Dean's S15

[DeanS15]

wicked craig, had the balljoints pressed out the other day so all ready to go once the arms have been coated once again, thanks a lot mate.

 

[craig8585]

Cool, did they come out easy? Just sent you a PM about the joints mate.

 

[DeanS15]

Cool, did they come out easy? Just sent you a PM about the joints mate.

they came out very easy, in fact they were the easiest job so far - i gave them to my friendly local garage to do lol. they charged me a fiver.....

replying pm now mate

 

[craig8585]

£5!? I didn't think you could get anything done for a fiver anymore! The new ones have a circlip in the kit too.. did the old one have these?

 

[DeanS15]

the old joints did have circlips mate, they were very cruddy but came off ok

 

[DeanS15]

right, little update again
sorry there are no pics at the moment but the rear bumper is off, fuel tank is off, last thing to drop are the fuel and brake lines. then its ready to start rubbing back......it can't get any more complicated from there on as the only complicated part then is putting it all back together once i've finished the underside, so i've got as many parts lying around as there is going to get which is nice to know. subframe was meant to be back from the powder coaters today, but looks like it will be tomorrow now so should be bushed and ready to start putting back together as more parts are back from the coaters, and they will start to look like running gear again instead of a pile of junk .

 

[LuPix_S15]

Nice one mate

I've just arranged with Craig to sort out my lower arm ball joints this weekend. We're gonna try and press out the ball joint ourselves so wish us luck lol!!

 

[Fruitbooter]

How hard was it so take the subframe and diff out? Is it complicated enough to warrent a guide being written? If so I think you may be the perfect guy to write it

 

[DeanS15]

i think you'll have trouble mate, if you are hitting the hell out of it to get it out then i'd be worried about bending/flexing the arms. they're only mild steel.....

good luck with it though mate, atill sorry to see the s15 go but i look forward to seeing the stage'r'34

 

[craig8585]

Nice work. I didn't think you were dropping the tank and lines. Who are you using to recoat all the nuts and bolts?

 

[craig8585]

i think you'll have trouble mate, if you are hitting the hell out of it to get it out then i'd be worried about bending/flexing the arms. they're only mild steel.....

good luck with it though mate, atill sorry to see the s15 go but i look forward to seeing the stage'r'34

We have a press that we can use too along with my entire socket selection

 

[DeanS15]

How hard was it so take the subframe and diff out? Is it complicated enough to warrent a guide being written? If so I think you may be the perfect guy to write it

it was really pretty easy mate, from memory (without pics) i can roughly list what i did, but if pics are required i could tie them into the written guide...

obviously the first thing is to jack the car up (leave the handbrake on for now) and place on axle stands, ensuring there is plenty of room to drop the subframe, and if you are planning on a full strip down, dont forget to remove the split pins and crack the hub nuts while the handbrake can still be applied, once the calipers are off it will be a pain

1: remove the exhaust from the cat back
2: remove the rear anti roll bar
3: remove the wheels
STEP 3.5: remove split pins and crack hub nuts if you are stripping down
4: take the handbrake off, disconnect the handbrake cables at both ends and remove the brake caliper bolts and tie the calipers to the hard brake hoses using zip ties to keep them clear
5: remove brake discs
6: undo the four prop bolts to diff and lower the rear portion of the prop down out of the way
7: undo and remove the single bolt on each side at the bottom of the rear shock and pull inwards, clear of everything
8: disconnect the speed sensor and earth strap
9: locate and undo the three or four clips that hold the speed sensor wiring to the fuel tank heat shield until its free and dangling and disconnect the end of the diff breather hose that goes into the chassis rail (be careful with the wire clips as they break easily)
10: slide a trolley jack under the subframe, use a sturdy plank of wood to spread the weight and jack up to support the weight of it
11: once you are sure its not going anywhere, remove the front subframe braces and then remove the rear subframe brace bar, this includes all four mounting bolts in this step
12: if you can, get help from a couple of friends, they must support the hubs on either side while you lower it all down, thier job is to stop it tilting forward or back and keep the weight even

and if all's well, thats it . between an hour and two hours work removing it tops, more if there are rusty bolts......

 

[DeanS15]

Nice work. I didn't think you were dropping the tank and lines. Who are you using to recoat all the nuts and bolts?

a coater in medway i've been reccommended, but i'll get the quote FIRST this time lol

We have a press that we can use too along with my entire socket selection

use impact sockets mate, drop forged ones tend to explode if they are stressed out in a press or impact wrench it's not pretty...

