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fatharris

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  1. Haha
    fatharris got a reaction from PicantoJon in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Jesus, brief panic ensued in the work car park - popped out to get something from the Rover, and the fob wasn't working. Totally dead. Unlocked the door with the key and the alarm went off, and wouldn't stop.
     
    Had to run back into the building, prise the fob open, reseat the batteries and try again. Working now, but poo shot out.
  2. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from Minimad5 in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    So, onto today's activities then.
    First off, I lopped off the rotten upper section of the reinforcing bracket between the inner wing and chassis leg. New on was measured up and filed down a bit to make it match.

    Got the welder set up and cracked on -

    Ground the welds back and it looked pretty okay after that.

    With that done, the repair sections were given a coating of weld through primer:

    And the first panel clamped in place.

    This one turned out to be a bit of a faff as there were loads of curves that I wasn't immediately aware of, but the hammer got everything in the right place for the welding to happen. Ground down, it even looked all right.

    With that done, it was onto the next section.

    Unfortunately, this turned out to be a proper pain in the arse as my CO2 bottle ran out at 9pm. Not a problem as I had an Argon/CO2 bottle that I used for a couple of minutes in the cupboard.
    What an arseache that ended up being. Not sure if it was the gas making a difference, but the welds weren't going down right and I was blowing holes every other time.

    Aaaaand annoyingly, the replacement bottle ran out, less than five minutes into the job so I called it a night after grinding down what I could. Looking forward to moving on from the welding!
    Cheers.
  3. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Half-day update.
    A mate dropped off an engine crane whilst I was at work.

    With the warnings fully read and digested*:

    I gave the seized driveshaft bearing a dousing in oil this morning before work - a sharp twatting with a hammer and chisel freed it up.
    I removed the radiator to remove the risk of damaging it in the ensuing mayhem:

    And started loosening bolts for the bellhousing, bonus was freeing up a pair of wires that had been trapped in the join of the bellhousing and block since I bought the car! These will get a solder sleeves repair in due course.

    I roped the father in law to act as safety rating and operate the crane whilst I jiggled the 'box free, and eventually we got our first reward:

    It's actually light enough to lift myself using the strop so that'll be my method when it comes to lifting it in.
    Anyway, onto the main event. There was a bit of a faff to get the car to a lower position on the axle stands, exacerbated by the need to support the engine at the same time. There was a bit of an issue with access at times but otherwise it was okay.

    Both remaining mounts were unbolted and the engine was free to be lifted.

    And now resting on the deck. 


    Now the awkward jobs begin - stripping the block is going to be a bit of a pain without an engine stand, but hopefully do-able.
    Going to try and get out for a couple of hours tonight but we'll see.
    Cheers
  4. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Well bugger me sideways, I've only gone and done it.
    It's remarkable just how easy it is when you have the correct information to hand - this came in the form of OEM wiring diagrams for the fuse board itself.

    With that, I tracked the lines and worked out which continuity checks needed doing. Was surprised to note that the fuse board connectors went in reverse order (6,5,4,3,2,1) as you view it.
    It became evident that the very first continuity check was open circuit which was promising.

    This meant it had to come out (again) 

    With the board on the bench, it was a lot easier to repeat all the required continuity checks, and we finally had the fault pinpointed.

    There was an open circuit from the 'cold' side of the fuse socket, to the first junction of the horn/heated screen circuit, namely the high power input for the heated screen relay (this then carries on to the horn side of the circuit)
    Unfortunately, it's a double-layered board and I was unable to access the actual board. Luckily, I had a surplus piggyback fuse with a flylead, so I elected to add a flylead to the relay terminal. Ended up using solid core wire on the board half as it's quite a high amperage circuit.


    With that all assembled, the board was re-tested and continuity was restored. The board was reconnected to the car and the horn now works!
    Also, billy bonus, the HRW works and the switch illuminates, so I must have been talking bollocks about it working beforehand.

    With that all confirmed to work, the interior was rebuilt (glovebox light fixed)


    As an aside, I noticed the oil level gauge wasn't working any more - this was traced to the sensor plug coming off for some reason so that's an easy win.
    So, I'm back to bodywork repairs for the rest of the week, hopefully without any more nasty surprises!
    Cheers.
  5. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Minimal photos today, because I was incredibly pissed off with the entire day.
    Firstly though, some good news arrived today:

    A good used catalytic converter for the Beat - this may still need to go to the exhaust place for a replacement flanges to match the stainless link pipe.
    So, on with the fault diagnosis. Reinstalled the cabin fan and headlights to aid the digging. Decided the fuse box needed to come out for a clean up, so all the connectors were marked up and disconnected

    And eventually the fuse box was on the bench, given a stiff bristle brush and some contact cleaner before being blow-dried from the compressor and left on the dehumidifier to dry fully.

