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Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
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Dec--, 00: AM (EDT) |
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se%2C try to drill the %28hardened tool steel%29 fragment out. Obviously in this instance that was not an option.%0D%0A%0D%0AFortunately%2C whatever material those brackets are made of %28and they were too heavy to be aluminum%2C so I%27m guessing either mild steel or cast iron%29%2C it was soft and very easy to tap. We were able to get everything together without incident%2C but it illustrates a new variant of the same old theme%3A even with %5Bi%5Dbrand new parts%5B%2Fi%5D%2C it%27s always something. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0AWith all that done%2C all that remained was to mount the caliper itself%2C then hook up the hydraulic line%2C and voil%C3%A0%E2%80%94one disc brake on a car that was made before disc brakes.%0D%0A%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2FG-GFX%2Fcars%2Fimpala%2Foverhaul%2520project%2Fsession%25208%2Fdisc%2520brake%2520installed.jpg%0D%0A%5Bfont size%3D%222%22%5D%5Bb%5DFig. G%5B%2Fb%5D shazaaaaam%5B%2Ffont%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AI think you will agree%2C that looks mighty nice.%0D%0A%0D%0ANow the punch line%3A that%27s less than half of the whole job. We%27re not converting the rear wheels%2C but the brakes back there do need to be overhauled and cleaned %28and anyway%2C we have to take the rear end apart to replace a bunch of seals%2C which you can%27t do with the brakes installed%29%3B plus%2C in addition to the same conversion on the other front wheel%2C we also have to remove the old single master cylinder and replace it with a power brake servo and a new double cylinder%2C then replumb the front half of the system. Or possibly the whole thing%2C depending on the condition of the rear lines.%0D%0A%0D%0AStill%21 It%27s a start%2C and it proves that the kit actually does fit together the way the catalog entry said it would%2C despite the iffy instructions. A good afternoon%27s work.%0D%0A%0D%0AAlso%2C in the course of doing it%2C we discovered another thing that needs urgent attention.%0D%0A%0D%0ALet%27s go back to that steering mechanism for a second. The tie rods are some of the most important bits of the car%2C and often overlooked. If one of them fails%2C %5Bi%5Dyou can%27t control the car%5B%2Fi%5D. Period. Doesn%27t matter if the other front wheel is still behaving itself%2C you%27re not going to be able to brute-force it with one wheel doing whatever it wants. Lose a tie rod at speed and you %5Bi%5Dare%5B%2Fi%5D going to crash.%0D%0A%0D%0AYou may%2C then%2C imagine our dismay when we got the Impala%27s unhooked and discovered that they were as loose and floppy as the joints on a worn-out G.I. Joe action figure.%0D%0A%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2FG-GFX%2Fcars%2Fimpala%2Foverhaul%2520project%2Fsession%25208%2Floose%2520tie%2520rod%2520end.jpg%0D%0A%5Bfont size%3D%222%22%5D%5Bb%5DFig. H%5B%2Fb%5D drooop%5B%2Ffont%5D%0D%0A%0D%0ANow%2C when it%27s not attached at the end%2C it %5Bi%5Dis%5B%2Fi%5D supposed to hang down like that%2C because it%27s jointed at the end where it attaches to the central link. All the same%2C in the process of adjusting it to fit the new geometry of the right front wheel %28the new mount moves the cross link back about half an inch%2C so the rod needs to be shorter%2C and they are adustable for that%29%2C we discovered that the passenger side one%2C at least%2C is wore out%2C as we say here in Maine. And if it is%2C the driver%27s side one is sure to be as well. For safety%27s sake%2C they need to be replaced%E2%80%94inner tie rod%2C outer tie rod%2C and the adjustable sleeve that links them together%2C on both sides.%0D%0A%0D%0AThese parts are not particularly expensive and it%27s not a hard job%2C but it%27s another thing we hadn%27t thought of. We%27ll need to look over the rest of the rigging%2C make sure nothing else up there is flopping around%2C but we always intended to overhaul the actual steering box anyway%2C since the power steering pump is leaking.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe day contained one more little surprise. Remember I noted before that the kit%27s instructions say not to use 14-inch wheels with these brakes%3F We have a set of 15-inch steel wheels to use%2C but Dad was very sad that he couldn%27t use the 14-inch Cragar Super Sports he bought years ago. Well%2C once we had the passenger side front brake fully installed%2C he test-fitted one of the steelies and found a surprising amount of room behind and inside it. So surprising that curiosity overcame him%2C and he went and got one of the Cragars.