New 7 owner in S'consin

[rdhunt1]

Welcome Ryan!
Hope the heater worked well on your ride home. Here is a photo of your car at the Charleston British car show a few years ago.
It was a nice warm day then! Eric

Well look a that!! Very Cool! Thanks Eric

The heater was...adequate... on the way home. I did bring along a heated motorcycle vest that did get used for a few hours. I have since massaged the doors to fit tighter against the body to reduce the drafts. This alone made a noticeable improvement. Once home the heater core o-rings decided it was time to give up so the heater box was disassembled to be cleaned as I replaced them. I spent some (too much) time making a new foam surround to seal around the heater core. The old one was likely original and disintegrating. This made a drastic improvement in heater core efficiency due to reduced blow-by of fresh air around the sides of the core. I'd say it is at least 50% better than it was. The air is much warmer when it is forced THROUGH the heater core!

List goes on and on for new owner tinkering. Last night I pulled the tops of the carbs to get a baseline on all jetting to see if anything is out of the ordinary. Now I just need to find out what stock is supposed to be. I'll throw that question over in tech.

[BlueBDA]

You have inspired me to add my boat to my signature.

Thanks all. Hope to glean some knowledge off the board for future...ahem...improvements, along with all the requisite tips and tricks. Still just giving the 7 the official heavy once over.

Had a great time in SC with Robert. Good conversation, food and drink and an overnight stay in a room by the ocean! There are lots of beautiful cars in his friend circle! I was privileged to see some personal collections of cars and bikes, some of the bikes (two and four stroke) being the same as my own. Many of the cars were downright amazing. I did get a copy of his book for the coffee table...signed of course! Yet to read it as i would much rather play in the garage to wee hours of the morning. Ride home was a ball!

While this is my first 7 the stable does include all sorts of other bits and bobbles... Suppose i should make a signature.

1967 Royal Enfield Interceptor
1972 Suzuki GT750
1976 Yamaha RD400 racebike
1979 Yamaha RD400 daytona streetbike
1982 Honda CBX
1984 Yamaha RZ350
1985 550 Jetski
1990 Yamaha TZ250
1996 Yamaha YZ250 dirt/ice bike
2014 Yamaha RD400 racing sidecar
2015 BMW K1300s daily ride
skypup ultralight

There is just too much cool stuff out there and not enough time, space, and money to get it all!!

Again, Thanks all for the warm welcome.

Ryan

[rdhunt1]

You have inspired me to add my boat to my signature.

Oh don't go there!!! I had a '99 Donzi ZX28 from '15 to '18. Twin stock 350's with bravo1's and labbed props up here for lake michigan and winnebago. I never thought 64mph could feel so f'n fast!! Beautiful ride trimmed up with the hull aired out! It liked to be touched...cleaning, maintenance and was work, but i really enjoyed it. Ex wife decided we had had enough fun with it and said we should sell it, and filed for divorce two months later. I miss my boat more than the Ex and frequently look about for a Donzi Classic 22 or a Checkmate Pulsare. Next one wont have twins. Safety for lake Mi, but that lake is rarely really nice to boat on unless you are longer than 28', so ill stay inland.

Spent a fair bit of time looking for a whaler for my cousin that lives up on Winneconnie (linked to winnbago). Dauntless, Nantucket, Montauk. He lusts after one like i do a 7!

Birds of a feather!

[rdhunt1]

It is white up here in s'consin so the front to back once over is well underway on the 7. Front wheel bearing inners were pretty toasted, so inners and outers were replaced.


While i was up there the front calipers got split, cleaned and new seals. Took some harsh chemicals and a stainless brush but the end result is pretty sweet!

Rear bearings were a little suspect so they came out as well. The scoring on the balls is kind of interesting...


That far in may as well pull the diff...This was the ring gear side carrier race.
The other carrier was about the same. Pinions were better but scarred from hardened bearing material sloshing about.

[rdhunt1]

Brake backing plates were getting a bit rusty so they got a respray before reassembly.



OE black diff housing paint had all but disappeared so it got cleaned off and resprayed in high temp "cast iron". Looks nice. easy to clean.


Pulled the alternator to have it tested and give it a refresh. Sooooo, I may have gotten bored and lightened the alternator bracket that nobody will ever see. 21 to 14 oz!!! 28% weight reduction!! Should have just made a new one from aluminum. Before and after.

[rdhunt1]

Come to find out I have 3.9:1 rear ratio. Still marked with the axle sticker and counted teeth to confirm. Is that common for a supersprint with a four speed? Reassembly of the diff went well. Feels beautiful compared to before, marking looks ok. Backlash fell right back to where it was before disassembly at about .008 to .009". Anybody know if this is correct?

I think the original carrier bolts are toast. I have read that they are supposed to be 65 ft/lbs. They took 50 ft/lbs just fine. Anything over that started to take way to much torque wrench rotation. Threads in the cast iron look excellent. Bolts are slightly different lengths, and I can see where one is necking/stretching. They are 'T' marked on the head which I think is about an 8.8 here in the states. M10x1.0 x ~45. Cant find any small head bolts that will fit (all 'normal' bolts have wrench size 17mm, when these are 14mm) I did find m10x1.0x50 12.9 socket head cap screws. Head diameter is identical to the OE lockwasher. Even a touch longer to utilize all the thread in the housing. If i have to shorten them a bit to be perfect, so be it. The head is about 4mm taller than OE, but can spin'm down if there is clearance issues.

EDIT: Come to find out the carrier bolts on a Morris live axle aren't metric. I am now convinced they are 3/8-24. That should be easier to find!
EDIT #2: ARP bolts inbound. That'll be a cute surprise for whoever opens the diff after me.

[rdhunt1]

repost from up above....maybe my pics were still to big...
Rear bearings were a little suspect so they came out as well. The scoring on the balls is kind of interesting...


That far in may as well pull the diff...This was the ring gear side carrier race.

The other carrier was about the same. Pinions were better but scarred from hardened bearing material sloshing about.

[rdhunt1]

It rained for a day up here and cleaned the roads off good enough for a test drive with the new wheel, diff, and alternator bearings. The difference in noise is really astonishing! Previously sounded like I had straight cut trans gears like one of my racebike primaries, so much so that I used earplugs on the trip to bring the car to WI. Now... Little to no perceptible unwanted drivetrain noise. Just intake, exhaust, and what I believe is one loose valve. Now I really cant wait for my complete bushing kit from Bruce!