What have you done to your DeLorean today?

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Originally Posted by 82DMC12

Everything about the washer fluid system on this car sucks.

When I first got my DeLorean 20 years ago, the only thing that didn't work was the washer fluid. The tank leaked and the pump didn't seem to work. It still doesn't. But I'm getting close. I couldn't fix it before because every M5 screw going into the body that holds the black cover over the tank was spinning. Now I have my suspension out and it's a good time to tackle this since I have the best access I'll ever have.

1) Cut the heads off the screws with my dremel and a cut off wheel - DONE
2) Drop the black cover and pull the tank out - DONE
3) Grind off the rivnut heads with an angle grinder - DONE
4) Pop the rivnuts out / push them into the void in the underbody - DONE
5) Get a new washer pump - DONE
6) Install new rivnuts - DONE

I ordered an M5 rivnut installer from McMasterCarr and it really worked pretty well. A bit tough to hold everything in place steady while working upside down but I managed pretty well. Most of the rivnuts are in really tight, one of them might be slightly less tight, and I had to skip one because the underbody chipped away while trying to knock out the old rivnut.

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Next I need to try to fix the crack in the washer tank. painterdave72 has a plastic welder at his work so we will give that a try first.

I also finished putting my steering rack back together - I can install it as soon as I'm done doing some POR15 on the front frame extension near the driver side mount area.

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Great work!
You may try a product call ColdWeld for bonding plastic. I fixed a fuel tank with this two tubes mix compound at one point and it holded very well.

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Originally Posted by 82DMC12

Everything about the washer fluid system on this car sucks.

5) Get a new washer pump - DONE
6) Install new rivnuts - DONE

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Another hint - while you have the cover off the washer reservoir, find the two tiny drain holes in the bottom of the cover. Drill them out to about 3/8", and add another one or two for good measure. That cover fills up with water and drowns the pump motor.

Also, there is really no reason for 8 or whatever bolts there are that hold that cover in place. Four is plenty.

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Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave

Another hint - while you have the cover off the washer reservoir, find the two tiny drain holes in the bottom of the cover. Drill them out to about 3/8", and add another one or two for good measure. That cover fills up with water and drowns the pump motor.

Also, there is really no reason for 8 or whatever bolts there are that hold that cover in place. Four is plenty.

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Thanks Dave, good advice. Suzy is sending me some new hose for the pump and then I'll put it back up later this week. Painterdave72 and I did some plastic-welding on the tank yesterday using Uni-weld sticks (black flat sticks). We tried a few different white and translucent round sticks but they weren't attaching to the tank. The black seemed to work pretty good and it appears to be watertight now.

Regarding the rest of my project, Dave powder coated some of my front suspension I'm reusing and will have the rest of it done later this week.

Tonight I'm brushing grey POR15 on my treated bare frame spots. Two coats on so far, might put one more on the thinner spots before I put Smoke Grey top coat on. I might be up all night working on this!

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Originally Posted by 82DMC12

Thanks Dave, good advice. Suzy is sending me some new hose for the pump and then I'll put it back up later this week. Painterdave72 and I did some plastic-welding on the tank yesterday using Uni-weld sticks (black flat sticks). We tried a few different white and translucent round sticks but they weren't attaching to the tank. The black seemed to work pretty good and it appears to be watertight now.
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Good luck on plastic-welding the tank, I'm not sure I ever seen it work. That stuff is really a pain to work with and nothing seems to stick to it.

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Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave

Also, there is really no reason for 8 or whatever bolts there are that hold that cover in place. Four is plenty.

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This is another place place where nylon screws are a useful replacement for the OEM bolts. I just R&R'd my washer tank this summer, replaced the corner fasteners with bolts but used nylon screws for the rest. I use them on the trunk access panels too - they'll never bind to the rivnuts and do a great job holding the panels in place.

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Originally Posted by FABombjoy

This is another place place where nylon screws are a useful replacement for the OEM bolts. I just R&R'd my washer tank this summer, replaced the corner fasteners with bolts but used nylon screws for the rest. I use them on the trunk access panels too - they'll never bind to the rivnuts and do a great job holding the panels in place.

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Is there supposed to be some kind of seal or foam between the underbody and the black plastic cover? I can't tell if whatever residue there is came from the factory or if a PO did it.

I hosed down the engine bay for the first time, to try and get rid of the accumulated dust. Probably not an ideal solution, but it had to be done, and I was fully expecting potential electrical problems until it all dried out.

