Ask a Shiter

[castros_bro]

Core plug at the rear of the engine leaking into the bell housing? External leak finding it's way into the bell housing?

 

Nope! Yer man at GSF (when he'd stopped laughing) says it has a water cooled gearbox/diff which is the lowest point of the cooling system so is not drained when the rad is drained and if there's no antifreeze then when it doth freeze it splits itself/gearbox/diff housing. Whooopppeeeeee.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Thanks Spike60, used that discount code on a battery for 'erindoor's CLK this morning at Euros this morning. I owe you a virtual pint in Ye Olde Shite Arms.

[spike60]

Thanks Spike60, used that discount code on a battery for 'erindoor's CLK this morning at Euros this morning. I owe you a virtual pint in Ye Olde Shite Arms.

It doesn't have to MB related stuff, it works on a lot though a bit random. It works on Mondeo clutches but not flywheels for example. It also stops when they have offers on anyway, you don't get discount on an already discounted price

[Asimo]

Looking at Ebay SaaB 900s. What is all this "flat front" nonsense? 

 

Is flat front the real SaaB 900, made entirely without GM help / input / parts / influence etc rather than the (of no interest to me) SaaBs that have GM content?

[The Moog]

Flat fronts where the 900 up to 1987 ish with the front handbrake. After that they moved to a rear handbrake and restyled the restyled the car slightly. Up to 1987 also tended to be 8v's rather than the later 16v's.

 

Gm got involved around 1989 when they took a 50% stake in the company, hence the replacement 900 being Cav based

 

I still want another H reg 900 T16s.

[Asimo]

Nope! Yer man at GSF (when he'd stopped laughing) says it has a water cooled gearbox/diff which is the lowest point of the cooling system so is not drained when the rad is drained and if there's no antifreeze then when it doth freeze it splits itself/gearbox/diff housing. Whooopppeeeeee.

 

Renault. Pioneering new ways to go wrong since (date you bought one).

[mat_the_cat]

To stem the rust temporarily I sanded it down and put some kurust on followed by brushing grey primer on it which is supposed to contains rust-preventative.  It sort of worked but speckles of rust are showing through the primer again already and the whole thing looks pretty shocking.

 

The problem with rust converters is they will only convert a layer, and depending on the depth of rust there may be some left underneath unconverted. Primer isn't much good for protection either, as it's porous. So if you can get it back to bare metal that will help. A Dremel style tool is unlikely to have enough power to remove rust over anything but a tiny area; a drill would be better but a knotted wire wheel in an angle grinder will be better still.

 

You can get chemical rust removers which convert the rust into a water-soluble substance which can be washed off. But they take time to work which may not be an option if you need to use the car.

[meshking]

I'm full of stupid questions.  Someone on here refurbs Dysons - mine has just gone bang with a whisp of smoke apparently.  Can I fix that?

[catsinthewelder]

Tis Beko that refurbs the Dysons but I've fixed a fair few industrial vac's at work.

 

Smoke from inside or the cable?

 

A common problem was the electrical flex breaking up internally just where it went into the casing.  When it got down to the last couple of strands of copper it would go bang and blow the side of the cable out scaring the shit out of the cleaner in the process.

 

To fix it dismantle the Vac and choc block some spare cable on to test it (taking sensible precautions against frying yourself) then either buy or scrounge and adapt a new cable.

 

If the smoke is from inside I'd be looking at the motor first.

[meshking]

Thanks! Just got home and it's smoke from near the cable but smells very motor'ish to me. In any case, just realised it has a 5 year guarantee.

[robinmasters]

Legal Protection when you renew your car insurance- two questions.

 

1: What does it actually do? I can only ever get a very wooly explanation from the companies.

 

2: Do you need it?

 

1. Your insurance only usually covers you for the damage to your car. If you want to claim anything else you have to do that yourself, unless you have legal cover. 

