"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
08/31/2015 at 15:31 • Filed to: None
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"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
08/31/2015 at 15:31 • Filed to: None | 7
| 8 |
This Alfa is sapping my will to live.
After getting the head rebuilt and reinstalled, the pulleys replaced, the tensioner hooked up and the new timing belt situated, I went to lock down the tensioner. Top nut to 15 ft lbs. Bottom nut... spin spin spin.
So a/the previous owner had stripped the stud, and instead of repairing or replacing it, as you would with a CRITICAL PIECE OF HARDWARE, which if it would fail would literally mean the end of your engine, just “oh well, good enough”-ed it. Just double nut and hope for the best.
Well, the stud must’ve just been weak because it couldn’t handle having that nut torqued down. But since it was now totally stripped, no way to use the old double-nut technique to remove and replace it.
I recut it down to 7mm with a sharp die. Again, the stud was so tired that the new threads gave out as soon as I applied torque.
The proximity to the crank pulley meant my stud puller didn’t have clearance.
Ummm...
PB Blaster, hammer taps, heat and cold (the block is aluminum, the stud hardened steel) for WEEKS.
Finally, after waking and deciding at 3 am I was just going to sell the damn car, I gave up, found a guy on Craigslist who said he could do it the old fashioned way, and crossed my fingers.
For a mere $150 (which for the record is $30 less that the round-trip tow charge to the nearest shop with a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! machine, not to mention the cost of actually having the process done, IF it could be done) this guy named Rudy painstakingly drilled out the stud. No damage to the block. Truly a masterful performance of cutting it as short as possible, center-punching the now-smoothed out end, then using an ever increasing lineup of bits and extractors to remove the damn thing.
And here it is. The bane of the last 3 months with this car. Fuck that stud.
Sam
> Chairman Kaga
08/31/2015 at 15:37 |
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Wow, there are actually people who provide good services on CL. I’m impressed. Was the guy a professional stud puller? (Hehe)
Party-vi
> Chairman Kaga
08/31/2015 at 15:37 |
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I think every post about your Alfa is just a post about how I should never ever own one.
LongbowMkII
> Chairman Kaga
08/31/2015 at 15:38 |
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let’s hope for better luck on your next repair
Ash78, voting early and often
> Party-vi
08/31/2015 at 15:41 |
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There was a quote from a good movie way back when, might have been Dazed and Confused or something similar. Maybe a Kevin Smith movie...
“Do you ever feel that the purpose of your life is just to serve as a warning to others?”
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Chairman Kaga
08/31/2015 at 15:57 |
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So a/the previous owner had stripped the stud, and instead of repairing or replacing it, as you would with a CRITICAL PIECE OF HARDWARE, which if it would fail would literally mean the end of your engine, just “oh well, good enough”-ed it. Just double nut and hope for the best.
It’s an Alfa. You sure it was the previous owner? Could be factory.
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Chairman Kaga
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
08/31/2015 at 16:05 |
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Fair point.
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Chairman Kaga
> Party-vi
08/31/2015 at 16:06 |
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I think once I get it in decent shape I’m going to sell it and get a Miata. No. Not joking.
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SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> Chairman Kaga
09/01/2015 at 08:04 |
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I’m just picturing an error in casting and Tony saying “Aay, youa know it’sa fiiine.”