Jump to content
Panko

Panko's Mk1 Escort (Round 2)

Recommended Posts

3 minutes ago, deankdx said:

i meant to ask pedders how far My tape measure alignment was out(or not?) forgot all about it, meh. should be good, only thing adjustable really is toe anyway

well when i fitted the sway bar a few months back. I asked for the guy doing the alignment to go to +3mm caster. I got it +3mm on one side, and +3.5mm on the other side, using a tape measure haha. 

this time, nowhere near correct. its that out, that driving back and forth in the driveway, is leaving faint tyre marks lol 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

haha yeah its just the toe now. 

because in my case, adjusting the caster using the sway bar, also screws with toe angle. its hard to explain, you'd have to see it in person to see how. 

aligner is about 1km from my place. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A V8 will solve the issue of the strut tops not fitting properly LOL :D (sarcasm)

If it was me i'll be shortening that negitive battery lead a little (so it doesnt rub on the rad support and or bonnet) and turning the terminal around abit ;)

When i last drove my XD (this winter just gone) it was running abit too cold for my liking (like 140F - 150F) So i tapped up half the grill with a piece of cardboard and 2 inch electrical tape. Looked stupid but it worked and got the temp up to 170F-180F :)  (didnt get any pics)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hehe i think ive sorted the temp thing. But i dont want to open that topic again. 

I think the neg post should be ok for now. I might end up fitting a larger battery to help with starting. However since tuning the carby, i havent had to jump start it once 👌❤️

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well. I got the car aligned today, but it certainly hasnt come back as good as I had hoped. 

They didnt touch the driver's side top mount, left it as i set it, but rotated the passenger side about ⅕ of a turn forward. As a result, it appears to have less camber, but worst of all, the steering wobble i had months ago has returned really bad, like beflre i fitted the Kmac adjustable front sway bar. It only means 1 thing…not enough caster, id imagine just on the passenger going by how much they rotated the top plate. So i will go have a chat with them next week when i can. I know Peter personally, so he should be happy to work with me to get it right. 

Other than that, the car feels much nicer. Steering (apart from wobble) feels amazingly smooth, it handles ok (i dont feel like im getting the full benefits of the top plates yet) and the shocks feel good. Doesnt ride too harsh. Definitely harsher than before, but not unbearable. 

But of course, the story is always the same. Fix one thing, break another. Yep, the gearbox has sprung a decent leak. Not a fast leak, but decent. Obviously been leaking for a little while, there is a damp layer of oil all the way under the car. And it's definitely trans oil 😡 :( 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

nope couldn't be bothered going after i got home from emerald. and the weather turned pretty bloody cold again. or maybe it was just me, i had been in t shirt and shorts all day lol 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well after getting the alignment done on saturday, i decided i wasnt happy and i adjusted the passenger side strut top back to how i fitted it, to match the driver's side. it definitely helped the issue with the steering wobble, and just felt a little better driving it. i then turned it 2 holes further to give more caster, and helped a bit more, but was just starting to throw the toe angle too far out. 
The steering wobble is still there, BUT, on a dead straight flat road, doing 80km/h (when the wobble is at its worst) it will randomly stop, until i have to move the steering wheel to go into a bend or turn, and it will start up again. SO, I'm thinking the steering rack might be playing a big part in the wobble, the way it comes and goes. i know the rack is in a bad way, i know that. so I'm not going to attempt anymore remedies until i get the rack sorted. 

BUT, (always a but) when I was working under the car up on stands, i noticed a lot of oil under the car, from basically the bell housing all the way to the diff. and I had wiped a bit of oil off the gearbox only 3 or 4 days earlier. 
I have discovered the gearbox has blown what appears to be the input shaft seal. so its just losing oil all over the underbody of the car. i also felt something was wrong driving it on saturday, because on 2 occasions, i struggled to do a couple gear changes, as a result crunching the gears. i dare say thats due to oil level being low, and possibly getting on the clutch, meaning the its slipping and not slowing the box down or fully disengaging drive, causing the crunch. 

So for now, the poor old thing is being parked up. potentially at Sparky Dave's factory.

