August 17th

Once again I had my car (93 lancer) up on a hoist, just to bleed the brake system.
When bleeding the brakes we had to remove all the tyres to get access to the bleed nipples on the end of the brake flexi hose. The reason we were doing this was because my brake pedal was spongy / slack, so i thought there might be air in the brake system. Back to the bleed nipple, all you have to do it make sure you have a bleeding bottle ( a bottle with tube submerged in brake fluid so you dont draw air back into the lines). Once you have the tube/bottle on the nipple you undo the bleed nut and get someone to pump the brake pedal a few times. On the last pump you want to hold the pedal on the floor while the other person tightens the bleed nut. ( tools used were basic spanner set and rattle gun )

After that was done we tightened my alternator belt, because it was loose and squeaking when under load ( multiple items on ) and found out why my reverse lights weren't working which was just a plug not plugged in.

Once I was done with my car I watched the others and figured out how to measure engine components for ware, with the micro meter and vernier gauge.

August 16th

Today Brandon and I were working on my car, What we did to my car was we replaced the front rotors and outer tie rods.

To do this on my car which is a 93 Mitsubishi lancer lift back, We first had to remove the front tyres.
Then we removed the calipers, and mounting brackets, to do this we had to remove the caliper bolts and mounting bolts which are located just behind the caliper ( see photo ).



We then had to detach the suspension, lower control arm and outer tie rod, this just involved undoing two bolts from the suspension, one bolt from the lower control arm, and one bolt from the outer tie rod. (see photo)


Once that was done we just had to undo the axle nut and we had the complete hub out and we then had to transfer the old parts onto the new parts such as the ball bearing and part of the hub.

When we finished transferring the parts over, we had to re install it which we basically just fastened everything we removed from it such as lower control arm suspension and outer tie rod, which we replaced, when replacing tie rods you want to make sure you count the rotations when undoing them that when you put new ones on you wont need a major wheel alignment.

Before taking the car off the hoist I pumped the brakes to make sure they were working, ( if you dont do this you could risk backing off or driving off and not have any stopping power.

August 15th

Today we where dismantling a engine ( without the intake manifold ).

To start we had to make sure the timing on the engine was timed properly so the pistons 1 and 4 were at tdc and the middle ones (3 and 4) were bdc. We removed the exhaust manifold afterwards, Then we removed the rocker cover so we could unfasten the head bolts/ rock arm bolts. We had to make sure we knew what bolts went were cause specific bolts could have stretched or formed to the specific holes. The reason this happens is cause when the engine heats up the metals and alloys expand and twist and they are forced to stay together causing bolts so stretch a bit. After removing the head from the block we had to remove the valves, to do this we used a special tool called a valve spring compressor. When taking the valves out we would inspect them to make sure the steams on them weren't damaged or bent. Also when taking these out we didn't want to mix up any parts.

As S.D.L Rob wanted us to number the pistons and give the firing order but it varies from engine to engine , the ones we were working on Ford fiestas B3's going from left to right numbering the pistons 1,2,3,4 would fire in a 1,4,2,3 sequence.

August 11th

We threw my car up on one of the four point hoists and took off the front right tyre to inspect the brake pads, and routers. The reason we did this was to check the thickness of the brake rotors, we used a tool called a micrometer, it can accurately measure the thickness of the rotors. A micrometer uses 3 different types of millimeters, it uses whole millimeters, half millimeters and  quarter millimeters. We also used a dti gauge to check the rotors its measurements were also in millimeters but in 10th's.  The reason we were doing this was to check the rotors to see if they were warped ( worn unevenly ), which they had.

While we did that we also looked at the brake pads to check if they had also worn uneven and how thick they were. To do this we used a vernier gauge ( one side was 4.95 the other was 5.24 ). We did these checks on my car cause i suspected that the front brakes needed replacing.

August 9th

Cam belt Still on

In the work shop we were showed how to take off and inspect a cam belt then put it back on.

- First step was to loosen and take off the bolts / covers, covering the cam belt.
- Once the cover is off you can see the cam belt and the tensioner, we then removed the spring on the tensioner and took it out by undoing the bolt holding it in.
- After the tensioner is off you are able to pull of the cam belt, to inspect it you would turn it inside out and check the groves for any damage or wear.
- Before we could put everything back on we needed to realign the gears the cam belt spins on to get the timing right for the pistons / valves.

Also while we were in the shop we were taught how to remove core plugs from the engine block, A core plug is a plug that seals the water passage for the coolant. Engines have these as a safety so that if the water inside freezes it will push out the plugs before cracking the block or head.

August 8th

Learned about brake flexi hoses and and how to check them. To check a flexi hose you would want to bend it, When you bend a flexi hose it would show all the cut or scratches on the hose, another way would be to compress your brake petal and see if the hose bulges or leaks. We also did a check on the cars similar to a W.O.F ( warrant of fitness ). Which involved checking things like the seat beat, spare tyre, lights, etc.

August 4th, and Weekend

How a Basic four stroke engine works.

- On the first stroke the piston is at TDC ( Top dead center ) and moves to BDC ( Bottom dead center ), As it does this it is drawing in fuel and air though the intake valve while the exhaust valve is closed.

Four stoke engine

- Second stroke the piston is at BDC and will move back up to TDC, When it goes from BDC to TDC it will be compressing the fuel / air mixture, to do so both the intake and exhaust valves are closed.

- Third stroke also know as the power stoke, the fuel / air mixture is ignited with a spark from the spark plug sending the piston from TDC to BDC.

- Fourth stroke the piston will move from BDC to TDC while the exhaust valve is open, pushing the exhaust fumes from the power stroke out.

Also during the day we got given a work sheet to describe what materials were used in a common car, from the panels to the chassis. Which will be attached later.

During the week I was job shadowing in a shop, They had me doing basic services on cars, showing me how to replace brake flexi hoses, and how to services rear drum brakes.

Industry Practice

August 3rd

We learned how to jack up a car safely and fill out a work form properly. So we first did a V.I ( vehicle inspection ), then we jacked up the front end of the car on the front cross member and lowered the car on to two axle stands and repeated the process for the rear end as well. We then took all the tyres off the car while it was on axle stands and inspected the tyres to make sure they were alright. Then just reversed what we had done and lowered the car onto the ground. In the form we had to write what we had done to the vehicle and take down what size/type of tyres were used and how much tread was left.

Recommended youtube channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/EricTheCarGuy

He puts up useful information about how to do jobs on cars.

August 1st and 2nd

Day one: It was a basic formal introduction and a little on what we will be doing for the first few weeks, Such as health and safety. During the introduction we learned where people live and where they're from. The teachers also showed us around the campus and through the work shop where we'll be working.

Day two: Was learning a bit more about the course outline with more health and safety thrown in and setting up our E-portfolios. Also found out what is necessary for each grade mark.