Tinman

Three cv joints??? Rear diff, then more problems with the diff???

Holy cow. I've got 7k miles on mine, run it regularly at it's top speed of 60 mph and no probs. I also do a lot of back trail rides - really rough or almost non driveable roads twice a week.

The stock boots are crap. Mine went after 1k. Replaced them immediately and no probs with the cv joints. Replace my diff oil regularly on rear diff (every second oil change) and also no prob.

My biggest problem are tiny but annoying things, which I make better when I fix them.

Very nice Kinarfi. It seems that a bunch of us has problems with overheated wiring. I changed the fuse panel behind my back seat and will do my front one soon too.

It likely is the spline. Mine is stripped and I lost my steering yesterday

Hey Kinarfi, thanks. Never thought of welding it.

It's all together now, but even if it was apart, there's not much that could be seen. The spline was worn out enough to cause slippage, but it could still be seen. Also, the locking bolt that fits through the U-joint is supposed to sit in the groove in the shaft, but it doesn't interfere enough to do anything.

Although I now have a locking screw, I will be welding it next chance I get.

Hey guys,

After my lower u-joint spline wore out and start spinning (bolt was tight, but the u-joint metal is very soft), and after putting in a split pin on top to keep the upper u-joint from working its way out and causing a catastrophic accident (I drive on the highway with this thing, as well as offroad) I was thinking it's time to replace it with something more robust.

Was wondering what fixes any of you actually did for the steering system - details please.

Lenny, I know you changed it completely to one from a car, and some here have links to rack and pinions they found interesting, but was wondering if more details can be given:

Which car did you get the complete assembly from, which system has actually been tried, mods to steering arms... that sort of thing.

For now, I've put in a grade 8 bolt, tightened it so tight the slot has dissappeared, and put in a locking screw to keep things together till i fix this...

IMO, all fuseboxs should be changed with aftermarket. Bunch of people have had issues with stock stuff, especially behind the seat. Including me.

You can see the new fusebox here:

http://www.pauldaytonscifi.com/spotlight.html

8400 miles. Runs ok, but a fe issues I've worked through, plus improvs. I'll be adding pics of doors I just installed (cus of wife's complaining about mud). Worked out great.

So,

I didn't do Lenny's fix, cus you need balls, acetylene and a lathe, etc.,

I tapped into the housing over the output shaft, and put in 10mm screws.

FYI, the housing is soft but the spline on the inside is case hardened. I'm figuring about 60 rockwell. I used a combination of concrete bits and a regular HSS drill to get through, then ground the inside to get rid of as much of the spline around the hole as possible so I wouldn't bugger up the taps too much.

A set of three taps - #1, 2 and bottoming got all holes done. This is an all day job because of the case hardening.

I'll let everyone know how it works out. It is quiter, but will it last?

If anyone is contemplating doing this, don't forget to taper the end of the bolts so they don't mushroom out and make it impossible to remove.

I have the same issue bud. There's only one good mechanic in all of panama, haha, and he happens to live close to me. But I love tinkering with my machine, so I try to do everything myself.

As for parts, I mail order everything in, and it comes out pretty good. Ebay is my big source for generic stuff, and joyner US for the rest.

How did your axle nut come loose Lenny? It has a split pin locking it in...

I have replaced about half my gauges with aftermarket ones, as the stock ones don't last. I bought dual gauges (Pointer/with digital readout) and it's been 8 months, constant riding and no problems.

ONce I'm back from Canada, I'll be trying various positions for a fan bolted up front. See if it works.

Will also be adding doors, fixing the cv housings and a few other odds and ends.

All in all, everything works consistently, and my sputtering a week back is also gone, even in intense rain today

Very elegant solution Lenny. It ensures a perfect, tight fit.

Half Shafts - diffs to wheels, inner and all four of them. Wobble all over the shaft

Mi inner cv Housings wobble around on the splined diff shaft. All inner ones have this issue.

Does anyone else have this, and does it get worse as you use it?

I've got 7k miles, and have been contemplating a fix - 2 10x1.25 in-line tapped holes in the housing over the splined shaft with two SHCS bolts, as short as possible locking them in and keeping them from wobbling.

Keeping the bolts short prevents balance issues, and SHCS are case hardened. Dimpling the shafts would keep from damaging them and make removal easier. On a side note, I could also permanently remove the locking rings, as the bolts would do the same.

Thoughts?

I know some have moved the fan up like you, but I have a foldable back seat so that's impossible for me...

Dedub, I saw this. Not sure if it's the right one, but you can compare yours with it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300878503145?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Just a headsup. Problem has not returned. I sealed the wires with silicone, but I'm not sure it's this. All i Know is that I've done about 500k and nothing since...

Huh. Good to know. Should be added to suppliers list?

Yeah, it is pulling. I could coat, but I'm in panama and the whole shipping thing...

I did have a 3000 cfm 16" new fan installed to replace the stock one, but here's the thing: the new motor burned out, so I temporarily installed the old stock motor with the larger fan blades, which draws much more current and is much stronger. It dropped the median temp down 30 degrees (I have a digital temp gauge), but also brought much more heat around and into the cabin. The stock motor originally overheated the thin wires and kept popping fuses in the old fusebox, which is why I changed it (and changed the crappy fusebox too). Now, until the replacement motor arrives, I have it connected directly with heavier wiring.

I'm guessing people don't feel much heat with the stock fan because it's much smaller.

The engine overheats at 240 degrees, and I was running 220 with the stock fan at 100 kms/h.

I do tons of mixed driving - offroad and carrying 4 people on my T2, and onroad at 100 kms/h.

At higher speeds, I feel tremendous heat coming from the back into the cabin. Even at low speeds, I still feel heat. Seems like there isn't proper airflow, as it's being sucked back.

It's not the heat that bugs me, but rather what seems to be inneficeincy.

Thinking of doing something lotus elise style, with the stock rad mounted at an angle under the front, and airflow bringing it up from underneath.

There's room, if I keep the rad angle at 20 degrees or so and perhaps raise the hood an inch

advantages:

at that angle, there's less mud and DUST, which is a major problem here in summer months,

2 less suction from the back ???

3 I have a half screen which folds into full when raining, which improves airflow

Disadvantages

Does it work?

Loooooong coolant hoses

Any thoughts?

Awesome Kinarfi! Special pat on the back for the real numbers!!!

5/8s seems about right. For some reason, it's huge on the inlet side. Going from the filter, the hose has a smaller hose inside just to fit the 1/4 filter outlet.

I'm kind of curious myself. I guess there's only one way to find out...

Yeah Charlie,

I took mine apart about 6 months ago, siliconed it so it's waterproof, so I'm pretty sure there's no water in there. Would have been nice to be able to check trouble codes. Maybe joyner will one day implement that...

On an aside,

MASTER SWITCH: Nearly shorted everything out while monkeying with a temporary rad fan motor. On the negative side of the master switch, I connected all the wires I had removed, but one of the large connectors touched the mount where the switch bolts to and shorted out big time. No permanent damage though.

The mount was designed wrong and any movement in the cables can cause a short, just so you guys know. It will short anything down the path of least resistance, which may or may not be an electrical wire.