Sprinter camper

[Marm Toastsmith]

1 minute ago, wuvvum said:

How much a litre, more to the point. 

I know... Motorway services... With hindsight I probably shouldn't have filled it to the brim... Still at least I got a 2 for £1 on my Snickers/Twix combo.

I just remembered Sainsburys are doing 10p per litre off, too. 

[stuboy]

i still hanker after a van............

 

no use for 1 at all

[Marm Toastsmith]

13 minutes ago, stuboy said:

i still hanker after a van............

 

no use for 1 at all

I'm sure you can think of an reason. Moving stuff about? Sleeping in it?

 

On the previous "how much per litre?!?" subject, I've not had a diesel vehicle for a while. Friend of mine swears by this place:

https://www.purefuels.co.uk

Certainly smells better than the petrochemical equivalent...he reckons it's a superior fuel, has been running it for years in his T4. I'm guessing that the OM601 and associated low tech stuff in this wagon are going to be pretty tolerant of whatever I put in them - so any reason not to?

[wuvvum]

An OM.601 would probably run quite happily if you piddled in the tank, so I'm sure it'd be fine on that stuff.

[purplebargeken]

A most excellent purchase. Be good to see this in the metal.

[Marm Toastsmith]

1 hour ago, purplebargeken said:

A most excellent purchase. Be good to see this in the metal.

Or what's left of the metal .

Thanks Ken, glad you approve. It's currently parked near work (ally pally way) as I can't afford any more residents parking permits.  I might take it to Shitefest. You going?

It is a lovely old bus and lots of fun to drive. I love the old non-turbo lump and although it lacks power compared to modern stuff the brakes and roadholding inspire confidence - it's still a Sprinter. I've always wanted one after driving a few for work a few years back. Brilliant vans. The ones I got used to were properly quick, but this one seems to cruise happily at 70 on the flat, so not too slow really.

Is a bit rusty though. I'm trying to ignore it for a few months (or perhaps until the MOT comes up) as I've got quite a lot on my plate at the moment and don't want to open a can of worms. I'd love to spend endless hours tidying it up but can't really justify it until the house move has happened...

Oh it could do with some tyres too.

The one job I would like to tackle is the tendency of the engine to rock about like crazy at idle, but only when warm. The gear lever wobbles all over the place (it also does when you start it). I've managed to drive around it by gently revving the engine while in stationary traffic. HMC used to press a fan button on the dash that for some reason drops the engine speed. Seems that the idle speed once warm and "settled" excites the engine into a rocking motion. My belief (also HMC's best guess) is that the engine mounts are shagged. I wonder how much of a pig it is to do them.

It's amazing how well it drives for over 400,000 miles though. I did notice the oil light took a couple of seconds to go out from cold this morning but I suppose that's to be expected!

 

 

[purplebargeken]

Possibly engine and gearbox mounts (delete as appropriate).

Hmm, Shitefest, need to check the details mate.

[Marm Toastsmith]

I’m on a train again. Having bought this in Devon and driven it to London I then promptly moved to Devon and left it with my mechanic for a few little jobs. Unfortunately a few little jobs turned into a massive MOT failure with a couple of random ftps thrown in for good measure. It took ages, but it’s now had a new alternator, engine mounts, viscous fan, 2 new tyres and a shitload of welding including inner and outer sills on both sides. Given what i paid for it it’s still a cheap van, no complaints or regrets. Just fingers crossed it makes it back to Devon, loaded to the gills with the shit I left behind...

...oh and welcome your input on train etiquette. Someone was sat in my reserved window seat, with sea views. I asked them to move. They did, but weren’t all that pleased. I felt guilty. Not sure.

[loserone]

If there wasn't a free window seat, fuck em.

 

If there was, you bastard.

[Marm Toastsmith]

[timolloyd]

Totally fine to move them. I am militant about sitting in the seat I have been reserved. 

It isn’t a free-for-all, that’s why there are reservations.

Good luck with the return journey!

[dave j]

Last train I was on was for 7 hours so was easy to justify why I had reserved a seat! 

Edit - Newcastle to Plymouth

[Marm Toastsmith]

Made it! Arrived back at 3am...long, tiring old drive, but a pleasant one. Sorry no pics or updates. I go into survival mode on this sort of trip, concentrate on getting there rather than taking pictures of myself panicking. Also I don’t have mobile internet.

Love this van.

Slightly scary first ten miles, getting used to the slowness of a fully loaded non turbo wagon. Also a definite smell of burning rubber. I checked under the bonnet, and had a bit of a look underneath - couldn't find anything so put it down to new parts/lack of use/something unimportant being where it shouldn’t be. Whatever it was is no longer. The smell went away. The fan belt felt a bit tight (following alternator replacement). I’ll check it again later.

Actually it seemed to get faster as I went. Seems to be quite happy being driven flat out - anything else is hard work as you need a bit of momentum to get over hills. It feels unstrained doing 70 down a hill, and that gives you half a chance of remaining in top gear for the inevitable incline that follows. I tried to take it easy and stick to 60 max but it actually ends up making it feel like the van’s working harder, changing down to fourth more regularly and thrashing the engine harder...

 Haldon on the A380 was a bit tough on the last leg, ended up in second doing 20. It’s hilly round here, and you know about it in a vehicle like this.

Best thing though was I worked out how to turn off the flashing lights on the Sony CD player. They’re fucking dangerous on a night drive. Unfortunately you have to reset it every time you turn the ignition off. Will check the wiring. The speakers are poorly installed and rattle about, plus the aerial seems to an audio cable that hangs out of the dashboard. Room for improvement.

Feels better with 2 new tyres too, and the engine mounts seem to have reduced the engine wobble to a point where it no longer induces mild panic. It still wobbles but in a characterful way rather than feeling like it’s attempting to self destruct.

I’m looking forward to doing a few little jobs on it. In London I couldn’t even park it outside my house.  Now I have a driveway and a garage and no need for residents parking permits. I quite fancy painting it green with a brush. We’ll see.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Oh, here’s a thing. The engine runs on for a couple of seconds after the ignition is turned off. I know in a petrol engine dieseling is a sign of overheating or timing issues, but ironically enough i’ve never experienced it in a diesel. And a quick google brought up nothing.

Any ideas?

[twosmoke300]

Vacuum leak on the shut off solenoid ?