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44 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:
There's not much room from above so I'll try that from below. Knew I should have given it to a garage to do but I don't really want to spend any more money on it as I'm thinking of possibly moving it on. I felt that a years MOT and a new belt kit would help that.

Don't be silly! Your more than able to do it. There is always a way of getting these things sorted, just requires a bit of thought and perseverance. If you get stuck, have a think about it and maybe carry on the next day. Small chunks at a time. Once done you'll have the massive satisfaction of doing it yourself.

No rush doing it either, you're not exactly being paid per hour for this job. The Clio Cambelt took me a month and the BMW belt took me over a week! BMW book time is only like 2 hours too. 🤣

Edit: Also looks like you've still got the wheel on, make sure you take that off as it will massively improve access. 

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8 hours ago, High Jetter said:

As you do. He was great, a genuine bloke. Mayb not quite showbiz enuf though

Very talkative. And I'm pretty sure he's driven anything that qualifies as shite. Apparently he rolled a Maestro onto its roof on its launch day. As he was hanging from its seat belt, all of a sudden, he heard a little synthesised voice say 'Oil pressure low' 

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31 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

I should probably have sold it when I got the MOT pass to be honest! 

The wheel was back on just to put it down off the axle stand for the night, in my haste I forgot to take a photo with it off.

I'm reet fed up with the car now but at least I don't regret selling the Corsa.

Can you get to the started ring on the flywheel? Sometimes you can without removing the starter, or the starter is easy to remove. If so, jam a prybar or fat flat headed screwdriver in there. I personally leave the cars up on axle stands until the jobs done. 

Yeah I get fed up of cars when they're playing hardball to fix. Like when I threw my toys out of the pram when the BMW was a bit bunged up on the cooling system. 🤣

However you just got to plod on and it'll be sorted eventually. The only way out is to get it sorted. There is always a way, this stuff isn't complex, it's just spinning wrenches. Just time consuming with it fiddly and awkward at times. 

For me, the pain of doing the jobs and satisfaction you get when you complete them (especially stuff you've not done before) does help bond me with the car! That effort to get it back on the road was your blood, sweat and tears. 

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14 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Made a start on the timing belt on the Cav. Got stuck trying to get the crank pulley off though. One of the screws had been replaced with a bolt at some point so I got that out but even my impact gun wouldn't touch the other 3.

VWs use a similar design, with hex bolts that are extremely easy to round off. I normally remove them with an impact driver and the largest hammer I can find.

You may also want to try some heat, in case some fool (or, in some cases, the factory !) has previously loctited the bolts into place.

 

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16 hours ago, puddlethumper said:

While round at DFTR I spotted something familiar and an old Datsun.

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Aye. Myrtle waiting for some holes to be replaced by metal. Very sad about that Cherry shell. They did loads of work on it, then it seems the chap ran out of money and now the bodyshell needs doing again. I thought it was due to be collected by now as it has since been sold.

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IMG_20210429_121122.thumb.jpg.999a662101b170110911023a4ad0455f.jpg

On the road now. I can't help noticing how much better to drive it is than my Doblo, which it's replacing. It feels faster, even though the Fiat has 10 hp more, and is better both in ride and handling. And doesn't have the Doblo's soft accelerator response. The Doblo's natural speed feels like 45mph whereas this floats along at 60.

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Today I have mainly been collecting repaired vehicles from garages, starting with the works Renault Master wheelchair bus, this has had a new MAF sensor fitted and is transformed. This may be up for sale shortly if anyone on here is interested, it's actually rather nice now its been sorted out properly. Then the chap who's been servicing the Scirocco brought it back with a new cam belt, new brakes, ball joints and a very nicely sorted feel to it. I gave him a lift back to his little garage & then drove home to find that my camper van was just being dropped off as well. This has had a new gearbox and now drives almost as silently as one of these ever will.

And then, using BACS, I all but emptied my bank account.

 

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On 4/25/2021 at 11:19 PM, Split_Pin said:

I replaced the rocker cover gasket on the Cavalier yesterday, very easy job indeed. 

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Cams still look in great condition given that its done a quarter of a million miles. There's also absolutely  no sludge inside the cam box at all and the underside of the rocker cover was the cleanest I've seen, with a new- looking gauze filter.

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I think its also leaking a touch from the camshaft end seal as when I replaced the distributor  cap and rotor there was a small amount of oil there. Not bad enough to bother me but an observation nevertheless.

According to the service history the timing belt was last evidenced in 2008 so I'm hoping that my Gates kit arrives sooner rather than later. The engine behaves well so I think it would be a shame to risk it and play roulette. I'm undecided whether to do it myself or not. On one hand I'm sure its easy but on the other, labour costs to change it would probably not be more than an hour or 2. I'll just see how I feel the day the postman brings it!

