Hiace Shenanigans

[phil_lihp]

Has it really been 6 months since I updated this?

 

Plenty has been happening in the mean time and if there's interest, I'll start documenting the camper conversion which has been moving at the speed of a glacier since last November but is now gaining pace with trips to France and Scotland on the cards for this summer/autumn.

 

Logically (and because I'm still trying to recover a load of photos I took of the interior conversion) I'll start with installment 12 (ish): changing the drop links.  

 

Phil pointed these out to me back when I had the clutch done last Autumn as they were exceptionally worn, so I jumped straight into action and bought some new ones.  Yesterday, I finally found time and motivation to fit them.

 

 

After crushing the NSF jacking point with my trolley jack - it turns out it's been plated over, very badly, and has all the strength of a baked potato - I found more solid bits underneath, pulled off the wheels for easier access (not essential but useful and meant I could inspect brakes and other bits at the same time) and set to work.

 

Given how long I'd had the new drop links knocking around, is it any surprise that when I extracted one of the old ones and put them side by side that it turns out they're not even remotely similar?

 

 

Sigh.

 

Never mind, thanks to a generous bank holiday discount code my local GSF provided a pair of the correct ones within half an hour and I was back lying on the driveway trying not to get surnburned,  Removing the old ones was a doddle, mainly as the rubber bushes were so worn they practically fell out when the bolts were removed.  Fitting the new ones was a right faff, I knew the principles behind the job but hadn't ever done drop links before.  The first one took far too long and resulted in a lot of huffing, grumbling and muttering but once I'd fashioned Compression Tool mk2 out of a different spare bolt that wasn't so rusty it rounded off halfway through fitting and had to be cut off, the second one was much quicker.  As often recommended, washing up liquid is definitely your friend when pressing in the new bushes.

 

As with every job I've done underneath this van, a bucket load of mud was dislodged from various crevices and gaps.  It gets slightly lighter every time I poke around underneath it and this is probably why the underside has seen a fair amount of welding in the last 18 years.  There's a little more to do at some point but I think all the worst bits are sorted now fortunately,

 

 

The NSF wishbone had another minor surprise in store, I'll be revisiting this area at some point, clearly.  This bush looks pretty well finished.  The other side looks better, but not brilliant so I'll do the pair.

 

 

The end result?  No more horrible knocking, banging noises when going over bumps, one more MOT advisory from last year dealt with, one more success.  Of such small victories is life made, certainly when it comes to me and cars (or vans).  

 

Stay tuned for further updates.

[Sheefag]

HiAce, Chariots of the Gods, no less.

[twosmoke300]

Changing anti roll bar links is a right pain in the ass if you have only jacked up one side at a time. It puts the bar under tension and makes it very difficult to put the bolts back in .

[phil_lihp]

I remembered you telling me that so both sides were jacked up!  Bolts went in fine, one was a pain to engage on the captive nut but squeezing the top of the drop link with a g-clamp to straighten it up a few mm sorted that.