In my previous LED writeup, I found that LED bulbs when used in a vehicle happen to use much less power than regular bulbs. In my own case, replacing the front side-markers, rear side-markers, and rear park lights (essentially, all the lights that come on with the headlights with the exception of the headlights themselves), the current draw was brought down from 2.14 amps to about 0.26 amps. This means that the LED’s used about 12% of the power. Not bad.

Next, it was time to replace the bulbs in the instrument cluster. This includes the illumination lights (the ones that light up the cluster so you can see it at night), the signals, and the idiot lights (brake light, check engine light, seat belt light, etc). It just so happened that I was swapping out my instrument cluster anyway, so I ordered some LED’s from V-LED’s (my other eBay favorite “HyperLED’s” didn’t carry them), and away I went…

First, a little physical comparison:

In the event you can make anything out from that poor picture, the led’s are basically on the right hand side, with their regular counterparts on the left. Top section are the tiny “74″ bulbs used for the idiot lights, signals, etc. Bottom section is the larger “158″ bulbs which are the ones that illuminate the cluster when your lights are on. From now on, i’ll just call them “tiny” and “large”. The black plastic plug/socket for the tiny bulbs actually encompasses part of the bulb itself. Since the tiny led’s were a bit fatter than the original glass bulbs, the plastic socket had to bend out a bit for them to fit. It wasn’t that hard – a simply matter of forcing the bulb in, but it since the socket was now flexed out a bit, it also had to be forced into the instrument cluster holes when replacing them into the cluster with the new bulbs.

Here’s a shot of the back of the original instrument panel (‘91 Chev Sprint):

You’ll see that there are 9 tiny bulbs and 2 large ones. There’s also an empty slot for another tiny bulb.

The instrument cluster I was replacing it with was from an ‘89 Turbo. The layout is drastically different, although it was still plug ‘n’ play. The Turbo cluster also has a tach. Unfortunately I didn’t grab a picture of it, but it looks almost identical to this one (taken from the teamswift.net website).

Click on the image to see the full size version. The major differences between this pic and the turbo cluster I received are that the turbo cluster has a bulb in the bottom-center for the turbo light, and the ‘89 turbo cluster also lacked the bulb for the DRL.

Setup

Here’s where the fun begins. Aside from having to “force” the slightly larger tiny bulbs into the sockets (and then force the sockets into the cluster), it was a simple matter of swapping the bulbs, installing the cluster, checking to see which idiot lights didn’t light up (remember, LED’s only work one way), removing the cluster again, reversing the bulbs that didn’t light up, then plugging it all back in. One oddity that resulted (could be an issue with the new cluster, but quite possibly the result of using LED’s) was that when the lights are off, when I hit the brakes, the illumination lights come on very slightly. It’s not enough to be noticable during the day, but as it gets dark, it becomes apparant. It could be a bad ground somewhere, or the system could have been designed this way from the start. The low amount of current that passes through would probably never be enough to light up a regular bulb. Since LED’s don’t need very much current though, even a slight bit is enough to light them up. A possibility to ponder if you do try the replacement.

Numbers numbers numbers

These are based on the number of bulbs in the new instrument cluster with the tach.

Original bulbs:

• 3 x 158 (aka 168 194)
• 9 x 74

New bulbs:

• 3 x 158 (aka 168 194) inverted cone super green LED’s (seemed slightly dimmer than originals)
• 9 x 74 super white LED’s (seemed slightly brighter than originals)

Using an ammeter, I hooked up the bulbs to a 12 volt battery on a charger and checked the current:

The savings from the tiny 74 bulbs is pretty marginal. I think it’s safe to say that they’ll never pay for themselves, partly because the original bulbs don’t use much current to begin with, but mainly because they’re almost never on. Really, aside from starting the car (when all the idiot lights come on for that moment between turning the key to “on” and starting the car), the only time one of these will be on for an extended period of time will be if you have daytime running lights (DRL indicator always on), or if you do a lot of night-time driving with your brights on (brights indicator). Since you probably use your signals sometimes, you’d get a little bit of a savings there too I suppose, but nothing to get excited about.

Replacing the large 158/168/194 bulbs can be a little more worthwhile. They’re always on when your lights are on, and you can save a little over half an amp (0.6A).