I've also found @Burnside s thread on it in the Cavalier owners forum and I'm reading through it. Seems to have had a clutch and replacement box around 2009, all still good there.

@Split_Pin with the cambelt history. It's had 3 replacements in my ownership. The second one was in 2012 and the last one was done prematurely about 18mths/ 2 years later.

This happend because the replacement water pump failed. So I think I managed to get a warranty claim, which is probably why there no receipt in the service history.

Each time it had a full kit including tensioner & water pump. Plus antifreeze which I switched to the Red (long life). So that was changed every 4 yrs. It should have been due on age about 18mths + ago. 

The gauze filter was replaced about 18 mths before I sold it, via my local motor factors. 

Gearbox was swapped out with the engine from memory.  Although later on it had to have a new end cover seal fitted, due to a leak and I changed the oil again with genuine GM oil. Also had a genuine replacement gear linkage fitted about 4/5 years ago as the original fell apart too. 

Hope my old thread on the owners club doesn't send you to sleep btw! 

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Shakedown run before going home for the bank holiday weekend. Drove back to the marsh and there was next to zero traffic. Was absolutely beautiful tonight with the sunset. Also got some nods of approval from a a homeowner putting the bins out and a driver of a K10 Micra. That's a first for me.

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After a spirited drive back I did some underbonnet adjustments and it runs very sweetly now. I've got a good feeling about the drive home tomorrow.

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2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Well the Cav crank pulley torx bolts have rounded off and I cannot fathom how to route the aux belt back on to even get the thing mobile again.

That will be my first and last ever attempt at changing a timing belt.

FUCK. MY. LIFE.

 

I only just sent the previous reply about the service history, without checking for a update 1st.

Sorry to hear it's fighting you with the cambelt change. It's all sortable though. 

You might be able to find some pictures online or via the Cav forum for belt location's. 

If not, dare I say the HBOL? 

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Cheers for the updates on the history! The aux belt looks in perfect condition so the timing belt would probably be fine however I don't like playing roulette with a car that's worth keeping.

Sadly HBOL was useless as it was showing a different engine. Someone on the Facebook page sent me the right picture over tea time and I finally realised what I'd done wrong, all back together now. Its a really weird route that passes through a slot in the engine mount.

Its always with a sense of shame that I admit defeat on a job but if I continued I would have made it almost impossible for someone else to get the bolts out. Its booked in next Thursday at the same place that welded it to have the belt changes. Its a Gates kit so hopefully the water pump should last! 

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I may have found a solution to the Innocenti engine mount dilemma.  If anyone can think of a reason why this won't work, speak now or forever hold thy peace.

I've found these on eBay:

s-l500.jpg

They're hard rubber discs, 60mm in diameter (the same as the Innocenti engine mounts) and 20mm thick.  So I'm thinking three of these, stuck together, drilled through in the right place with a bit slightly smaller than the sleeve from the existing engine mount.  Retrieve the sleeve (hey, that rhymes!) - shouldn't be too hard given how knackered the mount is - tap it into place, persuade the rubber discs into the mount clamp (mount thickness is 58mm but I think there's enough give in the rubber to squish a couple of mm, possibly with the help of a G clamp) then bolt through and Robert's your father's brother.  Grand total of about 12 quid.

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1 hour ago, SiC said:

Until I read the description I thought they were hockey pucks too. I know they're popular for fitting into the cup of trolley jacks to protect sills when lifting. 

I've nearly bought a pair of those before they do look handy. I've seen them with grooves cut out so they sit all over the jacking point. 

I lift from axle components nowadays though, it's rare I have a car with all its sill jacking points not flattened! 

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9 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I may have found a solution to the Innocenti engine mount dilemma.  If anyone can think of a reason why this won't work, speak now or forever hold thy peace.

I've found these on eBay:

  Grand total of about 12 quid.

Well at that price it's got to be worth a try.

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4 hours ago, juular said:

@Split_Pin have you got a set of these?

irw5653610a.jpg

They've dug me out of almost every hole regarding rounded bolts. 

Even when there's only a stud left, you can blob a bit of weld on top and hammer one of these on. I don't think they've ever left me stuck.

+1 on these.  I'm yet to find a rounded off bolt that will stand up to them.  They're good for locking wheel nuts as well if you lose the key.

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Are those Irwin bolt removers one use? or are they able to be detached from the extracted bolt and reused? I assume hammering them onto a seized bolt doesn't do them much good or are they made of double 'ard admantium or something?

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