Dollywobbler's Consolidated Tat Thread

[wuvvum]

7 hours ago, Minimad5 said:

Don't take it personally, but I'd get a good garage or engine builder to do this.

As you should really correctly gap the new rings, and check the crank bearings 'squish' / tolerances by using the likes of plastiGauge and a DTI or similar for crank float.

Do they still make PlastiGage?  I'm sure I remember that being used in the old 1970 AA Book of the Car.

[Minimad5]

2 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Do they still make PlastiGage?  I'm sure I remember that being used in the old 1970 AA Book of the Car.

Yes.

https://plastigauge.co.uk/

[wuvvum]

Looks like the packaging hasn't changed much since 1970 either...

[Spurious]

6 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Looks like the packaging hasn't changed much since 1970 either...

We'd a box of those in our gauge/measuring cupboard in our service workshop in Intel. No idea who'd ordered them and who used them because we could manage just fine with feeler gauges really. Think they were in a red box. 

I was struggling to think what they were called until it was mentioned on here. 

[twosmoke300]

If you are fitting like for like shells on a crank that hasn’t been ground / polished then it’s fine to not use plastigauge. I’ve done loads over the years . Just torque the main bearings up one at a time and spin the crank after every one . If it goes tight then the last one you torqued is too tight . But I bet it won’t be . 

[dollywobbler]

I think we are just going to leave the bearings and hope for the best. If it all goes to shit we'll just buy another engine. But I wanted to know exactly what has gone wrong with this one, and the only way to find out is dig in.

 

[Hogie]

In terms of content stripping it down is the right move. Im interested to see what the issue is. 

[dollywobbler]

52 minutes ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

Could you legally fit a 2CV engine to the Charade? 

No. Because it's a post-2002, the MOT would always be on the age of the vehicle, so you couldn't legally do it. Which is good, because it won't fit.

[stuboy]

On 12/5/2021 at 5:18 AM, dollywobbler said:

I'm also aware that it could soon be seen as deeply unfashionable due to its thirst.

pfft... get a decent exhaust to allow it too speak

[ETCHY]

On 12/6/2021 at 12:26 AM, Mrcento said:

So what?, It's your car. Your storage, your channel, your choice. If you listened to what the internet had to say, you'd probably never sell a car, ever.

Easy for people to say when it's not their space, their time and their money.

You never use it, let's be honest.

If there's no plan to do something that makes you use it more, then it's a pretty easy decision to let go as far as i can see.

And i've said it many times before, you need a hack. Something you don't care about but is dependable. It doesn't need to be interesting at all, or a content car, just a car you can use outwith filming and getting you to and from the unit for the interesting stuff and can jump in and go home when things are getting frustrating.

This 100%.

[2cvspecial]

On 12/6/2021 at 5:45 PM, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

Could you legally fit a 2CV engine to the Charade? 

or vice versa !

[brownnova]

And ruin the 2CV’s distinctive sound…. Don’t be daft! 

[richardmorris]

Just watched the latest wet a nd windy episode plus the museum trip  ( which looks great)

[dollywobbler]

I think I made a bad call with the Charade. Common sense dictates it be scrapped, but that's not really my style. But nor is rebuilding engines. I'm going to throw it back together and have a rethink. New engine may be the way to go, but more diagnosis seems wise.

I'd also like a Multipla replacement. But how daft have used car prices gone? I got outbid on a Berlingo Multispace today - a 2008 that eventually sold for just over £1400. That seems insanity to me given it had no timing belt replacement. I'm astonished at how valued older cars suddenly seem to be. A decent family wagon for under a grand is feeling very hard to find. 

[Andyrew]

Do you now think its not the rings/seals? 

 

 

[Schaefft]

At least for the UK prices are actually getting more in line with what these cars would cost anywhere else. In general prices are really going up everywhere though, and I'm not mad at all as less cars are getting wasted that way. Put the effort in and cars that would have gotten scrapped otherwise actually receive the attention they deserve and get a new lease of life. Which also means the Daihatsu might be worth fixing!

And yes, replacing piston rings is usually not worth the hassle if you can get a replacement engine for a few hundred quid. Maybe there are places that give you a warranty even.

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

A decent family wagon for under a grand is feeling very hard to find. 

since you lucky welsh people dont have ULEZ, have you thought about a London Taxi?

perhaps not the most pleasant thing to actually drive for the driver, but shed loads of room for all the family and luggage  

and semi-decent examples can be had pretty damn cheaply because there all being kicked out of London due to aforementioned ULEZ

[dollywobbler]

7 hours ago, Andyrew said:

Do you now think its not the rings/seals? 