Basically I can sum it up by saying this. We had an engine that started to perform badly and over the course of 2 weeks really took a hit to the point where it didn’t even want to go over 90 km/h. It seemed like the timing was retarded, and would sputter, cough, and had terrible performance at low rpm’s. I’ve read through the teamswift.net forums often enough to know that these engines are prone to burnt exhaust valves, so we figured that was probably the cause. A compression check verified this.

We pulled off the head and took a look. Sure enough, there was a flat section where the valve wasn’t sealing any longer. Seeing’s how we had a parts car and weren’t looking to feed any more money into this one, we pulled the head from the parts car which fortunately still had 1 non-burnt valve left on it (you can guess why it became the parts car). We grabbed the good valve from the parts car and swapped it with the bad one from the current one. Since we already had the head out, we took the opportunity to lap all the valves which was probably a good thing, since most weren’t in the greatest of shape. Once it was all said and done, we oiled everything up and put the head back together.

Before bringing the head back to the car, we thought it might be a good idea to turn over the camshaft a few times just to make sure the valves were all opening and closing properly. It’s a good thing we did, because the exhaust valve we replaced wasn’t closing all the way.

I’ll be honest. We were a little perplexed. Sure, it was a used exhaust valve we were using, but it still had a lot of wear to go. Our first thought was that somehow it was a longer valve than the others. We pulled everything apart and compared it to the others… it was the same size. One thing we did notice was that some of the lifters had leaked out the oil and when you pushed on them, they had some play (a springy feel). This happened because we didn’t take the steps you’re supposed to to keep the oil from running out. Some had managed to retain their oil though and still felt solid. The lifter on this exhaust valve was one of them. We decided to try swapping the lifter for another one that had lost it’s oil (felt springy). We tried a few actually before we found one that did allow the valve to close and seal.

This got us thinking… the original valve must have worn enough that it didn’t seal. Either the hydrolic lifter didn’t adjust itself (possible), or it had reached it’s limit, at which point not being sealed caused the valve to burn (probable).

At this point, we came up with 2 options:

1. Put the engine back together and hope that it takes a long time for the valves to wear to the point of burning, or;
2. Grind off a little bit of the top of the valve stems.

We chose #2. If we had replaced all the valves, then maybe we’d be fine, but since we were determined not to sink any money into this project, we decided to grind a little off the top of every valve stem.

There are a few things to keep in mind when doing something like this… First of all, if you grind off too much, the valves may not open very much. The hydraulic lifters should compensate to a degree once they’re pumped up with oil, but you still have to be careful. Second, you want to make sure you don’t end up grinding at an angle, because the lifter should have pretty even contact with the top of the valve stem. Third, you have to be careful not to grind too close to the groove in the valve stem where the keepers are. Not only might bad things happen if the lifter starts smacking the keepers instead of the valve, but if you manage to grind off that much, the valves may never open. Fourth,  you should probably sand the end of the valve after grinding it, just to make sure you have a smooth area for the lifter to contact, and to make sure that you dont have jagged edges which might break off when the engine’s running. Finally, after it’s been done and the head’s back together, it’s probably a good idea to rotate the camshaft and watch the valves to make sure they’re all opening and closing fine.

As it turned out, the grinding seemed to work quite well. The valves all opened and closed fine, and the camshaft turned quite easily now (mainly because most of the lifters needed to be pumped up). We reassembled the head, and put everything back together. We risked re-using the same head gasket with some high-temp gasket glue and reused the stock head bolts. It happened to work well for us, but no guarantees if you try to do the same. The first start was met with some loud clackity-clacks, but once the lifters pumped up, it ran very smooth and quiet. It runs and drives incredibly smooth, and if we end up with a burnt valve down the road, at least we’ll know the cause isn’t a valve that’s worn so much that it stays open.

