The Doctor's travels through time. Fin.

[Cord Fourteener]

I think you're going to have to do the whole car now @TheDoctor!

On the plus, the red electrical tape trim will look awesome in the bumper.

[Noel Tidybeard]

15 hours ago, Tim_E said:

I think you're going to have to do the whole car now @TheDoctor!

On the plus, the red blue electrical tape trim will look awesome in the bumper.

fify

[DoctorRetro]

Keeping with its 'motorsport' heritage 😂

[DoctorRetro]

 

Got the Punto back from the garage today, I've paid quite a bit to have the offside rear radius arm changed. But it's a good result, as there is no more knocking over bumps! 

 

[DoctorRetro]

What a day. 

Metro decided it didn't want to start so had to jump start it. Battery has always been a bit weak. 

Then as I drove away, there was a big clunk from the nearside rear when I braked. Suspect the shoe has come loose in the drum as I now have very little brakes and a clattering /rattling from that corner. I hate doing brake shoes! 

Then went to get the Punto, which still has no heating and the locks were jammed. Hot water got me in but the trip to Chelmsford and back was soooooo cold! 

 

[bunglebus]

It's not nice out there. Took me 20 mins after work to detach the frozen snow from my windows before I could go home. No time to be spannering either

[DoctorRetro]

So, I've ordered the brake shoes for the Metro, I may take a day off work to sort. Anyone fancy helping? I hate drum brakes! 

Still haven't got round to sorting the Punto heating, but I just go out with coat, scarf, gloves etc. It is proving to be very capable in the snow/ice, I guess it helps having half decent tyres. Of course I haven't tried out its rally capabilities with a few handbrake induced slides round corners, that would be childish and irresponsible. 

[Spurious]

14 minutes ago, TheDoctor said:

So, I've ordered the brake shoes for the Metro, I may take a day off work to sort. Anyone fancy helping? I hate drum brakes! 

Still haven't got round to sorting the Punto heating, but I just go out with coat, scarf, gloves etc. It is proving to be very capable in the snow/ice, I guess it helps having half decent tyres. Of course I haven't tried out its rally capabilities with a few handbrake induced slides round corners, that would be childish and irresponsible. 

You're the wrong end of the country for me. 

 

And I agree, drums are a pain in the arse. I've never perfected the art of getting those big fuck off springs back into place without launching them over the wall. 

[wuvvum]

I also hate drum brakes.

(I hate brakes in general but drums are particularly pernicious.)

[New POD]

1 hour ago, Spurious said:

You're the wrong end of the country for me. 

 

And I agree, drums are a pain in the arse. I've never perfected the art of getting those big fuck off springs back into place without launching them over the wall. 

I tried doing the ones for the hand brake for the omega. Inside the rear vented disk, for the proper braking. 

Makes doing it on a metro look like a piece of piss.   

The only problem, I ever had doing them on a metro, was due to my own foolishness. And I managed to get a wheel cylinder to come right out, which meant I had to bleed the brakes, which led to snapping the bleed nipple, which led to a new cylinder and snapping a brake pipe.....

Yeah....give up now....

[wuvvum]

And this is the man working on top secret* projects for the MOD.  Yep, if Putin ever invades we're proper fucked.

[Wgl2019]

26 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

And this is the man working on top secret* projects for the MOD.  Yep, if Putin ever invades we're proper fucked.

So long as no drum brakes..... all good!

[New POD]

1 hour ago, wuvvum said:

And this is the man working on top secret* projects for the MOD.  Yep, if Putin ever invades we're proper fucked.

Indeed.  We are.  

[louiepj]

If you haven't pulled the drum off and confirmed it is just the brake shoe, you may want to get the fitting kit as well as the shoes as sometimes the clips and springs fail or are too corroded to be reused.

[bunglebus]

And when you get the drum off, take a pic on your phone so you know where/how the springs fit

[wuvvum]

/\ This.

[DoctorRetro]

Perfect school run car... 

[loserone]

To be honest, that looks like basically the perfect car for a small family, full stop.  Looks ideal for a euromission too

 

[DoctorRetro]

Ah. 

Adjuster snapped. Cylinder is also leaking so have ordered one to be safe

[DoctorRetro]

Done the thermostat on the Punto and bled the system. 

Is this a heater matrix and should I be worried that a previous owner thought to leave one in the car? 

Still can't get the heater to blow warm. 😔

[Cord Fourteener]

Just now, TheDoctor said:

Done the thermostat on the Punto and bled the system. 

Is this a heater matrix and should I be worried that a previous owner thought to leave one in the car? 

Still can't get the heater to blow warm. 😔

That's not the best situation for the current weather...

[spartacus]

Is there a heater matrix fitted?

[camryv6]

I fitted a heater matrix in one of those, never again, i have tried to block it out of my memory, but i remember taking the dashboard out and possibly the heater assembly, in summary good luck ! 

[louiepj]

You need to feel the two hoses going through the bulkhead and check they are both hot, most* heater matrix's have the coolant flow going opposite way to radiator, so low point in and higher hose out for thermal efficiency. So lower hose will be hotter than upper hose.
Big difference in temps usually indicates blockage/flow restriction.
Back flushing can sometimes help but I am sure I was told years ago that radiators and heater matrix both naturally act similar to filters in the coolant system and catch all the crap and sediment, lowering their flow and efficiency.
Sometimes parking the car uphill or jacking the front of car up high can help with burping the air out of the coolant system as well.

[Stanky]

Check the hoses to make sure the matrix hasn't been bypassed on the engine side of the bulkhead.

I did that on a MK3 golf when the heater matrix started leaking, donkeys years ago.

The part is well cheap but as @camryv6 says, it's a massive job to get at in most cars. It's one of the first things they fit to the shell on the production line iirc.

[DoctorRetro]

Both hoses are hot at the bulkhead, so I'm at a loss. 

 

[Stanky]

15 minutes ago, TheDoctor said:

Both hoses are hot at the bulkhead, so I'm at a loss. 

 

I've never heard of the matrix being bypassed on the passenger compartment side of the bulkhead, once you're that far in, there is zero excuse not to replace the matrix itself...

[DoctorRetro]

54 minutes ago, Stanky said:

I've never heard of the matrix being bypassed on the passenger compartment side of the bulkhead, once you're that far in, there is zero excuse not to replace the matrix itself...

Screw that. Its an end of life car, I'll just cope with a tepid heater until I'm finished with it. 😕

[bunglebus]

Does the temperature control feel like it's doing anything? Could be a broken or dislodged cable, or something in the heater box broken. Sometimes with a bit of under-dash gymnastics you can find where the cables attach and work out how to set it to full heat manually. Looking at this pic it shouldn't be too hard to find the end of the cable

 

[DoctorRetro]

57 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Does the temperature control feel like it's doing anything? Could be a broken or dislodged cable, or something in the heater box broken. Sometimes with a bit of under-dash gymnastics you can find where the cables attach and work out how to set it to full heat manually. Looking at this pic it shouldn't be too hard to find the end of the cable

 

Unfortunately it does feel like it is doing something - there's a thud and the fan note audibly changes, so I'm quite sure it isn't that. If only.