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Re: 2 * 2.1 SD

Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:39 pm
by Dean
Sounds like it was well worth the effort, do you think it came from the factory like this, previous abuse or could be due to wear in the rear swing arm bearings?

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Re: 2 * 2.1 SD

Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:48 pm
by Dieselman
The bearings are fine.
The other side was out previously and I scraped the housing out, which is much harder and more time consuming than making a shim. I suspect when the car was moved around on trailers, the rear wheels were strapped down very tightly, pulling them forwards slightly, but forcibly, deforming the hub socket. The rear toe was within tollerance and only abiout 0.4mm out at the wheel rim.

Re: 2 * 2.1 SD

Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:45 am
by Dieselman
Driving home on Tuesday the clutch pedal went to the floor and didn't return upwards. Surprisingly, there was no bang noise as it went down.

Yesterday I had a look and saw...

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This clutch cable was new a few months ago due to the bell crank pivot splitting, so seeing this was surprising.

After a bit of dismantling I got the clutch cable into the engine bay...

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No pedal ferrule.

I retrieved the ferrule from the pedal and drove the cotter pin out of the bell crank, fitted the old upper cable to it, then refitted it to the car.

To gain better access I removed the upper negine torque bush and pulled the engine forwards with a ratchet strap, which gave just enough room to fiddle the cable back into place.
Pushing the cable through the bulkhead wasn't enough to get the ferrule to engage with the pedal, but a bit of movement of the pedal and it clicked into place. Result..!

I couldn't get enough slack to be able to engage the cable to the clutch operating arm, but after having a helper operate the clutch pedal while I pulled hard on the cable saw the tensioner suddenly release and give enough slack.

This car has always suffered with a heavy clutch, but now having re-routed the cable and the tensioner has released, the pedal action is noticeably lighter. I believe the bite point is now lower so the over centre spring is coming into play and assisiting the foot pressure.

I suspect the pedal connection ferrule has been under too much tension due to the high bite position of the clutch, possibly causing the release arm to move too far and bind. When fitting a cable always ensure the tensioner is releasing the cable fully.
I recall Jorgy having this issue and he also complained of a heavy clutch that had no slack in the cable.

I'll make some repair pieces for the bell crank and ferrule, so I have a spare cable.

Re: 2 * 2.1 SD

Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 9:19 pm
by Dieselman
For the last couple of weeks or so I've been painting the spoiler as it had lacquer peel.

I've now decided I won't bother painting any more parts, just get it done. the aggravation and wasted time has been ridiculess.

I thought I'd got it all done and it just needed a bit of flatting and polishing when I stupidly overheated the lacquer when machine polishing. On sanding it back, I then breached the basecoat at the edge.

Re: 2 * 2.1 SD

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 7:47 pm
by Dieselman
A number of jobs needed doing on the Cobalt car.
The central locking had been playing up on the front passenger door, so I took the lock unit apart by forcing the plastic case open, removed the bits of broken plastic spacer and glued it back together. This lasted a few weeks then the lock started screetching as the gears slipped. Inspection showed the case was parting and allowing the gears to lift causing slipping. No problem...fit the one off my now scrap mandarin car, which had never given a moments bother.

This lasted about a week before the motor failed to lock the car. It would reliably unlock, but rarely lock. I checked the main door loom at the connector and found verdigris on the connectors...great...a good scrub up and clean then back together and...it was no different...apart from the outside temperature display was now disconnected...!! :evil:

I had noticed the O ring in the connector was split, but didn't have time to deal with it, so disconected the lock motor two pin connector and put the door back together. Next the drivers door lock started playing up also by judderring and not unlocking/locking the car.
I haven't had time to deal with it, so had to resort to using the key to lock the drivers door and having no central locking on the passenger door.
Locking the car has been a right furore..
Lock the passenger door from inside. This causes the rear doors to lock and then unlock because the drivers door hasn't locked. Get out, lock the drivers door with the key, then use the plip to lock the rear doors...

That fault was very annoying but there were more pressing issues.

The car started being slow to start, needing extended starter motor activity...aha...simple, glow plugs or air leak, you say.

Glow plughs checked in situ, all had low resistance and aren't that old, so I assumed they were all OK. This is a Bosch equipped engine, so removing No 3 & 4 is a real chore. I was also sure it was an air leak.

