Bergers Van

[berger]

this freaking van will kill me off again, the plate i thought would release the clutch master doesn't come out from the outside so i have to try and get the clutch pedal frame work off and the accelerator and brake pedal frame work. also two near on blind nuts [ this after removing several that are near impossible to get to ] that i can't really get to with 1/4 drive bits without taking the dash out and heater , every nut is near on impossible to get to , this van will soon be in a thousand pieces and i won't know how it goes back together every youtube vid shows how easy it is but none of them are my model of van just earlier and later models of variants . pics will follow tomorrow. the car must be built up in stages that leaves no access to what i need to remove, the only other way would be air bag disconnected power steering stuff off and steering column out right down to where it exits through the floor to the rack, also full dash out and heater out. i have never ever ever come across anything like it.  i just manged to get one nut by turning the steering wheel so the gap in the universal joint let me line up the extension bar , . whoever thought this design out needs thraping . it is like a cake built up with layers and every layer has to be removed to get to the bottom and where you want to be. i will say again every vid is like but not the same as this bag o sht

[Worty]

Mind blowing mate, just mind blowing.  As you say, it's probably assembled in a sort of pre-fabricated, modular fashion so, when assembled, some bits are inaccessible.  They probably even use some weird tools created for particular jobs (which aren't available to us plebs).

It sort of brings into one's mind the mentality of a throw-away society - profit over sustainabiity.  So long as the materials can be bought cheaply, then the product is dispensible once it breaks.  Unfortunately, it's the consumer that's expected to pay for it all, and line the pockets of the greedy b******s.

Don't know what positives to offer, but if anyone can fix it I reckon you can.

[berger]

worty cheers for the support i feel much better . i have just read how to get the steering column off and it is scary , do this don't do that etc and it is a long awkward job with it's own million parts to get off with pins and ignition key in out shake it all about stuff .but on left hand drives of course this clutch assembly removal is a piece of pssss. i will gaffer it somehow but once i can see the daylight or think i can it goes dark again, tomorrows another day and what else would you be doing --- my mate said!!

[muskrat]

G'day Bergs.
I feel your pain mate.
A few years back Deb's 2002 Mitsubishi Magna sprung a leak from the heater coil. It was a $3 plastic fitting. I had to remove the seats, steering column and the whole dash to get to it. One day out, one day in
Cheers

[Worty]

I think I may have mentioned replacing the steering lock mechanism on the Octy.  Getting the wheel off was easy, once you've got the airbag off by turning the wheel to access plastic tabs.  Next, key switch which is turn key to align marks then shove a 1.5mm Allan key down the hole to release.  Same with the ignition switch the other end, except that you neeed an Allan key and a bit of wire to pop it out.  Worst bit is finding the plastic clips on the PCB under the column, which involves shoving another bit of wire into a slot then getting a long hook on the other one right at the back.  Took me a day and a half to take it apart and and hour to put it back together.

Bergs - it may have taken two weeks to take it apart, but I bet it'll take you about 3 days to put it back together.

Well done mate

[berger]

worty i have just read all the bumph again and steering column has got to come off for the sake of one nut out of a dozen on the clutch pedal frame being hidden away at the top of the bulkhead , i can just see it with a torch but can't get to undo it

[RDfella]

for the sake of one nut out of a dozen on the clutch pedal frame being hidden away at the top of the bulkhead , i can just see it with a torch but can't get to undo it

Can't you destroy the nut by some means to avoid the steering column problem? If there's that many fasteners it won't miss one .... Remember in the early days when I did a lot of mini clutches / gearboxes, there was one bellhousing bolt at the rear that was difficult to spanner. Always went back without a bolt in that hole.

[Worty]

worty i have just read all the bumph again and steering column has got to come off for the sake of one nut out of a dozen on the clutch pedal frame being hidden away at the top of the bulkhead , i can just see it with a torch but can't get to undo it

Seriously - wot a joke!  At least you can omit that nut when you put it back together - 1 nut out of 12 won't make a difference (unless it proves to be 'critical').  What to suggest????  Apart from angled/universal joint socket wrenches, I don't know, other than cutting things with a torch or taking even more bits off.  I cannot believe how difficult the job is proving to be - makes my motor look like a Sunday pastime.

[Worty]

Heh, RD got there before I'd finished typing - but yes, if you can.  I've done this a few times with non-critical or unnecessary bolts, etc.  Thing is, can you get anything on it to destroy it?

[Worty]

Something came to mind about getting an old, long screwdriver, sharpen the end, and try to undo it by forcing it/chiselling it round with a hammer until it drops off?

[Worty]

Crowfoot wrench, double wrenching??

[berger]

great try guys i can just about see it with my head at the back of the footwell with a torch , i have tried 1/4 drive from all angles with a support of electrical tape to stop the UJ dropping , pics are not very good i can't even get in to take a decent pic. the one of the steering UJ is the UJ i turned to enable me to get in the gap of it to get another nut off . the only thing i can reach the last nut with is my breath swearing   i have tried my best to cheat the book to no avail the column and all the bits will have to come off, ask me if i am fed up, the pic of the black servo plate is what i thought came outwards but it goes inwards - no good to me!!!  i am going to the PUB because i have also just done my back in and the weather is crap ps the bit of silver bracket at the top that you can just see above the UJ is just one bit of these ridiculous bracket set ups

[Worty]

Get those beers down mate!!  I often find that coming back to a difficult job after giving it a rest invariably leads to a new way of approaching it and sometimes success.  My problem is I'm not very patient and want to get it done, then get very tired and frustrated, then end up buggering something up, then get angrier because of the extra work and expense, then pour petrol over the whole thing and ring the insurance without any thought for the prison sentence and/or fine.  Getting better though - it helps when you've got the luxury of time.  Most times in the past, if one of the cars broke, it had to be fixed pronto or a new set of problems arose - like getting to work, etc.

Have a beer on me, I'm still recovering from a pretty nasty cold thing.

[Topdad]

Berger,this is a total ball ache ,what a shit design, the person who designed this should be shot! I've never worked on anything a badly thought out,thank god . Didd find a few stupid things on the MGB I've got to renovate but 2 bolts used to hold the brake m/cyl and clutch m/cyl with nuts you couldn't get thanks to a wiper motor pail into nothing compared with this debacle ,I truly hope you sort the bastard thing ,please promise us that once its sorted and finally given you some service that when you torch the thing you post the video so we can all cheer!!

[RDfella]

Not familiar with the design - fortunately - but can you get to the other side, ie the 'bolt' part? Is that in the engine bay? Could you grind, drill  or otherwise destroy the fastening from that side so effectively the nut drops off? Wishing you success, you deserve better.