm so have a socket that will fit the axle bolt. However , I’ve chickened out of trying to undo it at the moment,

Todays effort

Too old to work on the floor.

First one took a while as taking pictures of everything so hopefully I can put it all back together
Second one was a lot quicker.

Amassing loads of little bits.....yet to be cleaned .......but all labelled

Just as well I was replacing these anyway as the inner faces were badly scored.

Now on to the boring bit. ( unless you are @andyglym ) Cleaning all the parts I’ve taken off so far...

 

[t-tony]

Looks like a surgeons operating room mate. Re the suspension arms, I was taught that you should hold the bolt and tighten the nut onto it.

Tony.

 

[Lee]

Looks like a surgeons operating room mate. Re the suspension arms, I was taught that you should hold the bolt and tighten the nut onto it.

Tony.

Likewise,

Taught where possible torque the nut, torquing the bolt head would give you an incorrect torque value (normally less)

 

[t-tony]

That's right mate. So long as the thread on the nut and bolt is clean and in good condition there's nothing to stop the correct torque being applied but if there is something fouling the bolt shank correct torque cannot be assumed.

Tony.

 

[andyglym]

Thanks Tony,

On the second point, And I am being really dense here ....does that mean you torque on the bolt head and hold the nut.

On the third point, I do have a set of impact sockets that goes from 10 - 32 mm so have a socket that will fit the axle bolt. However , I’ve chickened out of trying to undo it at the moment,

Todays effort

Too old to work on the floor.
View attachment 126831

First one took a while as taking pictures of everything so hopefully I can put it all back together
Second one was a lot quicker.
View attachment 126833

Amassing loads of little bits.....yet to be cleaned .......but all labelled
View attachment 126835


Just as well I was replacing these anyway as the inner faces were badly scored.
View attachment 126837

Now on to the boring bit. ( unless you are @andyglym ) Cleaning all the parts I’ve taken off so far...

A shiny car is a happy car. Faster too as less drag

 

[Mazza]

@t-tony and @Lee ,
I understand what you are saying that the torque should always be applied to the nut ( which is what I’ve always thought it should be) , but the nuts are fixed on the outside of the pairs of beam brackets. ( ie one by the main bush and one by the centre tunnel part of the beam on each side ) and in that position I cant get a socket on to them to be able to use a torque wrench.

Or am I really being so stupid that I shouldn't be allowed to have a zed in the first place......

 

[Lee]

@t-tony and @Lee ,
I understand what you are saying that the torque should always be applied to the nut ( which is what I’ve always thought it should be) , but the nuts are fixed on the outside of the pairs of beam brackets. ( ie one by the main bush and one by the centre tunnel part of the beam on each side ) and in that position I cant get a socket on to them to be able to use a torque wrench.

Or am I really being so stupid that I shouldn't be allowed to have a zed in the first place......

I had a feeling you were on about those bolts, Just torque them as you would normally. They don't need alot of tighty Normally till your close to farting is enough.

I tend to do this on the bench when the arms are relaxed. They're not far from that position when fully assembled.

 

[Synclare]

Yes you're probably correct there. As it's a pile of bits I'll give you 50 quid and collect unless Andy offers £75 in which case I'll stretch to a ton Good effort though that man!
[QUOTE="Mazza, post: 539805, member: Or am I really being so stupid that I shouldn't be allowed to have a zed in the first place......[/QUOTE]

 

[pgunter]

Good read and great work so far @Mazza .. Will be looking like a showroom car soon enough.

 

[Mazza]

Never... I’d have to wash and polish it

 

[Jasn]

Just wanted to say I really value threads like this. Due to time constraints, I am tackling things with my Z3 in bite-sized pieces rather than pulling the whole thing apart, but the current and older threads that describe and show so much detail are really helpful (and inspiring).

Jasn

 

[TrevD66]

I too would like to add my appreciation..... Being in a low volume Z location we don't have the luxury of Z Sheds, or even a number of like minded local owners to share information and experiences, so to glean information from the forum and in as much detail with pics as are being supplied is awesome.
I thank all contributors for imparting their wisdom and more particularly, their experiences both positive and negative.