Project Beko's ZX 1.4 of Temptation - Fin.

[Ben_O]

Ever used the long screwdriver method of listening?

Pop the tip of the screwdriver on the housing of the suspected noisy part and put the handle of the screwdriver to your ear with it running and listen for the noise.

try it on tensioners (obvs not the spinning part), alternator housing pas pump etc

[Scruffy Bodger]

Check the crank pulley is tight too while you are at it.

[Noel Tidybeard]

sounds quiet for an XUD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....i'll get my coat

[paulplom]

Ever used the long screwdriver method of listening?

Pop the tip of the screwdriver on the housing of the suspected noisy part and put the handle of the screwdriver to your ear with it running and listen for the noise.

try it on tensioners (obvs not the spinning part), alternator housing pas pump etc

Watch your hair if you're doing this.

[beko1987]

It's payday with added bonus month, so spending has been done:

 

Cambelt, tensioner and waterpump kit

spark plugs

all of the filters

(I already have oil)

 

I need 4 tyres to be fitted, will wander over to the local tyre place and see what their prices are as £20/30 more to just drop it off and have them fit whatever they have is still cheaper than buying from tyreleader and having them fit them for £10 a corner, or national tyres will do me 4 Rovelo for £145 fitted on my mums driveway.

[beko1987]

Tyres ordered!

 

I have rovelo tyres. With only 13,125 duck power at my disposal I need nothing fancy, so eyed up Rovelo on national tyres, £145 fitted for 4

 

Then I looked around and found the exact same tyres for £34 each on tyre shopper.

 

Then scrolled down even more and the exact same rovelos were £131 for 4 on tyre shopper...

 

I then found a 5% discount code for tyre shopper...

 

So, £126.80 later from tyre shopper, national tyres are fitting me 4 new tyres on mums driveway on Tuesday!

 

 

*figures may be fuzzy, I'm drunk...

[holbeck]

That's good info Beko.

 

I need to get new tyres for the Safrane, the ones on it have plenty of tread but are old.

[beko1987]

Any time Mr Holbeck!

 

And it was real as well as they've just been fitted

 

 

 

Sure ill find out on the way home if their lethal in the wet as its been raining here all day but that's a problem for later!

 

I did also find that the spare wheel is on the car, it was on the back passenger side with its sticker on about 100kp/h limit with a smaller tyre fitted, although it has a full size tyre on it then and now. Luckily its the same size as the wheel with random tyre that's under the car so maybe next month I might see about lobbing a new tyre on the spare too

[beko1987]

I didn't crash or die once, and it feels quieter on the road too.

 

Hopefully the waterpump and tensioner replacement and a check of the tappets will make it not sound like utter shit when driving!

 

I need to procure a preplacement fuel sender retaining ring though fairly sharpish, or think of a way to bodge the broken one. Mr D spares recommended using cable ties to hold it together but I can see that being gr8 until I move it the wrong way and it all falls apart, I imagine q bond will do the same, hold utterly fine right until the last twist of the ring...

[Scruffy Bodger]

Q-Bond is bloody good stuff in my experience, it can make some very strong repairs.

[beko1987]

Q-Bond is bloody good stuff in my experience, it can make some very strong repairs.

I dunno, ive found it a bit hit and miss, on the wrong plastic it all just sits on the surface even with the powder stuff

 

Glues dyson plastic together like an utter champ though so ive always got a bottle about!

 

I have a q-bond AND cable tie repair planned out in my head, so if the plastic likes it it'll be grand!

[Scruffy Bodger]

Sounds like a belt and braces pan if you can combine the two. I know Q-bond has made a very strong repair on that plastic Peugeot used for the handle  fixings behind the 405 door cards as had to do one on mine a couple of years ago.

[beko1987]

My bespoke high quality DIY engine locking tools kit arrived today! Mega thanks Mally, I'd be left with metres of brake pipe and 9 m10 bolts doing nothing otherwise

 

[beko1987]

I'm off work for 2 weeks now as of yesterday, and it was bonus month at work. So, with my £300 extra pounds, I got the tyres sorted, then bought some service items to ensure this things lasts the year as I can't afford another car now!

