Mutt The Race Truck

[Red_Kitty]

Is that a fresh diff leak, or just from maintenance?

[DanStokes]

I think it's overfilled. I installed the TA girdle and I'm pretty sure the drain plug hole is higher than the stock one. One of my jobs for today is to compare the girdle with the stock rear cover and see what I see. We replaced the pinion seal when we did the new gears set so it ought to be OK - but is it? One of life's mysteries.....

Dan

[Russell]

That would be great! Send a PM or Email and we'll work something out. I'll make a pile for you.

Dan

Dan I sent you an Email.

[DanStokes]

I done replied.

Dan

[DanStokes]

For those not in the know, the track announces pretty much everything on a small FM station that they set up at the track and it would be advantageous to hear the broadcast as we wait in the staging lanes. I found an antenna that sticks on the inside of the glass so there will be no pesky whips out in the breeze and I'll use just one speaker as fidelity is not a significant issue. I had an old radio lying around (it works) and I made a mount for it as detailed in the General" section under "HF Sheet Metal Brake" or something like that.

Here's a pic of the radio installed in it's newly-fabricated pod under the dash.



I still have to wire it but it should do the job.

Dan

[Red_Kitty]

Hi Dan

So, between the turbo upgrades and the longer 2km course, any thoughts about (rear) gearing changes for this year?

[ejs262]

I kinda want to find a radio like that for my Fiero, something period correct even though the car isn't exactly a time capsule.

[DanStokes]

Hi Dan

So, between the turbo upgrades and the longer 2km course, any thoughts about (rear) gearing changes for this year?

I went to the 2:73s and really haven't had a chance to optimize the setup with those gears. I have RPM left at the top of the track (1 mile) if I can make the HP to twist the engine faster at the top end. So we'll see what happens.

Dan

[DanStokes]

I kinda want to find a radio like that for my Fiero, something period correct even though the car isn't exactly a time capsule.

That's just one I had lying around the shop. It was small and the FM worked so it fit the bill. The others I have are 2 DIN so bigger than I wanted. Send me a replacement and the JVC is yours!

Dan

[ejs262]

Honestly, I'm not even sure what size radio would have gone into it stock, I'll have to dig out some literature.

[silver_bullet]

Those were what they refer to as Din and a Half for radio sizing... there are install kits and wiring harnesses to install a standard (period correct) radio chassis in that location

[DanStokes]

I put a Dual unit from Crutchfield in the Ranger. It was a 1 DIN and fit right in the dash. That radio is a tad bigger than the JVC in Mutt which I think is older than the DIN sizing system.

Dan

[DanStokes]

Back to work to prep for the Spring Meet.

When I did the oil change this winter I had oil leaking out of the cam cover when I refilled the engine. I figured I ought to do something about that so I ordered up a genuine M-B gasket and yesterday I dug into it. The gasket I'd been running was a Elring (a decent aftermarket gasket company for Euro stuff) and maybe it was just old and too stiff but given that it was leaking I popped for the Mercedes one - who knows, maybe they're from the same factory.

So here's a pic of the cover off the engine. One of many weird M-B things is that the studs that bolt the cover down have about 1/8 or maybe 3/16 stand-off just above the head so you can't reef down the gasket too tightly on the head surface. I've toyed with pulling the studs and having 0.025 or so machined off those standoffs so the cover would squish a bit tighter but I'm going to go with the assumption that the gasket was just old and put it back together but the machining will be plan B. Interesting that they're all worried about squishing the gasket too much but not worried about leaving the rear of the cover with no hold-down bolt.



And the cover sitting on my "true flat" surface which IS pretty flat. No new warpage since I flattened it several seasons ago



And the (hopefully) magic gasket. Mercedes has a high opinion of this piece and I hope it's worth it.




I washed the cover and let it dry overnight so today it gets reassembled.

Dan

[DanStokes]

And this project done. I put the tiniest bead of RTV in the gasket groove in hopes of warding off leaks then reassembled the whole deal. I used little beads of RVT then spread it in the groove using a pop rivet pin (I have lots of them and they're essentially free) so there was just a smidge of coverage. It was tricky to reinstall the gasket without smearing the sealant all over but I had reasonable success with only a little cleanup. Then I reinstalled and lightly snugged the cover thinking tomorrow after the RTV sets I'll snug it down a bit more.


Dan

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]