I have recently fitted a new filter primer diaphragm so didn't think it would be that, so checked the pipes for tight conenctions. The one to the filter from the heater was too large diameter and not able to make a perfectly tight grip on the stubs, so a new peice of pipe later all seemed well...for a couple of days...

Clear pipe to the rescue straight from the metal feed pipe to the filter head and we now have perfect starting and reduced smoke output. It was the heater O rings leaking air under fuel suction.

Thinking, at least the list of jobs is reducing when BANG...the clutch pedal goes to the floor...and stays there...

If you look back you will see this car has had a brand new cable installed earlier this year due to the bell-crank splitting. The new pedal ferrule then shattered a couple of months later.

What had gone this time, bell-crank or pedal ferule?

The bell-crank of course...

Have I got a replcement? Well technically, Yes on the scrap car, but as I still need to move it I didn't want to use that cable...and if two plastic bell-cranks have split, I suspect a third might as well. What to do?

I decided to fabricate a bell crank repair piece out of steel.

A recap of the ferrule failure. Worth remembering. ;)

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The latest bell-crank failure. They always fail in the same way, the plastic shows stress cracks around the holes and at the tight radius, then they fail.

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The bell-crank is 18mm thick and has chamfered edges so it can pass into the metal mounting bracket fully.

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I fabricated a 18mm wide U shaped piece from 3mm angle iron and a piece welded on then drilled which ended up being the shape below, as it has to pass into the metal mounting.

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Template... Sorry, no CAD drawing...

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Mark up the thick flanges on the plastic bell-crank.

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Now you reach the point of no return...

Grind down the plastic bell crank to accept the metal repair piece. Once you have done this the plastic piece will be scrap if this doesn't work...

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I chose to glue the parts together, but if doing it again would probaby just heat the metal and slide it on.

Use two 6mm dowels to ensure alignment while the adhesive sets.

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I also decided to ensure there would be no further ferrule failure so fabbed up a ferrule as well.

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The final product.

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This was a very awkward repair and although the ferrule is exactly the same length as the original, the cable was too short to release the secondary cable tensioner collet, so after removing the cable yet again, which is no mean feat on a 2.1td, I cut the outer metal shroud back as later cables are, so I could manually press the collet flange in...which released the cable so I could fit it to the clutch release arm.
I forgot to measure, but believe cables tend to have varying length primary cables. I recall member jorgy having problems getting a new, supposedly correct, cable to fit. I now believe this is why.

This car has a heavy clutch and I do intend to replace it, but others have suffered bell-crank and ferrule failures even with new clutches, so I thought metal was the way forwards!


To be continued...

Re: 2 * 2.1 SD

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 8:15 pm
by Dieselman
Back to the myriad of faults to rectify.

The air leak was done...the clutch cable was done...Yea...!!

Time to tackle the door locks again....

I decided to repair the original front passenger door lock then refit it to the car.

I opened the unit again, refitted the parts and powered the motor to ensure it ran smoothly...Nope, it jammed.

Inspecting the gears showed rounded teeth so I trimmed and sanded those, checked for smooth operation and the good news all was well.

The lock innards.

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I ensured all the parts were there and working, checked the operation of each of the contacts and actuators, drilled the original plastic plugs and used self tappers to screw the top cover back on...adding a smear of sealant round the joint. After a general lube, swapped the lock unit back into the door and tested it. Great, it works fautlesssly.

I moved onto the drivers door and swapped the lock unit from the one on the now scrap mandarin car. We now have working central locking...time will tell.

Some time ago the passenger door glass rain seal split on the inner face, so I thought I would remove the one from the mandarin car and fit it.

What a job it is to remove the seals, as the inner side latches over a return on the door skin. I found the only way is to remove the glass then forcibly pull the rubber back off the return until enough is free to be able to lift the rear end of the seal, having unbolted it at the rear trailing edge.
Once you can lift it, you need to prise the lip off the metal return by using a flat-bladed screwdriver to push the return rubber down and off the door skin return. It's quite hard work. Heating it with a hot air gun hepled.

Fitting it to the new door is easy, remove the door mirror, wind the window down, lubricate the door and seal, then position and press down with a few blows from a rubber mallet. Lastly add the nut at the trailing edge to secure it.

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I opted to use a trim removal tool to ensure the return was hooked on properly.

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You can see the return locking barb in this photo. Never, ever, just try to lift these trims off, the rubber will split.

