Continuing on an older project

Today was a day I achieved something different. For a long time I've been meaning to put up the last of the long-planned sheets of steel on the back door. This one will cover the upper door window. I was 50/50 over removing the glass but I think I will as it'll be hard to remove neatly from inside.  Really I would like to put a smaller window in place but that would be so challenging that it's not worth the fuss. Better just to have a solid back wall. 

So, working in cramped conditions inside a shipping container storage shed I set to with an old Harbor Freight drill press. The steel has been pre-bent which added a level of complexity to drilling the final line of holes as the steel had to be propped up at an angle then held in place with one hand while drilling the hole with the other.

The next step with that steel will be putting it in place and then drilling two locating holes in the door. Once those are in place, I can cut a margin around the door lock and hinge and paint the steel on both sides. Then it'll be a case of removing the glass (gently), drilling holes and riveting the new panel in place.

I did get on some with the brakes. The work mechanic has been a wonderful source of advice. The problem I'd been getting is that when I tightened down the top brake line - the shiny one in the photo - the line was turning as I got it reasonably tight. I'd worked out that it probably needed lubrication but was aware that getting lubricant into the brake line would be a definite faux pas. 

After looking up brake lines and lubricants online, nothing turned up that was at all helpful. This is pretty typical for the internet - good for general information but bloody worthless when it comes to the details. I did get a couple of dry lubricants but they didn't seem to do much good when sprayed on a test piece of steel. In the end, after consulting the work mechanic again it transpired that something called Assembly Grease would work. Looking that up online it seemed Advance Auto (laugh) had it on their website. Going into an Advance Auto proved them to be as laughable as always. They couldn't find their grease and didn't even bother looking, offering me some expensive pink brake caliper grease. In the end, not feeling like fighting or going anywhere else chasing something that would leave the local dingbats scratching their heads over, I bought the pink goop.

Following the mechanic's advice, I slipped some on the inside of the flange nut. Well, not quite - I painted it on the outside of the tube, in front of a slid back flange nut and kept it well away from the flange. When the nut tightens in the thread, the grease provides an inertia differential. It allows the nut to slide over the back of the flange while the bare side flange bites on the end of the socket. Thus I get to tighten the nut without turning the tube. And so the nut was tightened as far as it would go. I'm not sure of the correct torque but it doesn't seem the nut wants to shift further. The acid test will be whether there's a leak when brake fluid is put into the system.

The flange nut didn't go flush unlike the previous nut but that I realise now is a good thing - it means that if it needs further tightening, it can be further tightened. I suspect the old flange was thinner. I can measure that but I also suspect it was put on in the factory.

One of the other things that cropped up in conversation was that I thought replacing all the brake lines was a good idea. The mechanic agreed on the basis that they are hydraulic and likely all over 20 years old. The actual cost of replacing them is not that great. 5 feet of line is $7 and the 5 feet I bought will do all or most of the front brake portions. Say I have to use two pieces, that's only $14. In addition to that are the 4 flexible hoses to the wheels. Those are supplied by International. The two lines from the hydromax were $68 apiece but they were blended lines part steel and part flexible. If I add 30 feet of solid line plus another 5 feet to go around the differential then I'm still only talking 7 piece or $50. I'm not sure how much the lines to the wheels will be but even if they're $50 apiece that's only $200 or $400 total to replace every single brake line on the vehicle.

It would have been possible to do the second part of the brake line today but when I looked at it the other day it seemed to have a steel coil around it. Doing some research I found that is a protective casing that it's possible to get in 8 foot lengths. Needless to say I ordered an 8 foot length. That should in theory cover me for everything under the hood. If there's the same stuff on the rest of the brake system then I shall have to buy more. Brakes are so important and I'm not skimping on brakes.

The final thing with the brakes, when I get to the actual wheels themselves will be to pull the brake caliper pistons out and replace them with stainless. There are phenolic pistons available but I would prefer steel. That way I can avoid the seizing problem I get with the pistons.

I'd like to put more steel up - covering the unused windows. That way I can be more certain of security. One or two pieces will need a step fold which I could do myself but which it would probably be faster and easier to have done as well as inexpensive. 

When I first started with the brakes, it was scary and new. Now I'm finding they're really quite simple mechanical devices that are not at all scary. The fear that comes from lack of knowledge is pretty strong and probably the reason why some people said when I mentioned doing my own brakes that I was crazy and should hire a professional.