83C's Shite-esque Fleet: Let’s all stand in a hot field.

[83C]

As everything is going back together I’m taking the opportunity to make a few improvements. One of which is the intercooler mounting, which was using these brackets to sit upright:

They were mounted on the bottom of the intercooler to locate into the chassis. I would prefer them to hang from the top because the top of the intercooler had enough free movement to get a bit close to the winch relays. So the brackets (with the aid of a vice, grinder and hammer) were reshaped into top mount brackets:

Still tight but no chance now of the top moving any closer. I’ve got plans to rejig the winch wiring anyway which will move it even further away - there’s loads of space between the grille and the intercooler to completely redo it. 

I’m also on the hunt for some 16s and mud terrains, it rides alright on the 18s on the road but I reckon it needs more sidewall. I did see a set of 265/75/18s that would look great but I suspect they would need a fair bit of arch trimming.

[83C]

Reassembly was, as the classic HBOL phrase goes, the reverse of disassembly. Until this point:

Bollocks.

I inadvertently leant on the plastic radiator breather pipe and snapped it. However, I follow the Ten Commandments of Autoshite, one of which is Thou shalt always keep hold of a mountain of old crap car parts.

Some rummaging in the shed produced a length of silicone hose the right diameter, plus a couple of cable ties (another AS Commandment - Thou must always keep vast quantities of cable ties) and a repair was quickly made:

Spot the new anodised blue bleed screw, required because the previous new black plastic one is still somewhere up the Stiperstones after my sister’s other half undid it to release the pressure after the car got hot and bothered - he wasn’t ready for it to attempt to become the first bleed screw in orbit and the fucking thing ricocheted off the underside of the bonnet into a field, never to be seen again. 

Still, it all got thrown back together, filled with water (not putting coolant in just yet) and took it for a test drive. It seems to be behaving but the heaters were a bit sporadic, so it probably needs bleeding and topping up. However as it was now 2045 and way past the commencement of drinking time, it was tidy up, tools away and go get a beer.

[83C]

Took the Disco out today, 15 miles it was fine, the last 5, less so. 

This is pointed at the bleed valve on the radiator top hose.

This next photo is the temp gun pointed at the rad:

29.6c so you don’t have to rotate your head. 

Rad is cold, top hose roasting, heaters blow cold and header tank around 50c. 

Only thing I can think is that either the new stat is duff or the water pump is shot, or somehow air is getting in which is something I really don’t want to think about.

[24vdiamond]

Arent these had work to bleed? I think I read you need to lift the header tank as high as possible, cant remember the exact sequence its a while since I did ours

[83C]

7 hours ago, 24vdiamond said:

Arent these had work to bleed? I think I read you need to lift the header tank as high as possible, cant remember the exact sequence its a while since I did ours

Yes, the header tank just slots in for this very purpose - the official instructions on Rave say to lift the header tank vertical and then at least 4cm up before trying to fill. 

I reckon the head is cracked. It’s about the only thing left now that would give those symptoms. 

[83C]

Well, parts are starting to arrive for the Disco, hopefully off to pick up a few bigger bits on Saturday. 

In other news, I’ve had an email:

And I’m keeping an eye on this boat:

 

[83C]

Today this arrived:

Tomorrow should be the start of fitting.

[83C]

Progress; new engine cleaned up:

Old engine on its way out. Engine crane hasn’t got enough lift (yet) so improvisations are required.

Engine out. The crane still required modifications (altering the pivot angle on the top bar) to get the engine over the front crossmember and winch, and that’s with the front end of the car wheels off and on the deck on blocks. Discoverys are tall:

And after the attention of a shitload of degreaser and a pressure washer:

I need a few bits before I go any further (gaskets, seals etc) but hopefully I should have them tomorrow. 