%0D%0A%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2FG-GFX%2Fcars%2Fimpala%2Foverhaul%2520project%2Fsession%25208%2Fcragar%2520wheel%2520on.jpg%0D%0A%5Bfont size%3D%222%22%5D%5Bb%5DFig. I%5B%2Fb%5D %28not one of the ones he polished%2C naturally%29%5B%2Ffont%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AAnd... hm. It seems to fit just fine. There%27s at least a half-inch of clearance all the way around%2C and nothing touches on the inside face. So... why does the manufacturer say%2C both in the catalog description and the instructions%2C that they %5Bb%5Dstrongly recommend%5B%2Fb%5D at least 15-inch wheels and %5Bb%5Ddo not support%5B%2Fb%5D the use of 14s with this kit%3F It doesn%27t seem to be a problem with caliper clearance%2C which would be the most logical reason not to use smaller wheels. So what%27s the problem%3F%0D%0A%0D%0ADad thinks it%27s because not %5Bi%5Dall%5B%2Fi%5D 14-inch wheels clear%2C and they don%27t want to be responsible if someone uses the wrong ones%2C but that the Cragars will be OK. I%27m not %5Bi%5Das%5B%2Fi%5D sure of that%2C but I can%27t think what other%2C less obvious problem might lurk in that configuration%2C and I don%27t like just being one of those %22but the %5Bi%5Dbook%5B%2Fi%5D says %5Bi%5Dnot%5B%2Fi%5D to%21%22 people. It would be nice if it had been better-explained%2C but%2C well%2C we%27ve already determined that the documentation involved with this kit is not of the best.%0D%0A%0D%0AOn the downside%2C if we %5Bi%5Dcan%5B%2Fi%5D use the Cragars%2C I bought those nice hub caps for nothing...%0D%0A%0D%0AAnyway%2C that was all the time we had. Next time we get together%2C we may do the other side%2C or we might back up and do some more engine tuning%2C now that we have a new dwell%2Ftach gadget to try out. Depends partly on how much time we have%2C now that we%27re working around other commitments and can%27t always spend a whole uninterrupted day on it.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A%5Bfont size%3D%222%22%5D%2A My father claims to know the exact temperature below which he can stand to grab something hard enough to move it%3A 140%C2%B0 Fahrenheit. He says this comes from years of working on machinery in the paper mill where he spent his career as a mechanical engineer. I present this information here as I received it and invite the reader to take from it whatever it is felt to be worth.%5B%2Ffont%5D%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D. ""
In response to message #
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Gryphon
Charter Member
22355 posts |
Jun-23-19, 09:53 PM (EDT) |
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2. "RE: Project Impala: Session 8"
In response to message #1
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>The other consideration for not using 14" wheels may not be clearance,
>it might be airflow. Disc brakes need a lot of it to keep the rotors
>from warping from excessive heat, and 1/2" clearance at the back may
>not allow enough. That could be. On the other hand, Cragar Super Sports have those big holes in them, so that might be another thing that varies with wheel type. (You wouldn't, for instance, get that kind of ventilation with steelies.) I dunno! I might try to get ahold of the manufacturers and see if they can explain themselves a little better, because the documentation says nothing about what considerations are in play. --G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam. |
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Gryphon
Charter Member
22355 posts |
Jun-24-19, 06:16 PM (EDT) |
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10. "RE: Project Impala: Session 8"
In response to message #6
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>>To be honest Ben, if you choose to do so it would be greatly
>>appreciated by myself even if no one else felt that way when you
>>decided to do it
>
>I sent them an email; if I hear back, I'll share the result. THIS JUST IN: The email I got back from the company was basically one long run-on sentence (these guys make brake kits for classic cars, not textbooks :), but the gist of it is: The "minimum 15 inches" thing is there because wheels vary so much that they can't predict which wheels smaller than that will or won't work with the kits, while anything as big as that or bigger should work regardless. 14-inch wheels that do fit are fine to use. Well, Dad will be happy. We can use his favorite wheels after all! --G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam. |
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Gryphon
Charter Member
22355 posts |
Jun-24-19, 01:05 PM (EDT) |
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8. "RE: Project Impala: Session 8"
In response to message #3
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>In an interesting bit of cross-pollination, Bad Obsession Motorsports
>recently dropped an Escar-got video covering the brakes -
>specifically, the bulging, tired, terrifyingly important rubber brake
>line.
