We’re at the stage where things have to get really hands on before we can make progress. The two major things we need to do are arrange aluminium paneling, and fit the brake lines. Our intention is to do this “ourselves”, without buying the pre-made kit. While this should save us some money, it’s a slow process of finding out all the bits needed, what they are called and where they all go. You can’t phone up a hydraulic shop and say “I want a funny copper-coloured thingy that is part of the braking system”. They get rude. Yes, I found that out myself.

What we have done is bought some more bolts (bolt list will be created) and some rivets. We’ve also got our front wheel bearings. Much advice was given on the forum, with the conclusion that it’s better to spend more to spend less. They are Timken kits, and come quite well recommended. The left and right kits are different (142 vs 168), but the only real difference is that the hub nut for the reverse thread side is a different colour.

The kits include bearings and outer races, hub nut, oil seal and even a packet of grease.

As for the rivets, the chief concern has been the angle for countersinking.

I have read some posts that indicate that the angle is probably 110°, however I thought I’d check. So I took a macro photo with my close-up lens, strongly back-lit to cast a silhouette. Then I upped the contrast and saturation to emphasise the rivet, and measured the angle on the PC. There are probably better ways to enhance the image, but I thought the result looked cool. As can be seen from the picture, the best fit is 120°.

The amusing thing is that none of the hardware stores I called knew about this. The one that the rivets came from tried to sell me a 90° countersink bit, for R180. Nobody else could offer a suggestion on how to perform the countersinking. A comment from a colleague and a bit of googling provided the answer. General purpose metal drill-bits are usually sharpened to 118° – which is close enough. So some form of depth protection will be created (possibly a tube of the right length serving as a guard) and a normal 6mm bit.

Now to order the aluminium and figure out all the right bits for the brake system.

B

Merry Christmas, I hope you’ve had a great day with family and friends. I did all the work described below yesterday, today I’m just catching up on the documentation.

As mentioned in the previous post, the hub nut of the left upright came away easily enough. The hub was then easily removed by gently tapping it out with a hammer and a piece of wood to prevent damage. Both wheel bearings were left behind, and the back one was removed from the hub carrier. The other one was trapped in place by the oil seal. The seal is an old plastic variety, and will need to be replaced. Over the next few days I’ll pick it out bit by bit and thus be able to remove the second bearing.

The other upright was much less cooperative (naturally). The workbench to which the vice is attached cracked – and had to be reinforced with long coach-bolts. The nut then came loose. However, the hub was also more firmly affixed and a lot of whacking was need to get it out. Finally it separated from the hub carrier, but pulled the second bearing through the oil seal. It’s going to be fun and games trying to get that off the hub.

This oil seal has a metal rim which, according to the Sierra manual, means it is a newer seal. Now you know.

It was then time to start cleaning the diff. This is really a simple job, and can be done in your bathroom sink, or a small bowl while watching TV. Not.

These things are unbelievably messy. There is so much grease it defies comprehension.

To make sure I put it all back together correctly, I gently engraved markers into the various spacers, shafts etc. I’m not sure this is strictly necessary, but I don’t think it will hurt.

The Torx bolts were removed without hassle, although it is quite tedious cleaning each head. It is very important to make sure the Torx socket seats correctly – if it slips under pressure you might seriously damage the bolt and then you will struggle to get it out. They make a very satisfying “crack” as they break loose.

Then as much grease as possible was removed using tissue paper. This revealed the circlips described in the Locost forum. These are nasty little blighters to remove if you don’t have the right tools – I tried using long-nosed pliers. I gave up, and went and bought a handy Stanley Circlip remover. This is a nicely made tool, as gripping the handles opens the circlip (there are a number of brands that open by separating the handles, much harder to do with one hand). Circlip removal is truly a breeze with this tool, although one did spring loose and fly into my stomach – stings.

There were no spacers and the joint slipped off the shaft with no effort. Well, one was a bit sticky and as it slid off it flew out of my hands into the air. Fortunately my innate Bafana-Bafana skills came into play, and I managed to slow its descent with my shin. I’ll heal.

Cleaning then proceeded, once again using tissues and brushes to take off as much visible grease as possible. Then paraffin was used to dissolve the rest. Make sure you wear gloves for this – it is not a subtle process. Finally, once they were mostly clean, a high-pressure hose was used to get rid of any remnants. I think a final clean will be necessary, but to prevent rusting the joints and shaft were sprayed with Q20. This will have to come off if they are painted in the future.

The gaitors are in excellent condition, although they contain tons of grease. Tissue got rid of most of it, paraffin the rest, and engine degreaser finally made them sparkle.

I only managed one side, the Lobros from the other side are soaking in paraffin.

My recommendations for this job – set aside a work area that can get messy. You WILL spray filthy paraffin everywhere; a grease-coated circlip WILL ricochet off your forehead into something valuable. Wear gloves – those yellow kitchen gloves are fine. They won’t keep you completely clean, but they will help. Have everything you need handy – prevents having to take gloves off unnecessarily. If your significant other loves you enough, or you have friends you can bribe with beer, it really helps to have a clean set of hands ready to apply pliers, open gates and taps, take photos etc. I didn’t, so there are only going to be pics of the clean items. Have lots of available rags, or a Kim roll. Don’t throw grease and paraffin down the drain – I don’t actually know how to dispose of it, but I’m finding out.

B