It's that time again... finished nailing down the last few so it's time to keep up the pace and nail down a few more issues.

- Is it a difficult process to change the Astron lifters/lash adjusters? From what I can tell from a Holden VL guide, the process doesn't involve removing the camshaft but only the rocker assembly. If it's too difficult for what I can do at the moment, i'll have a mechanic do it.

- I noticed something unusual about the radiator. On a TR series there's a transmission cooler, a radiator-type thing behind that, and then the actual radiator. The piece between the transmission cooler and radiator itself is curved, but i'm not sure if it should be curved since this car has been in a frontal crash before. If anyone could shed some light on that i'd be grateful.

- Finally, how the hell do you get the O2 sensor out of the exhaust manifold? It refuses to budge, basically. So, does it turn clockwise or counter-clockwise to remove, or do I just need a breaker bar to get it out. (or extractors :D)

Cheers all, this club rocks. :P

on the lash adjusters i can't help
on ya O2 sensor use a liberal amount ( read heaps) of WD40 or CRC and turn it in an anti clockwise direction.

it'll be hard cos it's effectively baked in there but it "should" come out without snapping

if it does i didn't give you that info :P

- Is it a difficult process to change the Astron lifters/lash adjusters? From what I can tell from a Holden VL guide, the process doesn't involve removing the camshaft but only the rocker assembly. If it's too difficult for what I can do at the moment, i'll have a mechanic do it.



All you'll have to do is lift the rocker gear, slot the HLAs in and away you go. The hard part is torquing the rockers again - too tight and the camshaft may sieze.




- I noticed something unusual about the radiator. On a TR series there's a transmission cooler, a radiator-type thing behind that, and then the actual radiator. The piece between the transmission cooler and radiator itself is curved, but i'm not sure if it should be curved since this car has been in a frontal crash before. If anyone could shed some light on that i'd be grateful.



That's the air con condenser. If it's bent, then there's a chance that it's not working properly. What's the AC like?




- Finally, how the hell do you get the O2 sensor out of the exhaust manifold? It refuses to budge, basically. So, does it turn clockwise or counter-clockwise to remove, or do I just need a breaker bar to get it out. (or extractors :D)



It unscrews counter clockwise. I've often found that a bit of heat (ie. a few minutes of idling) causes the manifold to expand ever so slightly, making it much easier to remove the sensor.

I may give these lash adjusters a shot then, once I get a full set in. Same with the Oxygen sensor, should be fun. :P


That's the air con condenser. If it's bent, then there's a chance that it's not working properly. What's the AC like?

It's cold enough, could be colder I suppose, but it also seems to stop working when the car isn't moving. (I thought it was just the fact it's never been regassed) I'll stop by the wreckers and take a look at some of the other cars, may pull one off if I have the time.

It's really quite an amazing car. 30 completed recorded repairs, about 19 key repairs to go, 4 undecided repairs and 8 planned out mods. In all that time, the car has refused to be off the road, it just keeps pushing ahead. (albeit with a severe tick, bloody lifters)