A few final thoughts, things to note, and things to ponder:

• based on what we experienced, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if many of the burnt valves on these cars happen simply because the valve wears to the point of not sealing.
• new valves are probably a better option for most people. I would assume that because a new valve will be thicker, it’ll seal if: a) the lifters are working properly and b) the head isn’t terribly worn where the valve meets it.
• as far as grinding the valves goes… possible issues down the line..? I wouldn’t really think so, but it’s hard to say for sure. Since we didn’t take any measurements and simply ground them by eye, we’re totally reliant on the hydraulic lifters to adjust to them. Also, it’s possible that the integrity of the valve’s been compromised. For all we know, it might split, crack, shatter, or do something else funky some day. I think it’s unlikely, but only time will tell.
• we swapped around a lot of the lifters, and exchanged the ones that still felt solid for the ones that were “unpumped” from the parts car. You’re not really supposed to do this. You’re supposed to number them and put them back in their original locations (unless you’re replacing with new ones). Again, it could cause issues down the line.
• things turned out well for us – that doesn’t mean they will for you. Always follow the recommendations layed out in proper repair manuals. Of course if you’re looking to save a few dollars and have some parts lying around, maybe this post will help you. Just be aware that I’m disclaiming responsibility for anything and everything ranging from an engine malfunction/failure to your car exploding and taking everything nearby with it. You’re on your own.
• finally, if you’re looking to do things the proper way, there’s a gentleman from the teamswift forums named Mike Cove who supplies certain parts at some very good prices (at the time of this post, $30 for a set of 8 headbolts/washers, valves starting at $6 each, and sells camshafts, heads, etc). He’s highly respected on the teamswift forums, seems to be a really smart guy, and I’ve bought from him in the past. And no, I don’t make any money/commission from any of his sales (I’m sure he doesn’t even know who I am). His prices do seem to be pretty good though (although you may want to check your local stores to compare), and from what I gather, the parts are pretty good too. You can find his site at http://www.teamswift.net/3tech or you can simply browse the forums there.

In this test, I replaced the “parking lights” in a vehicle with LED’s. “Parking Lights” refer to all the lights that are on when the headlights are on (with the exception of the headlights themselves).

In this case, it included:

• Front Side-Marker Lights x 2 (194-type bulb)
• Rear Side-Marker Lights x 2 (194-type bulb)
• Rear Park Lights x 2 (1157-type bulb)

Replacement bulbs were ordered as follows:

• 2 x 194 Yellow (4-bulb LED)
• 2 x 194 Red (4-bulb LED)
• 2 x 1157 Red (24-bulb LED)

With an ammeter, I measured the current running through each bulb. Here are the results:

As you can see, over 2 amps is pulled by the regular bulbs. Less than 1/8 of that power draw is pulled by the LED’s. Even more shocking is the actual brake circuit of the 1157 bulbs (not listed in the table). Each bulb pulls 2.08A when braking, while the LED’s pull 0.12A. In this case, the regular bulb pulls 17 times as much current as the LED. In all fairness, the 24-bulb 1157 LED’s aren’t quite as bright as the regular bulbs. A 30-bulb 1157 LED would be much more similar, and would probably pull only a tiny bit more current.

Certainly, by replacing regular automotive bulbs with their LED versions, you can reduce the current draw, and help to reduce the load on the alternator (or reduce the current drawn from the batter when you’re running without an alternator). Based on the information I’ve been able to collect, it would seem that the reduction can be anywhere from 1/8 to better than 1/16 of the current draw.

I’m assuming you’ve already read the typical “make the most of your fuel economy” articles, which have probably given you tips like changing your driving habits (non-aggressive driving, keeping to non-excessive speeds), keeping tire pressures up, changing spark plugs/performing general maintenance/tune-ups, buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle, keeping the air conditioning off, keeping windows up at high speeds, etc. These are all well-known “tips”, and while they do help, I’ve always looked for more. And here’s what I’ve come up with so far.

