Ask a Shiter

[Richard]

These are the correct tools for removing axial rods http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/?_nkw=axial%20rod%20tool but no use if the outer track rod end is still present. I'm not sure what the handcuff things are but I've always managed fine with Stilsons.

 

If you get the whole lot out in a oner I wouldn't bother trying to separate them, hacksaw it to retrieve the boot and replace with new bits.

[twosmoke300]

Before I got the correct tools I used a good pair of mole grips then use a long prybar on the moleys to turn the rod .

[Kiltox]

I have a set of those tools from that eBay link in Cheltenham if you want to buy them, call it 30 quid

[Snipes]

If you get the whole lot out in a oner I wouldn't bother trying to separate them, hacksaw it to retrieve the boot and replace with new bits.

 

This, and I've never needed any special tools either. IIRC the arms are very similar to BMW 3-Series which seize like an absolute bastard. Put a thin blob of copper slip on the threaded end of the arm so it coats the inner thread on the Track Rod End as you wind it on and it shouldn't seize again.

[AMC Rebel]

Thanks all - I never even thought of removing the inner bit.  I have new outer ones all ready to fit, looks like I'd better order the inners and break out the stilsons and/or mole grips, cheers.

[AMC Rebel]

..might  suggest you try a Disco first.  My brother had one, when they were current ..and it made me feel terribly car sick (..rolling and squirming around corners)..   I hadn't felt that car sick since I was a young kid squeezed into the back seat between two big brothers in closed up, full heater on stuffy hot, plastic-seated, 1970's BL something ..Probably a mustard coloured Maxi.    Very limited space in the back too for people with a head &/or legs.     

 

IIRC the early ones either didn't have anti-roll bars (sway bars as the Americans call 'em) or they weren't very beefy.  I seem to recall my then Bro in law saying he fitted a Harvey Bailey handling kit to his - later ones were better I think.

[Guest Hooli]

Your memory is right. I had a '90 Disco with no roll bars.

[twosmoke300]

Your memory is right. I had a '90 Disco with no inner sills , body mounts or boot floor.

Ftfy

[Guest Hooli]

It had all three! I did have to replace the boot floor & front end of the sills to achieve that though.

[twosmoke300]

Was that in 1992 then ?

[Snipes]

Thanks all - I never even thought of removing the inner bit.  I have new outer ones all ready to fit, looks like I'd better order the inners and break out the stilsons and/or mole grips, cheers.

 

Your Stiltsons may free them off if you get brutal enough....

[Guest Hooli]

Was that in 1992 then ?

 

*counts on fingers*

 

About 2002, but it had never seen mud & lived in the south east. I soon cured the mud problem.

[rainagain]

Thanks all - I never even thought of removing the inner bit.  I have new outer ones all ready to fit, looks like I'd better order the inners and break out the stilsons and/or mole grips, cheers.

as the inner part of the track rod goes inside the track rod end, why don't you just grind a slot in the track rod end? It looks like you need to remove it anyway to get the inners out, so if you do grind too much and destroy the threads it shouldn't matter. 

[rainagain]

There is a problem with the ABS on my OH's 2005 Tucson. it keeps cutting in as you come to a stop and if you are driving for a reasonable distance on the motorway (60 mph+) the ABS light will often come on. I'm thinking there is dirt/rust on one of the rings but I don't know which one. Could anyone recommend a diagnostic tool suitable to read the ABS codes? I had knock off diag tools for the Megane we had and now I have DICE for my Volvo but I can't see anything similar on ebay that would work with Hyundai.

[robinmasters]

Even better, the Cascada has some hidden rear facing lights that emerge should the boot be open, like the Insignia estate. I noticed it on the M27 whlist someone was changing stuck on the hard shoulder. Had a WTF was that moment.

Why do they do that? Wouldn't it be easier to have the normal lights fixed to the rear quarters, instead of the boot lid and dispense with the extra lights under the boot lid like everyone else does? Or is having a two-part light cluster (ie. half on the body, half on the boot, to maintain the size of the opening? fnarr fnarr)  more expensive?

[Richard]

Poor man's Wartburg.

 

[sierraman]

The handcuff things are 2 rings with a eccentric cam like thing that bites into holding the axial as you turn it with a 1/2 drive ratchet. Stillsons will do just fine though. Last axial rod I bought was about £11, so for the fucking about I'd just replace it. You'll just need to split the TRE off where it goes on to the hub, I've found a wind in type ball joint remover best. Make sure you've a big enough one though.

[Richard]

BFO hammer has always done it for me.

 

A lot of axial rods can't be reused anyway because removing them destroys the locking device.

[sierraman]

Don't forget a drop of threadlock then.

[Cleon-Fonte]

So, a question about wheel hubs. Currently fitting new rear ones to the BX, and the Haynes manual helpfully states 'engage hub with stub axle until hub nut thread is visible'. Easy enough, you might think, except that merely 'engaging' the hub onto the stub axle that far doesn't seem to happen, whatever I do. I've tried heating up the bearings to no avail, and using any kind of force merely results in a pile of broken ball bearings on the floor (luckily I have twice as many hubs as I need).

 

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

 

[scaryoldcortina]

get your thumbs in to help the inner race of the outer bearing over the stub axle, it looks from the pic like it's catching the edge and not pushing over. Failing that, find a big socket and a hammer to tap it home with.