    Yesterday, I came to the conclusion that the fuse feed box and battery positive lead were in need of changing, so more faffing occured and eventually the leads were on the floor.

    Annoyingly, I had a niggly little voice in the back of my head to check this lead further, as it dawned on me that I hadn't fully tested it in isolation as the alternator and starter had still been connected to the supply. Figured it would be best due diligence to check It with all items out of the circuit, 
    Connected it to the battery, and in all the imaginable combinations of test, they all came back with battery voltage, inexplicably.
    This meant that everything had to get refitted, which I did not enjoy. The highlight was getting the cables back through the grommet into the cabin, made easier with a bit of steel wire and some tape;

    Eventually it was all rebullt and the test carried out again...
    5V.
    I had a bit of a tantrum about this, but eventually found out the entire thing was my fault, mainly because I had gone for the 'Use a clean shiny big patch of metal as an earth' and it turned out to be pretty crap as an earth - testing the circuit and using a proper earthing point made all the difference and proves that we were getting battery voltage, but using the crap earth, we were getting just 5v which was a lie.
    Next fuck up wasn't really my fault - the heated rear window WAS working the entire time - it transpired that a bulb had blown in the switch so I was never going to tell if it was on (EDIT: this turned out to be bollocks, see my next post). Seeing that the horn was still working, I rigged it to the battery which worked.
    Checked the stalk connector again for power and it was negligible, so it's getting closer. I've now got a BX factory electrical manual and read up on the fuse box, which I reckon is the culprit (again,)
    Sorry if the spelling is terrible, I'm absolutely exhausted and been doing the ol' nodding dog here which isn't helping so I'm off to bed.
    Cheers
  6. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Another productive few hours.
    Ran the BX for 15 minutes to get the oil/Berryman mix up to temperature before draining. The exhaust fumes fill the garage quite quickly, so I tried helping it along with the spare Laguna pipe 😅

    (It did not help.)
    After fifteen minutes of idling, I cracked open the drain plug and noticed just how thin the oil coming out was. I know I'd added about 800ml of Berryman, but even with that factored in, it was too thin.
    I slapped another coat of primer onto the areas I'd applied Puraflex to.


    And left the oil to drain as much as possible.
    Had another check of the LHM system and started preparing it for a first run. Pleased with how the repairs look now everything is back in place. OSF sphere screwed back on and looking fine!


    Once the oil fully drained, the sump plug was refitted, a new oil filter attached (old one was stamped 2016, which would tally up with the lack of use it has had since then) 

    And the oil topped up to roughly the correct level. The car wasn't level so I didn't want to overfill it.

    Next job was to reattach the front wheels, I also slid a set of ramps underneath the wheels to give a bit of clearance.

    As I was planning on priming the LHM system, I needed the cooling system to work, so I ended up changing the thermostat. Was going to do it at the same time as the timing belt, but there you go.

    The LHM belt was reattached to the pulleys and the HP pump supply line was disconnected and primed.

    MrsH was roped in at this point to start the engine whilst I connected the supply line. For some reason, the LHM pump belt lost its tension so this was resecured.
    And after a few minutes, success! The car was suspended on LHM for the first time in nearly a year.

    Early indications are promising for the engine smoke too, there seemed to be a lot less clouds on acceleration. Once the engine got warm and the levels were re-established, I started exercising the suspension by alternating between max and minimum extension. The struts are a little bit sticky and creaky but nothing too unexpected for a car that's been sat a while.
    I bled the cooling system of all air and was dismayed to notice the temperature gauge still wasn't giving a reading, despite the new thermostat proving serviceable and the top hose getting hot. I shut the engine down and suddenly:

    Ah, everything IS working fine, it's just me being the idiot. I've had a prod with the multimeter and found the 'earth' terminal I was connecting to is a perfect earth in Key position 1, but 12v comes through when set to ignition.
    Luckily, I added plenty of spare wire to the earth wire so I can simply connect it to a proper earth point instead of being lazy.
    Anyway, seeing as it's mother's day, I'm knocking it on the head tonight to enjoy some time with MrsH. I'll pop in tonight to put a final coat of paint on the welding repairs before moving onto the next section.
    Last thing I did was place four clean rags at each corner to check for static LHM leaks. Hopefully they'll still be clean tomorrow!

    I'm currently debating whether it is even worth doing the head gasket any more. Any advice? 
    Cheers.
  7. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Productive few hours in the garage today, although pictures are sporadic.
    Prepped the panel for welding in:

    Squeeeeeze the pigeon real hard, and eventually stopped blowing holes in the metal.

    And ground down.

