1971 HLS30-14938 "Lily" build

[Patcon]

On 8/27/2017 at 10:02 PM, Patcon said:

It has the red springs which I will run to start with. I would have gone with the Eibachs if I had known better at the time and I may go with those later if these are too harsh. The directions call for light oil in the shock tube for heat transfer. Do any of you guys add oil when installing the struts? I like the idea if for no other reason than being able to remove them later. I have seen struts corrode into the strut so badly I couldn't remove them...

I thought about using a synthetic 0w-30 oil for the tubes but have no idea how much to add, although it might say in the FSM. It wants them filled to like a 1/4" down from the top of the strut but I am not sure you can see that with the strut in the tube...

Anybody got any input on this?

[Mike W]

Charles,

The oil is supposed to help heat transfer and, as you point out, help to prevent the struts from rusting in the tubes over time.  When I did mine I believe that I used a very lightweight oil and I used about 1/4 of a cup.  I have heard that others have used ATF, but I can't seem to find those posts right now.

In the limit I don't think the fluid type is critical as long as you have something in there for the above 2 reasons.

Hope that helps.

Mike.

[Patcon]

Thanks Mike

[Patcon]

Got the universal joint out of the upper steering column. Pressed it out today after soaking for a couple of weeks...

The new Kawasaki u joint is very similar in size. The caps are the basically identical size. The spoke length overall is very close. Should work great...

@Captain Obvious

Opened it up today. Looks great!

I had to solicit help from a lathe owner to help with some dies. I found some NOS bushings for the mustache bar. So CO was able to help me out...he might, eventually, sometime, somewhere post up some details...

Worked on the lower rear control arms today. I couldn't get the bolts to thread in easily so I found a tap

Retapped them

I bought the cheapest tap I could find. I figured worst case scenario I would only have to tap 4 holes for now...

Edited September 25, 2017 by Patcon
Pedantism...

[Namerow]

15 hours ago, Patcon said:

Got the universal joint out of the upper steering column. Pressed it out today after soaking for a couple of weeks

I did this replacement earlier in the year.  Very pleased with the end result as there is now zero slop (more like, 'click') in the front and rear joints.  A couple of tips:

• When you reassemble, it helps to chill the needle cups before inserting them into the yoke.  I used a spray can of 'Part Freeze'.
• Doesn't hurt to also warm up the yoke ears , too. I used a heat gun.
• When you're pressing the cups home in their bores, be careful not to let one of the cups go too far so that it travels past the inside face of the yoke.  When this happens, the cup behaves like it has a slight draft angle and it won't back up into the bore.  Maybe it gets cocked a bit sideways, too.  Whatever.   Bottom line is that the cups will go one way (in), but they won't go the other way (out).  I learned this the hard way and ended up having to cut a brand-new spider in half in order to extract the cup from the yoke.  After that, it was back to the cycle shop to buy another one.
• You may need to dress a bit of metal 'flash' off certain edges of the spider casting (forging?) before you'll be able to get the second yoke in place.  You'll know which edges need to be shaved when you try to assemble the parts.  You won't need to remove much more than ~ 1/64", but without doing this there may not be enough clearance to get the second yoke ear to fit over the ends of the spider.
• What with chilling, heating, and pressing, you're probably going to make a bit of a mess when you're doing the re-assembly, so save any painting until everything's back together.

[Captain Obvious]

Progress looks great!

I will post up details of the moustache bar bushing dies when I get a chance. Since the bushings are NLA and you likely have the last two remaining pieces in the world, I'm not sure how much use they would ever get, but I think details would still be fun to look at!

(PS - The thing that puts threads on the outside of a male part is a "die". The thing that puts threads on the inside of a female part is a "tap". You bought and used a tap. Pedantic, I know.    )

[Patcon]

Thanks for the tips Namerow. I thought I would do color afterwards so I could color the joint too, since it looks raw.

1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

Progress looks great!

I will post up details of the moustache bar bushing dies when I get a chance. Since the bushings are NLA and you likely have the last two remaining pieces in the world, I'm not sure how much use they would ever get, but I think details would still be fun to look at!

(PS - The thing that puts threads on the outside of a male part is a "die". The thing that puts threads on the inside of a female part is a "tap". You bought and used a tap. Pedantic, I know.    )

Thanks for that...

Actually you own the last two bushings. They just haven't gotten there yet. Look at the packaging closely and guess how I got them...

I am still hopeful we can get Nissan to put this on their remanufacture list. Surely someone has a contact at corporate...

Did I really do that??? I corrected it now, my back is pissed and it has me out of sorts a little bit...

[motorman7]

On 9/23/2017 at 1:50 PM, Patcon said:

 

Worked on the lower rear control arms today. I couldn't get the bolts to thread in easily so I found a die

Retapped them

I bought the cheapest tap I could find. I figured worst case scenario I would only have to tap 4 holes for now...

What size is the tap?  I need to get one as well.

[Patcon]

22x1.5

[Captain Obvious]

9 hours ago, Patcon said:

Actually you own the last two bushings.

Haha! And I thank you immensely! No hurry on sending a care package my way. I'm not taking my car down right now. With so few remaining Z days in my part of the country, I'm going to stall on any hard core work until the weather turns!

And as for your back, I completely understand. You know I'm there with you bud!!

[Patcon]

23 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

Haha! And I thank you immensely! No hurry on sending a care package my way. I'm not taking my car down right now. With so few remaining Z days in my part of the country, I'm going to stall on any hard core work until the weather turns!

And as for your back, I completely understand. You know I'm there with you bud!!

I knew it might be a winter project but I will ship them soon. Need to look for an AFM first. They are boxed on the counter but I will repackage if I can locate the AFM.

We moved a 600# gun safe the other day. My back is reminding me of how that is a bad idea!!

[Captain Obvious]

Yeah, that would be great if you have an AFM as well. Keep me posted, and take care of your back!