Changing Gears IV

Several weeks after installing the rebuilt transmission into the Midget, I noticed some uneasiness in the clutch pedal, and one night it started making loud noises when depressing or letting off the clutch pedal. David and Dad were up one day and David took a ride with me to check it out. He concluded it could potentially be a thrust bearing within the transmission. We experimented with different oils, and although it alleviated some of the symptoms, it wasn't a permanent fix.

I called the fellow from whom I got the transmission to explain my situation. Then I asked David to call him (as my mechanic) to better explain the symptoms. The seller agreed to send us another rebuilt transmission free of charge with the understanding that I'd return the first one once we got it out of the car. Both David and I reminded him to send us one with a reverse light switch. As you may recall, the first one he sent us didn't have one, and we had to swap the neck with that of the original transmission. He wrote this down when I was on the phone with him, and that note appears on the invoice I received with the new transmission, but of course, the transmission was without one. I didn't realize this was the case until I was able to compare the new transmission with one of the others...which was today, when we went for Round 2 of the transmission swap.

The process itself went rather smooth (aside from having to swap the necks again due to the aforementioned absent reverse light switch). I think we started at around 9am. We got the engine and transmission out within an hour, made the swap, and put it all back in. We finished up at around 1:30pm. I was really impressed that we were able to do everything in 3 1/2 hours. I think my manual says it would take a person 4 hours to simply get the thing out of the car. Because we didn't heed Dad's advice to clean up the floor when putting the block back in (see video), my hair and back were doused in gear oil for the rest of the afternoon. Nasty smelling stuff. I also like how we ran a gasoline-powered forklift in an enclosed garage.

So everything is back together now, but unfortunately, I'm still having some issues. I get a NEW noise now when shifting into second gear. And the clutch pedal still doesn't feel right. David and Dad noticed some oil coming out of the clutch slave cylinder during the festivities. So right now, I plan on ordering a rebuild kit for the clutch slave cylinder (the same thing I replaced in the Mini). Just looked it up, and it's only nine bucks.

I'll be driving the Midget all week in hopes that the second gear noise will get better as I break in the new transmission.

Little Things

Got some little things done today on the Mini.

First, for as long as I could remember, the hazard lights never worked on the Mini. After doing some snooping around, I discovered that there was a line fuse missing from one of the wires hanging by the firewall. I swapped in a spare (there are two spares inside the fuse box) and they now work! And as a bonus, my interior light (which never worked before) works as well. Which I'm equally as excited about.

Second, I needed to re-glue a piece of carpet by the footwell that came off during the steering column and master cylinder R/R. I made a trip to the auto parts store and picked up a bottle of headliner/carpet adhesive spray...the last one on the shelves. It was $11.50 and only needed a couple shots of it, but I figured I didn't have a choice. As I was checking out, two guys came in asking for the exact same thing and were bummed to find out I got the last one. On their way out, I stopped them and asked if they wanted to buy it from me after I use the little I needed. So they made a stop at Hollywood Video as I reattached the carpet in the parking lot. I asked $9 for it, which I thought was fair considering the small amount I used.

Lastly, my interior rear view mirror has never really stayed in one place due to the less-than-stellar suction cup design. I filled one of the ball joints with super glue (toward the roof) hoping that'll make it sturdy enough. Then I can still adjust the angle at the mirror end. I don't know if it'll work as well as I'm hoping though. I'll see tomorrow morning.

The Mini is up for inspection by the end of the month, so I'm glad I at least got the hazard lights fixed (though apparently that wasn't cause enough for it to fail last year.)

One Year

Today marks the one year anniversary of owning the Mini. I encountered more problems than I initially anticipated, but the damage wasn't too bad on my wallet. Here is a very rough breakdown of the problems I encountered and the cost associated with fixing them.

