1986 Vauxhall Carlton CDi, Daily use of a 37yr old car. Living the dream.

[sutty2006]

Mmmmmm is that Mountain Dew? First load out. Currently refilling it again

[sutty2006]

Annnnd some more out after taking the return pipe off. Not far off 20 litres. Probably a gallon still left in but I’ll drain that out when the pumps re connected. 

 

and I finally ditched those ugly centre caps and threw them in the bin. No offence, but it’s what it needed. I can look at it with pride again now 🤣

[sutty2006]

so the fuel pipes were wire brushed and stone chipped. Then waxoiled. 
 

before

 

after

shockers are relatively new. So look the drums. 

[sutty2006]

That’s it. Mile stone achieved. All rubber fuel pipes replaced. Fuel filter replaced. Just needs draining and fresh putting in now. Then we should have lift off. 
 

 

only, it’s most certainly developed an oil leak while it’s been sat on the drive. Possibly tranny oil. No doubt another perished pipe. I’ll have to get the front end up in the air tomorrow if possible. 
 

 

[sutty2006]

[fordperv]

Looks a mighty fine steed, i look forward to see it in the metal

[Missy Charm]

On 02/06/2022 at 08:02, sutty2006 said:

That’s a great bit of info. Amazing how the 3spd auto isn’t listed for the Carlton 2.2 but they put them in. Maybe I’m thinking about it the wrong way. 
 

but also, everyone raves about the manta Coupe, but the hatch was more expensive and they sold more hatches than coupes! 

I suppose it's a case of what was cool in the eighties, hatchbacks, falling out of favour now.  I remember when we thought saloons were old hat and wanted hatches on everything.  Recall, too, that four door saloons were once more desirable than their two door counterparts and nobody wanted estates.  For some reason estates are now the must have for the discerning car enthusiast, although I'd rather a hatch or, if needs be, a saloon.  

Like the Carlton, more to the point.  

[sutty2006]

I know what you mean. I too love saloons, but the estate is more practical. This Carlton means I can put child seat in the back and the three of us go to shows. An estate would mean the dog comes too. Unfortunately he has to stay at home now. But he’s fine with that. 

1 hour ago, fordperv said:

Looks a mighty fine steed, i look forward to see it in the metal

Welcome back dude!!!!!

[sutty2006]

This was what came out of the fuel filter. 
 

looking forward to POSSIBLY cranking it over with fresh fuel in it tomorrow. Watch this space. 

[fordperv]

57 minutes ago, sutty2006 said:

 

Welcome back dude!!!!!

Cheers dude, I can't promise I'll  be a regular again like I once was but I'll try 🤣

[sutty2006]

Well folks I took the plunge and went to the gas station to have my bum hole well and truely FINGERED by mr Shell. £13 for a gallon of go go juice.

 

Dumped some of it in..... chucked a battery on then this happened.

 

 

Quick check for fuel leaks and shes good. OK transmission is definately leaking. It does move forward/backward but i can tell the fluid is low. That'll be the next thing to address.

[horriblemercedes]

£2.86 per litre of petrol!?

[sutty2006]

2 hours ago, horriblemercedes said:

£2.86 per litre of petrol!?

Actually about 209.9 but for some strange reason my 5 litre can took just under 6litres….. 

[sutty2006]

I’d love to be able to find some original air shockers for the rear. The ones on it are standard gas but I’m a sucker for quirky add-ons. They’re pretty much unobtainable apart from a pair in Germany..

 

they’re also listed for estate/van. 
 

but at this price, I think I’ll leave it 

[Boycie]

Best £13 quid spent this weekend ...... Sweet as a nut

[sutty2006]

Not much has been happening on this due to work and spare time (lack of)

 

but today I got the front end up on stands to clean transmission oil leak off, to find out where it’s coming from. 

 

im hoping it’s the two small pipes on the right. But I’m not going to hold my breath. It really needs a fluid change. 
 

while it’s up, I’ll address these inner arches

 

Left side

 

right side

that is the only rust I can find on it. The rest is in really good condition 

[sutty2006]

So the transmission oil leak hasn’t come back. I’ve had the engine running as well.  There’s plenty of oil in it, but I think for what it’s worth I’m going to change it anyway. Then if it needs a new pipe or a gasket it can have another change or top up. 
 

Nearside track rod end no good. Ordered a pair off eBay for 24 quid. 

it’s relatively clean in here. The brakes look ok, disks look like they went rusty yesterday. 
 

[sutty2006]

It does run! Honest!

[sutty2006]

It’s been quiet on this recently. New track ends have arrived so that’s a job to start tomorrow. 
 

