ZT-T gone, now an Audi w@nker. Piaggio Porter still poorly.

[High Jetter]

Thanks, will try to find it, as have a funeral in the West mids to attend in 10 days

[High Jetter]

Flushed with success at freeing the seized rear wiper spindle, I booked it in at our local F1 Autocentre for an A/C regas. £54 with a £5 online discount voucher (the same code I used 2 years ago for the Auris, I found when going to copy-and-paste it in) and it's blowing much cooler now. Ready for Monday's trip 'oop North.

[High Jetter]

On the trip to Wolverhampton and back (425 miles in total) it drove fine. The airbag light that the garage extinguished on the MOT (under-seat connectors) came back on soon after leaving on Monday. Going round town on Tuesday for the funeral it went out - but the ABS light came on and the speedo stopped working. Fortunately this had fixed itself in time for the drive home on Wednesday, but when we got back the cooling fan would not switch off. A quick online scout suggests this is A THING especially if the A/C has been used. Disconnected the battery, silence. Put the terminal back fully expecting it to start up again (stuck relay?) but it didn't. I had noticed the fan cutting in and out after a few seconds over the past few days though, not sure if it's connected.

ABS light and no speedo again on Thursday heading back from darkest Crowborough, but no problems with that yesterday on same run. Am beginning to think it's time for a change.

[Zelandeth]

4 hours ago, High Jetter said:

On the trip to Wolverhampton and back (425 miles in total) it drove fine. The airbag light that the garage extinguished on the MOT (under-seat connectors) came back on soon after leaving on Monday. Going round town on Tuesday for the funeral it went out - but the ABS light came on and the speedo stopped working. Fortunately this had fixed itself in time for the drive home on Wednesday, but when we got back the cooling fan would not switch off. A quick online scout suggests this is A THING especially if the A/C has been used. Disconnected the battery, silence. Put the terminal back fully expecting it to start up again (stuck relay?) but it didn't. I had noticed the fan cutting in and out after a few seconds over the past few days though, not sure if it's connected.

ABS light and no speedo again on Thursday heading back from darkest Crowborough, but no problems with that yesterday on same run. Am beginning to think it's time for a change.

Might sound daft, but how old is the battery?

Moderns like this can do all sort of random and often utterly unpredictable things if the battery is even slightly weak.

[High Jetter]

Good point, am not sure - will have to check the history file. Though even after not being used for a couple of weeks it still turns easily and starts first time.

[AnnoyingPentium]

Could it be a dodgy earthing point, even?

I'm not sure how the speedometer is controlled on these, but if it's by an ABS sensor (which could make sense given the two faults present at once), it may be one of those sensors playing up.

[yes oui si]

On 10/06/2023 at 20:53, Cheggers said:

cum antiques emporium 

I dare to ask what stock they have... 

[RoverFolkUs]

I expect these have "dumb" ABS where vehicle speed is taken from just one wheel, rather than calculated and taken as an average from all 4 to give the speedo readout

This doesn't make a sod of difference in practice when everything is working properly, but what it does mean is that when 1 of the 4 sensors packs up and it happens to be the one that "talks" to the speedo, you lose the speedo. 

If it's intermittent then it's probably a sensor on its way out. I've seen a lot of this on various cars and it's usually a dicky sensor, similar failure to a crank sensor when they go. 

Just to reassure* you, it'll probably be stuck fast in the hub 😬 

Regarding the fan, it could be numerous things. I've had it before where an A/C low pressure switch being faulty forces it to run all the time. Does it run full pelt when you turn the A/C on, and then stay running regardless of whether you turn it on or off? And will only return to normal functionality until cycling the ignition or disconnecting the battery and reconnecting, until you next try to use the A/C? 

With all that being said, it's usually also caused inoperative A/C, so if the A/C is working ok it's probably not the low pressure switch

Dodgy coolant temp sensor is a possibility. Don't forget most cars have more than one sensor, one for the guage and one for the ECU/fan controller. 

Alternatively dodgy relay(s) as you suggest

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, yes oui si said:

I dare to ask what stock they have... 

Apparently they sometimes have loads, in the harder times

[High Jetter]

I did wonder if a) having the a/c regassed and b) the new OSR rear tyre might have had any contribution.

[RoverFolkUs]

Just now, High Jetter said:

I did wonder if a) having the a/c regassed and b) the new OSR rear tyre might have had any contribution.

Correct tyre size fitted? That would certainly upset things.

If the fan is only "misbehaving" with A/C on, then it might be normal. Might. 

Was it completely inoperative before you had it re gassed?

All of my previous Rovers had A/C, but none ever worked, so I can't say how the fan behaved during normal usage!

[High Jetter]

Yes, A/C was MIA before the regas. TBH I haven't thought to double check tyre size as trust them. Will have a look tho.

