[Rmc-list] Troubleshooting adventure - Spooky!

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 20:10:27 -0700

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As I was heavily involved in the fix of Joan's '66 convertible Friday =
night
("It won't go. I barely got home!" type of problem.), Laura drops
unexpectedly by and gives me a hand as I changed out the fouled plugs =
and
crunchy wires. We get that done about dark and I ask her.  "What brings =
you
over here?" She replied," Dad, I have a couple of problems with my car". =
"On
the way home from work, it just started making this vibration about =
forty
miles an hour". "I feel the vibration in the steering wheel and the gear
shift too". "It does not sound good at all!"  She took me for a ride to
check it out. What a weird happening! We got back home and put the car =
upon
a jack and checked out the axle bearings and U-joints. The U-joint on =
the
driver's side looked and seemed ok as did the wheel bearing; then on the
other side, there was something that didn't act right! As I rotated the
wheel, I noticed that the U-joint seemed to have a strange movement at =
the
top of its rotation. Upon further, inspection, I could see the U-joint =
cap
move away from the retainer at both ends as I rotated the wheel. Well,
that's certainly a problem! So now that we have the mystery solved, we
planned for a Saturday of replacing the short yoke assembly. I had one =
for
my 62 station wagon project that I planned on using. Saturday was really
cold. Finally, I decided not to wait for Laura and to just get started =
and
get it done. Everything went fairly a planned, except for the difficulty =
in
getting the brake drum back on. It just seemed to be too tight of a fit. =
So,
I laid the drum down and I tapped the front brake shoe to better seat =
it.
And what happens?  The lining fell off!! That's all I needed to make my =
day!

=20

I called Broadway Auto Supply for a set of rear brake shoes. Laura =
arrives
and we go for lunch and brake shoes. We had a heck of a time with =
getting
the shoes on so the drums would go over them! I have found on two =
occasions
that the linings have been too thick! I finally got that problem solved =
and
the car ready for a test drive. Right out of the box, at forty miles and
hour, the same problem! Back to square one again! Further road testing
proved to be of no benefit. Back at home in the drive way and before =
getting
out of the car, we discussed the facts and symptoms over again. Laura =
said
she could even feel the vibration in the accelerator and floor at about =
2500
rpm. She put the engine at that speed and there it was - the vibration! =
Well
after the obvious things checked, back to the rotation elements in the
engine compartment. I started trying to isolate the faulty component of =
the
fan belt system. The idler pulley assembly was checked first. It had =
been
replaced in the recent past, and was not thought to be the culprit even
though it had a peculiar spot in its rotation that seemed too tight.
Substitution of components was in order to locate and validate the =
illusive
vibration. The idler assembly was first in order. Second, was to check =
the
generator with the belt removed. This was the problem. The bushing =
showed
excessive play when the generator pulley was forced down from the top. =
This
generator had been totally refurbished several thousand miles ago. The
bushing had been taken out for the second time!  The shaft is must too =
worn
to be reliable. It is time for a fresh unit. So, I robbed 'Peter to Pay
Paul' as the saying goes and got rid of the problem vibration. And then, =
as
we finished the road test after dark, I noticed that there was a =
headlamp
out on the driver's side. It had a hole in the lens. After the lamp was
replaced with a T3 I had left over from Joan's car's conversion to =
halogen
lamps, I told Laura that she should check all the lamps. You guess it, =
the
two center lamps did not light at all. One lamp was burned out and the =
other
one was not plugged into its socket! Spooky! Finally the lamps were all
working and adjusted properly. By the way, the front wheel bearing were
checked and re-adjusted earlier. Boy! It's time to eat. What? It is 9:30 =
pm!

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convertible Friday night (&#8220;It won&#8217;t go</title>

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As I was heavily involved in the fix of Joan&#8217;s
&#8217;66 convertible Friday night (&#8220;It won&#8217;t go. I barely =
got
home!&#8221; type of problem.), Laura drops unexpectedly by and gives me =
a hand
as I changed out the fouled plugs and crunchy wires. We get that done =
about dark
and I ask her.&nbsp; &#8220;What brings you over here?&#8221; She
replied,&#8221; Dad, I have a couple of problems with my car&#8220;. =
&#8220;On
the way home from work, it just started making this vibration about =
forty miles
an hour&#8221;. &#8220;I feel the vibration in the steering wheel and =
the gear
shift too&#8221;. &#8220;It does not sound good at all!&#8221;&nbsp; She =
took
me for a ride to check it out. What a weird happening! We got back home =
and put
the car upon a jack and checked out the axle bearings and U-joints. The =
U-joint
on the driver&#8217;s side looked and seemed ok as did the wheel =
bearing; then
on the other side, there was something that didn&#8217;t act right! As I
rotated the wheel, I noticed that the U-joint seemed to have a strange =
movement
at the top of its rotation. Upon further, inspection, I could see the =
U-joint
cap move away from the retainer at both ends as I rotated the wheel. =
Well,
that&#8217;s certainly a problem! So now that we have the mystery =
solved, we
planned for a Saturday of replacing the short yoke assembly. I had one =
for my
62 station wagon project that I planned on using. Saturday was really =
cold.
Finally, I decided not to wait for Laura and to just get started and get =
it
done. Everything went fairly a planned, except for the difficulty in =
getting
the brake drum back on. It just seemed to be too tight of a fit. So, I =
laid the
drum down and I tapped the front brake shoe to better seat it. And what
happens?&nbsp; The lining fell off!! That&#8217;s all I needed to make =
my day!

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style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

I called Broadway Auto Supply for a set of rear brake =
shoes.
Laura arrives and we go for lunch and brake shoes. We had a heck of a =
time with
getting the shoes on so the drums would go over them! I have found on =
two
occasions that the linings have been too thick! I finally got that =
problem
solved and the car ready for a test drive. Right out of the box, at =
forty miles
and hour, the same problem! Back to square one again! Further road =
testing
proved to be of no benefit. Back at home in the drive way and before =
getting
out of the car, we discussed the facts and symptoms over again. Laura =
said she
could even feel the vibration in the accelerator and floor at about 2500 =
rpm.
She put the engine at that speed and there it was &#8211; the vibration! =
Well
after the obvious things checked, back to the rotation elements in the =
engine compartment.
I started trying to isolate the faulty component of the fan belt system. =
The
idler pulley assembly was checked first. It had been replaced in the =
recent
past, and was not thought to be the culprit even though it had a =
peculiar spot
in its rotation that seemed too tight. Substitution of components was in =
order
to locate and validate the illusive vibration. The idler assembly was =
first in
order. Second, was to check the generator with the belt removed. This =
was the
problem. The bushing showed excessive play when the generator pulley was =
forced
down from the top. This generator had been totally refurbished several =
thousand
miles ago. The bushing had been taken out for the second time!&nbsp; The =
shaft
is must too worn to be reliable. It is time for a fresh unit. So, I =
robbed
&#8216;Peter to Pay Paul&#8217; as the saying goes and got rid of the =
problem
vibration. And then, as we finished the road test after dark, I noticed =
that
there was a headlamp out on the driver&#8217;s side. It had a hole in =
the lens.
After the lamp was replaced with a T3 I had left over from Joan&#8217;s
car&#8217;s conversion to halogen lamps, I told Laura that she should =
check all
the lamps. You guess it, the two center lamps did not light at all. One =
lamp
was burned out and the other one was not plugged into its socket! =
Spooky!
Finally the lamps were all working and adjusted properly. By the way, =
the front
wheel bearing were checked and re-adjusted earlier. Boy! It&#8217;s time =
to
eat. What? It is 9:30 pm! &nbsp;

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