Fuel Leak at Carb - $100

Squeaky Brakes - $75 (this includes brake pads I ended up not installing)

Sticking Throttle Cable - $20

Heater Core Leak - $35

Bad Thermostat - $10

Steering Slippage - $0

Clutch Loss - $135 (this could've been just $25 with proper diagnosis)

This adds up to $375. Which isn't great. But that's how much people spend on cable a year (which I don't have). It's also nice to know that I never had to take it to a shop for repairs, so there were no labor costs involved.

But this wasn't meant to be a post about numbers. Just a post in celebration of my awesome Mini!

Laundry List II

It's been awhile, so let's revisit my laundry list from January 22.

Mini Clutch

A few weeks ago, I nursed the Mini to my Dad's house where we tackled the clutch and the steering problems. I had gotten a new clutch hose, which carries fluid from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder, since I was told it had probably collapsed. My Dad and I replaced it and bled the system. I once again had a firm pedal. Unfortunately, the same symptoms returned within a few days.

So I ordered a new clutch slave cylinder (pictured above with the old one). I forget why I thought this would be the next step, but after I ordered it, David took a look at the car and figured it was probably the master cylinder instead. So I ordered a master cylinder rebuild kit for $20 instead of getting a new one for $120. I got both cylinders off the car and David helped me with rebuilding the master cylinder (second picture above). It was pretty simple. Just make the new pieces fit together like the old pieces did. He also honed out the cylinder inside. This is something I think could handle by myself in the future.

Just this morning, I reinstalled both the slave and master cylinder and bled the system again (I had ordered a special bleeding hose which allowed me to bleed it by myself.) And the pedal is firmer than it has ever been since I bought the car. So hopefully that's the end of that.

The slave cylinder was in a really awkward, hard-to-get-at location. And getting at the linkage from the pedal to the master cylinder (from inside the car) was tricky maneuvering as well. I have really skinny fingers and skinny arms, and I was barely able to get at these locations. I don't know how "normal" guys are able to work on this stuff without even more difficulty. Admittedly, it was much easier putting the parts back in than it was taking them out since I learned the best place to put the wrench in each situation. The second time around is always easier than the first.

Mini Steering

The day I was down at my parent's doing the clutch hose, David visited to help with the steering problem. He had to bring a special tool to knock the steering column off since my Dad and I weren't having much luck with using just our hands. We had disconnected all the mounting screws and the plastic cover, we just couldn't get it out.

Once out, we examined the piece. The steering column (female) goes into the rack assembly (male) at the base of the footwell. There are splines (or teeth) all the way around each of them which keep them snug together. Or at least, there were. The splines on the steering column end were badly worn which allowed my steering to frequently slip, as it did. Luckily, David noticed that the splines were in good shape about 1/2" up the column. So he took it home, hacked off a 1/2" of the column, and welded on a new allotment for the bolt to go into. This saved me the cost of a new steering column, which is $350. We had to make some adjustments to how we mounted the plastic cover back on, but that's a small price to pay for the price I didn't have to. So technically, my steering wheel is now about 1/2" further away from me.

Midget Speedometer

I got my new cable and hooked it up to the car. I concluded that the previous one was severed due to an overtightened bracket that held it in place against the transmission case. I made sure I loosened it up when I rewired the new one. So my speedometer and odometer now work. And the speedometer needle isn't as 'bouncy' as it once was.

Midget Alternator Belt

The squeal had nothing to do with the stripped bolt I referred to in my last post. It seems that bolt is just there to hold things in place while the bolt on the tension slider is loosened for adjustment. In most cases, the squeal was just due to a loose belt. So I jammed a large screwdriver between the alternator and the engine block with my left hand to move the alternator as far away as possible while tightening the adjustment screw with my right hand. Now it's nice and tight and there's no more squeal.

It took me a few weeks, but I finally got to everything. Unfortunately, another problem arouse with the Midget's new transmission. But more on that later.

Laundry List

I currently have a few problems with my cars.

