1987 Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.8L - Absolutely fascinating* discovery - see page 48

[lisbon_road]

3 hours ago, Peter C said:

Any ideas guys?

I reckon the non return valve in the master cylinder.  Mine completely lost brakes - thankfully in a place it didn't matter too much - and I got it back by pumping the pedal, then replaced the master and all was well.  

I note in your other thread that @sierramansuggests a hose issue.  Might be worth a set of hoses if they're original or ancient.  I replaced them on my 28 year old Astra recently and was amazed that although they worked, they were really horribly rusty at the ends.  

[Dobloseven]

It's a good feeling to use an old car as a daily driver sometimes.Used the Renault 25 for a couple of weeks late last year as a work vehicle when the Zafira was off the road with timing chain problems.Quite enjoyed it.Had a guy run over and tell me his manager had one and let him drive it when he worked for Alpine Soft Drinks.He thought it was a Nissan Bluebird though!

[beko1987]

Awww I was in Marlow on Thursday too, would love a lick of it 😂

[lisbon_road]

25 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

It's a good feeling to use an old car as a daily driver sometimes.Used the Renault 25 for a couple of weeks late last year as a work vehicle when the Zafira was off the road with timing chain problems.Quite enjoyed it.Had a guy run over and tell me his manager had one and let him drive it when he worked for Alpine Soft Drinks.He thought it was a Nissan Bluebird though!

Renault 25? Seriously? Wow, pictures please. 

[Peter C]

My three toys (aka money pits), first time together.

 

[Dobloseven]

4 hours ago, lisbon_road said:

Renault 25? Seriously? Wow, pictures please. 

Got a thread running on it!

[Peter C]

I’Ve decided that I’m not going to keep the Sierra outside where it will get rained and crapped on and covered in all sort of mess and ordered one of these:

If I’ve done my measurements correctly, the car port should fit nicely in the space outside my workshop.

Fingers crossed.

[lisbon_road]

11 minutes ago, Peter C said:

I’Ve decided that I’m not going to keep the Sierra outside where it will get rained and crapped on and covered in all sort of mess and ordered one of these:

If I’ve done my measurements correctly, the car port should fit nicely in the space outside my workshop.

Fingers crossed.

Probably very sensible.  I think we all know what happens to Sierras left outside.  Hope it works out well.  

[Peter C]

UPS delivered a big brown box this afternoon.

I opened up the box and laid out all the bits on the garage floor.

All the elements are clearly labelled and one look at the instructions booklet was enough to understand how they fit together.

Within 40 minutes, with the help of my wife to lift the roof structure, I achieved this.

Ok, I haven't aligned and tightened up the ridge bracing, nor have I installed the eaves bracing, or the roof tarp, or fixed the structure into the ground but it's looking good so far.

The outdoor parking space outside the workshop will now be fully covered by the car port.

Weather permitting, I will finish the installation this evening.

 

[Peter C]

It’s up. 

I will need to form solid connections along the four corners to the two gate posts and front of the garage to provide much needed bracing as stability is not a strong point but that’s a job for Saturday morning.

Whatever car will be parked under the car port will be adequately protected from rain, bird shit and crap that drops from the trees across the road.

[timolloyd]

Looks great. 
 

Do you need to/can you stake it into the ground? Been pondering one of these for my driveway.

[Peter C]

2 minutes ago, timolloyd said:

Do you need to/can you stake it into the ground? Been pondering one of these for my driveway.

Yes and yes.

I have fitted pegs into the ground, which secure the post bases but I haven’t fitted the heavy duty strings that should extend from the four upper corners down to ground level, hence the need for installation of the solid connections to the gate posts and garage. The solid connections will be far better than the strings.

[egg]

It looks like it has some wind protection on both sides with the fence and shed which should help, the winds we have down here near the coast would worry me with this kind of structure.

[N19]

I was going to say that maybe a cross brace or two to the fence and shed wouldn't go amiss - may prolong the life of the structure if it isn't allowed to flex so much? IANAJoiner, though.

[Peter C]

When I was assembling the car port yesterday evening, the air was still, there was no wind whatsoever. Earlier today, I looked out of the window and saw the trees across the road swaying in the wind. The car port was also moving around, too much for my liking. I quickly popped over to Homebase and bought some galvanised metal strips and a couple of packs of nuts and bolts. 

The metal strips were easy enough to cut in half and mould into shape, so that one end of each strip can wrap around the car port post. I started on the gate end of the car port first because that's the end that was moving around more and getting fixings into the timber gate posts is much easier than fixing the straps to the front of the garage.

I've fitted two straps per post.

