Solderthon !

[tango123]

Just started rewiring the front end plugs for the light indicators etc, cutting out the old plugs the wiring has oxidised quite badly . The wire is now quite blackened , tried contact cleaner,to see if this would help the solder . Didnt really work thinking of trying coca cola as it cleans old copper change . Anyone else have any ideas ?. Also anyone managed to remove the exhaust manifolds on a V8s with the engine in situ ?. Looks challenging, need a mechanichal ferret !

[Oldred_V8S]

tango123 said:

Just started rewiring the front end plugs for the light indicators etc, cutting out the old plugs the wiring has oxidised quite badly . The wire is now quite blackened , tried contact cleaner,to see if this would help the solder . Didnt really work thinking of trying coca cola as it cleans old copper change . Anyone else have any ideas ?. Also anyone managed to remove the exhaust manifolds on a V8s with the engine in situ ?. Looks challenging, need a mechanichal ferret !

Recently removed and refitted my manifolds, not too bad a job but I recommend getting rid of the anaconda air hoses, especially the passenger side one. Remove the air flow meter and get yourself some curved spanners. I reckon I could remove both mine in 20 mins now. I replaced the lower bolts with waisted studs. It is easier to locate a nut on the stud than to try and locate a bolt without cross threading it. The angle of the manifolds tend to try to push the bolts down at an angle making correct insertion difficult. Oh and make sure and run a tap into the heads before refitting the bolts, you will find they are required. Coca cola sounds a good bet for the wires with thinners to soften the plastic covering.

[tango123]

Thanks for that, will get some curved spanners , nine sixteenths ?. also need a part no for oil pressure switch , as my old SD1 type is too small on the diameter of the thread. same as Land Rover STC1040 , no go !

[v8s4me]

tango123 said:

........... cutting out the old plugs the wiring has oxidised quite badly . ..

Same issues on mine, a horrible job, took me 13 hours to do them all and trying different multu-pin plugs! I ended up putting the old plugs back on with new terminals.

This is the way to do it.

[Oldred_V8S]

tango123 said:

Thanks for that, will get some curved spanners , nine sixteenths ?. also need a part no for oil pressure switch , as my old SD1 type is too small on the diameter of the thread. same as Land Rover STC1040 , no go !

Yes 9/16ths.
I too have done the trailer socket mod.

[phillpot]

tango123 said:

Thanks for that, will get some curved spanners , nine sixteenths ?

These came in very useful when I had my Chimaera.........

v8s4me said:

This is the way to do it.

That is a clever idea


Re blackened wires: cut back to good if possible but if not I've got away with splaying out the individual strands, scrape with a Stanley knife, jiggle a bit to expose more black, scrape again, repeat, until reasonably clean. Good enough (imho) for low current circuits, you'll have to decide if you consider good enough for high load circuits (main, dip beam etc.)

Now off to find a bit of manky wire and drop in some Coke!

Edited by phillpot on Saturday 11th April 08:48

[Oldred_V8S]

Wire wool also brings the wires back to nice and shiny.

[tango123]

Hi , thanks for the replies, like the 13 pin trailer idea. After a bit of searching on the interweb have found a solution (if you pardon the pun ), for cleaning oxidised wires. Vinegar and salt make up the first cleaner , the acid . The alkaline solution to dunk in after the first is Sodium bicarbonate or baking soda, to clean the acid etch off. This apparently is a pretty quick cleaner , as i think coke might take a while !.Will experiment !.

[tango123]

Tried out the vinegar and salt solution , and it worked pretty rapidly ! . Dunked in the bicarb and water solution to neutralise, let the strands dry and then proceeded to solder. Have gone eventually to the 13 pin euro plug, one on each side , hope to finish this weekend.