So the last post left off with a lot of carnage caused by the fire in the airbox and a lot of broken rubber bits. Let's start this one off with a lot of broken bolts. Starting with a small dab of weld and then progressively larger nuts...
Four out of six bolts that held on the inlet rubbers broke off.
Coolant didn't look too bad, considering it is most likely more than 24 years old.
The fan on the other hand has lost a blade over the years.
In order to remove it, I had to slightly modify a two-arm puller get the old fan blades off the shaft.
Apparently at least at some point in the past the motor shaft had come loose and touched the radiator.
Re-assembly was substantially more simple - just press the fan back on and reinstall everything with new hardware.
While I was at it, a new thermal switch was also installed into the water neck as it would be almost impossible to get to later with the radiator installed.
And because I had to have everything out anyway, I also installed a new fuel pressure regulator.
Reassemble everything and bleed the cooling system, which to the engineers' credit goes a lot easier than on many cars that I've worked on. It is literally, fill in some coolant, check for leaks, wait for the bubbles and fill some more. When you're done, fill the overflow tank.
Next step necessary to pass inspection: New(-ish) tyres. At least ones, which
are too young to vote. 😁 (Front tyre was from the 3rd week of 1992 according
to the markings on the sidewall.)
The wheels themselves came out without much drama and I have to admit, the mounting on the rear is brilliant. Really easy to get a wheel out. Four wheel bolts and that's it.
The front on the other side: Started off with two bolts seized in their holes in the forks...
... and this one bolt hidden behind a cover on the back of a fork brace.
Surprisingly (again), the bolts for the fork brace came out with a lot of heat, but could be used again.
It is important to note that those mudguard mounts are not threaded, just packed full of dirt and corrosion. Both from the bolt AND the actual fork leg.
Why all of this? To be honest, just to fit those fork gaiters and be able to reinstall the forks properly again.
While the rear wheel came out without much of a fight, the rear drum brake left a lot to be desired. First I marked the lever position on the shaft.
Then covered the whole shaft in plenty of oil to soften up the caked on remnants of grease and brake dust.
Re-Assembly of the drumbrake is really easy, if you remove the C-clip on the top and just slide everything in place. (No special tools needed.) Don't forget to lube the shaft where it passes through the housing and check the two o-rings, so grease can get into the drum.
Even after doing the brake fluid (and then bleeding them again) didn't help much, I had a closer look at those brake lines and sure enough... 08/1986.
I still had some leftover brakelines from the TR1 and a local hydraulics shop was able to supply me with a long M10x1.0 banjo bolt. Bit of bleeding and... yep, calipers need an overhaul too, but at least now I can feel the stuck pistons.
Then, lastly, rear wheel out again as the seal of the clutch pushrod had started leaking. When I tried to remove it, it completely fell apart.
So this point, the limping brick was at least a walking brick and capable of keeping it's fluids inside of itself.
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