N19's fleet - Focus demands attention

[danthecapriman]

Great news! 
Although you must have balls of granite taking it out on salted roads😆

Ive never had the gearstick come off! I know that threaded collar and locking tab thing that holds it in can be a real pain sometimes though. It wasn’t together right on mine and kept making it hard to select reverse sometimes. 

[N19]

4 minutes ago, Andrew353w said:

Mays and Barnet Lane having been conquered my the Capri I'm only sorry I was in Watford all day and missed this major event!

I waved at the DAF having used your street as a brake confidence test...!

[N19]

5 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Great news! 
Although you must have balls of granite taking it out on salted roads😆

Ive never had the gearstick come off! I know that threaded collar and locking tab thing that holds it in can be a real pain sometimes though. It wasn’t together right on mine and kept making it hard to select reverse sometimes. 

The underside has been cleaned down and will be getting more attention soon to make sure everything is OK. And there wasn't that much. I took the risk! 

[Andrew353w]

6 minutes ago, N19 said:

I waved at the DAF having used your street as a brake confidence test...!

Going from my road onto Mays Lane with questionable brakes does take granite balls-it's quite steep at the junction! 

[Mally]

1 hour ago, N19 said:

The only glitch occurred when I returned to the garage, and selecting reverse, the gearstick came off in my hand.

I thought I'd got it sorted and in properly, as this happened a while ago. Some people have suggested aralditing it in, but I'm not sure if that is a wise idea!

Very common., do not glue it in you will never get the threads clean again.

You can get them but..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235824869563?_skw=capri+gearstick&itmmeta=01JHBJZC11QKHRD6J0DC5BKK73&hash=item36e841f0bb:g:oBAAAOSwWZFnMKMu&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKl%2FkoKaQRF6xRAKlPO5yRrXhh%2FzyAGhokSi%2FrMaWkEw1RORSNbjlWrkn%2B0PHcS%2BDZzOS5A55JO%2FlQ1VWZb%2FvkpamkfiS%2Bo6LApZujAMzy5iQBLddsRWVpFI8QlzFreVOt12%2FQFkdS7BqT0%2BY%2FwYo%2BpVRHSw76%2F2tn2LnmL570iPqWhd8q%2BQGr2SA4K51tsMcjpvCIOHdza%2FJMHhjs6Lv%2BG5OPMxoMll1Fd7AtcKShHQBdePJ5bE%2BX3hE4Z5vuVzZHq0G0Z7nRSLgmUWOUR6hzTopRKs38WenxlLkHcutDGrsA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR9jA_fKKZQ

 

[Mally]

Measure the thread too. There are 2 sizes iirc.

[N19]

1 hour ago, Mally said:

Very common., do not glue it in you will never get the threads clean again.

You can get them but..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235824869563?_skw=capri+gearstick&itmmeta=01JHBJZC11QKHRD6J0DC5BKK73&hash=item36e841f0bb:g:oBAAAOSwWZFnMKMu&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKl%2FkoKaQRF6xRAKlPO5yRrXhh%2FzyAGhokSi%2FrMaWkEw1RORSNbjlWrkn%2B0PHcS%2BDZzOS5A55JO%2FlQ1VWZb%2FvkpamkfiS%2Bo6LApZujAMzy5iQBLddsRWVpFI8QlzFreVOt12%2FQFkdS7BqT0%2BY%2FwYo%2BpVRHSw76%2F2tn2LnmL570iPqWhd8q%2BQGr2SA4K51tsMcjpvCIOHdza%2FJMHhjs6Lv%2BG5OPMxoMll1Fd7AtcKShHQBdePJ5bE%2BX3hE4Z5vuVzZHq0G0Z7nRSLgmUWOUR6hzTopRKs38WenxlLkHcutDGrsA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR9jA_fKKZQ

 

HFM!!

I will talk to one of the parts suppliers. I was thinking to try blue threadlock. The issue that won't be helping is that the castellated surround is a bit knackered.

[N19]

Gear lever off, cleaned up, can see that the thread is slightly mullered. 

also fitted inline filter which seems to make starting easier but the acid test will be in the morning 

[N19]

Right, where were we.

After fitting the fuel filter, I swopped the HT leads for a new set.

No pictures, but I then re-connected the drivers door locking rods, stuck new inner lining plastic in, left the sealent to go off, fitted door card and accessories.

This plastic strip at the front of the bonnet is cracked and one of the fixing slots was knackered. I've glued it back together from behind since they appear to be out of stock just now.

