Spike's SEC Teething troubles... Making Some Different Progress.

[richardmorris]

Imobilisors are the devil's plaything. Hope all the mystery wires come out easy man.

I agree. The last thing a thirty year old car needs is a thirty year old immobiliser being helpful*.

[richardmorris]

Not long after I bought my w124 it had a quick period of not starting when hot- helpfully at an aire du picnique on the way back from Le Mans.

Then again at franglais vins in Calais.

 

But was fine after until my dad had it for a few months and it cut out when driving to Chester one Saturday. It graced the pavement outside the abode by the racecourse for two hours before the rac arrived. Chester Mercedes had it for a week and couldn’t find anything wrong apart from some poor connections to the main fuel pump and loose connectors to the green pump relay.

[spike60]

If the immobiliser only disables the car by knobbling the fuel pump it should be ok now, it seems to have a bonnet switch and sensors inside so with limited wires hopefully there's nowt going to starter or ignition.

The only dealer parts I've bought have been for 126's, I recently paid £53 for a thermostat and oil filter for this, both of which were in stock locally. Previously they were good for bits for a 1989 300se, very competitive for injection bits and pieces and an exhaust centre section was £141 next day when ECP were £129 7 days. And it fitted!

[spike60]

With the cooler thermostat fitted the temperature remains well behaved so as far as I'm concerned it's a job jobbed if not fully understood.

It was running fine with the immobiliser disconnected from the fuel pump so I decided to knobble it altogether if I could. I took a reference pic and pulled the wires one by one with the engine running, ok

.

So then I pulled them all and left them off, still ok. 

I've used the car 3 days this week locally with no problems so today I manned up, filled up and set course for No1 son and family about 60 miles north . Uneventful trip, no AA like on the collection run so I'll consider it put to bed. This is what the it looked like on return in its usual habitat , a supermarket car park.

Then was I was getting  out back home I found this on the passenger floor. Ah. I assume it's from the heater, wonder if really needs it?

[J-T]

Look at the dish on those rear wheels. Bloody lovely old thing that is, glad it's behaving

[spike60]

The rear dish probably looks deeper than it is because the they're covered in pad dust despite being driven quite slowly, the fronts have covers inside to stop this this. It has the same size tyres front and rear at the mo, dunno if they should be staggered.  It needs a set of tyres, I'm just not a fan of 1999 Nankang M+S.

[spike60]

A bit of a thread resurrection here as I'm actually doing a bit with the big red thing.  I used this last summer for work, local runs and the like while picking away at 35 year old car problems.  In late summer I changed the oil for a second time about 8 months and 1200 miles since getting  it and it wasn't happy on restart, it chattered away like a good un for a few seconds before shutting up. Ahh... I continued using it  and every 10th or so start it had a light rattle. I went for the easy option and fitted a new tensioner but no better so I had a looky see  at the timing chain, a weak  M117 point I now find out. I set the RH cam to the timing mark  and  looked to see the crank timing, helpfully  marked in degrees.

The cam timing

The crank timimg. Bollocks, this should be on 0 degrees not about 16.

Over the next couple of months I slowly amassed the bits I thought I needed and backed off the use of the car until last week when I made a start on it. 

It sounds easy, you split the old chain, join the new one to it and wind it on. Well, it fought me every inch of the way, then when I changed the guides I found one snapped in half and of course I couldn't  find the bits even with lower sump off.

A endoscope was blagged and it the missing  piece was found jammed  about a foot down the timing chest and after a battle it was dragged out into the light yesterday.  The bit jammed in the timing chest is the chunk on the left below, the sliver was in the oil strainer.

Here it is next to the intact one from the other side, the problem I now have is a missing bit. The sliver is from the top of the eye where the pin goes , the missing bit  is larger from the bottom of the eye.  I do I just ignore the bit loose inside the engine? It's not visible from the sump pan or with the endoscope  from the top, book time to remove and refit the timing cover is 12.4 hours, 3.5 to remove the upper sump . As well as the timing chain it has a chain driven oil pump to snag it but I reckon it's already done  500 miles with the bits floating round, or wedged somewhere like the other bit was. Do I feel lucky? Can I be arsed  to strip the engine for a small piece of plastic ? TBC.....

 

 

[Jim Bell]

Metal is stronger than plastic. Will it not be dust now anyway?

[spike60]

I suspect and hope it'll have found a dark corner to see out it's days in peace. Aside from getting brittle after 35 years the plastic is tough stuff, a chain running on it for 120k miles hasn't worn them much. I made a good start putting it back together yesterday, a bit more today with everything crossed. It's quite slow work because it's pretty much two four cylinder engines side by side. 

When I finish the engine I'm going to pull the gearbox sump off and change the filter, see what's going on in there. It'd be nice to just be able to drive the bugger!

