Today I mostly .....

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Zelandeth
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Sun Aug 22, 2021 12:02 am

Bit more progress today. First job was to reattach the air filter/muffler to the compressor as it fell off a while ago. Have gone for the epoxy putty approach first...if that doesn't hold I'll get the welder out and tack it back onto the metal stub screwed into the body of it. Was only a couple of flimsy spot welds originally there.

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Then it was a matter of shuffling things around, putting up an additional shelf on the rack and generally tidying. I moved the air hookup point and regulator a bit too with some thought for when the hose reel when it arrives - assuming it will fit - it will go somewhere in this vicinity of the red circle on the image below.

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Then there was far longer than it looks like generally digging around and trying to tidy things up. It does feel like we're starting to actually make some forward progress now though, which is a bit of a morale boost.

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Having bought the self-retracting hose reel for the air line has given me the idea to pick something up along the same lines for an electrical extension lead. The one I currently have was a seriously cheap one picked up from Argos about 15 years ago and is utterly maddening to use...time for a better one. It will be getting fitted at ceiling height as well in the same area as the air one. The overall mission here is to get as much stuff off the floor as possible to make it an easier place to work in.

About time I sorted the garage door opener too. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the unit itself and it works perfectly, looks a nicely built unit actually. The issue is that we don't have either a fob for the remote receiver or key for the manual override switch by the door. So time to get a new receiver and new keyswitch fitted, then it should be fully functional again. Given the faffing around playing car Tetris that goes on every time I go to get the Invacar in/out of the garage that is something it would be nice to have working. Plus it bugs me knowing there's nothing physically wrong with it but I can't use it.

It's definitely being a bit of a morale boost seeing this starting to take shape. It's needed to happen for far far too long. Should be able to deal with the huge pile of stuff I thought I couldn't move too as it's occurred to me that while we don't have a shed to put the garden furniture in...I do have a stinking great camper van don't I? No reason I can't just stash things in there while I'm working on the garage. Can't believe it took me a week to figure that out. I'm really not the brightest crayon in the box sometimes!
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:29 pm

Out for a run again today, needed to make a run down to Aylesbury and it was a nice day so TPA came out for it.

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While I do enjoy driving this car, and the vast majority of the time she copes very well. Was staggered by how nicely she cruises on the motorway for one, on the wrong road she can be quite tiring. Google decided to send me cross country, and I wound up on a relatively fast road with a horrendous surface.

Ride is better than I had ever expected for a 400kg car on 10" wheels, but is quite bouncy. The seat does a good job of isolating the majority of the shock from the driver too. However being a glass fibre body the moment you hit anything whatsoever by way of undulation on the road you get all manner of crashes and rattles from the body. The interior is a LOT better than it used to be, but there's only so much you can do. The doors in particular are always going to be a major source of rattles without totally re-engineering the latches. I may look into doing something along those lines one day given I'm obviously going to keep using this car regularly and can't honestly ever see me selling her.

You can carry more speed through corners than I think people expect, when you know the road and can see a good distance ahead. However when you *don't* know the road and the tendency for there to be hedges or walls right up to the side of the roads around here I did have to pull in a couple of occasions so as to not irritate the cars behind me. While she's quite happy to cruise at 50-60, she does take a bit of time to wind up - just as you would expect from a 500cc powered car from the 70s!

The biggest cause of stress on that trip though was down to dealing with one of those road surface issues which are just inherently quite unnerving in a three wheeler with the single wheel up front - roads with really wobbly undulating camber issues. That does make her wobble around quite a bit...I don't find it unnerving really now as I've got used to it and know she's not about to hurl me off the road, but it does mean keeping a straight line line (especially with how direct the steering is) on roads like that is quite a bit of work. Not quite as bad as the Lada was on similar roads mind you!

Coming home I chose my own route and just headed down the A418/505/5...far less daft a route. Much smoother and better in the visibility department...and I wound up being stuck behind a brand new Range Rover until I got to the A5 so I could overtake it!

Really, really news to clean the windscreen. The amount of bugs splattered on there is unreal just now. Whole car could do with a wash anyway really...think she's only had one so far since being resurrected so far.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Tue Aug 24, 2021 11:22 pm

A parcel arrived from DPD earlier today containing this for the garage.

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Sadly didn't get time to look into getting it fitted today... hopefully tomorrow.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Wed Aug 25, 2021 8:04 pm

Managed to grab half an hour this afternoon to get the air hose reel installed. It was moderately awkward to do simply because it's heavy. Clearly designed more for a commercial setting than a hobbyist garage - even the bracket just for the hose guide reel is like 1/4" thick. This made lifting it into place hard work and meant I needed to make sure to use some pretty heavy duty fasteners.

Think the location I've chosen should work well as it's entirely within what would otherwise be totally dead space.

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Nice and easily accessible though - especially once the quick connect has been fitted to weigh the end of the hose down.

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Also positioned such that if it *does* decide to pull the ceiling down, it'll more likely land on the door frame rather than the car. Not actually hooked up yet as I need a reducer for the outlet as it's 3/8" and everything I have here is 1/4" - and nowhere locally I could think of had a 3/8" quick connect fitting, so waiting on one arriving in the post.

There is a package on the way from Germany for the Merc with a pair of reproduction tail lights...if it ever makes it here. They appear to be having serious problems with shipping... it's ended up back at the dispatch depot twice now. Have also just ordered a new set of rear springs and tailgate gas struts. Be nice in particular to get the springs changed to get rid of the horrible gronking noises. Not been a cheap week!
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Thu Aug 26, 2021 11:59 pm

I briefly had the Merc out after dark yesterday and it was very obvious that something was far amiss with the headlight aim.

Didn't take long to find out why today.

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As with many things on the Mercedes W123/S123 the headlamp beam height adjustment control is operated by vacuum...and that hose you see there should be attached to the nearside headlight height adjuster. I'm guessing I knocked it off when I pulled the cover off a couple of weeks ago. With it reattached the beam adjusters did their thing and the beam height looks more or less right now.

I did make another discovery of something on this car today which again made me go "hey, that's a really smart idea..." which seems to be something of a running theme.

Normally the bonnet opens this far. Which is better than on a lot of cars. Plus sprung hinges mean there's no faffing about with bonnet props.

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I also appreciate that the latch is buried up behind the grill as well so it's near impossible to catch your head on it. The bonnet sits high enough that even the grill hanging down doesn't get in the way.

However if you press this one little catch down on the offside hinge...

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The bonnet then swings all the way back to vertical (and equally importantly, latches there).

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This takes it completely out of the way and I'm pretty sure would even give you ample room to get in with an engine hoist if you needed to.

It's a feature that on 98% of the cars probably never got used even once after they left the showroom, yet the design and engineering team saw it as helpful enough for maintenance that they included it. On behalf of mechanics and hobbiests the world over, if you were one of the folks on that team, we thank you.

While doing a lighting check I did notice for the first time something that this car *doesn't* have which surprised me though.

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Indicator side repeaters. If memory serves it was 1986 that they became mandatory on new cars, so being a 1986 car this must be one of the last not to have them fitted - though it's worth mentioning there that this was the last year this model was made (with the saloon having been discontinued a year earlier in 1985) so they likely never got them.

I had TPA out for a run down Dunstable way today, mainly because I remembered there being a set of roadworks down there which tends to cause quite a queue and the Merc gets warmer than I really like in traffic...so was an obvious choice.

Ever since I changed the dynastart belts they have been quite noisy. Originally I'd just put this down to them needing to bed in...but after a few hundred miles they're still making a din.

Looking closer I think I can see why. The inboard one isn't sitting properly.

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Same story on the lower pulley.

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My theory is that it's a bit too tight so is getting pulled down too far into the valley on the pulley. Now I've spotted that should be quick enough to resolve. Hopefully once I've shuffled shims around a bit the belts will quiet down a bit.


In other news the 3/8" to 1/4" adaptors turned up so I could finish the air line installation work.

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Doesn't really look much different to the last picture, but this is actually now all hooked up and working properly.

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We did initially have one small leak at this join. This is why I use leak detector spray as I'd never have found it otherwise.

