Turbo coolant supply

[epipete]

Well, deep joy

Two banjo bolts arrived in the post this morning and 5 minutes later they were installed in the car, so despite my sweating on this it was the bolts that were shot, rather than the turbo threads, all along. My only concern now is how much to tighten them

There is now a very real risk that I might finish this 'project' this weekend (but I'm not holding my breath )

Pete

[Fredjohn]

Well persevered Pete. Just a little bit longer and you WILL be back on the road.

After all the England cricket team did manage to win in Oz this week: miracles do happen!!!

[epipete]

Very funny John (but I probably deserve it )

I shall just have to wait a bit longer for that miracle though as I appear now to have a leaking Radiator ah well it's still raining so no matter on the extra delay.

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Well, deep joy

Two banjo bolts arrived in the post this morning and 5 minutes later they were installed in the car, so despite my sweating on this it was the bolts that were shot, rather than the turbo threads, all along. My only concern now is how much to tighten them

There is now a very real risk that I might finish this 'project' this weekend (but I'm not holding my breath )

Pete

Great news! As long as you don't use a really long wrench, you should be able to tighten them until snug and then give each a single "grunt pull" and they will be tight enough. I would expect 20 ft/lbs (27nm).

When I first started repairs (back in the neanderthal era), I used to use a beam type torque wrench and a long (10 inch) wrench that fit the square at the socket end and I would practice the amount of "pulling" I needed to make the torque I wanted. I know it is kind of primitive, but I always feared I would snap something. You mount the torque wrench in a bench vice (or clamp it with a coulple pairs of mole grips to something sturdy and pull on the wrench until the needle points to the torque you want. Practice a little and when you are comfortable, give the two banjo bolts a try.

Are you sure the radiator is leaking and not one of the new Samco hoses? The silicone hoses take a lot of squeezing to make a tight seal and you might need to tighten the hose clamps a little bit more?

[epipete]

Well, a week further on whilst I removed the old rad and awaited another which arrived late yesterday pm, and now all back together again; and more critically, the coolant is now replaced and despite a few gremlins when I tried to fire it up, it started on the third attempt!

For fear of disturbing the neighbours at this time of night I've now switched it off but I'm pretty relieved this evening! Tomorrow however it'll be off the stands and I'll need to ensure the new fans cut in as per requirements, that the gears (which feel a bit stiff) all engage correctly (though they move, even reverse, through the gate ok) under drive and re tighten various hose clamps.

But, again, thanks for all the help thus far.

Pete

[epipete]

Well, it's now all back together, and I have 5 gears + reverse; a couple, occasionally, seem a bit difficult to engage but that might me me being unused to it!

I'll have a run about this weekend and see if I think it is ok or if I need further adjustment.

Thanks again

Pete.

[HJ2]

Happy driving!

Hope the problems with selecting gears is between the ears indeed

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Good to hear. Now, go have some fun...

[epipete]

Ok, unsorned the car today at 11:45am, drove to local shop and got pulled by the police at 11:55am 'ellow Sir, is this your car and is it taxed?' 'Yes officer about 5minutes ago'. But of course the confirmation hadn't come through to my mobile phone, fortunately by the time he'd inspected my Insurance and MoT the DVLA confirmation came through. He then tried to check if I'd been driving it whilst SORN however whatever technology he was attempting to connect to wasn't playing ball so he said 'since I look honest he'd take my word for it' - cheeky bugger, no wonder they are under admired.

Well had a good run in the car, gears are about 95%. I seem to have some difficulty in engaging 1st & 2nd still, insomuch as I have to press the gear stick hard against the left extreme and pull up or down to engage the gears, 2nd seems worse, on occasion I stalled by selecting 4th when I thought it was 2nd .

Still o/s are the cooling fans, It sounds as though a relay is clicking somewhere when they are earthed but they don't seem to fire up otherwise. Notwithstanding the need to sort this out, is there any way of putting a manual fan switch somewhere in the cabin to engage the fans at will? Or is this not advised?

