Undo the locknut and it will wind out You will need the manual when you put it back as it needs to be a certain length.
I cracked the lock nut off then tightened it back up loosely. Only moved it one flat so it should go back the correct length if i don't unscrew the nut any more. I did find out the servo vacuum pipe from the inlet manifold was dried out and cracked and a loose fit so i've chopped 1/2" off the end and its a tight fit again. Got a bit of welding done this afternoon but its bloody windy and blowing dust and rust everywhere. Not a nice place to be.
Welded in some new metal today while the weather was dry. Doesn't look too nice for the next week now. Masked off the areas on the inner valance that the chassis leg welds to to save having to grind the paint off again.
Pish poor weather, this Easter thing and friends coming to visit have stopped my plans for the next week. Was hoping to get some of the chassis leg welded up but mother nature says no.
Weather forecast looks OK tomorrow with no rain for the first time since friday, so hopefully i'll get some of the replacement chassis legs welded in.. Theres currently a 2" deep lake under the van.
Got the first bit of the front chassis leg welded infront of the front beam and made this bit. Not exactly 100% like the bit that was there before but as that was just flaky rotten steel its a big improvement.
Got some more metal welded in today. Still need to grind down some welds and get some paint on it. My black and decker belt sander seized up. Took it all apart and still can't get the motor to turn. The inside of the main chassis rail still needs repairing like the other side did about 4 years ago. A couple of drain holes in the bottom would be useful.
Been trying to free off my power file. The fan on the end of the motor seems to have sucked in dust and metal filings which is a great (not) bit of design by black and decker. With it all apart it still won't turn as it seems the bearings have seized to the motor shaft. I've dripped some 3 in 1 oil on the bearings in the hope some will soak in as i can't find my can of WD40. Theres a few welds i need to grind down but i can't get a 4" grinder into the space and my dremel takes ages to do it.
Fixed my power file so ground down the rest of the welds and gave it a coat of red oxide primer once the rain had stopped.
MOT runs out on 28th of April. It still needs some seam sealer and stonechip and maybe a bit of underseal on the repairs. I managed to chop a couple of wires with the grinder so they need reattaching. Horn needs rewiring as its been a bit tempermental of late. Rear fog light needs putting back on too as does the towbar wiring socket. Washer jets are blocked with slime so just a trickle of water comes out. Haven't found anything else that needs doing.
Gave everything a coat or two of Gravitex stone chip. Squirted a bit through the rear vents to tidy it up a little too.
I have no idea why I didn't think of that, the time I spent cleaning up and squirting black paint through vents and then T-cutting overspray afterwards.
Unless you have really tiny hands theres not an easy way to sand inside the vents so a coat of stone chip tidied it up nicely. I might shoot some paint through as the stonechip dries matt.
Thats a bit better than it was before. Got the towbar wiring done and the huge foglight wire back up too. Just the speedo cable to refit and the horn to put back on its bracket and wire up. MOT is booked for 1PM on Thursday.
Refitted the speedo cable this morning and dropped the bus back onto its wheels. Still got to sort the horn wiring out but thats not too difficult to do. I removed the klaxon to fit to my bug instead but am leaving the original horn wired through the relay. Waiting for some blue paint to arrive so the repairs are still in red oxide for the moment.