16 replies to this topic

[clubman katie B.F]

Hola all forumsters, have started work on katie, just refurbished the brake calipers and ready to go back on. Am upgrading to braided hoses, any hints and tips on fitting these little blighters. also any hints and tips on fitting new quadrants????? is it a difficult job. also fitting a new steering rack...and again your hints and tips will be much appreciated
TVM

[Guess-Works.com]

In order of 'argh' factor

Brake hoses, it's harder to get the old ones off than put the new ones on.. you need some good spanners and some patients, on the rear get the car up on axel stands in front of the subframe with a suitable plank of wood under the car ( this will give you plenty of room to get to the hoses. The front hoses are a little more difficult, I think you will have to remove the radiator to get to the LHS one and RHS one is not much easier

Quadrants, while the back of the car is up in the air , undo the handbrake cable from the lever, but put the bot back on ( stop's it dissapearing through the tunnel )
this gives you some slack in the system. Undo the end of the hadbrake cable from the rear drum and withdraw from the spring plate. The harderst bit of removing the quadrant is the split pin in the top of the elongated cotter pin ( this normally being well rusty ), one removed the pin can be pulled through the radius arm which may have to be lifted to allow the pin to pass past the subframe. One removed the Quadrant can be pulled ( this is what the slack is for ) away slightly giving you a little more room to be able to spread the flanges apart to release the cable... perform same on other side, and take note of the orientation of the quadrant when fitting the replacement...

Steering rack.... the problem here is access and dimensions... by dropping the subframe about an inch you get just enough access to push the new rack through ( take the tierod ends off ) but it is tight, and you still have a gearbox in the way which makes physical access interesing... The best way is to drop the subframe out of the way completely..... when thats out of the way... it's a doddle...

[clubman katie B.F]

thanks for your advice and help, will let you know how i get along....to be honest, not hoping for much luck as she is now 33 and has not been used much in the 10 years before i got her, may buy shares in WD40 and elastoplast. brake hoses had seized on to the calipers, so cut through them then applied lots of heat to the caliper. drive flange bolt well and truly tight (as described in haynes!!!!) even brake pad pins were seized...it doesn't bode well (

[mini90]

Chances are the quadrants are seized then break off the split pin at the top and get brutal to get em down. When you fit new ones ream them out very slightly and make up a small plastic washer out of an old oil bottle put it between the quadrant and the radius arm grease the pin well with Copper Ease and they shouldn't seize again.

[Guess-Works.com]

Sounds like a bit of a job... keep us informed... Now coming to the end of my second strip/rebuild, it is worth it... and yours being such a classic, probably deserves a bit of TLC.

[Purple Tom]

Nick - mine were as bad on Winston when I did the radius arms the day before showdown, and I also had the same problem fitting the braided hoses on the back (but did the front ones when i fitted the four pots and when the engine was out). If you need any help just drop me a text mate!

[clubman katie B.F]

cheers everyone for your support. nice to know there is some support for classic clubbies unlike some magazines i could mention eh tom!!!
Will keep you posted, sod it, might as well fit minifins as well eh?

[Purple Tom]

to be honest I haven't noticed any real difference between the minifins and standard drums, except a slightly firmer brake pedal, and they work slightly better when cold, making up for the cold kevlar pads at the front. But they don't half look pretty!!

[Dan]

It is actually easier to change the brake hose on the radiator side, at least it is on round front shells because there is an access window in the bottom of the inner wing made for just this job. When you fit the new braided lines to the front make sure they are fully tight in the callipers, and the callipers fitted before attatching them to the subframe or you'll get the lines all kinked.
I would use the KAD alloy handbrake quadrants if I were you. They have a slightly different geometry which gives a little better handbrake, but most importantly are alloy so they cant sieze to the steel pin. And they hold the cable better which keeps them moving properly and make it easier to change the cable because they don't crimp onto it.
For the rack, as Guessworks said, it is a b***h to change with the subframe in place so since you have your brakes all disconnected you may as well do it (drop the subframe) before refilling the system. Get the new one roughly in place first, and get the u-bolts around it. Try to get new bolts if you can, but you can't use any old bolts as they have to be a flat section. So if you can't get real ones use the old ones rather than some generic exhaust type ones. The plastic packing strips are quite important. Only one each side, between the flat u of the bolt and the rack using the holes in the strip to hold it in place. Remove the centering bung from the floor pan (in the unused steering column hole) and stick a 1/4" dowel (blunt end of a drill bit) in to the hole to lock the rack in the centre position. Then refit the column in the straight ahead, get the rack pinion aligned to the column so that the angle of the pinion and the column are matched and there is no side load on either part and then tighten the rack up. Make sure the bolts have roughly equal lengths of thread coming through the nuts so that they are centred properly.
Pull the dowel out, set a rough tracking position and go get it set up as soon as possible.

[clubman katie B.F]

you and your kvlar pads......poser, actually i need some pads too. any suggestions, not too bothered about pads that need heating up, too lazy for that. green stuff, pagid?

[Dan]

Green Stuff, seven thumbs up from this reviewer.

[mini90]

Def green stuff use em on the Rally Car never had fade and they don't need warming

[clubman katie B.F]

pick up the grrn stuff, quadrants, steel caliper pistons, steering column bushes ect tommorrow, got the brand new steering rack and shoes today. only cost me 33 quid. need a DECENT ball joint splitter as mini is pants. it is rounded on the end, so slips of the bolts. RUBBISH, just spent 2hours trying to do the bottom arm..AAAGGGHHHH i love my car!!!

[Guess-Works.com]

When it comes to splitters, I find a flattened piece of copper tube between the threads and joint helps tremendously.... and saves the thread on the balljoint..

[cowboy]

i've got both types of splitter's , but i do preffer my v shape the best, does some damage to the rubber so need to change them most of the time
:wales: