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Post by deskjockey on Apr 4, 2011 20:24:32 GMT
Hi all Daf enthusiasts.
I have not found an introduction thread on this forum so I'm introducing myself in this thread.
I always was curious and interested in little automobile oddities and I recently discovered a 1974 DAF 44 with 45000 kms on the clock for sale on a French online website, and grabbed it for 400€.
I hope I can post some pictures here. It had been sleeping in a barn for 15 years when I resurrected it in November (new battery, a fresh tankful of petrol, oil change and a few squirts of petrol down the carb throat). It rumbled to life easily enough, sounding like a WW2 fighter airplane (the exhaust system was litteraly falling apart).
Now the beauty rests on blocks in the garage. The bodywork is completely rust free (one advantage of the climate in southern France). At the moment, the exhaust is being replaced, the fuel pump is opened up for cleaning, the steering pinion bushings are shot and have to be removed, and the brake hoses will probably need to be replaced as well
At the moment I'm scratching my head and trying to figure out how to remove the steering rod balljoints from the rack (my puller does not quite fit)...
I can't wait to get it back on the road...
DJ
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Apr 4, 2011 20:46:06 GMT
Hi DJ and welcome (the the forum and Daf ownership!) Sounds like you struck lucky with that engine starting up so easily. Having struggled for about 4 months just to get our latest one unseized I'm a little bit jealous of "battery, fresh fuel and an oil change" ;D As for the inner balljoints, forget all those posh splitters and get one of these:  It's about the only thing you'll get in there! Oh, and a big hammer to hit it with. As in lump hammer - don't waste time with anything less than 2lb / 1kg or so! |
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Post by Richard DAF Webmeister on Apr 4, 2011 20:48:23 GMT
Hello, or bonjour/bonsoir! Welcome to our smallish but keen group. Good to see another French contact. If you haven't already made contact, you might like to also get in touch with Dom Jacson - he is near Paris and owns literally dozens of DAFs. His website is www.les-dafistes.comMeanwhile, we look forward to reading more of your DAF and, of course, seeing some pics! |
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Post by deskjockey on Apr 4, 2011 21:48:43 GMT
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33grinder
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Post by 33grinder on Apr 4, 2011 21:58:32 GMT
Hi DJ and welcome to the forum and the world of DAFs!  I would go with Joe's method although first before trying to split the joint I'd whack it with a club hammer. Sometimes the shock enough can split the joint, if the nut has been undone sufficiently first.  Nice job on the exhaust, looks like a clean 44 you have there. |
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andrew
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Post by andrew on Apr 5, 2011 7:53:59 GMT
Very glad to see you're keeping the French tradition of yellow headlamps! Many many years ago the E.U. told the French to stop using them, and at the time I was working there; I bought up LOADS of them & find them genuinely better! If you (or anyone else, for that matter!) wants some, do get in touch!
Excellent little car!
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Post by deskjockey on Apr 5, 2011 19:26:53 GMT
Yellow headlights and old metal-on-black number plates. These were discontinued some 25 years ago.
I'd love to keep them but I fear I'll have to get in line with Euro-uniformity when I get the registeration paperwork done in my name.
DJ
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Post by deskjockey on Apr 9, 2011 7:22:36 GMT
Thanks for fixing these links Mac, I know how to do it the right way now.
I've managed to pop the ball joints off the steering rack and disconnected the steering column. The steering box should come off easily now, but...
It doesn't. It's right side (facing aft) is lodged in a hole in the left wheel well stamping, and the pinion input flange (which attaches to the steering column) bumps against the side of it's passage hole in the front bulkhead when I try to pull it out.
Orienting the pinion flange this way or that does not seem to do any good.
Does anyone have experience removing this part?
DJ
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Post by deskjockey on Apr 9, 2011 15:31:46 GMT
a) removed the carb / inlet manifold allowing you to swing the complete assembly out of the hole
OR
b) dismantle rank, by removing the pinion. Then slide out rack. Then the housing along can be swung out from the hole.
**Certainly works on RHD vehicles, but I haven't thought to much about lefties.
We're all different, aren't we? Especially you Brits...
Thanks for the expert advice. I'll go with plan B: Can't be bothered messing with the carb, and the steering system has to be dismantled anyway.
More pix to come, I'm afraid...
DJ
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Post by deskjockey on Apr 10, 2011 11:21:20 GMT
From what I read on another page dead centre position is:
"252mm from the centre of the first balljoint hole to the centre of the pinion shaft. With the rack in this position, the flange that connects the pinion to the steering column needs to be parallel with the rack body".
Without the manual can I assume this is the correct information?
DJ
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Post by deskjockey on Apr 10, 2011 20:24:01 GMT
Whoa Mac! The workshop manuals, and in French language! What else can I ask for? Looks like the little Cloggie Kart is going to be back on the road sooner than planned. Thanks a lot. Here are the latest pictures: The big bad puller I used to persuade the ball joints to come off:  Uploaded with ImageShack.us Dismantled fuel pump, cleaned of the gunk it had accumulated over the years:  Uploaded with ImageShack.usSteering rack and housing, dismantled and cleaned:  Uploaded with ImageShack.usAll of the metal bits look OK, no abnormal wear:  Uploaded with ImageShack.usHere's what's left of the nylon bushes. The rest is ground to bits, mixed with the remaining grease into a gritty sludge. The packing rings on the "stuffing box" side are, well, stuffed:  Uploaded with ImageShack.usLooks like a lot of fun putting all of this back together with the appropriate clearances... DJ |
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Apr 10, 2011 21:00:59 GMT
Gave up measuring to find the rack centre.
It's far easier to set it up so that the flange on the pinion is perpendicular to the rack at full lock (either end) because full lock is easy to identify simply by winding it fully one way or the other. Seeing as it's 3 1/2 turns lock to lock (at least, it is on the A bodies), centre to full lock is 1 3/4 turns. Every half turn from centre brings the flange back parallel to the rack, so the remaining 1/4 turn leaves it at 90 degrees.
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Apr 10, 2011 22:18:36 GMT
Don't need a steel rule to see if it's perpendicular at full lock |
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Post by deskjockey on Apr 27, 2011 20:11:24 GMT
Gotta get hold of an old pair of shoes to cut two leather seals out of them and finish the steering rack job.
About the tyres, the size seems hard to get by, at least down here in Frogland. Where do you people find them (for a reasonable price, that is...) ?
DJ
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Post by deskjockey on May 2, 2011 14:10:47 GMT
Another little puzzle: What is the screw on top of the steering column case, with a hole and a little piece of wire down the middle? I would bet on a plug for a greasing orifice, but what about the little wire thingy?  DJ |
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on May 2, 2011 16:41:02 GMT
It's just a breather hole so you don't blow the seals out the end when the rack winds inwards. Not totally sure about the little wire but assume it's there to stop crud going in the hole or the hole blocking up?
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Post by deskjockey on May 2, 2011 20:01:24 GMT
I never thought of that.
I guess the hole can also be used to pump some grease in, when the screw has been removed.
I've just received the bushes from my neighbour who happens to work in the Airbus machining plant nearby (he had a nylon and a bronze set turned for me). I opted to install the bronze ones as he said this was the better option.
I'm spoiled, I know....
DJ
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Post by deskjockey on Aug 23, 2011 19:00:26 GMT
Dear Daf gang,
I have been away for health reasons but I have been able to make progress on the little Kloggie Kart lately.
The poor little lady has a bad case of hotspot pipe rot: the "in" pipe to the inlet manifold is OK but the other pipe to the silencer behind the engine crumbled at the manifold and in other places as well so I threw it away.
My test runs have shown that the car starts and runs happily without abnormal flat spots or anything (a bit of added noise, that's all). It's summertime and temperature is currently above 30°C at the moment. I'm not sure it will be the same later in the year.
Is it possible to use a copper pipe of similar diameter as the old one, that can be bent to the same shape? I'm thinking of inserting some length of it into the manifold end and using some heat-resistant compound/glue/whatever to keep it there. The other end could be secured by the clamp which is integral with the silencer...
Has anyone ever used this fix?
