Cleaning up the Rear Beam

evilally · Unread post by **evilally** » 22 Oct 2010, 00:02

Cheers, Addo, I'm just wondering how to get them off.

Progress:

Cleaning up the rear beam:

Beam painted up:

Work started on cleaning arms:

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 22 Oct 2010, 09:02

You're keen! I'd have just dropped a crate of bits off at the sandblaster after giving them a caustic soda bath. (The parts, not the sandblaster fellow.

)

New caps should be barely more than a tenner the pair. I'm assuming P/N 3740.18 is correct. Looking at them will inspire with the confidence needed to replace old ones.

evilally · Unread post by **evilally** » 22 Oct 2010, 16:56

Thanks Addo, but that appears to be the cover for the hub bearing, not the arm bearing. I can't see the arm bearing cover anywhere on servicebox

evilally · Unread post by **evilally** » 22 Oct 2010, 21:15

I took a closer look this evening, I peeled back the cover I'd split with the hammer. Unfortunately it's a integral part of the bearing, so to replace the cover, I need to replace the bearing

It would be tricky to repair in such a way that I could be confident that a repair would last and not cause damage, so I think I'll be going the whole hog and replacing the bearings.

evilally · Unread post by **evilally** » 01 Nov 2010, 21:23

This thread seems to have lost a couple of replies! Did something happen?

Anyway, progess:

Lots of new bits collected/delivered:

Got the old bearings out easy enough, just took lots of heat, a big hammer and a centre punch. I put the new ones in the freezer overnight, and then heated the arm. I thought they would be a nightmare, but they whacked on very easily:

Beautiful......

The only tricky bit was judging how far to whack in the outer bearing, as it doesn't have any resting place as such. I just measured the distance between the sleeve and the front bearing, when the sleeve was against the rear bearing and made the new one the same. I hope that's accurate enough!

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 02 Nov 2010, 18:21

Very excellent work Ally

evilally · Unread post by **evilally** » 04 Dec 2010, 17:10

The day has finally come, the beam is finished

May I bore you all with some pictures:

All the peripheral items are new, and mostly genuine Pug stuff.

Without a doubt this has been the most challenging task I've ever attempted on a car. I can see why even a tooled up engineering workshop charges £500 for a job like this. Absolute nightmare. Unfortunately the Pug is buried under snow right now, but the next task will be getting the underside of the car cleaned up, de-rusted and painted.

Unread post by **myglaren** » 04 Dec 2010, 19:20

That all looks better than new Ally, should last a lifetime now.

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 04 Dec 2010, 20:52

Good work. I replaced those "U" flex lines in-situ and they were challenging! Lots of hosing after, to flush off spilt brake fluid.

Haynes actually have a useful point (provided it isn't too late) - capping the brake reservoir with a double layer of cling wrap under its screw lid does help prevent siphoning out where the proportioning valve mounts.

Australia being the place it is, there is only a light haze of surface rust on some parts of my 405's beam - the rest is still painted as new.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 04 Dec 2010, 21:25

Ally, that's brilliant work. I can see you ending up with a concours-winning 405 in the not too distant.

You really do have a talent for this sort of stuff

evilally · Unread post by **evilally** » 05 Dec 2010, 10:49

Thanks very much guys

The temperature is a comparatively tropical -1 today, I might man-up and get out there to start work on preparing the underside.

What triggered all this was I had a brake line burst on me

As addo says, replacing the flexi hose in situ was very difficult, and the nut rounded off. As dropping the axle was easy, I originally did that to improve access, but one thing led to another and I've ended up rebuilding the whole damn thing. I can't help myself

Interestingly there is no brake balance valve fitted to this car, which is a good thing, as no doubt it would be another item needing attention.

A concours-winning '96 405 diesel Quasar special edition....keep that to yourself Jim, otherwise I might have throngs of classic car collectors breaking down my door!

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 05 Dec 2010, 10:56

evilally wrote: A concours-winning '96 405 diesel Quasar special edition....keep that to yourself Jim, otherwise I might have throngs of classic car collectors breaking down my door!

And why not

It would make a very refreshing change from hordes of MGBs and the like that are usually seen at concours events!!!

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 05 Dec 2010, 11:24

EA, have you dropped the fuel tank yet?

It's on my list of 405 jobbies due to leaking (original 1990

) petrol hoses, and I've only got Haynes plus commonsense to guide me. Just wondering if there are any pitfalls.

evilally · Unread post by **evilally** » 11 Dec 2010, 15:54

Hi Addo, I haven't dropped the tank yet but will have to in order to get access to the brake lines that I need to replace. Looks straight forward enough, remove exhaust, exhaust heat shield, undo hand brake cable, remove down pipe, then it should just be a case of unbolting the thing and dropping it down. In my case the bolts are just blobs of rust

I was out today under the car, and to be frank the level of corrosion is concerning

It's really knocked the wind out of my sails right now if I'm honest.

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 11 Dec 2010, 21:05

Bugger. I think the tank straps are NLA, but for sure we could post over an uncorroded set if needed.

Much of the 405 is still available as panel sections; it's more the time/inconvenience of repairs. Even a number of the NFP parts are still gathering dust on shelves if you push hard enough for an answer.

Once you drive a 405 again, you'll remember why you're doing this...