THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

The title says it all. Just post simple maintenance tasks or improvements that can be done with little to no money. Just time.

I'll start with a few.

Pull deck plates, rinse out crud, mud, and loose change. Dry thoroughly and coat with spray on Lithium grease or similar preservative.

Pull tail lamp covers off and clean corrosion from metal contacts and bulbs, apply petroleum jelly to preserve.

Remove windshield wiper arms from shafts, remove shafts from windshield, grease and reinstall.

Remove exterior hardware and replace with SS hardware(for coastal Pinz's). Ok. This cost's money but worth it.

If you are one of those sand and/or mud/water guys, take your wheels off, along with your drums, and clean like crazy. Also make sure water didn't enter your portals.


And I back up the above. Spray this in every cavity once a year.

Take the top off your M, clean it with a soap water and a soft brush, finish with 303 Protectant

How about cleaning all the cooling fins?

I'm sure most would be amazed at the amount of road dust and other debris that can find itself into the corrugations in the oil cooler......never mind the more obvious places such as within the air tunnel just behind the fan and between the cylinders.

in order to get to those fins, one would have to remove the plenum, an both, carbs, to get the rear tin off. Not many folks would dig that deep for just an afternoon.
However, I have always pulled the seats,and engine cover and washed down the motor after a weekend run. good way to check for new leaks.

Remove the plates that hold the engine cover down and squirt some oil into the holes. Do this a couple times a year, it's a great rust preventative. As long as you have the oil can handy, put a few drops on the throttle linkage pivot points.

also put a few drops in the cups for the heater/defroster cable and Starter/enrichener cable.

Came up with another good one today. Pull the plugs off the rear bumperettes and deal with whatever kind of rosemary's baby you find in there. I had one that was half full of water.

Andre wrote:Came up with another good one today. Pull the plugs off the rear bumperettes and deal with whatever kind of rosemary's baby you find in there. I had one that was half full of water.

Would it be smart to drill a 1-2 holes in the bottom so they always drain?

pinzinator wrote:Remove the plates that hold the engine cover down and squirt some oil into the holes. Do this a couple times a year, it's a great rust preventative. As long as you have the oil can handy, put a few drops on the throttle linkage pivot points.

There is a hole in the bottom of the space to let liquid drain. After removing the 1/4 turn and lifting the plate, use an awl to clear the hole. It gets clogged with debris. Then add the oil. Be sure to clean the floor afterward.

TechMOGogy wrote:

Andre wrote:Came up with another good one today. Pull the plugs off the rear bumperettes and deal with whatever kind of rosemary's baby you find in there. I had one that was half full of water.

Would it be smart to drill a 1-2 holes in the bottom so they always drain?

only if you start spraying preservative in them on a regular basis. I use spray on lithium grease.

I popped out the plugs on the rear bumpers...just to see what might be in there. Big mistake. Enough rust to make enough paint to do a barn.
Looked up the cost on SAV site for new ones...WOW. Might just be cleaning these and getting new plugs.

I may have a couple of used ones if you like. Ignorance is bliss, I know.

I think some are here in AZ as there are several using Tim's rear bumper/gas can/spare carrier.. Throw a note to SWPA site.

I ran into another good afternoon check. Remove the retaining screws for the rear bench cushions and check for corrosion. Aluminum and Steel mounted together cause Electrolysis(Dis-similar metal corrosion).