[83C]

Paint. Quick clean, slather on a load of hammerite and that’ll do:

[red5]

On 25/07/2024 at 16:31, 24vdiamond said:

Arent these had work to bleed? I think I read you need to lift the header tank as high as possible, cant remember the exact sequence its a while since I did ours

This indeed - bloody nightmare if they get air in. hence the header is on a quick releaser  (L-R)  😕

[83C]

Things have been a bit slow here, mainly because the weather has managed to time itself to match my days off with lots of rain, and the dry/sunny hours to only appear when I'm at work. 

Anyway, the new engine is in the Disco:

There are a few issues to solve, mainly related to the fact that although the donor car was only 6 months older than this one the EGR and coolant pipe arrangements are different. The new engine doesn't have an EGR cooler, only a direct exhaust-inlet pipe, and the coolant pipe goes directly from under the fuel cooler to the radiator rather than through the EGR and up to the header tank. If the weather allows it might be running by the end of the week. 

Meanwhile the Range Rover has been throwing a few issues, probably because I've been neglecting it. In the last few days the suspension has been dropping very quickly, especially the nearside front but eventually all 4 would settle. Playing around with the diagnostics box kept it going by forcing the air compressor to pump every time the codes were cleared. At the moment though the L322 is the only daily that I have, with the VXR8 far too loud to use to go to work at 0400 and the Disco still in bits, so more in depth diagnostics and fault finding was called for. The fault code that kept repeating was C1A13-64 Pressure does not decrease when venting gallery which suggested a valve fault or maybe a compressor fault but is fairly non-specific, as well as the live data suggesting that the compressor couldn't get over supplying around 650kPa of pressure into the system. So, off to Google it was. I found a thread on the LandyZone forum where someone else had been experiencing similar problems, gone through a number of 'fixes' that hadn't worked, and finally had a conversation with a air suspension specialist who mentioned the silencer fitting on the air drier - this seems to clog with the desiccant in the air dryer, so the fix was to drill a 4mm hole in the end which apparently is how replacement silencers are now supplied. 

The compressor on an L322 is in a nicely accessible position under the spare wheel, so no scrabbling around under the car, just lift the boot deck, spare wheel out, 4 M5 flange bolts to release the cover and there it is:

The silencer is the brass fitting below the desiccant canister in the lower middle of the photo of the compressor, so off it came and a hole got drilled through the end. Refitted, started the car and cleared the faults, and immediately the car rose quicker, with gallery pressures holding around 1050kPa which is still well short of the 1500-1600ish that it should be, but a definite improvement and it's not dropping the suspension. Next stop is a compressor overhaul, I reckon the desiccant is well overdue replacement and the rest of it would probably benefit from an overhaul - it's not the original compressor (2013 according to the label) but 11 years is more than long enough for the desiccant to degrade. It'll have to wait for the soon to be ex- @motorpunk E61 to arrive as I don't want another car in bits for some unforeseen issue yet, but it'll be alright for a few more weeks and I've got to get some parts ordered anyway. I don't think the compressor is the only issue, the valve blocks are probably a bit tired and the fact that the nearside front suspension dropped quickly followed by the other corners rather than an even settling of all 4 airbags probably suggests there is an issue there too. Aside from the compressor I reckon the rest of the system is original so 18 years and 220k miles old, and probably are a bit leaky and weak. Doing all 4 corners at once will be a bit steep (front uprights including airbags are £250 each) so I think it'll be air compressor and valve blocks first, then see how the suspension behaves. I've long suspected the load level sensors are a bit iffy too, but at the moment they seem to be behaving themselves.

