OPERATING EXPERIENCE
Through the eyes of the owner
UAZ - NOT FOR EVERYONE …
… but only for those who like to work with their hands. Only he will succeed
from the "goat" is a wonderful car.
Oleg POISYEV
My first UAZ (ZR, 1996, No. 10 and 1998, No. 11) convinced that I only needed such a machine. When the opportunity arose, I bought a new one, already with a spring suspension (at the end of 1997 in Ulyanovsk). At UAZs, which has already been noticed more than once, random people do not go - there was a big, but interesting work to bring the purchase into proper shape.
A car with a spring suspension immediately seemed much softer on the go, but listened to the steering wheel belatedly. In addition, softness poured into a roll, which on the way home to Tula began to annoy. It became clear that the shock absorbers are not doing their job. I had to immediately do the suspension.
First of all, I mounted radial tires on alloy wheels and installed “Koni” gas-filled shock absorbers. After six months of operation, the springs began to openly “plop”. Replaced them with others - the company "Kilen": UAZ was just not to know! Now, the advantages of the spring suspension have come to light: the car literally sticks to the road, only memories remain from the "goat". It keeps the turns cool, the softness of the ride has also become excellent - all these qualities are manifested at any speed. By the way, cruising along the highway is 110–120 km / h.
Since I chose the hardest Kilen springs, the nose of the car rose a couple of centimeters; to raise the stern, laid between the rear springs and the spacer bridge. The energy intensity of the front suspension has increased, now it does not make its way to the chippers.
The first five thousand kilometers traveled without worries, slowly improving comfort. Installed front seats from the Ford Scorpio, rear - from a UAZ minibus, which I put on skids. All three backs are folded separately. Salon and doors overlaid with sheet polypropylene with a total thickness of 15 mm. The car became much quieter and warmer. At least at a speed of 100 km / h you can listen to music and talk. I also glued and bolted polypropylene mats to the casings above the box and the “razdatka” on the outside. The noise from the "handout" significantly decreased.
However, after five thousand kilometers, the improvement was stopped - a knock was heard in the engine. In order not to wait for a “handshake” from his beloved car, he disassembled the motor. In the first cylinder, a finger climbed out of the piston and broke it already cool, lifting up the cylinder liner. I was glad that I had a simple engine, not a three-liter one. Then I would have to change the block, and so - I bought one sleeve. Since the engine was disassembled, I decided to improve it a bit: I changed all the forged pistons. Each is 50 grams lighter than the regular one, a total of 200 grams off is something. In addition, he supplied piston rings and valve stem seals from Goetze. The engine has become faster, runs softer, reduced oil consumption. Since I drive the expensive 5W-40 "synthetics", this is important. I operate the car all year round regardless of the weather, therefore I fill the 75W90 “synthetics” into the transmission. Also everywhere added additive ER. UAZ runs much more fun on these oils than on conventional ones: I hope the engine will last longer. The air filter was supplied by Volga GAZ 3110. It fits without alterations, the air cleans better and less worries with it. Change it after 10 thousand km. The battery capacity of 90 A.h provides start-up in any frost.
I replaced the hinges of equal angular velocities with the cam joints, which I removed from the previous car. They were produced earlier by some plant. The node has established itself as very reliable. In my experience, regular CV joints (with balls) are not very reliable, and it’s more difficult to manufacture.
I installed a diaphragm clutch (the seller on the market said that it was from a harvester, but the UAZ driven disk came up like a native. However, I had to drill holes for mounting on a flywheel under a new “basket”). Now the car starts moving smoothly, without jerking. The well-known company LuK produces a diaphragm clutch kit for UAZs. It is time for the plant to switch to a modern design.
Since there is no stuffing box on the input shaft of the gearbox, oil gradually makes its way along the shaft to the clutch disc - after a while it starts to slip. I had to make an oil seal from felt. So far, everything is normal.
