Shoddybanger maintains bangers - Much has happened... fleet changes

[shoddybanger]

Thanks, hairymel! Eric O. is my usual source of car diagnostics info, but I noped out of that video a couple days ago as soon as he whipped out that full-blown diagnostic kit.

Now that I've watched the video again, I guess I just need to source some kit to make it happen.. so I need to be able to tee into the fuel line before the fuel rail to be able to control the flow, and I need to be able to cut off the return loop as well. And then it's just a process of elimination.

Ah, where's my mojo at, when I need it...

[hairymel]

Think you only need to find a way to cut off fuel flow between the pump and after the pressure reg.

Dunno about vulvas but most ford's you can use a bit of 8mm copper microbore and a bit of fuel hose to bridge the quick connects.

ie female connector has a bit of microbore shoved in it then a bit of fuel hose that pushes onto the male connector. Plus a couple of jubilee clips.

Do that before the fuel rail and after the reg then power up.

Crimp the pump side hose and you rule out the pump back feeding 

Crimp the return and power off and you at least narrow it to reg and injectors

[shoddybanger]

That is a good plan of attack. The fittings appear to be threaded on the volvo, but I've ordered a cheap kit of bits and bobs and tees, so I shall commence testing when they arrive. In the meantime I've figured out that I need to cycle the ignition on a couple of times before starting from cold to bring up the pressure sufficiently for a trouble-free start, so all is good re/ conveyance.

[hairymel]

Always a good thing to have an excuse to buy inexpensive tools?

 

[shoddybanger]

The cars have basically become an excuse to hoard kit at this point..

[shoddybanger]

Fehita the Astra has proven to be mostly sound, so some fettling is in order. I did an oil + filter change a couple of weeks ago, and today it was time for new spark plugs and an air filter. The old plugs proved to be on there quite tight, but number 2 felt like it absolutely wouldn't budge at all, so I changed the other plugs and stopped for a minute to weigh my options. I knew that if number 2 would take the threads with it, it would essentially render the car useless. The X16SZR engine in Fehita is relatively easy to take head off of for a rethread/helicoil, but it wasn't something I'd necessarily want to do right now. I then remembered that there's a sweet 1990 Honda Accord for sale locally for 300 euro, so that would be my backup plan if it all went to sh*t, so I pressed on. The plug fought me pretty much all the way out, but luckily it didn't kill the threads.

It looks like everyone before me wasn't as brave (or stupid?), as the no. 2 plug was indeed an OEM GM plug while the others were Champions. Makes me wonder whether this plug has ever been changed. Can plugs last 250k km? Anyway, I threw in some Denso K20TT's.

 

I changed the air filter and proceeded to open the valve cover to change the seal I assumed to be leaking oil. However, once I had everything open I realized that the seal I had bought was a cork-type, while the OEM seal is a rubber one, so I buttoned everything back after taking a gander at the camshaft. There's a certain beauty in a simple, single-camshaft, single-point injection engine.

Now that I'm writing this I'm thinking that the cork seal might have in fact worked fine, as it's the right size. Hmm.

 

[shoddybanger]

Soo, it's been ages since my last update. Much has happened - we have moved to the countryside and have taken up farming. There is so much to do and so little time..

Anyhoo, purchase of said farm included, among other things, a Mazda E2200 flatbed. This was decommissioned for a couple of years due to a ruptured clutch line, which was subsequently fixed, and I finally found the time to take it for a roadworthiness inspection. It passed with compliments from the tester. A couple of advisories, though: there's a bit of grot in the exhaust pipe, a crack in the windshield and the license plate lights were inop, but otherwise she's quite sound for her age. We're looking forward to using her for farm equipment hauling duties in her in the near future.

Here's a pez shot after passing the inspection. It's probably five years or so since she was last on the road.

[shoddybanger]

Well, I thought I'd do a small update, as the Astra and Volvo both failed their yearly inspections and needed some work.

First up, Fehita the Astra.

We've very much enjoyed Fehita - there's a certain willingness and effortlessness to it, so we tend to prioritize it over the Volvo, unless it's very hot (Volvo has A/C) or the whole family is going (Volvo has more room and more doors). The Astra has been providing adequate service, but the parking brake cable seized before summer, and the exhaust hangers for the rear muffler failed. I substituted the broken exhaust hangers with some wire, but didn't bother with the handbrake up until last month, what with the inspection looming. A cable change shouldn't be too hard, I assumed, but the Astra has cable brackets in the rear axle, that are held on by three small bolts each, and they of course proceeded to snap in their holes upon offering a spanner. I didn't fancy mucking about with extracting the screws, so I welded the brackets back on and called it a day. While under the car, I found a gaping hole in the back of the left sill, but I decided to leave it up to the inspector to decide. Unsurprisingly, the car got failed due the grot, so I had to weld on a couple of patches.

