browntastic 604

[dieselnutjob]

I've got a complete,[and running, in use everyday] 505 GTDi saloon sitting here. £250 to an Autoshitist......you'll have to collect, mind.

 

they are actually quite nice. the 2.5 turbo ones are quick enough and a good motorway cruiser. the LHD ones sometimes had an intercooler and were good for 120bhp or something.

[Rocket88]

Funnily enough, it is a left hooker. On'e ye olde turbo spools up, it goes like the clappers.

[dieselnutjob]

recommissioning this 604 has become annoying

 

It's running on five cylinders again, but a new set of HT leads arrived in the post this week so bunged them on. No difference.

By elimination I narrowed it down to the right hand bank rear most cylinder.

New spark plugs were supposed to have arrived with the leads but Dean forget them and they haven't arrived, so I can't be arsed to take the old ones out yet.

New rear calipers also haven't arrived yet, and even if they do the seal kit I ordered from the US is still in the US.

It looks like it will be a waste of a bank holiday weekend. I suppose I could borrow the neighbours compression tester....

 

Also I ordered four new brake hoses but the rear ones were wrong and I had to send them back.

 

I looked at the new front calipers that were sitting in the boot.

Some idiot had not fitted the C clip properly over the rubber boot. I hope it's not indicative of a crap recon

 

Then I noticed that one of these springs was missing.

that's another £15 then

 

Lastly, I found another caliper in the boot. I don't think it's Peugeot. Anyone know what this is for?

[dieselnutjob]

oh

Google says 1972 Ford Transit

[Pete-M]

Funnily enough, it is a left hooker. On'e ye olde turbo spools up, it goes like the clappers.

 

Damn you. Send me pics.

[dieselnutjob]

Well today it seems to run on six cylinders again. Some of the HT leads are quite hard to push on properly with the air filter in place so maybe that was it.

Checked the dwell angles (carby 604s have two). They are spot on.

Checked that the points are pulling the coil voltage low. They are.

So then I tried to set the timing.

It seems to be set to 40 or 50 degrees advanced, it should be 10.

As I twist the distributor the engine quits at about 20 or 30 degrees advance.

Both banks seem to be the same (which is good).

I'm suspecting that someone has had the crank pulley off and put it back with the woodruff key missing.

I'll have to figure out where TDC is another way.

[504GL]

Checked with my dad, he's pretty sure he's got some calipers, he'll have a look around. Looked on the australia post website and 6kg's is just under £50 so it's not too scary but it is seamail so you best not be in a hurry!!!!! He says they've been reconditioned with new seals. So if your other calipers fall through let us know.

[dieselnutjob]

Progress so far.

 

Lights and wipers all working. New squirter pump and tubing fitted. New Bosch wiper blades to impress the MOT man.

However one of the earth blocks is rusty (it's a bolt with six 1/4" blades on the end, bolts through the body and gives six earth points). I took it off and gave it a wire brush but some of the lights still cut out if their earth spade is wiggled. Might look for new earth terminal, make temporary one by crimping earth loop, wire and spades, or bend the old one a bit to increase the squeeze of the terminals.

 

Front brakes on but rear brakes awaiting rebuild kit to arrive from the US. Also handbrake return spring missing with no solution at the moment.

 

New rotor arm, dizzy cap, HT leads and spark plugs fitted. The resistance of the points is low and the dwell angle correct so decided to leave the points alone. Engine is now running nicely.

 

Looks like the crank pulley has spun making timing marks useless. Apparently getting the woodruff key to stay in place when assembling is a bugger with these and the woodruff key probably ended up in the sump. To get the pulley off I'll have to take the radiator out and the rad fan off I was going to leave it but I have been advised that it will damage the crank if left. I'm guessing that finding a replacement woodruff key won't be easy.

 

As the wheels are off I tried the gears out and the transmission does seem to work with no nasty noises. I can select 1 or 2 and I get the gear expected. In 3 it does work it's way up through the gears as it should though obviously there is no load on it. The speedo works.

 

So I'm still a few weeks off getting this on the road but hoping I can do it before winter comes. Also I need to do enough work in the house that my wife doesn't get too pissed off. Luckily there is tennis on eurosport in the evenings so I'm free to get my work lamp and mess about with the car.

[mattblack]

I would think the woodruff key would be a standard size? I've got a load in the garage, if you know the size I could bung a couple in an envelope for you. Or I could just send you a selection of sizes...?

[dieselnutjob]

turns out the problem is me, not the car

 

if you look at the picture below I was using the mark that has paint on it, but there is another smaller mark on the edge of the pulley nearest the timing case.

I hadn't seen these ones hence the problem.

 

[504GL]

Front brakes on but rear brakes awaiting rebuild kit to arrive from the US. Also handbrake return spring missing with no solution at the moment.

 

If you get me a picture of it I might be able to get one from Australia?

[dieselnutjob]

the missing spring

[504GL]

Just talking to my dad on Skype. He says if they're the right springs you can have them for the cost of the postage.

[dieselnutjob]

Just talking to my dad on Skype. He says if they're the right springs you can have them for the cost of the postage.

 

I'm missing the spring from the left caliper. That said I bet I could make a right hand one fit.

 

I spent maybe three hours trying to time this thing up today. I think I probably got it good enough to drive to the MOT but it's not perfect.

 

Firstly the engine doesn't keep a contant RPM at idle and as it hunts up and down the timing moves around (yes I had the advance capsule disconnected).

 

Secondly, these engines are timed by twisting the distributor until cyl 1 times correctly, and then altering dwell angle of one of the points (it has two) until the other bank times up. The right hand points gap can be adjusted via an external screw for this purpose.

