Bad news - I did not have time or a hoist to remove the motor today.
Good news - I looked in the starter motor hole and put my fingers in. The coupler was able to spin around the motor shaft. After a few revolutions it kind of stuck to the shaft, so I used that to try and figure out if the tranny input shaft was ok. I put the car in gear and tried to spin the motor with my hand. I couldn't spin it, which is a very good sign that the input shaft is ok. I am hoping all that happened was the set screw came loose and the key came out, or the key was weak and just snapped. I think I got a key from OSH, not thinking it needed to be any specific hardness or heat treated. Also, I am not sure if I added thread lock to the set screw or not. I was told by the engineer who made the coupler that it was taper lock and it did need to be tapped onto the shaft, so I believe the original fit was very tight. Not sure if the coupler is still usable or not, but I think the motor shaft and input shaft for the tranny may be ok.
Next weekend I hope to take the motor off and maybe the transmission as well. I need to get a hoist to hold the motor while I disconnect it from the transmission.
Any of you know how to get bolts off that have red loctite on them? I think I read heat somewhere.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Oh snap
One of my neighbors works on a cnc machine and he made me some aluminum brackets to hold down the batteries in the rear battery boxes. I have spent the last couple weekends drilling holes through them and attaching them to the boxes. I also figured out a way to mount the vacuum pump for the brakes, and attached the bracket for it.
After I finished these things today, I thought I would take the car around the block a couple times. I wanted to try out a new setting on the controller to see if it would be more responsive in ramping up the acceleration. I noticed at the first stop sign that it was much more responsive, but there was a slight jerk at takeoff, so once I got around the block I figured I would adjust it a bit and see if it was better. At the next stop sign, I touched the accelerator and SNAP! The car was not accelerating and the motor was spinning freely. I tried a couple other gears, but the same response. Uh oh. This is a major issue, but it was not unexpected. My best guess is the shaft coupler between the motor and the transmission snapped. I have had a feeling for quite some time that my motor was not aligned properly with the tranny or that the parts I received for the shaft coupler and the adapter plate were not right. There has been some noise in neutral and in various gears under different circumstances and I thought I would need to take the car to a tranny specialist to make sure the motor-tranny connection was good. I won't know for sure until I get the motor out of the car, but I would bet the coupler is broken. I really hope I did not break the motor shaft or the tranny shaft. That would seriously suck.
Well, the bright side is, I was two blocks from home and my neighbor had a tow rope and got me back without any trouble. In the next couple weeks I will attempt to remove the motor and see what happened. I don't know if any of this is worth it anymore. I am learning and am proud of the work I have done so far, but if I have to buy a new adapter plate and coupler which will run $900-$1000, I don't know if I want to continue. I know my wife won't want me to, and I kinda don't blame her. This thing is a money pit and a time hog. Probably not the best project for someone with a young family and limited experience with tools and cars. I knew all this going in, but, like having a baby for the first time, it isn't real until it gets real, and it is definitely getting real.
After I finished these things today, I thought I would take the car around the block a couple times. I wanted to try out a new setting on the controller to see if it would be more responsive in ramping up the acceleration. I noticed at the first stop sign that it was much more responsive, but there was a slight jerk at takeoff, so once I got around the block I figured I would adjust it a bit and see if it was better. At the next stop sign, I touched the accelerator and SNAP! The car was not accelerating and the motor was spinning freely. I tried a couple other gears, but the same response. Uh oh. This is a major issue, but it was not unexpected. My best guess is the shaft coupler between the motor and the transmission snapped. I have had a feeling for quite some time that my motor was not aligned properly with the tranny or that the parts I received for the shaft coupler and the adapter plate were not right. There has been some noise in neutral and in various gears under different circumstances and I thought I would need to take the car to a tranny specialist to make sure the motor-tranny connection was good. I won't know for sure until I get the motor out of the car, but I would bet the coupler is broken. I really hope I did not break the motor shaft or the tranny shaft. That would seriously suck.
Well, the bright side is, I was two blocks from home and my neighbor had a tow rope and got me back without any trouble. In the next couple weeks I will attempt to remove the motor and see what happened. I don't know if any of this is worth it anymore. I am learning and am proud of the work I have done so far, but if I have to buy a new adapter plate and coupler which will run $900-$1000, I don't know if I want to continue. I know my wife won't want me to, and I kinda don't blame her. This thing is a money pit and a time hog. Probably not the best project for someone with a young family and limited experience with tools and cars. I knew all this going in, but, like having a baby for the first time, it isn't real until it gets real, and it is definitely getting real.
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