On Mon, 30 Jun 1997, Chris S. Mottram wrote:
> Another fine weekend for driving the Alpine. Both Saturday and Sunday
> night ended with my wife and I pushing the Alpine into the garage :( .
> Realistically I have achieved about a 1 to 1 ratio of fixing hours and
> driving hours. I hope it improves substantially...soon. Saturday's
> problem was easily remedied (a leaky lower radiator hose). Sunday, however
> was little more serious. I was driving around for about an hour when the
> LBC god noticed I had used up my allotment of driving hours (see ratio
> above). As I tried to shift, my pedal went to the floor and did not
> return. Although the pedal was fully depressed, I could not put the car
> into gear. I had to start the car in 1st and drive it home at 5 mph.
> (Thanks Chris Stephenson for your story about limping home like that in
> traffic. I would have gone home for the tow vehicle.) I didn't check
> anything when I got home. Now I am at work and am looking for any pointers
> and parts I may need to order/purchase before I go home this evening and
> crack it open.
>
>
> Chris (When can I start to really drive this thing) Mottram
>
>
Chris
When I first reassembled my alpine from part scavenged from the
graveyards (hence the name FrankenSeries II), I broke down on every outing
for about a month. My goal was to break down once a week, then once a
month, and now it is a more reliable car than my 10 year old Jeep. Hang
in there because it does get better.
The problem you are currently having is a problem that I had
sitting at a stop light. I had the car in gear with the clutch depressed
when suddenly I lurched forward into the intersection. Fortunately for me
the light had just changed and I was able to limp home. The problem
turned out to be a worn clutch slave cylinder. I honed it out and rebuilt
it with a kit from Rick at Sunbeam Specialties and have not had a problem
in years. My cylinder was pretty pitted and I wasn't sure it would be
salvagable, but I gave it a shot and got lucky.
Good luck (all Alpiners need it).
Bill Lewis
FrankenSeries II
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 09:46:55 CDT