Dolomite SE all finished... For now!

[Pete-M]

eek

 

i40 woulda been good

I40s are anything but good once you've done a few miles in them. We've occasionally got one in work - but currently it's at the dealership waiting for parts which are a week overdue. Again.

 

As for the Dolly. Full of win. One of my first car related memories was unpeeling the blue protective film from the inside door handle surrounds of a brand new Dolly Sprint when I was about four. Mimosa yellow one. M reg.

 

An afternoon of tinkering and servicing and you should have that running and driving fine and Dandy.

[Timewaster]

I can see the Stop/Start getting on my tits and getting switched off.

 

Unlucky trig. It comes back on each time you start up.

[Pete-M]

Stop start is great once you're used to it.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Stop start is great if somebody else is paying for batteries and starter motors.

 

EFA

[Pete-M]

Cheaper than replacing DMFS all the time.

[Pete-M]

Start stop saves a lot of fuel around town in the Å kodas I drive for work.

 

Without it they do 40-45 mpg around town, with it they tend to do over 50 most of the time.

 

We've been running Superb 2.0 TDI 140s with start stop for 2-3 years now. We keep them for just under 3 years / 70k and we've not replaced a single starter or battery yet.

[trigger]

That's reassuring to know. Hopefully Ford are now equally as reliable!

[alf892]

I wouldn't think stop start is good for the dmf? Certainly on start you will get a large deflection between to two masses at it goes from stationary to firing/moving...and probably similar on stopping I'd think.

 

I don't know this to be fact.....just based on having a good look at my dmf when fitting a clutch last. Just two masses linked by springs so the wear occurs when they move 'against' each other so less movement means less wear.

 

On my modern I've just got used to switching it off every time I start it......I even reach for the off in cars where it is isn't fitted now!

[twosmoke300]

You are correct , it's actually shut down that causes max damage ( apart from driving abuse) to a dmf .

[purplebargeken]

Looking forward to some hot Dolly fettling action now I am back from Belgium Land.

 

The SE interiors are ace

 

That is a brilliant history for the car, he clearly did love it

[Pete-M]

You are correct , it's actually shut down that causes max damage ( apart from driving abuse) to a dmf .

Because our cars are mainly shunted around town a lot of the drivers tend to keep their foot on the clutch at lights. Explain that stop start saves fuel and they soon quit riding the bloody clutch instead of using the brakes when at uphill junctions.

 

 

We've only replaced one clutch on a stop start car, the non stop start ones often killed clutches in 60k of city use.

[trigger]

So getting this thread back on track then I've spent a *joyful day playing with my Dolly, I got all the wheels off to inspect the brakes, the rear shoes need replacing, there was oil/grease contaminating them which I've cleaned off, the cylinders were dry so wondered if the cylinders have been repaired and pack with grease and leaked out everywhere?

 

 

The front needs new pads as they are worn but I've already got those and I've got to get a set of caliper repair kits for both sides as they aren't retracting back in like they should, the pedal doesn't inspire confidence either, not sure if that's because of the poor brakes, because the fluids been boiled (need to replace that) or if the servo has issues, we'll have to see on that one.

 

Next job was a look at the cooling system, got the old stat out which was proper cruded up.

 

 

Spent an age cleaning everything, took the nut out of the block for the water and cleaned the rubbish out of that and removed the coolant bottle and gave that a proper clean up with some Cif and stones and water shook up inside it , it was as if someone had poured a load of waste red oxide paint into the system!

 

 

 

So after that we refilled the system with new coolent, the bottle cap is fucked too, we wonder if that's the reason why it bubbled over then the temperature as still in the normal?

 

 

Lastly I had a quick play with some G3 and my mop on the rear quarter, it responded well some hopefully I'll be able to save the top half of the car at least, the lower half is very rusty though!

 

[trigger]

 

[Anglevan]

Good work trigger. Is the oil on the shoes coming from the axle seals? Same set up as my marina and that had oil contamination. I used dolly parts from rimmers to fix it.

[purplebargeken]

Good start mate. Did much shite come out of the rad?

 

Yep, bin that cap

 

You have the same tandem brake master cylinder as mine. Expensive buggers they are.

 

If you suspect the servo you will mostly likely hear a hissing sound, rather like a pissed off snake might make and a sinking pedal. The main test is to take off the servo and give it a good shake. If it rattles it's fooked. Good second hand will be your friend. 

 

That paint looks to have come up ok with the mop. Result!

[trigger]

I think the axle seals are ok but it's hard to say to be honest? The rad is only 3 years old so that wasn't too bad but Christ the system was blocked solid with red crud, we flushed the matrix too, the heaters are so hot that they burn your hand now!

 

The strange thing is we fitted the 88 degree thermostat and ran it for ages yet it still never opened? Is that normal?

[purplebargeken]

I would refill the system with plain water and drain it a few times before filling up with 50/50 blue.

 

Hmm, that sounds a little odd. Have you tested the old one in a pan of hot water?

[trigger]

I didn't bother testing it as it was really rusty! We had a hose pipe running though the system for ages, I'll change it again after I've done a few miles, i also desperately need to buy some new tyres for it too as the old ones are really old and soft, I can get a set of 155/80/13 Falkins from Tyreleaders for £100 for the set but I want to paint the wheels first before I change them.

[purplebargeken]

Tyres are a must

 

What are the shocks like? Suspension rubbers, especially under the front subframe and front ARB are good with poly replacements, Chris Witor is the best. Ball joints and TRE's ok?

 

The SE wheels will look lovely when tidied up

[trigger]

The rear shocks looked a little oily but nothing major, the fronts all seems really good. I gave it a really good wire brush and clean under the arches, there's a few rusty bits but nothing too scary just yet, I'm going to paint them with some underseal to protect them once it's back at mine.

[trigger]

Oh just quickly, on the brake reservoir it says use DOT 3 only, does that mean I can't use DOT 4 or does that not matter?

[Ghosty]

DOTs are backwards compatible, so to speak. Better, if anything, as the boling point is higher. Should work, as long as there aren't any chemicals in DOT4 that eat old brake lines or something.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Yeah you can use dot 4, I think by that label they're trying to tell you not to use dot 2, meths, olive oil, cat piss etc.

[Inspector Morose]

DOT4 would be fine, just don't go down in numbers, there your problem lies.

[trigger]

Cheers guys, I had a feeling that was the case but wasn't 100% sure.

[trigger]

Just got jiggy on ebay and spent £32 on some new shoes, rad cap, 4x spark plugs and a set of plug leads and then a further £35 with a company called MEV Spares I've found who seem well priced on a set of front caliper repair kits., points, arm, condenser and a pair of air filters.

 

Not too bad considering the amount i got, Rimmer Brothers wanted £116 for the same parts delivered!

[purplebargeken]

Ace!

[Timewaster]

I would refill the system with plain water and drain it a few times before filling up with 50/50 blue.

 

Hmm, that sounds a little odd. Have you tested the old one in a pan of hot water?

Test thermostats in cold water and warm it up. Dropping it into boiling water will knacker it anyway.

[purplebargeken]

Oh, never realised that. Whoops 

[sloth]

the odd noise from the exhaust is a loose baffle. my 2500 did the same till i removed the muffler. and binned it. 

 

 

lovely small trummy. happy fettling. theyre really reliable tbh. when i dailied my big saloon she did 60 miles a day without bother.