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Went over 100 miles on the trip meter today. Took a slow victory lap around the track to celebrate (no third gear...). Slow because it needs to be mowed again. Parked it with 112+ on the trip meter. Temps stayed around normal. Never gets to the mark at the high end of the range. It burped a little coolant yesterday. It should burp a bit more. The level is still near the max mark. Maybe I should pull a little out...
Requisite photo: These poppies are over 4 feet high.
Do note that my drives are in hot weather (27c) and uphill/downhilll a lot of the time, basically hill climb so it really loads the engine without high speeds.
My typical commute during the summer is 37c but flat.
Last year I added the center radiator, LN low temp thermostat, new water pump and fresh coolant.
Temps are much lower than before.
Normally around 180ish during the stop and go traffic in the summer.
The dash gauge is very inaccurate.
I used my Snap-on scanner to log the temps.
No driving over the past few days. Only in and out of the garage. My son came over and we changed the oil in his Miata. He's planning a trip to Tail of the Dragon to celebrate his birthday (late July). We did a fairly thorough inspection to reduce his risk of issues cropping up. His car looks pretty solid. We need to investigate the timing belt. He essentially got no records or receipts with the car, when he bought it.
I did mount the rear tires on the freshly painted wheels. Looks as though I will get close to half an inch of additional ground clearance just from the tires. Need to see if this causes a problem with the inner fenders. I still figure on adding spacers to give 1/4" - 3/8" above each shock and strut.
The new MAF sensor arrived today. Only about four days! It was worth the extra $50. After all, this one actually arrived. It took nearly eight weeks of waiting on the other one, before I canceled the order. Should get the special tool in a day or two, so I won't have to use pliers to remove the MAF screws.
Maybe I can make up an excuse to go for a drive soon. Working from home has its drawbacks... But not many.
Last edited by Scott at Team Harco; 07-21-2020 at 12:36 PM.
Yes, the cap i brand new, latest rev, and bleeder seams tight. I have not checked pressure with any instrument, what is the std procedure to do this?. Water pump was changed 10k miles ago and have no excess play...haven't check it but the odds of it being bad is low. Next winter I will changed the coolant, check the water pump and maybe install the center radiator if I don't find any other issues. Do note that my drives are in hot weather (27c) and uphill/downhilll a lot of the time, basically hill climb so it really loads the engine without high speeds.
Coolant system pressure checks system pressure checked at 18.85 psi cap pressure checked to open at 20.3 psi close at 14.5 psi must be totally open 26 psi when testing all out of OEM manual
bought the adapter to work with my coolant pressure tester on Amazon.
Got to go for a drive today. First stop was to get my back cracked. After that, I went back toward home but took a detour to the west. I ended up in Hell.
But before going through Hell, I purposely went to a few roads that are reasonably twisty. Put about 70 miles on Speedy today. That would be my normal daily drive if I went to the office. There are no roads like this on the way to the office...
Noted a little oil smoke on start up. Probably the rings are still finding their groove (so to speak). Car ran well; never went above the hot line on the temperature gauge. I wasn't babying the engine either. I think it was a nice mild workout. Still need to re-align the engine and transmission mounts, install a CV boot, the LF fender liner and the MAF. Still haven't installed the little lower fender flares at the rear. Next time Speedy gets on the lift, there are a few things to address.
Hope to get another couple of cans of primer soon, so I can paint the front wheels. I'd really like to see how the car sits with the tall tires. Then it will be time to analyze tire clearance and see what can be done for a little more lift.
No good deed goes unpunished. I was on the white-flag lap (is that racist?) of mowing the track. Ultimately I had the idea of running a few laps when I have the front wheels painted and the tires mounted (on Speedy). Looks like we've got a problem...
I haven't had a chance to pull the wheel off yet. My guess is Roddy will need a new spindle. I've already performed this job, so it should come back to me like riding a bike. Joy....
I wasn't thinking about it properly, yesterday. As usual, in the middle of the night, I realized all I had to do was lift the front of the tractor using the bucket. So I did just that, this morning. And of course, the wheel fell right off.
The outer end of the spindle has snapped off. So I ordered a new spindle, bearings and hub. The bushings inside the "control arm" are worn. This provides for a lot of slop. I tried to remove those bushings when that spindle snapped in two a few years ago. I might need to buy a new arm in the future if this next one fails. Or find the right tools for pressing out the old ones and pressing in the new ones (I bought years ago).
Last edited by Scott at Team Harco; 06-22-2020 at 03:15 PM.
Took Speedy for a short trip today. All good so far. About 215 total miles on the rebuild. Used a turkey baster to pull a little coolant out of the reservoir. It's just above the MIN level now. No reason for concern on the temperature gauge. Should hook up the Durametric again soon and make sure things are still good.
Got another part today. Should fix that beer-bottle whistle.
Don't you wish all vehicles came with their own jack system?
Nick - Thanks for the tip. My expectations have not really been met with the low temp thermostat that I bought. You provide some interesting data. I have plans to investigate further. Fortunately, there hasn't been a reason for alarm. Temperatures have indicated below the area I would have serious concern. But as I say, I am underwhelmed with the (observed) cooling performance to this point.
Had to get screened and collect my PPE package. It consisted of five face masks. There were a handful of guys working in the garage. I think I had the whole engineering building to my self. Normally more than 1000. Caught up on the projects that require my presence. Can continue the analysis and data collection without being in the office. I may need to do some testing in a vehicle - which will require a return to work. Taking a 70 mile drive once every week or two, for work, might not be such a big deal. More miles on Speedy is a good thing. Might even enjoy more frequent visits to the office. Especially if I am all alone...
Speedy ran fine. Really enjoying the peace of mind, after making significant improvements. Just have to stay on track with the break-in.
Did get some tractor parts today. The spindle, hub, bearing and lug nuts.
I cut the upper spindle bushing out yesterday. It's quite an operation. The tractor is too far from an electrical source, so I had to load the generator into the back of Angus (Angus Podgorny, if you must know). Used a Dremel tool to grind away enough material to knock the bushings out. This will make a big difference going forward.
06-12-2020, 07:27 PM
