#31: Re: Project Phoenix -> Teaching an old dog new tricks: Day 8 Author: VorTechS, Location: Gloucestershire, UKPosted: Tue May 02, 2017 7:54 am ---- Day 9
As we last left it, the reinforcement in the bonnet had rusted through to the point where there'd be no chance it is able to securely hold the bonnet down even though half of the catch engages. The wrong type of wind would send it through the windscreen in no time.
I was left with 3 options:
1. See if the damage can be repaired / new reinforcement added.
Yes, it can be repaired by stripping out the old reinforcement and welding on a new plate. The process of doing this though, would generate too much heat to keep the paintwork on the bonnet tidy, meaning a re-spray would be required.
2. Replace the bonnet with the one from the donor car, and (eventually) re-spray it
Pretty straight forward. Although the replacement bonnet would actually (on the surface) be worse than the state the original was in prior to rusting through.
3. Source a replacement bonnet
Most of the ones I've seen on Ebay either have some kind of dent/ding worse than is present on the existing bonnet, or have the same signs of rust which has caused the current situation.
I ruled number 1 and 2 out. I don't want to be going backwards at any point, and Mrs VorTechS has the clock ticking on how long this thing has been off the road. (Basically, she thinks it'll be off the road over a year - to which I've said no!). Number 3 is the most achievable but previous hints haven't been very good. Using the old Bay of E, I located all the EYC bonnets and narrowed it down to 2. One in Worcester (very close to me) and one in Derby. The Worcester breakers weren't very helpful over Ebay with a response of 'Phone us in the yard on Monday'. It's Saturday. I 'm not in the game of patience right now, I want this thing fixed! The guy in Derby is much more helpful. 'It's as straight as a die, and I'll get a picture of the underside when I get back later'. And true to his word he did. Only, it was a video showing me all around the bonnet. Now that's service! It was my weekend with my kids, and so we couldn't get away until 7pm. , and by 9pm it was dark when we arrived, but the bonnet was picked up and ready to fit. But we had to wait a few days before that could be done.
And, like most people who have replaced their bonnet. It doesn't quite sit straight. Okay, it's not THAT bad, but I notice it ... and there's not a lot that can be done about it. I'm guessing this is because they're fitted in a different way at the factory. I suspect rather than the bonnet attached to the hinges which are already on the car, the hinges are fitted to the bonnet and then the hinges attached to the car. There's no movement at all at the bonnet side on the hinges. Well two of the securing holes are a straight round hole, whereas two are elongated giving an impression there'd be adjustment potential. Really, if all four were - then there'd be no problem. At some point, I'm going to fix that!
More importantly. In theory, this thing is ready to go back on the road!
Next up, time to sort out the M.O.T. and see what state it's in for being used on the road!
#32: Re: Project Phoenix -> Teaching an old dog new tricks: Day 9 Author: VorTechS, Location: Gloucestershire, UKPosted: Thu May 04, 2017 8:26 am ---- Intermission
The sorting out of the M.O.T. came about a bit suddenly, brought on by the demise of the 308. Travelling home from work on Wednesday last week, the 308 threw its usual EML errors (something which Peugeot themselves haven't gotten to the bottom of) but then started throwing new ones which were different in that this time I was being told to "STOP" the vehicle and it went into proper limp mode. After a couple of these, I decided I should heed the warning and duly called out the AA.
Now the AA experience was a really unusual one. I gave him a brief history of the EML issues, and explained how this was different and in response I got a 'well, what do you want me to do about it'. This, kinda threw me. I was literally standing there thinking "What do you mean, isn't it YOUR job to determine what's the best course of action. Just because I know a LITTLE about what's going on, doesn't mean I know how best to deal with it!". Anyway, after a bit more thought I put forward a suggestion for him to read the codes off so I can make a better decisions. For the first time, (unsurprisingly) it's throwing a P-code. (For the un-initiated, a P-code represents a code related to the function of the Power-train - something I learnt a while back).
