Tor
Well-Known Member
... and we have a runner 
Struggled quite a lot bleeding the brakes manually. We eventually realised, through trial and error, that not only is it advisable to begin with the rear circuit but that any other way is, in our experience, impossible. The servo needs a full stroke to run fluid to the rear line, which it won't have if the front lines have been bled and closed off. The pedal firms up completely and there's not enough movement to pass fluid through the various components and into the line. We had to pump the brake pedal hard, fast and repeatedly to get fluid running to the rear line at all, with the front lines open. This is a dual-circuit ("tandem") system, so we could see when the fluid eventually entered the booster from the forward reservoir. And yes, I was tired and impatient from having taken on too many jobs at once to study the literature comprehensively for each one...
The polybushed rear suspension has come out *exactly* as I had hoped. I've yet to reset the panhard rod and I'll re-check the shocker settings too as it still has a bit of a sideways wag in certain situations. Front control arms have also helped a lot, so now I have a car that handles much better and displays quite a lot less body roll... During my two years of ownership the Hercules tyres seem to have hardened, so on wet tarmac two nights ago I got a bit naughty in roundabouts 8)
Having silenced the front hubs with new bearings I have made way for the various other hums, songs and low-pitched whines to be heard from elsewhere in the car. The gearbox clearly lives in a sing-songy world of its own (it also leaks quite well) but there's quite a bit of noise from the rear. Bum. Which means I'll be axle-standing the rear, running it in fourth and playing doctor-and-naughty-Rover with my stethoscope on the diff and wheel hubs.
Although the car looks all right she has plenty issues. A few more than I'd have liked. A medium-term fix to the bearing noise has been found, though: one used top-of-range Pioneer CD radio and brand new 250W 6x9"s for the apertures in the parcel shelf, for the princely sum of just over 60 pounds sterling.
Struggled quite a lot bleeding the brakes manually. We eventually realised, through trial and error, that not only is it advisable to begin with the rear circuit but that any other way is, in our experience, impossible. The servo needs a full stroke to run fluid to the rear line, which it won't have if the front lines have been bled and closed off. The pedal firms up completely and there's not enough movement to pass fluid through the various components and into the line. We had to pump the brake pedal hard, fast and repeatedly to get fluid running to the rear line at all, with the front lines open. This is a dual-circuit ("tandem") system, so we could see when the fluid eventually entered the booster from the forward reservoir. And yes, I was tired and impatient from having taken on too many jobs at once to study the literature comprehensively for each one...
The polybushed rear suspension has come out *exactly* as I had hoped. I've yet to reset the panhard rod and I'll re-check the shocker settings too as it still has a bit of a sideways wag in certain situations. Front control arms have also helped a lot, so now I have a car that handles much better and displays quite a lot less body roll... During my two years of ownership the Hercules tyres seem to have hardened, so on wet tarmac two nights ago I got a bit naughty in roundabouts 8)
Having silenced the front hubs with new bearings I have made way for the various other hums, songs and low-pitched whines to be heard from elsewhere in the car. The gearbox clearly lives in a sing-songy world of its own (it also leaks quite well) but there's quite a bit of noise from the rear. Bum. Which means I'll be axle-standing the rear, running it in fourth and playing doctor-and-naughty-Rover with my stethoscope on the diff and wheel hubs.
Although the car looks all right she has plenty issues. A few more than I'd have liked. A medium-term fix to the bearing noise has been found, though: one used top-of-range Pioneer CD radio and brand new 250W 6x9"s for the apertures in the parcel shelf, for the princely sum of just over 60 pounds sterling.