The other issue was that recently the airbag system light popped on, and wouldn't extinguish. The diagnostics box refused to communicate with the SRS module, and a quick google suggested either a module fault or a battery protection module fault - this is the pyrotechnic charge that fires if there is an accident and cuts battery power. Investigating either problem is a bit of a pain, the SRS module is under the centre console which requires a bit of effort to remove and the BPM is on top of the battery but seems to need disconnecting and allowing to discharge before checking with a multimeter. However neither of these explanations sat right with me as to why the diagnostics box wouldn't communicate at all with the SRS module, until I had a thought about what I was actually dealing with. My L322 is a 2006 car, built after the first minor facelift in late 2005 when the BMW M62 petrol engines were replaced with Jag V8s and while Land Rover were already planning the next (bigger) facelift which would include discontinuing the BMW TD6 engine and fitting JLR's own TDV8 engine instead. The diagnostics box (an iCarsoft unit) has specific model year listings under Range Rover for 2002-2005, 2006 and 2007-2009 etc, so most of the systems on mine fall under the specific 2006 model year option. However a few bits were a carry-over from the 2002-2005 model year and it turns out the SRS is one of these - selecting the 2002-2005 option got me straight into the SRS module without issue, and identified a historic issue with the passenger seat occupation sensor - fault cleared, dash light off, job done. At some point I'll have to investigate the root cause of the fault which is probably a loose connection in the front passenger seat somewhere, but its not a priority. 

[83C]

Today has been a pain in the arse. 

First, the Range Rover. New air compressor fitted, and it works well. The rest of the air suspension immediately celebrated this fact by having both front airbags fail, to the degree where it’s now lost all pressure and any attempt to force the car to rise to the proper ride height just results in lots of air coming out of both front bags. 

Absolutely fucking awesome. 

So it was on to MM4x4 in Worcester for a pair of new front struts and airbags, they’re hopefully coming Tuesday. 

Onwards to the Disco.

Now the engine is in, it all needs reconnecting, turbo changing, ancillaries refitting etc, so the natural place to start was by replacing the front discs and pads.

There is madness to the method with this, the front wheels were removed to facilitate dropping the front of the car as low as possible to get the engine out and in. Whilst they were off I noticed the front discs were right down to the wear markers, so new ones were ordered with everything else. I want the wheels back on to lift the car to a more agreeable working height, but it made no sense to refit the wheels before changing the discs and pads. 

Old:

Hub cleaned:

Copper grease! No, I didn’t use it on the pads or calipers. That’s what the yellow tube of Textar is for. However, copper grease still has its uses, like a very thin smear on the hub face to stop the disc seizing to it, and a dab on the bolt that holds the disc on - the head on this is fairly chewed up but I don’t have any replacements, so some copper grease is the answer to try and stop it being a pain next time someone wants to remove it:

New pads and disc on:

Spotted this failed track rod boot while I was there:

And now it’s tea break.

[83C]

Tea break done. Unfortunately I forgot to take a ‘finished’ photo before I put the wheel on, but here’s one after the wheel was fitted:

The keen observers among you will notice the wheel has changed - the car now wears a set of 16s with 265/70/16 mud terrains:

Much beefier looking than the 18s.

[83C]

In other news, I thought I’d check on the progress of my international purchase.

It’s not due here until November sometime I think, it has a number of stops to make first.

[83C]

“This is a crisis.
A large crisis.
In fact, if you've got a moment, it's a twelve-storey crisis with a magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour porterage and an enormous sign on the roof, saying 'This Is a Large Crisis'." 

So said Captain Blackadder when faced with an event that was proving to be particularly problematic. 

Whilst I’m not in a BBC studio on the set of a WW1-based sitcom, I am having something of a large motive power crisis - I have no cars to go to work in. This has been brought on by:

The Disco shitting itself.
The Range Rover blowing the fuck out of its airbags. 
The VXR8 being far too noisy for daily use.

To complicate matters the rear suspension on my wife’s Tiguan has started rattling, so that has leapt to the front of the queue for attention. 

I need something quiet-ish for the work commute because I can be driving to/from work at all hours, this morning I got in from work at 0400 and I’m leaving again for work in the morning at 0430. The Arnage is out of test, and my wife needs her car tomorrow, I’ve been using it the last couple of days to go to work at night when she doesn’t need it.

No problem, thinks I. Around the side of the shed is my motorbike, I’ll use that. 

Key in, dash lights for an instant, then nothing. No attempt to start, nothing. Electrically dead. 

Mindful of the presence of my younger daughter, I clamped my mouth firmly shut to prevent the turtle head of the log of sweariness from poking out, and walked with a firm and measured pace to the Range Rover which is probably the most soundproofed box I have. Once safely inside I let forth a stream of sweary invective, calling out the automotive gods for being a bunch of monumental thundercunts, the weather gods for being weapons-grade fuckwits, the tool gods for being twattish bastards and much more besides.

