And The Saga Continues, "The Beast"

[mrmel2you]

Here's an update on The Beast (wife says I need to come up with another name for it, LOL).

 

Round #1--Put new brakes all around on it.  New (reman) calipers, rotor/hubs/drums, wheel bearings, seals, pads/shoes, wheel cylinders, rear hardware kits, e-brake cable.  She stops on a dime and gives back 9 cents change :)

 

Round #2--After doing all this, took her out for a bit to seat in the pads/shoes.  Hit a small (and I mean small) pot-hole.  Front-end started shimmying and shaking on me, all the way home.  Traced it down to the gear box :(  When I bought the tilt column a while back, it came with the steering shaft and box attached.  So I swapped them out, no more shimmy and shaking going down the road from the front end :)  Now the steering wheel is off-center about a 1/4 turn to the left---will have to sort that out later.

 

No more shimmy in the front-----but now I somehow picked a lot of vibration out of the rear (will it never end?).  Thinking it has to be either the drive shaft or the u-joints.  Will drop the shaft next week and have it looked at, too much going on right now.  Vibration starts at about 35mph---smooths out from between 40-60mph, then starts back up around 65---but smooth as glass from 70-75mph.  Had the tires rebalanced, it made no difference so that told me it had to be something mechanical.

 

Was planning on plumbing in all new hard brake lines, proportioning valve, master cylinder and booster next week, but that can wait until I get the vibration under control and fixed.

 

Hmmmm, anything else?  Oh yeah, the more that I am able to drive it-----the more I love "The Beast" :) The bucket seats from the '98 XJ sure are comfy, and the tilt wheel makes it just that more enjoyable :)

 

Happy Trails Everyone, Papa Mel :)