My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

[BHP]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Ok, just ordered all the parts listed above with Euro Car Parts.

I saved around £100 or more over Smart / Mercedes prices, and as they say every little helps !!

(x2) Wheel Cylinders £26.96 (£65.21 Smart / Mercedes)

(x2) Rear Wheel Bearings £145.58 (£171.55 Smart / Mercedes)

(1 Set) SBS Rear Brake Shoes £24.61 (£77.55 Smart / Mercedes)

All bits should be here by 8am tomorrow, so can hopefully crack on with the rebuild later in the week

[Gavin]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Nice savings!

[putzie]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

looks like your doing a good job there, i would add it might be worth replacing the drive shaft seals while its that far apart ! they only cost a tenner for the pair but are known to fail and there is nothing more frustrating than get the car back together and they fail in a month or two's time !

[BHP]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

looks like your doing a good job there, i would add it might be worth replacing the drive shaft seals while its that far apart ! they only cost a tenner for the pair but are known to fail and there is nothing more frustrating than get the car back together and they fail in a month or two's time !

Thanks for the heads up Putzie

[W32 TTF]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

did you piant the driveshafts too?

[BHP]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

did you piant the driveshafts too?

Yes, and the rear shock absorbers

Collected all the replacement parts today, but doubt I'll have any time before the weekend to get it back together....

[BHP]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Bit of an update !!

Now that I have all the addititional bits that I required, I spent a few hours this morning in the garage !!



Fitted the wheel bearings / back plate to the De Dion Tube before offering the the whole assembly up to he subframe.

Fitted the front mount bolt first then jacked each side of the tube up slowly until I could spring the tube to get the driveshafts located. Really helpfully guide HERE, HEREand HERE

Took some time cleaning the wheel speed sensors, and routing them onto the replacement tube. Also re-connected the brake lines through the axle bracket and to the new wheel cylinders.





Tomorrows mission will be to install the new rear shoes, reconnect the handbrake, and bleed the brakes !!

Still waiting for the replacement wheel to arrive, but hopefully will be here later or tomorrow. All being well Dad's car will be back on the road by the weekend, fingers crossed

[10:45PM]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Took some time cleaning the wheel speed sensors, and routing them onto the replacement tube.

Have you took the same time and care cleaning and repainting the cogged reluctor rings on both shafts >?

[BHP]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Have you took the same time and care cleaning and repainting the cogged reluctor rings on both shafts >?

Absolutely

Gave the reluctor rings a good wire brushing and cleaned the last bits out with a scriber !!

Also checked that none of the rings were split or cracked, as sometimes happens.

Hopefully get the brakes fitted and bled tomorrow if I have time, and do a bit more cleaning and painting the areas that aren't usually accessed !!

Still no sign of te replacement wheel though

[BHP]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Fitted the new rear shoes this morning and bled all the brakes. Bit of a potch with the automatic handbrake adjuster, but once I figured out how it actually works, it's not too bad...



Found a new can of ATE Super Blue in the garage, so I thought I'd give the car a treat. Don't think there will be any issues with boiling the brake fluid !!



And filling the brake reservoir whilst bleeding the brakes made easy



Used an easybleed kit to bleed the brakes, and they feel ok, but will go around them all again, with another pair of hands, so I can actually see that the fluid is clear, and lock off the bleed nipples on the calipers with the foot pedal depressed..... The joys of working alone. (Before anyone asks, I bled the rears and the fronts, so fresh fluid all around !!)



Actually did a bit more cleaning and painted the exhaust as I had a can of heat proof silver kicking about.






Just the driveshaft bolts to final torque, re-fit the arch liners, re-bleed the brakes, refit the rear bumper with new quarter panel and wheels and it's done...

Still waiting for my replacement wheel to arrive though, and won't use the car with the bent wheel, see what happens later I guess, or it will be next week before I hand teh car back

[Ferrina]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Good work!

[Hogster]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Great work! A treat to sit back and watch!


David

[BHP]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Good work!

Great work! A treat to sit back and watch!


David

Thanks for the comments

I guess the moral of the story is, even a slight impact on the rear end that seems nothing, can get expensive very quickly.

Ultimately, probably would have been easier and cheaper to have gone through the insurance to sort this out, but things just escalated, especially things like the brake cylinders etc..

I'll have another few hours on the car in the morning, and hopefully will be just awaiting the replacement rear wheel...

[W32 TTF]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

Ultimately, probably would have been easier and cheaper to have gone through the insurance to sort this out, but things just escalated, especially things like the brake cylinders etc..

atleast you know this way that it has all been done properly and you have done all the extras like paint and clean

[BHP]

Re: My De Dion Tube Replacement Is Underway !!

atleast you know this way that it has all been done properly and you have done all the extras like paint and clean

True !!

The old brakes would have probably still been fitted and only one wheel bearing would have probably been replaced !!

Getting to know this little Smart intimately now, after rebuilding the engine about 15 months ago, changing the front wish bone and now the back end of the car !!