Justwatching

I replaced the Jeep's O2 sensor today. That cured the hanging RPM issue. Engine feels like it has better mid-range performance, too. Ordered sway bar bushes as well. The existing bushes weren't causing an issue, but looked a bit knackered. before: After: Next issue was the steer wheel - it's off centre and that annoys me. There's a rod (don't know what it's called) that connects to the steering box pitman arm. You can set the steering wheel position by adjusting the length of this rod. In theory, once you loosen the locking clamps, you should be able to twist the rod (which is threaded at both ends) and adjust the length. As expected, it was rusted solid and had to be removed entirely. After a torture session in the bench vice with a blow torch, I got everything freed up. The joints weren't loose, so I just replaced the boots and re-greased them. I think I have it centred now. At least I can adjust it easily if I need to. Lasting thing on the Jeep is a new CB antenna. I didn't like the two-piece version I had, so got a proper one from the States. Very happy with it aesthetically, just need to install the radio. It even fits* under the carport!

Chevrolet Matiz. Looks a little rough, but £700 with a years ticket aint bad.

Cheap ZT 190 (£1,100) with MoT 'til October. Those stains though... (1) Marketplace – 2003 MG 190Zt+ | Facebook

My parents had two Chevrolet Matiz. Simple and easy to work on, especially for a modern car. I'd definitely have one. Looks great in yellow!

I wonder if we're all just doing it wrong. Here's why: The return side of the radiator has two hoses - one small diameter at the top (where air would gather) and one large diameter hose at the bottom to take coolant back to the engine. From what I understand, the two join together after the radiator and use the venturi effect to draw air out of the small hose into the main coolant return pipe. The coolant return pipe slopes upward to the engine bay where it 'T' joins with the expansion tank which is correctly placed above it to be the highest point in the cooling system. This should be a self-bleeding system as-is (bar the thermostat housing which has its own bleed valve). My first two attempts at bleeding the system both went pair shaped at the same point - seconds after the radiator fans turned on there was a surge and coolant started errupting out of the header tank. I'm not sure if this was some kind of thermal effect from the rad core temp suddenly dropping, or the unpressurised coolant happened to boil off at the same temp that trips the otterstat. Not sure. But for my third attempt, I simply bled the thermostat housing, ran it until the thermostat opened, and once I wasn't getting obvious bubbles back to the header tank called it job done. That seemed to work fine.

FTFY

What, one of these? Front Radiator Bleeder Kit - DeLorean Parts (deloreango.com) or this, maybe? Engine Self Bleeder Kit (rubber) - DeLorean Parts (deloreango.com) I considered it, but figured it must be possible to bleed the cooling system how it came from the factory.

Good news - that coolant leak on the DeLorean turned out to be the hose I pictured. The garage floor has been dry since! Bad news - the Jeep got jealous and decided to have a coolant leak of its own. Worse still, it was coming from the radiator, so not a cheap fix. I could have got a cheap rad with plastic tanks for about £70, but I've had bad experience with those in the past. Decided to go all-aluminium instead (£160). It claims 30% better cooling than the stock rad. The rear track bar has been knocking the entire time I've owned the Jeep. According to the internet, I don't need it. So, while the coolant drained, I got the track bar out and binned it. I've been for a drive since and didn't notice any difference (other than the rear end being quiet!). I didn't want to waste the coolant as it's barely six months old, so put it through a fuel filter like I did last time. Works very well - the coolant looks new after being filtered. Right, back to this radiator. It was supposed to be direct fit. It wasn't. One of brackets fouled a power steering hard line, so I had to shave the bracket with a grinder. The fan cowling is now held on with zip-ties because none of the bolt holes line up. Ditto the power steering reservoir bottle as the mount faces a different direction. Not impressed. Poured the coolant back in and bled the system. Thankfully, no leaks. Got the light bar finished and mounted it this morning. And here with the CB antenna.

Thought I'd try to find the source of the coolant leak during my lunch break today. I'm shitting myself that it might be in the engine valley and require me to take everything apart again. Its hard to see, but there's a blue droplet of coolant hanging from a joint in one of the main coolant pipes under the car. I've nipped up the clamp. I'll be laughing if that's all it is. In other news, the lightbar got a couple coats of red paint. One more I reckon, then lacquer. Also installed a CB antenna mount on the Jeep last weekend.

Got the transmission leak(s) sorted and attempted to bleed air out of the cooling system. DeLorean had other ideas - it threw the coolant out and kept the air instead. This happened several times, even with the rear end raised. I got it to a point that was good enough for a short test drive, which went fine. Removed the bonnet and re-laid the seal next. It had started to detach in places and my previous attempt at squeezing a bit of contact adhesive in the gap hadn't been successful. Also did the passenger side outer door seal again as I was unhappy with last year's attempt. Got the bonnet back on and adjusted for panel gap. Had a look underneath - puddle of coolant. FFS...

Not been to any AS gatherings before. Rude not to as I live in Shropshire. Count me in.

