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Post by miket on Apr 16, 2014 15:55:35 GMT
Since my last update I have; 1. drilled the front brake disc dust cover bolt that I'd sheared, 2. got a smaller easy-out stuck in it and was unable to remove bolt, 3. got the smaller easy-out unstuck with some blowlamp assistance, 4. drilled the hole out bigger, 5. used a larger easy-out ... and sheared it, 6. drilled out the sheared larger easy-out. Arse! I knew there'd be times like these.
So any advice on my options appreciated:-
1. I could drill an appropriate sized hole and 'tap' (as in tap & die) it out in theory, but my drilled starter hole is not perfectly central and so the wing-stay mount hole wouldn't line up if I remade it as M8. I've never used a 'tap', but do have some. To re-make it as M8/1.25, as it was before, I'd need a 6.8 mm (17/64) drill bit; which I haven't got. So I'd have to go for M8/1.0 and use a 7 mm drill bit to keep it at M8. Earlier point about wing-stay alignment still applies though, so I'd have to widen out one hole in the wing-stay.
2. Drill right through the bolt and the upright behind it, and then use a smaller gauge bolt with nut to accommodate the lack of alignment with the wing-stay holes. At the moment there's a tiny hole in the upright behind the bolt - the diameter of WD40's red pipe. I don't know if a (say) 6 mm hole would be regarded as significantly weakening the upright's arm.
What do you reckon experienced engineer types? Thanks
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Post by Stiggy on Apr 16, 2014 16:34:56 GMT
the uprights are designed for a much heavier car so we have some allowances. The best way would be to drill and tap, file out the wing stay plate if needed and use a large washer
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Post by Stewart on Apr 16, 2014 16:54:02 GMT
Good info - thanks. And Dremel added to birthday list! For my budget build I'm going to have to run with the original standard 14" alloy wheels (at least initially) which I believe have an ET of 45. The Build Guide says I need a 32mm spacer for 45 ET wheels. I think I've read somewhere that spacer sizes are the total of both spacers, so does that mean I need to buy 2 pairs of actual 16mm each rather than 2 pairs of actual 32mm each? The ones we sell are quoted per spacer rather than total width. Whoever thought that was a good way to sell was stupid If you buy a pair of 32mm bolt on spacers, that's exactly what you get. Can also do new discs/pads/braided hoses and other assorted parts if you need spares, usually got at least 2 of them in the garage!
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Post by miket on Apr 17, 2014 16:38:06 GMT
Once again a new day brings a change in fortunes... Poised to drill and tap the upright for the sheared bolt/easy-out, I put in the appropriate drill bit and with the first turn of the bit, half of the old bolt's thread came out. Some encouragement brought out the rest. So I was able to make sure the original thread was okay by running the M8/1.25 tap through it and job's a good 'un. Done in 5 mins instead of the afternoon I was expecting. Excellent. It was also nice to find the simplicity that the right drill bit for tapping a hole for a metric bolt is the M-number minus the pitch. So for an M8 / 1.0, drill a 7.0 mm hole (i.e. 8 - 1.00). Might be obvious to many but refreshing to find something straightforward that doesn't need reference to a table every time. I also ordered my spacers from thefreak - so make sure you get your commission Toed64
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Post by Toed64 on Apr 19, 2014 7:33:05 GMT
Mmm, there's a thought! I might need to as I've started obsessing about a written off mx5 turbo I've found... and I thought the spending was over!
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Post by miket on Apr 19, 2014 12:38:35 GMT
Bit of advice needed please; as I plan ahead for a time when Exocet meets MX5...
I've got spring compressors, but I'm unsure what sequence to best do things in. If I compress the springs and do up the central top nut, then the 2 mount holes in the top-hats might not align with the body's holes and I doubt they'd rotate when under spring pressure.
Fastening the top-hats to the body and lowering the body on to the springs and then compressing the springs sounds a bit, well, wobbly.
I guess putting the car on stands and letting the suspension drop may allow some room for manoeuvre, but I don't know if it'd be enough that the body would meet the subframe before the it met the springs.
It's probably one of those things that becomes obvious once you've tried all the wrong approaches first.
So what's worked for people? Cheers.
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trident
Senior
Improvise, Adapt and Overcome
Posts: 629
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Post by trident on Apr 19, 2014 13:22:38 GMT
I used spring compressor clamps to take them apart and then cleaned up my original shocks and springs, then put them back together. I had no problem with moving the top section of the shock to fit in the exocet chassis.
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Post by gwnwar on Apr 19, 2014 16:06:38 GMT
The top hat will turn just not easily.. a long screwdriver is all that is needed to pry with.
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Post by miket on Apr 19, 2014 16:11:11 GMT
That's my preferred answer - thanks guys. They're all tarted-up with shiny new boots on so I can compress / rebuild them whilst the spacers turn up.
