Associate
So for months I've said I'll post up a log of all the work that's taking place down the lockup that me and a few work colleagues share. I always love reading these threads and I'm long overdue for creating one, so here goes - hopefully one of many as we're *always* doing something down here.
Today it was time for more work on my MX5. Obviously no-one on this forum has heard of them (or would dare own one) but they are actually quite cool cars which I predict may one day become popular.
This car was my daily driver until eventually things started breaking and the clutch started slipping. As I had the space I decided it was time to level up my mechanic skills and tackle everything myself (with a lot of help). So far I've done simple stuff like change front drop links (after one snapped), ball joints but the biggest completed job was a complete clutch change including:
Today's job came around as I noticed the brake lines running under the car looked in pretty bad condition and I decided it was time to replace them. My general rule with this car has been if I say 'but I don't know how to do that' I simply MUST then do it. As bleeding the brakes is a pain, I figured I may as well go for braided hoses at the same time:
Full set of braided hoses and some lengths of copper ready to replace every line in the car.
Now, I started before I had the discipline to take any photos so I'll be brief. We started on the floor of the lockup at the front of the car. Starting from the main valve near the servo, we removed all the hardlines. These were then replaced with the new copper lines, using the old lines as guide for how the new ones needed to be bent into shape. The passenger side one was pretty easy, while the driver side one takes a complex route that required several attempts to get it hook up.
Some of the unions were completely seized. These were simply cut off, and the valve itself was removed, placed (carefully!) in a vice and a decent 6 point socket was used to remove them.
This was all done with the car inside the lockup as show here:
Today, we made use of the ramp in the yard to make life much easier for tackling the back end. Driving the short distance to the ramp, remembering that I had no brakes, we took the rear wheels off, and lifted it up to get a better look at the area.
(Sorry for insta-fail filters, not my photo)
We started with the junction block/t piece where the line comes from the front of the car, and splits off to each side of the car. The bolts are liberally soaked in plus gas, while we get to work removing the lines coming in.
The line leading to the front of the car is very badly seized, so we just cut that sucker off.
It's about now we realise that there's a lot of annoying plastic in the way, so I quickly remove that to give my mate some better access. With a bit more effort, the hose and lines are removed. We just bend the line to the front out of the way for now, and focus on the rear left and right.
First the new junction box is put on - ooh, shiny!
Here's a shot of the old crusty one, and the condition of the pipe that runs over the rear cross member. It folded under only a moderate finger pinch - this job was worth doing!
Nuts + bolts of the junction box cleaned up with spirits, and copper slip placed on the studs. A bit of shiny in a sea of rust . . . Check out my friend's pro looking copper pipe bend, some fine work.
The ramp arms provide a perfect tool storage area. If you look closely you may also see a spot of rust on the rear sill. This is a job for another day, and another person as it's something way beyond my ability to fix.
The line over the cross member is pretty simple to replicate. It ends up being a bit longer than we'd like, (and certainly not OEM) but still clips in and stays clear of the body work.
Shiny hose on the other side too!
Some of the tools used during the day. Ramps are awesome!
Not pictured as it started to get dark - we removed the line running along the bottom of the car after much messing around working out how to get the brake line free without destroying the nearby fuel lines. We cut this off from the underside, and pull the last bit reaching up to the front of the car off, and call it day. Put the wheels back on, drop it back off the ramp and roll it into the lockup until next weekend...
Questions, comments, abuse all welcome. I'll actually bother to take down my SLR and do it properly next time, but I figured this is better than nothing!
Today it was time for more work on my MX5. Obviously no-one on this forum has heard of them (or would dare own one) but they are actually quite cool cars which I predict may one day become popular.
This car was my daily driver until eventually things started breaking and the clutch started slipping. As I had the space I decided it was time to level up my mechanic skills and tackle everything myself (with a lot of help). So far I've done simple stuff like change front drop links (after one snapped), ball joints but the biggest completed job was a complete clutch change including:
- New clutch kit fitted including new clutch, pressure plate etc
- New clutch line fitted with a single braided hose section, replacing the complex OEM arrangement.
- New front + rear transmission seals.
- Refaced Flywheel, including new pilot bearing.
- New clutch slave.
Today's job came around as I noticed the brake lines running under the car looked in pretty bad condition and I decided it was time to replace them. My general rule with this car has been if I say 'but I don't know how to do that' I simply MUST then do it. As bleeding the brakes is a pain, I figured I may as well go for braided hoses at the same time:
Full set of braided hoses and some lengths of copper ready to replace every line in the car.
Now, I started before I had the discipline to take any photos so I'll be brief. We started on the floor of the lockup at the front of the car. Starting from the main valve near the servo, we removed all the hardlines. These were then replaced with the new copper lines, using the old lines as guide for how the new ones needed to be bent into shape. The passenger side one was pretty easy, while the driver side one takes a complex route that required several attempts to get it hook up.
Some of the unions were completely seized. These were simply cut off, and the valve itself was removed, placed (carefully!) in a vice and a decent 6 point socket was used to remove them.
This was all done with the car inside the lockup as show here:
Today, we made use of the ramp in the yard to make life much easier for tackling the back end. Driving the short distance to the ramp, remembering that I had no brakes, we took the rear wheels off, and lifted it up to get a better look at the area.
(Sorry for insta-fail filters, not my photo)
We started with the junction block/t piece where the line comes from the front of the car, and splits off to each side of the car. The bolts are liberally soaked in plus gas, while we get to work removing the lines coming in.
The line leading to the front of the car is very badly seized, so we just cut that sucker off.
It's about now we realise that there's a lot of annoying plastic in the way, so I quickly remove that to give my mate some better access. With a bit more effort, the hose and lines are removed. We just bend the line to the front out of the way for now, and focus on the rear left and right.
First the new junction box is put on - ooh, shiny!
Here's a shot of the old crusty one, and the condition of the pipe that runs over the rear cross member. It folded under only a moderate finger pinch - this job was worth doing!
Nuts + bolts of the junction box cleaned up with spirits, and copper slip placed on the studs. A bit of shiny in a sea of rust . . . Check out my friend's pro looking copper pipe bend, some fine work.
The ramp arms provide a perfect tool storage area. If you look closely you may also see a spot of rust on the rear sill. This is a job for another day, and another person as it's something way beyond my ability to fix.
The line over the cross member is pretty simple to replicate. It ends up being a bit longer than we'd like, (and certainly not OEM) but still clips in and stays clear of the body work.
Shiny hose on the other side too!
Some of the tools used during the day. Ramps are awesome!
Not pictured as it started to get dark - we removed the line running along the bottom of the car after much messing around working out how to get the brake line free without destroying the nearby fuel lines. We cut this off from the underside, and pull the last bit reaching up to the front of the car off, and call it day. Put the wheels back on, drop it back off the ramp and roll it into the lockup until next weekend...
Questions, comments, abuse all welcome. I'll actually bother to take down my SLR and do it properly next time, but I figured this is better than nothing!
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