Ruffgeezer's driveway journal - 04/12/2024 Sheered bad luck

[ruffgeezer]

This is partially for the interest of you folks, but also for me as my memory is selective at best.

Current state of affairs:

Audi A6 3.0 Tdi Avant

• Weep of fuel around high pressure pump
• rear springs saggy
• towbar electrics untested
• rh window switch pack intermittent

Hyundai Getz 1.5d

• Front ARB inner D bushes worn
• NSF strut top mount bush worn

Volvo V70 D5

• Sluggish during cold starts

Ax Vts

• Where to even start? Off the road for years now currently identifies as a shelf in the garage.

I will update the various dramas as they unfold, but I wanted to keep my shite seperate from the sideline motors that I have occasionally.

[wuvvum]

Ooh, another diesel Getz on the forum.  Excellent.

[ruffgeezer]

It came in as a non-runner last year and since I fixed it, it has been providing sterling service save for the light knocking from somewhere that I'm hoping the ARB bushes will solve.

[Marshall2810]

That AX 😍 

[Tenmil Socket]

Much want! What's the plans for it?

[JJ0063]

10 hours ago, ruffgeezer said:

 

Ax Vts

• Where to even start? Off the road for years now currently identifies as a shelf in the garage.

I will update the various dramas as they unfold, but I wanted to keep my shite seperate from the sideline motors that I have occasionally.

How long have you had this? I feel like I remember seeing this maybe 12/13 years ago back in the 106oc days?!

[ruffgeezer]

It'll be 10 years in March, it belonged to my late best mate before that,  I think he bought it from the first owner (through me) around 20 years ago when I still worked in Dunmow and spotted the advert on eBay, it was 1/2 a mile away from the supplying dealer!

 

[JJ0063]

24 minutes ago, ruffgeezer said:

It'll be 10 years in March, it belonged to my late best mate before that,  I think he bought it from the first owner (through me) around 20 years ago when I still worked in Dunmow and spotted the advert on eBay, it was 1/2 a mile away from the supplying dealer!

 

Sorry to hear about your friend, would he have been a forum type? I just feel I saw this or something very similar years ago on the 106 owners club forum?

[grizz]

Threads like this are great for recording your thoughts and experiences. 
 

nice collection 

[ruffgeezer]

1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:

Sorry to hear about your friend, would he have been a forum type? I just feel I saw this or something very similar years ago on the 106 owners club forum?

He was famously inactive on the Axoc forum, he'd be logged on all the time but only ever posted once, that was him all over really.  Fantastic guy that very few were lucky enough to meet.

[HillmanImp]

On the Audi, the electrics are in the o/s cubby hole in the boot. They didn't work when I got it but I do remember getting them working. Whether they still do is another matter of course. 

Didn't now about the fuel leak. Hopefully nothing too bad? I do worry about selling cars to people on here with actual mechanical knowledge as unless its something thats happened to me before, with my limited skills and knowledge I only know somethings wrong when it actually blows up. 

[ruffgeezer]

1 hour ago, HillmanImp said:

On the Audi, the electrics are in the o/s cubby hole in the boot. They didn't work when I got it but I do remember getting them working. Whether they still do is another matter of course. 

Didn't now about the fuel leak. Hopefully nothing too bad? I do worry about selling cars to people on here with actual mechanical knowledge as unless its something thats happened to me before, with my limited skills and knowledge I only know somethings wrong when it actually blows up. 

It's just one of those things, don't sweat it. I did a diagnostic test on it and found a duff glow plug and both inner PDC sensors are moody.  When I get a chance I shall investigate properly, but I've been attending the 207 which has had an intermittent non start issue for some time.  I removed the underbonnet fusebox and when I tipped it over to unplug it, I got a hand full of water.

[ruffgeezer]

After sorting the brakes on a neighbour's Outlander,  I took a look under the Getz as the brake pedal felt rather longer the last time I used it...

All rather damp here.  The washers on the banjo bolt were so corrded they had just disintegrated!  The local motor factor Spilsby Motor Spares keeps all these in stock so I took the Outlander for a road test and matched some new copper washers to the banjo bolt.  I replaced the washers on the other caliper too.