Once the primeval chimp rage subsided I needed a plan. A large, cunning, elaborate and complicated one. I need a car, but so does my wife on the day I have her car to sort out. While that is in bits I can use the VXR8 if I need to because it’ll be normal daytime and won’t upset the neighbours, but I can’t use it to go to work. 

You can probably see where this is going.

Off it was to the classifieds, and in short order I found an R50 Mini Cooper local to me with a bit of test. Unfortunately the seller already had a viewing booked, so back to the search. For a bit more something popped up which would be more practical, and had 12 months test, so off I trotted.

To be continued…

[83C]

There were a few candidates in the AS Classifieds, but for once I needed to reign in the madness, therefore it was stick to something local and easy to collect. Ebay had nothing of interest, so it was good old faceberk marketplace to the rescue. As I’m not a 100 2nite M7 wanker I figured I’d probably get a better reception from the sellers, and so it proved - a message was sent asking to view (no offers made at this point), a message that did not contain the words fuck off you chancing cunt came back, a time and place arranged, and off I trotted. 

The upshot of all the above is that I’m now the owner of this:

An R55 Mini Clubman, with the PSA DV6 1.6TD, 12 months ticket and in Nightfire red. It’s a bit leggy at 159,000 miles but it’ll do a turn here, and then be for sale.

I’ll take some better pictures tomorrow, but the weather gods evidently heard me calling them a bunch of slack-arsed donkey-felching turbocunts, so they arranged a spot of revenge:

God is very quick these days.

[83C]

The new front struts for the Range Rover turned up today, so I got on with stripping the old ones off, starting with the n/s/f.

Or not.

Everything except the two pinch bolts at the bottom of the strut came off easily. The pinch bolts however point blank refused to come out, despite the application of the Big Twatting Stick. They both turn (grudgingly) so at least they’re not totally seized in place. They’ve been soaked in penetrating fluid and I’m off out to buy a can of fire for some localised heat application when battle recommences tomorrow. 

I also managed to progress the reassembly of the Disco by taking more stuff off:

Due to an administrative oversight the turbo still had a bit of exhaust attached, and I only realised after the engine took up residence in the engine bay. The nuts flat refused to yield even with the big ugga dugga, so the turbo off the old engine is being fitted to solve the problem as it split cleanly off the manifold and downpipe. Shaft play is negligible on both turbos so swapping them is the easiest solution.

Of course, I need the manifold-turbo gasket and a couple of copper washers for the oil feed. I have neither. Fuck sakes.

 

[wuvvum]

On 15/09/2024 at 11:16, 83C said:

In other news, I thought I’d check on the progress of my international purchase.

It’s not due here until November sometime I think, it has a number of stops to make first.

Obviously playing it safe, going all the way round Africa to get from India to Turkey...

[83C]

22 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Obviously playing it safe, going all the way round Africa to get from India to Turkey...

Hope so, there’s a particularly important vehicle aboard!

[wuvvum]

Given the ship's starting point I'm going to guess Tata Nano.

[83C]

9 hours ago, wuvvum said:

Given the ship's starting point I'm going to guess Tata Nano.

Ah, my vehicle boarded a few stops before in Nagoya. 

[83C]

No Range Rover or Discovery progress today as I got sidetracked and then had to head into work. However I did manage to pick up a new blowtorch and a couple of bottles of gas, so I should be all set for tomorrow. 

In Mini news the Clubman has settled into daily driving duties, and seems to be running on the merest sniff of diesel fumes - it’s currently returning an average of 62.4mpg. Naturally it needs a few jobs doing, mainly rear suspension related. I reckon it’s also needing something DPF-related as it threw the yellow filter light when I started it earlier. These earlier R55s with the Peugeot DV6 have bags of Eolys fluid just in front of the o/s/r wheel by the fuel tank so it might be that - easily replaced but the ECU needs telling that it has been replaced and I don’t know if my diagnostics box can do that. I do need a BMW INPA setup for another machine (as per my thread elsewhere) but it would also come in handy for this if things need doing.

