September 25, 2003
Day 13 - filling the diff, bits and pieces and start on the gearbox
Decided to leave the brakes for the time being and crack on with some other things. I quickly fitted the washer bottle and horns.
After my half-hearted brake bleeding exercise, I decided that I wasn't going to scrimp on filling the diff and would do it properly. Getting the sump plug out was a pain in the arse (loosen it before you fit the diff) and I needed an 18" breaker bar to get enough torque although the restricted access didn't help. I can't remove the boot floor as the manual suggest as I have a plumbed in fire extinguisher. I rigged up a funnel and tube down to the filling hole and warmed the diff oil in warm water to thin it a bit. The funnel was really small as it was the only one I could get into the tube. The oil flowed alright, but slowly. Three hours later, I was still only about 2/3rds of the way through the first litre so I left it. It will take another couple of hours yet to finish off. In the second picture below you can see the problem with the driver's side handbrake cable touching the driveshaft. It's not easy to position it to avoid this and the De Dion and there's nothing in the right place to put a tie wrap round. I'll work it out eventually. You can also see my rear brake pipes that I'm just not happy with for all sorts of reasons. Nothing really definite, just lots of concerns ;-)
Right, onto the gearbox whilst the oil is trickling through. Trial fit the bell housing and there don't seem to be any problems. I get out my instant silicon gasket and smear it on the paper gasket supplied and fit the housing and 'box together. It's a bit difficult to torque the bolts up as the clearance is tight but everything seems to go together fine.
I cover up the diff filling funnel to stop any crap getting into it and call it a night.
2.5 hours today, 41.5 hours total.
Posted by charles at September 25, 2003 10:57 PM