Low and behold, the oil light came on dimly; I guess some kind of short for the oil sender. All clear this morning.

Drove 500 miles today. I'm at a hotel and have another 300 tomorrow. All good except my speedometer quite. I'm wondering if it's the infamous "angle drive".is there any quick check I can do in the hotel parking Lot? (I have some tools)

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Originally Posted by Helirich

Drove 500 miles today. I'm at a hotel and have another 300 tomorrow. All good except my speedometer quite. I'm wondering if it's the infamous "angle drive".is there any quick check I can do in the hotel parking Lot? (I have some tools)

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Not much you can do unless you can get the car off the ground. You could try disconnecting the angle drive cable from the lambda counter and see if the square wire inside is spinning, but I imagine that would be extremely difficult to do while you are driving!

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by 82DMC12

Not much you can do unless you can get the car off the ground. You could try disconnecting the angle drive cable from the lambda counter and see if the square wire inside is spinning, but I imagine that would be extremely difficult to do while you are driving!

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

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Finally got to look at it. The angle drive is broke. Not sure what holds it there at all. The housing is definitely cracked right through. The cable is not in the clip. It will have to wait till I get home.

I'm in the middle of replacing a steering column bushing.
Everyone seems to have there idea of how to drive that sucker home. So here is mine! With the help of hammer it went in easy. The bushing I used was from NW. I did use some RTV just because.



Dave B.

Had it towed. Again. :D

https://i.imgur.com/ufGy1Epl.jpg

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Originally Posted by ccurzio

Had it towed. Again. :D

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Interesting photo there.

Please tell us you did not have it towed backward on that flatbed or that you first strapped the sunshade down if you did. Or that it was a local (low speed) tow.

Extra credit if you tell us why it needed a tow?

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Originally Posted by Rich

Interesting photo there.

Please tell us you did not have it towed backward on that flatbed or that you first strapped the sunshade down if you did. Or that it was a local (low speed) tow.

Extra credit if you tell us why it needed a tow?

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I'd have been worried otherwise, but it was a local tow. All the interstate driving was brief and in heavy traffic, then all side roads from there. ~15 miles total. Didn't want to keep driving at high (and eventually pegged) temps.

Car is overheating and pouring smoke out of the back. The coolant is boiling out of the overflow tank. The fans aren't kicking on, so it's either the fans themselves or their connection that failed, or the relay/fuse.

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Originally Posted by ccurzio

I'd have been worried otherwise, but it was a local tow. All the interstate driving was brief and in heavy traffic, then all side roads from there. ~15 miles total. Didn't want to keep driving at high (and eventually pegged) temps.

Car is overheating and pouring smoke out of the back. The coolant is boiling out of the overflow tank. The fans aren't kicking on, so it's either the fans themselves or their connection that failed, or the relay/fuse.

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You know you can put a little jumper wire at the otterstat to make the fans come on? Is the radiator hot? If it is not, you're water pump or thermostat might be bad.

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Originally Posted by Helirich

You know you can put a little jumper wire at the otterstat to make the fans come on? Is the radiator hot? If it is not, you're water pump or thermostat might be bad.

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I didn't know about the wiring trick. Thanks for the heads-up.

I hadn't done any deep investigations into the radiator and such yet. Didn't even think about the water pump. That might make sense.

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Originally Posted by ccurzio

I didn't know about the wiring trick. Thanks for the heads-up.

I hadn't done any deep investigations into the radiator and such yet. Didn't even think about the water pump. That might make sense.

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Chris,

A little too late for your recent overheat issue with the fans not coming on, but if you find yourself in similar circumstances, that wiring jumper is explained in the Rob Grady roadside troubleshooting guide. PDF file in linked thread you can use to keep it handy. An electronic copy or a printed one.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?99...l=1#post188017

Replaced sticky ISM with a new one and replaced 2 little tiny hoses coming from it. Didn't want to waste time on reinstalling original ISM after attempting a cleaning.
Replaced original ISM mount with SS version from DPI. Looks so much cleaner now. Arrived before my replacement ISM did...great shipping department at DPI.
Finally adjusted the curb idle screw after install of the Dave McKeen Microprocessor Idle ECU. Very responsive now...I think I'll keep this new ECU in place.
Learned to follow instructions...it is important.

