SwerveMonkey's Street Goblin #197 - 08 Donor

SwerveMonkey

Well-Known Member
Intermediate steering shaft was stuck
the shaft was frozen and excitedly i just spray painted it before realizing it was collapsible.

i took time to find others had the same issue
[edit to add posts later for reference]

However, I did not have such tools available and I drew from the school of ghetto/redneck engineering, LoL.

used the dolly i made earlier to be the span, and connected a couple pulleys from a bike rack kit i had laying around


initially i was not sure hot the rig would hold up... but then i thought to hold the rig up... ha ha.

with a lot of patience... i had a food torch to work with and plenty of butane fuel,
I scraped off the high heat paint and went to town on the lower shaft

every now and then adding PB Blaster to the top of it to ensure that it was penetrating the interior.

with a lots of patience and a good helping of whacking the thing with a hammer wrench combo i was able to loosen the thing and get it to separate

[will add new post to show process for cleaning]
 
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ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
Intermediate steering shaft was stuck
the shaft was frozen and excitedly i just spray painted it before realizing it was collapsible.

i took time to find others had the same issue
[edit to add posts later for reference]

However, I did not have such tools available and I drew from the school of ghetto/redneck engineering, LoL.

used the dolly i made earlier to be the span, and connected a couple pulleys from a bike rack kit i had laying around

initially i was not sure hot the rig would hold up... but then i thought to hold the rig up... ha ha.

with a lot of patience... i had a food torch to work with and plenty of butane fuel,
I scraped off the high heat paint and went to twon on the lower shaft

every now and then adding PB Blaster to the top of it to ensure that it was penetrating the interior.

with a lots of patience and a good helping of whacking the thing with a hammer wrench combo i was alble to loosn the thing and get it to separate

[edit process for cleaning]
Doesn’t it make you feel safe knowing that it would have collapsed without hesitation in an accident?
 

SwerveMonkey

Well-Known Member
Doesn’t it make you feel safe knowing that it would have collapsed without hesitation in an accident?
I accounted for that, :-D I had it aligned such that it would fall back toward the wall if things snapped... also I held onto the dolly anytime i was near it and acting on it.

working as machine operations for the national lab forces a sort of mindset of safety first and designing fall backs into the work approach.

and luckily enough the whole thing didnt collapse without tension
 

JBINTX

Goblin Guru
I accounted for that, :-D I had it aligned such that it would fall back toward the wall if things snapped... also I held onto the dolly anytime i was near it and acting on it.

working as machine operations for the national lab forces a sort of mindset of safety first and designing fall backs into the work approach.

and luckily enough the whole thing didnt collapse without tension
with safety glasses, steel toe boots, and a hard hat.......... ;)
 

SwerveMonkey

Well-Known Member
ah geez ctuinstra. sorry. thought ya were ragging about the jig i concocted, ha ha.
didn't realize that its a fail point in the cobalt donors :-O

on that note I am putting on the blue thread locker today along with the coated clamps for the brake lines.{edit, addied pic along with clarification not putting blue thread locker on the brake lines... just the steering column retainer bolts}

the brake lines hardware still has four(4) clamp/screw sets left over.
not sure where they should go currently & may consider securing the front lines with the remaining pairs

the next step in the video series is the main harness, but i am concerned with securing the clutch sensor first.

way back when i was dismantling the donor i sheered that bolt right off... now I am trying to find a replacement bolt
edit: not sure if this is luck or sheer stupidity, but apparently IKEA draw pull bolts match the thread size for the ac delco bolts that holds the brake and clutch position sensors in place... this'll have to do for now until i can find a better replacement. blue thread locker going on to ensure it wont come out.
 
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ctuinstra

Goblin Guru
Yeah, the steering is supposed to collapse in an accident. When the cars where new, they would easily slide up and down. But after years of just sitting, the grease dries up and glues them together.
 

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
If you hit them hard enough with your head or body they will collapse...oh wait, hitting them hard enough to kill you! I'm not sure why this hasn't been a lawsuit, or at least a recall? :rolleyes: Good thing we Goblin owners are fixing it for them!
 

