I was having a quiet and mild drive in the city. I downshifted and when I released the clutch pedal the engine wouldn't rev up or hold the car anymore, there was no link between engine and car anymore. I could stop the car with brakes with the gear still engaged and the engine would stay ticking over nicely. I could still engage the different gears as usual (no funny noises or anything) but none would move the car, neutral still lights the neutral indicator in the dash. The rear wheels still link to the engine, I can see propshaft rotation at the engine side when I push the car. All of this happened during the mildest of the rides. There were no noises or clunks, the engine looks good from outside, also I had noticed no clutch slip at all previous to this. My car was then towed home where it is at the moment.

Although any repair needed may be beyond my skills, I'm thinking I could maybe try anyway because the car can't be driven, so things can't get much worse really. If I take something apart and see nothing, well, I'll take the car in pieces to the garage, same hassle.

What would you do first of all? Would you take the clutch apart and have a look? Do you think it may be a gearbox problem? Can I take the clutch apart with the engine in place at all or do I need to remove the engine first?

Am I right that the only related custom bits are the uprated clutch springs and those are not likely to fail? Reason I'm asking is in case I have to take the car to the garage, I should think about getting shipped from the UK any custom bits they may need so they are ready at the right time..

Cheers,

Alex


[Edited on 23/5/05 by Alez]

Firstly check that the clutch cable hasnt simply stuck in position therefore holding the clutch open all the time. Also check the prop flange (the adapter that joins the engine to the prop) and make sure the splines on that are all OK and it hasnt disengaged itself.

If its not that then I would probably drain the oil and take off the sump and clutch cover, both are a simple undoing bolt type affair. Once they are off then check in the sump pan for bits of metal, if there's nothing there Id say its unlikely to be a mechanical breakage inside the engine so would be looking at the clutch.

[Edited on 23/5/05 by ChrisGamlin]

Thank you Chris.

I should be taking the suggested steps.

Clutch cable not likely because the pedal still feels the exact same, like my foot is still pushing against the clutch springs or against something. Anyway, still worth checking!!!

Prop flange looks good, I can rotate the engine shaft by pushing the car.

Cheers,

Alex

You're sure that the prop turns when you roll the car back and forth? Try putting it in gear and then bringing the clutch up as if to pull away - does the prop turn or not? If not then its definitely engine related. I guess it could be something like the output shaft on the gearbox has sheared, although thats quite an odd thing to happen IMHO. if it was gears themselves then Im sure you'd hear all sorts of odd noises as you try to engage it, so I would suspect clutch more than gearbox. One thing to check when you take the clutch cover off, undo the 5 bolts that hold the springs into the clutch basket and withdraw the clutch pressure plate, then check the big clutch retaining nut to ensure thats not loose, I guess its possible that this could have come lose so the clutch basket has moved therefore not getting drive off the crank, although to do this without making any noises would be quite an achievement Id think!

Good luck

[Edited on 23/5/05 by ChrisGamlin]

Thank you Chris.

Yes the prop turns when I roll the car back and forth. Then if I start the engine, engage a gear and release the clutch pedal as you say, the prop doesn't turn. Whatever it is, it's inside the engine!

If you had been there to see how smooth was it for a failure! It went from everything alright to car not moving without ANY funnies in between.

This big retaining nut inside the clutch getting loose was actually the reason for the failure of a friends' bike, was a 80 cc not too similar but symptoms were identical, so that's already a suspect..

Cheers,

Alex

I had the exact same thing happen but on a bike. All that had happened was the last clutch plate had come past the point of no return and slipped round. Took the cover of slipped it back in and off i went after adjusting the cable so it didnt over engage again

Thanks Tony.

Can the clutch be dismantled with the engine inside the car? If yes, I'm quite willing to have a look myself after talking to you and having had a look at the Haynes manual pictures..

Cheers,

Alex

your clutch is damaged..

the reason that your bike doesn't go forward is because it doesn't engage gear (else the Neutral light would go off)

the reason for this is the clutch doesn't work..

if you turn of your engine..
and select first gear do the light then go off??

its possible that you need to move your car a bit while selecting it.. (the gears (los pinones) have to come free)

if the light goes off try to move your car even more if it stucks then its good news..
Because then you are pressing against the compression of your engine..(sow clutch is engaged, gear is selected, box works fine)

if you hear the typical gear clicks but gears don't enter then you have a problem.. if the light is off and you can move the car freely then i bet its the clutch who is stuck wide open....