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I had just been a bit too stingy with the PTFE tape it seemed as on take two it sealed perfectly without any issues. I've left the system charged and will see if we've lost all the air by morning. I need to do a test to see how far I can reach with this and my existing extension (the yellow hose you've seen previously). I'm hoping that I will be able to get to the whole driveway and can just ditch the annoying plastic coily one which seems to exist for the sole purpose of getting itself tangled around everything and smacking me in the face when it comes free.

Only task left on the air system until I call it good will be wiring in the power switch.

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The socket this is connected to is basically inaccessible (it's behind the tank) so is a pain to get to, but I obviously wanted a way to shut it off. I went for an industrial style switch as it was cheaper than an equivalent IP rated double pole rocker switch, which I wanted because I've had issues with dust and grime getting into none IP rated switches before. Plus I can just wipe this down if I get it covered in oily gunk, which will no doubt happen at some point.

Once that's wired up I'm calling it done for now. Few little bits and pieces to do to optimise things (like replacing that flexible line from the receiver to the regulator with rigid line) but it will be absolutely usable then.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Fri Aug 27, 2021 9:47 pm

Only one small job done today. Due to a missing trim clip the trim panel in front of the centre cubby hole sat a good 1/4" proud of the surrounding trim and looked obviously wrong.

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The way this whole panel is secured is that it slots into place under the ashtray then slides forward to locate. So replacing the missing clip wasn't something requiring *too* much precision. Cue careful use of a woodscrew...being careful to not break the surface. There was already a void here from where the original clip was secured so I've just used that space really rather than screwing further into quite a thin bit of wood.

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Sophisticated it isn't, but it works.

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The whole panel used to wobble around and rattle before, none of that now. If I find what type of clip was originally used there I will see about replacing it properly.one day, but it's pretty low on the priority list.

I really do like how with this interior that they seemed to have figured out exactly how much and where to use the polished wood trim to make it feel properly special, but not be too over the top and brash. Especially with a contrasting interior colour like blue or green.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Mon Aug 30, 2021 6:36 pm

Yet another headache trying to turn into a migraine yesterday meant I only had about half an hour before it became apparent that I wasn't just going to be powering through it and getting on with things.

Did get one tiny job done though. While I had managed to get the trim on the tailgate to sit flat again there was still a gap at the ends and a sharp edge there as the rubber capping had long since been ripped off. As this was moulded as part of the rubber strip itself it's not something you can just replace as a spare.

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Not being willing to part with a few hundred quid for a replacement trim strip, I instead made a replacement "end cap" from some epoxy putty. Not perfect but it'll be less conspicuous once I slap a bit of black paint on it. Had remembered this being a darker grey than this, but those are just the breaks sometimes.

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It means there's not a sharp edge there (on either side actually as they both had the same problem) so I'm not worried about me or some random member of the public snagging on it.

-- -- --

When checking it today I noted that the oil on the dipstick was looking distinctly dark again so it was time for it to be dropped and changed again.

Not black, but definitely dirty. This has been in the engine for about 700 miles.

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You can see how much grime the filter has been collecting between the pleats in the element. So this would have lost quite a chunk of flow capacity already.

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Somewhat worryingly there are a few ~1mm sized bits of metal flake in there. Optimistically they're from the camshaft as we know that's been subjected to abnormal wear due to oil starvation. It's entirely likely though they're from bearing surfaces deeper in the engine. Short of dropping the sump and pulling a couple of the bearing caps off the crankshaft for examination it's impossible to say. It's worth keeping in mind that the previous oil filter that I removed the first time I changed the oil on getting the car had failed so most of the oil was probably bypassing it.

I am going to have a look at how hard it is to drop the sump anyway as given the state of the top end I'm expecting the sump to be just as bad - and I'd really rather not have all that slime ending up blocking the oil pickup screen (as has killed innumerable 90s and early 00s Saab engines).

We've got acceptable oil pressure at idle, not great but acceptable, so I'm not immediately worried it's about to explode, but definitely something I need to keep an eye on. I'll be keeping on the "change the oil once it starts to get dark" routine for the foreseeable future. A bit of a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, but there's only so much I can really do at this stage - if damage has happened it's already happened.