• Lower weight oil – You’ve probably noticed 5W20 popping up at your local automotive shop. Certain (newer) vehicles are designed to run on it, and the key reason for it’s existance is that lower weight oils are thinner, and will help to increase gas mileage. Being thinner usually makes it easier to pump, and in general offers lower resistance to many engine parts that end up in contact with it. Of course, going with a thinner oil than recommended can potentially have adverse side effects on your vehicle (and will most certainly void the warranty on your vehicle if it’s not one of the viscosities recommended by the manufacturer), so whether you want to “risk” trying it or not is a decision you’ll have to make on your own. It also probably won’t make a massive difference in the fuel economy of your car, but sometimes, every little bit helps. On the other end of things, lowering the number before the “W” in the oil rating (ie 0W30 instead of 5W30) can help economy during cold starts. This is more apparant as you get to colder climates, and only really has an effect before the car is fully warmed up, but is something else to consider.
• Sythetic oil – The only time this is likely to a real effect on your economy is if you live in a cold climate, and it will. If you don’t believe me, buy a quart/liter of Mobil 1 5W30, as well as a quart/liter of regular oil. Put them both outside for a day when it’s -40 outside. Once they’re about -40, try pouring them both. The regular oil will probably pour like molasses. The Mobil 1 should pour much better. Now think about your engine… When you start your car on a cold morning, the regular oil is not going to pump through your engine terribly well. Once they’re both at operating temperatures, they’ll probably be about the same, but for the first few minutes, the synthetic has a distinct advantage. Again, this applies mainly to cold climate areas, and only until the engine is warm. If you live in a nice warm climate, this change probably won’t help you. Finally, some synthetics aren’t “true” synthetics. For example, most “Castrol Syntec” oils are not the true PAO synthetics, and therefore do not offer the same extreme-cold-temperature advantages. If you’re not sure, a good indicator is usually to read the back label of the oil container and see if it mentions the “pour point”. Anything between -40 and -60 is probably a true synthetic.
• Go to a 4-wire oxygen sensor – If you have a mid-90’s or newer vehicle, you’ve probably already got a 4-wire. Older vehicles often have the simple 1-wire. The benefit of the 4-wire is in two areas. First, it has a dedicated ground wire, which can help to give more accurate, precise readings. The 1-wire gets it’s ground from the exhaust, and if the exhaust is providing a poor ground, it doesn’t read very accurately, and fuel economy can suffer. The second advantage to the 4-wire is that it has a built-in heating element. Why does this matter? Because oxygen sensors don’t operate until they reach a certain temperature, and the ECU (cars computer) in many cars waits for the oxygen sensor before running in a fuel-efficent mode. This of course will really only help while the car is warming up, but again, every bit helps.
• Make sure your thermostat works – The ECU in many cars also doesn’t go into a fuel-efficient mode until the engine has warmed up. If your thermostat is in poor shape (or stuck open), this may never happen. In addition, a warmer thermostat can in many cases offer better economy than a colder thermostat.
• Lighten the load – Smaller cars benefit from this more than larger cars, but all vehicles should derive some sort of benefit regardless. The fact is, extra weight in the car is extra work for the engine. If you’re hard-core, you can strip panels, seats, and maybe even replace the spare tire with a can of fix-a-flat (although a big gash in the tire will leave you stranded). If you’re not quite that hard-core, simply removing anything unneccessary (baby seats, subwoofers, etc) can have an effect as well.
• Aerodynamic modifications – This alone could warrant it’s own article. If you’re interested, do as much research as you can, and mod away. Examples of changes that can be made are rear wheel skirts, changes to the front bumper & air dam, removal of roof racks, side view mirror changes (either removal or replacing with smaller, more aerodynamic ones), and more. Keep in mind, these aren’t changes you can pick up at Wal-mart. Just about everything requires custom work, but in many cases can yield huge results.
• Engine, transmission, and mechanical modifications – there are many, but here are a few to look into…. I suppose I *could* list them all individually, but there are two types of people… those who will probably do them all, and those who won’t do any. They all involve pulling out a socket set, so they aren’t for some people… Lightened flywheels, aluminum underdrive pulleys, custom “economy” camshafts, hi-flow catalytic converters, mufflers, and filters, new “taller” transmission gearing, and custom ECU’s tuned for max economy.
• LED bulbs – This effects the electrical load of your vehicle and will probably only be noticable (and barely) on smaller cars. LED bulbs use much less power than regular bulbs. Less electrical draw means less load on the alternator, which means less engine work required to turn the alternator. You can find replacement LED bulbs on eBay. Just make sure you get LEDs that are at least as bright as the regular bulbs on your car (side marker lights might not be as critical, but brake lights certainly are). AFAIK, headlights are not available in LED form, but all the other bulbs usually are. Two things to note before spending your money on LEDs are… First, many signal flashers are not compatible with LEDs (they’ll cause your signals to blink fast, similar to the fast-blink when a bulb is burnt out). Some flashers do work, but many don’t (though you can often buy LED compatible flashers as well), so don’t go buying LED replacements for your signals until you know for sure. The second thing is that some vehicles will tell you when a bulb is burnt out, and they may detect the low current draw of the LEDs as a burnt out bulb.
• Reduce other electrical loads – Keep the fan off if you don’t need it, don’t install high-powered stereo systems, don’t forget to turn off your headlights once it gets bright enough outside, etc. These things all help to reduce the load on the alternator, and are obviously both free and easy to do.