(look at the clutch cable etc..., watch out with your fingerss because the springs forces are heavy!!)

well sadly that you aren't here would like to help you allot also here i have the acomodation of a garage! soow lifting etc is easy!

regards,

hope we talk a bit more some day..

Tks

In your situ i think the clutch basket is situated in the front of the car..

at the back of the radiator..

will take a look at your pics right away..

TKS

Edit:

Yeah its deffinitly what i said. Do the following (alla hayness):

- Order a Clutch Basket seal (11euro's)
- Drain the engine oil (sump plug) (you need an 3.5 / 5liter can for it to store it temp.
- Take of care fully the clutch cover
- Analyse what you see, make pics for us if you aren't sure)

If you pressed the clutch tomuch then it will be stuck open so see space between the pates package)

- Resons for an open clutch..
- You adjusted it wrong..
- Your top/max pedal stop bolt has gone
- Spring(s) has broken ==> unbalance in the basket when pressured at max clutch came of when loosing it didn't gided...and become stuck..

to re fit the clutch the best thing i think ou can do is press the clutch and help it to fit again like it needs to go.. then loosen it bit by bit..then readjust it sow it cant come of again...

will this should help you...

TKS



[Edited on 23/5/05 by tks]

Thanks very much for the useful explanation.

>- Your top/max pedal stop bolt has gone

I have yet another possible reason for clutch stuck open: I don't have such bolt and never had!! ..And it looks like I've just learned it's purpose the hard way!! I thought that the engine setting the limit for how deep you could push the pedal was the way it should be, but it turns out that you can actually push too much.. so I'll need to limit that somehow.. Well it has lasted quite a lot of operations if that's finally the problem.

Cheers,

Alex

I would bet my bottom dollar on it mate if you havent got a pedal stop. I know i will probably get shot down for this but i have never bothered changing clutch case gaskets unless they are damaged or leak as they arent under any great stresses(i speak from experience as i must have had clutch cases of about 100 times bikes and bec).

Hi All,

Now the problem happens to be in the transmission, somewhere between the engine and the wheels, the only thing I can check visually (I can't lift the car up at the moment) is the prop flange bolts which look good. Yesterday I said "The rear wheels still link to the engine, I can see propshaft rotation at the engine side when I push the car" but now I can add "unless I stop the propshaft with my bare hand while rolling the car back and forth". So when I do that, rotation arrives at the engine, but only if it finds no oposition, in which case it stops.

Unfortunately this strange behaviour had fooled me so I realized this after taking the whole clutch apart. On the negative side, I wasted one evening tinkering with a clutch which is fine. On the plus side, I learned a lot and I'm very very happy about it (it's a lot of achievement for me, having never done anything similar), also I have gained the confidence for trying other easy engine related tasks in the future. Overall I'm very happy about the lessons learned.

So what kind of failure could be producing this behaviour? I can only think of one, and that is the link of ONE of the wheels to the diff (no LSD). I was thinking about continuing this discussion under "running gear" but since BEC diffs are different I'll continue here. I don't know what my diff is, it's not a LSD, there is a pic here:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/upload/3diff.jpg

Neither the Cortina nor the early RWD Escort were ever sold in Spain. The Sierra was but I'm not sure that this is the version from which these diffs are taken, I don't know if it's a RWD actually, the one sold here is the car in these pics:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/upload/2sierra.jpg
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/upload/sierra2.jpg
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/upload/sierra3.jpg

So if the problem is actually in the rear axle / diff,
-Can a diff be opened and repaired? Is that worth trying?
-Do I have any alternatives for a different diff to be fitted which is mechanically compatible? (any LSDs from donors or Quaife). I'm not particularly interested in adding a reverse (does that go there at all?), and definitely I don't want to add ANY weight, but I'd love to have a LSD if it weighs the same. If I need to pay big €€€ for shipping a diff, I may well consider an upgrade.

