When I made the switch from an 8 inch motor to a 9 inch motor the shaft is a different length. I had to grind down the bottom of the hub to accommodate a shorter shaft. The last time I wrote about this the bottom of the hub had moved just enough to stop the whole adapter from moving. After taking out the motor again, I sent the hub back to Charlie, the guy who made it and he cleaned up the bottom so it's got just a smidge of clearance. Probably a 64th of an inch. He also cleaned up the inside of the hub so it would absolutely sit flush against the motor shaft.
I received the hub in the mail on Wednesday and started to put it back on. I did notice a small wobble but much less than it had been before. I took a video and sent it to Charlie and he said "press ahead." So the next day, while my wife worked on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I worked on getting the whole thing put back together. We sat down for our Turkey dinner later just after I had the motor back in the car. I decided I should let it sit over night so the locktite would harden.
(Yes, this time I did manage to tighten the lug bolts before I test drove the car.) And upon further examination, I did notice a couple small puddles from the transaxle. I wiped them up before I test drove. Rather than rush out to the streets, I did run the car about 20 minutes on jacks. Then I rechecked the bolts on the disc brakes to make sure nothing had come loose. Finally, I recharged the batteries so they would be fresh before a real test run on the streets.
Last year we had about a foot of snow at this time. This year, we have maybe a couple inches and most of it is melting. Just right to be able to test drive. I did a quick check on the leaks...nothing there. Rechecked the disc brakes, everything was firmly bolted down. Bolted on the tires and away I went. The vibration is much less and the car seems very happy to be in third or fourth gear. First is just noisy and second is still a mystery. The car likes to go into reverse but can't seem to find second. I probably need a minute adjustment on the shifter. The first test drive was nothing more than pulling out of the driveway, cruising down to the roundabout then coming pulling into the driveway. repeated this about 10 times. On Saturday, I checked everything again, leaks, loose bolts and this time headed in to town. After 5 miles, I turned around and came back. Repeated this same trip.
The little bit of snow on the road makes it clear that I lose a lot of control when my front wheels hit it. More than likely there is not enough weight on the front end. Even though I have about 100 lbs of batteries there, it's not enough.
There's still a lot to do: finish installing the interior trim, adjust the steering wheel, only a small area needs carpet, passenger seat, etc...
It was nice to drive it though, even though I probably won't be able to do it again until Spring.
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