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Originally Posted by Jonathan

Chris,

A little too late for your recent overheat issue with the fans not coming on, but if you find yourself in similar circumstances, that wiring jumper is explained in the Rob Grady roadside troubleshooting guide. PDF file in linked thread you can use to keep it handy. An electronic copy or a printed one.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?99...l=1#post188017

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Thank you for this!

A little more investigating has shown that the water pump belt is just gone. Which also explains why I was suddenly getting the battery light on the dash, which I thought was a new unrelated problem possibly with the alternator.

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Originally Posted by ccurzio

I didn't know about the wiring trick. Thanks for the heads-up.

I hadn't done any deep investigations into the radiator and such yet. Didn't even think about the water pump. That might make sense.

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Another option is just turn the AC on. It bypasses the otterstat and powers up the fans.

Always carry extra belts.

It's been a couple of weeks since my last update on here, so here goes -

1) Front suspension is now completely reassembled but on my first drive I had quite a bit of brake pedal pulsation. I believe it's my pads, which I thought I could get away with not replacing right away, but that may have been dumb since I did have the rotors turned before reinstalling. I turned the rotors because I didn't want to risk ruining my new bearings when I do a brake overhaul later this year. Well, now I'm doing the brake overhaul right now. I pulled all the calipers off, tore everything down except the parking brake mechanism, and sent them out for cad plating. I think I'll spray them with Duplicolor Gloss Clear engine enamel when I get them back. I also sent out a few other brackets and other odds and ends to get plated at the same time.

2) Completely tore down the rear suspension. Every nut and washer will be replaced and all the pivot bolts are getting cleaned and plated. New trailing arm bushings. Finally get to install my D/S Toby Tab which never went in a decade ago because I couldn't get the old bolt out. Well now I have the trailing arm out and I'm determined to get the bolt extracted! It's currently soaking in acetone+ATF.

3) Dropped off my rear carriers with bearings and outer axles still attached at a machine shop. They are going to press out the bearings, replace them with new SKF bearings, and then reinstall the shafts using a shop press. Also bead-blast the carrier which I will probably also spray with the Gloss Clear.

4) Drive shafts are out and since I already rebuilt them 15 years ago, I am going to pop the end plates off and seal them with Hylomar AF since I see a bit of grease leakage from them. I sent the bolt spacers out to get plated and I am ordering a new hex-head bolt kit from DPI to make installation easier.

5) Replacing the yoke seals once again due to leakage. My yokes are already sleeves but there is seepage either around them or through the split pin. I'll replace the o-rings inside the output shaft and put new seals in with hylomar AF on the splines and on the outside of the seals where they press against the transmission casing. Maybe that will fix it. I know some people use RTV on the splines but Hylomar AF is pretty good and doesn't set so I won't be a bear to remove the yokes again later if needed.

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Originally Posted by Helirich

Another option is just turn the AC on. It bypasses the otterstat and powers up the fans.

Always carry extra belts.

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I can't remember 100% but I believe the oe configuration had the fans operate with the compressor. All the cycling and load was very taxing on the charge circuit and it was a common mod to wire the fans to the mode switch which kept them from cycling with the compressor.

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Originally Posted by Michael

I can't remember 100% but I believe the oe configuration had the fans operate with the compressor. All the cycling and load was very taxing on the charge circuit and it was a common mod to wire the fans to the mode switch which kept them from cycling with the compressor.

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That's the way mine was untill I got Dave's RPM relay. It keeps the fans on for awhile after the compressor shuts off. (Normally, It will cycle back on before the fans finally shut down.)

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Originally Posted by Helirich

That's the way mine was untill I got Dave's RPM relay. It keeps the fans on for awhile after the compressor shuts off. (Normally, It will cycle back on before the fans finally shut down.)

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I don't see how the RPM relay has anything whatsoever to do with fans. They have nothing in common. You may be confusing his RPM relay with a fan relay.

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Originally Posted by Michael

I don't see how the RPM relay has anything whatsoever to do with fans. They have nothing in common. You may be confusing his RPM relay with a fan relay.

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You're correct. I just looked on his site. The fan relay runs the fans for 20 seconds after power is not called for. I got his RPM relay also. It has some delay functions related to the fuel pump.

Today I actually got the car insured :)

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Originally Posted by Lwanmtr

Today I actually got the car insured :)

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How much did you insure it for? My company asked me what it was worth and I said $35,000. Now I wonder if I should have told them higher.

I valued mine at 35,000, which is what Toby recommended, I was going to go with 30 too.