    This has now been primed and Puraflex has been added to the seams.
    Decided to puty hand in the way of the hammer, because I'm an idiot.

    Whilst this was ongoing, I decided to try and resolve the burning oil issue with some snake oil.
    The car had been running fine when in use, but started blowing blue smoke when accelerating the engine. I'm rolling a lot of dice on gummed up piston rings.
    Luckily, the internet has given a pretty glowing recommendation to this product:

    I spent a few hours searching around the internet, and it seems to be good for solving oil consumption issues. Decided to try a piston soak, using the procedure recommended by Berryman.
    Used two bottles, poured them into each spark plug hole, put the plugs back in hand tight and agitated the engine by rotating the crankshaft pulley back and forth every half an hour. Every hour, I took the plugs out and checked the fluid by sucking some out with a syringe.
    The fluid was clear when poured in.
    This was the best one a couple of hours in - you can see the carbon deposits in the bottom of the syringe.

    This was one of the worst ones:

    Pure black in there, there was another cylinder like this too.
    I used two bottles in total (it eventually drains into the crankcase) and five hours later, all bar one of the piston crowns was dry - a quick blast of compressed air into the spark plug hole freed it up.
    The remaining cylinder fluid was pulled out via the syringe, and fired into an old rag, to see how many deposits were in it. This was a 10ml sample.

    Whilst this was going on, I moved onto reattaching the VIN plate. Using the original remaining drill hole for one side, I drilled out the other hole and applied zinc primer to the exposed metal.

    Once dried, I applied Puraflex to the hole, as well as the rivet itself, and got that properly attached.

    With that done, I started looking at the LHM system, which was still untested because of this doozy:

    Luckily, these are really simple to change, just prize the clip off, and pop the pipes off.

    The pipeline's were heavily perished and cracked everywhere, so this was definitely worth changing.
    Onwards then, to the next part - building up the LHM tank. First off, I needed to take the filters out and give them a good clean.

    Here's where I made major fuck up of the day.
    Notice how similar these two cans are?

    ...yeah. It took me a couple of seconds to realise the cleaner wasn't just clearing loads of sludge out. Thankfully, using the right can cleaned all the traces of primer out!
    The other filter was also removed:

    And cleaned.

    The tank is now fitted in place but I forgot to get a photo.
    Tomorrow, I'll be running the engine for about 15 minutes on idle to cycle the Berryman fluid through the system before carrying out an oil change - hopefully this will be enough to stop the smokescreens when I accelerate.
    I'll also look to apply primer to the Puraflex and possibly a coat of paint in the evening, then I'll look to move onto the final section requiring rust repairs.
    Cheers!
  8. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Fuck it, can't sit around waiting for it to be done.
    Welded in another portion of the arch repair.

    Ground the welds and applied weld through primer.

    Went inside for a bit to celebrate the dog's birthday for a bit - 9 years old today, and still mad as a pair of bollocks.

    He enjoyed a large dried sausage and some new toys.
    Then went back in the garage to weld another repair panel in:

    This was ground back and a coat of zinc primer applied.

    And made another panel to be welded in tomorrow at some point, gave it a coat of weld through primer and called it a night.


  9. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from Minimad5 in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    FUCK ME.
    Barely any photos today, but the first day in nearly a week that I've had a chance to work the BX. 
    I made the last of the repair sections for this first stage, and coated them with zinc primer.

    Gave the other side a coat too (excuse potato camera)

    Then I thought I'd do the small, three holed panel first. This was an absolute pain to do, first the leading edge kept blowing holes in it, then when it came to do the plug welds on the holes, the metal melted through and caused a small fire to the soundproofing behind the dashboard!
    Naturally, I panicked and grabbed whatever was closest to me and squeezed hard, 'aiming' it towards the hole with a flame in it.

    Which thankfully extinguished the fire. I've pulled out the carpet and had a look as far as I can, and I think I've gotten away with it. 
    Made a right mess though.

    After that, I decided I was done with the welder for the day so I ground down the welds on that panel and called it a night. Now in bed, googling CO2 extinguishers.
  10. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from Minimad5 in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Important things first, the glass was replaced.

    Then I spent the night at work on duty.
    MrsH messaged me in the morning about the Laguna:

    ...aaaaand not ninety minutes later, I get a phonecall from MrsH. She's in her work car park, and the Laguna has suddenly transformed into a rally car.

    I popped over to swap it for the Rover and took the LOUDEST, most careful 12 mile drive home, getting it straight on the ramps when I got back, and let everything cool down.

    A closer look at the cause.