That’s all for now, although I’ll be sure to update as I come across other things I may not have thought of. Feel free to let me know if you know of other ways to help keep your mpg high (or l/100km low).

1) Remove the alternator belt. This will involve loosening the bolt at the top of the alternator where it’s connected to the bracket. If the alternator doesn’t move, you may have to use a prybar to help push it towards the engine (be careful not to place the prybar up against the brake lines or against anything else that might be damaged). There’s also a bolt at the bottom of the alternator where it’s mounted to the engine (where the alternator *should* pivot). If you’re not having a lot of success, loosen that bolt a little as well and it should be easier. Note that you don’t have to move the alternator extremely far, just enough to get the belt off.

2) Remove the water pump pulley. It is held on by 4 bolts. If the bolts are really tight, you may have to grip the pulley with vice grips to keep it from turning while you crack the bolts loose.

3) Remove the passenger side splash guard. You will have to crawl under the car for this, and may have to turn the steering wheel to the right to get at all the clips.

4) Remove the crankshaft pulley. There are 4 bolts to remove (do not remove the large center bolt) You will probably have to access them from under the car. A ratchet with a long socket (or an extension) will be best. In my case (using an extension), I could only get at 1 bolt at a time and had to rotate the crankshaft to get at all of them. Again, vice grips (or a strong assistant holding the pulley) may be helpful here to keep the pulley from rotating as you crack the bolts loose.

5) Remove the timing belt cover. This is the big black plastic cover. There are a total of 1 nut and 8 bolts (4 on each side). Keep track of which bolts go where, as some may be longer than others. There may also be wire ties that are held on by these bolts. Be sure not to lose them.

6) Set the timing. For the cam sprocket (the top one), there should be a mark on the sprocket that lines up with a little “dip” on the top ridge of the valve cover. To set the crank sprocket, you may have to replace the timing belt cover and crank pulley. In my case, the pulley had a white mark on it, and the timing belt cover had timing marks. Simply line up the white pulley mark to the “0″ on the cover. Alternately, if the crankshaft sprocket has a mark on it, there may be a mark on the engine that it corresponds to. If this is the case, simply line those up.

7) Loosen the belt tensioner. There is a bolt on the tensioner pulley itself, as well as a “tensioner stud” against the tensioner plate, which must be loosened (but not removed) with a wrench. Once both of those are loose, the tensioner should be movable by pushing the tensioner plate in either direction. Push the tensioner plate, which will put the least tension on the belt, and temporarily tighten the tensioner stud to keep it from being auto-tensioned by the spring. I have included an image below, taken from a workshop manual which should be similar.

If the original belt is still intact, double check the position of the timing marks on both the cam and crankshaft sprockets (they should both be lined up. if they’re not, figure out why before going any further). Remove the original belt.

9) Install the new belt. Start by slipping it over the crankshaft sprocket, running it past the tensioner, and then slipping it on the camshaft sprocket going from right-to-left, being careful not to rotate either sprocket. If either sprocket rotates, remove the belt, re-position the sprockets, and start again. There should be no slack in the belt on the right side.

10) Loosen the tensioner stud. The tensioner plate should be pulled into place by the spring, and the pulley should remove the slack on the left side of the belt. Do not tighten the tensioner stud or the pulley stud yet.

11) Rotate the cam or crank sprocket clockwise 2 complete turns. This is usually accomplished most easily by using a ratchet and socket on one of the center bolts. After the rotations, continue turning clockwise until the timing marks are lined up. Make sure that both the cam and crank sprocket line up to their respective marks. If they don’t, you are probably off by a tooth, in which case you must remove the belt, line up the sprockets, and try again.

12) Tighten both the tensioner stud and pulley bolt. Opinions vary on whether to rely soley on the tensioner spring, or to add finger pressure before tightening. I added a little bit of finger pressure before tightening mine. Rotate the cam/crank again 2 full rotations. Check again to make sure the timing marks line up, and make sure there is tension on both sides of the timing belt.