For the benefit of future fault finding, I printed this off, laminated it, and stuck it to the underside of the spare wheel board. One day it'll come in handy although I have a copy of this in with the workshop manual too.

Frustration abounded with the gear lever. Despite trying PTFE tape and threadlock, I couldn't get it to engage, and several of the locking tabs broke. This was given up as a bad job for discussion next week...

 

Moving on to less frustrating things, because I knew that carrying on working on something that annoys you is a sure fire way to cause a problem...

I finished off most of the interior trim, although there are some exterior window trim clips to be fitted later.

 

 

The rear struts have been changed for the ball joint type, to make replacement easier.

Back to the engine bay and the fuel filter was still full, about 4 hours after the engine last ran. And sure enough the starting was spot on. Going to try in the morning before I go to work and see what it's like.

Lastly, I found and fitted the back bumper side mouldings, they do need some cosmetic improvement though.

 

List for the next week - wire up radio, replace rad screws with the right ones, fit rubbing strips (if possible).

List for when I next get some proper time to work on it... sort out the gearstick without killing anyone or anything, find out why the rear wiper blows the fuse when operated, check the vacuum system for integrity (engine struggles when you brake), fault find OSF headlamp, tweak window trims, adjust door shuts, refit speedo cable when new one arrives.

[N19]

Just so that it doesn't feel forgotten, here's what the Mondeo looked like when I came to it this morning...

Its usefulness comes into play at times like this where the boot can happily swallow anything from a set of wheels, a windscreen, endless boxes of parts etc and yet still function as a car. There have been a lot of shuttles back and forth between the lockup and the garage where the capri is being reassembled.

[N19]

The ongoing gearstick hassle continued but may have been solved, if I'm lucky.

Threads cleaned out and scribed(? is that the word - little tool for sorting out threads bigger than what a die goes up to) and one of the mechanics refitted it. Now feels very solid and safe and, crucially, has been tightened up with a plumbers spanner. (So naturally I'm going to still worry, but that's just me!)

The fuel filter fitment has sorted all starting issues, it starts on the button each time with a bit of choke.

although this photo does show one of the challenges of the pinto engine bay - the fuel line being routed over the HT coil and leads. Best make sure they are all done up tight...

There is a fair bit of tidying up still to do in the engine bay, which I will do ad-hoc. This should be a nice rubber HT lead holder which sits in this clip. There are then clips along the side of the rocker cover. 

I spent a bit of time at the lockup, tidying up bits and pieces.  The clutch was changed despite the old one only having 16000 miles use. It did make sense to do it while it was out, though, and gives me a used but good spare for the shelf.

  

Still waiting for the speedo cable, but then that should be the dash back together. More time to spend resolving other issues (braking/vacuum system, a couple of electrical issues and so on). There's also some trim which needs sorting out as the clips are missing, once that all arrives it'll be in nicely and I can then get the interior back in - it makes sense to keep it out for now, whilst there are still things to round off.

Meanwhile, the Focus has been clearly feeling bereft of attention. I started it up today and went to drive it to Costco, and the boot open switch seemed to be triggering every 10 seconds or so. Very odd.

Multi plug disconnected. This means if you press the boot release button, the brake lights come on, and it also means that the 'door open' warning is on the dash, presumably because it can't prove that it's closed. Oh well, minor annoyance. Then just as I got back into my road the exhaust - previously slightly chuffing - blew a large hole, so driving it sounds like a bloody chav in a souped up fiesta with a 4" tailpile. Oh well, time to get my chequebook out again...

[sierraman]

Probably frozen locks, a blast of WD40 usually sorts them out, if not the micro switch in the lock is goosed. 

[danthecapriman]

I’m always paranoid with Pinto in-line fuel filters, where the hose curves up from pump to carb where the filter pretty much has to go, it always looks like it bending the ends of the filters. It’s never happened to me yet, nut it’s always in my mind that one day the plastic end of the filter will snap or crack!

[N19]

14 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Probably frozen locks, a blast of WD40 usually sorts them out, if not the micro switch in the lock is goosed. 

The lock itself is fine, and being disconnected from the loom works fine as an individual lock. Will have a looksee when it's less dark.

8 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I’m always paranoid with Pinto in-line fuel filters, where the hose curves up from pump to carb where the filter pretty much has to go, it always looks like it bending the ends of the filters. It’s never happened to me yet, nut it’s always in my mind that one day the plastic end of the filter will snap or crack!

The previous one was on the car for quite some time and seemed fine. Curved to shape but not cracked in any way. I would treat them as an annual service item anyway - only a couple of quid. Actually this one is an old one from a while ago that was in the toolbox as a spare - must buy a fresh one.