With our first testing run for the new team on the horizon the following week and with the car not having run under its own power for a good 4 months, we decided to pull it out and drive it around the car park to make sure all the major systems are still functioning. This initial testing would also be a chance for the new members to see the car in action.
Preparing the tyres
The tyres, battery and radios were prepared, Yi Syuen jumped into the driver’s seat and IVy was good to go! As we just wanted to test and make sure the car was in a driving state, we ran the car with the top shell off to simplify the job of using the car.
We were able to drive the car to the end of the car park, chuck an 8 point turn at the end and return towards the workshop but on the way back a crack was heard and a piece of black material was seen flying into the air.
Upon closer inspection Yi Syuen discovered that the spabond adhesive that held the steering together and adhered to the car had failed in a several locations and would need to be stuck back together.
After a few calls to some team mentors and some help from the other Mechies on hand, the steering rack was disassembled, cleaned with acetone and re-attached with spabond.
- Yi Syuen repairing the steering rack
This exercise demonstrated the importance of testing once more and it was great that this issue turned up in the car park rather than next week after travelling out to Eastern Creek for a testing run!
Author: Charith Perera