Continued: Rover 75 Diesel

[Split_Pin]

The previous owner dropped off the wheel centre caps today.

I think they make a big difference to the wheels!

He also dropped off a detachable towbar. I had no idea that hidden under the bumper is the bracket for it complete with electrics and sockets. I won't use it but nice to know it's there!

[jumpingjehovahs]

That is such a lovely looking thing, those wheel caps have really finished it off. I'm not sure I've seen a black 75 before, it's a great colour for it.

[Cookiesouwest]

Bloody gorgeous motor. 

[Skut]

Oof darling. Very Oof.

[Lacquer Peel]

Lovely car, hope I see it about. 

How comfy is the suspension with the big wheels?

[SRi05]

Looks like the previous owner really looked after it, the best cars to buy !

[Noel Tidybeard]

23 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

 

nooooooo! the valve should be at the bottom f00! ?

[Split_Pin]

52 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

Lovely car, hope I see it about. 

How comfy is the suspension with the big wheels?

The previous owner opted for 215/50 tyres rather than the 225/45 in the interest of comfort but what really makes the difference is that it's had new springs, dampers and suspension arms at the back. My last 2 were disappointingly jittery in that area and looking back I think they both had broken springs. This one has a very smooth ride. On the shoddy surfaces leading to my estate I don't feel any of the bumps that I do in my other cars.

[wuvvum]

The facelift 75 I had had 215/50s and that rode nicely enough - not quite as well as the estate which is on 205/60 16s, but still pretty good for a "modern".

[Split_Pin]

Smiley plate arrived.

It's not the best quality if I'm being picky, the text spacing is a bit weird, has printing lines and it's slightly insipid but it's a big improvement.

[Split_Pin]

Decided I would try greasing the sliders on the OSF caliper today as it's binding very slightly.

Wheel off and I am not surprised to see that the strut tower area is relatively rust free having lived in Birmingham until 2016 and not on the coast of Northern Scotland.

 

Interesting to see the little ballast mechanism for the Xenons.

 

Slider pins were stuck in a wee bit and looked quite grubby when they came out.

Cleaned up.

Some red rubber grease and built back up.

No time for a test drive today as it's my wife's 40th birthday weekend.

[wuvvum]

Good to see some hot 7mm Allen key action...

[Split_Pin]

Knew I'd use it again!

[MKT]

Always felt Rover did a good job with the facelift on the 75, with hindsight it looks a lot more modern than some of the cars that were released in 2004!

[Split_Pin]

Been out in it, wheel still slightly warm, I'll monitor it before getting a new caliper. The brake hose fitting into the caliper is in really good condition so shouldn't be a bad job.

[Split_Pin]

New front caliper fitted tonight. 

Despite being in good nick, the hose fitting is quite large at 16mm and it was very difficult to get solid traction on the flats due to access being a bit snug for a spanner of this size.  It was also very tight. However I got it off with only minor nicking to the corners of it with the help of some No Nonsense so, success there.

Ezibleed on the other hand can fuck right off till it comes back round again and then fuck off some more.

I had a right old war getting the pipe that supplies the air, airtight and also the pipe that supplies the fluid to not suck in air where it joins the nozzle under the lid. It had become loose since I last used it. I had to faff about with different diameters of hoses before everything worked. 

Also the grease nipple in the caliper was 9mm, which is when I found out I didn't have a 9mm spanner, thankfully my very small adjustable one fitted.

All built back up, Yvonne pressed the brake to centralise the pads and so I could see it working.

I look it a drive and all works fine, no more hot wheel.

I noticed that before I did this, with the window down whilst driving and pressing the brake made no difference to the skiff-skiff sound of the pads which led me to believe that the piston was completely seized and although stuck partially on, had no braking effort. The pedal was also quite hard whereas now it feels more progressive. I'm not sure if these are all connected.

Anyway, unless there's brake fluid everywhere in the morning, it's fixed.

[aldo135]

Nice one Iain, lovely looking car  

[stuboy]

lovely motor

[wuvvum]

My brake bleeding method involves a length of rubber pipe over the bleed nipple running into an old mug half filled with brake fluid.  Never failed me yet and less of a faff than an Eezibleed.

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 6/3/2020 at 8:50 PM, Split_Pin said:

Smiley plate arrived.

It's not the best quality if I'm being picky, the text spacing is a bit weird, has printing lines and it's slightly insipid but it's a big improvement.

put oblong plate on top of smiley for double deckerdance! ?

[Split_Pin]

10 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

My brake bleeding method involves a length of rubber pipe over the bleed nipple running into an old mug half filled with brake fluid.  Never failed me yet and less of a faff than an Eezibleed.

How do you supply pressure?

[wuvvum]

Pumping the brake pedal...

[Split_Pin]

Ah the 2 man method. Sadly I am only 1 man, despite my best efforts!

[Tickman]

With the hose in the brake fluid you don't need a second person.

It has worked and failed for me in the past.

[Split_Pin]

Doesn't releasing the pedal just suck fluid back in so that any bubbles behind that will just back up again?

[EyesWeldedShut]

3 minutes ago, Tickman said:

With the hose in the brake fluid you don't need a second person.

It has worked and failed for me in the past.

^^ that here too, sometimes Eezibleed works, sometimes not. MiniVac the same.

T'missus is pretty good at the pumping bit after decades of practice, can be hired out at a reasonable rate 

[EyesWeldedShut]

12 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Doesn't releasing the pedal just suck fluid back in so that any bubbles behind that will just back up again?

You need to use as short a piece of pipe as possible and start with a decent depth of fluid to do it by yourself - provided you get the bubbles out of the pipe then it works as it will suck up just fluid on the backstroke. Sometimes just letting gravity do it works too - but if you try that don't sod off for a coffee and forget to keep the fluid topped up under the bonnet (ask me how I know ?)

p.s. there's a plastic clip thing (VisiBleed is one) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007H7L1J8/ref=dp_prsubs_2 - never had much success with that but others swear by them. There's a review on the above link where he moans about air getting through the threads on the nipple - PTFE tape helps (ditto on the MiniVac)

Edited June 16, 2020 by EyesWeldedShut
added p.s.

[Split_Pin]

Today I made the NSR wheelarch look less bad than before. 

I didn't have much time so it's not a brilliant job.

There has been a previous repair here and the filler and paint were flaking. 

There was also a small patch at the top of the arch.

..and a small bit on the OSR arch.

Sanded down and thankfully no rot

I applied Vactan and and primer then went for a walk in the sun with Yvonne and Lachlan.

Top coat applied.

Lacquer will go on in a week once everything has hardened properly.

[Cavcraft]

Well swanky motor this, what a lovely thing. 

[barefoot]

My 75 has little baby 195 tyres on 15 inch wheels. Although this makes for a very comfortable ride, it feels jittery at 99mph, I certainly won't ever be going any faster.