November 2008
Hi all,
I'm writing this from work as I stayed behind at 6pm to quickly replace the rear brake shoes on my Escort (1997/R 1.8 16v Ghia X 5 door hatch, no ABS). I'm quite mechanically adept but haven't worked on drum brakes in about 15 years. I am using a Haynes manual for guidance.
I have changed the offside shoes but when I refit the drum to the hub, the drum will only rotate freely through 180' before stopping with a clonk. When turning the drum the other way the same thing happens. I have figured out that the leading shoe is slipping downwards when I refit the drum, almost to the point that the top of the leading shoe has slid completely off the piston.
I've checked, double checked and triple checked, and it appears I have assembled the brake shoes, springs, clips etc correctly. The handbrake is adjusted right off and the self-adjustment mechanism is set as far in as it will go, to prevent the drum from fouling the shoes on refitting.
What am I missing? (Apart from my dinner!)
Many thanks in advance.
Dave TD.
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Hi
We need a new family car
We are a one car family so it must be a do-it-all
Since we bought the last one we have acquired 2 kids and a horse
The main driver is a keen petrolhead
The rest of the family just want something comfortable to potter around town and go away for the weekend in
The complicating factor is that it now needs to be able to tow as well as traverse a steep muddy rutted rocky farmyard on a regular basis, this is currently destroying our present car
Im at a loss as to what will fit the bill
An Audi Allroad seems obvious but until this month they fail miserably on CO2 emmissions and hence VED
I want a 6-18 month old car to lessen the depreciation shocker
It will be kept for several years so after I buy it Im not massively worried about further losses
On the other hand it must be reliable (bye bye Disco3) because as its our only car we just cant have it laid up for days on end when it breaks down
Budget flexible
30k should buy most things I can think of at 18 months old
The Audi is the safe option if a little dull
A stonking V8 (petrol or diesel) will sort my midlife crisis even if its a 4x4 - I dont care about VED or running costs if its 'cheap' to start with as it will be kept for years
And a knackered Defender and an A6 wagon etc is an option we have considered but we really only want one car :)
Any ideas - Im spoiled for choice in the current market
Anything to a 65k Merc GL or a RR can be had for a stupendous discount at the age Im looking at, the thing with the RR would have to be reliability...... Read more
Just to clarify, a 'horsebox' is a motorised vehicle, whilst a towed thingy is called a 'trailer'.
Part of my education as a 'horse husband' too :-)
I replaced the ailing battery on my wife's Punto today and the slight clutch judder that has been apparent seems to have gone.
Am I imagining this? Read more
Yes your description of the issue is spot on oilrag thanks.
Hi i have a mercedes clk 2.3 kompressor 2000 model when pulling away and changing gear on releasing the clutch i hear a knock /slap from the rear , has anyone else experienced the same ?
{subject header amended to give a brief description of question being asked} Read more
Hello again i finally got round to checking the propshaft, the only movement i found is where the two halfs of the prop join there is play in the toothed spline . Does this mean a new propshaft?
Slightly off topic, has anyone changed seals in a trolley jack? i have a sealey 3 ton jack that needs new seals, i can get the seals from sealey but they give no advice how to do the job.
Cheers. Duggie Read more
hi mate its fairly straightforward if you just take it apart and remember how you did it there will probably be 1 u seal and a small gland seal there easy to take off just remember which way they are facing
its a case of probably a few bolts and circlips holding a rod in?
hope this helps ya a little bit if ya got any more specific questions i,ll try help
im a hydrulic fitter and i service these from time to time
Interesting post on Piston Heads. (With photos)
tinyurl.com/5h3end
Some sharp intakes of breath I would imagine.
(Mods..hope this isn't breaking any rules)
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Did you see that Jag XJ !!!!!!????
***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 7 *****
To continue the debate on the effects of the so called Credit Crunch.
Vol: 5 can be found by clicking:- here
All CC related stuff will be decanted in here.
Keep it relevant, motoring is linked to the crisis, any "Yah Booh Poltics" will be chopped.
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Yes, but I think it's usually "pre-budget". Mind you, he'll probably "introduce some measures immediately given the situation.
Monday is my birthday, I wonder what he'll bring me?
Update:Just checked the Beeb site, this isn't being billed as pre-budget, apols!
Hi All,
Most of us know that the big 3 manufacturers in the US are in trouble and have gone "cap in hand" to the government for 25 billion dollars so things must be bad.
Aside from pensions issues, and health care etc etc, why cant they just save a whole load of money and sell the european models in the US? May be they already do. If so then why are they bothering with duplicating design these days? Do honda build an Accors specifically for the States? Or indeed Toyota with the Camry?
I understand why american cars were big and understressed for the geography but surely with advances in car design we can have a one size fits all scenario these days?
I understand that there is now the Saturn Astra and Ford sells the Focus there but surely theres some scope for completely rationalising the whole glut of brands like Lincoln, Buick, Plymouth. It reminds me of the badge engineering British Leyland had for many years.