 

 

It could be rings, it could be stem seals. I think it makes more sense to try and firm up the diagnosis. Engine swap is feeling like a more sensible approach if it is rings.

[Sham]

I don't see how an engine swap saves that much time. If you're taking the engine out to swap it, it's then the work of a moment* to swap the rings with new.

For the sake of the cost of new parts, I'd be trying to save what I have before putting an unknown quantity engine in. But, I certainly wouldn't be doing the work with the engine in the car.

[dollywobbler]

The original engine has covered over 130,000 miles though, so further issues could be brewing. Do miss OHV though. Valve stem seals would be a piece of piss! 

[BlankFrank]

You've got arms, eyes and a brain, thats all you need to get the job done really. 👍 Have trust that you can do it, even if it takes x5 the time compared to whats expected. Once you've done it once you'll level up your skillset and if it all goes catastrophically wrong then you'll have a legit excuse to buy another engine. Just go into the job knowing that everything rusty will snap and that it will need new studs and you wont get disappointed when they do snap or round-off.

Do the old oil down the bores trick. Compression test, write down readings. Dob of oil in the cylinder bores to fill up the rings, compression test again. Compare the 2 and that'll tell you if the rings are sealing badly vs valves. If it's valve stem seals then you'll see next to no change between the test before and the test after oiling the bores. (oil in the bores will never reach the valve stem seals, naturally)

Edit: Would it be possible to remove the head from the engine and leave the exhaust manifold connected? I did that with a polo breadvan when changing the head gasket 'cos i knew the mani was trouble.

[Dyslexic Viking]

At Copart UK there is a 2005 Charade automatic engine not specified for sale that has been hit from behind. It's done half of what your Charade has done. Do not know if this had been something and it might be too expensive but you could at least have the engine tested before an engine change.

https://www.copart.co.uk/lot/64382071/clean-title-2005-daihatsu-charade-el-wolverhampton

[Split_Pin]

I'd talk to Miss Hubnut, 100% definite she wouldn't want it getting you down which it clearly is.

Personally I'd sack the whole car off, together with the Yugo and the burnt Oltcit and replace the Charade with something else. That takes some of the heat off the Fairmont as well and you can get the gearbox properly looked at.

Although I changed the engine on my Corsa, I had owned the car for 8 years and was a long time botherer of them and Vauxhalls in general so everything was familiar.  Plus I didn't need the car to be on the road any time soon so that took the pressure off.  The engine was tested but essentially unknown to me so that was a gamble.

 

[Schaefft]

1 hour ago, Sham said:

I don't see how an engine swap saves that much time. If you're taking the engine out to swap it, it's then the work of a moment* to swap the rings with new.

For the sake of the cost of new parts, I'd be trying to save what I have before putting an unknown quantity engine in. But, I certainly wouldn't be doing the work with the engine in the car.

It's the risk of messing up that is significantly reduced with an engine you don't have to open up at all. You just need to make sure whatever you buy isn't garbage.

[Rusty_Rocket]

Smoke and oil consumption like you have is not valve stems, breathers or anything else.  It's very worn rings and cylinder bores.

No point at all even opening up the existing engine.  Replacement in, and you're done.  That's if the rest of the car is worth it.

[maxxo]

12 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

I'd also like a Multipla replacement

I think a C5 estate would work quite well!

[Fumbler]

3 hours ago, Rusty_Rocket said:

No point at all even opening up the existing engine.  Replacement in, and you're done.  That's if the rest of the car is worth it.

I remember he had a lot of welding to the boot floor done on it, so getting it running again is probably something he wants done.

[Andyrew]

4 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

It could be rings, it could be stem seals. I think it makes more sense to try and firm up the diagnosis. Engine swap is feeling like a more sensible approach if it is rings.

If you can get a low miles engine and box id probably go that root too to be honest, and chuck the whole lot in,  save fighting with the clutch and other shit. 

At least its on the road and moving even if its a gamble to take. 

 

 

[colino]

Here's the perfect solution. Citroën Acadiane Van 1982 | eBay You'll get your confidence back fixing up something that is broadly part of the passion, can double duty as a works van, iffy family transporter, the collection will be a few videos and you can get rid of half of the, "projects" that have become mental millstones.

A dry/wet test was something that I thought you had done, but remember, it's fucked now so you aren't going to hurt it and as well as getting over the yips of non-tinkering, could end up as a great learning experience.  You've got the tools, you've got the space, so pile in.

 

[dollywobbler]

Tried reassembling today, but the gasket set I had didn't have one critical gasket - ie the leaking coolant gasket in the inlet manifold. I think it might be the wrong gasket set...

Which is a shame as the idea was to put it back together and do further diagnosis. Oh well.