Dave Wellings - Second Roadster Service

Dave Wellings - Second Roadster Service

Well, we're off on the second home service.

I don't intend to repeat the items covered in my first service post last June, but there's plenty more to go at.

Mileage last year 13th June 2009 was 7,784

Mileage now 7th July 2010 is 11,132 - so I've done 3,348 miles in the year. 

To start I did some routine stuff. First the Vaseline on the bonnet tapes.

Grease will also work, but Vaseline is a bit cleaner to use.

This is very worthwhile and allows the bonnet to flex without creaking.

Oil the bonnet catches. A spouted oil can is easier.

Wipe off the excess.

Then the door locks.

There's an old dodge for this.

Insert the key horizontally, drip some oil in the key grooves, and it will wick into the lock.

With regard to the wing beading, some use oil dribbled into the joints.

I prefer to use rust inhibiting wax.

Spray into the lid, load up a small paintbrush........

Touch the beading, and the wax will flow into the join.

This must be done twice - once above the beading and once below.

It's remarkably effective, but a bit tedious.

After a couple of days, any surplus wax can be wiped away with a cloth damped with white spirit or WD40.

So now I must wait until Saturday to continue.

I'm leaving the gearbox oil in this year, but will change the diff oil again.

The slight noise when reversing has disappeared since the last diff oil change - presumably the friction modifier has done it's stuff.

Having been underneath I noticed that the diff has put two kiss marks on my wooden toolbox.

One is over the diff casing and the other is the breather.

Both are just touching under hard acceleration and maximum deflection.

I've added two small neoprene patches and I'll post a photo of them when access is easier.

As a result of this I measured rear axle deflection from full rebound to full deflection.

It's three and a quarter inches(8cm).

More to follow.............................

It's been a full day today.

I got started about 10, and finished at 5.

I did take a break for lunch though............

Note that bleeding brakes is very time consuming.

First I lifted the tool box out to access the axle filler plug, and using an adjustable spanner, removed it.

Always remove the filler before the drain plug, just in case the drain plug sticks.

Next the drain plug was removed, and the oil caught in an ice cream container.

There are more details on this job in my first service post last June.

The axle drain plug is 15mm. and a ring spanner does the job.

I bled the rear brakes next, but jumping ahead, here's the way to refill the axle easily.

Use a flexible tube on the funnel.

Next I used Uncle Phil's special tool. It really is great.

No hammer is required.

Now it was time to remove the master cylinder cap and store it safely out of the way.

Note that the brake fluid is a deep colour.

Then using the fluid transfer tool I emptied the master cylinder.

You can see here how clean the new fluid is

I pushed the boat out and used this - Dot5.1 top spec.

Sourced from Demon Tweaks.

It only took half a litre to do the whole job. Amazing.

I used a small lid to transfer the new fluid into the master cylinder.

More to follow.......>>>>

I had to use a mirror to show the bleed nipple on the back plate.

As usual it's small and hard to access.

It was covered with a red plastic top hat cover.

It's 5/16 AF and really needs an open ender.

A ring spanner works but leaves little space for the bleed tube.

Here's the offside drum. Something of a puzzle with eight fasteners.

In order to investigate I removed them all !!

The large slotted setscrews seem to be there only to locate the drum, or maybe just to fill the holes.

They are short, and come out easily, but do nothing.

At the rear they are all centre punched three times, as if to retain them in the hub.

But the drum can be rotated and removed easier with these four screws taken out.

The real fasteners are the bolts - 11mm socket takes care of them.

And here's the drum removed - offside.

The leading shoe is hardly worn, and it appears that the rear shoe does most of the work.

I checked the wheel cylinder and it's free and not leaking, so all appears well.

I cleaned up the inside, and the inside of the drum. There are some numbers on the shoes.

8231595 on the offside. Plus 90R/01074/805 8238357. One other number is too indistinct to read.

On the nearside the numbers are 8238357, then 90R/019.......indistinct, then 8231595.

More to follow.......>>>>>

This is what a service looks like........

And as a reminder, this is what a wooden toolbox looks like...

I forgot to take a photo of the marks underneath, but hope now that the neoprene will provide enough of a cushion.

There was no damage from the axle kisses.......!

This is the nearside. Harder to photograph as it's close to the wall.

Same pattern as the offside. Leading shoe hardly worn, and rear shoe doing the work.

Moving on to the front and it's usually possible to do the bleeding with the wheel in place.

I was loosening the nipple and doing about eight strokes of the pedal, before topping up the master cylinder.

You can see the red plastic top hat cover in this shot.

This shows my home made bleed tube, and the old fluid which looks like pond water.

This is the nearside, and the container is nearly full.

It's easy to see when the new clear fluid emerges.

The ring spanner (11mm) is also evident in this photo.

The old fluid..........

Next the engine oil & filter - this was well covered in my first service post, so just two things.

These filters are the same.

The one on the right from last year.

The one on the left from this year. It's been modified with a restrictor.

Hmmmmm 

Always fill the new filter nearly full with new oil.

It shortens the time at first start up when the engine rattles briefly......

I'm using Mobil1 5w/30.

Finally, a slow shutter speed and a spinning wheel.......

And now it really is time for some wine, and dinner in that order......