I noticed a fresh patch of oil under it the other day. So this morning I slid under to investigate. It’s coming from the speedo cable. How odd! I’m sure these have an O ring, but can’t remember. I’ll pull it off tomorrow to further the investigation. 
 

[sutty2006]

I have a sneaky feeling that this oil leak has been present for some years before it was laid up.. possibly. Due to how shiny the chassis rail is next to where it’s dripping. I’ll need to put some stone chip and waxoil there before winter. 
 

so I took the speedo drive gear out, it felt a little loose in the back of the gearbox. I’ve replaced the o ring, cleaned it and refitted

 

 

new o ring on

 

refitted the cable and drained the manky dark auto fluid out. Bought a 5 litre tub of it yesterday so that I can drain and refill the box a few times. 
 

also replaced the nearside front outer track rod end. These have two each side because they are steering box setup with an idler on the passenger side. It was seized solid, so the whole thing came off and into the vice. 
 

measure it up

 

swear at it for 20 minutes

 

 

 

and eventually came free. 
 

 

have put wheel back on and lowered it to the ground. I want to get it moving again so I can put it closer to the house for welding the inner wings up. Blowy as fuck outside today!

[sutty2006]

Well the damn thing won’t start now. Turns over but won’t fire, not even trying. Don’t think I’ve got spark. With ignition on, I have this relay attached to the bulkhead slowly clicking away. No idea what it does or why it’s effecting it. Struggling with electronics, don’t have a spare relay either. 
 

 

[sutty2006]

Maybe has something to do with the auto lock feature? 

 

if I disconnect this plug it stops clicking, but I still get no spark 

[sutty2006]

I don’t remember this relay in place on the manual 2.2i that I restored some years ago. Possibly the auto transmission cut out relay? So it can’t be started in gear? It’s currently in park….. 

[Zelandeth]

I'd expect a neutral safety switch to interrupt the starter circuit rather than ignition.

Back to basics.  Check if you've got power to the positive of the coil with the ignition on, then if so see if you've got a ground that switches on and off when cranking on the other terminal of the coil.  

If either of those things are missing, chase it from there.

Guessing this has some form of electronic ignition rather than points in the distributor?

[sutty2006]

Yes it’s all electronic. I’ll have to bring my decent multimeter back from work on Thursday so I can have a crack at it again. Check the basics like you said. 

[ETCHY]

6 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

I have a sneaky feeling that this oil leak has been present for some years before it was laid up.. possibly. Due to how shiny the chassis rail is next to where it’s dripping. I’ll need to put some stone chip and waxoil there before winter. 
 

so I took the speedo drive gear out, it felt a little loose in the back of the gearbox. I’ve replaced the o ring, cleaned it and refitted

 

 

new o ring on

 

refitted the cable and drained the manky dark auto fluid out. Bought a 5 litre tub of it yesterday so that I can drain and refill the box a few times. 
 

also replaced the nearside front outer track rod end. These have two each side because they are steering box setup with an idler on the passenger side. It was seized solid, so the whole thing came off and into the vice. 
 

measure it up

 

swear at it for 20 minutes

 

 

 

and eventually came free. 
 

 

have put wheel back on and lowered it to the ground. I want to get it moving again so I can put it closer to the house for welding the inner wings up. Blowy as fuck outside today!

Nice vice, not a make i'm familiar with either. Any chance of more pics/ do you know anything about it ?
(Apologies i'm a vice geek 😉)

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

Yes it’s all electronic. I’ll have to bring my decent multimeter back from work on Thursday so I can have a crack at it again. Check the basics like you said. 

Even just a 12V test lamp will do just fine for proving the above, doesn't need to be anything fancy.

[sutty2006]

I’ve got power to the coil, but I’ve no power when cranking. 
 

This random relay has 12v to it. But nothing when cranking. When you stop cranking, 87a gets power briefly before cutting out. I have taken the relay to an electrician to be checked over. 

also currently looking for a replacement as well.

 

[Zelandeth]

Intriguing...at a glance I'm assuming that's looking for a threshold voltage before turning something on, or is a timer.  Though why you'd use separate caps, resistors and a amplifier for that rather than just a 555 I don't know.

Do you have a wiring diagram for the car and/or if ignition and starter circuits?  Shouldn't be too difficult to figure out what that relay does with that.

[sutty2006]

2 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Intriguing...at a glance I'm assuming that's looking for a threshold voltage before turning something on, or is a timer.  Though why you'd use separate caps, resistors and a amplifier for that rather than just a 555 I don't know.

Do you have a wiring diagram for the car and/or if ignition and starter circuits?  Shouldn't be too difficult to figure out what that relay does with that.

I used to have a Haynes manual for a mk1 facelift but can’t remember if I gave it away or not in my last “I’m never having another one of those!” Episodes.