    Unfortunately, I didn't get many photos of this, as I was in a hurry to get this done - the Laguna was needed to do the school run in a couple of hours.
    Luckily, I already had the replacement pipe in the garage, I just never found the time to replace it as I was focused on the BX. As the Citroen was in the garage on stands, it meant I had to work on the Laguna outside in the pissing rain.
    After much swearing and skinned knuckles, the old pipe was out and I could see the cause of the failure was not the item snapping due to corrosion, but the flange welds cracking and eventually failing, allowing the downpipe to slide out of its own flange (oo-er).


    As I was in a massive rush, I didn't change the studs over on the exhaust manifold, just wire brushed the threads and copper greased it. The new pipe had been a pain to source but was reasonably priced, although the fitting kit was extra, and also a waste of bloody time.

    With more haste than before, I got the new pipe bolted in, the car came off the ramps and I made it just in time for the school run.

    I'm going to have to re-visit this one at some point, the manifold to downpipe joint isn't 100% gastight, and the crushable wire style gasket isn't sitting flush. That being said, it's a lot better than it was, and it highlighted issues with the exhaust system closer to the tail pipe.
    On the way home, I noticed that the heater temperature control knob wasn't free to rotate like usual, it was sticking in and sprinting back to one position.
    Good job I know how to gain access.

    Eventually, we found an issue with the heater control cable itself - for some reason, it had developed a kink and was jamming inside the run. Annoyingly I've been unable to resolve this, at this time, so I've disconnected the cable, and left the heater flap in the fully hot position.

    Trying to source a new set of heater control cables was a nightmare in itself, but I managed to find a NOS set of cables for a RHD Behr-equipped car in Holland, of all places. Luckily, my brother lives in Holland too, so it's getting delivered to his house for when we get there at the end of the month.
    Cheers.
  11. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from GeorgeB in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Time for a change of subject today.

    The Rover is the preferred vehicle for the upcoming family trip to NL on Sunday, so it was time for a few jobs to be bashed out.
    First job, swap the front and rear wheels round - the fronts were exhibiting wearing on the outer edges.

    Whilst the oil was draining, I jumped onto the fuel filter.


    All evidence points to the last service being conducted in late 2020, judging by the date stamps.
    Oil filter was marked with the mileage and date.

    And moved onto the auxiliary belt - piece of cake on this!


    Spark plugs followed - gaps were checked for the magic number of 0.85mm before being copper greased and torqued in.

    Next job was a preventative one - I could only get a cheap 8mm clevis pin for the clutch arm during the clutch change last year, so it was time to swap it out for a more substantial stainless steel one.

    Managed to swap them out without having to open the clutch slave bleed screw and pushing the plunger in. You can just about see the start of the wear on the old, long one.

    Noticed some chafing on the underside of the boost pipe from the cone filter, so some protective tape was applied to the pipe. Not the tiniest, but will provide a sacrificial layer. A new filter is on order.

    Whilst working in the engine bay, I noticed there was a weep of coolant coming from these two bungs - the only aftermarket radiators available for 620ti's are also fitted to the diesels. These bungs are for the diesel sensors.

    As a compulsive tight-arse, I hopped onto the Rover groups and was delighted to be told that a solution was available, for literal pence.

    Apparently the old school trick was to remove the plastic bung, leave the seal in place, and add a slightly-filed down 2p piece in its place.
    Decided to test either one for effectiveness - the 2p piece, or the bung, having been removed and cleaned along with the seal.

    (I have been for a 10 mile test drive, and so far, both have remained dry. Going to pack the bung and another prepared 2p piece just in case)
    Remember this utter tightwadded bodge I did when I had the flywheel off in November?

    Well, it's been four months and I have finally checked underneath the car - it's bone dry underneath there, so it actually bloody worked, £25 saved 😅
    Whilst inspecting underneath, I finally found the source of the large explosion noise about three weeks ago - the weld around the back of the centre box has split, suggesting some sort of initial blockage in the actual box.

    This pipe moved a bit when the exhaust was moved up and down. Mindful of the arseache we went through when the Laguna's exhaust welding completely failed, I decided to act now whilst it was on axle stands.

    Safety first on the other side.

    Didn't bother getting any pictures of it, but I didn't want to fully re-weld it back up, especially if there is still any sort of blockage in there. Instead, I elected to weld the joint back up at various intervals to ensure the exhaust remains attached to the rest of the car.
    Another quick job was adjusting the door and door catch, as it was catching slightly on closing.

    The strip of making tape highlighted the contacting area when closed, and I adjusted accordingly. Not too happy with the shutline gap, so I'll get the front wing off at some point to access the hinge bolts to allow for better adjustment.
    Finally, the speakers have been blown for ages and they were irritating me, so let's whip them out.

    These were the OE Goodmans speakers so it was no surprise to see the glue had failed around the cone:

    Still, being tight as fuck, I elected to attempt a regluing of the cone to the metal base.

