Yugoslavian Ami.., continuing on from 'now-autoshites-flimsy-bodied Shitroen'

[RayMK]

I can follow your logic and the diagrams and tend to agree with your conclusion regarding rotating the adjusters and locking them only when the suspension is bearing load.  With the ball joints able to reach their limit of articulation if you do not do this, I can see that considerable twisting force will be imparted to the rack as you have suggested.  I cannot see any other reason for the pinion and rack becoming damaged, provided that they are properly matched to each other i.e. I know that Citroen and other manufacturers change components to suit different models despite the basic design looking the same.  Presumably, a mismatched pinion and rack could be contrived when digging through spare parts bins, possibly resulting in incorrect meshing of the items and hence chipped teeth on both.  This should/could be revealed as graunching when twirling the steering wheel with the track rod adjusters correctly locked for settled suspension but the front wheels off the deck.  Are there any Citroen Ami/Dyane/2cv experts to bounce your findings off?  They may have a better feel for the subject than me.  Good descriptive analysis, by the way  .

[spartacus]

I'd go along with what you're saying. It's the same sort of theory that requires suspension bolts that run through bushes to be tightened when the cars weight is on its wheels. As RayMK has pointed out, good analysis.

[Bfg]

.

^ Thanks Gents,

 

As it happens I had some hippie neighbours pop around this morning, who'd herd I was having a few issues with the steering.  As they had arrived before the alarm chined, they had no beef about pasturing the time cropping the lawn while I got up.  Naturally they chewed over the problem outloined in my supposition ..but when the farmer in a ribbed jersey herd of it - they had to hoof it out of here. .

 

. . .

 

. .

 

.

 

 

Good morning

[Bfg]

I can follow your logic and the diagrams and tend to agree with your conclusion regarding rotating the adjusters and locking them only when the suspension is bearing load.  With the ball joints able to reach their limit of articulation if you do not do this, I can see that considerable twisting force will be imparted to the rack as you have suggested.  

 

I cannot see any other reason for the pinion and rack becoming damaged, provided that they are properly matched to each other i.e. I know that Citroen and other manufacturers change components to suit different models despite the basic design looking the same.  Presumably, a mismatched pinion and rack could be contrived when digging through spare parts bins, possibly resulting in incorrect meshing of the items and hence chipped teeth on both.  This should/could be revealed as graunching when twirling the steering wheel with the track rod adjusters correctly locked for settled suspension but the front wheels off the deck.  

 

Are there any Citroen Ami/Dyane/2cv experts to bounce your findings off?  They may have a better feel for the subject than me.  Good descriptive analysis, by the way  .

.. Thanks 'limit of articulation' is a good expression ..which evaded me as I scribbled to get my thoughts down.

 

"and locking them only when the suspension is bearing load "   is the crucial point, insomuch as the assembly would appear smooth and free moving when in the air, and only a little stiff to turn in the garage (which is likely to be attributed to tyre scrub), and then the car's heavy steering ..assumed to be a penalty of having the more powerful engine cantilevered out the front of the car..  Subsequently, the pinion's failure being 'blamed' on the heavier engine or design fault.     

.. never the real cause. 

 

Indeed, Janez had commented that the steering seemed fine when in the air ..but was still problematic when the car was on the ground.  I later attributed this to the weight of the car plus that he had mistakenly fitted an 8-tooth pinion into the 7-tooth rack.

 

"considerable twisting force will be imparted to the rack" ..perhaps comparable to that in the anti-roll bar ! ?

 

To further test the theory ; I clamped the assemble in the bench and simply pushed upwards against the pins with one hand. Those sliding blocks (admittedly with hardly any grease on them now) surprisingly easily locked up .. acting like little brake pads - they prevented the rack from sliding.  Of course that would be overcome with the aid of massive leverage - the large diameter steering wheel turning the tiny pinion.!    Additional grease in these sliders (until it's squeezed out) would be countered a hundredfold by the upward pressure ..of the car's weight in a corner.. 

 

So I am beginning to recognise this as the cause of our problem.  

..but  I'm still open to other thoughts / ideas ..as this answer seems all too easy.