The Audi I managed to get a set of low pressure fuel pipes for, only to find that rhe German dickhead who removed them has cut about 3" off of one of them.  Definitely not the set pictured in the advert!

They are now useless.  I shall clean the pump up whilst I await a refund and see what occurs.

In other news, the former @mercedade 207 has been cured of it's cutting out/ non-starting.  In the end a replacement underbonnet fuse box seems to have done the trick.

[mercedade]

That's excellent news - really pleased to hear it. Any clues as to why it was so wet in the first place? The carpets inside used to get soaked, and the car was cutting out. I fixed the wet carpets, and the fault seemingly moved to non-starts.

Had I just displaced the water issue?

[ruffgeezer]

They are seemingly prone to water wicking up the wiring harness and into that fuse box, the box didn't look too bad on the outside- in really bad cases it'll rot the pins off of the fuse box and leave them in the end of the wiring loom. 

To be honest it was bloody lucky that it failed this way and allowed an early fix, I've had to repair wiring looms due to the pins being stuck in them in the past!

[ruffgeezer]

On the Audi front, I've cleaned and dried the pump and found the low pressure line (clear one on the left of the picture) had quite a bit of slack in the banjo bolt.

That's not to say it was loose, but certainly less tight than any of the other fittings.

I've also found a split in one of the breather hoses, I can't tell how deep it goes but it is oily around these parts.

[ruffgeezer]

Here is the cause,  I'll give it a bit of a tickle with the angry grinder to protect the new hose.  Forty fucking quid!

[ruffgeezer]

A quick update then - 

The Audi I finally got to grips with, the breather hoses and turbo inlet seal have been changed, the lower bolt securing the inlet flange to the turbo wasn't the tightest and the seal had gone hard, so this should deal with the oily mess.

I replaced the seals on the top head of the injector pump and it seems the diesel smell has been cured.

Long term I'm afraid it needs to go as my back is too fucked to be getting in and out of it regularly, I had been using the Getz for daily duties but...

...Yeah that decided to have a wobbly the other day too.  It  disnt feel quite right when going to work, and then it would not rev at all.

I managed to limp it the last 5 miles to work, and after it had cooled the problem seemingly went away.  It still didn't feel quite right the following morning when I went home, so an investigation of the throttle flap was in the cards.

This is a vacuum operated flap that I suspect had stuck partially closed due the the build up of shite. @wuvvum it might be worth checking yours if yoy still have it? I may well blank the EGR too for good measure.  I'll have to make a new gasket for the throttle valve before refitting it too, there are plenty of amazon cartons here for that.

 

15/08/24 @wuvvum re-tagging here ref: stuttering Getz

[RoverFolkUs]

On 05/02/2024 at 07:44, ruffgeezer said:

In other news, the former @mercedade 207 has been cured of it's cutting out/ non-starting.  In the end a replacement underbonnet fuse box seems to have done the trick.

Was this the one that wouldn't talk to OBD scanners, if so did it cure that as well, out of interest?

[ruffgeezer]

Tell you the truth I didn't have an issue with it talking to my scanner from what I recall.

[ruffgeezer]

Getz back together today, throttle plate housing gasket made up from the side of a top mount carton.

Can't talk to it properly with my generic cheapo scanner (this seems to be a known issue) and I couldn't get the old laptop with Delphi on to fire up at all,  so I may have to go searching for another copy of the clone software to install on the newer machine.

If anyone has any hints for Delphi please pm me.

[ruffgeezer]

Well its been a very hectic few weeks here,  the V70, in its quest for more attention, needed a pair of rear springs and arb links.

These are big and scary looking, but I managed to change them by jacking up under the rear arms, pulling the inner bolts out and letting the spring off with the jack.  Refitting was the reversal of removal, only with far more swearing.

I've also since replaced the front arms, what stupid git decided to redesign the front arms - the lock stops are now riveted on which meant it took as long to recover those as it did getting the arms changed.