    After a couple of hours left to dry, I reinstalled one in the darkness:

    And realised they sounded just as poor as before - guess it's replacement time then.
    Ah well, the block and head were dropped off for the required work, the garage was re-tidied ready for another day's graft, and I've got an overnight shift at work so there'll be no work happening on the cars tomorrow.
    Cheers!
  12. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from Popsicle in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Small jobs today
    Scrubbed off the inlet manifold gasket, and removed all the studs off the head.

    Fired a message to the bloke doing the work, and I'm dropping the head and block off tomorrow afternoon. Be good to get it over there!
    Next up, taking the track rod ends off the steering rack. Decided to leave them connected at the ball joint end.

    Luckily, I didn't have to stay upside down with filth falling on my face. Result!

    Got it out, albeit with a struggle!

    Turns out the new boot I had doesn't match at all, so I've got a new set on order. Noticed the power steering ram looked a bit damp, with OE examples commanding prices of £400+ for new examples, the aftermarket has triumphed, with a new unit available for £45. Ordered one and will see what it's like when it gets here.
    Ordered the last of the seals required too, so there'll be a mountain of parts awaiting fitment when I get back. Tomorrow is forecast to be dry, so my focus is shifting slightly.
  13. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from GeorgeB in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    These updates almost feel daily at this point!
    Yesterday, I had a rare day off the tools, and instead had a day spent on the computer, sourcing more parts that have been discovered in poor shape. They'll be here at some point.
    Today, we had an actual break on the miserable weather, and even some sunshine! 

    Decided to crack on with the block again, stripping the last few bits off before it goes away for repair.
    Timing belt tensioner spring is the original! Suppose it's just a spring, the pulley itself is grumbling so that'll be changed.

    All the various mounting brackets etc were removed and I decided against the original plan of leaving the cylinder liners - as I had it pointed out to me, I've gone this far with it, so why stop there?
    Glad I did, as more evidence of mingebaggery by the previous owners became evident - clearly this has been run on water for ages.



    Thankfully it cleaned up pretty nicely.

    The water pump turned out to be the original too!

    I then spent a couple of hours cleaning up, cataloguing and boxing everything up from the block strip job, in order to make room for the head strip. Made decent progress in short order so I popped the head onto the clutter free workbench.

    This ended up being a rather pleasant job and the Haynes manual was pretty helpful in that regard for once.
    The camshaft seal was found to be U/S on removal so a new one will be ordered.


    In no time at all, the camshaft was off, cleaned and stowed in the driver's footwell for safekeeping.
    Tappets were off next - didn't have a fancy magnet on a stick, so I used a board magnet 😅

    Everything was marked with paint dots to keep everything as a matched set and in the right order.

    Which left me with valves, and a problem. The spring compressor wouldn't operate without fouling the edge of the head!
    Ended up improvising with an injector socket, and just screwing it in to get the collets.

    The socket was absolutely the millimetre perfect size required for the job!

    Paint markings evident here.

    Eventually, all the valves were out!


    I had been cleaning the components as they came off so they were all bagged and tagged and ready for reinstall.
    Finally, I knocked it on the head, with a rag draped over it to keep the dust out.

    A productive day, and a productive weekend all round! This week will be focused on dropping off the block and head, working the remaining mechanical jobs on the BX, and prepping the Rover for a road trip - eventually, I'll get a break!
    Cheers!
  14. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from Popsicle in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Was I going to let being a parent stop me from getting in the garage until half eight tonight? Apparently so.
    Does that mean I wasn't going to achieve something today? Does it bollocks.
    First things first, stock up on brain juice:

    Buy a toy for the boy who did great swimming today:

    And when the kids finally get to bed, start getting to work on stripping the engine.
    Oil pump out first, this was a piece of cake, although I'd already made my first error of the day and left that end plate on - it was meant to come off at this point, but didn't affect anything until later.
    I used my paint pen and placed dots and numbers everywhere to allow correct orientation of all items upon refitting.

    The Conrod caps were removed and the shells inspected - they will benefit from a replacement, but the crank itself looked good so far.


    With all the Conrod bearing caps removed, it was time to utilise one of the more precise instruments in the garage:

    And eventually, 4 hefty pistons were removed.

    The rings were inspected and there wasn't any obvious signs of wear. I'll be looking a lot closer at everything over the coming days.
    Big end caps were labelled prior to removal:

    And the shells on these were spot on, with only minor wear evident. They'll be going back in on the rebuild.
    With the flywheel end main oil seal removed, and all the caps off, the crankshaft was lifted out, signalling the end of the internal stripping.


    The only dilemma I have at the moment is the crank pulley end - there's slots for two woodruff keys, but I've only retrieved one during the disassembly. Hopefully it turns up.