It's worth noting that thanks to sensible design by Mercedes that I was able to complete this oil change without spilling a single drop.

Also on investigation of the jammed passenger side heater temperature control found I need to order up a new bracket for the heater controls.

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Which I think is why this whole console is wobbly. That plastic frame is meant to be riveted to the front of the heater box, and the temperature controls are then bolted it it, and that locks everything together. With that broken (it's worse than it looks, I counted eight pieces) nothing is really secured properly. I'll aim to replace the cable for the passenger side temperature control while I'm at it...the valve moves freely but the cable is completely seized up.

Given the number of posts on various forums I found when searching for the part I'm guessing that bracket failing is a common issue. Get a horrible feeling that replacing it is going to be a pig of a job though as I reckon the whole console will need to come out to gain access.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Tue Aug 31, 2021 11:13 pm

Can you spot the difference?

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Well the obvious one is the stainless screws now holding the door handle on (rather than the rusty flat head screws that used to be there). What you can't tell is that this is actually the handle which used to be on the other door.

Something that I hadn't (for obvious reasons!) mentioned anywhere public was that one issue I had yet to deal with on TPA was that the nearside door lock was seized. The offside one worked fine...but I very seldom use that door as it's an absolute pain to close and likes to stick on the runners. Sorting it out is on the to do list, but I've not got there yet.

I had come up with a bodge with allowed me to make it appear locked - but with a solid pull on the handle you could still open it. There was no way to actually lock it properly though.

Today I finally got around to drilling out the screws holding the handles on so I could transfer the good one to the door I use. Then I set about seeing if I could get the seized lock apart and sort it. The answer was "sort of." It's still very sticky but does actually move now. Realistically it wants replacing though. For now though I've got it into a locked state...which given I don't use the offside door having it locked is just fine. You can still open it from inside - for example if I needed to exit that way in an emergency. The nearside door now locks and unlocks properly.

Something I'd been meaning to do for ages so nice to have it ticked off. I mean security is very much relative with these cars...but it's better than nothing! Definitely slightly less worrying leaving the car parked up anywhere public.

Especially in places like busy multi storey car parks for example.

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Ease of parking is definitely a plus with driving the Invacar. I remember those spaces being far tighter last time I was in this car park.

I also wasted about half an hour...they have the stairwells in that car park set up as one way...one to go down, one to go up. I found the "down" one just fine. When I came to return to the car...could I for the life of me find the other one? Not a chance. Eventually I gave in and walked up the vehicle only route. Still haven't the foggiest where the entrance to the other one is!

Had a box arrive today I've been waiting a couple of weeks for - the replacement tail lights for the Merc. Took forever to arrive as there were issues with the shipping - with the goods having been returned to the sender twice - I assume due to issues with export paperwork.

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Before and after for the offside.

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Fit is...average at best. But given they were about 10% of the cost of most of the used genuine ones I've found I'd say it's reasonable. I doubt you'd notice unless you were looking for it.

The original here has pretty well had it.

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Sadly the replacement nearside one fared less well during transit.

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Seller immediately agreed to send a replacement, so hopefully that will be here soon. Be nice to get these sorted out. Small detail really, but a very visibly obvious one.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Tue Sep 07, 2021 1:20 am

Not been anything going on since the start of last week as entirely predictably my second COVID vaccine dose pretty much clobbered me. I'm just about feeling like a vaguely functional human being again now. I had expected this to be honest, everyone has said the second one of Moderna is the roughest and I always have a rough time with vaccines.

It was actually quite pleasant outside over the weekend but I just wasn't well enough to do anything, I did try once and made it precisely as far as opening the garage door, picking up the socket set and then realising I was totally winded already...then today this nonsense has reappeared.

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About 23 is the upper limit I can tolerate while still being anything resembling productive.

So instead I went out for a drive and to pick up a few things. Was originally going to take the van as it's by far the most comfortable on a warm day (and doesn't give a damn itself about the heat as the cooling system has what seems like about 300% of spare capacity). However it needs fuel...and I really want to drop the fuel tank before I fill it again to try to finally sort the vent pipe so I can fill the tank in less than half an hour.

So there was an obvious choice. Especially being late enough in the day that I was half expecting to get caught in some traffic.