13) Assuming the timing marks still line up and the belt seems to have decent tension to it, reassemble everything.

14) If after everything’s said and done the car won’t start (or runs poorly), there’s a good chance the timing belt is off by a tooth. Take everything apart and double check. Alternately, you could have some damaged valves or pistons, although as far as I know, my own Sprint has a non-interference engine.

With all that said, good luck. As always, a workshop manual (or even a Haynes or Chilton’s manual) can be extremely helpful and may cover things more accurately, in better detail, and/or things that I may have missed.

Standard disclaimer applies. If my instructions result in any deaths (including but not limited to the death of your car), I’m not responsible.

Replacing the bearings isn’t a particulary difficult job. If you’ve ever replaced the brakes in your car, you’ve probably got the ability to do the bearings. It’s a job I recently tackled, and I thought I’d share the steps I took in doing so. This was done on a 1991 Chevrolet Sprint, but the process is very likely to be extremely similar (if not exactly the same) for a 1989 or 1990 Pontiac Firefly, Suzuki Swift, or Geo Metro as well.

First of all, there is both an inner and an outer bearing, and they’re both located in the brake drum. If you’re going to the trouble to replace one, I’d recommend doing them both. At the time of this writing, each bearing was between $10-15 CDN at Canadian tire, so you should be looking at $25-30 to replace both. If you’ve just bought a brake drum, I’d also recommend using new bearings rather than trying to reuse the ones in your old drum, partly because they’re probably going to need replacing at some point anyway, and partly because it’s extremely easy to damage the old ones when you take them out.

So on to the process…

I’ll assume you’ve already removed the wheel and are staring at the brake drum. Before you take off the drum, there’s a cap, a nut, and a washer that have to be removed.

The cap comes off pretty easily with a sharp screwdriver and a hammer. Once it begins to come off, you can use a screwdriver to pry it off the rest of the way with ease.

Now that the cap is off, you should be facing a nut and a washer. One of two things will have been done to keep the nut from accidently coming off on it’s own. Either there will be a cotter pin through the nut & axel shaft that has to be removed, or as in my case, the nut will be staked, and you’ll have to “un-bend” the outer lip of the nut so that it comes off. Once that’s done, the nut should come off with a 22mm socket. Be sure to set both the nut and washer aside somewhere where they won’t pick up dirt.

Next, the drum has to come off. The drum is usually on pretty tight and may need some encouragement from a combination of screwdrivers, prybars, and hammers. Often, putting a screwdriver and prybar between the drum and the backplate, and prying while striking the side of the drum with a hammer to jar it loose works (just be sure not to pry hard enough to bend or damage the backplate). If all else fails, you may need to use a slide hammer or another tool to remove the drum. However, with a little time and persistance, the drum can usually be removed with the basic tools.

With the drum off, take a look and try to identify exactly where the following pieces are:

• Inner Bearing
• Outer Bearing
• Spacer (located between the inner and outer bearings)

A little clarification here before we continue. There is an Inner and an Outer bearing. Each has an Inner and Outer “race” to it (the metal rings that the bearings are in). So when I talk about a bearing, note that it’s the entire bearing itself, and when I talk about a race, it’s a specific part of either the inner or outer bearings.
Now, it’s time to remove the old bearings. The bearings will be in very tight, and you will need to use a drift, punch, or screwdriver and hammer them out. If worse comes to worse, your local mechanic can probably remove them for you for a small fee. To remove the outer bearing, put the drum down on a flat piece of wood (or another surface that won’t damage the threads) with the studs facing down. The spacer should slide enough out of the way that you can get to part of the bearing and start hammering it out with your punch/drift/screwdriver/etc. The easiest way is to put the drift on the inner race of the bearing and hammer away (note that hammering on the inner race will probably destroy the bearing in the process, so make sure you don’t plan on re-using it). While you’re hammering away, hit the bearing at different locations so that it comes out as straight as possible. If you’re not having much luck, try to remove the inner bearing first instead.

With the first bearing out, the spacer should fall out. One end has a “lip” to it. Take note of which way that lip faces (it should face the studs).

 

A couple pictures of the spacer. Note that one side has a “lip” to it.

