Rookie Error...

[tut]

Yep very brave, all mine have been down to diesel......

tut

[chrisdb]

Now you mention it, there was a strange smell around the time....


...nope, that was just me cacking my pants


Once I remove the big hub nut and the wishbones/caliper, will the upright just slide off the driveshaft or will I need a special tool?

Got an upright being posted today so hopefully can start tinkering soon.

Been quoted £440 for fibreglass repair/respray half clam does this seem reasonable?

[graeme]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004CS6RSA/

[tut]

Surprised that they had any left in stock after N3.

tut

[Corranga]

Once the hub is removed, and the hub nut is off, the upright assembly with the hub still in place will slide off.

Use a cable tie or 2 to support the driveshaft by hanging it. Do the same with the caliper.
Remember to unplug the speedo sensor!
If you're just replacing the upright, you should be able to just undo the 4 bolts from the plinth at the bottom, and 2 hex bolts at the top and leave the ball joints / wishbones in place I think.


Other than that, your car looks to be in pretty nice condition underneath

[AJT]

For the wheel give http://www.alloywheelrepairs.co/home.html a call, will not be the cheapest but might be able to help you out.

[chrisdb]

Once the hub is removed, and the hub nut is off, the upright assembly with the hub still in place will slide off.

If you're just replacing the upright, you should be able to just undo the 4 bolts from the plinth at the bottom, and 2 hex bolts at the top and leave the ball joints / wishbones in place I think.

I've just got the alloy upright with wheel bearing still in it rather than a complete assembly with the hub that the wheel mounts on. Will I need any special tool to separate the upright and hub? Manual seems to think so and suggests removing driveshaft?!

Other than that, your car looks to be in pretty nice condition underneath

Thanks - I cleaned it up a bit before pics as it had collected a fair amount of undergrowth on it's trip to the verge...

Looks like my trusty 3/8 socket set won't cut it for the hub bolt - anyone have a view between halfords advanced, bahco, britool 1/2 inch sets?

[Dominic]

Sorry to hear about your off. You are not the first and won't be the last!

Glad to hear that you are making progress to getting things fixed

[Corranga]

I presume your replacement upright has the bearing but no hub?
The hub is pressed into the inside of the wheel bearing, so if you want to remove it, you'll need a press (maybe possible with a vice?).
I visited my local friendly mechanics and used his 20 ton press to remove mine earlier in the year when I rebuilt my suspension.

Tool wise, I use, and like Halfords Pro / Advanced stuff.
Quality wise, it's much better that other tools I've had regarding fit, the lifetime warranty seems to work well, and they are almost always half price which makes them about the right price - although the 1/2 inch drive sockets are 12 sided (other than the black impact ones) which I'm not so keen on.

I also use form Clarke Pro stuff (Machine Mart own brand) breaker bar, 1/2 inch extensions, and have one of their pro 1/2 inch socket sets. The sockets seem nice and fit well, and are 6 sided, but the ratchet gave up long ago after not much use!

Hub nut wise, my halfords set doesn't go big enough so I bought a single sealey socket on eBay for about a fiver, which took 2 weeks to arrive, so I ended up in my local B&Q where I bought the right sized socket for £1.30 or something in their clearance. It's a crap brand but it did the trick...
I should add that I'm just a hobbyist, no training as a mechanic!

[chrisdb]

Thanks Corranga - that's really useful. Yep I have an upright but no hub so I will take it to my local garage to get the hub pressed in/removed. Might get a new wheel bearing for the replacement upright pressed in while I'm at it.

I'm also a hobbyist - I should probably just get it trailered to a garage and sorted but I like taking things apart and putting them back together so figure that, even if it's probably just as expensive to do by the time I've bought the right tools, I'll have the tools and knowledge as a bonus if I manage to do it right!

I've got a 3/8 Halfords Advanced set already which seems to cover most stuff and quality is good. Think I'll just do same and get a 1/2" breaker and deep 32mm socket for the hub nut.

Cheers
Chris

[robin]

Hi,

You need to be careful with the sequence of events. Assuming you're starting with an upright, a bearing and a hub and want to assemble. You should press the bearing into the hub and fit the circlips. Then when pressing the hub axle into the bearing you need to make sure you support the bearing inner against something (otherwise you're putting a huge transverse load on the bearing, and you'll slide the bearing hard up against the circlip, assuming there even are circlips!). So you need a selection of dollies to use in your press. It's years since I've changed one so cannot be more specific. But I know I've fcuk it up more than once

Cheers,
Robin

[tut]

Hi,
But I know I've fcuk it up more than once
Cheers,
Robin

So that is what happened to N1 and N3 on Stelvios.

tut

[robin]

Tut,

I think I've only ever changed one wheel bearing on N1 - and we did that in an Italian car park with the actual pressing being done by the Italian engineer in a full race suit (midnight!). So you can blame him, but not me (he spoke no English, I speak no Italian ).

Tell a lie, we changed the other side a couple of years later - you and Nic (was it? Rob's partner) took the hub into the local town and got somebody to press it out. Once again, though, I didn't do the pressing!

I think we've changed every balljoint on at least N1 and possibly N3 in various car parks around Europe

Cheers,
Robin

[tut]

Better memory Robin than the old git, do remember the old boy in was it a white Benetton race suit, taking the upright away to the village.

Doubt if either of us could remember all the instances that you have worked on N1/3 though, but the proudest must have been John and yourself manufacturing the new wishbone bracket for N1 on Stelvio 2004 in the machine shop of a clothing manufacturer? on a Sunday morning at the bottom of the Hotel mountain lift. Was it Marcus that did the translating?

tut

[robin]

It was an upper suspension mount. Yes, I think Markus organised the translating and John pointed at stuff ... 1/4inch angle iron ... the material of choice!