[High Jetter]

Took it in today for 3 new tyres (the 4th was replaced on the recent MOT). On driving out of the garage I noticed the ABS light had reappeared, so went straight back. They couldn't see any disturbance to the wiring, and when they went to do a scan on it the damn thing had gone out again. Drove home with no issues, and hope it will stay that way for my trip to Stansted on Monday.

[High Jetter]

Went out to the bins the other day and noticed the o/s door mirror had snapped of its mount. No-one else has cause to walk past it, as it's further up the drive than the front door, and we live in a very quiet, small cul-de-sac.

I don't think that UHU shite tack, as kindly suggested by @Datsuncog in the grumpy thread, will solve it - but is it a whole new mirror or is there any well-known fix?

[RoverFolkUs]

11 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

well-known fix?

I'll let you decide if it's a fix, but I'm going to say drill some self tappers upwards... If you don't mind not being able to fold them in. 

Other than that, no, replace. Shirley must be plenty around? You could try to salvage the red cap to swap onto a replacement if needed. 

Can't imagine it being particularly expensive. Maybe £30 or so? Famous last words!

[High Jetter]

£40-£50 on th ebay, it seems. I'll do a post on the 75&ZT forum when I get a chance. I like the bodge idea, will bear it in mind. Removing and replacing it will be interesting as I have a poorly back/leg/knee at the moment which is restricting normal operations, and sitting on low things results in difficulty in regaining uprightness.

I'm perplexed as to how it happened, unless some miscreant was scouting a neighbour's place out (they won't find much here 🤣)

[Cookiesouwest]

Sticks like shit

Does exactly what it says on the tube

[RoverFolkUs]

6 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

£40-£50 on th ebay, it seems. I'll do a post on the 75&ZT forum when I get a chance. I like the bodge idea, will bear it in mind. Removing and replacing it will be interesting as I have a poorly back/leg/knee at the moment which is restricting normal operations, and sitting on low things results in difficulty in regaining uprightness.

I'm perplexed as to how it happened, unless some miscreant was scouting a neighbour's place out (they won't find much here 🤣)

I've done the bodge before for customers at least as a temporary measure while we either wait for a new one or they wait for their appointment to be fitted, a bodged mirror is better than nothing. Sometimes it becomes a bit more permanent

[Split_Pin]

Unless it's a powerfold replacements are cheap and fairly straightforward.

Remember and pull the doorcard UP once you have taken off all the necessary fixings, thank me later.

[High Jetter]

Sorted Bodged the mirror last month:

MOT was due to run out yesterday. I knew the screenwash pump wasn't working (again) and the airbag light was on, but was running out of time so threw it in last Tuesday to see what else it would fail on. Annoyingly, nothing, though a few advisories. Ordered a new washer pump in case, as I dodn't want to take the bumper off twice (remember this, folks). On the third day of trying (yesterday) I managed to get the light off by undoing and re-doing the 4 connectors under the seats. I also changed the washer pump, which now worked, and umblocked one of the 4 jets.

Got in it early this morning to run down for a re-test (pop in anytime, they said, as it was just those 2 things) and..... although I could hear the pump, no water from the screenwasher jets. Took Mrs J's car for a couple of work visits, then rushed back to try to sort it before the ran came. Bumper off (again), found the inlet to the pump was blocked (again). Got the bottle off and gave it a good swill out, hopefully getting rid of all the muck.

What an arse thing to refit - struggled for a good while - then I noticed the two small hooks on the back of the bottle! Got it in place, fiddled with the 2 stupid plastic rawlplug-like things and boxed it all up. It worked, so I ran it down for the retest. PASS!

Once I get my Piaggio van back on the road I'll be looking to shift the ZTT on - but the van's another story...

 

 

 

[High Jetter]

...and here we go. I bought this van late 2013, at just under 18k miles - very low for a 5 year old! It's now approaching 108k, and has been really reliable. Yes, rear silencers rust for fun (mainly due to the short trips I do I guess) and had to replace a leaking fuel tank. It went in for MOT in March, needed tyres and one headlamp's reflector had become too corroded to pass. These headlamps are made of unobtanium now, but I had a very good s/h spare in stock.

They reckoned the oil leak was coming from the cam cover gasket. These engines are tilted over at about 45 degrees, so not the easiest to work on. I put it into my usual garage do it in May, along with checking the brakes as it was pulling slightly to the left. I also splashed out on a set of spark plugs as they have to come out to do the cam gasket, and I've never changed them in my ownership. They actually weren't in bad nick.

After forking out for that, including rear wheel cylinders, front pads, an expensive cam gasket - and rear shoes and front disks that I had in stock - it repaid me a couple of weeks later by the scary sight of the temp guage creeping up. I stopped and found one of the hoses to the rad had gone almost flat. Now, these vans are prone to overheating and are known for it, the cause is usually OMGHGF.  I don't want to pay the garage for this, as it's mostly labour, and hey - I've done head gaskets in the past, though that was 40 odd years ago on BMC A and B series engines.