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Originally Posted by Helirich

How much did you insure it for? My company asked me what it was worth and I said $35,000. Now I wonder if I should have told them higher.

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Mine is currently valued at $45k, but I plan to raise that amount when I re-up next time. It seems that the value keeps going up and if I ever have to replace this car, I will need to pay out of pocket in addition to the $45k just to get a car in the same condition that I currently have. I'm insured through Grundy.

-Nick

Yeah, im at 50k+ I actually took a look around and what a similar condition would cost and i'm really hosed if i need to replace.

Two days ago I removed my driver side trailing arm for restoration and to finally install my D/S Toby Tab I bought about 15 years ago. The bolt is incredibly stuck in the T/A so it's currently soaking in ATF+acetone. I might have to bring it to a machine shop to get the bolt out. We'll see.

Last night I removed my P/S trailing arm which already had a Toby Tab installed. I was shocked to find the locknut was fairly easy to turn off of the bolt - I need to check this stuff more often. The arm was not loose but certainly could have been eventually. I will probably double-nut it on reinstallation.

Anyway, the nut came off, bolt slid out, got the arm out of the way. Now to remove the T/A bracket because I'm replacing all this stuff. The rear 13mm bolt/nut came out OK. Note: the hole in the frame is also threaded, it is NOT a hollow tube!!).

The front was a lot tighter. For some reason I had a really tough time getting a wrench onto the nut, probably due to clearance issues with the frame sticking out (the part where it's slightly bent) as well as the shift levers. I thought maybe the locknut was stuck onto the welded nut so I put a ratchet on the bolt head and it actually unscrewed a few times before the head snapped off , leaving about 1/4" of shank remaining, frozen in the frame. Things got very scary as I slowly ran out of options to move the nut due to extremely poor access. I briefly considered cutting a hole in the frame so I could get a socket on the nut, squared-up, but finally gave it one last shot with a stubby 13mm (I almost never use stubbys, but damn, when you need them... YOU NEED THEM) coming from the outside/ TA side of the frame, with another wrench linked to it for extra leverage. Now the nut was moving and turning the shank out, but the shank was too long to get the nut and shank out of the frame. I ended up using my angle grinder to cut the shank off flush with the frame (about 2mm of clearance to spare to get the grinder in at the right angle), then that gave me just enough room to turn the nut and shank out. Wow - could have been another crisis. This took all evening but I was relieved to get it out - popped a beer in celebration (Boulevard Coffee stout)

On the plus side, now I have removed every single bolt that touches the frame except for the engine mounts so HOPEFULLY no more broken bolt bullshit in the future...... RIGHT?!?

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Originally Posted by iflights

Replaced sticky ISM with a new one and replaced 2 little tiny hoses coming from it. Didn't want to waste time on reinstalling original ISM after attempting a cleaning.
Replaced original ISM mount with SS version from DPI. Looks so much cleaner now. Arrived before my replacement ISM did...great shipping department at DPI.
Finally adjusted the curb idle screw after install of the Dave McKeen Microprocessor Idle ECU. Very responsive now...I think I'll keep this new ECU in place.
Learned to follow instructions...it is important.

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I saw this comment the other day and wanted to ask you or anyone else for that matter if they have feedback on these new, replacement idle speed motors? Both Houston and DeLoGO are selling new ones and the only thing it mentions in terms of direct replacement or alterations needed is that the new ones are skinnier and so you need to make up for that space inside the bracket with padding of some kind to keep it snug.

Any other adjustments needed to the air or fuel system or do you just plop it in, hook it up and good to go?

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Originally Posted by Jonathan

I saw this comment the other day and wanted to ask you or anyone else for that matter if they have feedback on these new, replacement idle speed motors? Both Houston and DeLoGO are selling new ones and the only thing it mentions in terms of direct replacement or alterations needed is that the new ones are skinnier and so you need to make up for that space inside the bracket with padding of some kind to keep it snug.

Any other adjustments needed to the air or fuel system or do you just plop it in, hook it up and good to go?

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I have it. It did come with a skinny rubber strip, but it's far too small - *that* proved instead to be perfect for my loose frequency valve.
I have some rubber hose keeping it in place, but it's far from satisfactory.

Otherwise, the ISM is pretty boring, just goes in same as the other one.

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Originally Posted by Jonathan

I saw this comment the other day and wanted to ask you or anyone else for that matter if they have feedback on these new, replacement idle speed motors? Both Houston and DeLoGO are selling new ones and the only thing it mentions in terms of direct replacement or alterations needed is that the new ones are skinnier and so you need to make up for that space inside the bracket with padding of some kind to keep it snug.