[phil_lihp]

This is a pretty 'niche' question but if you don't ask...

 

I want to install remote central locking on my '99 Hiace Powervan.  It has central locking which works fine so I've bought a cheap but well-rated remote kit off Amazon.  The instructions are hilariously bad as expected, there's not much info on the Hiace and I cannot work out what I need to do.  I should add that despite being an IT engineer, anything car related with wires in it seems to be entirely beyond me so any help given can't be made too simple.

 

I'm fitting it in the driver's door and have found the wires that are for the locking circuit.

 

I've so far identified the following wires on the kit and the van...

 

Remote Kit: many, many wires, mostly to do things I don't care about but these are the ones I think are important:

 

Chunky red with fuse: power

Chunky black: ground

Unlock - matched to van

Lock - matched to van

Orange: ground

Orange/black: ground

Yellow: Power

Yellow/Black: Power

 

Van

Green: unlock (matched to kit)

Red: lock (matched to kit)

Blue/red: ? (apparently control for driver's door lock)

Blue/Black: ? (apparently control for passenger door lock)

Chunky white/black: earth?

White/black: earth?

 

The above information is from a couple of vaguely relevant forum posts I found for similarly aged Toyota vehicles - the last 4 are unclear as to their purpose.

 

I've got the lock/unlock wires sussed but not the power.  I don't know if I only need 4 in total (power/earth and lock/unlock) or more.  I've tried a couple of combinations but no success yet and I don't want to fry the kit by wiring it wrong.  It'd help to know two things: what the blue and white striped wires in the van do and what wires on the kit are important.

 

Any thoughts?

[twosmoke300]

On the bx hub - sounds silly but have you taken the inner race off the stub axle ? They usually stay on and need to be cut off . To the unaware it looks like part of the stub .

 

Sorry if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs

[scaryoldcortina]

^ lol, that's a good point. hadn't thought of that!

[twosmoke300]

Every single bx rear bearing I've done the inner race stays on the stub axle

[scaryoldcortina]

Yeah, I know! I hadn't considered the possibility that someone might mistake it for part of the axle.

[3VOM]

Yeah, I know! I hadn't considered the possibility that someone might mistake it for part of the axle.

Good point. Mr Cleon-Fonte, remove new part from view and post picture of stub axle as is.

[dave21478]

This is a pretty 'niche' question but if you don't ask...

 

I want to install remote central locking on my '99 Hiace Powervan.  It has central locking which works fine so I've bought a cheap but well-rated remote kit off Amazon.  The instructions are hilariously bad as expected, there's not much info on the Hiace and I cannot work out what I need to do.  I should add that despite being an IT engineer, anything car related with wires in it seems to be entirely beyond me so any help given can't be made too simple.

 

I'm fitting it in the driver's door and have found the wires that are for the locking circuit.

 

I've so far identified the following wires on the kit and the van...

 

Remote Kit: many, many wires, mostly to do things I don't care about but these are the ones I think are important:

 

Chunky red with fuse: power

Chunky black: ground

Unlock - matched to van

Lock - matched to van

Orange: ground

Orange/black: ground

Yellow: Power

Yellow/Black: Power

 

Van

Green: unlock (matched to kit)

Red: lock (matched to kit)

Blue/red: ? (apparently control for driver's door lock)

Blue/Black: ? (apparently control for passenger door lock)

Chunky white/black: earth?

White/black: earth?

 

The above information is from a couple of vaguely relevant forum posts I found for similarly aged Toyota vehicles - the last 4 are unclear as to their purpose.

 

I've got the lock/unlock wires sussed but not the power.  I don't know if I only need 4 in total (power/earth and lock/unlock) or more.  I've tried a couple of combinations but no success yet and I don't want to fry the kit by wiring it wrong.  It'd help to know two things: what the blue and white striped wires in the van do and what wires on the kit are important.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Generally speaking, as I dont know the specifics of your van.....

 

You need to find out if the vans CL is a live pulse or an earth pulse to activate it. The last few kits I have done have been live pulse, IE shove 12v down the vans "lock" wire for a second and it will lock. Shove 12v down the unlock wire for a second it will unlock.

If this is the case, these are the only two wires from the locks that you need to connect to the gizmo you have.

 

Obviously the gizmo needs its power and earth supply and the rest is usually some way to configure it for different vahicles ie to pulse live or earth. Last one I had needed a wee loop of wire from the live terminal to another terminal as a jumper to allow it to give a live pulse. You will need to persevere with the instructions to figure this out (or post up a scan and we can have a look).

 

 

Disclaimer - not all vehicles have an actual motor in the drivers door, just a switch that can look like a motor. Does the drivers door lock and unlock if you use the key in the passenger door? if so, cool. If not, bummer, you will likely need to add a servo motor in the drivers door.

[Cleon-Fonte]

I can confirm the stub axle is bearing race free, and using scaryoldcortina's technique of hitting the inner race with a socket I now have one bearing successfully placed on the stub axle. No hub breakage occurred during the proceedings.

 

Thanks for the advice chaps, it's saved me a lot of annoyance and hassle.

[twosmoke300]

Glad you got it done and hope I didn't insult you with my suggestion