SS1 MOT fail :(

[pauluspaolo]

So I took the SS1 in for its MOT last Tuesday & it failed on a number of things unfortunately:

1.) Both headlights were out of alignment.
2.) Both rear anti roll bar drop links were worn & showing excessive play.
3.) Offside arb drop link was loose.
4.) Offside rear wheel bearing worn.
5.) Slight fuel leak from fuel pipe/fuel pump area of car.

Advisories:
1.) Slight coolant leak.
2.) Oil leak from rear differential - there is evidence of this on the garage floor.
3.) Oil leak from sump (the tester thinks it's from the plug) - there is also evidence of this on the garage floor.
4.) Oil leak from gearbox - there's no evidence of this on the garage floor but if there is a leak it's possibly being caught by the tray that sits under the gearbox.

This is the car's first fail since I got it back on the road 4 (or so) years ago. When I was working on the car, before it was back on the road, I made some arb drop links out of some cheap rose joints as original drop links are very rare/unobtainable & this is the route I've gone down again. I've bought some better quality rose joints this time (from McGill Motorsports) so hopefully they'll last another 4 years or longer. I've removed the cowls & will ask the garage to adjust the headlights for me as I'm unsure where they're supposed to point (apart from forward & to the left a bit). I've ordered a couple of rear wheel bearings (Mazda 626 front wheel bearings 82-87) from Ebay for £20 & they should arrive next week sometime so that will be next weekends job. I just can't find the fuel leak but I'll keep looking - it states on the fail sheet that one of the fuel pipe holding clips (I used p-clips along the length of the fuel pipe) is loose but I can't find this either - if I can't find it before the retest I'll ask the tester to show me where it is.

I've not had time to investigate the coolant/oil leaks but I may get chance this weekend. I knew about the diff but it's got worse so it'll need a new rear cover gasket - does anyone know if you can get this off without dropping the diff??

I'd obviously have preferred the car to pass but after 4 years on the road - though admittedly not used much - I don't think it's too bad really

[scimjim]

There isn’t a gasket on the diff rear cover, it’s probably leaking from an output spline or the input?

[Alan SS1]

Oil leaks keep rust at bay

Mine weeps from the drive shafts and I wipe the excess away pre-test
as for the gearbox, I over filled it many years ago and only lately has the flow decreased from front bearing (or it's empty ) I even have teh front seal, but a bind to get the engine out

I'm surprised about a rear bearing failure as I though they were 'bomb proof' ?

as for petrol leaks, I got whiffs of four-star on way to work today, I think (hope) it's teh float not shutting properly causing flooding as worse when slow (and when coming down hill on last section to work) always something . . ..

[pauluspaolo]

So new anti-roll bar links have been made & fitted - guess which is which:


The new rear wheel bearing has arrived so tonight I'm going to make a start on that - wish me luck as I think it involves removing the offside rear trailing arm, drive shaft etc - which means splitting the braided brake lines which I don't think you can clamp. Anyone know for sure & how do you stop the brake fluid draining out? Have to say I'm not particularly looking forward to it - any pointers, tips, shortcuts etc greatly appreciated

I still can't find the fuel leak & I think I may have to ask the MOT tester to show me where it is

As for the advisories I've had the plate under the gearbox off & cleaned it - just road crud really & there's no real evidence of a leak from the drain plug (Note* I fitted the drain plug as I wanted to change the g/box oil & type 9's are sealed for life - the gear change is much better now), I've nipped up the sump plug but this is a bit rounded off so I've got a replacement on order & the rear diff seal will have to stay dripping until I've the time/inclination to do something about it.

Hopefully if he can see that I've been working on the car & replacing what I can he'll pass it for another year

[peter freeman]

You can get the rear wheel bearing out with taking the trailing arm off - could not shift my trailing arm without a lot of time and work. To get at the four bolts which hold the hub on use a hub puller to push the half shaft towards the diff. Then with a 3/8 drive and extension you can just get a socket on the bolts - Halfords sockets and ratchet etc are ideal. Putting back together use allen headed bolts so next time its a lot easier. I had the same "advisory" for our SS1 but the new bearing had exactly the same amount of play. My MOT man could see I had changed the bearing - he saw the allen bolts so he did not question the play again.