 

However, first order was the fuel gauge, which was shit tbh. From the red light I could get about £28  in before the pump clicked... And the last time I did that a fiver's worth pissed out of the top where the cracked retaining ring had stopped retaining the seal in... So handily the light came on as I was nearly home on Tuesday so with low fuel, I had it all out

 

 

The first thing I did was clean the ring right up, and take a pic of the part number incase I needed a new one. I then Q-bonded the shit out of it!

 

 

And set it on the boiler to dry for a few hours. Next, I looked at the lift pump/sender/whatever it's called itself

 

 

The contacts didn't look as corroded as I'd imagined tbh

 

 

The pump contacts looked proper grubby though

 

 

I popped the float off

 

 

Then separated the two parts. The pre filter looked a bit grubby

 

 

This was full of petrol when I removed it, so whatever dirt was in here probably came out with that when I tipped it upside down on the road so it's quite clean

 

 

These are the float contacts

 

 

Gave them a tickle with the wire wheel in the dremel, and bent the spring bit a tad too for better contact

 

 

And done, with only one left over part, a little plastic bush that fell out of the bottom tank...

 

 

 

The ring held up too

 

 

Before I fitted it, I was curious to see how full the tank actually was, so gave it a dip and got an inch. No idea what that means to be honest

 

 

All that refitted, I fitted the new fuel filter, which was quite easy as the system was not pressurised, just the dribble of fuel in the pipe to deal with, and with some quick connecting action and the rubber bungs fitted for shipping minimal loss occured. New

 

 

It needed packing out with a bit of foam that I found blowing around the road as it's smaller than what was there before

 

 

Loads of muddy petrol came out of the old filter too, and the old filter doesn't look original which is nice to see. Probably didn't need changing, but won't do it any harm, especially since all the filters this car needs cost me £15...

 

 

However, the magical test! Do I actually have 1/4 a tank of pez?...

 

 

No. Oh well. I also snapped a picture of the odometer too, the reason will become apparent in a sec. 

 

 

58,422 miles. Because I also bought a cambelt kit! So off with the wheel and arch liner, which handily was already held together with cable ties so nice and easy. The lower aux belt tensioner locking bolt was rounded out though, no idea if whoever Bub got to fit the belt did it or it was done before but some hammering action and a hex bit got it shifted

 

 

Then off with the belts (I have 2, one to the alternator and one to the power steering pump) and off with the cambelt covers. All nice and simple so far!

 

 

I had both a print out of the hbol and citroJim's guide printed out and blowing about the place and before long had the engine timed up with Mally's donated brake pipe and bolt, it took about 12 rotations of the engine to get the holes aligned and I've properly torn up the back of my hand whilst turning it on the chassis leg, but eventually the tensioner could be loosened, the belt ripped out and the tensioner itself removed

 

 

It felt properly fucking rough! Waterpump next, and before this I wasn't sure if it was the original belt or not, at 58k it could well have been. But the lashings of silicone around the pump confirmed that it has seen a belt before, which is good to see

 

 

Again, dry as anything!

 

New shiny stuff was lobbed on

 

 

And I lobbed it all back together and turned the key and... it ran! Sounds fucking silent too, all those noises have gone! Then I started smelling warm belt (I smell this alot doing the vacuum cleaners) so turned it off and backed the tensioner off a touch, which was fairly easy as only the alternator belt has to be removed to get the covers off. Was more easy to turn the belt 90 degrees than before, I struggled with the tensioner tbh as I lacked anything appropriate to turn the square hole in it, used a wide flatblade stubby screwdriver in the end...

 

My workshop was looking a mess

 

 

I started to refill the coolant and bleed it through, although stopped after 15 minutes so it didn't all get too hot. Plus the bottle I found in the recycling was fucking shit so needed to find something better

 

 

Old belt was starting to perish too I noticed

 

 

Ah well, time to drop the oil (hence why I stopped bleeding it so it wasn't red hot). Took the breaker bar to turn the sump plug... But the oil that came out didn't look horrific. old, but not ancient

 

 

The breaker bar was needed to shift the filter too, the bone dry seal screeched for several revolutions before giving up

 

 

 

New filter was fitted, and new oil was poured in. Lovely. Air filter next

 

 

And again, not terrible but not spotless either

 

 

Plugs next. I worked from L to R on the engine, as the first 2 were the trickiest because they were under the throttle body, although tbh they still weren't that tricky