 

2. Not really. If you just want your excess back, you can deal with that far more competently than the legal expenses people will. If you want COMPENSAYSHUN, go to a no-win no-fee solicitor.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I'm full of stupid questions.  Someone on here refurbs Dysons - mine has just gone bang with a whisp of smoke apparently.  Can I fix that?

@beko1987

 

(If he has Tapatalk that should let him know he's been mentioned in this thread, I think - let's see - @Conrad D. Conelrad )

[phil_lihp]

The problem with rust converters is they will only convert a layer, and depending on the depth of rust there may be some left underneath unconverted. Primer isn't much good for protection either, as it's porous. So if you can get it back to bare metal that will help. A Dremel style tool is unlikely to have enough power to remove rust over anything but a tiny area; a drill would be better but a knotted wire wheel in an angle grinder will be better still.

 

You can get chemical rust removers which convert the rust into a water-soluble substance which can be washed off. But they take time to work which may not be an option if you need to use the car.

 

Thanks Mat, that's very helpful.  I'll try and get it down to bare metal first, I had a feeling that would be necessary.

[explosive-cabbage]

Can putting a smaller alternator pulley on my XUD cause electrical issues? I have a slighlty smaller pulley I can use to produce more volts, is this a good idea?

I am aware of extra strain on belts, engine etc...

[Des]

Smaller pulley will just mean the thing spins faster, wont generate extra volts except maybe at tickover where the charge light gives that reassuring flicker, worth it if you spend a lot of time with lights and everything on with the engine idling, like a nocturnal ice cream man or for dogging. If you need more volts the aternator has to be modified a little bit.

[red5]

Can putting a smaller alternator pulley on my XUD cause electrical issues? I have a slighlty smaller pulley I can use to produce more volts, is this a good idea?

I am aware of extra strain on belts, engine etc...

 

Why do you 'need more volts' ?

 

The system is still 12v (nominal) so alternator (regulated) will put out no more than 14.5v or so. Smaller pulley means it spins faster naturally, but it's still regulated to 14.5v output.

Do you have a lot of devices running off it? if so, you need more amps, not volts. Which is normally bigger output alternator required - ie 70amp instead of 50amp.

[trigger]

Do headlight bulbs lose there brightness with age? The H4's in the Cortina must be years old and the lights are shit. Would I see better results if I was to fit new bulbs or should I upgrade to brighter bulbs?

[Richard]

I think they do deteriorate, and some are substandard from new- not necessarily cheap ones either. A pair of Silver Stars, Nightbreakers or similar should make a difference, assuming your reflectors are good.

[trigger]

The reflectors looks surprisingly good although the glass on the inside of the lens could do with cleaning but I have no way of doing that?.

 

I have some new Ring branded bulbs in storage which I might fit in that case.

[dave21478]

check you are getting full battery voltage to the bulbs. Whatever the battery reads with the engine running - probably 13 - 14 volts should be at the headlight connector too. If its lower, you may have corroded connectors in the loom somewhere, perhaps a relay or switch with grubby contacts.

 

Something I used to do a lot on older cars was to rig the headlights up direct to the battery, via a relay and  fuse, using chunky wiring, new terminals etc and use the old wiring to the bulbs to trigger the relay. This means minimal power drop in the wiring and takes the strain off older switchgear.

[Wilko220]

I have a problem with the 'Umber.

 

When I start it up, it is appearing as if it is out of petrol - fires up, accelerator does little or nothing, engine dies within a couple of seconds.

 

There is definitely petrol in it - there was already two gallons showing on the gauge and I stuck another gallon in just to be on the safe side. There also appears to be no (obvious) problem with the throttle cable.

 

So, I can only assume that there is some kind of blockage in the fuel line - can anyone who is a better mechanic than me tell me whether this is likely? And if so, what I might be able to do about it?

 

Ta much.

