Vauxhall Vivaro hub nut.

This post has been prompted by the lack of good technical information out there on the Vauxhall Vivaro van and in particular the rear hub settings.

A friend recently had a rear hub bearing seize up. He was lucky that the bearing had not welded it’s self to the stub axle. Which is all to common in this type of bearing failure.

I am surprised and concerned to find a lot of mis information on forums and companies like Haynes do not produce a service manual ( but then I believe that Haynes has lost the plot!) The lack of this information is making a  statement like: “if you don’t know the torque setting for the hub nut just tighten it up as tight as you can and then put a scaffold pole on the Tee bar and do it up some more!”. This stratagem can be dangerous and will cause the bearing to prematurely fail again. Why? The rear hub bearing is of the taper roller type which means that if you do not set it up correctly it will bind on the runners causing it to over heat and seize. These are not like ball bearings which can be over tightened (which is not recommended) because there is not the same direct affect.

The specialist kit you need to do this job properly: 

1. A thirty six multimeter socket for the hub nut. Which is three quarter inch drive that you may step down to half inch.
2. A Tee bar.
3. An extension bar like a scaffold pole no longer than a meter for loosening only.
4. A torque wrench that can go up to three hundred Newton meters. Which are not that expensive. Please note that wrench is Six hundred millimetre long(half a meter) This is the optimum length for this weight of tightness.
5. Spanners and or sockets for the the brake calliper mounting bolts of eighteen millimetres.

Be careful not to damage the wheel sensor. The hub nut should be tightened to two hundred and eighty Newton Meters which is surprisingly not that tight – about a quarter of a turn or so after it has been done up normally with a ratchet. The mounting bolts for the calliper cage- one hundred and eighty Newton meters- you should clean the threads with a tap before adding new thread lock and the wheel nuts are one hundred and forty Newton meters and don’t forget to put a little bit of lube on the threads.

If you would like to ask any questions or add further to this post please do. But remember this is a blog not a forum so it may take some time to get a response.

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Resteration Plastic.

Some more plastic from the MK2 Honda civic showed up the other day. This time it was a shock guard/ soft mount for the rear spring.  The shapee of it suggests that it is a  weather defelector for the mounting bolt too.

The repair its self was not that difficult, There was a slit  about twenty-five mm long. Once we had  given the plastic a good clean without which the welding process will not bond properly it was ready for us to identify which type of plastic it was. The repair went surprisingly well considering how imbedded the dirt was. Good for another two hundred and fifty thousand miles. We still cannot believe that this car has done that much mileage.

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Win Tickets

Your chance to win tickets to some major metal events. Good luck!

Win Santa Pod Tickets at Ace Cafe!

Ace Cafe London has teamed up with Santa Pod, which opened in 1066 as Europe’s first permanent drag racing venue, with pairs of tickets, up for grabs as prizes at the cafe, for seven of the “Pods” major events through 2012.

Raffles at the cafe will be held on the occasions shown below. Spend £5 or more over the counter to receive a raffle ticket.

The Fast Show – Sunday 25th March (www.thefastshow.com)

3 pairs of tickets to be won at the cafe on “InCarNation”, held on the last Wednesday of each month:

Wed 25th January

Wed 29th February

Thurs 1^st March Mod n’ Mini

Street Nationals – 12th – 13th May (www.streetnationals.co.uk)

3 pairs of tickets to be won at the cafe on “InCarnation”, held on the last Wednesday of each month:

Wed 29th February

Wed 28th March

Wed 25th April

Retro Show – Sunday 1st July (www.retroshow.co.uk)

3 pairs of tickets to be won at the cafe on “Classic Car Night”, held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month:

Tues 10th April

Tues 8th May

Tues 12th June

Dragstalgia – 14th – 15th July (www.santapod.com)

3 pairs of tickets to be won at the cafe on “Hot Rod Night”, held on the 1st Wednesday of each month:

Wed 2nd May

Wed 6th June

Wed 4th July

Bug Jam 26 – 20th – 22nd July (www.bugjam.com)

3 pairs of tickets to be won at the cafe on each of “VW Aircooled Night” (3rd Tuesday of the month) and VAG Night (Last Tuesday of the month)

Tues 19th June (VW)

Tues 26th June (VAG)

Tues 17th July (VW)

Mopar Nationals – 27th-29th July (www.moparnats.co.uk)

3 pairs of tickets to be won at the cafe on “All American Cruise-Ins”, held on the last Saturday of each month:

Sat 28th April

Sat 26th May

Sat 30th June

USC – 3rd – 5th August (www.ultimatestreetcar.co.uk)

3 pairs of tickets to be won at the cafe on “InCarNation” , held on the last Wednesday of each month:

Wed 30th May

Wed 27th June

Wed 25th July

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Last of the Year

It has been a long time since our last post. A lot has happened to keep us busy through the year not all of it good. Some of it has kept our fingers at play with the plastic and not the key board, hopefully we will be able to change this in the year ahead.

We would like to wish you all the best for the New Year.

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Events not to miss.

The Carole Nash Eurojumble. Nr Southampton. Friday 9th and 10th September.

The classic motorcycle Mechanics show. Stafford country showground. 15-16 October 2011.

For more details go to www.carolenash.com

Another date for the dairy not to be missed:

Classic Motorbike show. 11,12,13 November 2011

For more details go to www.classicmotorbikeshow.com

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Mister Street fighter.

