I've been swamped with family stuff for a couple of weeks; very little has gotten done on the EV. Nathan came over Saturday to fix that. He did make some progress, but not as much as he'd hoped.
He also left behind a trail of stuff that needed attention over the week. I just ruined my favorite shirt taking care of it.
During the week, I'd ground out a small aluminum block to use as a secondary bracket. It's just supposed to attach to the second motor mount hole and help keep the big bracket well-anchored vertically. With counter-sunk Allen bolts, it would look pretty sly.
Apparently, I can't hold a grinder straight. My block has tilted edges.
I did manage to get the 1/2" hold on top drilled. It took a trip to the hardware store to buy a tool sharpener, though.
Nathan came over and tapped the 1/2" hole, installed the chunk (so it would be in the installed position), and drilled the holes for the 3/8" Allen bolts. Then he took it off and drilled the countersink holes.
Yes, the bottom of the hole was a funnel, and yes, the Allen bolts have flat heads. It's not like this is all THAT important. It'd still work.
But the Allen bolts have 9/16" heads, and the biggest bit that will fit in my 3/8" drill is a 1/2" bit.
I found an extra broken bit when I came back. And the drill was stuck so the bit in it wouldn't come out. Apparently Nathan had some tool trouble, too.
Not daunted, he decided to re-insert the passenger axle. But he couldn't get it back together. Since the axle-nut is semi-permanently affixed, he just removed the whole steering knuckle and pulled it out. One of the u-joints on the end had come apart, and he couldn't get it back together.
End of day.
That left me with four things to do:
- get a 5/8" drill bit with a 3/8" shank,
- get the old bit out of the drill,
- get a mechanic to remove the axle from the steering knuckle, and
- get a new axle
Nobody anywhere has a 5/8" drill bit with a 3/8" shank suitable for drilling aluminum, and there's not a machine shop anywhere nearby that can do the job; I'll have to get a 1/2" drill (won't Eri be pleased? :-P) Lowe's couldn't get the bit out either; I had to leave the drill with them. They eventually got it out; I retrieved it yesterday. The easiest part of the whole thing has been new axle: the AutoZone down the street had one in stock for $60 + $20 core.
The mechanic wasn't open by the time I got to him yesterday; this morning he attacked the axle nut with a pneumatic drill he called "Big Bertha" ("450ft-pounds of torque!") and it came right off. $20. Unfortunately, I got grease all over my nice polo shirt. I didn't have anything to change into, so I went to work greasy. Ick.
BUT I've got almost everything we'll need to attack the problem on Saturday.
We'll have this thing running yet!