Hope it don't show up on the scan!!
1710192091468.png
 
Bin busier than usual today. spent a bit of time this a.m. helping W int garding, tieing up the grapevine back to the south facing wall. Took me longer than it should. Flipping green plastic wire seems to slip in my old fingers today.
Then got onto the main business, changing the track rod.

This started off with a nigthmare. Simply taking the wheels off! The nuts were SOOOOOO tight.
Bust this first!
View attachment 312435
Which annoyed me somewhat as I have had it for about 30 years. A normal "granny's wheel nut removing tool" as I sure many of us have. (Obviously used with the correct socket for a Disco's nuts!)
So got out my trusty 2 foot Drapers breaker bar and extension ( very long thin box spanner bought to do the plugs on a Renault 17, which dates me somewhat!)
Tried heaving on it, pushing on it, standing on it. Jumping on it. (Kept slipping off!)
No dice.
So went for the wheelbrace that comes with the Disco, why not?
This time put a long scaffold pole over it, and this happened!
View attachment 312436

Bent like a bownana! OK the tool is pretty useless at the best of times but still, as I have the whole kit in its bag this made me well upset! :(
So back to my breaker bar but this time with the scaffold tube.
Worried it might break and leave me with having to replace it and then buy a 3/4" breaker bar and a socket to match. Bonkers!

BUT it worked. Phew!!

Took the track rod off, no bother, but was surprised to find that my "complete" track rod kit did not contain the adjuster! So took it all in the garage to strip down and reuse the adjuster, after measuring up all the bits to try and get the new one's tracking as accurate as possible.
Put the new one on and dived into thinking about the wheels. Why were the nuts so hard to get off? Have to confess didn't think as clearly as I should have. Was convinced it was neither me, as I always use a torque wrench, nor my tyre place as I hadn't been there for ages with it, or so I thought, and I'd never had this trouble after going there before. So imagined it must have been corrosion between the different metals,
So I set about greasing up the nuts and the wheels where the surfaces touched, even behind the built in washers on the nuts. Refitted the wheels after having torqued up the ball joints, torqued up the wheel nuts and lowered the car to the ground. As I had the torque wrench I then decided to check the rear wheels. Guess what? They all undid as they should, not too tight at all!

So I am forced to the conclusion that there is some flipping idiot working, or who used to work, at my fave tyre place who should not be let anywhere near a windy gun! :mad::mad::mad:
I'll be seeing them tomoz when I take it there for tracking. Wonder if they will have held on to the 8 wheel nut covers that went missing after W's Pluriel had the pain-in-the-rear episode getting new tyres, either they or the Blandford lot lost 'em.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Hey ho!
Enjoy what is left of the evening folks!
:):):):)
FYI… I’m sure drapper tools have lifetime warranty. Check and then send back(think wrenches are not covered)
 
Ive busted god knows how many bars & braces even snap on ones which aint too bad as they just replace them.
Got a replacement leaver last week cause the end snapped off, well I did skelp it with a hammer a few times.
It's understandable in the trade when you are working on vehicles from all over the place owned and maintained by lord knows who.

But my own vehicle? That I maintain myself? And only entrust to one place for tyres? Well weird. But there are I suppose bad apples. I'll make sure to ask them special next time I get tyres.

Now watch me test the torque on the wheels with the new tryes on the Pluriel!
My neighbour who ran the garage never cared when I broke one of his tools, which I only did once as, as you say, it was snap on and he got a new one double quick. It was a piston ring land cleaner, I used it in the wrong direction. Wonder who ever does this now? Dunno, maybe it still goes on all the time!
 
FYI… I’m sure drapper tools have lifetime warranty. Check and then send back(think wrenches are not covered)
Draper has, (or used to have) a place in Southampton. I took a bust 13 mm Draper Expert socket there that had bust, they just handed me a new one, no messing. I dread to think how old that set is! must have bought it in about 1988!
 
Nope, just to hold your lickle puddy!!;);) Or drive you home if you had to have some weird stuff injected through a canular. We usually go together just in case of that. But not always.

I didnt get the weird injection this time I got that on the CT scan fingy last time, it makes ye all warm inside then you come out & its baltic. Yes she came with me let her drive are you mental. 🤣 🤣 I drove home after my chemo too.. na luv I'll drive 🤣🤣
 
Draper has, (or used to have) a place in Southampton. I took a bust 13 mm Draper Expert socket there that had bust, they just handed me a new one, no messing. I dread to think how old that set is! must have bought it in about 1988!
The still have the main office near Southampton. Was spannering on a classic car event & needed a large pry bar. Chap walks over to the van gets 1 out,used it & says put it in your box for later. Then I find out he’s a top salesman there & van was just full of sponsored kit from them
 
The still have the main office near Southampton. Was spannering on a classic car event & needed a large pry bar. Chap walks over to the van gets 1 out,used it & says put it in your box for later. Then I find out he’s a top salesman there & van was just full of sponsored kit from them
I think Draper gets a lot of bad press/image just like "Silverline" do.
Their basic tool hardware is fine and affordable for the ordinary bloke as far as I can tell TBH.
 
I think Draper gets a lot of bad press/image just like "Silverline" do.
Their basic tool hardware is fine and affordable for the ordinary bloke as far as I can tell TBH.
That one 13 mm socket is the only thing that bust unexpectedly. I also bust a 3/8" U/J but I was expecting far too much of it. Ditto a 1/2" to 3/8" adaptor. Since I got this metric/ imperial "expert" kit I use it more than anything else. Even the ratchet is the original. I bought it long before I got any Landies, but still use it a lot on them. Better than the Sealey stuff i got free when I bought a set of cabinets!
 
I think Draper gets a lot of bad press/image just like "Silverline" do.
Their basic tool hardware is fine and affordable for the ordinary bloke as far as I can tell TBH.

Silverline should have a danger to health warning on the box, youd be as well taking a hammer & smack yer mitt with it
before you start as its going to happin init, lego make better tools.
 
So imagined it must have been corrosion between the different metals,
So I set about greasing up the nuts and the wheels where the surfaces touched, even behind the built in washers on the nuts. Refitted the wheels after having torqued up the ball joints, torqued up the wheel nuts and lowered the car to the ground. As I had the torque wrench I then decided to check the rear wheels. Guess what? They all undid as they should, not too tight at all!


Enjoy what is left of the evening folks!
:):):):)

Should NEVER grease wheel nuts, it means the torque loading is not measured correctly ...
 

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