>
>Strongly recommend spending some time examining brake lines.In the Impala, only the last 10-15 inches of the lines at each wheel rubber hoses; all the rest is metal pipe. The hoses are getting replaced as part of this rebuild (the kit came with new ones for the front, and we'll get fresh ones for the back as well), and we'll be doing a complete inspection of the pipes while we've got it up on the jack stands, have no fear. (It's been many years since that car was exposed to winter road salt, and it probably won't ever encounter it again, barring some unforeseen emergency, but all the same, those pipes have a tendency to rot something awful in older GM vehicles that live around here. We'll also blow them down with compressed air while we have the master cylinder off and make sure the system holds pressure.) --G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam. |
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MuninsFire
Member since Mar-27-07
457 posts |
Jun-24-19, 12:41 PM (EDT) |
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5. "RE: Project Impala: Session 8"
In response to message #0
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> I was interested to find that the 2.0L turbo I4 they had in 2013 has
> its oil filter on top, not underneath like every other car I've ever
> had. To take it off, you just open the hood, reach in there, and...
> unscrew it. I had visions of this leading inevitably to a huge mess,
> but it has a check valve inside it that triggers when you've got it
> most of the way unscrewed, so whatever oil is still in it runs down
> into the engine before you pull the filter off. Hardly dribbles any
> on the engine at all.Well that's mighty civilized. I suppose it's one of those things where most other manufacturers reckon that you'll be underneath there getting the oil out of the sump anyway, so why bother with easy access from the top, but if you're at one of the drive-over-the-pit oil change places that'd make for much faster overall changeover, what with being able to use teamwork. > ... Of course, that's probably why the oil filter for that engine
> costs about twice as much as any other one I've ever needed, but into
> each life a little rain. Gets nearly as bad as printer ink with some of these parts.... In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea |
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Gryphon
Charter Member
22355 posts |
Jun-24-19, 12:54 PM (EDT) |
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7. "RE: Project Impala: Session 8"
In response to message #5
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>Well that's mighty civilized. I suppose it's one of those things where
>most other manufacturers reckon that you'll be underneath there
>getting the oil out of the sump anyway, so why bother with easy access
>from the top, but if you're at one of the drive-over-the-pit oil
>change places that'd make for much faster overall changeover, what
>with being able to use teamwork. Much less likely to be knocked off if your front suspension loses an argument with a badly maintained railroad crossing, too, not that that ever happened to a 1987 Pontiac I used to own. >Gets nearly as bad as printer ink with some of these parts.... Heh, back when we lived together in Waltham, Truss once discovered that, with the right online coupons, it was actually cheaper to buy a new printer than to replace the ink cart in his old one. That was before printer manufacturers realized they'd created that situation and started shipping printers with those shit starter cartridges that only have like 50 pages' worth of ink in them. --G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam. |
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pjmoyer
Charter Member
1854 posts |
Jun-24-19, 01:20 PM (EDT) |
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9. "RE: Project Impala: Session 8"
In response to message #7
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>>Gets nearly as bad as printer ink with some of these parts....
>
>Heh, back when we lived together in Waltham, Truss once discovered
>that, with the right online coupons, it was actually cheaper to buy a
>new printer than to replace the ink cart in his old one. That was
>before printer manufacturers realized they'd created that situation
>and started shipping printers with those shit starter cartridges that
>only have like 50 pages' worth of ink in them. A friend of mine in the artist's biz who makes a lot of prints of her art does that. Professional photographers when they buy new cameras, usually end up getting a photo printer of some type bundled with it, but they don't need the printer for whatever reason, so they sell them on Ebay and she buys them up new, uses them until the ink runs out, then buys another. Cheaper than buying new cartridges AND going to FedEx/Kinko's combined! --- Philip
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Philip J. Moyer
Contributing Writer, Editor and Artist (and Moderator) -- Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
CEO of MTS, High Poobah Of Artwork, and High Priest Of the Church Of Aerianne -- Magnetic Terrapin Studios
"Insert Pithy Comment Here"
Fandoms -- Fanart -- Fan Meta Discussions |
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Gryphon
Charter Member
22355 posts |
Jul-08-19, 09:26 PM (EDT) |
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12. "RE: Project Impala: Session 8"
In response to message #0
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LAST EDITED ON Jul-08-19 AT 09:26 PM (EDT)
>Let's go back to that steering mechanism for a second. The tie rods
>are some of the most important bits of the car, and often overlooked.
