ULEZ Expansion Solution* - Skoda Estelle , Czech it out

[wesacosa]

10 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

The pipes in the tunnel are metal (at least were on mine) though there is a hose running between the riser where it comes out and the heater matrix which can (and do) leak.  

Indeed can let go when you're doing 70 and douse your left ankle in scalding hot coolant.  Wakes you up quite effectively that one.

If it's still present, be VERY careful removing the plastic shield that covers those hoses, they were incredibly fragile and nigh on impossible to find intact 20 years ago when I got my first Estelle.

the hose is rubber, it looks like heater hose and judging by its look and the clips on it , its original

Where is the shield you mention?

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

the hose is rubber, it looks like heater hose and judging by its look and the clips on it , its original

Where is the shield you mention?

This one.

Which may well already be missing.  Most are.

[wesacosa]

ah ok gotcha. ta.  No its still there! although small crack in corner not sure if I caused that taking carpet up or not 😳

The leak is actually further back. can't quite see in pictures but this is the cover behind the handbrake and there are two rubber hoses running through there 

 

[Zelandeth]

Ah, I've never done battle with the plumbing at that end I'm afraid so can't offer any hints there.

Good the trim panel is still there at the front, only one of mine has ever had it.

[RayMK]

Me neither.  Mine all left at least 17 years ago and still had intact waterworks.  I did have to fiddle with the Rapid 135Ric gear selector rod in that tunnel because the rubber bushes at the rear end had disintegrated. Removal of the rod looked impossible without getting the engine out, so I replaced the bushes with solid metal - bolts, spacers and washers - which surprisingly worked without any apparent downside.  Master cylinders required attention on a couple of the cars but they are easy to get at. One job I could not do was replace the rear wheel bearings on the Rapid. It had the semi-trailing arm suspension which was also shared with some of the later Estelles.  My garage said they were the most difficult ones he'd ever experienced in his 40 years career.  

 

 

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, RayMK said:

Me neither.  Mine all left at least 17 years ago and still had intact waterworks.  I did have to fiddle with the Rapid 135Ric gear selector rod in that tunnel because the rubber bushes at the rear end had disintegrated. Removal of the rod looked impossible without getting the engine out, so I replaced the bushes with solid metal - bolts, spacers and washers - which surprisingly worked without any apparent downside.  Master cylinders required attention on a couple of the cars but they are easy to get at. One job I could not do was replace the rear wheel bearings on the Rapid. It had the semi-trailing arm suspension which was also shared with some of the later Estelles.  My garage said they were the most difficult ones he'd ever experienced in his 40 years career.  

 

 

You *can* get it out.  Just.

My 135 RiC snapped the linkage rod at the gear lever end - thankfully in 3rd gear so I could limp the car into a safe location.

It required a lot of swearing, jacking of the engine and brute force, but you can just get the selector rod in and out.  Whether you *should* is another matter given the amount of force was involved!

[wesacosa]

noticed the voltage regulator didn't look like one I saw in another picture. Seems its an after market. Took it off and found what every shite car purchaser fears, someone elses bodged wiring.  Hoping they have just cut the plug off and soldered it to the loom of the new regulator but who knows. Crappy Haynes wiring doesn't give wire colours too so this could be fun

I think this car is going to be a lot more work than I bargained for.  I also think I overpaid for it as its not quite as nice as I remembered. Still, onwards and upwards. Should be done just in time to start paying Khunt £12.50 every time I drive it

 

[wesacosa]

A bit of further poking around and my suspicion was confirmed. The black box attached to the voltage regulator fixings isn't an after market VR but the control box for the 90s aftermarket immobiliser. There are two black wires and a white wire which run from the immobiliser key switch to the black box. They run along the floor and through a grommet in the rear bulkhead. Somewhere between the bulkhead and the engine compartment they pick up two thicker brown wires and all go to the control box. Looking at the alternator its not original so I assume it must have a built in regulator otherwise the car has no regulator (Which may explain why it keeps blowing washer pump motors?) I can't find an sign of the original plug or wires that went to the OEM regulator. 

Given it looks like a professional* installation I am now less worried about random bits being arsed about with but I think I will try and figure out how it works so I can remove it and have one less thing to potentially leave me stranded by the side of the m25. Surely can't be that hard to remove?!