To remove the inner bearing, take two blocks of wood (2×4’s are usually fine), and put one on either side of the drum to elevate it (otherwise the bearing won’t have anywhere to go). Again, find a part of the bearing to get your punch/etc on, and start pounding away, making sure to “rotate” the area you’re hitting so that the bearing comes out as straight as possible.

Remember, if you’re not having luck with one of the bearings, try the other first. Once you get one of the bearings out, the spacer comes out and it makes it very easy to access the outer race of either of the bearings.

With both bearings and the spacer out, the drum should look something like this:

 

Notice the open space where there bearings used to be. When the new ones are installed, they’ll press up against the center “lip”.

At this point, it’s probably a good idea to clean up the drum a bit, removing the old grit and grease.

Now it’s time to put your new bearings in. First, pack them with fresh wheel bearing grease. Now it’s time to put them in the drum. This is the part where you want to be careful and keep the following in mind:

1. The inner and outer bearings must go IN THE RIGHT PLACE. They’re different sizes and not interchangeable.
2. The inner and outer bearings are directional. They only go in ONE WAY. Actually, they just might pound in either way, but if you put them on the wrong way, you won’t be able to get the drum back on the spindle. If they have dust caps, the dust cap will probably be facing you while you put it in. If they don’t have dust caps, and/or you’re not sure, try putting the bearings on the spindle before you put them on the drum to determine which way they go (it will be the way where they slide farthest on the spindle). Check, double check, and then triple check.
3. ONLY strike the OUTER race on each bearing when inserting it. Do not strike the bearings themselves or the inner race, or you will probably damage the bearing.
4. Don’t forget to put the spacer in!

With that said, the first bearing to put in is the outer bearing. This will be the smaller of the two (the one on the same side as the studs). Simply put it in place, and start to tap it in with a hammer, working around the entire race so that it goes in straight. The easiest way is to hammer around the edge of the outer race until it’s about flat with the drum. From there on in, use your drift/punch/screwdriver and hammer to put it the rest of the way in. Be careful that the drift/punch/screwdriver doesn’t slip off of the race and damage the bearings. Once it seems to be in all the way, take a look from the other side of the drum and make sure it’s pressed up all the way to the inner lip.

Next in is the spacer. Simply put it in place. I put a little grease around it just to have the extra grease in there.

Finally, the inner bearing goes in. Again, make sure it’s being put in the right direction. Unlike the other bearing, once this one is flush with the drum, it’s usually in all the way. You probably won’t need a drift/punch/etc until the very end. Just tap the outer race with a hammer until it’s almost flush and then finish off with your drift/punch/etc.

Note that it may be possible to use a small block of wood to insert the bearings (just hammer on the block of wood instead of on the outer race). I simply chose not to because that method forces the inner bearing to share some of the stress (although not a heck of a lot since the inner and outer races are usually even).

Once that’s done, the drum should be ready to go back on. Hopefully you quadruple-checked the bearing directions and the drum goes back on all the way. Once it’s on, give the drum a quick spin to make sure the bearings are nice and quiet.

With the drum on, put the washer and nut back on. If you had a cotter pin, put that back in place. If you didn’t have a cotter pin, you’ll have to re-stake the nut. The easiest way it to use a dull chisel and a hammer and give the outer lip a whack over the indented part of the spindle. Make sure the lip ends up “bent” enough to do it’s job. It’s basically the failsafe in case the nut comes loose. If the nut doesn’t have a cotter pin holding it in place, or it isn’t staked, you could potentially have a brake drum falling off with the wheel if the nut comes loose for some reason. So try to do it right.

At this point, you should be done. Put the wheel back on and you should be good to go.

Disclaimer: This procedure is based solely on my own experiences. I am not a certified mechanic. Following any of my procedures is done completely at your own risk and expense, and I shall not be held responsible for death/injury, or any damages as a result of this article.

The first thing to try is a locksmith. Some are pretty good and are able to retreive the half key with relative ease. However, if the locksmith is unsuccessful, or if you simply don’t want to spend the money, here is the method to disassemble the switch and remove the half key (since I was unable to find one anywhere).

The following procedure was done on a ‘91 Chevrolet Sprint. Your vehicle may vary, and there are no guarantees. I also don’t take responsibility if you botch something up, or if anything goes wrong. EVERYTHING DONE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. This is written mainly from memory, so expect less-than-perfect details and the possibility of some innaccuracy. This also isn’t in any way a “professional” method of doing things. In fact, my entire process screams unprofessionalism. But it worked for me. So hopefully it’ll work for you.

