PhilA

Gotta admit, the Chrysler 5.7 has a nice note to it. I miss my Challenger. The 3.7 Pentastar V6 isn't bad when pushed hard but it ain't no 8. BTW the point-and-squirt action never gets old. --Phil

Yup, if it's late 2015 on it'll shut down 4 (displays ECO on the dash) and has VVC which really kicks in at 4500 RPM. There's a recall for the timing chain tensioner. Yes, 70 is a happy 1800-1900 RPM and it'll return 30 MPG on a steady run and 20-25 if you drive like you got Miss Daisy in the back seat around town. Enjoy!

That's further inland than Houston, the shrubbery is wrong. Plus, despite the heat is really quite humid. Might have been TX, they have front plate holders. Phil

Those pads look glazed tae fook. Rest of it looks in good shape though. Renault pads looked like that, put new ones in and the difference even on old discs was startling. --Phil

Because it faces upwards and it's made by BL That's a "feature"

The Prefect is painted in what my eye calls "Austin salmon primer". Looks like it was a fun day. --Phil

Is the footage from those cameras actually checked by a real person these days, or is it all robotic? Because to have the person print off the form, with the picture of a hooning Invacar at the top, shaking their head in disbelief and throwing it in the bin as an impossibility would be amusing. Liked very much for the trip to get new parts, the improvement they made and then a trip to confuse people in That There London. --Phil

It steers okay right now, there's just a little bit of "Land Rover" to the free play in the wheel. Phil

I tried to make a little time this afternoon after work on the car. I pulled the lid off the steering box and cleaned all the old grease and dirt out. With the pitman arm removed, the shaft just pulled straight up and out. It was covered in a mix of grease types; some correct but dried up with the consistency of old toffee, some newer chassis grease which is just wrong. The insides of the steering box case are similarly horrible. With the shaft out it's possible to feel the lash in the top bearing. Cleaned up I'll push the lower part of the shaft into the lower bearing and feel how loose it is. The shaft itself is worn but not overly bad. I need to work on the roller wheel as the bearing has a little free play in. I'm not sure if it's all just adding up. Once it's cleaned up properly it'll be a little easier to tell. Phil

Second tool of the evening. A modest 2/3 leg puller, rated 2 ton. Puller, along with a 4lb lump hammer meant that it finally decided to yield. I've left it here tonight, I want to clean it up a little and mark the splines. Phil

Tool! Coupled with judicious application of torque: Just hitting the pitman arm resulted in a few dents in the pitman arm. I think I'll need a puller... Diagram was sideways. Top and bottom are plain bearings. Phil

I cleared the crep off the pitman arm nut and measured it. 1 1/4" which is just slightly bigger than any tool I own. I found my exploded diagram, I need to study it because it does look like the lower race is ball bearings. If the cage has collapsed that would explain the lash. With the pitman arm removed I should be able to take the steering box apart, clean the grease out and fix it up. Hopefully. Phil

This is actually some random Loctite stuff but chemically it appears identical to Kurust. It's got that oily/milky/purple thing going on. Got a big pot of it so it'll have to do! Phil

I took a quick look and the nut is nowhere to be seen. I didn't have time to clean it up, but I think it's under the dirt somewhere... Phil

Hm. I'll have to give that a try. I didn't even pull the nut off yet, been too busy for anything other than a bit of paint this weekend.