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Upon my arrival home one of the jobs on my "I need to get around to this one day" list decided to push itself to the front.

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The rearmost of the window latches on the offside window finally exploded (quite impressively!) in a hail shower of brittle black plastic. All four are pretty much knackered so it's just time to get a new set ordered. They're readily (if annoyingly expensively) available as they're the same ones as used on early Minis.

They've all been missing huge chunks and badly cracked since I first got hold of KPL back in January 2018 so kind of surprised they've held together this long.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Wed Sep 08, 2021 1:46 am

Having a little bit of a moment of concern over the long term prospects for the engine in the S123. I'm pretty certain that the hot oil pressure at idle has dropped somewhat since it was changed a week or so back. I'm sure we were seeing just under 1.5 bar at the point the cooling fan was cycling. Now looking at this.

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It was hotter than Hell out there today and I think the idle may be fractionally lower than when I last checked (I think the IAC valve would probably benefit from a clean), but it definitely seems to be lower.

This isn't entirely unexpected to be honest... let's not forget that this is what several lobes of the camshaft look like.

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I was pretty much braced for there most likely to be deeper issues... especially as the oil filter element was so clogged when I went to change it the first time that it had collapsed.

The most likely candidates I can think of off the top of my head are:

[] Clogged oil pickup strainer.

[] Gunk in the oil pump pressure relief valve so it doesn't seat properly.

[] Big end bearings and/or journals in the same state as the camshaft.

[] Oil pump rotors or casing ground away to nothing...like the camshaft.

[] Or it's just a bit of a worn out old engine and wants some thicker oil thrown in.

Which is definitely the first thing we'll be doing after I've had a peek at the oil filter element to make sure it hasn't been clogged up by some gunk having come loose from somewhere.

If it turns out we do have decaying oil pressure which isn't just needing a new filter and a grade change we obviously need to do something about it. The big question is rebuild or replace?

I would definitely be leaning towards wholesale replacement with another engine. I'd be expecting the crankshaft to be scrap based on what I've seen so far...and I'd probably basically end up replacing everything aside from the block itself...even then I'd never be completely sure that I'd got all the gunk out!

If I could find a complete unit with a gearbox that would be even better as I know this one isn't 100% healthy - third gear is engaged with a sledgehammer when cold and first gear only appears for about half a second when pulling away with your foot on the floor...oh, and the fluid smells like burnt toast which is never a good sign.

Given that it's usually rust which kills these cars I'm hoping that tracking down a good power unit wouldn't be too massive a headache. On that note, if you know anyone with an M102.980 engine sitting under a tarp in the corner of a garage, let me know.

At least it looks like doing an engine swap on this car doesn't look like it should be too difficult. Definitely worth doing if it comes to it though I think.

Hopefully we won't need it...but I'd rather be prepared for it if we do. This is why I keep an eye on my instruments, so things like this don't sneak up on you. The actual numbers on the gauges aren't so important... it's keeping an eye out for them doing something different to what they normally do that's important and is a pointer towards something needing attention.

Sorry, that turned into a bit of a ramble.

Kind of surprising really in that having owned probably fifty odd cars over the years - with 80% of those being sub £500 examples - I've never actually had a major mechanical failure. Most in-depth surgery I've ever had to do was a head gasket swap on my last Skoda. Even if I do wind up needing to do major work this time that's still not a bad batting average really. A good advert for preventative maintenance too!
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Wed Sep 08, 2021 10:34 pm

Well I've got news and it ain't good.

Figured dropping the oil and putting some heavier weight in there wasn't the worst idea.

The drain pan tells us what we need to know I think. It was cleaned before use. The oil has been in there for about a week and a hundred or so miles.

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All those specs in there? They're all shiny. Which means they're all bits of metal which *should* be attached to the innards of my engine...most likely either the cam or crankshaft.

With 20W50 in there rather than 10W30, we've gained maybe 5-7psi of oil pressure when hot. A bit but nothing dramatic.

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She's obviously hurting pretty bad.

The biggest question at this point really is where has that metal come from?