 

"properly matched"  Good call.., and yes I had thought to re-check the pinion and rack for being a matching set, and also to compare what I had with what came from Pete Sparrow's steering rack.  I see or feel no difference aside from manufacturing tolerance and his toothed rack being right handed. There is however a fine burr all-the-way along the sides of my car's toothed rack ..which appears to be more of a left over from the gears machining operation than caused by damage or wear.  I can't see that it effects the operation, but that's all I found.  

 

I've also cleaned the grease out of the axle tube, so that no contaminated grease / bits of chipped teeth find their way into replacement parts. And while at it checked the rack's spring-cup's pressure and details within the pinion housing.  I cannot see, nor detect any difference in there between mine and the one from Pete Sparrow. 

 

"Are there any Citroen Ami/Dyane/2cv experts to bounce your findings off?  They may have a better feel for the subject"  I don't personally know of such. Certainly none of the thirty or so independents and suppliers that I sent the photos and drawing of the pinion to, came back to me to say "hey, you know what that looks like .. it's generally caused by..."    I suspect this is because if they do the job properly themselves - then they don't have the problem reoccur, and/or they too attribute the issue to being a design fault in an oddball car.    

 

And then again.. I'm guilty myself of doing things 'automatically' ..which don't even warrant comment in my oh-so-long-winded reports. It seems that many such little tidbits of know-how are being lost, now that apprenticeships have all but disappeared.

 

 It's the same sort of theory that requires suspension bolts that run through bushes to be tightened when the cars weight is on its wheels.

^ indeed it is. 

 

I must admit though., that until I experienced these problems first hand, I had not realised just how serious an effect they might have..   A little tightness perhaps.. and premature failing of the suspension's rubber bushes, but not their catastrophic failure.  

 

I is still in school

[dollywobbler]

I've never had 'owt to do with the steering rack, other than Rick Pembro rebuilding the rack on mine about 40,000 miles ago. Are you posting on International 2CV Friends? I'd be keen to know Ken Hanna's thoughts on this. Certainly, your theory seems reasonable. Clearly, there is a lack of alignment between rack and pinion.

[Bfg]

I've never had 'owt to do with the steering rack, other than Rick Pembro rebuilding the rack on mine about 40,000 miles ago. Are you posting on International 2CV Friends?  I'd be keen to know Ken Hanna's thoughts on this. Certainly, your theory seems reasonable. Clearly, there is a lack of alignment between rack and pinion.

 

No, although I'm registered with that site and have asked (when looking for transport from the docks, and again re. finding a pinion) if anyone could help, I'm not posting there very often.  

 

"Clearly, there is a lack of alignment between rack and pinion".   I would expect to see obscure wear patterns on the teeth of both the rack and pinion, but unless massively out of synchronization I wouldn't have anticipated such chipping off of surface-hardened steel. I can only imagine that would take a massive force. 

 

I would welcome further thoughts on this though.

 

Thanks

 

Bfg. 

[dollywobbler]

If you do Facebook, come and join my 2CV and Friends page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/768982179849544/

 

If not, the baffling 2CVGB forum is another place Ken tends to hang out. I2F has been very quiet of late. I rarely visit.

[Bfg]

.

Thanks.. no I don't use facebook at all.

 

< Here > is a link to the topic of the 'pinion wanted' on Int 2cv Friends, where after arguing about ratios, and then decrying information found on another website as "lazy journalism as a source of information" but unfortunately not offering corrected figures ..Ken did reply : "Going by the state of the teeth on the pinion removed from your rack, I'd guess that the teeth on the rack itself are not too clever, so perhaps it might be time to find a later 2CV/Dyane/Acadiane setup with 8 teeth?"  He offered no suggestion as to the cause.   

 

Shame really - as he is clearly seasoned Citroen chap who likes to be helpful.  I didn't mean to be confrontational, only to learn, but I fear he didn't like my querying what he said.

 

Bfg.

[Bfg]

.

  later Citroen Ami-8 steering rack - LHD - WANTED

^ pretty much says it all I guess.

These are different to the 2cv / Dyane / Ami-6 because (as pointed out by Rick Pembro) the angle of the pinion / steering column is steeper angle on the Ami-8 ..which has a two piece / universal-jointed steering column.

