Author: Paul Cooper
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Front Suspension and Anti Roll bar
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue There are 4 mounting points: Bushes do go soft and need replacing periodically. There is a bush at each attachment point. The anti-roll bar exists to assist in getting around corners without losing traction. Soft bushes result in poor steering as the antiroll bar stiffens up precision of the steering.…
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Rear Suspension and Dampers
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue This article is focussed on the standard estate car rear suspension and does not apply to modified vehicles. The rear suspension on most Mk1 Cortina’s is not dissimilar from that of a horse drawn carriage. The modern addition of a damper does take some of the bounce out of the…
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Rear Axle and Differential
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue My knowledge of rear axles is limited. The rear axle comprises of a differential unit that transfers power from the prop shaft to each half shaft. The differential performs two functions: A differential unit is required to balance wheel speeds when cornering i.e. enable the wheel on the outside of…
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Gear Selection Indicator
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue One part unique to an automatic Cortina is the column mounted gear selector and illuminated gear selected indicator along with the cowling that covers the mechanism. One part that is very easy to break is the plastic pointer that indicates the gear selected that fits up inside the cowling and…
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Gear Selection for Automatic Gearbox
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue The automatic gearbox is a BW35 unit – matched to many low power engines of the period (the later BW65 was a much smoother box when coupled with a Rover V8 – in a Rover of course) The BW35 has 4 speeds: The column selector for my auto-box wore out…
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Front Disc Brakes
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue Before starting to work on the brakes of any vehicle, decide whether you are competent and confident enough to complete the work. Brakes are pretty important so you do not want to get this wrong. The early Cortina’s pre-62 had drum brakes all round. The later Cortina’s 63 onwards have…
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Estate Fuel Tank and Sender Unit
Date: Jul 2019, May 2022 Issue Fuel needle on dashboard not moving when ignition turned on – possible causes include sender unit failure Fuel appears under car when filling or stopping – WARNING – fix this urgently Engine misfires generally especially at high rev’s. Diagnosis Leaks When filling the tank very full fuel appears under…