'99 Renault Laguna 1 owner, 10 month MoT, £995. Marketplace – 1999 Renault Laguna RT Sport Auto | Facebook

Sweet Rover 416 (R8) with quite a fetching blue interior. I love that Rover went to the effort of making the dashboard and door plastics blue to match the seats and carpet. £1,595

"As a classic car enthusiast, you'll appreciate the opportunity to own such a well-maintained and cherished Mercedes-Benz W123. " (2) Facebook

Yeah, it's a helicoil. Didn't have a plan - this is the first time I've had a stud snap off flush. Tried extractors and welding first as they were the least invasive options and would leave the threads intact. The extractor snapping off inside the stud made the situation 10x worse, so I'll be reluctant to use them again. I found dremel grinding stones got through the hardened extractor faster than drill bits, but they were sacrificial - think I went through about four. Following a pilot hole made my drilling more stable/consistent. I also attached the Y pipe and used it as a guide so I could see if I was going off centre more easily.

Many hours later... I got everything reassembled this weekend and even had it running briefly. I reused the copper washers on the fuel lines, which paid the expected dividend. I had enough spare washers to replace all but two. Not wanting to halt progress, I chose a couple of the best looking used washers and annealed them with a blow torch. Everything sealed up second time around, so I started the engine back up and continued looking for coolant leaks. What I found was an ATF leak - it's those bloody transmission cooler lines I replaced. I couldn't see anything wrong with how I installed them and they were done up plenty tight. Did a bit of research, and it looks like the new lines need copper washers to seal. The original lines didn't have washer, so it didn't cross my mind when ordering. Got on with some other jobs while I wait for parts - adjusted the handbrake and removed the headlight switch. The switch has two positions - press it once for sidelights and twice for driving lights - but sometimes it doesn't stay in position and pops back out as soon as I remove my finger. Took the switch apart and cleaned it up with alcohol. I think the metal paw was sticking and not falling into the position detent. Reassembled the switch and put it back in the car. Seemed to work fine but the problem is intermittent, so I'll need to use it for a while to be sure. Hopefully that's £60 saved.

Most underseals are fine to apply direct to rust. I'd give it a pressure wash to remove dirt then paint it up as-is.

@Dyslexic Viking Marketplace – 1964 Mercedes-Benz 220SE | Facebook

"Turn key, drive anywhere car." How about driving it to an MoT centre? I love a good Crown Vic, but £6k with no MoT? Good luck with that. ford ltd crown victoria | eBay

I'd have a go at rebuilding the original if the seal kit isn't expensive. It will give you experience and spare cylinder.

The DeLorean's situation keeps getting worse every time I touch it. A summary of disasters since my last post: -purchased bolt extractor set but it slipped not matter how tight I clamped it down in the drill chuck; -purchased second set of bolt extractors, this time with hex-heads. Well it didn't slip! It just fucking broke off inside the stud! Deep joy; -welded a bolt to the stud. Snapped. Welded it again. Snapped again; -resigned to the fact that it's not coming out intact and started drilling all of it out. Progress is painfully slow, I assume because of the hardened extractor. In other news, I replaced the Jeep's Idle Air Control valve which achieved nothing. I don't like playing parts darts, so decided to investigate before replacing anything else. I still suspected a vacuum leak as the high idle started after I changed the intake manifold gasket. I sprayed carb cleaner around with the engine running but it didn't produced any change in idle. Things is, spraying around at random is great if you happen to find the leak, but it's inconclusive if you don't as you can't rule out a leak somewhere else. I decided to get a smoke machine to test properly. To be honest, I kind of wish I had got one sooner as it would have come in handy many times over the years. No leak from the intake manifold, so at least my repair work was sound. Only found one small leak coming from the intake butterfly valve shaft. There's nothing I can do about it other than replace the whole throttle body. I don't think it's bad enough to justify that. Moved on to sensor testing after that. Throttle position sensor and MAP sensor checked out, but the coolant temp sensor and intake air temp sensor where out of spec. Replaced both - no more racing idle! The idle still hangs a bit, but at least it does come down to a sensible speed now.

Did all that work but didn't put an MoT on it? Pound to a pinch of shit it's rotten. Wishful asking price, too.

2006 Honda FR-V. Never paid these any attention, but three seats up front is kinda cool. Basically a bench seat. Marketplace – 2006 Honda Fr-v | Facebook

Here's what I bought. Wooden Box Pergola Kit - Exclusive Garden Pergola Range - Largest on eBay | eBay The carport is 4.8 meters wide, but the longest sheet of corrugated PVC I could get at my local builders merchant was 3.6 meters. The joists (four IIRC) are equidistant across the 3.6 meter span in the centre. I was planning to reduce to two cars (one in the garage, one under the carport) but that clearly isn't happening. I'll re-do the roof as some point to make full use of the 4.8 meter span.

It would, but I don't have a welder. Really need to get one. Buying one always seems a low priority, but then I need it and it's too late.