DJ
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33grinder
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Post by 33grinder on Aug 23, 2011 19:39:04 GMT
I don't have any experience of that repair but crumbling hotspot pipes are common in the UK. You can get remanufactured items, I believe, through DAF Club Nederland bit they cost over €200. Far simpler to weld shut the manifold, if you can find sound pipe to weld to (or you can weld aluminium) along with the pipe leaving the heat exchanger. This will still allow the engine to run but will give a slight flat-spot on initial pull-away. Most of us accept that and some owners set their airfilter to 'winter setting' to help. |
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pauldaf44
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Post by pauldaf44 on Aug 23, 2011 20:24:20 GMT
Mines been running without hotspots completly and blocked off with some bolts into the exhaust itself. I might just try that as I figure it can't exactly make things any worse
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Post by deskjockey on Aug 24, 2011 13:20:28 GMT
Well Sir Richard... Yes, dissimilar metals of any kind will react. A proven fact as demonstrated by the lack of Hot Spot Pipes on most of the DAFs. Aluminum body intake with steel pipes...this is just a disaster waiting to happen (& it does ;D) If DAF had built the entire Intake Manifold out of Steel there would have been no problem with "Hot Spot Rot"...Do you agree  John I think you're right. But would not the compound (heat-resistant Araldite or other product to be defined) provide some barrier between these dissimilar metals? I know from my sailing experience that steel rivets or threaded fasteners screwed into aluminium alloy masts are always isolated from the spar by some plastic washer/sleeve or sealing compound in order to prevent galvanic corrosion... DJ |
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pauldaf44
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Post by pauldaf44 on Aug 24, 2011 18:38:27 GMT
Well Sir Richard... Yes, dissimilar metals of any kind will react. A proven fact as demonstrated by the lack of Hot Spot Pipes on most of the DAFs. Aluminum body intake with steel pipes...this is just a disaster waiting to happen (& it does ;D) If DAF had built the entire Intake Manifold out of Steel there would have been no problem with "Hot Spot Rot"...Do you agree John Yes but that would have made the manifold heavier. It would also effect fuel delivery and so on because of different surface friction coefficients. It probably would have been cheaper for them to do as you say. But some boffin must have decided that this would glean better results  |
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Post by deskjockey on Aug 24, 2011 21:05:38 GMT
John[/quote] Yes but that would have made the manifold heavier. It would also effect fuel delivery and so on because of different surface friction coefficients. It probably would have been cheaper for them to do as you say. But some boffin must have decided that this would glean better results [/quote] I had two Citroen 2CV in the past, with the same sort of flat-twin engine as the DAFs. The whole intake/outlet manifold is made of steel. Basically, steel inlet and outlet pipes are welded together, with pipes bridging both exhausts to the hotspot below the carburettor. I don't know of any weight or performance penalty but I think hotspot crosspipes (or manifolds for that matter) do not rot away as a pastime. Having said that, I think the DAF engine is better engineered. CJ |
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Post by dafman on Aug 25, 2011 12:05:54 GMT
Or DJ, John and I were once saying how perhaps do the top of the pipe aluminum down to the flange, with a steel pipe as the lower ones to the manifold, etc., with fabric gasket material between the two. I doubt it would get hot enough to seriously heat up the gasket all the way up the bottom half of the hot-spot. That way you can weld it in on both sides as well.
Vince
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Post by deskjockey on Sept 18, 2011 12:32:31 GMT
Hello all,
The little cloggie kart has a little variomatic rust (over 10mm of the outer radius of the driven pulleys and symmetrically on the inner radius of the driving pulleys).
It seems no deeper than the chrome plating.
How bad is this? I've seen similar damage in a different thread. Does someone have actual experience of faster belt deterioration?
DJ
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33grinder
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Post by 33grinder on Sept 18, 2011 12:59:38 GMT
Well, you could run her like that. The belt life will be reduced but the belts will clean the rust to a certain extent. Otherwise it's a case of cleaning up the rust but if you're taking the belts offto do so then you'd most likely want to replace with new belts anyway. Unless the rust is really serious then I'd be inclined to run 'as is' and keep an eye on things. |
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Post by deskjockey on Sept 29, 2011 12:09:46 GMT
The Cloggie Kart lives!!
I've (illegally for the moment) driven her out in the sticks to test the brakes after replacing the hoses. All is well on this side. New tires and she will be ready for MOT.
Only... she just cuts out on me on long stretches of flat-out (or quite nearly flat-out) running and will only stutter back to cooperation if I let go the pedal and feather it back to a much lower speed.
Sounds like fuel starvation to me, so I've pulled the float chamber cover. By the looks of it I find the level quite low with approximately 10 mm's worth of petrol in it. Any of you know what the spec'd level should be?
DJ
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Sept 29, 2011 12:44:10 GMT
The surface of the fuel should be 22mm +/- 0.5mm below the top edge of the float chamber, with the float installed (the float doesn't make much difference). Realistically, between about 21 and 23 should be fine.
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Post by deskjockey on Sept 30, 2011 8:31:23 GMT
Thanks for the quick reply. 22 mm seems to be about level with the accelerator pump's inlet ball valve. I'll go with that as a reference.
DJ
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spunkymonkey
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Post by spunkymonkey on Sept 30, 2011 12:39:44 GMT
Mmm, though of bronze when I did mine. Then I saw the cost of the stuff at the moment so I used a chopping board instead ;D
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