And this P-code was "Lubrication System: pressure not consistent with the atmospheric pressure"
The AA bloke asks me what I want to do, and we agree for him to tow me to my friends garage. Even though it's gone working hours, he happens to still be there and we summise what could be wrong. His initial reaction is "Turbo's gone. Typical with these". I'm not so sure. Prior to this latest EML there was no sign of the turbo, OR the engine struggling. It's been ticking over fine, there's been no throttle issues, no juddering, no-misfiring...it's just been plowing along and working... normally.
Having been to Peugeot a few times over the last few months, and them not solving the "EML comes on when using cruise control when it feels like", it's been a while since it was last serviced (I was going to try it myself) and they keep turning the SERVICE light off, meaning I keep forgetting to do it. So, I tell my mate to do an oil change and perhaps things are a bit gunked up and perhaps that's why the code is throwing? He reluctantly agrees, especially as his garage is out of commission because the floor has just been painted / lacquered and the guy doing the painting messed up and used 24 hour drying stuff instead of 4-hour.
I also ask about getting the 206 in for an M.O.T. and with the floor being an issue - he asks one of the guys to book it in for Sunday as he's going to be around.
In the meantime, after being picked up by Mrs VorTechS (who is not best pleased and worried now that the 308 is out of warranty it too is going to cost a fortune to fix) I head home. Where I clean out the 206 of all the junk, re-fit the handbrake centre console and generally tidy it up. I check the lights, indicators and wipers. Check the wipers again. Check them again. What the heck!?!? Why's there no fluid coming ou??? Actually. Hang on. Why's the washer motor not even firing? Gah!
Day 10
Time to learn a little more than I bargained for in this phase of getting the old girl back on the road! Today's task, checking the Washer Pump. First port of call, fuses. Could a fuse have gone?
A quick read of the Haynes manual, and there's no mention of the washer pump anywhere. It's probably linked to the wiper motors(?), and they're working fine. So it can't be a fuse related issue. The motor must have gone itself. A quick check here on info, and there's suggestion of there being an inline fuse. Okay, so it's time to get the motor out and for that according to Haynes it looks like it's:
- Offside front Arch Liner Out
- Disconnect the pipes
- Un-clip the electrical connector
- Un-do the mounting bolt
- Bottle out
So first, let's try this on the donor car. (I'm beginning to like having the donor car around for things like this!)
Everything was pretty straight forward, no real need for pictures about this. The mounting bolt is a little awkward to get to, but easy enough to do 'blind' (it's the bumper side of the bottle). If your hand / closed-eye co-ordination is good you should find it easy to get tools to the bolt without taking the bumper off. Otherwise you might find it easier to remove the bumper first.
With the donor bottle out I was able to pull the motor away from the bottle and on closer inspection I realise, there's no need to take the bottle out all.
I've taken some pictures here to show how the motor fits into the bottle.
Eventually I'm repeating the steps on my car, and draining away the fluid in the reservoir in no time:
..and whilst taking a picture of this exercise, I realise there's something hidden in the wing of the car! If you look carefully at this picture of the bottle emptying, there's an 'Orange Snap-on something or other' lying in the wing! Someone has obviously dropped this over the years and couldn't be bothered to retrieve it! It was a small screwdriver, looking worse for wear but hey!
Before putting everything back together properly, I test out the motor and all is good! Except one of the washer jets is gunked up and not working. Pretty typical, a quick check of the donor car, and that's running the MK1 washer jets, but I'm not phased as having ordered them before I also know the MKIII are not too expensive from the dealer. In the meantime, I rip the busted jet off, jam a pin in the front and resort to manual sucking and blowing to free up whatever is clogged. After about 10 minutes, something gives and the washer is working again.
A little bit later than requested, the car then gets dropped off for it's MOT....and I get on with the rest of the day.
Then later, THE call comes. "There was a problem with your rear number plate bulbs and one of the washer jets is out, but everything else is fine so I've passed it".