SwerveMonkey

Well-Known Member
getting the harness into the body was VERY snug... almost every connector in the dash section was barely enough length to reach
especially the brake reservoir connector... i retained the old reservoir for now because it is held in place with what looks like rivets [edit]straight pins


the positive cable was looped and zip-tied to the front of the batter box because i did not have a lug available to reinstall/solder once shortening the cable


the clutch line was also secured in place for the time being, will need to again find the manual transmission install instructions
[edit link: https://dfkitcar.com/forum/index.php?threads/manual-shifter-installation-and-adjustment.1784/ ]

i also left the wiring for the button panel undone for now and will have to revisit that later, still need to review all options that currently exist
 
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SwerveMonkey

Well-Known Member
getting the radiator in was very straight forward... a few deviations & liberties i took was to rotate the upper rad hose and not trim as much as what was described.. i also found that the radiator mounts were not lined up perfectly so i forced the rubber isolation bolts in place and secured it regardless, eh, it's not gonna be perfect if its a kit car right :-D

the fuel tank installation was easy enough until i got to the fuel filler neck fitting. unfortunately the supplied filler hose ID doesnt allow for the donor filler neck to slide right in. not sure if i should force the filler neck into the hose or simply get a new larger ID hose. will research options and edit solution later.
 
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Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
The lower radiator mount/hood mount bracket can be tweaked up or down with a rubber mallet to better align the top isolation mounts. Had to tweak mine about 3/16 inch lower.
The Cobalt fuel filler has a tapered steel tube and the smaller diameter part should be kept when it is cut. This thinner part of the tube should slip into the fuel hose and clamped. Position of the fuel tank, left or right in the chassis, may help with the insertion depth of the fuel filler tube into the fuel hose.
 

SwerveMonkey

Well-Known Member
The Cobalt fuel filler has a tapered steel tube and the smaller diameter part should be kept when it is cut. This thinner part of the tube should slip into the fuel hose and clamped. Position of the fuel tank, left or right in the chassis, may help with the insertion depth of the fuel filler tube into the fuel hose.
i think i screwed up on the filler neck disassembly step, but fortunately for me I'm not the only one in my circle of close friends with project cars. someone reminded me of our old friend "boiling water" and I was able to stretch the hose to accommodate the filler neck with a little silicone persuasion

I am a little concerned though that I am left with "extra" bits... i have a sneaking suspicion that i missed something or have left things undone, but at this point i can't see where these "extra" bits would be used...
 
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SwerveMonkey

Well-Known Member
couple new hurdles to overcome, yay!

I find that my chassis doesn't have the same bit of frame loop for the overflow tank to latch onto... maybe i missed something in the evolution of the instruction on constructing the kit, will go back and look to find out ( keywords for search: reservoir tank , overflow tank , cooling tank )

I'm pretty sure that the brake booster vacuum line needs to go into the port on the side of the intake manifold but can't confirm it as it isn't in any searches on google nor in the Haynes manual. i guess the brake booster vacuum line is a tiny detail that gets obscured. or maybe my resources are limited and I should get an All-data-DIY account, ha!
[edit: went and searched online and found there is a difference between the 2.2. and the 2.4 manifolds...]

on that note I need to remind myself to link all the images i have to the right posts, too many pics on imgur not enough here

the radiator hoses may have gotten mixed up in my fervor to get progress and put the radiator in. i used the 70989 hose, when instead maybe i should have opted for the 70849 hose that is only slightly angled for the passenger side lower radiator mount. I'll source a new J hose to get that upper engine hose connection.... unless i hack together a few hoses with a spare couple....

inset pic = this'll do for now...
 
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SwerveMonkey

Well-Known Member
New design. You should have parts to mount the reservoir to the back of the seat area. I ended up using a different hose to go to the engine from the reservoir.
Rttoys to the rescue!!

with all the shuffling about I ignored that bracket sitting on the bench, Doy!!
<sigh> thank you, this project is very humbling but also so invigorating when a solution comes up.

also still need to grab a 4" rubber o-ring for the fuel filter, and a coffee can ( i think it's the right size) to cover up the shell of an AC compressor that i have now, ha ha
 

Ark :D

Goblin Guru
I'll be very curious to learn if the new mounting system for the coolant reservoir allows it to clear the engine cover. It sure looks like it doesn't, that's why I stuck with the old method.
 

Lonny

Administrator
Staff member
We designed the coolant tank mount to go on the other side from what Rttoys did. The spacers are suppose to move it far enough back to clear the front of the engine cover.
I think Rttoys did it that way to help clear the supercharger. We have not had an opportunity to test it with a supercharged Goblin.
 

Rttoys

Goblin Guru
We designed the coolant tank mount to go on the other side from what Rttoys did. The spacers are suppose to move it far enough back to clear the front of the engine cover.
I think Rttoys did it that way to help clear the supercharger. We have not had an opportunity to test it with a supercharged Goblin.
Correct. I had it all the way back with the spacers and the hose/nipple would hit the air intake. Everything was in a bind there.

I moved the bracket to the seat mount (inside or outside of the mount) and it would ”work” but the air intake would push on the hose. I could see this being an issue over time.

Moving the bracket all the way forward with the spacers (like pictured), gave everything enough room to be happy.
 
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