Due to the positioning of the two car port posts in relation to the two gate posts, it was not possible to fix the straps in a straight line and each strap has to have a curve to it. This might not be a bad thing. If the connections were too rigid, movement of the car port could disturb the gate posts and cause them to break. The angled straps are sufficiently robust to keep the car port in place but also absorb some of the movement, rather than transmitting it directly to the timber posts. It's still windy now and the front of the car port looks nice and stable.

I will use the same method to secure the car port to the front of garage, however the process will involve removing the internal linings from the garage and providing a robust base to secure the fixings to, as the 2mm thick external cladding is definitely not up to the job. I will do this on Saturday.

In other (car!) news, this arrived today.

Job for Sunday.

 

 

 

[Peter C]

I’ve dismantled the internal plasterboard linings, fitted timber boards and battens to strengthen the structure and fitted four straps to the car port posts.

I’ve also added a couple of extra straps to the gate post connections.

The car port is now very securely fixed at all four corners, job done.

For less than £250, which includes the straps and associated fixings, the car port offers very good value for money. I recommend getting one but on the condition that you have structures around it to make the essential rigid connections.

[Peter C]

Right, back to the car.

I was planning on replacing the brake master cylinder today.

Access around the cylinder couldn't be any better.

I stuffed lots of rags under the cylinder, including an old pair of pyjamas, in case of spillages.

I used a syringe to remove as much brake fluid from the reservoir as possible.

What came out was shocking. Some of the fluid looked more like mud.

I removed the three pipe fixings and the two nuts that secure the cylinder to the servo, all nice and easy.

The cylinder is in shocking condition.

At this point I found out that the replacement cylinder is not the same as the old one.

The distance between the fixing holes on the old cylinder is 90mm and about 70mm on the replacement part.

Every eBay / AutoDoc / Google search points me in the direction of part number BBM 4068, which is the same as the replacement cylinder. From the listings, it appears that all Sierras, regardless of spec and age use the same cylinder. Apart from mine. 

I can't find any alternatives online.

What do I do?  

 

[egg]

Full list of OEM parts here...

[Peter C]

@egg

Thank you!

Looks like I need part number 6597017.

Do you agree?

[Peter C]

From AutoDoc:

Not good news.

[egg]

8 minutes ago, Peter C said:

Do you agree?

Not completely sure as that seems from 1.2.88 on? But the CVH doesn't have pre 88 listed 🤔

[Peter C]

4 minutes ago, egg said:

Not completely sure as that seems from 1.2.88 on? But the CVH doesn't have pre 88 listed 🤔

According to the eBay database, the cylinders are all the same for all Sierras but clearly that is not the case.

I am now looking into having mine refurbished. 

[egg]

4 minutes ago, Peter C said:

I am now looking into having mine refurbished. 

I notice the link I provided also has seal rebuild kits listed - but again - not sure what one!!

[Peter C]

32 minutes ago, egg said:

I notice the link I provided also has seal rebuild kits listed - but again - not sure what one!!

Considering how manky the brake fluid was, I doubt that a fresh set of seals would solve the problem. The cylinder needs a proper repair.

[egg]

It's a reminder though, that these cars are getting old (I know not in AS years!) and that even supposedly obvious parts for a standard Ford can be tricky.

[Jenson Velcro]

This is from a Lucas Girling brake catalogue dated 1991

[Scruffy Bodger]

21 hours ago, Peter C said:

I’ve dismantled the internal plasterboard linings, fitted timber boards and battens to strengthen the structure and fitted four straps to the car port posts.

I’ve also added a couple of extra straps to the gate post connections.

The car port is now very securely fixed at all four corners, job done.

For less than £250, which includes the straps and associated fixings, the car port offers very good value for money. I recommend getting one but on the condition that you have structures around it to make the essential rigid connections.

You've got all sorts going on there for lateral movement but what about vertical for when the wind gets properly gusty and gets underneath it? If I was attempting anything like that I'd be getting a couple of proper ratchet straps and chucking them over the top to keep it on the floor.

[Peter C]

Ok, I've had a look at the old cylinder.

The part number on the side of the cylinder is 74660862

The part number on the black plastic tag is 66315 04 38 / 62 09JW

Unfortunately, neither of these codes result in any helpful Google links.

 

[Peter C]

9 minutes ago, Scruffy Bodger said:

You've got all sorts going on there for lateral movement but what about vertical for when the wind gets properly gusty and gets underneath it? If I was attempting anything like that I'd be getting a couple of proper ratchet straps and chucking them over the top to keep it on the floor.

All agreed. I am proposing to have a couple of ratchet straps in place over the ridge beam (beneath the canvas), which, when the wind gets too much, I will hook onto two anchor points, one at each end, that I will fix into the ground with concrete. 

[Peter C]

Ok, from the part numbers, I know the part is made by Girling and these guys sell repair parts: https://www.powertrackbrakes.co.uk/