We hired a Ford Taurus a couple of years ago whilst in Florida and I thought it was okay in a white bread kind of way (if a bit cheap on the dashboard). I'm sure the latest mondeo would be able to compete with it on interior size so why not just brand the Mondeo as a Taurus in the US? My only thought would be that the Mondeo appears to be a much more sophisticated car therefore perhaps more expensive to make.
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Europeans don't really get the US cars and keep going on about build quality whatever that is and sloppy handling. I have a 2006 Ford Mustang GT, I have sorted out the suspension using 20% harder and lower springs and it is truly sorted, it's superb. For me a car has to be fun. I am not bothered about what plastic they have used on the dash and whether it is soft touch and auto lights/wipers etc. Every time I start that V8 my face grins and keeps grinning long after I stop driving it. The car is FUN and I like having FUN :)
The Mustang seems to get respect from old and young alike. Repairs and servicing are easy and virtually everything can be done DIY. You do not have to take the front bumper or battery off to change a headlight bulb and if you do have to take the bumper of you can in 10 minutes. My last yearly service was £140 according to the handbook the real expensive service is at 100,000 miles which will cost around £500.
I brimmed up with petrol today and it has done 27.6 MPG just tootling around about this is the same as my mates 5 series petrol BMW (which is an 05 and has been back and for the dealer with various electrical problems over the last few months costing him a fortune). My Mustang has only cost me to buy what the 5 series has depreciated.
I am now contemplating a supercharger which will add and another 125Bhp and keep me grinning as I get older. And if my boat comes in I will import a Camero SS it is so beautiful.
Euro/Jap boxes are very good, all look quite similar to each other, they get you around and do their job but to me they are as much fun as a dishwasher.
Just got back from Italy. Flew this time with a certain Irish budget airline. Hideous but cheap enough I suppose. Travelled from Stainsted Eh-powt, also hideous, but there you go.
I was visiting the head offices of a very well known apparel and footwear brand. Without advertising, suffice it to say they are at the top of their game and are internationally famous in the field of premium young fast fashion.
Their headquarters are vast and the internal architecture and interior design is stunning. The building is populated by large numbers of elegantly edgy young fashionistas and their clearly successful managers. The place oozes money and style.
It was though, interesting to observe the car choices. I had imagined that the sort of people who would work for such a company and in such a clearly image concious environment might have reflected some of that influence in their choice of cars. I had thought that I would see a car park full of Alfas, Maseratis and the like. I was quite wrong.
The Managing Director picked me up from the airport in his base model Passat estate. It was newish but not in the first flush of youth. A divisional director took me to dinner at a very swanky eatery and gave me a lift there in his diesel Punto, again a base model. The export sales director subsequently ferried me back to the airport in his Focus estate.
I know these guys quite well and I know they are way more than capable of affording more indulgent cars. I managed to work the conversation round to the subject of car choice at one point and tried as politely as possible to find out why they had made such practical selections.
Was it, I wondered, to do with punitive company car taxation or some company policy for example? The truth of the matter is somewhat surprising and I may say refreshing.
They all confirmed that they were indeed entitled to company cars but chose not to avail themselves of that option. Taxation was a consideration of course. They all took the view that they would rather be paid a bit more and do their own thing re cars. All were allowed to rent cars for business use if required but for the most part just used their own. Despite their strong interest in the world of expensive high fashion they simply did not see their cars as a significant element of that and preferred to spend their money on eating out and holidays etc.
I am not for one moment using this to illustrate any personal opinions. I just thought it was interesting by comparison to the typical British attitude. Maybe they were not typical either but the more I thought about it the more I noticed that ther were fewer so called premium cars as a percentage of the total and perhaps a larger number of practical or less expensive ones.
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I think iffithelps and Altea Ego have it about right. These guys are astonishingly proud of their clothes etc but also by coincidence all have huge motorbikes as well. I suspect they just regard cars as convenient transport and nothing more.
Like I said at the beginning, I am not expressing any view of this, just thought it was interesting by comparison to the general way of things here.
It has been many years since I was close to the corporate car park contest but friends who still work in that sort of environment tell me it is still alive and well.
Don't think I could be bothered with all that now but who can say for sure....it's quite easy to get carried along by things sometimes....
Ciao Ragazzi !!!
This is a minor but irritating problem. My daughter has just bought a Yaris and when in use, ie. normal driving, it is fine, but after stopping and taking her foot of the accelerator, upon using it again it momentarily sticks. The mechanism is fairly easy to see and I've squirted it with WD40 but no change. It has a fair amount of sideways play-is this usual or could it be wear? (car's done 111k) I can see the cable disappearing into the bulkhead-can I put oil on the cable? I don't want to make it worse. Any advice? Read more
Hi Andrew-I haven't explained that very clearly-the looseness was in the pivot mechanism of the pedal, not at the engine end.
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Long shot. The retaining pins and springs have been re-fitted have they, the lavk of these can cause the shoes to tip rub on the drum and push the show down. Regards Peter