First things first though, methinks.  Drained and re-filled the coolant a few times, using different methods to eliminate air-locks (it's a weird system). I suspected it wasn't taking enough coolant to fill it, which points to the rad. Took it off and flushed it through with a hose - I got flow, but it didn't seem enough. Couldn't find any rads under £100 online so rang Brghton Radiators as I've used them for re-cores in the past. The number now goes through to Guildford radiators, who seem as efficient and picked it up on Tuesday, reporting yesterday that it is partially blocked and they'll try to recore it, if the plastic tanks don't crack (though I do have a spare blocked rad if they do).

Will try it when I get it back, if no improvement will whip the water pump off - otherwise it will be the joys of head removal, and August is going to be a very hectic month with work and I could really do with it working.

Why am I persevering with this? Using the ZTT instead has proved that this van is just ideal for my daily use, easy to park in the tightest of spaces being the main one. Yes, it's slower than the MG but I like it, so there. Replacing it would be nigh on impossible, very few small FC vans left now.

 

[High Jetter]

Re-cored rad has just been delivered, hopefully the rain will hold off so I can fit it this afternoon.

[High Jetter]

Rain and something else prevented me getting back to this yesterday. I'd been debating whether or not to give the bracketry a coat of some protective paint, like the Rustoleum @Peter C and at least one other has used. Couldn't find it locally or online, so went for the Nitromors version from Halfrauds and wire-brushed and sprayed them up this morning, leaving them to hang dry in the back of the van as, typically, it started raining. Much happened this afternoon...

Front of re-cored rad:

Back, after I'd re-attached the van:

Where it should go:

...and (somewhat later, one bolt was being a twat)  fitted:

Yes, luxury* portable carpet dustmat is vital for me to lie on at my age. Filled, bled, filled a bit more....and no chuffing difference. Next stop, the water pump. Tune in for the next enthralling* episode...

[High Jetter]

Have been so busy lately I've not had time to get back to working on the van. To get the water pump off, the timing cover has to be removed as some mounting bolts are beneath it. Of course, to get the cover off, the crankshaft pulley has to go. Am thinking of buying a cheepo impact wrench - any opinions on what's currently available? None showing at Lidl or Aldi at the moment.

[RoverFolkUs]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

Have been so busy lately I've not had time to get back to working on the van. To get the water pump off, the timing cover has to be removed as some mounting bolts are beneath it. Of course, to get the cover off, the crankshaft pulley has to go. Am thinking of buying a cheepo impact wrench - any opinions on what's currently available? None showing at Lidl or Aldi at the moment.

I've got one of these: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-CP400LI-Cordless-Impact-Wrench/dp/B0856JMW9H?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2ZLVM2JKWX61A

I've also got the draper version (green casing, storm force branded) - I didn't realize they were identical guns! 

Not as cheap as the Aldi/Lidl ones but they are better and are ok for the money.

Not the most long lasting of things with constant usage, but I'm sure they'll be fine for the home mechanic 

[New POD]

On 28/02/2024 at 19:35, Cookiesouwest said:

Sticks like shit

Does exactly what it says on the tube

I once repaired a mk2 cavalier mirror with expanding builders foam. 

[Rust Collector]

How quickly do you need one? I’ve got a Ryobi one here, over the hill in Seaford - I’ve done my day in the Eastbourne office this week though, so not likely to be able to nip over until next week sometime.

[High Jetter]

5 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

I've got one of these: 

Thank you, that looks a good bet but I've survived for over 40 years working on cars without one, and can't really think of another time I'd use it so £100 is hard to justify - £30/40 is where I'd be looking.

3 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

How quickly do you need one? I’ve got a Ryobi one here, over the hill in Seaford - I’ve done my day in the Eastbourne office this week though, so not likely to be able to nip over until next week sometime.

Cheers - that would be very much appreciated. I was thinking of hiring one, but Wellers don't seem to have one. I've got so many other things on that another week won't make much difference. PM when you know which day it might be (hopefully not Tuesday, as that's the wife's birthday!) and I'll give you the location - it's pretty close to where we met up.

[Rust Collector]

16 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Cheers - that would be very much appreciated. I was thinking of hiring one, but Wellers don't seem to have one. I've got so many other things on that another week won't make much difference. PM when you know which day it might be (hopefully not Tuesday, as that's the wife's birthday!) and I'll give you the location - it's pretty close to where we met up.

Tuesday is normally the day I go in, but this week I have a presentation to give so I’m working from home Tuesday. I’ll check what evenings my partner is teaching and hopefully we can sort an day around that.

[Heidel_Kakao]

On 03/03/2022 at 18:40, High Jetter said:

 

It came with 9 alloys, 4x 16" Unions with winter tyres (on the car now) and 5x 18" Gridspokes with summer tyres on 

Hi just wondering if you  have the Gridspokes still and would possibly be willing to sell them? I just got a ZT-T myself and of the factory wheels I like the look of these best.