| Author |  Topic  |
Woody
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
2764 Posts |  Posted - 05 Aug 2011 : 21:54:28  
| | If I miss the postie it gets taken to Newark, 13 miles away. |  |
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pchristy
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
1790 Posts | Posted - 06 Aug 2011 : 08:18:41
| Cheers for the info John! I'm working today, but Ivy is going to go up to the PO and pick it up for me this morning.
I don't have a problem with the PO taking stuff back to the office - it isn't that far away after all - but I do have a problem with them closing half way through the day, and before the delivery van will have returned with the item in question!
Left hand: meet Right hand!!!
--
Pete
"Duct tape is like the Force: It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together!" | |
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pchristy
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
1790 Posts | Posted - 07 Aug 2011 : 09:33:05
| Yes, the parcel was the headlight bits! Many thanks John!
I see now why you sent the whole mounting! Just how did they get that bit in there??? Perhaps its gone hard with age?
If I have to replace the whole unit, it will probably have to wait until we get back from Italy - we're off in a week's time!
Cheers,
--
Pete
"Duct tape is like the Force: It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together!" | |
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pchristy
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
1790 Posts | Posted - 31 Dec 2011 : 09:46:54
| Finally got round to changing the water pump yesterday. The car is now MUCH quieter! Isn't it amazing how noisy a simple bearing failure can be?
What I can't understand is why it wasn't leaking! When I removed the old pump, the shaft was just flapping around (very noisily!) in what was left of the bearing! Yet it wasn't leaking!
Whilst I was at it, I changed all the hoses to silicone ones. The originals were looking well past their sell by date, and if the indicated mileage is accurate (which we believe it might be), then these could be the hoses that were fitted from new! One of the two short ones at the back of the cylinder block was so hard, I had to take a chisel to it to get it off! My grandson came over for some "work experience" to give me a hand, and seemed to enjoy himself getting oily and greasy up to his armpits! When we finally finished (about 7 o'clock last night!) I ran him home in it, so he could experience the joys of travelling in something he'd helped fix! I'm not sure if I've created another SAAB enthusiast, or put him of mechanicing for life!
One thing I did find that maybe useful to others: My local Halfords has been selling a small toolkit for about £19 - the sort of thing you carry in the car for emergencies. Its basically a socket and screwdriver set, with a ratchet using a 1/4" drive, and it is just the right size to get at that awkward bolt by the engine mount that secures the water pump in place! I thought I was going to have to remove the engine mount, but once I got the bottom hose off, the Halfords 1/4" ratchet with a 10mm socket did the job perfectly!
Just need to adjust the fan-belt this morning. I like to run them as slack as possible, but I was getting an occasional screech last night, so it clearly needs to be a little tighter.....!
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Pete
"Duct tape is like the Force: It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together!" | |
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pchristy
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
1790 Posts | Posted - 21 Mar 2012 : 19:54:27
| Well, I've finally got around to changing the gearbox and clutch! In truth, the gearbox wasn't too bad - everything worked as it should, including the free-wheel, and it certainly had an easy change! But there was a whine coming from the final drive, and also third, though I've heard worse! But as CP keeps threatening to retire, I thought I'd better get it in before he finally calls it a day!
Also the clutch has had quite bad judder since I got the car - something Simon warned me about when I bought it. I was contemplating fitting a diaphragm - Malbrads do a complete kit including exchange flywheel for around £350. But when I spoke to Steve at Malbrads, he told me they'd got some standard ones that didn't judder. I was a bit dubious, but the price was less than half that of a diaphragm, so I went for it. The clutch is a genuine Sachs unit, and Steve was right - it doesn't judder! In fact its the smoothest and most progressive clutch I've ever had on a 96! Excellent!
It took two half and one whole days to swap everything over. A friend came over to help with the heavy lifting yesterday! If there's anyone in striking distance of Watford who needs a good 96 mechanic, I can now thoroughly recommend one! Paul's been giving me a hand with mine since I got my 96 some 4 years ago, and now knows as much about them as I do! ;)
Only two minor hiccups - one was completely my own fault! I managed to damage the radiator drain tap by being ham fisted - a big thanks to John-saab who helped me out by putting one in the post to me on Tuesday, which arrived just in time this morning! I owe you a pint, John!
The second was a gear selection problem! I had to crank the gearbox stay over a bit to get third and fourth! They were outside the adjustment range of the column! I've never had to do that before, and its made more odd by the fact that this 'box has previously been in my 96, and didn't require any extra-ordinary adjustment!