[Alan SS1]

to slow brake fluid loss, try filling to nearly the brim and put in a rubber bung (try from a wine making kit )

the small amount that weeps out means that you don't really need to bleed on reassembly

and I've also fitted allen headed bolts for future ease of attack, but if you can get a six sided socket on then worth it in case they are 'ticht'

getting a spanner onto the main trailing arm bolts is a real PITA. so if you can remove hub deffo a plan

[pauluspaolo]

Thanks for the reply chaps & I'll definitely have a go with the 3/8" sockets/extension before removing the trailing arm

Having said that I removed the inner wheel arch last night which gives me much more room & makes access to the trailing arm bolts much easier (in case I need to go down that particular route). I also found the fuel leak at last - hurrah ! It's worth pointing out that I've fitted a Zetec into my car & the fuel pump is now bolted to the chassis rail at the offside rear of the car. It has a fuel filter attached to the pump & the hose to this was loose in that it could be rotated but not pulled off. Unfortunately the fuel clip was as tight as it would go so I had to fit a smaller one, which meant pulling the hose off & petrol going everywhere before I could fit & nip up the new clip. Anyway the new clip means that the hose doesn't rotate anymore & there's little chance of it being pulled off. I've also added another fuel line clip to add a little more security so hopefully that'll please the MOT tester.

More news as & when

[pauluspaolo]

Hi all,
the car is legal again for a year

My friend & I spent Saturday removing & refitting (with a new bearing) the drivers side rear wheel bearing. We had to take the offside rear suspension apart in order to get to the bearing carrier/hub. No way could we get a 17mm socket (3/8" drive or otherwise) on the 4 bolts buried behind the driveshaft, even with the driveshaft pushed in as far as I could I could only get a socket on the the outer 2 bolts This meant that we had to remove the trailing arm which was much easier to do with with the wheel arch liner removed. Undoing the trailing arm gave us just enough wiggle room to remove the driveshaft without disturbing the brake lines (bolted to the trailing arm). Once to drive shaft was out of the way the 4 bolts holding the hub on could be removed easily & the hub transferred to the work bench. The trailing arm was left off the car but supported on a trolley jack so taking any strain off any of the brake lines.

The hub & drive flange come out as a unit & the first job was to remove the drive flange so leaving the hub & bearing. Once the large circlip was removed we tried pressing the bearing out using a bar of metal bolted to the hub using 2 of the 4 threaded bolt holes (M10 I think) with a central bolt (M12 threaded hole in the bar) pressing onto a thick solid disc of the right diameter which in turn was pressing on the bearing. This did absolutely nothing apart from bending 2 bars We resorted to destroying the inner race of the bearing - so removing any slackness/slop - & then bashing with a drift the outer race. Not even remotely subtle but it worked. Getting the new bearing required tapping it gently with a soft faced hammer until it was started, pulling it in part way with a threaded bar & a variety of spacers - all the while keeping the bearing square) & then finishing it off with the soft faced hammer. The head on my soft faced hammer has two faces - one rubber & one nylon - & the nylon side is actually quite hard so still delivers a fair old whack but is non-marking. We got as far as we could with that then pressed the bearing home the rest of the way using the old bearings outer race. Once it was fully home we refitted the circlip & drive flange. bolted it back up to the car, reinserted the driveshaft, bolted up the trailing arm, refitted the wheel & wellied up the big central driveshaft nut.

The result of losing 7 hours of our lives on pretty unpleasant job is no play in the new bearing & another years MOT - so it was worth it in the end

[reliant-reviver]

I'm with you on the bolts. I trust that it is possible if Peter says he has done it that way, but knowing how tight those rear bolts are to the driveshafts I can't imagine it being at all easy.

Anyway. A pass is a pass, well done on your efforts!

[peter freeman]

It could be that I used thinner/short sockets so they got down the gap whereas thick ones would not.

[pauluspaolo]

It could be that I used thinner/short sockets so they got down the gap whereas thick ones would not.

I'm not doubting that you managed it Peter but I tried every 17mm socket I could lay my hands on as well as a 17mm box spanner (which is just a tube of metal with a suitably sized hex pressed into one end of it) & there was absolutely no way that any of them would fit between the driveshaft & trailing arm. I've fitted allen headed bolts in place of the 17mm ones so if I ever have to do the job again I'll have a chance of getting a long ball ended allen key on them.

Anyway the job's done now & hopefully won't be an issue for the next few years. As always many many thanks for all the advice