At the end of 1998, he installed a power steering manufactured in Belarus. Steering is a pleasure, you turn the wheels in place with even a finger. And on the go, in my opinion, the feedback is not bad, and if the car hooks in a rut with the front wheel, the steering wheel does not break out of hands, as before. True, the high pressure pump from Borisov turned out to be unreliable - I and my friends had to change the "UAZ".
Since the “windshield wipers" were in the old fashioned manner on my car (above), I wanted to move them down. I got two electric motors from the rear Niva wipers. I rearranged the contact rings in them so that they stopped at the bottom of the glass. For synchronous operation, I had to assemble a small electronic circuit, which also allows you to change the pause in the operation of the wipers from 1 to 30 seconds. On the rear window also installed a "janitor" with a washer.
I glued a new dashboard from fiberglass - now it is much more convenient to observe the instruments and use the switches. Supplemented it with a "Zhiguli" tachometer. On an all-terrain vehicle with a lower gear, this device is necessary so as not to overturn the engine. “Volgovskiy” had to be inserted into the “Zhiguli” speedometer, otherwise the testimony would not correspond to reality, since they have different gear ratios.
A lot has already been written about improving the operation of the heater in UAZs. For example, they put an impeller from Moskvich-412, which has eight rather than six blades. Since it is made of metal, you can change the angle of inclination of the blades, achieving the best ratio of performance and noise. To make it warmer for the rear passengers, heat is brought in with a hose, putting it on the pipe for blowing the front passenger's legs.
Having driven into UAZs for many thousands of kilometers on different tires, I find it difficult to say something good about diagonal tires - now they are slightly cheaper than radial and frankly “oak”. Riding quality also leaves much to be desired.
Of the radial tires, he exploited three models.
The first - YAI-357 (215–90R15) from Yaroslavl - is similar in figure to the diagonal, but much softer. The car goes steadily through the mud and, in my opinion, has good directional stability. For sand and loose soil, the tire is perhaps not very suitable. Since we have more dirt than sand, I recommend this rubber to those who live in the village or often travel to the country.
I-502 (225–85R15) - developed by NIISHP, is produced at Nizhnekamskshina - a bit wider than the previous one, and the car runs even softer on it. In the mud, this tire does not work well - it immediately clogs and does not self-clean, like the YAI-357. Stability with it is also worse, but if you get into a skid, it pulls the car when gas is supplied much more readily. And on a hard damp surface, the 502nd behaves better than the 357th. I think that the I-502 is suitable for those who travel all year round, but it’s probably not worth arranging a Camel Trophy on it.
I-471 (31x10.5 inches) appeared recently. This tubeless tire from Yaroslavl, perhaps, has absorbed the advantages of the two previous models: the car runs on it very gently, the joints of asphalt are simply swallowed. Stability is better than on other tires, and thanks to the “evil” pattern, patency will satisfy many. And what a combat look UAZ takes! Frankly, for a long time I doubted whether to put these tires. It seems that it is clear from the textbooks that a wide tire should be inferior to a narrow one in patency. But, having traveled to the I-471, I can confidently say that it surpasses the previous two. True, it needs wider than regular wheels for tubeless rubber. By the way, all of the listed tires can be attributed to the same price category.
Those who want to put a plastic roof instead of an awning, I advise you not to throw out the rear safety arch. If you deploy it and weld the bottom corners for mounting, then it will fit just between the rear side and side windows. You never know … suddenly come in handy. In addition, it is convenient to fix the ceiling to it.
In conclusion, a few general assessments. Of course, the UAZ production quality is unimportant, starting with painting. By and large, the UAZ is a car for handy people, but affordable: unless you buy some other all-terrain vehicle for 2500 cu? But Pajero with its “superselect”, and the same “Land Rover”, not to mention such “SUVs” as “Frontera” and “Cherokee,” we have repeatedly pulled out of the mud from our UAZ.
The homemade dashboard is comfortable and pleasing to the eye.
The electric fan on the radiator, like on the previous machine, works better than the regular one.
Such CV joints are already on the second machine.