It still creaks from the back suspension as the arb fouls the rear arm.

The other side has a reasonable gap...

I still haven't got the Hyundai sorted - there is an air leak at the EGR pipe and around the throttle plate, causing the ECU to think the EGR is stuck open.

[ruffgeezer]

Another arrival today,  the XC70 is in the naughty corner - lots of minor issues are heading rapidly to 'death by a thousand cuts'.

This one has been sat up for years down my street, and with the owners moving away soon, I thought I'd try and secure it's future.

It's a 2.0 V6 Auto classic, timing belt done a few years back but less that 10k ago.

A faded from the wing care of a clumsy British Gas engineer. 

Interior is tired and peeling in places, it does have a lovely head unit fitted though.

There isn't much history sadly, but the present owner had owned it 21 years, so I think it's a case of having been looked after but not having the book stamped.

This one is a fairly early model, pre-project drive and benefits from a lot of unusual extras, including the built in swimming pool...

Plan is to get a couple of fresh tires fitted and chuck it in for an MOT.

It's not going to be long term one, get it tested, give the owner his plate back, small service and roffle most likely.

[KruJoe]

That should tidy up nicely.
Love the giffer knob!

[ruffgeezer]

Scrubbed up reasonably well- part worn fitted to the NSF, fresh wipers and a few bulbs. I'm not doing much more until the mot man has had his turn with it.

 

[ruffgeezer]

Did a little more on it today, changed a knackered exhaust rubber,  dried out the boot and vacuumed out all the foam that the bastard mice had chewed up.

It'll want a new boot carpet ideally as the wood underneath has warped.

I also had it up to temperature to check the rad fan operation and the heaters all worked.

[ruffgeezer]

A morning visit to Windley's at Tattershall was slightly disappointing - no jacking point covers to be had at all, no interior lights in fact not much of owt at all really!

We did happen upon a caravan identical to ours so had a merry time liberating a lot of trim bits from it.

What I did find for the 75 was a pair of map pockets, which replaced the fuck awful seatbacks that had been reglued once already.  I came out of removing those looking like I'd given a hand job to a Wotsit monster.

The blue sticks lut a bit, granted but does compliment the exterior, or somthing.

Mrs Ruff was on dash cleaning duties.

[ruffgeezer]

Well I took the Rover for an MOT yesterday- mixed results really although I knew what sort of afternoon I was in for when I caught the exhaust on a lump in the road and cracked the centre silencer.

It's going to need a welded repair to the NSR sill, the exhaust fixing, a brake pipe for the NSF and a drop link on the OSF.

Not at all bad really, I've booked it in for the welding next Tuesday.  Brake pipe is off but I broke my vintage flaring kit trying to make a new one so a Chinese kit is due with me later today.

[ruffgeezer]

Well no thanks to the chinese flaring kit, which was fucking shite and has since been returned to vendor, the Rover now has a new brake pipe.  I reckon it'll want another go round bleeding it though as the pedal doesn't feel quite right.

I also replaced the droplink with the torn rubber boot - whichever Longbridge twat who signed off of that bit of design must have laughed all the way to the picket lines - what an utterly unnecessary arsehole of a job that was.

In XC70 news, a set of tyres is awaiting fitment.

The exhaust repair has been 85% successful - it is still a bit woofly when running but I really don't want to buy a new cat for a missing flange.

I've replaced a rear droplink and need one more for the front, the PAS leak has been fixed and I've replaced the buggered light switch.   I'm not sure how much more I want to do with it, I like the car but can't help but think long term I should keep the V70 or sell both and get a fresher XC.

 

[ruffgeezer]

Taxed this smelly little bugger today after spending all afternoon changing both front arms and front droplinks.

It's already marked it's territory at home, but I'm hopeful a new sump plug will sort that.   It's going for a set of part worns to deal with the noisy rears (some odd tyre wear on the inner edges - sounded a bit like a wheel bearing at first)  and the worn fronts that @straightSix warned me about.

I'll have the wheel alignment rechecked as well.