[flat4alfa]

On 15/09/2024 at 20:13, 83C said:

it’ll do a turn here, and then be for sale.

Dibs on that please thanks

[83C]

So today I had another crack at replacing the front struts on the Range Rover, starting with the nearside.

Looking online it seems the two pinch bolts that hold the bottom of the strut to the hub are utter shits to remove for everyone. After a lot of heat and lots of heavy duty twatting both came around to my way of thinking, but the bottom one was absolutely mullered. Since new ones weren’t included with the struts (a bit tight when they’re £250 each) it was a frantic ring around to locate a new pair - fortunately Salop 4x4 came to the rescue with a pair in stock and another pair to be delivered tomorrow for the other side.

Once they were off the three topmount nuts came off, and out came the old strut. Final job was to undo the air pipe and then the area was clear for the new strut:

Then I spotted the bottom joint on the ARB droplink had popped out. Oh for fuck sakes…

So it was off to Salop 4x4 after the school run for bolts and nuts, then ECP for droplinks (only place that had any). Went for Lemforder droplinks, hopefully they’ll last - they fucking ought to for £80-odd the pair. Yes, I could have waited and got them cheaper but the car needed to be back together at end of play this evening and I didn’t fancy jacking the nearside up yet again just to fit a droplink. Mind you, Lemforder are also being tight as fuck as the new droplinks didn’t have any new nuts with them, so I’ve had to reuse the old nylocs from the previous set as I don’t have any M12 nuts in stock. 

I reckon this might have been the issue with the old airbag:

And then it was a rush to beat the darkness and get it all back together - unsurprisingly reassembly was much quicker. New strut with air pipe fitted, ready to push up into the tower:

The old topmount nuts didn’t fit the new topmount studs, but fortunately I do hold a stock of M10 fasteners so 3 new flange nuts were fitted.

Just the other side to do, but that is tomorrow’s problem.

Edited to correct the caption for the photo of the new strut with air pipe fitted.

[83C]

Finally got the o/s/f strut fitted to the Range Rover today, no thanks to the weather. It was quite a relief that it rose to the proper ride being and stayed there without issue, and without the noise of air leaking from the front arches. Next stop is the rear bags which I know aren’t great - I suspect that they’re not long for this world given they’re probably the originals like the fronts, so a new pair arrived yesterday. Just need to wait for the next weather break to align with not being at work.

From having a crisis of no suitable car I’m about to encounter the opposite problem - I have a pair of cars arriving early next month and the Mini will be very surplus to requirements. A shiter has asked for dibs but I have to admit I’m finding it hard to let go - the Mini is a hoot to drive, massively practical for in town parking and commuting to work as well as being stupidly cheap to run. On the downside I’m struggling to find anyone local who can reset the Eolys fluid counter (the local BMW/Mini specialist didn’t know what I was on about 🤦🏻‍♂️) and the bigger problem is that Charlie the dog doesn’t really fit in it. Definitely one for the ‘if I had space, I’d keep it’ file.

[83C]

Nipped out for a family day today in the Range Rover and ended up doing over 200 miles because of a change in plan - the new front struts and airbags have made such a difference to the ride quality. Fresh rear airbags should make it even better.

Ended up at Black Rock Sands:

[83C]

With a massive for sale thread, absolutely no space at the inn and lots of car related stress, what should I do?

Buy another car.

I are idiot.

First train of the day:

[83C]

In all fairness this was a deal agreed months ago with @motorpunk, I’ve just been a little overtaken by subsequent events. I had really hoped the Range Rover would last until this car arrived before I needed to do the suspension work but it was not to be.

Anyway, today I have a travelling companion:

[motorpunk]

This is gonna be fun. I’m allergic to dogs. 😂

[83C]

33 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

This is gonna be fun. I’m allergic to dogs. 😂

Ah, bollocks.