Pete

[Brit-Car-Nut]

Well had a good run in the car, gears are about 95%. I seem to have some difficulty in engaging 1st & 2nd still, insomuch as I have to press the gear stick hard against the left extreme and pull up or down to engage the gears, 2nd seems worse, on occasion I stalled by selecting 4th when I thought it was 2nd . Pete

Adjust the rod end at the crossgate to make it longer. If you don't think you have enough thread, you can remove the adapter from the rod end and thread a regular 8mm nut on the thread and then reassemble it. If you do that, you will have to "shorten" the effective length so it stretches just beyond the hole in the lever when you hold it all the way up.

[epipete]

Finally adjusted them today & all is now great, thanks John. That said, does the clutch auto adjust as I noticed on a couple of the many occasions I changed gears whilst out today a 'catching' as I selected 3rd?

[Brit-Car-Nut]

The clutch doesn't auto-adjust. Here are the instructions:

[Fredjohn]

There is also a second adjustment to be made. The strong dual articulated piston/lever that operates the pedal is known to weaken with age.
To adjust either slide the seat forward to increase leverage on pedal and allow pedal to fully depress. Alternatively the piston/lever can be strengthened by gentle exercise on a bike or even sitting on a sofa. Simply attach a 2kg bag of frozen peas to the lower articulated joint then raise the lever at the higher joint.

Hope this is not too technical and is of use Pete.

Good luck!

[KevB]

Thank you for that quite chuckle...I recognized the symptoms!

[epipete]

Hope this is not too technical and is of use Pete.

Good luck!

Exercises are now scheduled in to my busy routine, but, of course, you are right and as my Dad used to say 'age comes with friends'; in recent years I discovered that my glasses gave me perfect distance sight when driving but I could only guess at my speed because all the dash dials were blurred!!!

[epipete]

Well despite the divergence in to other matters (prongeron misalignment, gear cables et al) now back on track with this thread and my long term Turbo coolant problems!

The car is now up with the Mechanic, he finds (as I had come to conclude) that the threads on the turbo are 'screwed' (no pun intended) and as such will need to come out and be assessed & repaired, on the positive point, the manifold will also be removed and the broken heat shield bolts/studs can all be removed and replaced.

Despite the expense, whilst it's out, is there any real benefit in replacing the old cast iron exhaust down pipe with the new Piper down pipe, I am still open loop presently? I am aware of various concerns over the Piper replacement re airflow etc. is there any compatability issues re the PNM SS exhaust currently on he car?

Again, whilst the turbo is out is there anything else that is best done in this area whilst there is room?

Anyway, that has screwed my attendance at Caring with Cars this weekend and may well have done the same with Castle Combe! Happy days!!!

Pete

[Jeemy]

With the turbo sitting the way it does, right at the front, it doesn't afford increased access to much except PAS and air box parts. Radiator fans and alloy radiator it gives you more space to do, but nothing that can't be done with it in place.

I've sent you a PM about the guys I used for my fexxored turbo thread who did a great job.

WRT the down pipe, its a nicer finish and I am not savvy enough (or have enough time on the road with it) to know if the airflow issues are too terrible. HJ has definitely worked out how to improve them and from memory its easy for anybody to do.

Its a shame with Pipers' recent plug on the forum they haven't addressed this further, as far as I recall their last statement was that it wasn't actually a problem in their opinion, salt to add as desired.

I'm pretty sure everybody will agree that closed loop offers substantial benefit.

[GeoffSmith]

Anyway, that has screwed my attendance at Caring with Cars this weekend ...

If you want a lift, Pinky will just have to go with Iain.

[dapinky]

Anyway, that has screwed my attendance at Caring with Cars this weekend ...

If you want a lift, Pinky will just have to go with Iain.

(PS - Geoff, I've got a set of caster shims and some cling-film stuff for the rear deck - are you expecting amything else from me???)

[epipete]

There is, I believe, a Steam Rally at Castle Combe this weekend, I may now attend that instead. Perhaps, living in the land of Brunel, a steam conversion is the answer to my woes!

Incidentally, Geoff, do you have a pair of B Pillar Caps for me, I can't recall who has them?!?