Ask a Shiter

[Norbert]

Ok, so just to make sure I understand correctly, replacing JUST the motor is viable, provided I fit a compatible replacement? So if I pull the fusebox cover off I should be able to see the end of the motor, grab the part number, get a secondhand one and swap it over, winning at life?

 

You have PM

[Guest Hooli]

I seem to recall the rules on lights involes 18" - if the centre is below that, it's a foglight, above it's a driving light & the wiring required changes to suit.

I'd wire them as pairs to save such thick wires & huge relays to power it all.

[Guest Hooli]

Today's stupid question - What the hell is going BANG, TWANNNNNNG! CLUNK BOING! BANG!!! under the back of my goona at low speed & worse in reverse? I've checked the springs aren't snapped, replaced the rotten backbox mounts, checked the shock mounts etc. I can't see anything loose, but I haven't been right underneath.

[panhard65]

Today's stupid question - What the hell is going BANG, TWANNNNNNG! CLUNK BOING! BANG!!! under the back of my goona at low speed & worse in reverse? I've checked the springs aren't snapped, replaced the rotten backbox mounts, checked the shock mounts etc. I can't see anything loose, but I haven't been right underneath.

Most likely the rear frame mountings as they are a common Laguna failiure. I have got the tool here somewhere to do them.

[Guest Hooli]

Most likely the rear frame mountings as they are a common Laguna failiure. I have got the tool here somewhere to do them.

 

Good idea but No. Had them done in march & they still look perfect.

 

Sounds more central & clangy than they did anyway.

[sierraman]

How would you know if your diesel has an SMF conversion?

[dave21478]

Take the gearbox off and have a look.

 

Or if you are REALLY lucky, whoever did the conversion will have put the wee sticker that says its a single mass and gives the part number for a replacement friction disc that comes in the box (Valeo kits anyway, dunno about others) on the bulkhead or something.

[M'coli]

What's with all the recently pinned threads?

[mercrocker]

Just as we all wonder, they disappear!

[scdan4]

If I were to be considering buying a mercedes E3xx estate, where would be the price / condition / foibles sweetspot?

 

for example:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-E300-Elegence-Td-auto-estate-/162285824750

 

I know some rust terribly, and some have very dodgy wiring. Is this one of them?

[Kiltox]

How would you know if your diesel has an SMF conversion?

Massively increased vibration and harshness in the cabin especially at idle

[Timewaster]

I have a Plug 305 van, and I'm modifying things like suspension, brakes and stuff. My ( possibly ) stupid question is, will vented discs  fit with the calipers that are standard ones ? The 305 gtx had vented discs. Is the caliper the same ?

Something in the back of my feeble brain says that 305 pads were available in 2 thicknesses for vented / solid discs. Basically the pads for vented discs were half worn out from new. Calipers were the same.

This is from 25 years ago, so forgive me if I am wrong though. This fact predates me discovering beer.

[Asimo]

Ford Zetec 1.8 petrol engine in my van: has a plastic thermostat housing that is weeping three years after it's replacement. Is there a version of this engine with an interchangeable metal thermostat housing?

 

Same question about the cam cover, and for the same reason.

[sierraman]

Yes the silver top had a metal housing, not sure if it's interchangeable but more than likely. If it's a small weep I'd get a new housing if it's split or more likely the big o ring is perished put a new one on. Bit of Hylomar blue on reassembly should do it. Failing that if you can't be arsed chick some k seal in. I've stopped a few leaking from there successfully using this.

[scaryoldcortina]

^ I've never seen a zetec E with a metal stat housing! They all have the black plastic one, even the early silvertops in escrots and mondeos.

[sierraman]

No the silver tops had a metal housing - pre 1997

[scaryoldcortina]

? OK, but I broke one on a 2 year old MK1 mondeo in 1995 and that was plastic. Seriously.

[sierraman]

I had a 1996 Mondeo, 1.8 Silver top, it had a metal housing as I remember changing the thermostat that sat in it. I'll do my research and come back...

 

I've swapped them before when they've leaked and it's supposed to butt against the cylinder head dry and bolt on. I found the only way to make it work properly was to incorporate some decent sealant round the facing. They usually leak underneath or through the sender at the top round the o ring where the sender sits in. Beware when buying the housing, some sit in the housing held by a clip, others screw in.

[scaryoldcortina]

I broke a 95 mondeo 1.8 to rob the engine for a cortina, that had a plastic one. I'm not saying metal ones didn't exist at all but in over 20 years I've never seen one.

[sierraman]

Don't know if it makes a difference but the Mondeo I was working on was a very early mk2. Had a different exhaust manifold fitted - which cracked. Couldn't find another at a breakers exactly the same so took it to someone who cast welded it up for me.

[scaryoldcortina]

Bit of a google suggests that there was an alloy stat housing, but only on the ST170 so rarer than hen's teeth.

[sierraman]

Here's one from a 1.6 focus

[scaryoldcortina]

4 bolt fixing, that's off a Zetec-S!

[twosmoke300]

And that's numberwang!

[sierraman]

Aren't we a set of sad bastards.

[scaryoldcortina]

I was thinking that, yes.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Looking at cheap runarounds for the Mrs.

 

puntos with the 8v engine. How terrible / good are they?

[Bfg]

I was wondering (..wandering through my mind).. why were Citroen 2cv and some other older car's wheels so deeply double dished ?

 

 

..when after-market wheels (that fit the car) are ..markedly less so  ! (an A-series Ami-6 is shown below) :

[RayMK]

I was wondering (..wandering through my mind).. why were Citroen 2cv and some other older car's wheels so deeply double dished ?

 

 

 

..when after-market wheels (that fit the car) are ..markedly less so  ! (an A-series Ami-6 is shown below) :

 

 

Could it be a way to decouple some of the harshness of wheel movements resulting from poor road surfaces from the suspension?  The small Citroens with their leading arm front suspension perhaps needed some additional resilience in the wheels in order to subdue the characteristics of such a set-up i.e. the arc of upward movement forces the tyre in to a ridge.  Since the suspension assembly is more rigidly attached to the chassis than, say, a wishbone set-up with rubber bushes or even a soft mounted subframe, perhaps this was the French engineering solution to the problem. The rear end is trailing, so no problem there.  On  the other hand, perhaps the engineers just thought double dished looked pretty  .

[Asimo]

I don't remember where I read it by I do recall some referance to those Citroen wheels being an object lesson in how to manage the stresses in a wheel.

The location of the wheel by those shaped pieces under the nuts needing that circumferential groove, the lack of any large hole in the centre - features that would stiffen the wheel disc considerably compared to a flatter design.

But I agree that the features do look a bit exaggerated.