 

NB those angles are a guess / approximate

 

Thanks,
Bfg

01473       or         07958
785                           100
070                           633

[Asimo]

What an epic! This will be one super Ami Super when done, probably the best there is from the point of view of actually using it.

 

I am now (shamefacedly) going back under the Honda to slacken off, bounce around and re-torque the bolts on it's dampers.

 

(That I torqued up, weight off, the other day.)

 

I've always known to do this but this time I thought "can't be arsed"  

[Bfg]

.

^ LoL   You want to make me an offer ?

 

..the epic saga continues with trying to find a replacement rack & pinion.  I've place adverts in various Citroen forums, and have also been talking with Rick Pembro (..a very nice chap), and also to suppliers in Holland and France.  Club 2cv Cassis for example sell the same rack part number for the 2cv as for the Ami-8. I've asked about the different angle but have not received a reply yet.

 

In the meantime, I've pulled my rack apart to inspect ..and in anticipation of replacing parts . .

 

Closer inspection after cleaning up revealed . .

^ obvious signs of recent edge wear (..as anticipated) on the slider blocks (red arrow) and in the guide slot (blue arrow).

 

So then I needed to check the track rod ends . .

 

which revealed . .

 

^ Both sides were much the same (..and exactly where I might have anticipated).  Rick not heard such a supposition beforehand, but as he said when he heard it  " it's surprising the track rod end ball joints didn't snap off !"    

WCPGW., as I drove back across Alpine Europe as intended !?

 

 

Anyhows.. while awaiting someone to come back to me with parts, I did a couple of little mods to aid future maintenance  . .

 

^ the arrow shows a grease nipple I've fitted.  I didn't have a angled one, but this fitted quite nicely and from measuring I should be able to get the head of my grease gun in there when the track rods are reconnected.

 

.. and also one in the top of either track rod end . .

 

 

And as this is the state a rack gets in . .

^ those steel sliders covered in grease seem to attract and drag grit into the works ..so I wondered about making a cover / gaiter for over it . .

 

^ It's only in bubblewrap as a template, but in principle at least this would work to help keep most of the dirt out.  I have some heavy duty black polythene or black rubber sheet ..either would hardly be seen once fitted to the car ..behind the gearbox and under all the heater pipes, cables and spare wheel.   

 

way ho..  tea break is over.. time to get on

 

Bfg

17,277 views

 

7pm post script : now reassembled . .

So., another job I'd never done before, never wanted to do, shouldn't have had to do, but can tick off now as JOB DONE.   

[Bfg]

.

As I wait in hope that someone will find me a LHD Ami-8 steering rack, I can't get on with reassembling the steering.. so rather than mope about like a bear with a wasp sting.. I carried on with other jobs which needed to be done..  

 

When I drove the car I noted the gearbox was very noisy.  Having had a Jag gearbox rebuilt at mega cost, the prospect of having to do another really was quite upsetting.  There's nothing I can do about it if it does but.. ever the optimist I have hope..

 

The holes, which I'm guessing are for access to the gearbox mounting on the twin cylinder cars, serve no purpose on the Ami-super.  One might have hoped he'd have filled them in, with a steel disc and a spot of weld, but no. .

 

^ without even grommets in them, and no carpets at all.. I wonder if (and hope) this might be the origin of excessive gearbox noise being heard within the car. ? 

 

I'll have to wait and see. Until then. .

^ Sound deadening / anti-drum padding make an effective grommet, and then some

 

next item on my job list was the clutch cable. .

^ I'm not keen on having the adjuster three-quarters the way up.  The clutch plate has just been replaced, and so I wondered if there was anything I could do about it..

 

Reviewing how to adjust the cable correctly - the illustration in the manual shows it looking much the same.. hey ho when removed there was nothing obviously wrong, so I cleaned the cable up and did some repairs. . 

 

^ This is the top end of the cable, which goes through the bulkhead and clips onto the clutch pedal, but it was so full of grit that when the inner was pulled ..it dragged the cables inner nylon sleeve out with it.

 

I cleaned it in the parts wash, pumping the cable in and out while submerged, and eventually it became amazingly smooth in operation. 

 

NB. Bowden cables with inner sleeves like this should not be greased.  The nylon is low friction as long as it's clean. Grease tends to, when not sealed-in under a gaiter, just attract and hold dust and dirt.

