Panko's Mk1 Escort (Round 2)

[Panko 2,481]

Well i didnt get the car finished for Sunday. I had a lack of motivation on saturday morning, instead decided to do some work around the house. Mowed the lawns, cleaned the house up a little, had lunch, then decided to go back the Escort. 
i got so so close to finished on saturday afternoon, but just not quite there. I had it all hooked up, brakes ready to go, just needed to install handbrake setup and bleed the brakes. But, my girlfriend and I had something on in Healesville sat night, which was why I had a deadline of about 4pm. 

 

Anyway, So sunday didnt happen, although the missus was expecting the car to be finished and we'd go down there  and i didnt touch the car all day sunday. 

I got up this morning, and decided the plan of attack was to get it finished and drive it to work. 

 

So I bled the brakes, hooked the handbrake up, and went for a short drive. Brakes felt fine in the driveway, got out on the road...the pedal went to the floor  

turns out the stupid self adjusters arent working. so went home and pulled the drums off and wound them up by hand. its still not perfect, but i drove it to work, and it feels fantastic. 

 

The diff ratio fantastic (havent driven it above 80 yet) I can hold 1st a bit longer, which always pissed me off how quick i had to get out of first gear, and cruising at 80, the RPM is just so much better. 

the new diff is much much tighter than my old one, and quiet in regards to the dry bearing noise i always had (much like a commodore thats done too many burnouts), but it sounds like there is a very low rumble coming from it, which i dare say will be the bit of bearing noise id been hearing while it was up on stands. 

either way, the car drives a shit load better with the new diff. ill take it for a run on the freeway after work tonight and see how it sits on the highway. 

 

"self adjusting" that just dont work lol 

 

 

so this is where i got to on saturday afternoon. close, but no cigar. 

 

 

but i got it work today  so its very nearly finished, just a couple bugs to sort out. 

 

 

 

perks of playing manager temporarily, i get to park where the F i want haha. in a storage garage will do just fine  

 

 

[bear351c 10,271]

So cool, you got her back on the road !   Self adjusters should work everytime you reverse and stomp on the pedal. Drive to work backwards tomorrow, she'll be right.

[Panko 2,481]

11 hours ago, bear351c said:

So cool, you got her back on the road !   Self adjusters should work everytime you reverse and stomp on the pedal. Drive to work backwards tomorrow, she'll be right.

hmm reverse you say? 

these work off both the brake pedal motion but also the hand brake. 

 

it doesnt do it now, but I used to hear the adjusting lever skip over the teeth when i pulled the handbrake on. i must have set it up different or something, because its not longer doing that. 

[BGDAV 1,873]

car looks good (Y) those self adjustors never work pos things 

[deankxf 20,294]

i've seen those adjusters work just by the spread of the shoes(can't remember how) 
but i've always adjusted them as tight as possible and still fit the drum on.. (pain in the ass if there is a lip worn on the drums)

[bear351c 10,271]

Can you adjust them at the back of the drum? Use a brake spoon, or bend an old screwdriver. Doesn't take much, and once adjusted, lasts for months

[Panko 2,481]

12 hours ago, bear351c said:

Can you adjust them at the back of the drum? Use a brake spoon, or bend an old screwdriver. Doesn't take much, and once adjusted, lasts for months

 

no unfortunately. only way to do it manually is to remove the drums 

[Panko 2,481]

i took the car for a good drive last night after i re torqued everything. 

its feeling really good, still has a few bugs to sort out up front. 
I needs a bump steer correction kit put through it, but thats not urgent. still has a bit of steering wobble. Which might now be the sway bar bushes in the control arms. Most commonly they are swapped out for urethane bushes, so that might be something ill have to do. 

 

the diff ratio is great, the gears are much more suited to the diff ratio, and it just cruises along nicely now. but, my speedo is a looooooooong way off lol It used to read about 4km under (indicated 96km/h at 100km/h actual speed) it now reads about 8km/h under. so when im doing 100km/h, my speedo is ready about 92km/h  
i drove the car to work yesterday without the gps on the dash, couldnt work out why everyone else was travelling so slow yesterday...i realise i wouldve been doing about 85-88km/h in the 80 zone all the way to work haha 

[Panko 2,481]

Well I cant win, and ive kind of lost motivation now. 
So the poor little car is going into hibernation until it goes on holidays to Yesterford, a local spare parts and workshop that specialise in early english Fords, where they can investigate this steering wobble further, and replace anything that needs it. 

 

Before we all ask, the front end is pretty much brand new, or had very little use. the front end has done about 15,000km since i rebuilt it, and the front struts with the new shocks, strut tops etc have done maybe 3000-3500km. and the issue has been there since ive owned the car. it just seems to have come back with a vengeance since having the rear suspension unbolted to do the diff change, so im starting to think its rear end related. 

