Daihatsu Debut - The nightmare is over

[Austin-Rover]

Hello everyone! Long time lurker, here - forced to post at long last by the purchase of some obscure non-functioning shite...in the shape of a 1984 Daihatsu Charade CX Auto. I bought it from a friend simply because it was cheap and I liked how it looked. Said friend decided it didn't fit in with his collection...and more importantly it died last time he drove it.

 

Now, I'm waaay out of my depth. Most of my cars come out of Cowley and Longbridge so my knowledge of little three-cylinder petrol engines is non-existent. Initial hopes that its failure to proceed would be something cheap and easy quickly evaporated when a fresh battery saw it clatter in to life. It runs - but makes very sinister loud clattering noises. We've had the rocker cover off and everything seems in order at the top with the valves and rockers. It also runs on all three cylinders. Current thoughts are the bearings on the crank or on one or more pistons are in the process of digesting themselves.

 

In-depth searchable technical knowledge on the mechanicals seems to be limited. I've downloaded a copy of a Daihatsu repair manual circa 1987 but other than that there's nowt else. There also seems to be nothing in the way of spares, engines or other Charades of this vintage.

 

I'd be really sad to have to get shut as it's speaking to me in some weird way at the moment - I keep find myself going to sit in it! Umm..help!

 

Rich

 

 

 

[twosmoke300]

Is that the ex Lovejoy / junk man one?

[Austin-Rover]

Couldn't possibly tell you. Eight previous owners on the log book, so maybe it's been here before?

[Bucketeer]

Yeah, it deffo is.

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/19146-stunning-1984-daihatsu-charade-for-sale/

[Cavcraft]

Ex Junkman and ex-Cavcraft, last seen heading to someone in Brighton with a unit in Blackpool.

[fairkens]

If this isn't a wind up its fuppin hilarious

[Squire_Dawson]

Come on, Rich. Pretend it's a Maestro!

[Austin-Rover]

Ooh, thanks for the link - Throws a bit more light on to things...quite possibly the treacle-like oil that smells burnt!

[Junkman]

It's indeed my ex-stallion.

All I can say is that I replaced the head gasket on it.

Proper job, including skimming and cambelt renewage.

I believe the clatter sound comes from one of the dished shims behind the crankshaft pulley being installed backwards.

As for the FTP, I have no idea. It did smoke, though.

Effectively, I never had it running right one way or the other.

Those engines were built for 30 odd years and should be fairly easy to source, though.

[Cavcraft]

Mr Brighton-Blackpool said the HG had another F on his way back to his unit.

[eddyramrod]

Good to see this baby in the family still!  I really fancied it, but given subsequent events it's probably best I didn't proceed.  I hope you can get it sorted, AR.

[Bucketeer]

You're one of the lucky* privileged* few who can say with pride* that they own an Autoshite bike.

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/19234-autoshite-bikes/?hl=autoshite+bikes

[dollywobbler]

I hope this motor is resurrected once again. It's the weekend for it I understand.

[urpert]

Cracking wheel trims.

[KruJoe]

Yes, good to see this again.

 

Who else read the title and thought this chap had an actual Daihatsu Compagno?

[Austin-Rover]

Autoshite Bike? No pressure to fix it then?

 

I should imagine that with the noises the engine now makes it is fit for only scrap and realistically the only way forward for the poor little thing is a replacement 993cc 3-pot.

[Cavcraft]

The sensible* thing to do would be to put a Corsa 1.0 engine in it. Double top win.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

 

[scruff]

Great reg plate, "Old Jap Tat". Best of luck sorting it, looks a bonny little car.

[Austin-Rover]

I'm working on a couple of leads to replacing the knackered engine. Hopefully it will live again - it's not the stage to call it quits yet.

 

Mechanically, the car seems to have fallen on hard times a long time ago. The coolant is brown sludge - and tellingly smeared all over the near-side of the engine bay (that might have something to do with the pin-holes in the header tank on the top of the radiator!). The oil is black and smells burnt - God himself knows when that last got changed, and it's no surprise the engine is in the process of digesting itself.