 

^ all clean, and a sleeve of heat shrink added ..just to help keep the dirt out.   

 

The other end, open to the elements under the car, was smoother in operation ..but its outer plastic sleeve had cracked and was letting in grime. After being cleaned up it looked like this. .

 

But with a heat shrink sleeve added, now looks like this . .

 

Refitted and correctly adjusted, plus a bit of tarting up, and a little more acoustic anti-drum . .

 

So that's another couple of little jobs ticked off.

 

And just for a little light relief..  I moved inside to. .

 

It is (another ! ? ) one of my suppositions that an awful lot of engine, gearbox, & exhaust noise in the A-series Citroens is carried through the front chassis tubes into the central boom box..  Inside the car the top skin of the chassis is rather like an oil drum, and so . .

 

^ 6mm neoprene rubber, glued to the top skin of the chassis. (the neoprene is closed-cell, so water-tight btw). This wonderful rubber will serve as an anti-drum pad directly on the steel ..and is also soft enough to absorb airborne noise too.

 

That's it for today. ..Time for a shower and some supper.

Have a good evening.

Bfg

17,336 views

 

EDIT :  My apologies to 2cvKeza. I mistakenly attributed the two holes through the bulkhead (just behind the gearbox) being there because 2cvKeza used an Ami-8 (twin cylinder model) lower bulkhead repair panel to replace that part of this body shell.  In fact 2cvkeza did not replace the lower panel to that far up the bulkhead (seen < here > ) and so these two holes are likely to be as originally manufactured..  My sincere apologies for this error. I have now deleted that sentence.

[Bfg]

.

oh I forgot to add..

 

Another source of gearbox / engine noise entering into the car was via its split gear-change gaiter . .

 

Now.. where might I find a 1970's Ami Super's gear-change gaiter at 4pm on Friday afternoon in Ipswich ?  ..with oval shaped hole in the sloping bulkhead..  No, I'm not even going to waste my time looking.  I'll do it the Autoshite ' What have you fixed lately? ' way  . .

 

Note the hard edges of the gear-change rod's fork has now been refashioned*.  The grommet I found in my used-parts bin I think was once around a spark plug on a BMW K-series motorcycle.

 

With a little tlc and a generous smear of black silicon it now looks like . .

 

That'll work just fine

 

[RayMK]

Nice work!  I also keep old grommets, gaiters, coolant hoses etc and fabricate items from their serviceable bits.  My Reliant has a top hose made from sections of Renault 20 coolant hose, joined by sections of old vacuum cleaner metal pipe.  It has served well since 2005.

[Bfg]

.

Aaah ha !  ..Those that persevere .. end up with the bill !

 

I have just this minute ordered from Eend in Holland a LHD Ami-8 steering rack together with a new 8-tooth pinon..  Great service from Myriam ..who only works afternoons but speaks English and is good to her word, and also drives a Ami..  This company took the geared rack out of the axle tube to check its condition before selling it. I don't need the axle tube so postage is of course less.  130 euros inc. taxes and carriage.  < Eend >

 

 

I'll be glad to reassemble the rack so that I can get on with refitting the front of the car.

 

In the meantime.. I'll say nuffink about Brexit negotiations, our politicians, nor how every time I need to buy something from Europe for this car..  this seems to happen. . 

 

so then we have Paypal's exchange rate :

£94.37 GBP = €103.00 EUR

1 GBP = 1.09 EUR 

 

Bfg

 

.

. .

. . .

 

Huh, well it's not a massive plummet, only from 1.27 to 1.26. If you're worried about it really dropping, I guess you could exchange a whole bunch of money now. But then in 6 months time it might be up at 1.3 or 1.4 - you just never know.

[Asimo]

Found some notes about the fuel consumption of my Ami Super amongst a few magazine pictures stuck in the front of my Haynes Ami / 2CV book.

Note that I was young and leadfooted then, but 28mpg?

[Bfg]

.

28mpg .. most likely because your bonnet mascot fouled the hard fought for aerodynamics

[Bfg]

.

 

^ Interesting fuel consumption figures.. 28 - 32mpg in the days., way back when 32mpg wasn't too bad for a 10-year old Hot car..  and I do like the colour of the car as depicted in your photo..  