We know the camshaft is knackered...well the lobes are, no way to see what state the bearings are in without pulling things to bits. Need to have a closer look at my spare head to see how much work it might be to pop the caps off to take a look.

Does anyone know off the top of their head if you can drop the sump off this engine in situ easily enough, or is it a pain of a process because something is in the way? Because if we could pull a bearing cap or two off the bottom end that could tell us a lot.

Obviously the engine has issues, but if it's "just" the camshaft that's chewing itself up, changing the whole thing might be slight overkill. Hmm...further investigation needed.

I have started asking around to see if anyone knows of a spare engine about anywhere though.
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by rid54 » Thu Sep 09, 2021 5:59 am

The cam lobes are normally very hard. The wear involves the cam followers, and they are also tempered to great hardness. I had a Citroën that had a small scar in one cam lobe, and that small imperfection caused the rocker arm cam follower "pad" to wear down totally within 2000 km (it was changed once, but with the same camshaft). The metal particles, if they're magnetic, may well be from cam followers being eaten by the rough surface of the lobes. If the oil flow to the head is "OK", it might be enough to get a good head onto the engine, don't you think?

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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Thu Sep 09, 2021 11:41 pm

For a chunk of this afternoon it was raining so out of curiosity I decided to take a look at the camshaft setup on the spare head. This was as much for my education as anything. Plus if we find the bottom end on my engine looks okay we may wind up swapping this head onto my current block...unlikely but I'm keeping an open mind at this point.

Here's what I found.

Cylinders are numbered from 1 at the crank pulley end to 4 at the flywheel end.

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Corresponding rocker/cam carrier assemblies in the same order.

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Then the camshaft itself.

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Obviously isn't brand new but probably has plenty of life left in it yet. Million times better than the one on the car!

No chance I could just swap the cam/followers over as the lower bearing is part of the head and I imagine they were machined together as a pair.

Two main next steps I will be taking - once the incoming weather system has moved on anyway.

[] Pull the rocker cover again and inspect anything. If the cam follower on the bad cylinders are being eaten away it should be pretty apparent I'd think as the clearances will have opened up.

I do wonder if it's me having set those which has tipped the scales, as a couple were well wide.

[] Drop the sump and pull a few caps off to inspect them and the crankshaft.

That should give us a picture of where we stand with regards to the condition of the engine as a whole.

Then we can see whether we're looking at wholesale replacement or potentially a head swap. Though I'm guessing we will see a whole new unit at this point.

-- -- --

Bit later in the afternoon I decided to tick off another item on my list and give the Invacar an oil and filter change.

I'm glad to report that in sharp contrast to what just came out of the Mercedes that there wasn't anything by way of sparkly powder in the oil that was drained.

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Which was quite nice to see after the last couple of days! Even the magnetic pickup had next to nothing on it which is always nice to see. To be honest I've only ever seen a pencil tip eraser sided amount of gunk on there the first time I cleaned it, and I doubt it had been touched for decades before that.

Worth noting that the magnetic pickup is not in the sump plug though, it's in the oil filter drain - so could easily be missed if you didn't know it was there. I really like that they provided a separate drain for the filter too as it means you can change it without making a mess. As the filter is installed open end down that would otherwise be unavoidable.

Think I've spotted a source of a huge rattle too, looks like one of the body mounts in the vicinity of the offside rear wheel tub isn't doing its job so the whole area can wobble and vibrate. I will add a couple of fasteners to the back of the wheel tub to the chassis rail with a couple of nice big washers so they don't pull through like the original rivets did. Already did this on the nearside as that had happened there and the tub was fouling on the tyre there.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Zelandeth
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Fri Sep 10, 2021 8:39 pm

Just realised I made mention of the magnetic oil particle trap on the Invacar but have never shown it, and it's worthy of mention as it's quite a clever setup which I've not seen before.

It's the little black cylinder just below centre frame in the oil filter housing.

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You can see the head of it underneath where it's unscrewed from. Aside from allowing the magnetic plug to be inspected and cleaned this also allows the oil filter to be drained before you change it so as to minimise mess. 17mm head on that, 19mm for the sump plug itself.

Finished off the job from yesterday - I'd completely lost track of the spare filter so had to pick another one up.