Thanks a lot!

Alex

[Edited on 24/5/05 by Alez]

Hi Alex

Is your car IRS or live axle? If its a live axle then I would think you have most likely broken a half shaft, this is one of the shafts that joins the wheels to the differential. I would say its quite unlikely that you have broken the diff itself as they rarely just break like that and even if they do break, it would be making lots of noise Im sure. If its the latter (a Sierra based IRS diff) then the solution may be even simpler, what may have happened is that the hub nut that holds the drive shaft to the hub may have come undone and so the splined end of the driveshaft is no longer sitting in the splines on the hub, therefore is not transmitting drive to that wheel. If it is IRS its unlikely to be a broken driveshaft because you would see and hear it when it failed.
Try jacking it up at the back, then getting one person to hold one wheel whilst you turn the other, you should soon be able to feel which wheel is disconnected from the drive.

Chris

Sorry, just read your post again and seen your link to your axle - its a live axle from a Mk2 Escort from the 1970's like
this or this.
I would have thought you would have had them in Spain at the time, although probably nowhere near as many in number as here in the UK.

Thank you Chris.

I can confirm that Escort was never sold here. Whatever the solution (replace half shaft?), it looks like it will need to be shipped from the UK.

What's my next step if I confirm one wheel is spinning free? Can I take out the bits inside the rear axle without taking the whole thing out of the car first?

I shall be back soon with results and pics.

Thanks!


[Edited on 24/5/05 by Alez]

To take the half shafts out, you need to take the wheel off, take the brake drum off (can be a pain, just needs tapping off with soft hammer) and then undo the 4 retaining bolts that hold the halfshaft into the axle, if one is broken then it should just pull out from here and you should only have half a half shaft (a quarter shaft? ) with a broken end. Once thats out Im not sure how you get the other bit out of the diff as Ive never had to do it, although its a fairly common thing so Im sure there's a proven method that someone on here could probably answer if you do find it is that.
Are you sure you cant find anything over there, i dont understand spanish so Im not 100% sure on what I was doing but I just logged onto www.google.es and searched for "mk2 escort" and some spanish websites came up so they might be worth contacting? You might find that people use them in club rallying etc even though they werent available as a road car in Spain.

Having said all that, it is possible that it could be the pinion gear/ bearing that has broken up, but usually when this happens you get a fair amount of noise and vibration beforehand as they generally dont just break, they gradually wear and chew themselves to pieces over time. Also check the flange on the front of the diff (where the prop bolts on) and make sure there is no movement in that.

[Edited on 24/5/05 by ChrisGamlin]

Thanks Chris, that's very useful advice. Actually it seems like the have been used in rallies here so that's a good starting point.

In order to check availability of axle bits here, does the supplier of a half shaft need to know the ratio of the diff or are the mk2 Escort half shafts all the same?

Cheers,

Alex

They are all the same apart from special uprated ones you can get from Quaife I think (these have a different uprated spline pattern for their own relpacement diffs). You're very unlikley to have these though so you should be OK with whatever you can find second hand.

Excellent Chris, thank you.

Bueno/ Well,

i think that there are in spain Escort MKII

the problem would be more that we are in 2005 and if you ask about a car thats from the 1978 etc..pff..

well anyway if you want Alex i can help you i work on my car daily in a garage soow they should know..

TKS

p.s. as far as usefull information i can inform that Sierra's are over here plenty full incl 4x4 ones...

[Edited on 24/5/05 by tks]

Thank you!

I've done a couple of phone calls including a company which specializes in finding parts but no joy. If everything goes as planned, I'll be able to identify the bit(s) I need today or maybe tomorrow, then I'll check with you guys in this thread for a suitable source (either Spain or UK).

Cheers,

Alex

alez,sorry to hear that mate,if you take prop off from diff,remove both half shafts (slide hammer is best) undo the ring of nuts that hold diff onto axle casing,withdraw diff (v heavy),the shafts break at the end of the splines where they go into the diff,a long drift and hammer will get the broken part out,wash the diff casing out as well

If you pay me the half of the AutoRes trip

i will come and help you!

only if you want offcourse..