 

 

Last Saturday's very hot afternoon.. I pottered out to the garage and trial refitted the now repaired* gear change gaiter. In doing so - I looked at this car's remote gear-change box.. and although it sits in the shadows under the dashboard, I really didn't like the prospect of refitting it as was . .

 

^ the bottom of the box had suffered from damp and surface rust was creeping up under the side's vinyl upholstery*, and then also the  rear clamping lugs were broken and otherwise rusting through. 

 

Btw the oddly curved front plate of this is an air-duct from the blower fan to passed this box ..into the LHS / driver's footwell. 

 

I also noted the link arm had been rubbing

^  worn / polished from recent contact with the link arm..   

 

Bottom line is that the box was fitted a little too far to the RHS., and needed to be moved closer to the driver. Just 10mm should do it.

 

I stripped out the link rod and gear lever, and checked the location within the car.

^ I can see why Janez put it there ..because any closer to the pedal and you'd need to wear narrow shoes to drive the car.

 

So..

 

. . well I'm me.. so what would you expect ?

^ marked with the swing of the throttle pedal ..and then being Bfg'ed.   

 

Because ??  well, while at it..  I thought to myself  . .

 

Cutting to the chase - this is what I ended up with . .

^ louvres fashioned to divert some of the air to where the driver's feet actually are !

 

^ 20mm indentation forward of the air outlet. which then allowed me to move the box towards the driver's side by the 10mm required.

 

^ rust treated (cleaned up and cold galvanising applied), rear mounting brackets repaired, painted all over fine-textured Havana* brown, and anti-drum padding fitted within.. Reassembled, holes redrilled and repaired gaiter fitted, and now sitting on 6mm neoprene (closed-cell foam rubber) bulkhead insulation ..moved across 10mm,

 

Oh yes, and another big hole through the bulkhead plugged, this one was higher up and is a left-over from the twin cylinder model's push pull gear change. 

 

 

Bfg

17,495 views

[Bfg]

.

A job I'd started but not completed, which I can get on with while the front wings are off, was  mudflaps under the front wings.  These I wanted to add because the bulkhead's ledge is a mud trap (and therefore rust)  As you will see - they are not there for cosmetic purposes 

 

I bought (off e-bay) 3mm thick reinforced, but flat rubber sheet (without pattern or ribs) ..And after refitting the Ami's inner wheel-arches and checking again the template (I try to remember the rule : "measure twice, cut once" ) ..and in doing so deciding to add a little more to the bottom - I transferred that pattern to the sheet rubber. .

 

^ I expected to have to use a craft knife to cut this stuff, but in fact it cut nicely with the kitchen scissors.  After taking the piccie I drilled the fastening holes with an ordinary metal drill-bit.

 

Anxious to see if the rubber would hold its shape and yet be supple enough to conform to the very awkward shape, I fitted it.   With an extra hole and filleting in the upper 90 degree corner - thankfully it all went to plan . .

 

^ Sure is ugly but then down under the wheelarch it has a job to do, and that doesn't involve walking down a cat walk.!   Penny washers are in SS, but that size of nut n' bolts were only available to me in nickle plated, so I'll paint over them after final assembly. It'll all have to come off again - to fit the steering rack.

 

I used the other side of the same pizza-box template and modified it for the LHS of the car.. The problem I had here was the exhaust pipe being in the way.. Any drape of the material would have it melting !  After trying to figure out how to fashion and fasten brackets to keep the rubber off the exhaust (couple of dead end ideas there !) I configured this . .

 

^ the tube running across / above the exhaust pipe is a piece of discarded copper-composite gas pipe (picked out of the boat yard's skip as 'potentially useful' ), so it'll not rot out quickly but is stiff enough to be a guard rail holding the rubber mudflap away from the exhaust.

 

Note, the aforementioned mud trap ledge that I aim to loose, not least because I live in a farm house, down an unpaved track.  It's a pretty dumb design detail from Citroen when one considers how rural friendly their A-series cars were thought to be.   Btw. The largish hole through the inner-wheelarch was for the drain tube from the scuttle air intake plenum.

 

So then . .

 

Another job ticked off

 

And the next task is beckoning..

