White Japanese Spec Suspension Rebuild

[MiniDave]

After all the frustrations with the oil leak I thought I finally had it whipped. Drove it around the block several times, had already driven it up to the alignment shop, about a 5 or 6 mile run on the highway and not a drop. So Monday morning Clancy was on his way to pick it up to haul it home, I backed it out of the garage and again drove it around the block and when I came back I noticed a trail going up the street - this is what I found when I walked back in the garage.....

It was clear that it was coming from the oil filter o-ring again.

So I pulled the housing off -again - cleaned everything up, put a new o-ring in - again - and a new gasket between the housing and the engine - again - tho it wasn't leaking there. I find it easier to just remover the whole housing so you don't dump all the oil out of the cannister all over the engine trying to get it out. Not that it mattered much at this point since so much oil had already spewed out all over the road on my drive around the block.

Anyway.....I gently filed the end of the cannister to make sure there weren't any sharps or nicks, put yet another new or o-ring and gasket on and put it back together and ran it on the rack. Dryer than a popcorn fart - tho I've been here before. I also had to remove the sump guard which was full of oil and clean it too then put it back on.

This morning it was still dry after I started it so I ran it around the neighborhood some more and let it run for about 20 min in the driveway...... perfectly dry.

So we loaded it on the trailer and it's headed home today. I think he' plans to be there by Friday.

[MiniDave]

Clancy made it to Corning, NY today, only 6 hours to go so delivery tomorrow afternoon. A long damn drive from here to Boston!

[BruceK]

Wow. To Boston?  A trail of oil drips coming off that trailer lead all the way from Kansas to Massachusetts!!   



(Just kidding Dave! ).

[MiniDave]

What's that old Chinese curse - "May you live in interesting times"?

So, Clancy got to Boston today and pulled into the owner's shop to drop the car off - they noticed the fog lights were glowing slightly, when he went to start it smoke poured out from under the bonnet!

The culprit was a fried fog lamp relay that decided to self immolate just them - it also had mostly killed the battery.

But all's well that ends well, he drove it home tonight and is extremely pleased!

Oh, and it's not leaking any oil! 

And no, it's not because it's empty!   

[Jimini II]

That's good news i thought you were going to say it started leaking again lol.

[MiniDave]

Shhhhhh......

Fingers crossed! 

[BruceK]

A relay like this with a built-in replaceable fuse probably could have prevented that ugly meltdown. 

I didn’t know these existed until recently.   The other ones I’ve seen - can’t find them now - have the fuse integrated a little better and not sticking up so far. These would still probably work and most applications.

Fused Relay 12V 30A/40A 5-Pin - (5-Pack) Automotive Built in Fuse Metal Mounting Tab SPST Normally Open Car Motor Automobile https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PB756NC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_H-DaGb6FV8J4C

[MiniDave]

Yes, those are great for not having to add a circuit from an overfilled fuse panel, but it depends on why the relay failed, the fuse might or might not have blown.....