Ah, well, its all done now! The engine is still a bit lumpy at idle - feels like low compression on a cylinder - but CP reckoned it was pretty sweet for a V4 and should be good for another 50K miles!
Here's hoping.......!!!
--
Pete
"Duct tape is like the Force: It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together!" | |
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pchristy
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
1790 Posts | Posted - 31 Mar 2012 : 16:27:19
| Gave the old girl a service today. I don't know what I've done differently this time to previously, but suddenly all the lumpiness has gone from the idle, and I've been able to unscrew the idle stop screw by about half a turn! She's now ticking over like a sewing machine at 800 rpm, and is even smoother than my 96 - which has a newish Vege engine in it!!!
Some of the valve clearances were a bit out, which is a bit odd, because I'm sure I checked them carefully the last time I serviced her. I've also changed the points this time, but that shouldn't really have made much difference, as I've fitted a CD ignition system. As long as they open and close at the right moments, the electronics takes care of everything else!
Whatever - I'm not complaining! She's now running sweeter and quieter than at any time since I took custody of her!
I'm a happy bunny!
:)
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Pete
"Duct tape is like the Force: It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together!" | |
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john-saab
Administrator
United Kingdom
2679 Posts | Posted - 15 Apr 2012 : 20:16:58
| Peter..ARB bushes and brackets going in tomorrows post ((Monday)
That's another pint you owe me 
'72 95 (The Flying Banana),'72 96 (Bridget),'74 95 (Veronica) | |
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pchristy
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
1790 Posts | Posted - 25 Sep 2012 : 17:25:43
| Not posted an update on this one for a while, but I think I'm going to have to do some work soon.....
There's been a "clacking" noise coming from the front on full lock for a while - presumably the CV joints. I've pulled the boots back and shoved a load of grease in there, but it hasn't helped. And I've also started to notice a slight cyclic vibration. Its most noticeable between 50 and 60 mph on a smooth road when under slight load, ie: going up hill or accelerating gently. You can feel it through the floor and steering. It builds up over a period of 3 secs or so, then goes away, then builds up again. My thinking is that its the wear in the CV joints allowing one of the drive shafts to go a bit "off centre". Has anyone else experienced anything like that?
Also, does anyone know of a source of drive-shafts or CV joints?
I think it will carry on for a while yet - its not severe - but I am going to have to look at it sooner rather than later!
Any observations gratefully received!
Also, the lumpiness at tick-over seems to be coming back. I've checked the compression on cylinder 2, 3 and 4, which are all good, but am struggling to get my compression tester on to 1, which is behind the alternator. Its not using any oil, so I'm hoping that if it is a compression issue, its valves rather than piston rings!
She will need a service in a month or so, so hopefully I'll find out more then....!
--
Pete
"Duct tape is like the Force: It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together!" | |
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jdt
V4 Fanatic
United Kingdom
340 Posts | Posted - 26 Sep 2012 : 22:47:12
| Symptons sound like a CV joint but I have never had a cv / driveshaft problem but have had a couple of wheel bearings fail.
I would be able to supply used parts at sensible prices | |
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pchristy
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
1790 Posts | Posted - 27 Sep 2012 : 18:15:38
| Thanks, John, I may take you up on that, but it won't be in the immediate future! I need it to haul me down to Devon next week-end for one of my helicopter events, and then I'm fairly tied up for a period. Unless something breaks, it will probably be nearer Xmas before I can tackle it!
Going back to the lumpy tickover, I checked the tappets today, and they were all over the place again!!! My original and current 96s rarely need more than a slight tweak at the 6000 mile services, but the 95 seems to be going miles out in 3000! The last time I serviced it, I found a couple of tappets had closed right up, and re-setting them to the correct clearances restored a silky smooth tickover. But it started going all lumpy and 3-cylindered again, so this morning I rechecked them, and lo and behold, number 7 valve has closed right up - no clearance at all! One or two of the others were a bit tight, as well! I've carefully reset them all, and made a note of which ones were troublesome - the furthest out was no7. I'll have to see if its the same one next time.
The question is, what's causing it? The obvious answer is valve seat recession, but I'm using an additive (Castrol Valvemaster), and in any case, its varying by so much in such a short space of time, there must be something else going on!
Ideas, anyone?