 

An hole. I peeled back some of the factory rust protection goop to reveal perfectly fine metal beneath. I cut out the bad part and proceeded to make a patch.

 

Not very elegant, but it works.

.

 

I patched up another hole I found in the outer sill, too. Afterwards I sprayed on some primer and paint, attached the sill moldings and called it done. The inspector was now happy.

.

 

The Volvo failed with a loose tie rod end, and upon fixing it I found that the wheel bearing was absolutely shot, so I proceeded to replace it as well... after faffing about with a broken bolt for half an hour.

The CV axle thread was nearly buggered, so I didn't look forward to torquing the axle nut after installing the new bearing.

Luckily the thread held up and I was able to torque the axle nut to proper spec and degree.

In other news, the Mazda E2200 has been very useful for many a haulage. Here we are using it to take the ATV with trailer from the cottage back to the farm. (And yes, the cargo was strapped down properly for the trip after taking this shot, so no worries there.)

 

 

[theshadow]

excellent update,just done air con condenser on hyundai atoz,due to old age,fins were broken at bottom,got a cheapie from auto doc,22.00,fitted fine,after you remove front bumper etc,had it regassed up,it 550,gas,oil,like your volvo..mazda looks great/

[shoddybanger]

Thanks, theshadow. That air con condenser replacement doesn't sound too awful of a job.. at least compared to a heater core. I'm dreading the day when a heater core lets go in any of my cars, as an inop heater is just not an option here.

Good luck with the Hyundai! 

[shoddybanger]

Years go by so fast. Whew. Thought I'd make an update, since lots of things have been happening with the fleet. I'll try to find some pics to add to the story later.. they're on a portable hard drive somewhere..

Fehita the 1998 Astra: This is still very much a part of the fleet. We've grown to love it - easy and snappy to drive, good on fuel and just all-around very reliable. Usually gives warning ahead of time whenever something is going bad. Like that OMGHGF that was long coming. Was a cheap and relatively easy fix, though - 10 euro for the gasket and 10 euro for the head bolts. The job itself wasn't too bad either. I tackled it (because why not!) but I've already forgotten what I had to do. I think I had to remove the injector gubbins, the alternator, camshaft and lifters, but I think I left the intake and exhaust manifolds on the head (didn't bother sending it out to be skimmed). Then it was just a matter of putting it all back together, and it has held up since. There might be a very teeny tiny leak, as I can hear some water sloshing when the engine is revved, but no other bad signs.

Among other things I've had to do, I replaced both front springs and shocks, one lower A arm and those upright link arms. We live in the countryside and our village road is just brutal to the suspension. Parts are luckily very cheap for this. She also ruptured a brake line during MOT and lost all brakes, so I had to rent a trailer and haul her home for a new brake line. The other front wheel bearing also gave in a few weeks ago, so I replaced that. The alternator had made a whizzing for some time, but the noise grew steadily louder, so I put in a new alternator at the same time, too. Oh, and I had an explosive flat last autumn - a small, sharp rock punctured the tire and somehow managed to make a hole in the inside of the rim! Never seen anything like this before... So I did what any sane motorist would recommend and fixed it with chemical metal from the inside. I really need to find a picture for you.

Hyundai Trajet: This has sadly been put away in a barn. It needs a new lower suspension arm in the back (and I actually have the new part sitting there), but the engine is smoky and likely needs new valve seals. I'm probably going to strip the cat and send it to be scrapped. It was a good hauler, though.

Volvo V70: This sat outside the barn all winter. There's nothing wrong per se, except the persistent Crank No start issue, so I'm not sure what to do with it. A couple days ago I used another battery to jump start it after winter, and it started right up. Some lifter ticking noise, but otherwise no apparent issues. Needs a new MOT, but I'm quite sure it would sail through.

Chrysler Voyager: This was a forced and hurried acquisition a year ago, when Fehita the Astra had a bad exhaust leak and the Ovlov was acting up with the no-start condition. It's a 2.4 liter 4 banger with some sill rust that I need to fix. Needs MOT. Not a bad car, but I feel not as good as the Trajet, and I'm probably going to sell it after I get the sill fixed, because....

Hyundai Terracan 2.9 CRDi: We had been thinking about getting a 4x4 because farm life, winter chaos, hauling duties and so forth. So this entered the fleet last summer/autumn. Great vehicle. I managed to flip it on its side last winter (I really need to find the pictures now...) due to some awful Goodride winter tires, though. There was so much snow that the side I flipped it on survived completely unscathed. Unbelievable, really - only the bullbar in the front got pushed in on one side. Car has new Blizzaks now and is performing well.

What else? We got an old Ski-Doo 800 snowmobile last winter, because farm lyf and all that. Sleds can be frightening, I've found.