N19's fleet - very slow Capri progress

[N19]

"Fan off"

I spoke too soon. Actually getting the fan out of the engine bay would appear to be a palaver. It seems that you have to remove half a wiring loom to get that clear, then drain another coolant pipe from the thermostat to the bottom hose. Gave up for the night and came in to a hot bath.

Oh, also I've managed to snap one of the bauden cables that leads, seemingly, to some electronic gubbins. 

So reinstatement already involves another part, putting half the cooling system back together and re-fitting cable ties in awkward places. This is going to be fun*!

And I still don't have the cooling fan out of the engine bay nor the radiator off at all!

Why can't I just leave things alone!!

[sierraman]

It’s been an age since I took a radiator out of a Mk2 Mondeo but I’m sure it comes out the bottom with the fan still on the rad. There should be some brackets at the bottom, it sits on rubber bushes, you could move the PAS cooler out of the way but I don’t think it’s necessary. 

[N19]

HBOL says to remove the electric fan and that comes out the top, then unbolt the rad and it comes out the bottom. Tying the a/c condenser to the crossmember and removing a support bracket whilst you're at it.

I suppose if I drop the bumper (which I could probably do with my eyes closed now) it'd all come out nicely on the bottom with enough clearance. Maybe.

Any idea on the bowden cable I've probably mullered? Not up on this fuel injection malarkey see... is it some form of auto-choke equivalent? goes from the inlet manifold round to the n/s bulkhead.

[sierraman]

9 hours ago, N19 said:

HBOL says to remove the electric fan and that comes out the top, then unbolt the rad and it comes out the bottom. Tying the a/c condenser to the crossmember and removing a support bracket whilst you're at it.

I suppose if I drop the bumper (which I could probably do with my eyes closed now) it'd all come out nicely on the bottom with enough clearance. Maybe.

Any idea on the bowden cable I've probably mullered? Not up on this fuel injection malarkey see... is it some form of auto-choke equivalent? goes from the inlet manifold round to the n/s bulkhead.

Throttle?

[N19]

It's the one on the right - going around the front ns - I assumed the one on the left was the throttle?

[mitsisigma01]

Cruise control? 

[N19]

That makes sense actually! It seems to go to some sort of electronic gubbins.  In which case I can leave it for now as I can live without cruise control in the short term...

[sierraman]

Left is throttle, right is cruise

[N19]

This is definitely a slow and steady job.

The glamour of life at 32 - when a wild night out means, err, pulling the radiator out of a Mondeo at quarter to eleven at night.

The collapsing on the bottom is pretty impressive...

Two of the mounting bolts sheared off in the hole, so that's to be drilled out tomorrow. New nuts and bolts all round I think. M5... Oddly small.

[sierraman]

I’ll have a rummage tomorrow see if I can find any of the rear cluster cover clips. 

[N19]

4 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I’ll have a rummage tomorrow see if I can find any of the rear cluster cover clips. 

Much obliged, currently using a self tapper and a washer and/or leaving one half open!

[Cord Fourteener]

10 hours ago, N19 said:

The glamour of life at 32 - when a wild night out means, err, pulling the radiator out of a Mondeo at quarter to eleven at night.

Sounds glamorous to me. 

Do you have wives and small people asking you to do things while you're trying to get on and do the job?

When that happens you know you've made it

[N19]

5 hours ago, Cord Fourteener said:

Sounds glamorous to me. 

Do you have wives and small people asking you to do things while you're trying to get on and do the job?

When that happens you know you've made it

Luckily* I am sufficiently antisocial to not have anybody else bothering me (except friends, bosses, neighbours, acquaintances etc etc).

[N19]

Dare I feel like I'm getting somewhere, or will that curse the gods of whatsit?

Fan unit out, looks in good order. Bottom brackets have sheared off screws inside captive nuts with very little access, so they need somehow destroying to replace with a new nut and bolt.

Meanwhile, sorting out an existing thing in the engine bay. The indicated coolant pipe blew back in December and I replaced it with a suitable-ish merc one from the 'random hoses and pipes' box of the local garage. Today I trimmed it down to size properly and tidied up the fixings. It's satisfying to do these little bits and pieces.

 

[sierraman]

I’ve got a set of hoses you can have for cost of posting for a Zetec, it’d save farting about adapting hoses off something else. 

[N19]

I'll drop you a PM - they are sure to come in handy, if not now for another day.

[N19]

Modern* cars are my favourite*!

now just* have to re fit the electric fan, connect everything up and see what happens. May run it up without the electric fan tonight just to see.

To do list:

- drop rad again, re-fit rubber bush to top

-fix rad in position and threadlock the replacement nut & bolt on n/s

-re fit electric fan, re make electrical connexions and tidy cabling out of harm's way

-connect all hoses up

-reinstate battery (reset radio code and trip counter)

-fill - check - test - run engine - use car again

I'm on an early shift at work tomorrow, but that means I'll be home by 3 so I should get a reasonable stab at the above before it gets too dark. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to run the engine and do a test run tomorrow night...