[wesacosa]

not as much progress as I'd hoped.  Lots of time waiting for bits to arrive.  I have binned off the Immobiliser as it turns out all it did was interrupt the ignition switch to solenoid. I fitted new ignition system and Gammatonix power driver ilo the condenser.  I now going through replacing fuel hoses and rebuilding the carb. lots of crispy rubber to be found

 

[wesacosa]

Still not managed to get it running yet. Ignition system all done and carb now stripped, cleaned, serviced and back together but really struggling to get the float height set. Manual gives two values one for the horizontal settings when the tab just resting on the valve ball and the othet when you push float fully down. I just can't seem to get them both in the box. spent about three hours today fiddling with it but no closer..Super frustrating as time to the ULEZ deadline and FoTu is ticking away 

[wesacosa]

Bit of a blow today. Got the carb rebuild done but looks like the lid is bent out of shape ( a common issue apparently). I had checked the surfaces with a set square during stripdown but had somehow missed this.  Really gutting as I'm not sure how easy its going to be to resolve but probably final nail in the FoTU coffin

Shame as the carb was looking really good other than that compared to when I got it 

 

[somewhatfoolish]

Bodge it with goo?

[RayMK]

@wesacosaUnfortunately of no help to you at all, but after reading your post above I thought I'd better check my garage to see if any Skoda spares remained.  I rarely spend time in the garage these days and could not remember exactly what I had got rid of about 4 years ago.  Sadly, it seems as though I was remarkably thorough.  No Skoda parts at all,  so the three or so Jikovs which I had must have gone to the chap at Stanford Hall.   I would have thought that a decent used carb could be found if the warped flange cannot seal.  Perhaps a double gasket and/or a suitable sealant would get you going temporarily? 

Again, no help to you but I found four Solex 26AIC Reliant sv carbs in today's search. I knew I had three so the fourth must be the result of an illicit breeding programme.

[wesacosa]

thanks for checking @RayMK much appreciated.  Suggestions on the forum seem to indicate that either you can have it machined flat of heated and bent straight with a vice. rest of carb surfaces seem ok so might pop it down to the machine shop and see what they suggest 

 

[Tepper]

Could you lap it flat on a pane of glass with some wet & dry? Shouldn't take too long on a part like that so long as it's not mega warped.

[wesacosa]

1 minute ago, Tepper said:

Could you lap it flat on a pane of glass with some wet & dry? Shouldn't take too long on a part like that so long as it's not mega warped.

yeah maybe. Although I'm wondering if heating/bending might be worth a try first

[vaughant]

13 minutes ago, Tepper said:

Could you lap it flat on a pane of glass with some wet & dry? Shouldn't take too long on a part like that so long as it's not mega warped.

I would do that...

10 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

yeah maybe. Although I'm wondering if heating/bending might be worth a try first

Before you do that.

After sanding flatter you can then in theory for a thicker gasket/goo to take up the difference but not affect internal dimensions much (not sure how vital they are).

I suppose adding some heat initially and perhaps a lump of wood/soft mallet on top might help it get closer?

I'd worry with my hamfistedness that I'd crack or break something though 😬😬.

[wesacosa]

30 minutes ago, vaughant said:

I would do that...

Before you do that.

After sanding flatter you can then in theory for a thicker gasket/goo to take up the difference but not affect internal dimensions much (not sure how vital they are).

I suppose adding some heat initially and perhaps a lump of wood/soft mallet on top might help it get closer?

I'd worry with my hamfistedness that I'd crack or break something though 😬😬.

The trouble with removing material is that the top gasket is really complex with lots of tiny cutouts so not easy to make a thicker one. Also they are really fussy about float height so would make that more difficult to set.  Either way I don't think I am going to attempt anything myself as I will 100 percent guaranteed make matters worse. I will ask the local machine shop for advice 

[uk_senator]

1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

The trouble with removing material is that the top gasket is really complex with lots of tiny cutouts so not easy to make a thicker one. Also they are really fussy about float height so would make that more difficult to set.  Either way I don't think I am going to attempt anything myself as I will 100 percent guaranteed make matters worse. I will ask the local machine shop for advice 

I would also be looking at sanding it flat, as long as nothings protruding further in.. It doesn't have to be immaculately flat as the gasket will make up for minor discrepancies, & maybe making a second gasket out of card.. It can be fiddly, but do-able with a scalpel (done it numerous times on Webers).

[wesacosa]

my thinking was that it hasn't worn out of shape, it was bent out of shape by the air filter housing bolt being over tightened, so was thinking it might be easier to have them heat it and bend it back into shape rather than mess around flattening it, then making new gasket, then potentially have to fiddle with the float height etc.