TKs

It fouled me again The other day I put the clutch back together, put oil in the engine and then I started the engine just for a quick check. I engaged a gear to check clutch and when I released the pedal I had loud noises and things happening. Stopped the engine, and checked transmission by rolling the car back and forth. The new situation is that I get rotation out of the diff (it's the first time I see this because previously I had not realized that I can actually check that visually without lifting the car up) but no rotation at all at the prop flange unlike previously!!! Also I need to be very careful when rolling the car, I now get noises and clunks. Actually I decided to park the car by pushing it with the rear wheels locked by the hand brake (cardboard under wheels to help sliding), with the help of my brother.

It's like there was something there about to break apart and now it did, bigtime. I should be able to lift the car up tonight and takes some pics finally, but I have alredy noticed there's some bit sticking out of the bottom of the car midway between engine and diff, where the seats are. It doesn't bother me too much to start outings in my car and end them being towed, but broken propshafts hitting things inside at big rpms?? That's real crap

I'm sorry to have wasted your time asking for information on things that are maybe alright, the fault fooled me twice, I should have lifted the car up before bothering you, I'm now trying to sort things out in the garage as I don't have the means to do this yet (I'm buying stuff this very evening ).

Thanks a lot to you all for your help, I'm truly learning a lot from you. Also thanks Walter for your very kind offer, it's really generous of you, let's just see what I find there for now.. BTW if you ever need anything from Madrid (including a place to stay), let me know. Back soon with pics..

Cheers,

Alex

Hi Alex

Just a thought - do you have a reverse box on the car? If so then Id think this is likely the cause if I am understanding you correctly that the rear of the prop attached to the rear axle turns fine, but the front of the prop at the engine end doesnt? Could it even be something as simple as that jumping into a neutral state? If not then some have chain or gear drives inside which may have broken.

If you dont have a reverse box then the prop itself must have failed although its almost impossible for it to do that in the serene way as if the prop fails it usually tries its hardest to bash the tunnel to pieces and flails around whacking everything in sight.

Thank you Chris.

I don't have any reverse whatsoever, everything there should be really simple. Also it's not any neutral state, I had all sorts of noises prior to stopping the engine and checking there is no link now. It's very strange how quietly it failed initially. I really want to have a look asap!

> if the prop fails it usually tries its hardest to bash the tunnel to pieces and flails around whacking everything in sight

Sounds like good fun

Cheers,

Alex


[Edited on 26/5/05 by Alez]

I meant that the reverse box might have disengaged itself into a neutral state, but as you dont have one then thats not the problem!

Was I right in what I said above - when pushing the car along the road the rear end of the prop attached to the axle rotates, the front end attached to the engine doesnt?

If so then the good news is that the prop isnt BEC specific, it probably is custom made but any prop manufaturer in Spain should be able to make you up a new one to the same spec.

Chris

[Edited on 26/5/05 by ChrisGamlin]

> I meant that the reverse box might have disengaged itself into a neutral state but as you dont have one then thats not the problem!

I always favoured pushing the car, when I was looking for a car to buy, I considered no reverse as a plus because of reliability.. Later on I found you can't approve a reverse-less car in Spain, but that's a different story

> Was I right in what I said above - when pushing the car along the road the rear end of the prop attached to the axle rotates, the front end attached to the engine doesnt?

Yes you are right. From previous posts you can see that this is a new situation as previously, rotation would reach the engine!

> If so then the good news is that the prop isnt BEC specific, it probably is custom made but any prop manufaturer in Spain should be able to make you up a new one to the same spec.

Good news at last!!

Thanks!

Take some pictures (preferably with the tunnel panels taken off) then we can confirm thats the problem, but if one end of the prop turns and the other doesnt, then there's nothing else in between to fail!

Chris

to me this sounds deffenitly to a prop joint failure

i'm thinking about the sliding joint of the propshaft..??

Ok Alez, no problemo.. if you need something to from here like Jamon, Chorizo etc..i live in the pionier city of it (Guijuelo)

soow any way regards

and lifting it up will make the problem clear in seconds..