[N19]

Rain stops play. Everything done except the electric fan, pausing to have some tea then will go out after the shower has (hopefully) finished. Getting the fan in will be the final tricky part to the puzzle... 

[N19]

Success!

I think...

Electric fan was being stopped by a very very tight fit against an a/c pipe. Solution... WD40, why not. Slipped into position.

Fixed on, tightened all bolts, threadlocked the replacement nut & bolts, filled up and had a nice drive around, seemingly all good. Didn't hear the electric fan cut in, but it was a cold night and a clear run so may have been natural - I'll have to keep an eye on it, temperature gauge seems ok though.

And despite thinking I'd snapped the cable for cruise control, it still works...

[N19]

This week began with a need to send photos of the Capri to the insurers for the agreed value. You can tell the difference between the re-covered front seats and the original rear seats in this picture... although I'd like to get the rear ones done one day, money prohibits for now.

 

The Mondeo returned to daily duties this week, the heated windscreen and heated seats being very useful in this cold snap.  An eye kept on the coolant level, a top up here and there, and a nipped up jubilee clip and it seems to be good following the rad swap. Should be doing a few longer runs in the coming months to up north and to the west, which will definitely be good - it's an ideal car for long journeys. MPG wise, it hits 32-35 on the motorway but around town more like 23. Perfect* for outer London...

[N19]

Left the lights on all day. One very flat Mondeo.

[N19]

Tried jumping, no luck. (subsequently found my jump leads to have shit on one of the terminals which is probably the reason the quick solution didn't work).

Called Autoaid. 90 mins for a bloke to come out and jump me... not ideal, but I was safe sitting in a car park being bored and it was my own stupid fault so can't complain.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, N19 said:

Called Autoaid. 90 mins for a bloke to come out and jump me...

Back pages small ads might be quicker...

[UltraWomble]

20 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Back pages small ads might be quicker...

Or Grinder.

I had the same thing with a set of leads - bloody annoying.

[N19]

Unfortunately at my workplace the go-to person if anyone needed a jump start etc would be.... err.... me! Jump leads cleaned up with a wire brush and contact cleaner, hopefully not let me down again, grumble, huff etc.

[Cord Fourteener]

On 10/10/2021 at 5:30 PM, N19 said:

Should be doing a few longer runs in the coming months to up north and to the west, which will definitely be good - it's an ideal car for long journeys.

If you're heading past North East Wales let me know, if I'm in the kettle will be on!

[N19]

A week off work beckons. I took a day-trip to Bristol...

 

visiting such well known and iconic sights as.... Vale Street, the steepest street in England apparently. The scores on the road tell the story!

 

still, the Mondeo made it to the top!

A slightly better known landmark...

.

... and then the best named kebab trailer I've ever seen ...

 

Mondeo coped with all the motorway driving wonderfully - noticeably a nicer drive than the rest of the fleet, no achey back or fatigue. Get onto M4, set cruise control, point in the right direction, go. 

I've got the rest of the week off work, but I'm deliberately trying to avoid doing any big jobs on the fleet - done that before and the whole week suddenly disappears! But there may be a bit of tinkering time.

Capri is in a bit of a hiatus at the moment. It's unclear exactly when there will be a slot in the bodywork bay of the garage to do the welding, so no rush to get the interior dismantled/underseal stripped (or gather together the cash!) but equally, a lot of the jobs on it are things I've gone "I'll sort that when it gets welded".  I need to sort out the front bumper/indicator brackets, they're pretty knackered plastic jobbies and need repairing (a bit of steel and a nut & bolt) which I guess can be done easily enough as an independent piece of work.

[N19]

One of the indicators was a bit wonky. The plastic inserts crack and degrade over time.

 

which can be solved with a nut and superglue...

 

[N19]

Some moons ago, a kind shiter Mr Tim E, aka @Cord Fourteener, donated a towbar that was no longer needed on his fleet. It's been fitted for about 6 months, so I decided it was time to wire it up. Where did I put the crimps.

Handy extension light that runs off the garage 'power' (old batteries).

Some farting around had to happen with tracing cable colours etc,

still need to sort the indicators, run a cable under the boot to the o/s.

Ordered up a cheap trailer board to stick in the socket and prove it at least works. Unlikely to use it in anger in the short term at least, but in a few weeks I'll legally be allowed to tow more than a teaspoon.

An oddity happened when I was idling after the run down there (all of 5 minutes) - a bouncing speedo at idle? Strangely, only seems to happen when idling after a journey. Please excuse the accompaniment of NOW! 12...

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

43 minutes ago, N19 said:

.... Please excuse the accompaniment of NOW! 12...

"S-Express"!??