Bfg

Zen

17,563 views

[Guest grizgut]

Superb work Bfg. It's going to be a dream car ☺ I had an Ami 8 estate in the early 80's and even with the 602cc engine I drove it all over the south east of England. I look forward to more!

[Bfg]

.

Welcome grizgut  to Autoshite..   Thanks for your encouraging post..  Feel free to contribute with thoughts or ideas, to add piccies and anecdotes of your own Ami,  &/or to ask questions..   

 

g8 handle by the way. I reminds me a being a little'un when occasionally my brothers or I were upset and called 'grizzle-guts'.    I hadn't heard the name for best part of 50 minutes years.!

 

Today, I took a drive around Ipswich's lesser posher streets to check out the cost of a paint job    ..as the paint I've put on the car panels is pretty atrocious hand painted with chemical fizzing where it pooled and blistering.    It is very disappointing after I had great results with (supposedly) the same (Hemple Polygloss) when I painted the cabin of my old fibreglass boat a few years ago.   One paint shop said that they couldn't paint over polyurethane paint ..so that's limited my options ..and so I went to a place where they also paint trucks, and use other than water based paints.

 

Think I'll put the car together (as soon as I get the replacement steering rack in) ..and have it repainted sometime in Autumn / October time when the chap says they are less busy ..and this paint has a good few months to harden, &/or blister more !

 

Back to the gymnastics (physically working on, over, around, in, out, under the car) tomorrow.

 

Bfg

[Bfg]

.

As I await the replacement steering rack parts being sent in by Eend in Holland, this afternoon I started on another task to be done. .

 

. . French spaghetti ?

 

.

 

 

 

Did I hear a voice.. "Let there be order !"  ?  ..And so it was . .

 

^  Even Citroen wiring can be tamed.

 

Work in progress. The task was / still is - to correct the lengths of the wiring loom (some wires were being pulled & others were way too long.. weird !) and to re-sleeve it.  I also wanted to split the loom - so that the front panel, complete with headlamps, side & indicators lights might be lifted off, without having to individually disconnect and un-thread the front spur of the loom. 

 

Splitting the loom also allowed me to slide* on outer insulation sleeves rather than tape wrapping.  

 

Ive also re-routed some of the wires to the engine, its sensors, the fuel cut off switch, and the alternator, so that together they run out from the bulkhead all together inboard of the master cylinder.  In short one spur going to the engine and the other (with a connector split) heading off to the front lamps. 

 

Without replacing all the wires - I'm stuck with using the original grey and green wires, but at least now it's much clearer which goes where. All dodgy connections and wires will be replaced, and the wires will be more secure too. 

 

It would be nice to get this all wrapped tomorrow.

 

Bfg

[Bfg]

.

from Eend ..

 

First impressions are that the rack is in very good condition.

 

[Bfg]

.

back onto wiring.. checking & double checking / extending or shortening lengths, soldering (tinning), and trying to get outer sleeves over some pretty awkward connectors ..like these 90 degree spades from the headlamp ..

 

 

Seen here is the front-lights spur. As it is now disconnected from the main loom I could at least work on the bench (and save my back a bit !)

 

.. those connectors were of course taped together with a 'mouse tail' ..which had been fed through the sleeve first.  And then with the end of the tail secured in the vice - I pulled the wiring taught and worked the outer sleeve along / over it. .

 

 

 

So the front-lights spur is all but finished ..and to join it to the main loom I've used screw block connectors.  Yes I know that in another thread in this parish ..numerous persons have aired their dislike to these connectors, but personally I've only had good experience with them. So . . ,

 

^ the screw block is through-bolted to the inner wing (with a s/s. set-screw, nut & washer, plus a rubber seal). Each wire end is soldered (tinned) and long enough to be clamped by both of its connector's screws, so the wires overlap within.  And during final assembly I'll inject each connector with Vaseline to keep atmospheric  moisture out. 

 

I've colour coded the wires so that I know exactly which goes where, and checked them. Yes they all work !

 

I had hoped to get more done today, but what can I say..  a lot of fiddly details ..and I've always been a slow worker..  

 

Bfg.

17,777 views

P.S. This is what it used to look like . .

[Bfg]

.

A little more done this morning.. the wiring spur to the engine going from this. .

 

 

.. to this . .

