A long time ago in a Galaxie far, far away (running after 3yrs)

23,030 · May 11

Yeah, particularly if every 180° of turn there's a bit where it feels a bit less difficult to turn.

Doesn't take much upward movement for the pin to disengage from the drive. Looks like it's hopped up and mashed the drive pin. Might need a new cam drive gear also.

If that's been sat in there it's probably just rusted in. PB blaster or similar over an afternoon, heat it upand wiggle. It'll come loose. Make sure to thoroughly clean it up then when it goes back in slather it with grease to keep the water out.

9,452 · May 11

Watch out for the oil pump drive as that goes into the bottom of the distributor. Also if that has the stock iron manifold make sure you have an engine crane to lift it if you have to take it off. They are very heavy and I found out the hard way.

17,565 · May 11

Fantastic help @PhilA, @panhard65 and @captain_70s.

I have a strong feeling that I might need to borrow an engine crane at some point. My favourite bit is where they weighed the cast iron manifold at 34kgs...

Edit: Ha, wrote this at the exact same time as @panhard65's post

29,173 · May 11

23 minutes ago, sdkrc said:

weighed the cast iron manifold at 34kgs

I think a whole Aygo engine is 70 to 80kg..

17,565 · May 11

Uh oh.

17,565 · May 11

Got the gear out. No visible damage. Wearing in a slightly different place to the old dizzy gear

9,808 · May 11

Want another one?

17,565 · May 11

13 minutes ago, Rocket88 said:

Want another one?

You've made the fatal mistake of assuming I'm not a penniless bastard. Super cool car though.

From the extremely limited visibility I don't think the cam gear is damaged. Will check again with a proper torch later. Old dizzy went back in a treat. Compression test later today! Fucking stoked but I have to do family shit before I can come back.

19,810 · May 11

16 hours ago, sdkrc said:

Staying outside for the first time in 2yrs. Will be looking for a crow bar tomorrow and watching some videos tonight.

4 or 5 people stopped to talk to me about the car.

Progress today:

- new spark plugs

- fuel pump confirmed happy

- carb no longer leaks

- no start issue diagnosed

dri

bble

19,810 · May 11

5 hours ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I think a whole truckful of Aygos are 70 to 80kg..

17,565 · May 11

32,078 · May 11

That seems like a reasonable alternative vehicle for a leaf owner

17,565 · May 11

Dry compression test:

Cylinder 1: 65psi (150psi wet)

Cylinder 2: 130psi

Cylinder 3: 135psi

Cylinder 4: 125psi

Cylinder 5: 130psi

Cylinder 6: 125psi

Cylinder 7: 100psi

Cylinder 8: 125psi

Cylinder 5, 6, 7 plugs were all looking brand new, perhaps not even wet. All the others were slightly fouled. It's as if they're not sparking or not getting fuel but we couldn't figure it out.

All plugs get spark when taken out of the engine.

Not sure of the next steps but today was good news. Thanks again to @320touring for helping out

17,565 · May 11

5 minutes ago, loserone said:

That seems like a reasonable alternative vehicle for a leaf owner

This has less range unfortunately

17,565 · May 11

I've run the symptoms through chatgpt and this appears to be a sensible checklist. I *think* I ordered an intake manifold gasket many years ago. This could be the next step

17,565 · May 16

Shit is absolutely kicking off here over the next 2 weeks.

- 1 car out

- 1 car in

- 1 car bought and given to someone else

Intake manifold gasket ordered and work day planned for Galaxie.

Please accept this ceiling mounted gear stick as proof of my intent

32,078 · May 16

8 minutes ago, sdkrc said:

- 1 car in

Is this what you are telling mrs_dkrc?

17,565 · May 16

59 minutes ago, loserone said:

Is this what you are telling mrs_dkrc?

Current plan is:

1. Panic

2. Don't tell her until it's here

3. Minimise the impact by saying it didn't cost me real money

32,078 · May 16

And look, loserone is taking that awful red car that smells of chips away

12,350 · May 16

5 minutes ago, loserone said:

And look, loserone is taking that awful red car that smells of chips away

And he's give me 5 grand for it!

17,565 · May 21

Photos courtesy of the industrious @loserone and his new rangey.

32,078 · May 21

This is such a cool car. I wish I was cool enough to still have a stake in it.

17,565 · May 23

I guess we won't be fitting the intake manifold gasket to the Galaxie next week then

17,565 · May 23

Oh laaaawwdy she comin

28,109 · May 23

Probably not an option for the Galaxie but I've sworn off ordering gaskets online after a head gasket I ordered turned up similarly bent.

To add insult to injury, when I went to the factors for an emergency replacement it was actually a quid or 2 cheaper than the eBay one anyway.

29,173 · May 23

What I have done when ordering gaskets is to always buy something else as well so the gaskets and the other things have to be put in a larger cardboard box and then there is less chance of them getting bent.