Day 21 – 20/2/11 Back to the rear

Saturday was a washout with rain, mist and cold so I went out on the town.  On the back of a cracking night out with Russ and a group from work I set about dropping the rear sub-frame assembly.  I removed the front bolts and the trailing arm fixings.  Then I removed the shock absorbers from the hubs.  I put the trolley jack under the differential and took the load and blocks under the front of the frame, then it was on to the final four fixings.

The first three bolts came out no problem the fourth one was tight but still turning with the aid of the ratchet extension.  I kept the bolt turning slowly but then there was a bang. Oh, Bugger! The nut that was welded into the frame had broken free on the bolt.  So it was spinning loose but no way to reach the nut. Been there, done that before. Out with the angle grinder and a cutting disk 2 minutes job sorted.

the free spinning bolt problem chopped down to size courtesy of the angle grinder

On the jack I slowly lowered the sub-frame to the point where the jack could go no lower.  Back under the car to remove the blocks and it was down.  I pulled the jack with the assembly on top out from under the car. Job done!  Then it occurred to me.  How was I going to get it into the garage? I could just about lift it one end of it my own without my crane.  Time to summon some muscle support.  I called Russ who said he would be round in 20 minutes as he was going out shopping.

Next it was on to the fuel tank.  I loosened one of the 2 tank straps and started on the second strap. One of the bolts was too corroded and the socket just destroyed the corners, and open spanner was no better.  I couldn’t get the angle grinder in so my only option was to drill.  Ten minutes later and the head dropped off and I felt the tank drop an inch.  I put blocks under the side of the tank and went back to the other side to release the first strap.

Russ popped his head over the fence.  He had brought his wife Claire with him who seemed a little tired still from last night.  I don’t know what time they finished but I’d left at 1am and it was still going strong.  We pick up the sub-frame and walked it round in to the garage.

I went back to the fuel tank.  I was about to drop the tank when I noticed the pipes down the side.  They were the fuel pipes that run down the inside of the car to the engine bay.  But the flexes are connected to the tank through a pipe fitting that was fixed to the tank which you can’t get to without dropping the tank.

Tech Tip: When working under the car, especially on fuel pipes, it is definitely a good idea to wear eye protection.  As annoying as it can be, wearing eye protection when flat on your back under the car with years of dirt, rust, and other detritus inches from your face is not a bad idea, primarily because you can’t move out the way quickly enough. But when dealing with pipes with dregs of fuel in definitely do so.  I ended up accidently getting fuel in my face twice and was very glad of the protection of safety glasses.

Flexes clear and I was able to release the second strap.  And the tank was free.... Unfortunately, not wanting to drop the tank literally, I was under the car at the time and found myself with the tank lowered onto my chest. I was delighted as this was the last major part of the donor car to remove.  A small milestone achieved.

Then, you know when something dawns on you? You get that sudden realisation that you made a well intentioned screw up?  Yup! I made it.  I was laid under the car with the petrol tank, probably a couple of litres of residual fuel in it by the way it swayed, sat on my chest and no way to get either myself or the tank out from under the car. Muppet!

I ended up effectively walking on my shoulder blades, laughing to myself and pushing the tank back to keep it in position and eventually with the tank resting on my shins the tank was low enough I was able to drag myself and the tank out from under the back of the car.  Job done. I think I am now up to chapter 2 on the CKC build document.