Nose cone custom to except Honda fireblad headlights

Aka Alan France has updated his blog.

If you go to this page you will see pictures of all the mods we did on his first project.

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The Fest

Date’s for the calendar Sunday 12th June.

Don’t forget the Lincoln bike Fest held in the city at Brayford Waterfront. It is always well attended. See you there.

Lincolnshire show.

Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd June.

Another great day out held at the Lincolnshire show ground to the north of the city.

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London streetfighter and stunt fest.

 Another date for the dairy.

Three wheeled special

This event is the one Alan won with his wicked street fighter custom. If you are into great looking one-offs this is the event to go to. If the weather holds it will be a great day out. It will be held at a new venue. We will let the Ace café press release explain.

Following the lamented loss, due to new building works, of last years inaugural event venue of Wembley, and as a consequence of the event having outgrown the original historic North Circular Road premises, Ace Cafe London, in association with StuntUK and the International StuntBike Freestyle (SBF) competition, have teamed up again to present the Ace Cafe London Streetfighter & Stunt Festival, to be held throughout the day from 10am on Sunday 31st July, now relocated one mile east from the cafe along the North Circular Road and near the M1 motorway at the UK’s premier shopping centre, Brent Cross.

In addition to trade and industry stands and displays, this second annual event again combines the cafe’s legendary Streetfighter Sunday, as well as showcasing the live action finals of the SBF competition, with stunt riders from across Europe and beyond taking part and competing for an increased prize fund totalling £5K.

Individual Freestyle:
1st: £2K
2nd: £1K
3rd: £750

Longest Stoppie: £750

Sickest Trick: £500

Highlights of the event include the Evel Knievel ” True Evel” tour, featuring Evel’s original motorcycles, famous jump leathers, personal memorabilia, and untold photos and stories, “Best Streetfighter” static display by Streetfighters Magazine, plus “Show Up n’ Shine” competitions with awards and prizes, dyno shoot-out, tyre-frying burnouts, mini moto’s and a wheelie machine for those who want to experience “up in the air” thrills!

In addition to the Ace stage, featuring live music from Avenge Vulture Attack and hosting MC and BikerFM Streetfighter DJ “Kiss My Ass”, entertainment includes The Fuel Girls, a host of hot tricks from the East Coast FMX display team and pro drifter Belinda Challis, who will be putting her Garage-D built Nissan Skyline R32 through its paces.

London’s Air Ambulance is once again the events chosen charity.

To enter your bike in the Streetfighters Magazine Static Display please contact:
WILL JOBBINS Email: will.jobbins@oceanmedia.co.uk

Tickets are available at the cafe and via the Ace web shop, as well as on the gate on the day.

Buy your ticket at the cafe and you will receive a free tea or coffee.

Tickets:
Individual £7.50 (£10 on the gate)
Individual + Bike £7.50 (£10 on the gate)
Individual + Bike + Pillion £12.50 (£15 on the gate)
A special family ticket will be available on the gate £15

All enquiries:
Darren Williams – Ace Cafe Events Team
Email: darren@acecafeevents.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 8961 1000

www.stuntuk.co.uk
www.streetfightersmag.com
www.bikerfm.co.uk
www.londonsairambulance.com
www.evelknievel.com
www.fuelgirls.co.uk
www.myspace.com/avengevultureattack
www.ecfmx.co.uk
www.drifther.co.uk
www.acecafeevents.com

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Honda grill!?

No! not something you use for the BBQ made by Honda.

Honda MK2

 It is a small two bar section that fits just above the bumper on a MK2 Honda civic. I know it must

Tap welded back in place

be the only one left in UK still in working order. The civic is twenty-four years old but that did not stop it passing its MOT at the first attempt. Parts for it are becoming very scarce. So if you know where we could get hold of a driver’s side (offside front) head light let us know. We are also on the hunt for other items.

 This little grill was in for repair, the two tabs where the screws hold it to the body work had broken off. Not a big job but a job all the same which received our full attention so that it all went back together and hopefully will last another twenty-four years.

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Margate Meltdown it’s forth year.

The following is curtsey of the ace café.

Date: Monday 30th May 2011
Depart Cafe: 10.30am
Route: A406 - A13 - M25 - A2 - M2 – A299 to Margate Seafront

The 4th annual Margate Meltdown is the most recently established of Ace Cafe London‘s free to attend major ride-outs.

The ride-out from the cafe to this popular seaside resort in Kent is held each year on occasion of the annual Spring Bank Holiday. Margate’s seafront and harbour is given over to motorcycles, diverse club and trade stands, a stage and live entertainment from Noon with rockin’ band “The Sunsetters” and DJ Bill Guntrip.

Margate’s famous amusement park, Dreamland will be open and back by popular demand, is the return of Carter’s Steam Fair with their paramount Chair-O-Planes having received a complete restoration in recent months. These are the second large ride the Carter family took on the road back in the early days of being showmen and believed to have originated from Europe during the early 1920′s!

Dreamland is open from 11am and is free to enter.

Working closely with our chosen charity for this event, the Royal British Legion Riders Branch (RBLRB), the town and Thanet District Council, Margate not only has everything that a great ride-out requires, it has a great beach and plenty of heritage to include a legacy from the 1960′s that is of world renown relating to motorbikes, scooters and the Mods & Rockers that rode them!

www.dreamlandmargate.com
www.rblr.co.uk
www.carterssteamfair.co.uk

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