Ive decided to make the call, while I'm on borrowed time keeping the XF at our other property (about to be listed for sale as part of deceased estate), the XF is now taking priority to get it to a stage where it is ready to be sent to the panel shop. 
So to stop me getting distracted by it, the Escort will hopefully end up stored at Dave's factory, until a time when i have the time and space to drop the gearbox out of the car, and fix it up, and do the steering rack :(, which i dont have at the moment, between clearing our other property, and relocating stuff to home, finishing and putting stuff into the new garage, its just not going to happen :(:(:(:(:( 

fucking cars ey 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This photo doesn't really do it justice. but thats oil all over the bell housing and gearbox, the floor on the left of the photo (driver's side) you can clearly see the dark oil covered floor, and down the passenger side floor, the tail shaft had an oil film, and the flange on the diff end of the tail shaft, and front of diff was quite wet with oil. 

at first i figured it was engine oil, but its not. its clean, yellowish thin trans oil, coming from the bell housing :( 

 

bT1QKCl.jpg?1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 minutes ago, deankdx said:

Hope it doesn't catch rust from the dustpan there....

Seems like you're needing to do same as me with the Gemini. Practically a full rebuild 

yep. 

i guess my only concern is, i park the escort up, then a year later its still not fixed. ill just need to be proactive about getting to it when i get the chance to do it. 

its just horrible timing. if it had been a couple months later, id have already gotten the box out of the car ready to go, but i can't have the car in bits, in the way at home now for a while. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

it will be in good company at Dave's shed, he has an XG there that hasn't moved under it's own power in ages..
stick it on the hoist when you drop it off and rip the box out, will take 30mins .. diagnose the issue and then you can order parts.. put the box back in to keep it mobile (although its easy to push and guarantees no joyrides with the box removed)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

yeah but the thing is if i start working on it, the XF won't get touched again. and I need to get that ready for panel shop. I have about 2 maybe 3 weeks to move the XF. 

and that i still need to,

finish some wiring,
remove fuel tank and fuel system,
external door handles,
external door mirrors,
visor,
roof racks,
C pillar covers,
front seats,
console,
carpet, 
door cards, 
change wheels,
change steering wheel (to protect my EB Momo wheel) 
fit front guards, 

and probably more. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 minutes ago, deankdx said:


stick it on the hoist when you drop it off...

and the chances of the hoist being clear are....pretty slim, and the chance of getting grump to move his ute (I'm guessing) off the hoist, also pretty slim :P 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 minutes ago, Panko said:

yeah but the thing is if i start working on it, the XF won't get touched again. and I need to get that ready for panel shop. I have about 2 maybe 3 weeks to move the XF. 

and that i still need to,

finish some wiring,
remove fuel tank and fuel system,
external door handles,
external door mirrors,
visor,
roof racks,
C pillar covers,
front seats,
console,
carpet, 
door cards, 
change wheels,
change steering wheel (to protect my EB Momo wheel) 
fit front guards, 

and probably more. 

yeah could take a while if the tank is jammed in, or the seat bolts spin and you didn't bring the vise grips to clamp them under the seat or the wheen nuts don't come undone.. 
but most of that stuff doesn't take long either and daylight saving is next week if you need some more daylight hours.
as for the hoist. it's the reason i go to BGDAV's with the gemini.. although i still need to fit in with a different Dave's schedule .. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, deankdx said:

yeah could take a while if the tank is jammed in, or the seat bolts spin and you didn't bring the vise grips to clamp them under the seat or the wheen nuts don't come undone.. 
but most of that stuff doesn't take long either and daylight saving is next week if you need some more daylight hours.
as for the hoist. it's the reason i go to BGDAV's with the gemini.. although i still need to fit in with a different Dave's schedule .. 

yeah most of it won't take long. but its a lot of fiddly little things. 

the wiring is the thing thats taken the longest. I've been at it for ages. its the front door wiring. had to remove the front guards again, and pull the wiring back out of the doors, because after i repaired the looms, i found another broken wire, which has killed both the electric mirrors :( once that wiring is sorted, the rest of the stuff won't take long. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, deankdx said:

passenger in a gemini ;) 

at this rate, passenger in something

i should be in the Escort, maybe the wagon if a miracle happens. 
The RSOCV have a few good events towards the end of this year that i dont want to miss out on, so ill be keen to get the escort fixed, i just can't do it now. Im already going to be missing out on the annual show and shine for the club, which is 3 weeks away, so won't have it ready for that. I missed it last year too, because I had just bought the car, and wasnt even close to registration, but I did have the wagon up there was year. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

its an idea, but too much effort lol. i think id rather go for a spirited drive up in the Mazda to go look, than tow the escort up know i can't drive it. 

there are some incredible roads on the way up :D 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
43 minutes ago, deankdx said:

just looked up where it is.. might look into that depending on what's happening.. how good would THE BIG DRIVE be.. the week later.. FIX IT!! 
http://www.rsocvic.com/events.html

I wish I was going on the big drive. but i made the call months ago i couldn't justify the cost this year. 

they do it every year, its pretty epic apparently. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×