Just a little update on the progress I've made on rebuilding my differential.
Yesterday, I took the TR6 for my first drive since pulling the differential to
put a drain plug in it this past May. Since starting that evening project, the
carrier gears and bearings have all been replaced in the differential, new
bushings have been installed for the differential, trailing arms and damper
links, new springs and rear brake lines replaced and dampers rebuilt (by
Apple). When the scope of the project started to creep, I told my wife we
would have plenty of time to drive it this summer. I think she thought we
would have a few more than 10 days. The one thing she noticed, though, was it
wasn't one of those projects that just seemed to hang over me like a dark
cloud. She knew I was having almost as much fun working on the car as I might
have been having driving it.
The key to keeping my sanity while doing all this work for the first time was
to have a good mentor around. Berry Price provided great technical and moral
support, and just the right blend of humor when the complexity of the project
felt like it was getting a little overwhelming. He also lent me all the arcane
little tools I needed to rebuild the differential. Thanks Berry, I could not
have done it without you.
Time will only tell how good of a job I did. But for those of you who bought
one of these beautiful little cars for the same reason I did, if you're
venturing into some of the mechanical work for the first time as I did, find a
good mentor and take advantage of the great help offered by many of the people
on 6-Pack. I thank everyone for all the good information, advise and support
that's been provided, and for the people who maintain this listerve and the
archives (there is a lot of good information here if you take the time to
research).
The rear of the car was so nice and solid on my drive yesterday that I couldn't
help but notice how sloppy the front end now felt. I'll make this my winter
project instead of waiting until the start of summer. Perhaps you'll want to
change your phone number, Berry.
Mike
Corvallis, OR
Check out the new British Cars Forum:
http://www.team.net/the-local/tiki-view_forum.php?forumId=8
|