TKS

Hi All,

I finally got underneath the car, I found some disturbing stuff:

The two sections of the propshaft were disengaged from one another. The one going to the diff was therefore loose and hit the chassis as I rolled the car. The big one (going to the engine) was still fastened to the chassis.
Pic: http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/upload/pshaftjoint4.jpg
How it managed to disengage by itself remains a mistery to me. Maybe the two sections were never as close to each other as they should have been and I made the situation worse last summer when I adjusted the rear suspension to get one inch extra ground clearance?

I decided to take the whole thing out of the car for inspection. I couldn't take the section going to the diff out because I can't slacken those bolts. I've sprayed lots of that magic oil (what's the name in English?) on them for now. I took out the other bit. While doing it, I noticed:

-A couple of the bolts-nuts which tie the propshaft to the flange were loose. The bit which ties this flange to the engine output pinion (kind of in between cog?) is tied to the engine via a bolt with a big washer (like a plate). Please excuse my English, I'm trying my best and I hope you can get to understand me This bolt was inside the unit, but it wasn't in its place, it was loose inside. I'll be taking a pic to ask you if this bolt is fine, it looks a bit short to me, like a bolt which would get loose easily, especially since it doesn't have any locking means (locking washer, whatever).

-The joint is badly damaged.
Pic: http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/upload/pshaftjoint.jpg
The pic shows two ring shaped regions of damage. They explain why, when I first lose my transmission, I would still get rotation at the engine side when rolling the car in neutral but only if there was no opposing force from the engine. Still, how or why would the two propshaft sections disengage? Maybe a bad position of the propshaft caused both initial failure (damaged joint causing loss of transmission) and final failure (disengaged sections)?? Also I can't understand the inner ring shaped region of damage, whay this narrow ring shape when the other bit is quite wide??

-This shaft has been made (modified?) by Bailey Morris Limited.
Pic: http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/upload/pshaftjoint3.jpg
I don't know if all propshafts are like that, this one has this big diametre joint which bolts onto an adapter with 2 big bolts, this adapter then bolts onto the chassis with 4 big bolts. This big joint ties to the section of the shaft which connects to the engine. It is a special ball type joint which holds the propshaft while allowing it both to rotate and to stay in the required angle. Is this a standard Escort mk2 propshaft, but shortened as explained in the Ron Champion's book? (The book hasn't any pictures of it ) Or is it a purpose made botch? I assume the adapter which bolts to both joint and chassis is made by Stuart Taylor? The book doesn't give any details about such adapter, at least in the propshaft section?

I'm totally lost about my next step, apart from taking the other bit out to see if it has been damaged as well. The Ron Champion's book says the shaft has to be manufactured very carefully so it has the exact required length. I don't know if I can order a new propshaft from a UK manufacturer and hope the length will be exactly as required. I don't know what happened, so I don't know how to avoid it happening again. I don't know wether I should contact Bailey Morris Limited to get a new propshaft or I should try Stuart Taylor (they assembled the car in their factory, this car was sold as turn key) or I should take the whole car to a specialist in Spain (if I can find one) for an expert to asess the cause of the failure and put the new bits together properly.

Help please?? This issue is absolutelly above my mechanics skills and I don't know what to do

The splines don't look too bad Alex. The stuff on them looks like aluminium filings. Was there anything else in there with it. The bolt that holds the two sections together has gone adrift somewhere. I'd clean it up and put it back together to get it mobile and order a new prop if you're not confident in it. Get some threadlock for the bolts when you reassemble it. Check the slider in the front section is working as it looks like it may have been pulling on the rear and loosened the bolt

[Edited on 30/5/05 by Peteff]
Rescued attachment pshaftjoint.jpg

Many thanks, Peter. I didn't know there should be a bolt there, but actually I retrieved a loose bolt which I found, I'm sure it's that one.

I have located a transmission specialist here in Madrid. I may put it together just as you say and then drive it to these guys for a proper job.

Cheers,

Alex

[Edited on 30/5/05 by Alez]

Hi Alex

Which end was this, the end going to the axle, or the end going to the engine? If its the rear end, does your prop have a sliding joint in it? This would be an unpainted narrower diameter metal shaft in the rear section of the prop, looking like a hydraulic ram. It would need one of these with a live axle because as the live axle moves, the prop needs to extend / shorten slightly. If this isnt present or has seized up, when the axle moves it will be pulling on the centre bearing which could have caused the failure you have.

