Working through the issues

[27matt]

Afternoon everyone,

Been chipping away at the Mini recently, I currently have a birds nest of a wiring loom whilst I test the new electronic ignition setup. MOT expires on that in the middle of May and it needs to be ready for London to Brighton a couple of weeks later - a few late nights coming up I think.



Anyway, the MOT for the 75 expires a couple of days before the Mini and as usual I've left things to the last minute so needed a weekend to sort a few things. The handbrake has been terrible for ages, so I had bought a compensator from an R53 Mini to cure the issue. I also got some new shoes as one side had been sticking on so figured I may as well strip and clean everything.

The day started well, once I had cunningly removed all the skin from my knuckles to allow extra clearance to get my hand behind the calliper everything came apart nicely. I even remembered to snap a quick photo so I could refer to where everything should go when I inevitably forgot....



Apparently the back plates rust away on these so I was expecting some horrors, but not a sign of rust, they look like new



Whilst I was under there I gave the upper arms a quick glance, these also rust away but mine looked pretty good (on a roll today) gave them a quick wire brush and some rust converter.

Adjuster and handbrake levers weren't seized so everything was cleaned up and reassembled - one side done!

Drivers side next, all went well, other than forgetting which direction the adjuster went in - did I take a photo of this side....? Thankfully HBOL showed the O/S so all went back together.

Things were going well, I stopped for lunch and to watch the Grand Prix - very exciting

Back outside and it was time to change the compensator. After fighting for some time with carpets and centre consoles, I got the old cable and compensator mech out. I grabbed the new one but it didn't look quite right....



So, the R53 part I bought off eBay (and checked the images) wasn't sent, I in fact got one off an R56, great.

I was close to losing my temper, so refitted the door seals so I could close the rear doors, wedged the old compensator back in place and left everything else loose. At least I can at least apply the handbrake for a few days until I can have another go.




Arctic still has one of these left over and is kindly sending me it - I have Wednesday off work to replace the lower arm bush at the front, so if Royal Mail are on the ball I might be able to get this done and save next weekend for the Mini!

New tyres are going on on Thursday and then my wife will drop it in somewhere for an MOT next week.

[theoldcodger]

I bought Autoglym headlight restoration kit from Halfords early last year when it was on offer. Absolutely brilliant I cleaned both my headlamps in less than an hour.It is so easy everything you need is in the kit with full easy to follow instructions. all you need is an electric drill.:

[27matt]

Thanks to Arctic, R53 compensator arrived in the post yesterday. As the job involved being in the car, I could finish it this morning in the rain - thankfully only getting wet when moving from the back to the front and vice-versa!

For some reason, getting the old cable out was a complete PITA, despite only doing it at the weekend. New cable went in pretty easily and everything went together as expected - other than slicing my hand open on the sill when trying to replace the kicker strips

Old compensator has definitely stretched!

WP_20180502_11_46_41_Rich by Matthew Leigh, on Flickr

Does anyone want this to repair?

It seems like I've also managed to bend one of the brackets for the handbrake, can't imagine this matters though.

WP_20180502_11_18_28_Rich by Matthew Leigh, on Flickr

During the reassembly (or disassembly) I seem to have damaged 2 clips on the gaiter frame and ripped the gaiter which is a bit rubbish. Never mind, will have to stay as it is for now.

Handbrake feels much better, there is still too much travel, so the nut is wound onto the cable a bit further - I'll adjust the shoes up a bit tighter at the weekend when the rain is less torrential.

One day, I'll have a nice barn to work in...

[maxi_crawf]

'Working through the issues' or as we on this group say 'owning an MG/Rover'

[grout20]

Originally Posted by 27matt

One day, I'll have a nice barn to work in...

Great idea .... let's go half-ers on one .... must be one locally !

I want to renew all my rear brakes but it keeps raining around here doesn't it



John

[27matt]

Another few little job completed this morning. I've been meaning to sort my air con out for ages, we're going away in the car to Germany for a few weeks and I think my wife was hinting it would be nice if we weren't stuck in a hot car for hours....

Having previously replaced and fan resistor with a gold one from Jules, I thought I best replace the condenser to cure the groaning noises from behind the dash.

Condensor and seals ordered from ebay and delivered very quickly! (thanks Jules).

I rang around this morning and found a service place that would degas the car for me, its going back on Wednesday for a regas and oil. Stripping down the car looks much the same as my earlier photos, all went well and I soon has the condenser in hand....



I was expecting this to be far worse, I must be the proud owner of the tidiest 13 year old condenser out there!

Never mind, new one on:



and car reassembled. Also checked the plenum whilst I was under the bonnet, bone dry, Jules guard for the drivers side works a treat.

I checked the low speed on the fan was working, which it was, so just hoping that after some fresh gas the system works on, otherwise I'm stumped (or need a compressor )

Finally, I swapped my O/S wheels around front to back and cleaned the mating surface with the hubs. I had new tyres all round before the MOT and now I have a vibration above 65, I suspect the wheel wasn't balanced properly (the weights aren't new and don't look to have moved in recent months) so hoping this confirms when I go out for a drive!

[Arctic]

Hi Matt.
I would have to agree that is one the best 13 year old condenser I have ever seen, most that get changed at the nano have gaping hole in the fins.

[27matt]

I mean, I'm not going to complain, but it is strange! My rear brake back plates are also like new and there is very little corrosion on the rear suspension and.

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

[grout20]

Hi Matt

Who is doing your re-gas and are you happy with them?

My air con needs looking at (and hang on to your old condenser in case I need it 😂 )

Regards

John

[27matt]

I'm getting it done by In'n'out.

The condenser turned up very quickly and they were the first place that could actually degas it the same day when I rang around yesterday morning.

To be fair they've seemed OK so far, very friendly, I've paid upfront and they'll regas when I take it in in the week.

Don't worry I'm keeping the condenser as it seems a shame to throw it away!