[Mr Pastry]

12 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

my thinking was that it hasn't worn out of shape, it was bent out of shape by the air filter housing bolt being over tightened, so was thinking it might be easier to have them heat it and bend it back into shape rather than mess around flattening it, then making new gasket, then potentially have to fiddle with the float height etc.

Is the gasket actually leaking though?  If not, just put it back and try it.   Top bit is basically a lid for the float chamber, so it is below fuel level in operation (or should be) and doesn't have to seal that well.    The float chamber is not pressurised.  If it is leaking, then I would try flatting it - doesn't have to be 100 percent flat as long as you can improve matters so it pinches the gasket.   Trying to bend it, with or without heat, is quite likely to crack it and even if successful, some flatting will still be needed afterwards.   Float height will be affected whatever you do, but it isn't super-critical on most carbs.   

[wesacosa]

i'm just going by what I am being told on the Old Skoda forums. Apparently the warped lid and drawing air in is the number one reason these carbs don't run right 

[wesacosa]

Well I think its time to accept I am going to miss my goal of having this done for FoTU.  Combination of more work than I first thought, my slow working, lots of stuck and snapped fixings and waiting around for parts to arrive

Next goal is to have it done before that c**t charges me 12.50 to use it

 

[RayMK]

@wesacosaAt least you are making progress.  It will be good to see an Estelle back on the road.  

I have been saying that I'm going to sell my 1961 Reliant Regal for the last three years but have done very little to make it happen.  This year's window of opportunity is closing.  I can't even remember what mojo is, let alone find it again.  You are doing ok by comparison.

[rob88h]

11 hours ago, wesacosa said:

That looks like progress to me! It always gets worse before it gets better. 

[wesacosa]

I decided to try and find out a bit more about the supplying dealer for this when I was bored today. 

Still has the dealer sticker and plates for William's of Worksop. A google search had already shown it was no longer a garage

but I joined a Worksop Facebook group to see if anyone had any photos of it when it was a Skoda dealer.  Sadly nobody has but I did get a picture of it from circa 1981 (although it looks older so maybe not an accurate date)

However I did get an added bonus.  A chap recognised the registration number as one owned from new by his friends father and remembered having lifts home in it as a child.. I had thought it was bought new by the lady who's name is in the service book but I looked again on carbaba and it changed hands in 1992. I looked again and held it up to the light and the name in the book is a sticker and there is another name written underneath.  This person confirmed the friends dad owned it from new in 1990 and traded it back in to Williams of Worksop for a Favorit in 1992. So the lady in the book then bought it as a used car and ran it until circa 1994/5 before giving up driving and it staying in the garage until 2011 (which I already knew)

best of all this chap had a photo of it from when the first owner had it.. posting a cropped photo here as it has the previous owner and his children in the pics so don't want to post without his permission. But the cars the interesting bit anyway.  It still had the foglight grille but the pics confirm the lower fogs are the reason I found a second relay and some wires buried in the front bumper crash bar

The car has been fighting me a lot this last few weeks but things like this spur me on to keep going 

[daverapid]

I haven't been on Autoshite for ages. So good to return and find this topic featuring my all time favourite [not favorit] car! 

[High Jetter]

48 minutes ago, daverapid said:

I haven't been on Autoshite for ages. So good to return and find this topic featuring my all time favourite [not favorit] car! 

Welcome back.

[wesacosa]

I decided it was better to send the carb off to someone who knows what they are doing. Initial report back this morning.  The lid is indeed warped as thought, but quite badly (2mm deflection in the centre). His expert eye also spotted what I missed, the base is also warped slightly 

Apparently when the airbox is over tightened it first pulls the lid out of shape but then over time can distort the rest of the carb. 

prognosis seems to be mixed.  He thinks he can machine the base flat. Apparently they do have one small machining in them before they are scrap. He is going to try and heat and reshape the lid but he thinks 2mm is probably too far gone so might need a replacement.  The good news is the top of the carb body is not warped because that's usually goodnight Vienna

 

As for the rest of the car, its still waiting for me to get out of my ULEZ sulk and start putting the cooling system back together, cleaning back and treating the floorpan and putting the interior back in

 

[wesacosa]

Got a message today that the carb is now done and ready to be posted back.  He wasn't able to fix the lid so he has found me a good used lid, he ended up having to machine 0.5mm off the base as it was worse than we thought. He also found the fuel shut off solenoid was bent slightly and not sealing and the 2nd stage spindle was too tight so needed freeing up.