Aprilia Cabrio - here we go again

[simonandjuliet]

Spring back together and lubricated with copaslip. You can't see it but a long bolt was used to line up the leaves. The hangers have been fitted and pre-greased

I have started to clean up the chassis plate to get the suspension height setting - it is quite different to a standard berlina. I will ask one of our Italian speakers to translate it at some point because I would like to check that I am setting it up correctly !

Last photo shows the bits being amassed before the "big suspension assembly"

[Mikenoangelo]

I will ask one of our Italian speakers to translate it at some point because I would like to check that I am setting it up correctly !

Try Google Translate - just search for "Translate Italian to English". You would need to type the Italian onto the site but it is surprising how well it works, particularly if you have a bit of understanding of Italian.

Mike

[DavidLaver]

I like the table cloth.

As regards the assembly, am remembering from Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance the first instruction of being in the correct mood.

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks for the translation tip. I am translating a long article from French (a language "I sort of speak") and found that Google and Linguee can't cope with archaic and technical French - it took me an age to translate 'grain d'entrainement' for example and even phone calls to French car friends couldn't help.  I will have a go with Google but hope that an Italian speaker may be able to tidy it up !

I forgot the photo of the plate that is screwed to the chassis - it was completely covered in layers of black paint , indeed I was lucky to find it.

I have cleaned it up now and will take a photo in situ later, but the important figure is very different to a standard berlina - here are the photos from my S2

David - glad you like the tablecloth ..... there is something about working on a really clean surface when everything else is fresh and clean, maybe it does set the correct mood

[Walbarr]

Dear Simon

Just tried google translate and came up with this, which does seem accurate:

Adjust the rod by positioning the arm to mm155 between the periphery of the joint on the wheel hub and this reference line

[frankxhv773t]

google translate does take a bit of lateral thinking as I found with my research into Lancia 1Zs. Things were very confusing till I realised that what we would describe as an "armoured car" translates as "machine gun" whilst the frequently occurring references to machine guns also translated, predictably, as machine guns. I suspect we've all seen tourist leaflets that have been translated by such programmes and are complete gobbledygook. 

[Dikappa]

That is a really sweet spot to put an aluminium instruction plate!  In Belgium it would last the first month of winter....

@david on the cloth: I always wonder how Simon keeps on speaking terms with Juliet....

[tzf60]

Shhhhh.....not so loud!!!
Juliet doesn't know that Simon has her tablecloth (or the one in the background....)

 

[davidwheeler]

There is information in English in the technical information thread - corresponding with what you have translated!    It is always worth having a look through there, there is all sorts of collected wisdom.

[simonandjuliet]

David, thanks for reminding me of that - the problem is that I saw your comments 4 years ago but had completely forgotten ! I had to go through every page to find it - knowing it was there , so is there a way we can index these technical pages (same for all models) ?

There is a lot of valuable info there going back to 2010 and earlier, but it all comes under "technical info"

Maybe a header page that gets updated everytime a new note is added with a simple title eg "Aprilia Torsion Bar" "Aprilia S1 wiring diagram" etc with a date ?? It does mean a bit of extra work for the person who records the info, but it would be much easier to see what is available and then where to find it

Back to torsion bars, you note that the ref point is from the top of the UJ and other translations suggest the bearing hub. I will have to see how much difference there is

However, I will update your page with the Cabrio distance

Thanks again

[nistri]

The tag (in Italian) says the joint, not the hub, Andrea

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Andrea

A couple of details as I assemble the rear axle - I have decided to put it together in situ rather than build on the bench and fit as one.

Before I could start I needed to refit the petrol and brake line (new) down the tunnel and clip it in place - easier said than done as the scratches on my arms will attest to. There are "bend-over" metal tags along the centre of the tunnel.

The front cross member is mounted on 4 silentblocs, the front two of which have captive nuts pressed into them because there isn't enough room for a more classic system. It is worth noting that early Aprilias and Ardennes don't have the rubber mounted diff, they are rigidly bolted to the body

The side view shows the various bits and bolts that will allow for some "wiggle" whilst it is being put together. I hadn't thought about it before but it will need to be checked at the end to make sure the wheels are straight ! So it is all kept loose for the time being

The diff has had the speedi-sleeve and seal fitted along with ptfe on the threads because I think that there is a risk that il may work its way along the threads - let's see !

I'll move onto the trailing arms next

[ColinMarr]

Just to confirm. An old friend of mine who is an Aprilia expert and is working on his car right now, sent me the attached photo only a few days ago, and he believes “the figure in mm is the distance from the line on the label, to the rim of outer uj”.

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Colin - and another distance marker to add to the ones already noted in the Tech Info (157 if I read it correctly)

I have been taking my time putting more of it together this morning and have the first trailing arm in place

However, the first thing I did was try and check the diff alignment because there is adjustment/movement possible in a variety of places - ends of diff carriers, position of silent blocs etc, so I used a builders lazer on my pillar-lift, lining up the join along the diff with a variety of centres down the car, finishing with the flywheel-casing oildrip hole on the sump (the sump plug isn't centred)

Next up was building up the torsion bar bearing, seals etc , then before fitting it, I pressed in the wheel bearings. The hub went in next and finally the torsion bar bearing pressed into place

The assembly then lifted into place and the torsion bar fitted - as per instructions. NB there is a significant difference between using the hub and UJ joint

Hopefully the other side tomorrow - it's still raining !

[simonandjuliet]

Other side fitted yesterday, a couple of slight differences and a couple more details of fitting

My car has had a higher ratio, S2 diff fitted (as the observant amongst you will have already noted !!) and S2 outer wheel bearings are different - the hubshaft is 5mm thicker on the outer bearing. These bearings are more difficult to find than S1 because of the odd size (22.22mm width)

A 23mm wide, sealed bearing had been fitted and the redundant dust seal cover has been left out to gain the .75mm required, but the bearing sits a little bit more proud of the hub. I will run with this set up and see if it is satisfactory

A photo of the torsion bar bearing shows the alignment marks (mine) for the locking ring. There is a single position for the bearing lock nut and the holes need to lined up, unlike all the other locking rings that have several options
I wonder whether when a new bearing is fitted you would need to re-drill the hole because lining up is so precise

The trailing arm was held in place with the gearbox lift and an additional security added !

I received a batch of silentblocs from Robush for the various mountings. The silentblocks for the front of the diff/torsion bar mount are difficult to get, so I have bought a much wider one to try - it should be OK cut in 2 , each one being 2 mm shorter than the original, but I can't see that as being a problem

It means that you get 2 silentblocs for £15 rather than 50 euros each on eBay