    Either way, there's only a few external bits and pieces to come off, including the water pump and mount bracket, then it'll be ready to go to the machine shop later this week.
    So, a short period in the garage today, but a productive one.
    Cheers.
     
  15. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from JMotor in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Time for a change of subject today.

    The Rover is the preferred vehicle for the upcoming family trip to NL on Sunday, so it was time for a few jobs to be bashed out.
    First job, swap the front and rear wheels round - the fronts were exhibiting wearing on the outer edges.

    Whilst the oil was draining, I jumped onto the fuel filter.


    All evidence points to the last service being conducted in late 2020, judging by the date stamps.
    Oil filter was marked with the mileage and date.

    And moved onto the auxiliary belt - piece of cake on this!


    Spark plugs followed - gaps were checked for the magic number of 0.85mm before being copper greased and torqued in.

    Next job was a preventative one - I could only get a cheap 8mm clevis pin for the clutch arm during the clutch change last year, so it was time to swap it out for a more substantial stainless steel one.

    Managed to swap them out without having to open the clutch slave bleed screw and pushing the plunger in. You can just about see the start of the wear on the old, long one.

    Noticed some chafing on the underside of the boost pipe from the cone filter, so some protective tape was applied to the pipe. Not the tiniest, but will provide a sacrificial layer. A new filter is on order.

    Whilst working in the engine bay, I noticed there was a weep of coolant coming from these two bungs - the only aftermarket radiators available for 620ti's are also fitted to the diesels. These bungs are for the diesel sensors.

    As a compulsive tight-arse, I hopped onto the Rover groups and was delighted to be told that a solution was available, for literal pence.

    Apparently the old school trick was to remove the plastic bung, leave the seal in place, and add a slightly-filed down 2p piece in its place.
    Decided to test either one for effectiveness - the 2p piece, or the bung, having been removed and cleaned along with the seal.

    (I have been for a 10 mile test drive, and so far, both have remained dry. Going to pack the bung and another prepared 2p piece just in case)
    Remember this utter tightwadded bodge I did when I had the flywheel off in November?

    Well, it's been four months and I have finally checked underneath the car - it's bone dry underneath there, so it actually bloody worked, £25 saved 😅
    Whilst inspecting underneath, I finally found the source of the large explosion noise about three weeks ago - the weld around the back of the centre box has split, suggesting some sort of initial blockage in the actual box.

    This pipe moved a bit when the exhaust was moved up and down. Mindful of the arseache we went through when the Laguna's exhaust welding completely failed, I decided to act now whilst it was on axle stands.

    Safety first on the other side.

    Didn't bother getting any pictures of it, but I didn't want to fully re-weld it back up, especially if there is still any sort of blockage in there. Instead, I elected to weld the joint back up at various intervals to ensure the exhaust remains attached to the rest of the car.
    Another quick job was adjusting the door and door catch, as it was catching slightly on closing.

    The strip of making tape highlighted the contacting area when closed, and I adjusted accordingly. Not too happy with the shutline gap, so I'll get the front wing off at some point to access the hinge bolts to allow for better adjustment.
    Finally, the speakers have been blown for ages and they were irritating me, so let's whip them out.

    These were the OE Goodmans speakers so it was no surprise to see the glue had failed around the cone:

    Still, being tight as fuck, I elected to attempt a regluing of the cone to the metal base.

    After a couple of hours left to dry, I reinstalled one in the darkness:

    And realised they sounded just as poor as before - guess it's replacement time then.
    Ah well, the block and head were dropped off for the required work, the garage was re-tidied ready for another day's graft, and I've got an overnight shift at work so there'll be no work happening on the cars tomorrow.
    Cheers!
  16. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from Popsicle in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Small jobs tonight.
    Popped the head locating grommet out and pulled the mini gauze filter insert out to inspect.

    Looked pretty clean, bar one flap of material in there. Cleaned out with brake cleaner and reinserted.

    Finally, I got the exhaust manifold studs out - these needed replacing as I had to grind two studs down to get the manifold off. Got them all off, which made me right chuffed.

    Called it a night afterwards.
  17. Agree
    fatharris got a reaction from Burnside in Pandamonium! New arrival at new Balljoints towers...   
    Pandas are just such neat little things - they always looked quite large in magazines etc, which made it such a shock when I saw one for the first time in really life 🤣
  18. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Saturday ended up being a write-off, work was busy and I was up till gone 2am, and back up at 6am, so I was shattered.
    Today, I popped out to buy some LHM and some engine oil, and got these hot wheels for the kids:


    With that done, it was time to weld the two new patches in.


    First one went well, so it was time to line up the big one. Decided to use a self-tapper through the plug weld hole for a bit of assistance.