[somewhatfoolish]

The missing bit is big enough that the strainer should stop it getting sucked up, I'd just drive it.

[spike60]

7 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

The missing bit is big enough that the strainer should stop it getting sucked up, I'd just drive it.

Yes, that's where the smaller sliver was but it's the thought of getting between either chain and a sprocket I'm not keen on. Pretty sure it's been in there for about 500 miles already so hopefully ok.

As a positive i was impressed  how clean it is under the cam covers for an old donkey.

[somewhatfoolish]

Even if it was whizzbang glassfilled nylon a chain and sprocket would make mincemeat of it, and the old tensioner looks to be plain 66 nylon. I had the same conundrum with an Essex timing gear in a Scimitar, where had all the nylon shrapnel gone and would it fuck anything up? Most of it came out of the sump but a few bits vanished into thin air. We just opted to drive it and nothing happened.

[spike60]

The SEC has done about 70 miles since having the chains, guides , gearbox filter etc done and has settled down  with few problems, it's good to actually drive the thing as I mostly stopped using it when the chain let itself be heard last summer. 

Today I tret it to a set of new boots, Avons all round to replace the shit 20 year old M+S's it had.  The tyre fitter didn't want  to put weights on the outside face of the Lorinser rims so we tried  on the inside only,  guess I'll be back on Monday as it dothers at A road speed. Bugger.

Have a pic of a wheel with a shiny new Avon but no outside balance weights.  Yet.

The bane of my life with 80's cars is ABS and true to form the light appeared after fitting the new tyres, it reset at the traffic lights and if I never see it again it'll be soon enough. With no scanner diagnostics  and expensive bits it's not a game I like much. The next few days I'll probably be giving it a scrub up, it polishes quite well but doesn't stay that way. 

[dean36014]

Where abouts are you? I have a laptop with software on that should get error code. Pretty certain it's a carsoft system, worked a treat on my ç class with the old round type diagnostic socket.

[spike60]

I'm in Redcar. I have a 38 pin adapter for my Solus scanner but from memory the only port on this is 9 pin and for fuel only, but I'm probably mixing it with the later 300se I had. I'll bear you in mind if (when) it gives pain again, the sensors are  pricey.  At least the pump is tucked up cosy under the bonnet, not in the wheel arch Porsche style......

[dean36014]

Unfortunately I'm in Coventry but if you're ever down this way.

[spike60]

Cheers!

[Jim Bell]

Glad the updates are in the positive (ish) Spike. It looks fantastic and I'd really like to see the big red wagon in the flesh one day down the line. 

[spike60]

15 minutes ago, Jim Bell said:

Glad the updates are in the positive (ish) Spike. It looks fantastic and I'd really like to see the big red wagon in the flesh one day down the line. 

Yea it's a nice old bus, I'm just slowly working my way on  a list of to-do jobs. Trouble is, new ones appear as fast as I do old ones!  After a long lay off things unravel a little when they're asked to remember what it is they do.  The lass next door thought the 2002 tax disc was a period accessory,  she didn't realise that when it was last on the road until I got it!

Hopefully the world will start again soon so we can loiter somewhere and talk shite, if the dog dick red Merc is behaving you should see it then.

[spike60]

Not so much teething troubles any more, just the realities of running a 35 year old car at the moment. Predictable stuff, steering pulling to the left, exhaust back box holy , headlining baggy and leaky sunroof drains. 

After much searching and wondering I bought the needed rear box from MB and would have bought the centre section as well but no longer available. I'll probably do the rest of the stuff early next year but the back box is needed for MOT in a couple of weeks.

Since I did the cam chain it's only done about 800 local miles so today it went to see No2 son for a socially distanced walk up SW of Tyneside , about 55 miles away. 

He lives very close to Causey Arch, part of the Tanfield  Lea historic railway and when we stepped out we ran into the neighbours.

When we walked across the top by what seemed to the railway scrap yard this was lurking.

LHD with speedo in MPH and a rev counter it was badged as a Cortina XL. Will this have been a Taunus once upon a time?

The good, the bad and the ugly? Varied fleet outside son's flat.

 

 

[spike60]

The SEC has had front tie rod ball joints replaced before I got it, I suspect they weren't adjusted and control the castor action of the front wheel so I plan on playing about the suspension settings. I bought a cheap camber gauge from China and while I wasn't expecting marvelous quality I was surprised when this turned up. 

Yes, it is what it looks like,  - a pack of Panda napkins. I got in touch and told them and they said I had to return the gauge for a refund to the address supplied.

So I did, I printed the Chinese address off, stuck it on an old envelope and sent them back. I don't imagine they got far in the Royal Mail but I don't care, I  got my refund! 😊

[Jim Bell]

JDM cambamboo gauge.