Ben Nelson's Electro-Metro Build thread

[LostCause]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Yabba Dabba Doo!

- Lost Cause

[bennelson]

I got a lead on a buyer for the engine.

If the deal goes through, it will substantially reduce my purchase cosst for the Metro.

I would however, have to SHIP the engine. This guy is about a 4 hour drive away (8 hours round trip) I don't think either of us wants to drive that far.

I will check tomorrow on what would be required to ship this little engine.

And yes, if I do this, make sure to get a check and have it clear first or get a cashiers check. And give the guy a bill of sale too.

[SVOboy]

Meet halfway with the engine, no biggy

[bennelson]

I took the clutch off the flywheel and examined it. The fingers on the cover plate were bent and had some wear.

On the clutch plate, one of the springs was completely loose because the bits of metal that keep it in were broken off. There were lots of scratch marks on the disc (assuming from those loose bits of metal)

It may be that those bits of metal or that spring jammed the clutch so that the engine and transmission were constantly connected?

I will now have to look through the repair manual and examine the clutch to figure out what the best way to connect the motor to transmission will be.

ps: yes, the clutch says "made in Korea". Is this an indicator of quality?

[bennelson]

After doing some more reading, I plan on keeping this clutch.

The reason is that it matches the transmission, specifically that splined center bit goes right onto the splined shaft poking out of the transmission.

It appears to be fairly common practice in EV conversions to take the old clutch and cut-out/machine down the clutch plate to get just that little splined bit from the middle. Then weld or otherwise attach it to the electric motor.

Woala! Your electric motor has just mated to the transmission.

My problem is going to be the weird connection on the forklift pump motor. I could have a part machined to fit into it, but I don't think it is going to be self-centering. I may need to somehow instal a bearing that would support a stub-shaft connecting the turned-down clutch plate to the motor.

Darin, got any thoughts on this?

[MetroMPG]

We ground the splined hub out of our clutch,as you're considering doing, and welded it to one half of a lovejoy type coupler. We welded our stub shaft to the other side of the lovejoy.

If I were doing this all over again, I would consider keeping the clutch and a cut down flywheel. While clutchless shifting isn't impossible, it does grind more in cold weather (a thinner tranny oil might help), and getting in & out of gear frequently (to coast in N, as befits a hypermiler) is easier with a clutch.

But keeping the clutch complicates things because your motor then also has to take a thrust load, which it may not be designed to do.

Because your "stub shaft" doesn't insert as far into your pump motor as ours did, I think you're right to consider setting up some kind of bearing assembly to hold it centered in place.

[MetroMPG]

PS we had our machinist do the centering as well. We brought him the motor & transmission, with our adapter plate already cut. He mounted the motor to the plate, and the stub shaft to the lovejoy. It's probably the most finicky & critical part of the job, because you'll have vibration & bearing wear if it's not perfect.

[bennelson]

I have no idea what I am doing -

Did I mention before that I have almost no auto mechanic experience?

I also had never ridden or worked on a motorcycle, but that didn't stop me from building an Electric Kawasaki!

I was looking at the transmission, trying to figure out how to remove it.
The repair manual has NO pictures of showing the removal. Mostly it references four or five other parts of the manual.

The only thing that looks like it is a transmission fluid drain plug has a 3/8th" square female connection that is fairly rusty and has just enough of a ding in it that I can't put my 3/8th extension in it!

The first step in removing the transaxle is to take off the front tires. I can't get either one off! It looks like on the Metro, the hub contacts directly against the inside ring of the wheel. It's like it is designed to give exactly enough surface are so that the two can rust perfectly together!

I sprayed both wheel hubs with plenty of rust-loosening solvent, and will try my hand at it again tommorow. Can somebody please tell me exactly (with details please!) how one uses a propane torch to loosen a part?

I also tried disconnecting the two attachment points between the shifter and transmission. Both have a nut and a bolt. I got the nuts off, but can't do anything with the bolts, as though they are also threaded or have some other strange feature!

The only thing I could really manage to do was disconnect the speedometer cable.

I would like to remove the transmission, so I can more easily examine and work on the shaft of it, and figure out how to connect the motor.

If I can drag the motor and transmission out to some machinists and other people, I can actually show them what I am trying to do and figure out how to create a coupler. That's the big fancy step. I know how to do things with batteries and install a controller, etc.

I am going to be kind of stuck until I get the transmission out!

On the up side, we had really nice weather today. I was actually able to work outside.

[MetroMPG]

Don't worry. You'll figure it out!

You've found the transmission's drain plug. If you can't loosen it, the fluid will come out when you pop out an axle.

You need to remove both axles. And before you can do that, you need to separate both ball joints from their respective hub assemblies. (Because you pull the hub away from the axle more than pulling the axle from the hub.) Then you use a big flat screwdriver or pry bar to pop the axle out of the transmission.

As for heat, I just point it at the thing that's stuck, get it good & hot, and then whale on it with a big hammer. (Might help to lay a piece of wood on the back side of the rim and hit it in that direction.)

Too bad you don't live around here - I'd be over in a heartbeat to help!

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

You've found the transmission's drain plug. If you can't loosen it, the fluid will come out when you pop out an axle.

Hmmm.... Kinda like me draining the gas tank. I will have to post the video of that fun event. I had to wash my clothes twice to get most of the smell out.

It's a good thing I am not a smoker.