Any other adjustments needed to the air or fuel system or do you just plop it in, hook it up and good to go?

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I purchased the DeLoGo model. It was recommended by Dave McKeen as I was having some challenges getting idle under control with his ECU.

Because I changed my idle speed to 825 I needed to adjust curb idle, but no air or fuel mixture changes required.

The DGO version came with an adhesive spacer strip that goes around the smaller circumference motor. It was able to fit nicely in the bracket with the spacer strip.

Steady progress on my suspension overhaul. I had bad brake pedal pulsation after installing my freshly-turned front rotors a couple weeks ago. I decided to do a full brake system rebuild at that point so I took my rear brakes apart and brought my rear rotors along with my front rotors to an actual machine shop to get the runout checked. This place confirmed one of the front rotors was not turned straight, they figure the first place I went to didn't put it on the lathe correctly or the mating surface was dirty. They bead blasted the rotors and gave them a good turn, so I hope I'm good to go now.

Same machine shop took my dirty rear carriers with outer drive shaft and old bearings in them, blasted and degreased them, pressed in new SKF bearings, and pressed in the drive shafts. I'm going to leave them bare metal but I'll spray some Duplicolor Clear ceramic engine enamel on them so they spray off easily when I want to clean them in the future.

When I picked this stuff up, I gave them my trailing arms because I still have a T/A bolt stuck in one of them and I need them to extract it for me. I have new Toby Tabs to use on re-installation. The machine shop has a huge oven so they'll bake the old epoxy off and then shot blast the metal so I can get them either powder coated or maybe just POR15, haven't quite decided yet.

I also dropped off my rear lower links with painterdave who is going to powder coat them. So, at this point, I'm just waiting for my calipers to come back from the plating service as well as a few more bits of hardware from various vendors.

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I know this is Micheal's department. It gave me a chuckle.

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Originally Posted by Helirich

I know this is Micheal's department. It gave me a chuckle.

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My humor is on a much higher level. This belongs in DeLorean Fanatics.

Just a little more progress on my rear chassis restoration.

Trailing arms went to the machine shop to get baked clean and remove the stuck T/A bolt. They got it out without a lot of drama. I took them home and did the POR15 degrease/rinse/metal prep/rinse/dry dance and then gave them two coats of Grey POR15, inside and out, followed by a top coat of Rustoluem Smoke Grey on the outside-only. They look pretty good!

Last weekend I installed the new SS trailing arm reinforcement brackets. New hardware for the attachment bolts/nuts/washers and polished the passenger side ground that attaches to this point. Interesting to note that the parts manual does not show the nylock nuts that go inside the frame against the welded-on nuts. In fact the supplied bolts I ordered from DMC are too short to put nuts on, but Mike says no worries so I'll leave them be. Just another parts book vs actual parts discrepancy!

While I was in there with nothing else to really do, I removed my transmission mounts so I can have painterdave powder coat them for me. After blasting them he found both of them had small cracks so it's a good thing I decided to get them cleaned up.

I'm also waiting on some brake parts so while my master cylinder is out, now is a good time to get the booster and bracket refinished. I don't know how it is on an automatic, but for a MT you have to disconnect the clutch cylinder from the firewall so you can move it out of the way to get the bracket and booster out. No need to lose any clutch fluid - there's enough play to move it to the side and maneuver the brake stuff out. It was very difficult to get the clutch cylinder bolts out solo - I had to ask my wife to use the ratchet while I held the bolt in place with an open-end wrench from inside the car. I see the parts book shows the bolts going into the car from the outside so the nuts would be in the interior. Mine were reversed, I guess I did that when I changed the cylinder a few years back. I'll put it back together "correctly" and see if that helps so I can get a socket on the nut inside instead of the clearance issues I found with the bolt head inside.

Basically just twiddling my thumbs until I get all my brake stuff back from plating and a few things from DPI. Man I can't wait to put all this back together....

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Is that a crack I see in the 3rd Pic?
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=67249

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Originally Posted by steve

Is that a crack I see in the 3rd Pic?
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=67249

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It is. That's the transmission mount section that attaches to the transmission casing. Both of mine had cracks in them - they are getting welded and then powder coated as we speak. I guess it's a fairly common thing. I'm glad it was caught now rather than before a failure. And here I was almost too lazy to pull them out!