Just edited to add that having re-read your post properly, this is the rear half of the prop, so what Ive said is relevent!

[Edited on 30/5/05 by ChrisGamlin]

By the way, don't bother with the book on this one as the prop requirements for a X Flow and the prop requirements for a bike engine are completely different. From the parts I can see of your prop it looks exactly like a bike engine's prop should do apart from I can't see if it has the aforementioned sliding joint in the rear disengaged section.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your post. All the pics in my post are of the section that connects to the engine apart from the first picture, which I took before taking anything out of the car and shows the two sections where they join. This is the only pic of the other section which I've not been able to get out of the car yet. In this very picture, you can see my finger as I'm holding the section which connects to the diff. That's all that's there.

When I saw it, I thought that the way this works is it lengthens or shortens by allowing the bit I was holding when I took the pic to travel back and forth, with the long pinion inside (the one showing two rings of damage).

The only other joint is the big, ring shaped one seen in the pics, which fastens the front section of the propshaft to the chassis where the joint is. This joint allows it to rotate and to move, changing it's angle (but not move back and forth).

I can't see any other joints apart from the connecting plates (flanges?) to engine and diff, although I don't know what a hydraulic ram. Anyway, I'm sure nothing else was there!

So, the big diametre propshaft bit which is tied to the chassis by means of this big joint, is that normally put at the front of the car like in mine? Or where you asking because sometimes it's done the other way around?

Also, something important I need to know, as I see this propshaft has nothing to do with what's described in the book: what is it?? Is it a purpose made popshaft? I need to know this in case I need to provide the especialist with any original (donor) parts for modification bt them. The reason why they may not know about the donor part needed is that neither Cortinas nor early Escorts were sold in Spain.

BTW these guys can modify a propshaft to my specification or manufacture one for me, I've just phoned them to ask and basically they say they need to see how it looks like (they don't know what a Seven is).

So, can you tell me, whatever I have there, is it a custom propshaft, purpose made for BECs by Bailey Morris Limited? Or is it a car propshaft which was modified in any way to suit the Stuart Taylor chassis?

Thank you!

The Bailey Morris prop will have been made specially for your car Alex. It uses standard parts for their construction though so they should be able to match it easily enough.

Excellent Peter, thank you.

Yesterday I took a couple more pics to check if there should have been any in-between bits.. like the sliding joint mentioned by Chris. I went there to try to remove the other bit and failed again, it's stuck there forever..

Anyway, in the pics you can see the chassis attachment points of the big adaptor which holds the propshaft, they are on the lower left corner of the pics. The diff would be to the upper right corner, at the end of that propshaft section.

I found that the section of the shaft still in the car matches (mates) the section already out of the car, so nothing is missing.

Is that a strange arrangement? I don't see the need for anything else as there's room for sliding in the current arrangement..

Cheers,

Alex


Pics:





[Edited on 31/5/05 by Alez]

Alex, could you take some pictures of the other end of this section, where it meets the rear axle, or ideally a picture of the entire length if you can get it in shot, that way we can determine if it has a sliding joint in it
It shouldnt be sliding on this splined bit you've taken a picture of, or at least thats certainly not how other Bailey Morris props Ive seen work.


Chris

[Edited on 31/5/05 by ChrisGamlin]

I have some more pics including rear end but not any of the middle section as the car is quite close to the ground.

This first one is of the middle section but quite close to the rear axle. The joint in the previous pics would be to the left of this picture and the diff would be to the right:



These two are of the rear end section, showing the adapter plate still bolted to the diff because I just can't undo those bolts. On the left of this pic you can see part of what's in the other pic:





I don't think there's anything else to the left of the first picture, so that's pretty much everything that's there in that section

If the propshaft is not supposed to vary it's length by means of the joint which failed, I don't understand what's the purpose of this joint. I mean, if length is to remain the same and the angles of the two sections must be the same for them to come together, I can't see why it couldn't have been one longer piece

Cheers,

Alex

The top picture is the end of your sliding joint, if you pull the prop towards the front of the car this section should extend out about 10cm and you should see bare shiny steel just to the left of this small collar (if looking at it from the same angle as the picture).
Make sure this hasnt seized up, you should be able to pull it in and out quite easily by hand.