At this rate, I'm going to have to strip he heads off the scrap engine and refurbish those.....
--
Pete
"Duct tape is like the Force: It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together!" | |
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TTruckie
V4 Fanatic
United Kingdom
320 Posts | Posted - 28 Sep 2012 : 08:31:54
| | "silky smooth tickover" - are you sure you have a V4 it it????? Nothing is silky smooth with my V4s - except the oil leaks! | |
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pchristy
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
1790 Posts | Posted - 28 Sep 2012 : 10:15:33
| quote:
Originally posted by TTruckie
"silky smooth tickover" - are you sure you have a V4 it it????? Nothing is silky smooth with my V4s - except the oil leaks!
Yes, its strange how much V4s vary! My original car back in the late 60's was so smooth I could stand a threepenny piece on the air-filter whilst it was ticking over (showing my age there!)! My current 96 is like a vibro-massage machine, despite having a Vege rebuilt engine. The 95 is very smooth when the tappets are right - and very lumpy when they aren't!
I'm wondering if the valve seats are disintegrating! Think I'd better start stripping the heads of my "spare" engine, and see if they are any good.......
--
Pete
"Duct tape is like the Force: It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together!" | |
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Derek
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
2191 Posts | Posted - 28 Sep 2012 : 12:22:59
| Is it possible that the "interference" adjusting nuts have lost their bite and are moving round? Yes I would expect them to unwind but strange things do happen.Pure speculation on my part but new nuts would be worth trying.
Yes, valve recession is the usual reason. If you take the rocker gear off, a straight edge across the valve ends will show up the problem. If you know which ones are showing up tight they will be the high ones if recession is taking place.
I've read comments before that the Vege engines tend to run hard/coarse. Maybe they are built a bit tight and need a lot of running in. |
Edited by - Derek on 28 Sep 2012 12:26:53 | |
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pchristy
V4 Guru
United Kingdom
1790 Posts | Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 17:42:15
| The CV joints from John Wyatt turned up a few days ago (Cheers, John!), so today I trolled over to my mate in Watford to see about fitting them. Just in case everything went smoothly, I also took along the anti-roll bar that has been sat in the garage for a while awaiting fitting.
I arrived at 0930, and by 1030, we had the drive-shafts out, and the old CV joints separated! I couldn't believe how smoothly it went! Admittedly my mate has done quite a few CV joints before, but never on a V4! We got everything cleaned up and ready for re-assembly, and as we were so far ahead of schedule, the anti-roll bar went on as well! The car was back on the road at 1415! There are no longer any clacking noises on tight corners, and although I haven't driven it very far yet, it doesn't seem to roll or wallow anything like it did before on corners! RESULT!
On the downside, the brake pads are almost down to the back-plate, despite having barely done 6000 miles! On my 96, I get over 12000 out of a set of pads, although those are EBC pads, not Ferodo. I don't think the EBC pads are available any longer. The discs look OK, but the pistons are pretty rough. What sort of mileage should I expect from a set of pads? 6000 doesn't seem much.....
I've also spotted that the No1 HT lead is arcing occasionally. Not every stroke, but probably about 1 in 10, and I've suspected a slight misfire for a while. Time for a set of new HT leads as well, methinks......
--
Pete
"Duct tape is like the Force: It has a light side and a dark side, and it binds the Universe together!" | |
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john-saab
Administrator
United Kingdom
2679 Posts | Posted - 22 Jan 2013 : 19:28:06
| EBC...i wouldn't use them to hold up a leg on a wonky table! We knocked a set out in 750 miles on the Zodiac rally car (I say knocked out..they turned to white powder and fell to bits)..that was just driving on normal roads BEFORE the stages! We were expecting a little more from a "performance" pad...but at £80 per set they won't get fitted again!
Did you have to lift the engine a little to get the ARB in?
I bought a set of these leads off ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HT-IGNITION-LEAD-SET-FORD-TRANSIT-V4-70-74-NEW-/390524880898?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5aed18c802
designed for the MKI transit (with a V4 fitted) they have been perfect and i get a healthy spark...they don't have the dog leg top for the plug under the alternator buy they bend well enough.
I have just ordered another set as this post reminded me..in green they look great in a Verona engine bay!
'72 95 (The Flying Banana),'72 96(Bridget),'73 96 (Vernon),'74 95 (Veronica) |
Edited by - john-saab on 22 Jan 2013 19:34:34 | |
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| Topic | |
White 95