Woohoo! She's legal. And has been now for 5 days. The engine is sounding a bit worse for wear, but I'm guessing because it's time to give her that well needed service, which I'm going to save for Day 11. In the meantime, I've made a list of things that this first part of the service is going to consist of and after a bit of hunting around it seems EuroCar Parts is worthy of my money on this occasion:
You'll notice that I've gone for some Gearbox Oil there. The gearbox is sounding a little 'toothy', almost like the teeth are a bit dry, and whilst the recommendation is for gearbox fluid to be left alone there's also contradictory advice stating that you should change the oil because it's just a prone to wear and tear as the engine. We're on 111K miles now, whilst it's highly likely a new gearbox might be needed soon, for the sake of changing the oil at a cost of just over £15 - it's worth a shot to see if some new oil solves the problem. Of course, if it doesn't, I've got a spare gearbox in the donor car!
The washer jet will be a visit to the stealer (Part No. 6438 W2)
Then this weekend, I shall be attempting my very first oil change! I already have 5L of Premium grade oil ready to go, the additional in the list above is the cheapest I could get of similar grade that I can use to flush. If I'm right the process is:
1. Run car to temperature
2. Drain existing oil
3. Fill with new oil
4. Run car to temperature
5. Drain existing oil
6. Replace oil filter
7. Fill with new oil
I'm half tempted to flush it twice, but then perhaps I'll just wait a six months and do another oil change.
#33: Re: Project Phoenix -> Teaching an old dog new tricks: Day 10 Author: VorTechS, Location: Gloucestershire, UKPosted: Mon May 08, 2017 1:17 pm ---- Day 11
There's not really a lot to be said for an oil change really is there?
Get the engine up to temperature, switch off, drain it, replace the seal and refill. So I didn't think the process warranted any pictures. Probably the biggest issue I had was not being able to use my toolkit to remove the drain plug, because of something getting in the way. Instead I had to opt for an adjustable spanner.
I did go through the method of doing a flush like I wanted to. I had 5L to play with and a full change is just over 2.5L on the NFZ engine. So, I drained and filled using the original sealing ring (so as not to compromise the new one) and then ran the new oil up to temperature, running the engine for around 20 minutes. Both the old and new oil came out looking pretty black ... so you can imagine how gunked up my engine was!
While I was waiting for the engine to warm up for the second time, I replaced the window wipers.
Once I'd drained the second lot of oil, I replaced the sealing ring and tightened up the plug. I chose not to use the new plug, as the one I bought appears to be round, and given the access issue I had earlier - re-using the old seems to make sense. I refilled the engine with the remaining oil and then ran it for a while to check for any leaks, of which there were none.
After replacing the faulty washer jet and took her out for a quick spin. I have to say, what a difference it's made to the performance of the car. Definitely much nippier, and quicker on the pick up than she was. So I wonder what difference a gear oil change will make? Talking of which, while I was under the engine I spotted this rather nasty looking patch of oil all over the gearbox:
....so there's a possibility that doing the gearbox is a worthwhile effort, and that is scheduled for Day 12!
#34: Re: Project Phoenix -> Teaching an old dog new tricks: Day 8 Author: Sim, Location: West CountryPosted: Sat May 13, 2017 11:23 am ----
VorTechS wrote:
And, like most people who have replaced their bonnet. It doesn't quite sit straight. Okay, it's not THAT bad, but I notice it ... and there's not a lot that can be done about it.
If you slacken all 8 bolts on the hinges, it should give you a room to play with, especially at the other end of the bonnet.
Another thing to consider is to pull up your front wings to fine tune that alignment.
Always wary if your doors don't catch after disturbing the wings.
In all cases, it's a two-people job, one holds the bonnet/wing in place, warped as needed, another tightens the nuts
VorTechS wrote:
If you look carefully at this picture of the bottle emptying, there's an 'Orange Snap-on something or other' lying in the wing! Someone has obviously dropped this over the years and couldn't be bothered to retrieve it!
And you've owned that car for quite a few years! What about the rattle when driving?
VorTechS wrote:
If I'm right the process [of engine flush] is:
1. Run car to temperature
2. Drain existing oil 2.1 Replace oil filter
3. Fill with new oil
4. Run car to temperature
5.0 Optional: drive about 500-1000miles
5. Drain existing oil
6. Replace oil filter
7. Fill with new oil
I've edited the procedure a bit, mainly because the new oil you put is thinner and essentially rinses out whatever's been trapped in the filter, and changes colour quite rapidly as it's sieved through it at high pressure.