Understood, thank you!! I will try tonight, and may be able to take some more pics of this middle section.

Bingo. Yesterday I tried to pull the rear section of the propshaft towards the engine by hand and it doesn't extend at all, it doesn't move. I took this pic (shown nothing new really):


Looks like I won't be DRIVING but TOWING the car for repair..

Cheers,

Alex

Hopefully you've found the culprit!

Chris

Alex, one thing - it will be easier / safer to trailer it, if towing behind another car you'll need to undo the 4 bolts that hold the prop to the diff and disconnected it otherwise when you tow it along, that bit of the prop will be flailing around and bashing your tunnel to bits, probably taking out fuel and brake lines etc in the process!

Oh yes, sorry, I meant trailer it, it's my dodgy English again. Thank you for trying to avoid an (aditional) disaster Chris.

BTW I'm still unsure about how to proceed, the car is down the -3 floor in a big garage (remember I live in the big city), and trailers can't get in there (because of width), so it's going to be an interesting Indiana Jones like adventure once I figure out a low-cost plan

Cheers,

Alex

quote:

---

Originally posted by ChrisGamlin
Alex, one thing - it will be easier / safer to trailer it, if towing behind another car you'll need to undo the 4 bolts that hold the prop to the diff and disconnected it otherwise when you tow it along, that bit of the prop will be flailing around and bashing your tunnel to bits, probably taking out fuel and brake lines etc in the process!

---

what about....

an horse??
y un cacho cordon gordo??

pero claro ahora buscar un caballo en madrid

Well you could try it?

TKs

nah pulling/pushing is the way to go..
for easy pulling / pushing take of the
'guarda barros?' the plastic thing wo cover the wheels...

then you can easy roll the car....

Hi Alex

No it wasnt dodgy English as "towing" can mean either on a trailer or on a rope, I just wanted to make sure

Aaah, so "towing" can mean any of the two things!! Hurray!!



Hmm, not sure about the horse option. When I had oil leaks I was kindly asked to clean them. I don't want to clean lots of what horses naturally "leak"!!

Cheers,

Alex

if you let them run....they won't get an change...


Tks

Looks like I'll be DRIVING the car to the specialist garage! Yesterday I had the sliding joint moving, it was completely stuck at first but I used a bit extra force and now it moves fine and I can see the "unpainted narrower diameter metal shaft" that Chris mentioned. I also have one of these big locking bolts which hold the two halves of the transmission together. So the plan is I'll just drive slowly to the garage with the old transmission, then I'll get the damage asessed and the transmision repaired and / or replaced as needed. I should be driving home with a good transmission in place as they will be mounting it back in the car (I think that's the sensible decision in this case). Thank you for your help!

Cheers,

Alex

I just started reading this thread - you're having what we call in the UK "a nightmare"... good luck with it Alez. Let us know how you get on... I'm sure you will!

Cheers, thanks for your encouragement!

I have to say I'm very happy about what I'm learning so it's not all bad. Also, consider my partner or myself could have been badly injured, so the failure has resulted in a mild nightmare really.

I always thought there's not much to go wrong in a Locost, and still think so.

There's not a lot more to get me in BIG trouble.. maybe electrics, as I don't have any diagrams at all and the whole wiring is custom (not a purchased loom) if I'm right, I have small boxes of fuses fastened with tie wraps here and there and all the wiring is wrapped in insulating tape..

Whatever..

[Edited on 2/6/05 by Alez]

are straight forward if they have worked and you don't disconnect to much wires...

i'm now also in my loom shit..

i use only black and red as wire colours...but i put codes on them with the crimp jackets/hoses....

if it works it will work..maybe an relais will fail someday but nothing else..

its offcourse another thing if the prop will make a mess of the electrics fitted in the tunnel that could be an hell of an job...

but its not the case..


Tks