Rebuilding rear swing arms

[MiniDave]

Did you shim the gearset after you changed the ring and pinion?

[MPlayle]

Back when I did the final drive, yes.  This time it was just the speedometer worm-drive gear I changed and that does not get shimmed.



I did not change anything about the final drive, just redoing the case gaskets to stop an oil leak there.

[MiniDave]

I thought you had changed the final drive ratio....what did you go to, 3:1?

[MPlayle]

Last fall I did change the final drive.  That resulted in my discovering I have non-standard drop gears.  I put in a 3.1 final drive set.  When I checked the results, it behaved as though I had put in a 3.2 set.  I checked the set I took out and it was a 3.44 set that had been behaving as a 3.76 set.  There are about 3 combinations of non-standard drop gears in the 1.04xxx range that would result in the observed behavior according to the Guessworks site.

[MPlayle]

Short effort today.  I cleaned up the pot joints some and regreased them, put them back together, and put them on the differential.  Then ai added about 3 quarts of oil for checking for leaks while it is still on the bench.  A preliminary check showed no leaks (fresh paper towel underneath), but I will leave it overnight just to be sure before putting the engine back in the car.

[MPlayle]

Finally got back to the car today.  There were still no signs of any oil leaking after sitting on the bench for most of the week.

I got a later than desired start, but I did at least get the engine settled back into the car and the motor mounts bolted up.  I also got the shifter linkage and support rod reattached.  I am hoping to get some more put back together tomorrow.

[MiniDave]

We've had quite a bit of rain and cooler temps this week, has it cooled off down there too?

[MPlayle]

Yes & no.  The "official" temperatures are a bit lower - mid-to-upper 90s instead of over 100; however, the humidity is still up there so the heat index is still running 5 - 7 degrees higher.  We have gotten some heat induced rain, but that does not cool us much - just makes it more muggy after the rain and just as hot.

[MPlayle]

I finally got another chance to work on the car today - in the middle of another week of 100*+ days.

Not much progress: I got the exhaust installed and the carb bolted back on with a fresh fuel filter in place.  I still need to hook up the accelerator and choke cables, install the front hubs/driveshafts, and set the tow-out.  Then I can see about getting oil pressure, adding fresh fuel with a cleaner added and firing it back up.

[MPlayle]

It ... Is ... Alive!      ...  ...  ... (And in serious need of a bath!)

It took a bit of cranking, pulling the banjo bolt from the block and squirting some oil to back feed, and some more cranking, before the oil presure popped up to pressure.  That was expected from sitting since May 18th and the engine being pulled for fixing the oil leak.

Once I had oil pressure, I put the spark plugs in and reconnected the fuel pump and ignition and she fired right up nice and smooth.

I put the car back on the ground, rolled it back and forth some to do an initial settle of the suspension and checked the toe setting.  Before I disassembled the front, I had measured the toe-out and it was a total of 3/8" toe out (too much).  I had guessed at disassembly that about 1 full turn out on each steering rack end would be a good start.  When I measured today after the initial settle it was spot on at 1/16" total toe out, so I just snugged up the jam nuts on each side for now.  I will recheck after a bit of driving and further settling of the front.

[MPlayle]

Got a chance this morning to do the final touches on the Mini Van: added some brightwork I had gotten some time ago but not yet installed (Union Jack badges on the A-panels, a "Mini 1000" tail badge, and a set of the polished kick plates on the front door pocket corners). 

I then took it for a short drive to a car wash and gave it the much needed bath and vacuum, then topped up the tank with fresh gas and drove home (already 100*).  The carb needle change eliminated the slight hesitation in accelerating from a stop and the overall performance seemed about the same.  The temp stayed on the 'N' for the short drive home in traffic.  I did not have my gps along to see what the speedometer drive gear change did for the speedometer discrepancy.

Tomorrow, I will recheck the coolant and oil levels.  I do know the oil leak is fixed.  I can finally start enjoying it again - pending the scorching heat.

[MiniDave]

And you sold the car with A/C!?!?!   

[MPlayle]

Oh, I also added a high-mount LED third brake light above the rear doors.

[MPlayle]

Had the Mini out for an errand run today to test the overall results and had the GPS along to check out the effects of the speedo drive change.  Outside temps were at 100*F and it ran fine - just a little above the 'N' at highway speeds (70 mph @ 4000 RPM).  No hesitation spots in accelerations.

The best part: ... I now have an accurate speedometer!  It was a spot on match to my GPS across the whole range up to 75 mph.   

[MiniDave]

Well done!   

I like having an accurate speedo, even tho I mostly use my Garmin for speed as well as location.