Dienstag, 27. September 2016

Momo steering wheel: 2nd attempt

On the first test drive with the Momo steering wheel, the horn was constantly on - which was quiet annoying! I compared the contact rings between the Momo boss and the original Porsche boss - they were very different! The easiest way to get the Momo steering work properly was to modify the boss to accept the og Porsche contact ring. Luckily my good old buddy Uwe has a lathe and a milling machine + the skills to work with it:
This was the blue print: Interface of the og Porsche wheel:



Momo boss, modified in diameter and with recessed fixation points, relocated hole for ground strap:

which allows the original contact ring to be assembled:


 Now it works a treat - and it only honks when I press the button!

Samstag, 17. September 2016

rear hatch done!

Toby and myself finished the hatch today! The rear spoiler came back on, some fabrication work was required, as the -formerly- black bezel for the rear wiper was a crusty, rusty mess. A cad plated shim, drilled for the exact inner diameter and rattle-canned black was a quick fix:
The new Stabilus gas struts do their work, too. For the first time in years the hatch can be opened via the switch on the A-pillar. It pops up and you can lift it easily:
While I was at it, I cleaned and re-greased the rear wiper mechanism and cleaned the whole set up.
Here is the the finished product:
Now it "only" has to stand the test for water tightness! I will park it in the rain - if it will start raining...

Donnerstag, 15. September 2016

rear hatch window, continued...

It took me some time before I finally took the challenge of re-gluing the rear window to the frame. After spending countless hours reading forum articles about delamination and the ways to fix it, the best way to put the 2 bits together is by attaching the frame to the vehicle and put the glass onto the assembled frame.

The frame was cleaned, repainted and primered with Sika primer 206 g+p. The screen itself also got the edge primered (about 2cm all around)



To avoid any globs of adhesive in the trunk, I covered the area under the installed frame:



Here you can see the painted frame and primered edge:



and the glass, finally back where it belongs:



I used the Sika Tack drive kit, but the amount of primer which comes with the kit is a joke, so I bought an additional 30 ml bottle of primer (which is way more than enough for glass + frame)!

I used the application tip which came with the Sika set. It has a leading edge and generates a nice, triangular bead. It was exactly enough to apply the bead around the window. No excess material to fill any gaps.


So I need to fill the visible gap with some "standard" Sika 221 tomorrow. I taped the outsibe leading edge of the screen to remove any excessive amount of glue as easy as possible. On Saturday I will check the adherence. If all the work pays off, it will leave me with a leak free rear window, fingers crossed!

Montag, 12. September 2016

Electric gremlins...

During the rear glass repair, I also removed some interior panels and updated the loudspeakers:

Out with the (paper membrane) 80ies Blaupunkt, in with the (polypropylen membrane) Clarion speakers.

After assembly I tested the sound, but the rear right speaker was dead! I checked the wiring and found this:  
One of the crimped-on connectors got loose! I hate these crimp- type connectors, so I soldered and heat shrink-tubed all cables:

So much cleaner - and a smaller package as well! This issue must have been there for awhile, as there was a parallel wire (under the carpet) to fix this problem - but this parallel wire never got connected to the main loudspeaker terminals... Strange things are going on in this vehicle...

So, I yanked out the old speaker cable as well as the cable from the (removed) roof antenna:

So, weight saving and trouble shooting in 1 step. Currently I closed the hole in the roof with a plastic cap (painted in body color) but if I respray the car, I will weld this hole shut!

The temperature sensor in the cooler was broken, too. You need a 29 mm long reach socket to exchange this sensor. I don't know anybody with such a tool, so I had to buy this first!
I was expecting all sorts of trouble, but the exchange was no drama at all. Both, the drain plug and the sensor were easy to remove.

Donnerstag, 1. September 2016

Delamination...

I finally started the job of fixing the rear hatch window. The actual glass delaminates from the aluminium frame. this results in a leaky hatch and allowing the struts to deform the frame, making everything even worse.
First thing is to remove the hatch and place it on a well padded surface:


The rear spoiler is attached with slotted nuts - I thought I had the right bit - but I had to make my own:

I love my Dremel ;-)


Then start removing the old window glue:


The frame was pretty corroded:







After the glass and frame were separated, I removed the old paint and the corrosion:



You will achive the best results by regluing the glass onto the mounted frame.
So I test fitted the bare frame to see how the seal contacts the frame / glass:










Which is interesting, as some portions of the seal contacts the frame, whereas other contact the glass only - I wonder if this has ever been a water tight design?!

Now I have to remove the old primer from the glass, "re-contour" the frame and glue everything back together.