Charlie_Zetec
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 04:21 PM |
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Alloy upright woe, help!
Well after a lovely breakfast this morning with the Essex kit car lot, I thought I'd better crack on and do some more bits in an attempt to make
progress. And what's happened? Just about the polar opposite. I've had to walk away from the workshop before I turn big and green, and
destroy everything around me....
I purchased a set of Sierra alloy uprights from a member on here (who purchased them new from MNR), and they were all good - nothing to complain
about. So I set about removing the old Sierra units from the car, dismantled the hub from the upright, removed the old wheel studs and replaced with
longer items. And that's about where the positives stop. The car is now in even more pieces.
I trial fitted all the parts to make sure they went together correctly, and was happy. I bolted the steering arms into place, and thought things were
going well. I then put one top screw-in top hat holder in place, and did it up; all went together fine. Then I went to do the other one, and it
started perfectly by hand. But half way down, it got incredibly tight, so I decided to try and undo it, only being finger tight. Not a chance. I
tried everything from WD40 to penetrating spray, the lot. And it still wouldn't work. Tried using a socket gently, nowt. Longer extension
bar, nowt. Ended up with a 3/4" socket set and long bar, gentle heat, and then the thing gave up and popped out. Thread destroyed.
So I gave up on that one, went back to the good one, and thought I'd test the back screw-in grease cover. Can you guess what happened next?
Exactly the same thing. Finger tight in without problems, them wouldn't budge.
Words can't begin to explain just how annoyed/frustrated/angry I am right now. Worst part is, these are discontinued so I can't even
destroy the sacrificial parts and get replacements. Grrrr.....
If it wasn't for the fact they cost me £xxx's I would quite happily launch them into the bin and be done with it.
Has anyone else encountered any problems with alloy uprights similar to me?
Should I just bin them and get back to the old, heavy Sierra units with new bearings and the longer stud hubs?
Do I call MNR and see what they can do to help me?
Just feel like I've wasted another day encountering crappy problems that are generally unnecessary. And then I wonder why the car is taking me
so damn long to get anywhere with....
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity!
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omega0684
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 04:28 PM |
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you haven't go the cortina ones by mistake have you, i could hardly tell the difference between the two when i had them side by side! Can you
stick up some photos of the alloy uprights?
ATB
I love Pinto's, even if i did get mine from P&O!
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Charlie_Zetec
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 04:35 PM |
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Got a couple of pictures now in my archive of the units when I bought them. Definitely not Cortina ones, as I checked with MNR when they arrived that
all was OK and everything there I needed. Chris was very helpful and confirmed all was as required.
I haven't got pictures of the units in their latest guise, as I'm not sure I'm ready to go back into the workshop just yet in case I
lose my cool. Will try and get some later to post up, to show extent of the incident.
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity!
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omega0684
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 04:39 PM |
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you're right, they're not the cortina ones, so is it the top ball joint insert thread thats knackered?
I love Pinto's, even if i did get mine from P&O!
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Charlie_Zetec
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 04:42 PM |
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Yup, bottom half of the insert that screws in is totally bare/smooth. And the first 40-50% of the thread in the upright itself is churned up, to what
I'd say is beyond (easy) repair.
Blood pressure rising....
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity!
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omega0684
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 05:02 PM |
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could you send them back to MNR to get the tops rethreaded and ask them to make you some new inserts? Sounds to me like you have the wrong inserts,
different threads to what is in the hub, probably why they have cross threaded?
I love Pinto's, even if i did get mine from P&O!
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plutos3
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 06:16 PM |
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You could take them to your local engineering workshop and get them to fit helicoils, I blieve them to be stronger anyway.
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Charlie_Zetec
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 07:09 PM |
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Just added more pics to the folder, showing damage done to first top mount and upright. Also the second upright, how the top screw went in with
almost no effort - but the back cover is now stuck in situ.
@Plutos3, Unsure if they do helicoils that size? The socket to do the top nut up was 40mm, and had to have space in the middle for the top hat to
sit. Might still be an option, though.
Sent an e-mail to MNR asking for their advice/opinion; see what they come up with.
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity!
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omega0684
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 08:42 PM |
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Bloody ell, looking at the photo of the top of the upright and I keep think "how have you done that?" You must have been putting some
force through that when tightening?
Looks a right mess now 
I love Pinto's, even if i did get mine from P&O!
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Theshed
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 09:27 PM |
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Oh dear! S**t happens. Probably a good idea to consult the bottom of a bottle... or two. With a bit of luck you should be able to salvage those.
Probably best to put in an oversized insert. You are going to need a big drill/tap. Are you in Chelmsford? If so pop down to Gosnays in Romford I am
sure they could help out. If you want an oversized insert made let me know I might be able to help.
Do not give up!
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Charlie_Zetec
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| posted on 26/1/14 at 09:36 PM |
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Alex, bolts were only wound in finger tight - all the damage happened when trying to remove them! Bear in mind I was hanging off the end of a 2ft
breaker bar on a 3/4" drive 40mm socket. And even then it took some budging....
I've contacted MNR to see what they say/think, and if they don't go back to them, then Gosnays was second of my list of places to try
(family friend used to work there).
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity!
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rdodger
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| posted on 3/2/14 at 09:31 PM |
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How are you getting on with this?
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omega0684
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| posted on 3/2/14 at 09:41 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
How are you getting on with this?
Ditto, any news back from MK?
I love Pinto's, even if i did get mine from P&O!
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 5/2/14 at 05:09 PM |
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That is galling, in both senses of the word.
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