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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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 Posted - 21 Nov 2010 : 9:00:05 PM
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front end has a small clunk when doing a u-turn...lower, inner bush on front Left side looks contorted and like the vulcanising has let go on the inner sleeve, (from the little I can see). I've let this go and go, and now it looks like something needs to be done soon.
You reckon I should just get exchange arms? (for a small fortune of $270 for urethane bushes...that STILL leaves ME the job of extracting the castor bush from the chassis) ??
Or should I be a man, and do it all myself.  I've done similar stuff before, but I don't currently have much in the way of bits of pipe or huge sockets to use as press/vice tools. The whole new arm is soooo attractive, yet I want to save money.
RIght now I'm tired, and I've a good mind to just drive the damn thing into the city tomorrow morning and trade it in on a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera...Then I could finally be free of this money pit. 
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 21 Nov 2010 : 10:58:46 PM
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| If you were to change all these bushes yourself, you would still have to take it somewhere to get the wheel alignment redone. I guess if you could somehow mark the toe in and camber angles, they may still be off by a big (ish) margin because if your alignment was correct with worn bushes, new ones would change it. |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 21 Nov 2010 : 11:25:52 PM
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True, Mechknight, I do need an alignment whatever I do.
I'm leaning towards just doing the rack boots and getting the Whiteline bushes. If I do it myself and get an alignment...should only cost $205, and everything would be tight.
You are correct the toe change from old to new bushes could be considerable. Worst case scenario, I drive slowly and carefully the ~3km to the tyre shop. I'm trying to get enthusiastic about doing this...it needs doing at some point and I might as well do it at my convenience as when it suddenly becomes dire. |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 22 Nov 2010 : 8:47:06 PM
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| It tryuly becomes dire when you can hear banging noises coming from the suspension, as it means metal on metal contact. Never had that happen to any of my own cars, but have seen the aftermath. You will notice an improvement in handling though; the less play in ANY part of the suspension bar the springs, the better it tends to go round corners, and even stop. |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 22 Nov 2010 : 10:31:05 PM
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Totally agree, there should be no loud noises from there. I can't believe I'm trying to justify this, but in my defence, the clunk is only audible when doing a slow, full-lock right turn (u-turn). It handles, tracks, corners , brakes really well otherwise..new tyres were wearing well...although tightening it all up could only help more.
I thought some more about it after last posting...and I think I want to buy complete arms afterall,read to go with all bushes/b-joints installed. With the other bits and pieces, this would be over $400 with alignment...
BUT, the oil leak situation unfortunately needs addressing before I feel safe sinking yet more money into this car. I think replacing the tappet cover gaskets will help a little (I just found a small river of oil down the top, rear of the engine)... but I think I may need to do the sump gasket in the next year or two.
I'm thinking it would easiest and cheapest to do BOTH those jobs at the same time if I go the path of removing the cross member to do the sump. Basically my next move is to plan on being able to remove the crossmember by myself with engine supported from above - looking at engine supports on Ebay for around $145 + freight.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Engine-Load-Support-Beam-Workshop-500KG-Cradle-Guard-/330493760852?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4cf2f69554
A slightly expensive bit of gear for home use, but by the time I burn fuel and time running around just trying to buy steel and chains etc...I couldn't make one that cheaply. And you could kill yourself if the engine is not secure and falls on you. Plus I figure I'll use it on the 6.2L auto 420Kw HSV I plan to buy (used, of course) eventually. 
The oil leak situation is the last real achillies heal in keeping this car longer term. So, it may be that all this has to wait another 12 months for the time and money for this mini-project. I can't really spend any more time on it for the next 6 weeks or so, at least. Torn rack boots be damned. And I need a a proper holiday soon, I think...somewhere, anywhere. 
I'm not quite sure if this is all a complete waste of time - trying to keep a car this age in great condition - but I get the impression if I spent $16.000 on a 2006 VE Commodore, I'd be buying a car with ~100,000 kms that also already had potential maintenance issues...with no warranty left.
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 23 Nov 2010 : 5:16:28 PM
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Before you start going after changing the sump gasket, just check the tension on all of the sump bolts, when the engine is stone cold. If you're lucky, they're just a little loose. Just don't make them super tight, as there's some chance you'll snap some of them. Same goes for the rocker cover gaskets, and even the valley cover (intake manifold) Sometimes with expansion and contraction, they manage to work themselves loose. It's usually heat, specifically overheating that will destroy engine oil seals; that s what makes the leaks "permanent."
In the short term, there's a variety of stop leak additives you can use. They stop oil leaks by making the neoprene/cork rubber gaskets expand, which hopefully will seal the leak. Whatever servicing you do, take it to a self-service car wash, put it on ramps or axle stands, and clean as much grease off as you can. Then you'll know exactly where it's coming from. |
Edited by - Mechknight73 on 23 Nov 2010 5:18:58 PM |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 23 Nov 2010 : 8:49:46 PM
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The tappet cover bolts were all tight - they are designed to 'bottom out' on their non-threaded portions - you don't have an option of how tight to do them, afaic - which means if your gasket isn't nice and thick and springy, you have NO means of varying the tension on the gasket.
The new (Ezy/ACL brand) gaskets I just put on seemed quite thicker than the red, rubber ones that were on there. Frankly, they were a little bit of a PITA (especially driver's side) due to being a tad tight and wanting to spring out of the groove in one corner of the tappet cover, but I'm 99.9% I got them on correctly. (checked with little mirror  ) It was just a bit more time and messing around than I expected, and I was determined that they go on without a hitch that required a do-over. There was definitely a fair sort of stream of oil developing from the rear on the driver's side - I was surprised by that cos I had pretty much been dismissing that as a very minor issue not worth bothering with until I had a better look yesterday.
Maybe I should check tension on sump bolts, but I don't hold much hope there. I WOULD like to give it a good clean just to see what's going on, but partly I can't be bothered getting that dirty, and I don't want to go somewhere and pay $ to drown all the electrics far away from home.  We'll see. I think I really gotta let it all go for now, though, and come back to it later. Kinda forming a plan for a big once-over job on it. |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 27 Nov 2010 : 12:38:50 AM
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| I cleaned out my engine bay the other day, and other than the belt squeaking a little, the water didn't seem to do any harm. The only thing I can really suggest is to "re-wrap" any suspect looking bits of wiring harness with insulation tape, or if you can get it to fit over the connectors, heat shrink. |
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