^ the wiring spur to the engine now comes in along one route (alongside the master cylinder) whereas before ; four wires followed this route, three went around the bushes (and front panel) to come back to the alternator, and then a couple more came in from the LHS inner wing.

 

I've just a couple more connections to redo (one wire replaced and that to the alternator shorted by something like 1/2-metre) and it'll soon be time take them all off again to rebuild the steering rack.

 

Have a good afternoon

Bfg.

17,817 views

[Bfg]

.

Having mostly finished with the under-bonnet rewiring.. today I lifted off the front panel again, this time complete with sub-loom to the lamps, then off came the inner wings. And so too.. the exhaust cross box and clutch cable., so that I could get in to do this . .

 

^ naturally having taken due precaution to catch and remove swarf

 

..And that was so I could do this . .

^ which was the best way I could get into that corner with a tap

 

All so I might fit this little blighter . .

 

30 seconds to read and view the photos.. So you think to yourself.. "10 minute job"..   Have to say that it took me ten times that (including cleaning up to ensure no metallic particles were floating around in there.!).  Never-the-less in this day n' age when maintenance is unfashionable ..I'm going sort of going my own way. 

 

 

Next job was cleaning up and inspecting the rack I got in from Eend in Holland. .

^ after mucho cleaning.. very nice condition thank you very much.

 

And comparing it with the rack that came out. .

^ 8-tooth rack and pinion : Ami-8 (top), and the 7-tooth Ami-super (below).  Interesting how they are so similar and at the same time so different.

 

The ratios are remarkably close too, as the following screen shot illustrates . .

^ in this AutoCAD screenshot the top rack & pinion represents the 7-tooth Ami-super, and the lower is that of the 8-tooth Ami-8. 

 

The closeness of those ratios surprised me anyway !

 

Anyways up..  having satisfied myself as to the condition of this rack (the pinion is a new part, so there's no issue there) I rebuilt it ..into the Ami-Super's tube, while packing it with grease.  

 

And then the moment to truth.. Does the axle tube have to come off ..or can it be stripped, rebuilt and reassembled with different guts.. all in-situ . . ?

 

 

. . .

 

. .

 

.

 

to be continued. .

. .  same time. same channel

[Bfg]

.

wrong time, same channel   ...story of my life !

 

but..

 

OK.., YEAH !

 

^ The end of the geared rack seen in the pinion housing.

 

And at the other end . . 

 

 

Reassembled Ami-8 steering rack into the Ami-Super axle tube, single handed, and in-situ. 

 

As previously tried (on the bench) I inserted a 13mm 3/8" drive socket (on extension bars) in, through the end of the axle tube, while prising the rack's spring and pressure pad back into its seat with a cranked ring spanner.  If you don't know what I'm talking about.. see older post < here >. The socket, so inserted, held the pressure-pad back until the rack was pushed in (..when the socket pushes out of the way).   And I could do that single handedly by lifting the driver's door off its hinges - so I could reach both inside the car and the extension bar poking out of the end of the axle tube at the same time. 

 

The above photo shows black grease. This is fresh clean molybdenum grease - which is supposedly best for sliding, shearing applications, and for where frequency between changes is long (such as in CV joints).  Its pretty low viscosity, which I understand helps it suck back into the joint, rather than just being swished out and staying out.    That's probably neither a very technical description nor good grammar but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say here.

 

I did make a mistake though    .. and reassembled the slider plate the wrong way around.  so ended up with its end contacting the housing for the pinion . .

^ After removing the cover and turning it around I now see why this end of the slider plate is shorter than the other side.   However, in my defense.. the mistake occurred because when I checked it beforehand - I rationalised that this surely couldn't be right . .

^ apparently this gaping hole is correct (albeit only on LH full lock) !

 

It was the exposed sliders covered in grease (attracting dust n' dirt like flies on a fresh cow pat) which prompted me to consider a cover over the rack, and this hole only reinforced that,  so . . 

 

 

^ I've used heavy duty (thicker) dark-grey plastic sheet here ..so it'll not stand out like a sore thumb, but is a usefully robust material.  Held on only with gaffer tape I'll have to monitor how well it stays there in the long term. Perhaps a couple of cable ties would help but I have to be wary of not pulling the plastic tight against the sliding plate it covers.  As a precaution against this I used strips of sicky back neoprene (10mm high x 12mm wide) stuck to the back face of the plastic to lift it away from the axle tube.