    I got about a third of the way through and naturally, I ran out of gas 🤦‍♂️ luckily, the local hardware shop is open on a Sunday and I bought two bottles for peace of mind. Definitely at the point where buying a big bottle would have made more sense, but oh well.
    With the new gas plumbed in, the rest of the patch was done. Forgot to get a photo of before the grinding though.



     
    I'm a little unsure about where I would stand MOT wise with this repair - it's been plug welded in the original spot weld positions, but the MOT manual says it needs to be a continuous weld if it's a patch. Can anyone give some advice for that?
    After that, I replaced a crumbling tiny bracket on the inner wing edge.



    And I repaired the damaged bracket that I jacked on and bent - it transpired it had pulled a couple of spot welds, so I ratchet strapped it to the opposite bracket, straightened it back out with a lump hammer, cleaned up the metal and re-welded the spot welds. It's a lot better than it was.
    Thankfully, this brings an end to the welding repairs required in the OSF arch - not much left to go now!
    Cheers.
  19. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    18th - 22nd
    *SIGH*
    Shall we get into it?
    One

    Two

    Three

    Annoyingly, there is a bracket at the front that I use to lift the car a bit before I can get a jack up in the proper place. This bit me on the arse rather spectacularly, as the spot welds in an adjacent area let go, and the bracket folded in half. That'll need some remedial work.
    First thig I did was check the rear of the engine. Didn't like what I saw, those are coolant crystals, so the head gasket has probably deteriorated to the point where it requires replacement.

    Found no shortage of rotty, grotty bits that require attention.
    Some that can get away with a stiff wire brush and reprotection - 

    And some that can't.

    All in all, there are several repairs needed, but a lot of areas will recover nicely with a good wirebrush and reprotect. Also found a perished LHM strut return line, so one is on order.
    Whilst not bothered with cameras etc, the fuel lines were rigged to a jerry can for a test run of the engine, which highlighted several issues, namely thin, fuel-smelling oil (probably a byproduct of short running times with choke, changing the oil may actually help with the engine smoking issue too) and the temperature gauge not reading a temperature, despite the heaters being toasty.
    The top rad hose was stone cold which is pointing at the thermostat being stuck, which would explain the brief forays into overheating when it was on the road.
    The following morning, I whipped off a very old thermostat. In fact, this may even be the original one.

    Popped it in a pan and set it to boil:

    I ended up taking it to 99c and it didn't open so that's an easy win, it was very stiff and notchy to operate so a Gates thermostat has been ordered to replace it.
    The OSF area seemed like a good place to start, so the LHM sphere was removed, the VIN plate rivets drilled out, and the LHM tank removed. This was due a fresh change of LHM so it make sense to clean the tank out properly.

    First repair up - an almost insignificant panel covering a cavity. 
    Chopped.

    Measured:

    Welded:

    Primed:

    Annoyed with myself afterwards because I chose to do a straight edge instead of curving it - doesn't make a real difference in the grand scheme of things though.
    Next bit was chopping out a rotten section of arch and adjoining vertical section - you can see the tiny holes peppering through the metalwork!


    To do a curved panel with a lip was a bit of a challenge, but I think I've cracked it:

    This was then bent into shape and the lines re-welded.
    The vertical section had a curved lip and I wanted to see if it could be recreated with my limited tooling.

    Turns out it could!
    Quick test fit to make sure it all goes together okay:

    And I'll look to weld that in tomorrow.
    And that me all caught up! Cheers if you made it this far
    I've got loads of parts coming via the post so hopefully, I'll be making more significant steps forward in short order.
  20. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    It's been a bit of a tin-bashing day this evening. Did some more seam sealing too.
    Think I've got the hang of making these humps in the metalwork now.


    Just got to trim the third one down to size tomorrow.


    Three patches, ready to go in. Just need to prep the metalwork.
  21. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Oh yeah, forgot to do these ones:
    The replacement y piece for the low pressure LHM line was around £25, so £3 seemed much preferred for an air line fitting (5mm pipe diameter). Hoping this works as for some reason it doesn't appear to release the pipe once it's inserted.

    I also fitted the boot clip for the suspension unit - this was £13 from a specialist, or £3.70 if you did some googling and found an equivalent:


    With that all done, the suspension unit rod was reconnected and the sphere refitted. Hopefully getting closer to testing it!
  22. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Oooft, been a while.

    Not many photos, so I'll be brief. 
    Went for a bike ride and spotted this en route. Noted the location just in case, there was a Xantia too!

    Dan came round and gave me a hand, so we removed the centre section of the exhaust, the hydraulic linkage and eventually the fuel tank, in preparation for replacing the nylon lines.