 

 

Splashed out £15 on fancy plugs

 

 

2nd one was oily

 

 

last 2 were fine though

 

 

Last one was well easy

 

 

And again dry and worn looking. All NGK so been changed as a set way back when

 

 

So, service done! (hence the odometer pic, this is the service history!). What followed next was 45 minutes of bleeding the fucking coolant! I found a tropicana bottle, and coupled with a bit of bin bag provided an adequate seal. But it wouldn't fucking bleed! After 20 minutes it got hot enough to sent the temp gauge to max and put the light on... Still nothing. Then it cut out. Gr9. Then I remembered the front was still up on the stands so put the arch liner back with more cable ties than before and popped it's wheel back on and it fired right up. It took anouter 25 minutes of revving and idling and topping up before eventually coolant came out of hte bleed valve and I had heat from the heaters! What I did do though was grab the exhaust fully with my hand thinking it was the bottom rad hose because yes, I am that stupid. That fucking hurt.

 

Then, everything got tidied away, the car double checked and I went off to get some fuel. I got 500 yards out of the estate when it conked out and I glided to a graceful halt in the entrance to the showground. Ah. It did restart fine, but after where I was stopped any more unplanned stoppages would have caused chaos, so I walked home and Amy took me and a can to the BP, from where I returned to the car

 

 

Got it off the light and drove back to the BP much to the amusement of the same cashier I'd seen 2 minutes before and lobbed £30 in, which took it to 3/4 a tank, much better than before. It's so bloody odd to drive, it was properly noisy before, at revs and idle and sounded like a bag of shit, now it's whisper* quiet, the pump or tensioner must have been very shagged. It also didn't explode which was nice, although sadly doesn't feel much faster. What was even better was the retaining ring was fixed and it no longer fucking STANK of unleaded inside, nor pissed out of the top and all over the forecourt. Result!

 

After video!

 

VID_20190410_164016.mp4

 

Got to go to the tip tomorrow so will check that all the coolant hasn't pissed out of the waterpump join or etc because on Saturday I'm off to Peterborough to see my dad and I'd rather it not shit itself on the A1 or anything.

 

Fingers crossed. The slight tick tick tick is still there, but I have not done the tappets yet, partly because I frankly couldn't be bothered, I was knackered after all that, partly because I didn't want to disturb the rocker gasket and have it start to leak before I can afford to buy a new one and partly because I've never done it before and became a bit unsure. I'll do that another day.

 

Should make it last the year now hopefully!

 

[The Moog]

Well done - must be pretty satisfying.

 

You need to start measuring fuel by amount of litres rather than cash money as it can vary a fair amount.

 

What's left to do?

[beko1987]

I know, I'm awful with fuel amounts! £30 a week is where my head sits. I'll start brimming it next month and doing proper calculations, I've only been able to put £20 in at a time to avoid arriving at work high as a kite!

 

Left to do... Well nothing is really needed, but the gear linkage bushes are knackered, I need to meet up with Mr D Spares and Tyres to swap the 406 wheels for some odds and sods, it could do with a wash, some new speakers would be ace... And the valve clearances. Plus lots of other little bits like have the scuttle off and clear it out and lubricate the wiper mechanism, Amy says there's a brake light out, the seat kills my back after half an hour so a small cushion or fancy seat cover is needed, need to finish cleaning the interior...

 

Its quite a well sorted car really. Neglected, but not abandoned. It's been happily doing 250/300 miles a week and I'm used to its power now, it's much happier just being wound up slowly and kept there rather than riding the wave of torque to speed as per the previous chods I've had. Hoping its nicer at 70 and above than it was before now the tensioner isn't trying to destroy itself

[beko1987]

The interior?

 

Apparently the xantia and pug 406 are based on the same car and having had both I much prefer the xantia over the 406,it just felt nicer in every way...

 

I've never had a 306 though so can't make that comparison

[beko1987]

If your at shitefest then feel free to take it for a spin and play spot the difference!

[paulplom]

Very satisfying

[beko1987]

Very satisfying

It was. Even more so when it turned back on again!