 

 

Oh yes.. I did make another mistake     WhatcanIsay ?.. "take it out of my wage packet"  oh., I'm unpaid !

 

That mistake was to make and fit this 'cover', but forgetting to check that the bolts underneath it, securing the geared rack into the axle tube, were tight.! 

 

Flip  !    I had to undo the cover and check those. The bolts were in fact tight, but their tabs weren't turned up).  But at least I did remember ..and then bothered to correct it.! 

 

All done now

 

So today ; I move on to reassembling the axle end plates & anti-roll bar, exhaust, clutch cable, etc.,

 

Getting closer (surely ?)

Bfg

17,945 views

[jonny69]

Superb work Bfg. It's going to be a rubbish car ☺ 

 

Fixed that for you

[Bfg]

^  LOL     ..unfortunately I know you're speaking from experience.. so can't argue.. 

 

Have you sold it yet ?     

[Bfg]

.

I was not feeling up to much today, so had a late start - but managed to get a few jobs done.. Axle / swinging arm end-plate and the anti-roll bar is refitted, along with the front dampers.  Drive shaft inner-gaiter small ties fitted (previously left off to allow the silicon to set unstretched) and then a few other tarting-up / rust prevention jobs.

 

Another thing I wanted to try on this car was to wrap the exhaust pipes in the engine bay. I'd seriously considered doing this when I had the six cylinder Jag, and so much under-bonnet heat from those manifolds, but the case on this Ami is much more to do with how very close the various exhaust pipes run to the bulkhead, the chassis, and other components like the drive shaft gaiters, brake pipes and clutch cable.   So for a grand total of £7.07 inc P&P - I invested in 10m of  2" Titanium High Temp Exhaust Magma Heat Wrap + 10pcs 30cm Cable Ties..

 

The question then this afternoon was ; how the flip do you work this stuff ?

 

Back to home schooling..  I decided not to use the ss strap ties provided for the starting end. But rather I'd use galvanized binding wire stitched through the weave of the wrap..  Tucking the end of the woven wrap back under itself to help prevent fraying I started like this . .

 

^ twisted loop in the end of the wire, with the tail end stitched through and a short way over the outside before being stitched back through the weave. This was then to be pulled as tight as I could and then reversed direction to lock..  Stitched through and around the outside before coming back to, and through the 'knot'.. reverse back on itself to lock, with the tail of the wire tucked back under the weave. .

 

Then with that held tight I wrapped.. over the binding wire. and down the tube.  The first wrap I tried was too consuming of the wrap : 800mm of wrap for 200mm of pipe, so I did it again with less an overlap and achieved : 290mm of pipe lagged with 1065mm of wrap. Then I fought with the s/s cable tie supplied.  They have a ball in their head which is supposed to roll freely when you put the tail into the lock, and then the ball locks into its wedge shape when it pulled back.. Load of BOLLOCKS that is. 

 

I push, twisted, shook, tapped, rattled and did anything I could to get the tail of the tie through the lock (while trying to hold the wrap tightly in place).. and then when I finally got in position - it wouldn't lock..   So I bent the little xxxker back on itself,  to lock.     Cretinous little bastard straps.!  I cut the tail end a little shorter before tucking it back into / under the overlap. .

 

 

I persevered with the other pipes of the exhaust cross box, doing each the same way.. But by the third s/s tie  I'd enough of a crap product ..so poked the locking ball out., and just used the lock* as a hook to fold the tail through and back on itself. 

 

Three pipes of the cross box . .

^ Done !

 

740mm of pipe lagged,  using 2.8m of wrap.  And taking me one and half hours to do.  With decent straps / ties that time might have been halved. 

 

I thought the straps used to secure and seal the drive shaft gaiters fiddly, but at least they worked well.. I don't know why the same couldn't have been used for this.

 

If anyone has experience of doing this lagging, or suggestions of how it might be better done then I'd be glad to hear of them. not least because tomorrow I'll be working under the car in a very confined space, tight to the chassis, to do the two front pipes.. That's not likely to be fun.  Hey ho !

 

Bfg