    Proved to be the right call, upon disturbing the steel supply and return fuel lines that run the length  of the floorpan, they crumbled and split in half.
    Some grot on the rear of the floorpan was observed, so the seats came out, the rear carpet was removed, and my day got ruined.

    The bit in the middle was the bit I was expecting to rectify - the gaping hole in the corner was a fun surprise.

    The pipelines seen through the floor are the high pressure hydraulic suspension supply lines. Understandably, I was reluctant to break into this system and risk inducing leaks from disturbed pipeline unions.
    I decided to mark their positions on the pipeline clips prior to unclipping them.

    With a roll of tape cable tied to the pipelines to gently weigh/pull them down, I gained enough clearance to safely cut out the affected rusty areas.
     
    There is very clear evidence to suggest that someone before us had been driving this around on the lowest setting and hit something on the underside at speed - both rear floorpans are distorted at the very rear bottom - the drivers side rear also has some grot, but nowhere near as far-reaching and brittle as this end. There's also a weird dent and slight split in the middle of the floorpan that should be easy enough to weld back together.
    So, time to tin-bash. Three patches needed this time.
     
    Aaaaaand once again, I caught my bastarding stomach in the tin-snips. Ouch.

    Once all three patches were offered up to check for fit:

    The welder was fired up.
     
    Only done 2 of 3 so far, I'll get back on the tools tomorrow, had a couple of days off for my lads birthday. Hoping to get the other side done and primed/painted by Saturday evening, so the tank can go back in.
  23. Like
    fatharris got a reaction from JMotor in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Small jobs today
    Scrubbed off the inlet manifold gasket, and removed all the studs off the head.

    Fired a message to the bloke doing the work, and I'm dropping the head and block off tomorrow afternoon. Be good to get it over there!
    Next up, taking the track rod ends off the steering rack. Decided to leave them connected at the ball joint end.

    Luckily, I didn't have to stay upside down with filth falling on my face. Result!

    Got it out, albeit with a struggle!

    Turns out the new boot I had doesn't match at all, so I've got a new set on order. Noticed the power steering ram looked a bit damp, with OE examples commanding prices of £400+ for new examples, the aftermarket has triumphed, with a new unit available for £45. Ordered one and will see what it's like when it gets here.
    Ordered the last of the seals required too, so there'll be a mountain of parts awaiting fitment when I get back. Tomorrow is forecast to be dry, so my focus is shifting slightly.
  24. Haha
    fatharris got a reaction from Minimad5 in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Jesus, brief panic ensued in the work car park - popped out to get something from the Rover, and the fob wasn't working. Totally dead. Unlocked the door with the key and the alarm went off, and wouldn't stop.
     
    Had to run back into the building, prise the fob open, reseat the batteries and try again. Working now, but poo shot out.
  25. Sad
    fatharris got a reaction from rainagain in FatHarris - tales of a motoring moron ***More engine work***   
    Ah, this has not gone according to plan.
    Started off well, with Phill letting me know that the engine stand I lent/gave to him many years ago was still with him and available to help me in my endeavours:

    I popped over after work to collect it and have a chinwag, eventually depositing it in the garage:

    Whipped the clutch and flywheel out - it's all a bit rusty from being sat, but there friction plate showed the clutch was a Valeo unit with plenty of meat left on it, so that's a few quid saved (Valeo kits were looking to cost around £110)
    Built the stand up and immediately discovered that none of my bolts were long enough to safely mount the engine. Quick visit to B&Q beckoned as it was past 6pm and everywhere else was shut. Their selection of M10 bolts was pathetic, with only one option available, and at 120mm it was way longer than needed, but that is easily dealt with by adding nuts to act as a spacer behind the bolt head.
    Thankfully, it has done the trick.

    This is a real bonus to have and will make life a lot easier for me during the disassembly. 
    A late tea meant there wasn't much done to the engine today. I whipped the sump off:

    And immediately turned the engine back upright to allow the residual pooled oil to drain out of the block.
    The sump had an bit of sludge at the bottom, but nothing concerning and nothing sparkly thankfully!

    I decided I didn't want to strip the engine any further as I wanted my son to see the internals of an engine for himself - good learning opportunity for him!
    Anyway, I cracked on instead with cleaning the sludge out of the sump which cleaned up nicely:

    Moved onto the sump gasket, using a Stanley blade to scrape the old one off.
    Which went well.


    Yep, the back of the Stanley blade went straight into the thumb, resulting in a tsunami of claret everywhere.
    Thankfully, it sorted of sealed itself enough to stop bleeding, when MrsH descended on it with steri-strips and tape.
    Popped back to the garage to lock up and saw the dirt line on the blade, indicating how far it went into my thumb.

    It's currently rather sore, unsurprisingly.
    Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
    Cheers.
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