VorTechS wrote:
So I wonder what difference a gear oil change will make? Talking of which, while I was under the engine I spotted this rather nasty looking patch of oil all over the gearbox
You can tell it's gearbox oil from the fact road gunk sticks to it like a glue.
Good you got your 308 back, put aside a few days for the gearbox job.
If you do get round to dropping a gearbox, it's best to get a new clutch kit for it, even when you feel your clutch still has some meat left on, as you'll see what a pain it is on a drive on axle stands. The most fiddly bit is to align it into the flywheel when putting back together, unless you got a special cone tool. Good ole Haynes should hopefully cover that. Also get a engine support that goes over the engine bay, gimme a shout if you need one!
Really chuffed your ole girl is back on road!!
#35: Re: Project Phoenix -> Teaching an old dog new tricks: Day 11 Author: Timon2210, Location: PalestinePosted: Mon May 15, 2017 3:36 pm ---- I love the new wheels,car looks great,glad that you got it back on the road again ...it need TLC now
#36: Re: Project Phoenix -> Teaching an old dog new tricks: Day 8 Author: VorTechS, Location: Gloucestershire, UKPosted: Tue May 16, 2017 6:46 am ----
Sim wrote:
If you slacken all 8 bolts on the hinges, it should give you a room to play with, especially at the other end of the bonnet.
I could certainly try that as an avenue of exploration.
Sim wrote:
And you've owned that car for quite a few years! What about the rattle when driving?
You'd think it would rattle ... but it obviously didn't budge. Although, with the music I had in the car, I'd have been lucky to hear if a wheel fell off.
Sim wrote:
1. Run car to temperature
2. Drain existing oil 2.1 Replace oil filter
3. Fill with new oil
4. Run car to temperature
5.0 Optional: drive about 500-1000miles
5. Drain existing oil
6. Replace oil filter
7. Fill with new oil
I couldn't decide if it made sense to replace the filter at the first change. I guess I can see there being a point to it, and I could have just gotten the cheapest filter for that purpose. Ah well, what's done is done now!
Sim wrote:
You can tell it's gearbox oil from the fact road gunk sticks to it like a glue. If you do get round to dropping a gearbox, it's best to get a new clutch kit for it, even when you feel your clutch still has some meat left on, as you'll see what a pain it is on a drive on axle stands. The most fiddly bit is to align it into the flywheel when putting back together, unless you got a special cone tool. Good ole Haynes should hopefully cover that. Also get a engine support that goes over the engine bay, gimme a shout if you need one!
Yep, if I get the bottle to do the clutch I'll set aside 3 or 4 days to do it. There's a bank holiday coming up, but I don't think I'll risk it so close to everything else right now - just let things settle in for a bit. I might even draft you in as an experienced extra set of hands!
Sim wrote:
Really chuffed your ole girl is back on road!!
So am I, mostly because I can at least now say that I did it ... even if it is really basic stuff I've been doing!
#37: Re: Project Phoenix -> Teaching an old dog new tricks: Day 11 Author: VorTechS, Location: Gloucestershire, UKPosted: Tue May 16, 2017 6:47 am ----
Timon2210 wrote:
I love the new wheels,car looks great,glad that you got it back on the road again ...it need TLC now
And it's getting it. If those wheels aren't TLC enough, then the efforts getting her running smoothly again... surely must be?
#38: Re: Project Phoenix -> Teaching an old dog new tricks: Day 11 Author: Timon2210, Location: PalestinePosted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 12:01 pm ----
VorTechS wrote:
Timon2210 wrote:
I love the new wheels,car looks great,glad that you got it back on the road again ...it need TLC now
And it's getting it. If those wheels aren't TLC enough, then the efforts getting her running smoothly again... surely must be?
Glad that everything is sorted and it's running smoothly again.
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What about the rattle when driving?