 

 

You could also check that the paint or whatever they used to coat the inside of the tank hasn't started to disintegrate and clog the fuel lines. This is pretty common apparently and modern petrol exacerbates the problem.

 

I finally got around to doing some investigating into this earlier. The fuel filter was clogged up with a load of small, black flakes - so I think that TagoraSX could well be right with his suggestion. Sadly, cleaning all of this out and re-fitting the filter doesn't seem to have resolved the problem, so I suppose the next step is to start dismantling carburettors and seeing whether any 'foreign objects' have got into there...

[cort16]

On my Cortina should the temp gauge leap up to the first dot when I turn the ignition? I'm trying diagnose why the temp sender isn't working and I think it should leap up to the first dot when I turn the ignition (it doesn't)

I think I might order another one to see if it fixes it.

[Skizzer]

This is probably a really stupid question, but here goes: if I need to drain and flush out a fuel system, what do I do with the old petrol? It's about a third of a tank's worth.

[Inspector Morose]

Use it for cleaning/degreasing parts? Mix a bit of it with fresh every tankful until it's used all up? Write your name with it then set it on fire so you can have your name in FLAMES!?

[Skizzer]

Ah, thanks. I like all these ideas. See, told you it was a stupid question.

[trigger]

I think it should leap up to the first dot when I turn the ignition (it doesn't)

 

Not on mine it doesn't, I'm pretty sure Mk3 & 4 dashes are the same. I even made a quick video to show you mine!

 

[sheffcortinacentre]

gauge will stay at very bottom until it srats working.

earth it on block (ign on) to see if wire/gauge is ok.

[320touring]

I really do need to spend some time sorting out the bodywork on the 220 in the next few weeks so as a complete novice, what's the best approach on a very limited budget? It has some rusty patches on the door bottoms, corners and sills and these have bloomed into bright orange fresh rust in recent months as the car is stored alternately at my house 100 yards from the sea and in a lockup which is almost permanently damp.

 

To stem the rust temporarily I sanded it down and put some kurust on followed by brushing grey primer on it which is supposed to contains rust-preventative. It sort of worked but speckles of rust are showing through the primer again already and the whole thing looks pretty shocking.

 

I have stocked up on emery paper and sandpaper plus plenty of the right coloured paint with the original aim of rubbing each patch down, spraying with primer, sanding smooth and then painting/laquering.

 

My concern is that it won't stop the rust blooming through again - do I need to get down to bare metal? If so, how can I achieve that? I have an old Dremel multi tool that might be useful or maybe I'd be better off with a wire wheel attached to my cordless drill.

 

I know it'll never look concours but I'd be happy with a reasonably smooth and shiny paint finish on the patches which doesn't look too obvious from a couple of feet away. Any thoughts?

This approach seems to be working for me..

http://autoshite.com/topic/16643-320tourings-flapwheel-folley/?fromsearch=1

 

Worth a shot!

[gordonbennet]

Do headlight bulbs lose there brightness with age? The H4's in the Cortina must be years old and the lights are shit. Would I see better results if I was to fit new bulbs or should I upgrade to brighter bulbs?

 

Even high output bulbs deteriorate over time.

 

I put some Philips Extremes in the old Benz about 5 years ago, according to some these higher output bulbs don't last but mine are still going strong.

However going into this winter i thought on damp nights especially that the lights just didn't cut through or my sight was getting bad, so i grabbed a set of Osram Unlimited equivalents on offer at eurocarparts online site, whoa what a difference, i can see again.

So impressed that i stuck a set of H7 (or is it H1) dipped beam bulbs in the Outback, superb lights.

 

The Philips look as good as new still, no darkening of the bulb glass or anything.

 

Best improvement though, especially if you have plastic headlights...and what twat came up with that idea by the way...is to spend half an hour polishing the outside of the lens with Solvol Peek or an equivalent metal polish, massive difference when you have crystal clear lenses again.

[Richard]

...and what twat came up with that idea by the way...

An accountant.