Step One – Remove the lock assembly.

First, disconnect the battery (unless you want to risk a spark show of course). The following then have to be removed: The steering column cover (4 screws), the steering wheel (center-horn part pulls off, and then there’s 1 nut to remove) , the signal-switch (3 screws), and the instrument cluster cover (4 screws). During this time, you will have to unplug/disconnect a few electrical connectors connected within the steering column and the instrument cluster cover.

At this point, you should have full view and access to the ignition lock assembly. Holding it to the steering column is a metal bracket with 2 bolts. Unfortunately, the 2 bolts aren’t meant to be taken out easily. The heads are rounded. If you are lucky, you might be able to get a needle nose pliers in there to unscrew them. I wasn’t so lucky, so I used a dremel to cut a groove through each of them where a flat screwdriver would fit. Once you get them to turn a little, they should come the rest of the way with ease. With both of these bolts out, the ignition lock assembly should come out (disconnect any electrical connectors still going to it).

Step Two – Getting in to the lock assembly (the hard part)
If you examine the assembly, you will notice 3 holes around the casing where the key/tumber/etc go into the casing. There are 3 pins in these holes which keep the lock part (the part that says “LOCK ACC ON START”) connected with the rest of the lock. If you have the tools to do it, remove the pins. If not, you could try drilling them, although the pins are pretty hard (tempered steel?). What I eventually had to do was to drill between the pin and the lock part. Once enough aluminum had been removed from the casing, a screwdriver with a couple hammer blows was enough to get the lock part out (complete with the pin). Doing it this way means that you will have to find a new way to keep the lock part connected to the casing when putting it back together (the pins will be useless since the lock will slide in and out). Keep that in mind.

From here on in, be very careful, springs, clips, and keys can go springing out and will get lost easily… When the lock slides out, you will notice 2 springs still in the casing. If they fell out, put them back in. Next, is a metal “plate” that is keyed to fit on the lock part only one way. Once it is off, there is a snap-ring that must be removed. with the snap-ring off, the tumbler should come out of the lock. With the tumber out, you have access to all the mini-keys. You should also be able to see the tip of the broken key. Using a strong wire, you can start pushing the broken key out. It may be easier if you remove the mini-keys as you coax the half-key out, but be sure not to lose any springs (and put the mini-keys back in the right order afterward). Once the broken key is partway out, you can usually tap the tumbler and the broken key will fall the rest of the way out.

Step Three – Putting it all back together.

Put a (new) complete key inside the tumbler to make sure the mini-keys all line up (they should be smooth with the tumbler. If 1 or 2 aren’t, you can either grind them down a little bit, or remove them altogether. Note that each one you remove will make it easier for a “wrong” key to fit also, which would potentially make it easier for someone to steal the vehicle.

Keep the key in the tumbler, and slide the tumbler back into the lock (without the key in, it won’t slide in). Put the snap-ring on, followed by the metal plate. Now slide the lock back into the rest of the casing. Make sure the 2 springs in the casing don’t fall out of place when you’re sliding it back on (I found it easier to hold them horizontally and do it – vertically, either the plate would fall off, or the springs would fall out). Test the key to make sure it’s working. If it’s not, something may be amiss. Assuming the key seems to work fine, if you were able to remove the pins, replace them now. If instead of removing the pins, you drilled out the aluminum like I did, you will notice that the lock does not stay tight in the casing (it always springs out a bit). I used J.B. Weld to reconnect them (using a large thick rubber band to hold it tight while the J.B. Weld hardened). If you do the same, make sure you clean all oils and grease first so the J.B. Weld sticks. Once it’s back together, the assembly gets reconnected to the steering column. The rest is pretty much the reverse of removal.
If you manage to completely destroy the lock assembly beyond repair (which is completely possible), you may have to buy a new one at the dealer.

Again, don’t do this unless you’re confident in what you’re doing. This guide is best for those who have already tried taking apart the ignition switch without success, and are looking for a few pointers here and there to help them along their way when they get stuck. It’s not for the average joe-blow, as it’s very easy to cause permanent damage to the ignition lock assembly.