Sigma-galant.com

bruggz351 wrote:Don't use masking tape though, use fine line tape as it will leave a sharper edge and shouldn't bleed.

I used painter's tape, and did an ok job. There is better tape I can get, so will try that one next time.

Started putting things back into the Sigma. Got one of the Starion struts in as well as the lower control arm.


Will have to take it back off cause I forgot the lube.


I was using a vice to press in the bushes into the LCAs. The first one was a pain, but finally got it in. Went onto the second one, and while pressing it in, everything went loose. Turned out that I snapped the damn vice in half.


I was using large sockets to put the bushes in, and grabbed the wrong size, and ended up bending the bush.


Picked up a new vice.


Instead of using the vice this time, I used a long threaded rod, 2x washers and 2x bolts. I used that in combination with the sockets I was using earlier and a cordless rattle gun and the bush popped out with ease. Put the bush on the vice, hammered the bush back into shape, did the reverse with the threaded rod to get the bush back in, and it went in with ease.

Now I can continue putting things back into the car.

For the last 2 weeks, I have been doing little bits and pieces when I have had time etc. I started putting all the steering gear back together.


The pitman arm was a pain to get out. Got it out after a lot of swearing. The new one was a very tight fit too.


The damage that occurred to the cross member and lower control arm I think happened when hitting a large pot hole. It looks like it suffered a little more damage too. It looks to have bent a little bit of the sheet metal next to the chassis rail. The chassis rail itself looks untouched, so not too bad.

Got the other strut in. Just have to clean up the hub and reinstall that.


I have got the stabiliser bar and strut bars reinstalled with bushes put in. The sway bar link bolts had rust on them. I tried to source new ones, but looks like they are not available. Was thinking about importing some from a Conquest, but found they are not the same length. JA on the left, GN on the right.


I just hot acid dipped and sanded the existing bolts. They weren't as bad as I thought they were.


Dipped the bolts and spacers in KillRust, and left them to hang and dry. Shouldn't start rusting again in a hurry.


I think that these bolts rust in this way because they are usually mounted in upside down.


With the bolt being the wrong way around, looks like water pools at the head, and starts rusting.

Couldn't find the bearings and rear seal that was on the Starion hub, so I grabbed the parts off the Sigma strut I just took out.


All put back in. Not long now before the wheels go back on.

So the Sigma bearings and seal are the same as the Starion ??

Are you using the stainless steel pad locating guides in your calipers ?

Sigmaproject wrote:So the Sigma bearings and seal are the same as the Starion ??

Yep, identical parts.

Sigmaproject wrote:Are you using the stainless steel pad locating guides in your calipers ?

At the moment I can only find 2 of the 8 that I need, but bought some off eBay. It should be ok without them, but better to be safe than sorry.

Cottees , have you got a link to the page for those??? I am running Starion brakes without them. No problems..but every now and then the pads will rattle on patched-up bitumen roads.

Yep, these are the ones I ordered. Hopefully they arrive Monday since I paid for expedient postage.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360654589327 ... 1439.l2649

It is also meant to have shims, but not sure how 'needed' they are.

I put my Starion brakes on the Sigma in 2002 without the retaining clips or the shims. And I took them off a Scorpion that was running without them. I have never has any issues apart from the odd rattle. I would imagine you still have your drum brake rear ? I swapped the rear over to GK discs and kept the disc/drum master cylinder. I have to drive onto a brake testing machine every rego to test the brakes. The brake balance is perfect.

It has drums on the rear at the moment. Will swap it with a Scorp diff with Station vented rotors.

Got some finishing touches to the front end. The Starion brake hose won't bolt to the Sigma's hard lines. Left is the Sigma hose, right is the Starion.


The Sigma hose is also longer than the Starion one.


Because I swapped over to the Sigma hose, and it is one piece, not two like the Starion one, the hose holder that mounts to the strut has to be modified.


I did a rough cut out first.


Then widened it with a tungsten carbide bit.


New brake pads to go in. Nice thick ones.


Looking good.


Now she is off car stands, and can drive. The brakes are still spongy, and are making a bit of noise, but will re-bleed then, and put in the pad clips, and see how that goes.

Did your stainless pad retaining clips turn up from America ?? I got mine the other day. I probably wont worry about putting them in until the next pad change (which is a long way off..I have just done the pads and wheel bearings)

Have you tried them for fitment / size ??

18 days after I ordered them, and I FINALLY got them. $20 postage didn't seem worth it. After being in Hawaii, it went to NSW, and sat at Adelaide Airport for almost 2 days.


Will probably get to try them on tomorrow sometime.

Swapped over booster and master cylinder to try and narrow down the issue of the brakes not working properly. Bleed the master cylinder first.


With everything back together, it has improved, but not working 100% still.


The rotors are looking a bit better without all that rust.


Fitted the pad clips I FINALLY got in the mail.


One of the rear pad clips had to be bent to fit properly.


A better view of the refreshed front end.


Swapped over the vacuum hose. It improved the brakes a little. Probably needs a good bleed.

Haven't been able to do too much lately on the Sigma, but I put on a test decal to replace the messed up Plasti Dip one.

Jacked up the rear end to check out the rear brakes to make sure there was no leaks. Other than being really dusty, it looked to be ok.



While her bum was in the air, I thought I'd swap over springs.


Pain to get swap them, but got them done eventually.


She sits a little lower, but not too much. Also feels a little stiffer in the rear end.

Did you ever trial fit your sigma spring into the Starion struts to see if they locate OK ?? I have a set of Lovell Starion springs in the wagon. They were the lowest you could buy ..minus half a coil

Now I would like to lift the front of the wagon about 20mm..and I have a set of stock GSR springs in the shed that I could take the grinder to..to get the desired height. Just wondering if they will locate in the spring seats ??

I put in King Springs into the front struts, and their part numbers are identical for the Starion and Sigma GJ-GN.

Thanks..looks like another project in the warmer months

Got a shot of the new decal in the sun. Looks better. Just have to get the rest done.

Got the rear louver fixed and mounted a couple weeks back.


Since I can't get the disc diff installed just yet, I decided to just repair the drum brakes.


While changing the stuffed rear passenger side cylinder, I noticed that the drum was cracked.

The GN had a visitor over today.


Got the broken drum off the car.



Brakes are all sorted now. Just have to clean her up and pay for rego.

I am extremely jealous of the louvres!

I like the plates

webby wrote:I like the plates

I got them back in April. I didn't think they'd allow it, but I got them without any problems.

Since I have given into peer pressure, I have decided to put more audio gear into the GN. While sorting out wiring, I decided to tidy up the ECU power cable.


Much neater, and the 2 spare fuse spots in the engine bay will come in handy for the audio gear fuses.


I got some new wheel nuts in the mail, so I put the larger wheels on.

With the larger wheels, I am experiencing Tramlining. On new roads, it is fine, but on an old rough road, it is all over the place.

I did some measurements to see how far out, if at all, the wheel track etc. are. From left to right is 14x5 +34 with 175/75r14, 15x6 +28 with 195/60R15 and 15x7 +19 with 225/50R15.


The front wheel track with stock 14" wheels is 1380mm. The Pepper Pots (15x6) increase the track by 8mm, so ends up being 1388mm. The new wheels increases the track by 30mm, so 1410mm.

Have you tried a different tyre? I have had trouble with crap tyres tramlining, especially when they are worn.

My 1st guess was possibly extra castor

I've also experienced it from idler arm problems.