Changing Gear (box)
Progress but not much on the Polo today, as a leak in the kitchen and stripping the carpet in the back room and a tip run have eaten into the available daylight hours.
Following the Haynes manual guidance we have removed the air filter box, washer bottle, speedometer drive and reverse lamp switch wiring, removed the clutch cable and 3 of the 4 bolts visible from the top of the engine. The last bolt also holds the starter on place, the starter had three bolts, two of which are easily removable straight bolts. The last one bolts through the gearbox with a nut on the end. The nut is easy to see and turn. the head of the bolt is not. It is hidden under a web of wiring plugs and heater hoses, the hose clips on which have rusted so badly that the screwdriver slots are no longer usable, and even the hex heads are dubious. They will have to be carefully cut off without damaging the hoses, and with daylight in short supply that will have to wait until our next session. So at present the car is having a rest on axle stands in a semi dismantled state.
Next steps will be to remove the driveshafts, and as one has a split CV boot we have a used replacement shaft ready to go on. In preparation I have already cracked the nut off the hub end of the driveshaft so we don't; have the problem Matt left us with when we bought the used part still attached to the dead strut.
Whilst we did hope to have the gearbox swapped today we have snatched back an extra day tomorrow. We would have been Autotesting our old Micra at Acaster, but looking at the weather it's forecast rain all day. At the team briefing (well teatime round the table) we have decided that rather than get up at 7 a.m. to drive 60 miles to event in the wet and cold we will save the car for a sunny day and put the time into the Polo instead. Autotesting is generally warmer and drier and substantially less muddy than Autograss racing, but now that we both compete independently one of us has to stand outside in the rain and on the old Acaster airfield there is no shelter at all. So the time will be put into the Polo instead.
After all, we have booked Thomas's theory test tonight, and if he passes the pressure is on to get the car finished.
Following the Haynes manual guidance we have removed the air filter box, washer bottle, speedometer drive and reverse lamp switch wiring, removed the clutch cable and 3 of the 4 bolts visible from the top of the engine. The last bolt also holds the starter on place, the starter had three bolts, two of which are easily removable straight bolts. The last one bolts through the gearbox with a nut on the end. The nut is easy to see and turn. the head of the bolt is not. It is hidden under a web of wiring plugs and heater hoses, the hose clips on which have rusted so badly that the screwdriver slots are no longer usable, and even the hex heads are dubious. They will have to be carefully cut off without damaging the hoses, and with daylight in short supply that will have to wait until our next session. So at present the car is having a rest on axle stands in a semi dismantled state.
Next steps will be to remove the driveshafts, and as one has a split CV boot we have a used replacement shaft ready to go on. In preparation I have already cracked the nut off the hub end of the driveshaft so we don't; have the problem Matt left us with when we bought the used part still attached to the dead strut.
Whilst we did hope to have the gearbox swapped today we have snatched back an extra day tomorrow. We would have been Autotesting our old Micra at Acaster, but looking at the weather it's forecast rain all day. At the team briefing (well teatime round the table) we have decided that rather than get up at 7 a.m. to drive 60 miles to event in the wet and cold we will save the car for a sunny day and put the time into the Polo instead. Autotesting is generally warmer and drier and substantially less muddy than Autograss racing, but now that we both compete independently one of us has to stand outside in the rain and on the old Acaster airfield there is no shelter at all. So the time will be put into the Polo instead.
After all, we have booked Thomas's theory test tonight, and if he passes the pressure is on to get the car finished.
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