my new 521

[wayno]

This is a great little mini article about the heater core, I had no idea that valve was that simple, all I need now is a replacement O-ring that I hope to find at parkrose hardware.

[Laecaon]

I just used some of the green foam from Joann's fabrics (my mom had some extra). I know my heater box has gotten very hot, I havent smelled any odd smells from the heater.

[wayno]

I just went out to my pressure washer supply of o-rings and found one the right size in my supply, and it works great, it is a little harder to turn with the new o-ring, but I suspect that the little white heater knob will turn it without breaking.

I get my o-rings at the hardware store.

[dat521gatherer]

Good idea. I was thinking about cutting out some styrofoam or using that expanding foam in a can stuff.

[Tweeker521]

:thumbup:

[dat521gatherer]

Well it took longer but I got it back together the other day. It doesn't leak out of the valve like I was worried about. Unfortunately I ran into a few snags along the way mainly being I tried to pull off the wires on one motor and they both broke. Also I tried to change the blower for a cleaner one and ended hammering it off which fucked up the motor. So now it only works on high. I have another to swap in but thats for another day, maybe when I replace the heater hoses. I still need to put the knob on.

 

 

 

[dat521gatherer]

I think I'll still try to save this motor though there is no meat for soldering at the moment.

[wayno]

I think I'll still try to save this motor though there is no meat for soldering at the moment.

 

 

These particular motors are kinda cool, they are a flat disc and the brushes sit on them like a needle on a record player.

Whats really cool is that the motor doesn't stick out the back of the heater box very far, so if you want to relocate the heater box sideways, you don't have to make another big hole for the heater motor housing to stick threw the firewall.

Once these motors start to go away, they make a lot of noise doing just that, and they go away slowly, reminding you every minute over a long period of time.

[dat521gatherer]

Yeah while hammering on the blower to get it off the rear of the disc fell off. It is real interesting. I could have went with a regular motor but it leaves a big air gap between the motor that I didn't want to deal with and box and besides I think the flat style had a little more pep when I tested them on the battery.

[wayno]

Yeah while hammering on the blower to get it off the rear of the disc fell off. It is real interesting. I could have went with a regular motor but it leaves a big air gap between the motor that I didn't want to deal with and box and besides I think the flat style had a little more pep when I tested them on the battery.

 

Yes they seem to turn a little better/faster, but they also seem to wear out quicker, as I have went threw 2 of them so far.

I am saving the last one I have for special circumstances.

[dat521gatherer]

[dat521gatherer]

It's been a while. Today I put some door jamb dome light switches in. The dome light isn't very bright but when it's pitch black out it does get the job done. These were a dealer installed option but I've never actually seen a 521 have them except mine. Here are the parts I used. One newer style dome light with the extra ground wire which I will use to attach my wires that go to the switches. I f you don't want to buy the newer style you'll have to solder something together to attach your switch ground wires.

 

I first removed the package tray, kick panels, scuff plates.

 

Then I ran some temporary wires to fish the main wires coming down from the pillar.

 

I used a red wire on the left side cause I ran out of black. The hardest part is getting the wire to go down the inside of the pillar around where the sun visors mount. You have to be patient and good at fishing wires.

 

 

 

 

One red wire to the left driver switch and one black wire to the left passenger switch put together.

 

Done. Total time took me about a hour.

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by dat521gatherer

[dat521gatherer]

Maybe SuperBrightLEDs.com makes a bulb for the dome light.

[dat521gatherer]

While I'm under there... Must be the choke cable rattling on the body.

 

Some rubber hose should teach it a lesson.

 

I cant stand things rattling.

[dat521gatherer]

It's been a while since I added to this thread so today I tightened up the shifter.

 

My left to right shift swing went from 5.5 inches to 3.25 in neutral and 2.5 inches to 1.25 in gear.

 

My rubber bushings were fine. The problem lies with the bottom of the shift fork being too spread out making a gap. This happens to all 521's. What I did Is take the shift fork I call it and put it in a vice and bend the 4 little fork prongs closer together to the point where you have to tap it back down on the shaft for reassembly.  Everything else was super tight including a extra washer next to the spring someone added. I did not reinstall the extra washer as it was putting way too much pressure on the mechanism.

 

I've done this on 4 521's over the last 20 years and it's a sure fix not wearing loose anytime soon. I did add a washer to the right side of the bottom pin to take up the slack and keep the fork from spreading back out anytime soon.

 

I also put the trans cover on top of the floor mat for better aesthetics.

 

 

 

 

 

[dat521gatherer]

I had all the new parts to replace thinking the spring might be broke but it was all in good shape so I'll hang on to parts. They were cheap from the dealer still available 3 years ago. I advise everyone to buy this stuff even if you don't need it at the moment.

 

 

 

 

[wayno]

I cannot say I have ever seen such a clean floor covering, is this something you bought?

[thisismatt]

Lookin good.  Did you install that scuff plate?

[datson4life]

Clean!!

[Schoolzin]

Good info. Ditto on your truck looking really clean!

[mrbigtanker]

Very nice my friend.

[dat521gatherer]

I cannot say I have ever seen such a clean floor covering, is this something you bought?

It's original. You can see on the first page how dirty it was when I bought it. It has a bad case of rust stained on the underside thats impossible to get off.

 

Lookin good.  Did you install that scuff plate?

Scuff plate? If you mean the trans tunnel cover they all are hidden under the mats. When I hear scuff plate I think of the aluminum plate that holds the bottom of the door seal to the body.

[dat521gatherer]

I cannot say I have ever seen such a clean floor covering, is this something you bought?

There were a couple different nos floor mats on ebay last year that went for crazy money. Tanker probably bought them. Hehe.

 

Clean!!

Thanks!

 

Good info. Ditto on your truck looking really clean!

Thank you.

 

Very nice my friend.

Thanks Tanker

[wayno]

There were a couple different nos floor mats on ebay last year that went for crazy money. Tanker probably bought them. Hehe.

 

 

 

That was Jay selling them, not sure if they sold or not, but they were to expensive for me.

That is a clean looking interior, it looks like it is all there, what does the dash top look like under the cover?

 

EDIT, I seen that I already asked about the dash 4 years ago, now I understand why it is covered, to keep it that way.  :thumbup:

[dat521gatherer]

I also put some leds in the dash lights. While I was in there I repaired a bad ground rivet  that would make my left blinker light stay lit in the first pic. I would reach under there and tap the circuit board and the blinker light would go out for a while then come back on and stay lit when I tried to use the left blinker. I had this same rivet problem with my fuel gauge falling to empty again I would reach under the dash and tap the gauge volt reg and my fuel needle would jump up.

 

 

This ground rivet should look like

 

 

This

 

 

So I drilled it out and put a screw in it. Fixed it.