>If one of them fails, you can't control the car. Period.
>Doesn't matter if the other front wheel is still behaving itself,
>you're not going to be able to brute-force it with one wheel doing
>whatever it wants. Lose a tie rod at speed and you are going
>to crash. Strangely timely update: on my way down to Bangor the other day, I passed a minivan parked by the side of the road over in East Millinocket. When I glanced back at it in the rearview mirror, I noticed that the driver's side front wheel was positioned for a right turn, while the passenger side wheel was turned for a left. Congratulations to the person driving for keeping it out of the bushes. That must have been an exciting few seconds. --G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam. |
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BroderTuck
Member since Mar-11-24
1 posts |
Mar-15-24, 04:06 PM (EDT) |
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1. "RE: Project Impala: Session 8"
In response to message #12
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New user here (from Stockholm, Sweden, not the Stockholm, Maine discussed in another recent thread), but I've been following the EPU works for quite some time. Have enjoyed the trials involved in "Project Impala", and do a re-read from time to time, but noticed that the first post here in session 8 seems to be (at the moment) majorly corrupted. I also suspect that getting it fixed is not the highest priority... |
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Pasha
Charter Member
1018 posts |
Jul-08-19, 10:16 PM (EDT) |
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13. "RE: Project Impala: Session 8"
In response to message #0
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>Let's go back to that steering mechanism for a second. The tie rods
>are some of the most important bits of the car, and often overlooked.
>If one of them fails, you can't control the car. Period.
>Doesn't matter if the other front wheel is still behaving itself,
>you're not going to be able to brute-force it with one wheel doing
>whatever it wants. Lose a tie rod at speed and you are going
>to crash. This leads me to tell my favorite second-hand vehicle repair story<1> that I may have told here before, but it's such a perfect segue I can't not. The guy who used to be my stepdad is a large equipment mechanic. Like, your bulldozers and your dump trucks and your excavators and the like. Now, a piece of equipment breaks down on a job site and you have two problems: 1) Your job site is shut down until you can get it running, and 2) it's not exactly a thing you can call Dave's Towing to come pull down to the repair shop. So, said stepdad had converted an international Cargostar into a mobile shop that he could take to where ever the problem was and fix it onsite (as an aside, he was by far the first person I knew with a car phone, because he was never actually *at* the yard he worked out of). He also kept tinkering with the truck, adding this and that, a gas tank with meter, new separate transmission behind the regular one to swap between "high" and "low", etc. Also one semi memorable summer, the summer I learned to weld in fact, we all banded together and added a 5 ton hydraulic crane, complete with outrigger jacks. These will be important in a second. So, one day while on the ramp merging from 380 to 101 (or the other way around, I can't quite recall) he lost all steering on the thing, and rammed into the jersey barrier at all of 5 mph. Grumbling, he set out cones, called CHP for a wrecker and proceeded to pick up all the tools. After a while (he claims an hour. Knowing him, 20 minutes at the outside) he crawled under the truck to see what was wrong. Now, the part of Gryph's story that I decided to tangent off has probably spoiled this, but: Broken tie rod!
So, he gets back in the truck, thinks for a bit, then swings out those aforementioned outriggers, hits the jacks to lift the truck up enough that it's not resting on those wheels any longer, straightens them "enough", and just..welds the rod back together. Slaps a little more filler rod and some bolts around the break, dumps an ugly braise on it, puts his gear back, grabs his cones, lowers the truck, and drives (gingerly) back to the yard where he can wait for actual replacement parts. --
-Pasha
<1> It should be noted that I don't really have a favorite first hand vehicle repair story but the turn of phrase was entirely too perfect
"Don't change the subject"
"Too slow, already did." |
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RE: Project Impala: Session 8
RE: Project Impala: Session 8