 

The trouble is that as the screw is tightened closing the points that works okay, but if it is loosened the points don't open up again unless you open up the distributer and shove over the plate with a screwdriver. It seems that something is sticking inside. Also the adjuster screw has some slight serrations, presumably to stop is turning by itself, this means that as you get near the points close up as the screw clicks over a serration but don't open up again as the screw falls into the valley on the other side. The result is that I got the two banks timed to within about 2 degrees of each other. One more 1/6 turn of the screw which is one click took me from -2 to +2.

 

To have another go I would have to loosen the screw right off, push it over with a screwdriver and start again (for the third time). Nuts to that.

 

Anyway I now have both banks timed to within maybe 3 degrees of where they are meant to be (10 deg advanced). Bank A has dwell angle spot on at 75 deg whilst B is a bit out of spec at 60 deg.

 

I'm sure it's good enough for now.

[504GL]

OK I'll see what I can do. If I don't get back to you then feel free to pester me via PM as I'm terrible for replying to people.

[dieselnutjob]

A package arrived from Dean Hunter this morning with the correct handbrake return spring in it. I didn't know that he had found one.

Thanks anyway.

[dieselnutjob]

I've had quite a few parcels arriving this week.
Some new door mirrors turned up from ebay.fr
The left mirror had snapped off and the right one was rotten. It turns out the replacement ones are a bit bigger. I'm not sure what they're meant for, maybe a 504 estate? Anyway I quite like big mirrors so maybe it's okay.

Old


New

Changed a sticking door lock (no pics).

This finally turned up from ebay in USA


So last night I took the rear calipers to bits
It turn about 2 hours of heating, levering and beating but they came apart alright.
I did get a lungfull of really nasty smoke that also stung my eyes, still it didn't seem to last. Also one of the plastic spaces caught fire but I don't think it will matter.


Only trouble is that one of the pistons is damaged. Not sure what to do about this.

[dieselnutjob]

I went to the MOT place near work that I use, the mechanic there is pretty experienced.

 

He said that if I sand that smooth with 1200 grit soaked in brake fluid to get any bur off that I'll get away with it. He reckons that they are chrome plated so unrepairable, so I guess there's nothing to loose.

[dieselnutjob]

A bit of a momentus afternoon. I drove browntastic 604 a few feet down the drive, and then reversed back up again, and stopped using its own brakes.

It's the first time it's moved under it's own power for a few years and the first time it's had working brakes in a decade or so.

One of the tyres is cracking up and the spare is flat, but once I've sorted that it'll be time to go and see how badly it fails an MOT.

[barrett]

Great news!

Good luck with the MOT

[Pete-M]

Winnah!

[dieselnutjob]

now I have a (minor) decision

I tried to pump up the spare and as it pumped up the sidewall bulged out so that's stuffed

so really I need two tyres if I'm gonna have a legal spare

 

also I have a set of brand new 15" alloys in the garage, and the special wheel nuts that a 604 needs for them

 

so I'm strongly tempted to get a pair of winter tyres on the steelies, and then in the spring I can hunt around for a set of part worn 15" normal tyres

 

steelies in the winter and alloys in the summer like

 

am I nuts for thinking of driving an ultra rare gallic barge at all in the winter? the previous owner told me that he just doesn't go out at all if it even rains, let alone salted roads.... I'm not talking about a daily but maybe drive it to work once a week for a treat.

 

certainly I am sold on the benefits of winter tyres as I have them on the 607, and if I am going to drive it through the winter it would be safer

[dieselnutjob]

oh and another thing

if I get some cheapo "Linglong" or "Nankang" winter tyres are they going to actually be any good? £40 each on mytyres

the tyres on the car say 175R14; that's the same as 175/80R14 isn't it?

[504GL]

oh and another thing

if I get some cheapo "Linglong" or "Nankang" winter tyres are they going to actually be any good? £40 each on mytyres

the tyres on the car say 175R14; that's the same as 175/80R14 isn't it?

 

Personally I'd go for something a bit more reputable than a Linglong. I have Vredestein Snowtrac 3's on the 500 and it's ridiculously good in the snow. They might be £15 extra each, but I'd buy the Vredestein's if it were my rare gallic barge

 

175/80 R14 is the closest size yes

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html

[dieselnutjob]

thanks

seems that mk4 Golfs sometimes have a 175/80R14 tyre as a steel spare. often little used and worth very little

decisions decisions

[dieselnutjob]

the idea if winter tyres is great but it will take weeks to get them, and I really want to drive this thing.

Got some used Vredestein Sprint+ on ebay that are at least in the UK and cheap too. Hope they turn up reasonably quickly.

The car has been on axle stands for weeks, I was just didn't occur to me that it would need tyres or take a bit of time to get them.

[RobT]

 

am I nuts for thinking of driving an ultra rare gallic barge at all in the winter? the previous owner told me that he just doesn't go out at all if it even rains, let alone salted roads.... I'm not talking about a daily but maybe drive it to work once a week for a treat.

 

 

Go for it, definitely. Sailing along in that on a cold, clear day in winter will make a day spent at work more bearable. And it'll probably benefit from a bit of light, but regular usage over the winter months.

[dieselnutjob]

I took it for an MOT today

 

 

 

 

I already fixed the horn and brake lights (which worked before I left home ).

I put a relay on the horn circuit which seems to have made it reliable, and adjusted the brake pedal switch.

 

The handbrake had 14% efficiency and needs 16% for a pass. Probably the pads aren't bedded to the disc yet, 604 handbrakes are crap anyway.

 

Got to MOT the wife's MPV tomorrow, otherwise I'd take it back straight away.

[RoadworkUK]

So it easily exceeds the standards of virtually all W210 E-Classes that we take in as p/x...

 

Good work, DNJ.

[Pete-M]

I just hope that your rear inner wheel arches are in a better state than mine were.... and mine looked ok until we started digging.