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The outside temperature sensor is now fixed as well, by removing the split O ring from the door hinge, loom connector and fitting a new O ring, ensuring it was pushed all the way to the bottom of the housing. The old one was shifting and stopping the connector clamping together properly.

A replacement rear washer pump has also sorted the lack of rear washer function.

Still a fair list to go. This car was placed on earth to test my patience.

Re: 2 * 2.1 SD Driver visual quality - dashboard.

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2018 5:51 pm
by Dieselman
Before my ownership, the car sat outside for seven years, with sunshine taking it's toll on the interior colour, including bleaching the dashboard needles, which had gone light orange/whiteish. This and the delaminating temperature display makes the car seem aged when driving it.

I swapped the display from the mandarin car and decided to repaint the dashboard needles, partly as a test to see if it is satisfactory, as the V6 needles are in a similar condition.

I opted to repair the unit already in use rather than a replacement. This means I have a known good one as a reference and test bed. This car has always had a dodgy Glow Plug lamp, which would only work rarely. Replacing the complete unit proved it was the dashboard unit that was faulty.
Also the trip meter tumblers have been jamming when the reset button was pressed, which is annoying if using the trip meter for fuel economy measurements.

1st step.
For later reference ENSURE YOU TAKE A PHOTO OF THE DASHBOARD WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AT OPERATING TEMPERATURE.

Remove the binnicle from the car by prising out the plastic caps in the sides, then undoing the screws followed by push the top towards the windscreen to lift the rear edge. Prise the rear edge over the driver warnings display section to free the rear edge completely, then pull the binnicle cover backwards, towards the driver. This will then release the front locators.

Unscrew the 4 x torx screws holding the dials unit in, unclip the three electrical connectors, pull the unit towards you and undo the speedo cable by pushing the collar forwards, down the cable, 5mm or so, to release the grips.

Old, discoloured dashboard needles in the unit.

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The needles are made of clear perspex and painted on the underside, so that the backlight illuminates the length of the needle in colour. To remove the needle you need to prise the central section off the spindle. They are a very tight fit, so a good tool is necessary. I used large tweezers slid under the needle centre as a wedge and pry.
Clean all the old paint off using isopropyl, or similar. They are painted in orange, with a white coat applied lastly, to block light leaking out of the back of the needle. It is this white that becomes visible as the orange degrades.

I recoated with three coats of orange first then added a coat of white as a light block.

Discoloured needle against a newly painted needle.

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The finished needles back in place...a bit prematurely as it turned out. You can only align thee needles properly with the unit in the car and with the engine running, because they have stops which are not the zero point of the meter. This meant I had to strip the unit down, pull the needles off again and realign them once the unit was in place and with the engine running, to give accurate needle positions.

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I stripped the odometer and trip tumblers and washed them, which appeared to fix the jamming trip tumbler issue, and fitted a replacement glow lamp holder. Of course after fitting the unit back in, I found the trip tumblers still jammed, along with the glow plug warning still being faulty the following day.

These faults meant the complete unit had to be stripped down again, for a replacement trip tumbler to be installed. The Glow lamp issue turned out to be cracked solder joints on the pins of the blue connector.

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Rebuild and more needle setup and testing and we have a completely working dashboard. I set the speedo by numerous test runs using GPS on a long, straight dual carriageway, rechecking at various speeds. The error is 0% at 30mph to ~+2.5% at higher speeds.

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Which looks good at night, as the needles are properly back-lit.

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Overall, I'm pleased with the appearance and fully working dashboard.

Re: 2 * 2.1 SD

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 9:53 am
by raynoon
Looks excellent Will.

Re: 2 * 2.1 SD

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:27 pm
by Dieselman
Thanks Ray, it has really improved the appearance from the drivers perspective.

Re: 2 * 2.1 SD

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:08 pm
by Dieselman
Gearbox oil change.

Since owning this car I've never changed the gear oil, in the 23,000 miles of use. I've always thought the gear selection was poor and there seemed to be excessive transmission of gear chatter through the gear lever.

Today I changed the oil, using 1.85 litres of Total Gear8 plus.

I've only driven it a few miles as a test but the gearchange and transmitted noise and vibration seem to be vastly improved.

The old oil did look a bit dark, but no real bits or much swarf on the magnetic drain plug. I suspect the extreme pressure (EP) propeties of the old oil had broken down. I should have done this ages ago.

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