[Scruffy Bodger]

I shall ask a question that has bugged me ever since my old man got a Peugeot 306 D 1.9L spec back in 1997 brand new as a company car ( P996 Par ) dead now, he handed it back after 4 years with 250k on the clock ( due back just over 100k he got told off for that ) he loved the car, so simple and yet to good at being a car.

 

But my question anyways what is the primary difference between the ZX and the 306 of the era other than bodystyle?

 

There are some differences apart from the body on top. There are differences in bits of the floorpan at the back for starters, exhausts aren't swappable for starters. There are also subtle differences in the suspension even though they look pretty much identical. Zx's have zero toe in on the back end, whereas 306's run a few degrees. IIRC there are differences at the front too.

 

I've had a 306 saloon, a couple of 306 hatchbacks and had a ZX and access to driving other Zx's. Personally I prefer the way the Zx's drive to the 306 when pushing on a bit.

[beko1987]

Well, I went to the tip this morning. Gave the coolant a quick check and the header tank was empty... Filled it up with water, stuck another 5l in the boot just in case and set off.

 

That all seemed OK after a paranoid few miles, came up to temp alot quicker than usual though... Hey ho. What I did notice though was the awful whining/clattering noise coming from the engine now. Was much worse when lifting off to change gear, vanishing when putting the gas back on...

 

So got home and had it all apart again... One aux belt was rubbing slightly on the cover but it wasn't that as I had both aux belts off and turned it on...

 

Tightened the cambelt tensioner up a bit and it's a bit better, took Charlie to a field to kick a ball around and it's better but not great... Wondering if I do indeed need to do the valves, maybe I can just hear them now. Or maybe I've managed to get the belt a tooth out?

 

A nice 100 mile drive later/tomorrow morning should see what happens...

 

Plus side, waterpump area is bone dry so feck knows why it needed the silicone last time...

[dean36014]

I did the tooth out thing on one of those engines and there was a clear metallic noise from the engine, far more pronounced than tappet noise. Plus it didn't run well either probably due to the fact the valves were just touching the pistons! Reset the belt and all was well. Maybe whip the rocker cover off and just check the clearances?

[beko1987]

Mmm, there's a slight metallic sound granted, although it's less now, plus it still runs fine, it's as fast as it was before and if anything a bit sharper getting there...

 

Half the problem is I don't know if it was there before or not as the noise of the tensioner would have drowned it out!

 

Ill pack my aa card and see what happens, I'm all washed and changed now and packing for me and eva

[beko1987]

Well we have got to Brampton hut and it's still driving. Something is wrong, 75mph sounds fucking awful but 60/65 is fine... Need to look at it when I get home, unless anyone in/near peterborough/Crowland is good with these things?

[beko1987]

Pay day today, and the light was on so off to the BP to fill her up

 

 

That was the third click... I don't actually know how big the tank is but I'm sure it's bigger than that. Ah well, off I trot and pay... And it did a little wee

 

 

So it's not fully fixed. Although in its defence I'm only assuming it's coming out of the top of the tank, I didn't check, it might be another pipe. Plus it's better than last time when it rained down. The inside of the car doesn't smell of petrol either which is an improvement.

 

Needle went to 3/4 of a tank...

[purplebargeken]

Did you get the clattery noise sorted?

[bezzabsa]

Whats the small aerial on the rear for? Looks like a 2/70 micromag

[Tickman]

That will be a Dab Ariel.

Do you find it gives a reasonable reception?

[beko1987]

Yes the little one is dab! It's bloody awesome! Apart from when the whole dab network seems to get turned down I've rarely had a drop-off. The only times I have is 3 miles from Mr Saab-nuts house, where everything stopped working that required a signal! And the m5 oddly, can't remember which bit though, the Devon end... Then it comes back. I move to usb whwn it happens... The original fm aerial isn't hooked up, I've not bothered to in the last 3 cars it's been fitted too... It's a sonichi magnetic one, was £15 on ebay from halfords!

 

Yes, clattery noise is still there. Doesn't seem to be bothering it, I should have sorted it last Monday when I had a fully free day but I just couldn't be arsed. I'm 50/50 wether it is the cambelt half a tooth out or the valve clearances needing doing now it's got a tighter belt on... It's only noticeable when lifting off at speed, as soon as the 'power' is back on it goes away. And over 75 which tbh it struggles to be happy at anyway so I don't bother.