 

I did spend some time tweaking the front wheel bearings, they were a little lose for my liking. but that didnt help. 

 

 

i then had the idea to go mount my GoPro to the front sway bar and film what happens when the wobble comes and goes. i could see it happening, but still couldnt pin point the problem source. 

 

 

I went over every nut and bolt in the front suspension and checked their tension, to no avail. i doubt it, but possible its the front subframe has something wrong with it, and i just cant see it. 

 

I had a big day of moving cars around to get the Escort in the big shed, and pull the XF forward to the garage with the hopes of getting that off to the panel shop next week. 

 

 

wagon kicked out and into the garage down the front. 

 

 

so this is where the escort will stay for now until i can get it into the workshop. its upsetting but i am beyond it at the moment after doing the diff, my patients has worn pretty thing with it. 

 

 

prime spot next to dad's series 1 landy 

 

 

 

[bear351c 10,271]

Chin up, mate.  Motivation comes and goes with projects. Hopefully when you get back into it, the problem will hit you like a brick in the face......

[Panko 2,481]

yep. 

 

just frustrating and painful. 

 

it kind of made me realise how much I miss having the XF on the road. its always been pretty reliable, like today just started at the flick of a key after sitting for over a month without being run, and how it drove so well. 

 

the Escort is just fighting me all the way, but i honestly think its something more serious that i keep overlooking, or i cant see or find. 

[deankxf 20,294]

yeah can understand that, especially since the XF needs some attention anyway.. 

 

when are you pulling the old diff apart? we need to know what broke

 

[Panko 2,481]

11 hours ago, deankdx said:

 

 

when are you pulling the old diff apart? we need to know what broke

 

haha well it never broke, just got really noisy and unhappy. but i suspect collapsed bearings 

[deankxf 20,294]

i suspect you are guessing.. pics not loading

[Panko 2,481]

11 hours ago, deankdx said:

i suspect you are guessing.. pics not loading

ha i might be guessing a little. 

it wont happen this weekend because im away. maybe ill pull the hat off next week 

[SPArKy_Dave 8,881]

Maybe school up on steering and suspension mechanical engineering?

Akermans angle, bump steer, camber, caster and all that.

 

Youtube has heaps of info/tutorials -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Panko 2,481]

11 hours ago, SPArKy_Dave said:

Maybe school up on steering and suspension mechanical engineering?

Akermans angle, bump steer, camber, caster and all that.

 

Youtube has heaps of info/tutorials -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

look i know youre trying to help, dave but the issue has been there since i bought the car. 

 

its had the front end out twice since ive owned the car, had a proper alignment. 

i have a rough idea about this stuff, because I did the initial alignment myself at home before getting it tweaked. 

 

i dont see how this will help me, if everything i can see is tight, but still causing issues. 

 

why i think there must be more to it than something out with the geometry etc 

[SPArKy_Dave 8,881]

Under what conditions?

Is it a minor form of death wobble?

 

 

[deankxf 20,294]

death wobble is asking for death...

interested in the bump steer correction if so, because My gemini wagon after lowering suffers it enough to warrant raising it.

[Panko 2,481]

21 hours ago, deankdx said:

death wobble is asking for death...

interested in the bump steer correction if so, because My gemini wagon after lowering suffers it enough to warrant raising it.

 

this is why i said i had a fair understanding of the geometry, because I have been in pretty deep discussions with a fellow from RSOCV who builds engines, and does suspension setup for motorsport. 

he was the one who hit the nail on the head with the bump steer correction, in my case the tie rods need to be lowered to match the angle of the control arms. Currently the tie rods are flat, and the control arms are on a downward angle. 

[SPArKy_Dave 8,881]

It'd be interesting to see if the tie rod and lower control arms, pivot on the same axis.

 

ie, do the (currently uneven) angles, stay the same with respect to each other,

or do they alter through, the arc of the suspension movement.

 

[Panko 2,481]

i believe they change, because they pivot from further away points. i think the control arms are longer than the tie rods. 

 

[hendrixhc 10,921]

On 11/1/2018 at 6:58 AM, Panko said:

 maybe ill pull the hat off next week 

 

Hey what you do in your own time is up to you!

[hendrixhc 10,921]

Thats not a bloody Prius in the yard is it?

[Panko 2,481]

22 hours ago, hendrixhc said:

Thats not a bloody Prius in the yard is it?

 

Just a figment of your imagination in the form of a spare car. Its been replaced by a brand new Renault Megane GT. My father’s retirement fast car haha