Engine Side Plates

D

DayleW

Member
So I've decided it's time for some much needed maintenance on my 2000SC. I'm still on a steep gradient on my mechanics learning curve so I thought I'd ask a bit of advice.

There has been a lot of brake squeal recently so I stripped off the brake pads and discovered the anti-squeal shims and springs are missing. Presumably they have rusted to dust! I went up to J Wadhams (literally a three minute drive up the road!) and picked up a new set of shims and springs. I went to fit them over the weekend and discovered that the back of the brake disks is very badly scored and on the o/s there is actually a ring of rust on the disk where it would appear the pad has not been pressing against the surface properly. I suspect i'll have to get new disks and pads, but i'm not sure what would have caused this to happen in the first place. I know that disks can be skimmed but i'm not sure how far gone is too far gone to be skimmed. The back of the disks do seem pretty bad though.

Next is my coolant leak. The radiator looks fine. I removed it and flushed it through with a hose. I found some wet rust on the o/s engine side plate. I cant tell yet if the plate has a hoie or whether it's a gasket leak. I stripped off all the gubbins in the way and taken out the 22(?) small bolts and the nuts around the engine mount studs, but the plate seems to still attached somewhere. I read on another post that there is a plug in the side plate, which i assume is the round thing with the two prongs inside? Does this need to be removed before i can get the side plate off and if so how? It looks like I might need a special tool to remove it.

My third issue is that I am having trouble sometimes getting the car into gear. It's like the gear stick is sometimes getting stuck, but most of the time it goes into gear fine. When it does play up i have trouble selecting any gear and really need to force the stick in order to get it to go in. I have a feeling it could be something to do with the gear linkages not being quite right. They need adjusting maybe?

Any help is much appreciated!
 
If the discs are that bad they need replacing, along with new pads at the same time, but you're not taking any risks by delaying that for a while.

DayleW said:
I found some wet rust on the o/s engine side plate. I cant tell yet if the plate has a hoie or whether it's a gasket leak. I stripped off all the gubbins in the way and taken out the 22(?) small bolts and the nuts around the engine mount studs, but the plate seems to still attached somewhere. I read on another post that there is a plug in the side plate, which i assume is the round thing with the two prongs inside? Does this need to be removed before i can get the side plate off and if so how? It looks like I might need a special tool to remove it.
Click to expand...

The plug doesn't need to come out, but the engine mounting bracket studs do.


DayleW said:
My third issue is that I am having trouble sometimes getting the car into gear. It's like the gear stick is sometimes getting stuck, but most of the time it goes into gear fine. When it does play up i have trouble selecting any gear and really need to force the stick in order to get it to go in. I have a feeling it could be something to do with the gear linkages not being quite right. They need adjusting maybe?
Click to expand...

That could also be a clutch fault.
 
Great. I'll have a look at removing the studs in the morning. Do they just unscrew? I think i'll replace the disks while I have the wheels off and at least it will be done and out the way :) .
 
On the brake rotors I would would check that the caliper pistons aren't seized. I've seen just the sort of rust pattern you described from a seized piston in the past.
 
Thanks sdibbers I will get the pistons checked out. The engine bracket studs seem very tight. They do follow the usual lefty loosey rule dont they?
 
Both pistons on each calliper are moving but i did notice the rubber sleeve on one is torn. I think i'll strip the callipers down and refurbish them.
 
Hi,

I am still having trouble removing the studs from the engine side plate. I've tried locking two and even three nuts together but the studs still wont budge. I've taken a photo. Is there anything I may be missing? Thyanks.
 

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Still no joy. I've used loads of wd40 and used a heat gun to heat and cool the studs. I just cant get them to budge at all :(
 
It's the engine side plate looking down from the top. Sorry the picture is too big to be clear. I have just managed to remove one stud by super glueing the three nuts to the stud.... Now i just need to do the same with the other :D
 
At last the side plate is off! The superglue worked a treat. As I suspected there is plenty of the infamous red silt to be found.
 

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harveyp6 said:
DayleW said:
My third issue is that I am having trouble sometimes getting the car into gear. It's like the gear stick is sometimes getting stuck, but most of the time it goes into gear fine. When it does play up i have trouble selecting any gear and really need to force the stick in order to get it to go in. I have a feeling it could be something to do with the gear linkages not being quite right. They need adjusting maybe?
Click to expand...

That could also be a clutch fault.
Click to expand...

Looks like you were right about the clutch. While I was taking the side plate off I noticed the top stud for the clutch cylinder had come undone meaning the cylinder could move away from the bulkhead by about a cm. I've done it back up. I will have to see if this solves the not going into gear issue when she's back on the road.

I have had a good look at my side plate and sure enough there are some pinprick rust holes. Looks like i'll need a new one. I phoned Wadhams but they are out of stock.
 
You could just braze or weld the holes.

I have often wondered about coating the inside of the sideplates with a suitable paint-like substance, something that would fill pin holes, and at the same time act as a rust preventative. Does anyone know of such a product??

Dane.
 
Yes, Tin Lead such as solder. Well that would be one easy solution. you would need to remove all the rust and then treat the fresh iron surface with Phosphoric acid or similar prior to heating the side plates and coating with the molten solder.

Graeme
 
Forget trying to solder up the holes. It will never work as solder just does not bond to steel properly. Further, getting the plates on or off is such a pain that it is just not worth replacing them if they are doubtful. have you tried Wins who i have found to be very helpful suppliers of engine parts? If you really must repair the plate, then IMHO an epoxy substance would be the best bet
 
The secret to soldering successfully to steel is the use of the phosphoric acid, works wonders and will provide a complete water and oil resistant bond. I use this method in fabricating small iron boxes and for soldering to metals in the poorest of conditions and resistant surfaces. I would have no hesitation to using this method before all others, in the past I have found epoxies to de-laminate from metal surfaces in harsh conditions such as heat and oils something that solder is impervious to.

Graeme
 
roverdriver said:
You could just braze or weld the holes.

I have often wondered about coating the inside of the sideplates with a suitable paint-like substance, something that would fill pin holes, and at the same time act as a rust preventative. Does anyone know of such a product??

Dane.
Click to expand...

You can temporaily repair the plates by using self tapping screws, and gasket paper, screwed into an enlarged hole, in order to create a seal. I keep some gasket paper and self tappers in my car, so I can do this, if I am a long way from anywhere and I need to get home, prior to doing a proper repair.

There are epoxy type coatings that you can buy for coating mild steel tanks, to fix leaks, and protect the product from mild steel. This might work, but when you talk about inside of the plate, that means a lot of work removing and replacing to find out if it works or not.

There is a product called Faststeel, which might work as a temporary repair on the side of the road. I have used this on liquid storage tanks. However do not believe what it says that it works without draining the liquid. I have always had to drain the tank below the hole.

James.
 
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