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Post by JIDiesel on Apr 19, 2014 16:34:54 GMT
Since my last update I have; 1. drilled the front brake disc dust cover bolt that I'd sheared, 2. got a smaller easy-out stuck in it and was unable to remove bolt, 3. got the smaller easy-out unstuck with some blowlamp assistance, 4. drilled the hole out bigger, 5. used a larger easy-out ... and sheared it, 6. drilled out the sheared larger easy-out. Arse! I knew there'd be times like these. So any advice on my options appreciated:- 1. I could drill an appropriate sized hole and 'tap' (as in tap & die) it out in theory, but my drilled starter hole is not perfectly central and so the wing-stay mount hole wouldn't line up if I remade it as M8. I've never used a 'tap', but do have some. To re-make it as M8/1.25, as it was before, I'd need a 6.8 mm (17/64) drill bit; which I haven't got. So I'd have to go for M8/1.0 and use a 7 mm drill bit to keep it at M8. Earlier point about wing-stay alignment still applies though, so I'd have to widen out one hole in the wing-stay. 2. Drill right through the bolt and the upright behind it, and then use a smaller gauge bolt with nut to accommodate the lack of alignment with the wing-stay holes. At the moment there's a tiny hole in the upright behind the bolt - the diameter of WD40's red pipe. I don't know if a (say) 6 mm hole would be regarded as significantly weakening the upright's arm. What do you reckon experienced engineer types? Thanks Two recommendations on rusted bolts and broken bolts, First use left handed drill bits. Second use Kano Aerokroil Penetrating Oil. Right hand bits just keep tightening the stuck bolt and with no penetrating oil on the bolt it may never move out. lastly if you use an easy-out never force them they are very brittle and the metal that they are made from is much harder that the bolt you are trying to remove. Easy-outs really suck to drill out when broken Good luck.
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Post by miket on Apr 25, 2014 16:44:15 GMT
So after a few days off doing other things my front springs are now compressed with top hats on and each is poised like a coiled - oh. The spring-compressor seems to somewhat get in the way of the hats so I ended up using the compressors upside down. No drama though - just feels like a long job doing it 'safely' (slowly).
I'll do the rear ones next then all will be ready for The Freak's spacers to arrive and on with rear-upright drilling for wing-stays.
Also joined up the heater hoses and cleaned up some more bits for selling. Now that Easter's gone and we had a sunny day yesterday I'm hoping the market'll pick up a bit. Anyone seen any signs of increased ebay/MX5 activity yet?
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Post by miket on May 8, 2014 14:42:31 GMT
It's been a quiet few days but the spacers arrived today so I can crack on from where I'd got to with wing-stays. In the meantime the rear springs have been compressed and are ready to go back on once the rear stays have had their drilling done. Also got the original wheels tarted up with some spray paint and got my first MX5 parts sold off.
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Post by miket on Jun 24, 2014 16:46:47 GMT
Momentum was lost and the project's been put to bed for the summer whilst other activities take its place. I've just done a quick update on costs to date for another thread but I'll capture them here too:- I'm currently at £4.8k on the car (with a £330 donor offset by selling 4 bits for a total of £140 so far). As a novice I've also spent £680 on tools (incl. a bench, hoist & dollies/skates)so far. Main costs after the kit & donor have been full brake refurb and a hub, plus Freaky's wheel spacers. Thanks for all the help through those darker months and I'll be restarting in autumn.
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Post by miket on Nov 10, 2014 17:16:15 GMT
Well today the summer-wraps came off the Exo and I'm back in the game. After a few months away from the build it's handy to have this build thread so as to find out what I was about to do next. I'm looking forward to catching up on everyone else's build threads in the dark evenings ahead. Today I just lacquered my sprayed wheels so I can put them on the car with the freaky spacers and position the wing stays with a view to drilling for the rear stays. With the wheels on I can also move the whole car back out to the centre of the garage on skates.
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Post by miket on Nov 12, 2014 17:12:07 GMT
So yesterday I did my novice-research on how to mount the spacers and found conflicting advice about threadlock and lube. So I gave TheFreak a call and he usefully noted how best to install his spacers ... here's the knowledge for anyone who needs it:-
The correct way to mount the spacers is: 1. Clean hub well with wire brush to get rid of all debris/rust. 2. Apply a small amount of copper grease on hub face and centre area to ensure spacer doesn't weld itself to the hub over time. 3. Attach the spacer to the hub using the nuts supplied. Tighten to usual wheel nut torque. 4. Apply a small amount of threadlock to bottom of stud and screw into the spacer finger tight (x4). 5. Fit wheel to spacer and torque to no more than 70lb/ft (95Nm)torque within 5 minutes of applying threadlock. This step will torque the studs into the spacer to the correct value and then allow the threadlock to set. 6. Leave the studs in for an hour without removing to allow the threadlock to cure and then they shouldn't come out when the wheel nuts are removed. If they do come out then just give the ends a brush over and re-apply. 7. It's worth noting not to use impact tools on the wheel nuts as these may damage the thread on the spacer.
So I offered up the first spacer and found it didn't seem to fit snug up against the hub - it wouldn't fit over the wider inner part of the hub. Another exchange with TheFreak resolved the problem - he gently explained that it might be a good idea to correct my oversight and put a brake disc on first. Oops - life as a novice can be a tad embarrassing. So for any other novices with dismantled brakes and a few months away ... the spacer goes between brake disc and wheel, not any other permutation.
I duly unpacked the shiny new discs to accompany the shiny new spacers and followed the instructions. Problem for me was that I had to lower the car off stands to put the tyres on the ground so as to be able to apply enough torque (no brakes yet). So I did the rear and then front, but still took 8 mins at each end rather than 5... here's hoping.
Now the wheels are in the right place I can offer up the rear wing stay and work out where to drill the hole in the hub nub. I'm assuming that if I get the 2 arms of the rear stay equidistant from the tyre tread then I'm in the right place to drill. If anyone's read this far and has any tips for getting this right I'd love to hear them.
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