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For reference, the Bosch equivalent for the Mann W712 usually quoted is a P2056.

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Apparently shared with a 2007 Nissan X-Trail 2.2 Diesel.

Just one of the nice little design feature on the engine that seemed worth sharing.
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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Zelandeth
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Re: Today I mostly .....

Post by Zelandeth » Sat Sep 11, 2021 10:47 pm

As a fair chunk of my tools are currently with a friend (hoping they will be returned tomorrow...I had been promised this morning...) there's not much I can really do today. Well that's not strictly true...I could use the 1/4" drive sockets and not have the impact driver on hand. However those sockets are massively more cumbersome so I'd rather wait till my usual kit is on hand.

Next step for the Merc will be pulling the sump and bearing caps to see what state the bottom end is in. In preparation for this it's assumed the position in the "nearest to garage but not blocking anything in" space ready for open heart surgery.

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I'll slot a couple of extra paving slabs in at that end before starting work as that will give me a little bit of extra room to work. I don't think I'll need the car on the ramps as it has plenty of ground clearance. I will have a closer look through before I actually start to confirm that.

This meant getting into the BX for the first time in... probably about three months.

She started first try (after a bit of cranking to get fuel up to the carb obviously), rose straight up and made me remember how sweet the engine actually runs. I decided to give her the opportunity to run for a while while I was in the area. So cranked the idle speed up to basically as far as the throttle stop screw allowed - probably about 1700rpm I think and left her like that for a while. Idea being to both get a bit of charge back in the battery and to get everything as properly warmed through as I really can without actually driving the car. Good stress test for the cooling system too - one which it seemed to pass with flying colours.

You can see why I wanted to try to get the exhaust warmed through at least - there's clearly been quite a bit of water sitting in it for a long while - the rusty trail following me whenever I moved the car was always a clue.

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Feeling really guilty for having neglected the car for so long. Have told myself that I absolutely need to pick up the brake pipes it needs this week and either make a start on fitting them or get it booked in to a garage to have it done. I've sat on it for far too long...it deserves to be sorted. I keep forgetting how incredibly comfortable a car it is for all the interior looks scruffy just now, and I really want to drive it!

Depending on what I find when I start digging into the Merc it may well end up being sorted first.

I was pretty sure that with my existing air line extension hooked up to my new hose that I'd be able to reach all the cars easily enough. Checking this today has shown that I was right and I've plenty of reach available.

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I checked over TPA to make sure there were no oil leaks following the filter change yesterday...there weren't. However I spotted something that I had completely forgotten about.

This is what the inside of the rear of the rear wheel tubs should look like.

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However this is what the nearside one currently looks like from the same angle.

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Looking closer from above you can see it's because about the rear foot of the wheel tub is actually missing, presumably from when this corner took a knock at some point in the past.

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Not ideal as it basically means there's very little bracing the two panels together at the rear...also means that the ignition coil, voltage regulator and starter solenoid will be getting absolutely drenched every time I drive on an even vaguely damp road.

My solution will come in the form of a random aluminium sheet offcut I've had in the "this might be useful one day" pile for ages.

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This will go roughly here.

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Which is a bit clearer to see from underneath.

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It will be both bolted to the chassis, riveted to the body and glassed in place and I'll cap off the remaining hole from above too.

This will tie the wheel tub, side body moulding, rear body moulding and the chassis leg together. Hopefully get rid of a bit of the rattling from that area too.

...I may actually use a bit of steel plate instead. That will largely depend on whether I can find my tin snips. I know that would be better, but I'd really rather not have to faff around trying to shape things using the angle grinder.

Last job for the day was sorting out this mess.

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This definitely absolutely had nothing to do with some idiot reversing 2.8 tonnes of camper van over it a few months ago. Nope...that absolutely did not happen.

Ten minutes later, nobody would ever know anything had happened.

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Well...except for me just having admitted my idiocy! Will try not to do it again...
LOZ: Oddball cars, lighting information, and anything else I remember to upload!
Current fleet: 02 VW Caddy 1.9SDI, 90 Mercedes 208D Autotrail Navajo, 85 Sinclair C5, 78 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6GL, 73 AC Model-70.

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