 

[craig8585]

a coater in medway i've been reccommended, but i'll get the quote FIRST this time lol

Cool, I can't find anywhere round here that does it. If you can get them done at a good price I may have to use them too. :nod:

 

[DeanS15]

well the polisher i use recommended these guys, he also warned me off another bloke that will lose all my bolts lol. i will be replacing all the arm bolts for m12x70mm bzp 8.8 high tensile steel bolts that should hold up ok as i've seen them used in kit car builds (plus apex supply bzp 8.8 bolts with thier rear lower brace which attatches the inner toe arms) and yellow phosphate zinc plated hardlock nuts rather than nyloc due to strength of the actual thread lock. this coupled with loctite should be perfect - i bashed the hell out of one of these bolts to satisfy myself that it wasnt brittle or anything and in the end i gave up, they will eventually bend with enough hits with a sledge hammer but dont crack or break. as for the plating, this will only be for stuff like the brake caliper bolts and prop/driveshaft bolts that i wouldn't want to spec myself due to the obvious things that could happen.......

 

[Fruitbooter]

it was really pretty easy mate, from memory (without pics) i can roughly list what i did, but if pics are required i could tie them into the written guide...

obviously the first thing is to jack the car up (leave the handbrake on for now) and place on axle stands, ensuring there is plenty of room to drop the subframe, and if you are planning on a full strip down, dont forget to remove the split pins and crack the hub nuts while the handbrake can still be applied, once the calipers are off it will be a pain

1: remove the exhaust from the cat back
2: remove the rear anti roll bar
3: remove the wheels
STEP 3.5: remove split pins and crack hub nuts if you are stripping down
4: take the handbrake off, disconnect the handbrake cables at both ends and remove the brake caliper bolts and tie the calipers to the hard brake hoses using zip ties to keep them clear
5: remove brake discs
6: undo the four prop bolts to diff and lower the rear portion of the prop down out of the way
7: undo and remove the single bolt on each side at the bottom of the rear shock and pull inwards, clear of everything
8: disconnect the speed sensor and earth strap
9: locate and undo the three or four clips that hold the speed sensor wiring to the fuel tank heat shield until its free and dangling and disconnect the end of the diff breather hose that goes into the chassis rail (be careful with the wire clips as they break easily)
10: slide a trolley jack under the subframe, use a sturdy plank of wood to spread the weight and jack up to support the weight of it
11: once you are sure its not going anywhere, remove the front subframe braces and then remove the rear subframe brace bar, this includes all four mounting bolts in this step
12: if you can, get help from a couple of friends, they must support the hubs on either side while you lower it all down, thier job is to stop it tilting forward or back and keep the weight even

and if all's well, thats it . between an hour and two hours work removing it tops, more if there are rusty bolts......

Sweet nice guide mate! :nod:

I was planning on just dropping the subframe when I target the rust but think I will try and take tank off too..it sounds really scary contemplating doing this but i spose its worth it and its like lego really lol it can all be put back together again!

 

[craig8585]

It sounds daunting but Iguess its like most jobs - once you get stuck in it becomes kind of self explanatory. Whats the worst that could happen?

BTW Dean, your balljoints are in the post

 

[DeanS15]

Sweet nice guide mate! :nod:

I was planning on just dropping the subframe when I target the rust but think I will try and take tank off too..it sounds really scary contemplating doing this but i spose its worth it and its like lego really lol it can all be put back together again!

once the subframes off, there is very little stopping removal of the tank. disconnecting the plugs and hoses from the top of the tank, disconnecting the filler hose and breather, 2 17mm bolts, a couple of pins and the tank will drop. you can either use the trolley jack method as per the subframe or do what i did and lay under it and lower it down by hand. make sure you are low on fuek though lol. i plugged the filler hose with an old bottle cap and permanent pen, and taped the fuel hoses over, the outlet with red and the return with green tape. then just stick a little matching coloured tape on the spout where they go to match it up later

 

[DeanS15]

cheers craig, nice one matey :notworthy:

yep i agree, unless you break or lose things, time and patience is all it needs to go back together and become a working car again

right, going bed now, have been overdoing it a bit :wack: 5am starts, working on the car after work, balancing time out with the missus etc..... i keep trying to remind myself that i have until after the new year - at this rate it'll be done in a few weeks and i dont want to rush it :nod:

 

[LuPix_S15]

Cheers Dean - fab explanation as always!! :thumbs:


Craig - this Sat ok mate? I know you're a bit 'slow' on the texts but quicker on the forum haha



Jay - anytime you need help just holla... I'll do me best to pop over and give you a hand etc. Tuesday nights always best... it's like my equivalent of 'yes love, going bowling...' lmao