1961 Volvo PV544 in Holland

[Army]

I´ve been struggling (as others do) trying to not buy a special tool for the removal of the rear brake drums...

...in the end I gave up with my various methods and bought a puller =>



[WHINGE] 80 bloody euros for an effing puller [/WHINGE]

Anyway now they are off I´m glad I persisted - the brake shoes, whilst they still have a fair amount of meat on them, are cracked. The drums themselves are grooved and a bit done in. I expect it will be cheaper to replace than pay for machine work (very very expensive to get things machined in Holland)

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With the drums removed it was more apparent that the differential backlash (movement between the crown wheel and the pinion) is pretty dreadful. So I removed the rear cover on the differential =>



With cover removed mk1 eye ball thinks the backlash is about 5mm...

...so that needs to be fixed.

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Trying to find the drive ratio - numbers on the crown wheel don´t seem to help



(Am I really gonna have to resort to counting cogs?)

[c1800]

Can’t quite see all he numbers. Are there more?

Typically there are 2 numbers separated by a dash, which gives you the ratio

Example would be 43-10, which is a .430 ratio

9 12 60 Looks like the date.

[Army]

Originally Posted by c1800

Can’t quite see all he numbers. Are there more?

Typically there are 2 numbers separated by a dash, which gives you the ratio

Example would be 43-10, which is a .430 ratio

9 12 60 Looks like the date.

Thanks it seems likely that I´ve photographed the wrong end of the numbers. Tomorrow I´ll take a picture of the other end of the numbers where I think there might be a 41 XX (looking at that picture above)

According to the workshop manual the options would be either 4.1 :1 or 4.56 :1

(We´ll see)

[norustplease]

Looks like you have a Spicer/Salisbury back axle, which would be right for your car's age. According to my manual, the ratio should be on a nameplate on the lower part of the inspection cover.

[Army]

Originally Posted by norustplease

Looks like you have a Spicer/Salisbury back axle, which would be right for your car's age. According to my manual, the ratio should be on a nameplate on the lower part of the inspection cover.

I thought Spicer and Dana were one type and that the Salisbury version was different...

...may be I need to get back to the books.

As for the rear cover - hmm - well it is still caked in crud (and guess who forgot to take his camera with him to his workshop today to take a picture of the last of the crown wheel numbers...)

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Still I was up late last night looking at differential case spreader designs on the toob of yew - me feels a little project coming on as import duties and postage from the US of A (where these things are common to find - because they seem to have a fixation with solid axles and cart horse springs there!) exceed the cost of the equipment...

...oh deary me this is just not going to get done quickly is it...

[Derek UK]

The ratio is originally on a small tag that fits under one of the lower side cover bolts. Not surprisingly, they are often missing.

[Army]

I got some more pictures (eventually I´ll get there you see)



The last few numbers are indeed 4.10 so I reckon the chance is good that that´s the final drive ratio.

However - outside on the casting of the axle I have found some patent numbers and these two =>



031480

And a 27 =>



Looking at the vp automotive site for spares (I want new bearings) before I bother trying to adjust the backlash and pinion and crown wheel positions it seems like the 27 might mean M27...

...thing is I get the impression that M27 wasn´t produced with the 4.10 final drive ratio.

It could be that I have a bitsa situation as there is evidence of the orange rust preservative paint that I assume was applied in the 1980s (found on other parts of the car too)

Whilst I am in the process of banging off another email to vp automotive to ask them if someone here can also help that would be great as it is always nice to have additional confirmation.

[Army]

...when I stumbled upon the self etch primer. Wow! When these things rise to the top you need to seize the opportunity and get the bits you've been waiting to do done.

Steering box casing stripped of paint and ready for the self etch primer (needed on aluminium castings otherwise the paint falls off)



As I'm getting ready to put the car on a trolley so I can turn the vehicle round and reach the passenger wheel arches more easily: I also got access to engine which was given a bit more degreasing treatment.



Engine degreaser can be blinking expensive. I found this Dunlop stuff in the Dutch version of a pound shop (yes yes it could in principle be called a Euro shop here but they don't selling anything for one Euro over here!) and I have been surprised by how effective it is considering how cheap it was...

[Army]

...though I think this is the last one I'll find



What with all the oil leaking all over the engine bay I was considering this upgrade - a modern crankshaft seal.

(For those that don't know "they" turn the original hole in the front timing cover so a modern seal can be fitted - at the moment the best deal on the modified timing cover is about 60 quid / 70 euros - so that saves a bit)

The seal used is Volvo part number 430132



I wonder if the rear has been done as well

...That brings me on to =>


Flywheel locks


'Cos I've whipped out the distributor for painting the block I locked the flywheel in position before undoing the nut on the front of the crankshaft and removing the front timing cover as I didn't want to lose my timing place.

(This isn't 100% reliable and I will have to check the timing but it helps to keep everything in the same ball park when you miss diesel engines and can't be bothered with all of this spark ignition electrickery)

Anyway first time for everything BGS 1771 fits like a glove and is cheap cheap - top tip (!)



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Degreasing + sanding + stripping + derusting of the engine block continues =>



Almost done - ran out of wire brush attachments (more on order). It is a shame to paint it really after all that hard work. Engines always seem to look better naked...

[Army]

Made a trolley so I can move the body about. It should also be good to take it to the paint shop if I decide to go down that route.

Whilst the castors are good for 400kg each I've only used a bit of 4 inch square soft wood for the frame and a couple of old planks that were once from a packing case.

The body is really light. I can lift it easily from the front outriggers (where the engine sits) - the back is a bit heavier but is also easy to lift. As a wild guess I'd say the body (once stripped) is about 150kg - 'cos I like measuring I'm going to see if I can find a way of weighing it (just for giggles)