Mini Clutch
A few weeks back, I was experiencing a gradual decay in the clutch pedal's performance. It soon got to a point where the pedal lost all firmness. I could push the pedal all the way to the floor and would have a heck of a time getting it into any gear. After I made some phone calls, I asked my Dad to help me bleed the clutch to see if it was hydraulic-related. This was the first time I bled anything, and I think it had been quite awhile for my dad. But it was pretty easy. Though definitely a two-man job. This temporarily fixed the issue. Apparently, the rubber hose that carried the fluid partway from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder had collapsed (meaning there is build-up on the inside of the hose causing a restricted flow of the fluid). After ordering another hose and waiting for a nice enough day to bother my dad to help me again, I noticed the same symptoms returning. So I'd like to get this thing replaced as soon as possible.

Mini Steering
While making my rounds at the auto stores, I noticed some 'slippage' in the steering wheel of the Mini. Admittedly, I've been taking some pretty hard turns recently. But a car should be able to withstand such 'spirited driving.' David helped me diagnose the problem down to a pinch-bolt at the base of the steering column. We tightened this from inside the car and it certainly helped the situation. However, we need to fix it more permanently. It has already been slipping since then.

Midget Speedometer
Ever since the transmission swap, the speedometer and odometer (which share a gauge) have been non-operational. Last weekend I had the car up on ramps to assess the situation, and I found the cable itself to be severed. I'm guessing we must've cinched it with the transmission when we were putting it back in. After a 'universal' cable from Advance Auto was discovered to be too small in width, I ordered a new one (both cable and outer sheath) from Moss.

Midget Alternator Belt
A few weeks back, I fixed a squealing, loose fan belt. But the squeal has returned. I think it's due to a stripped bolt that helps hold the tension slider in place. I'm guessing the belt is gradually loosening, causing the gradual increase in squealing.

So I've got my work cut out for myself. Both cars are still driveable, but obviously I'd like to get these things fixed as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning I plan to put the new speedo cable in the Midget and to look over the fan belt. I think I need to get a 13mm tap-and-dye set to try and fix the bolt. Then I'll get over to my parent's house so Dad can help me install the clutch hose and re-bleed the clutch (I think I'll also switch to synthetic fluid to prevent this from happening again.) And David said he'll help me with the Mini's steering situation at some point. I'd love to get it all done this weekend, but we'll see how things go.

Parking Lot Pictures

When I'm out running errands and end up parking next to a cool car, for some reason, I like to take a picture. I just took these off my phone from the last few months. Sorry for the poor quality.

When I went for a haircut, I spotted this VW Bus at the Westgate Mall. I believe this style is called the T3 (or the Vanagon). It was built from 1979 to 1991. Certainly not my favorite style of the VW Bus but a VW Bus no less. Or weren't the later models called buses? I don't know.

This is a Volvo Amazon at the Lehigh Valley Mall parking lot. At first glance, I thought it was British, but quickly realized it wasn't. Wiki tells me these cars were made between 1956 to 1970, so it's certainly older than both my cars. I love seeing classic cars on the road.

And then this evening I pulled up next to a MINI Cooper with the same color scheme as mine. The blues looked closer in person. But I think BMW's paint is probably more metallic so it reflected better among the parking lot lamps.

Car Tunes

For Christmas, Steve and Greg got me a Kenwwod stereo and two 6.5" speakers for the Mini. Nice ones too. The following weekend everybody chipped in to help me out. Steve and Greg tackled the installation of the head unit and Dad and I dealt with the speakers.

The previous speakers sat on the rear shelf above the trunk. Since we were flush mounting the new ones, we had to cut two holes through the three layers (metal, particle board, carpet) of the shelf. It was difficult cutting the left hole due to the proximity of the gas tank below. I ended up using some plier cutters on part of it because we couldn't get at it with the jigsaw. And after I accidentally seared the original carpet with the shop light, we ended up replacing it with some new carpet. But at the end of the day, I think it turned out really well.

Being preoccupied with that, I didn't get to track the progress of the head unit up front. But I trusted Steve's and Greg's abilities in that area more so than my own. They did a great job putting it in and hooking it up.

Four people working on the interior of such a small car posed some logistical challenges, but things turned out great in the end. Thank you to everybody who helped out!