 

Bodily, its seems pretty good apart from a bit of welding required to the rear valance under the boot lid seal.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Fairly sure we changed the oil in December, when the head gasket, timing belt and thermostat were changed. 

 

Glad to see it's in the hands of someone who wants to look after it. I got the impression that a weekend's work with a valeting kit would make the body and interior come up superbly. 

[Station]

Get a reliable, fuel injected 850cc engine from a Nippa.

[Austin-Rover]

Perhaps the oil being so...degraded is a result of the internal crisis rather than the cause. I've never smelt anything like it!

[blguy1975]

Once You turn Jap ,You never turn back , Well done Rich ,Hadrain Wilson loves small Japs , Perhaps get God to whack a 1750 e series in it ,I can get you one ,I did think of buying that one from Jon Burgess  but former chod came up

Think You are a Autoshite Winnarrr

[e287yba]

I saw the Charade today, it's in pretty reasonable nick - but oh! that engine... The oil is black and sticky, with a viscosity similar to treacle and a smell I've never smelt from oil before (think of burning plastic with a twist of vinegar which lingers in the nose, it's gopping!!). The coolant is indeed rust-coloured - but, like the oil, was up to the proper level.

 

It started with a bit of effort, sounding like a 3 pot does but with an irregular/randomly-occuring loud metallic clanking seemingly linked to just one of the cylinders and which came and went. Opening the bonnet also revealed a sort-of "scuffing" noise above the 'whine' of the engine, like an A-series water pump can make but much louder. As it warmed, its idling speed gradually dropped down with increasing amounts of blue smoke and the clanking became louder - then it stopped (this took perhaps five minutes). Attempts to restart were made, the starter motor could barely turn the engine (as if the battery was very low) and blue smoke was coming from the exhaust for the first few attempts.

 

Compression readings done last week were around 100psi on all 3, rising to around 160psi with oil injected into the cylinders. That'll be piston ring problems then. If not more.

 

My diagnosis is that the previous owner catastrophically overheated the engine somehow while driving it, and it seized at least partially as he drove.

 

To be fair to him, though, from reading the linked thread I suspect that this process was starting in January. I also suspect it is down to a clogged radiator, because the instruction book apparently (I am told) describes how to flush the coolant and says to put the antifreeze in the header tank not in the radiator - if owners previous to Dugong did this over several years then that's going to cause issues down the line. A clogged rad might might also account for the rusty coolant stains around the engine bay (local pressurisation of the top of the rad making the expansion cap bleed off excess pressurised coolant). Or perhaps the pipe to the header tank (expansion tank) is blocked and people kept topping up the coolant with water and the cap kept 'leaking' the normal pressure build-up as an engine warms? The cooling system certainly needs TLC now..

 

Interesting...

 

But on the bright side, the head gasket is intact (hoses not pressurising), the auto box oil is OK (brown but translucent and of the proper consistency and not black or 'bitty' or smelling burnt so just needs a change or three) and it does just need a good valet and polish and a few spots of rust treating (as well as a replacement engine, which has been ordered).

[twosmoke300]

Dugong didn't own it btw . He kindly collected it from cornwall for junk man

[lovejoy]

yes, Dugong collected it from me... but he also had an even lower mileage G11 charade at the time, missing a radio .... I guess that's where the one in OJT has gone !!

[dugong]

Indeed. An even lower mileage G11 which no-one wants to buy.

 

All I did with OJT (above) was drive it back from Cornwall at 65, with regular updates from Junkman freaking out because I hadn't turned up in the afternoon.

 

It didn't do anything out of the ordinary - in fact, it behaved perfectly. Phil (twosmoke) also gave it a clean bill of health, giving me a bottle of oil that I didn't use (because it didn't need topping up when I checked it at Gordano services on the M5). The long run may have shocked it, or exacerbated problems that were already there.

 

Looks like it's getting sorted, though. Fair play.

[KruJoe]

a replacement engine... has been ordered

YAY!

[Inspector Morose]

Stick with it. We look after our own own on here. That car has history here.