The All New, New "What have you done to your Bay today" thread.

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by top banana racing, Aug 27, 2015.

  1. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Did a solid fuel run, it goes up again in October so the rumour goes.
    £3/bag cheaper than the marina x 18 bags = £54 saved - a bit of petrol.
    Van went fine with over 1/3 tonne of 20kg bags in the back. :thumbsup:
    Finished the seat covering yesterday evening too.
    Chuffed - I might glue my glovebox lid back together later even though I don't have any gloves to put in it.
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2022
    Purple, scrooge95, nicktuft and 6 others like this.
  2. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    How'd you get on with the cardboard strips? Were they good enough to reuse in the end?
     
  3. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Yes they were though it took HOURS to sew them on by hand. Like 3 -4 hours for each seat base aping a machine stitch with 2 threads. I also had to glue a patch on the inside where one had split a few inches bottom from corner. Invisible unless you're looking for it and held up surprisingly well as I wrestled the cover onto the seat. You sure earn your money doing cab seats Jim!
    Now I think I will have to spray dye the headrests as brown doesn't look right. I just hope the green dye on the market doesn't add yet another shade of green into the mix. :rolleyes:
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  4. Seats or underpants?
     
  5. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Ah sounds like a right ball ache doing it by hand (about a 3 minute job on the machine :D).
    It's often a bit of a battle fitting the covers, Max is forever taking the mick out of me wrestling a set of seat covers on in our living room with no top on as I get so sweaty doing it!
     
    Louey likes this.
  6. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    I was crouched on top bouncing up and down trying to compress the springs... then you find it's not quite centred. :mad:
    One of mine had spikes in the channel to stop you shuffling them round, the other didn't... or someone had squashed them flat and I didn't notice them.
    Likewise one base cover had the pattern centred, the other didn't. They look great though.
    Next up - spray dye the brown headrests green.
     
    JamesLey likes this.
  7. nicktuft

    nicktuft Supporter

    Took him for a pose down the Smiddy and tried to change a 20€ note for two tens(€) at the post office. No joy and neither would Jarvis oblige.
    Clock was keeping good time and so it seems is the fuel gauge. Fingers xx it's all sorted and I can tackle the squealing brakes next. Down to Malton next and comfy at 55/60 on the A169. Muesli ,Guinness and a paper then headed back.
    The supermarket trolley had a mind of its own nearly dinging someone's pride and joy. :eek:
    Back home now and the Fuel gauge registered a sensible drop.
    Squealers next and a good waxing. :)
     
  8. stirlingmoz

    stirlingmoz Supporter

    So sadly the crewcab failed his MoT this morning.

    Nothing serious - just a couple of perished CV boots.

    Looking back through the paperwork, they’re only a couple of years old :(

    Any recommendations for decent replacements ?

    Thanks

    Stirlingmoz
     
  9. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    I wouldn't bother spending any decent amount of money on them. I've had supposedly good quality ones (Lobro GKN etc) fail after as little as 6 months.
    I'm currently running J&R boots which are only £4.10 and have been on for probably 18 months or so without falling apart:

    VOLKSWAGEN VW T2 DRIVESHAFT CV JOINT BOOT KIT GAITER 7109671044702 | eBay
     
    snotty, stirlingmoz and PanZer like this.
  10. snotty, PanZer, stirlingmoz and 2 others like this.
  11. Wrestled a carpentry panel off & out.
    Hadn’t done so before as could see behind it that the metal was fine, so silly me upholstered over the screws which held it in place.

    [​IMG]


    Anyway. It’s out so I can more easily and accurately drill through for the gas inlet to locker, and prepare for the 240v stuff.

    [​IMG]


    www.transmission610.com
     
    stirlingmoz likes this.
  12. stirlingmoz

    stirlingmoz Supporter

    Thanks for the recommendation. I recall this being a particularly messy job. Can’t wait to do it all again :confused:

    I’ve also discovered the battery has gone flat during the layup and won’t take a charge. It’s yonks old so I can’t complain.

    Still, after the challenge of the bodywork, these are pretty straightforward jobs that I can do at home.
     
    PanZer likes this.
  13. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    After breaking down yesterday, began the strip down of the engine to find the problem - lots of oil blowing out the back ..
    I am pretty sure theres a hole in Number 2 piston with exactly zero compression on that cylinder, and a few little bits of metal sitting under the oil strainer- I am expecting to find some engine bay foam wrapped around the cylinder. The spark plug has been sprayed with aluminium in classic detonation mode.
    The other three plugs look good, compression is 8 bar/115 psi on the other three according to my tester.

    Just as well I have a set of four Mahle forged pistons and cylinders that are a little used sitting in a box.
    And as its full flow filtered, the oil filter collects chunks before they get into the oil galleries.


    The bus has done the same trip many times, and on hotter days but for some reason before it happened, the cylinder head temperature gently went up maybe 10 degrees C hotter than usual and the oil about 5 degrees C, which was unusual.
    And it started gently losing power. Power dropped off a little, but called into services and was OK after, but after climbing a hill on the A34 the smoke appeared in the rear view mirror, and we drove along looking for a layby as the A34 is not a good place to stop.

    No foam in the fan.

    I am suspecting damage caused by the initial overheat when the garage let the engine bay foam go in, and it was so well balanced that time, it was only when I noticed an extremely fast cylinder head temperature rise, that I had to stop.

    Will continue the strip down tomorrow , rain permitting : should get the tinware off to see what I can find.

    Cold oil pressure still 50psi
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2022
    Little Nellie likes this.
  14. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    And while I was in there .. found the engine mounting bolt through the alternator lug was very loose. Not done up by not me.
    And an amusing stack of exhaust gaskets that did not include my home made copper gaskets amongst them.
     
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  16. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    So, who won the "How long will Mike's engine last" sweepstake?
    I'd say lack of cooling might warp a head, warp the barrel, pull a head stud or maybe seize a valve or crack the head but hole in piston would have another cause like an air leak on the inlet. Can't see lack of external cooling being the culprit. I've undressed plenty of engines where the barrel and head fins were almost completely blocked/full of oil crud/hazelnuts/old spark plugs and none had a hole in the piston.
     
    Lasty, Norris, matty and 2 others like this.
  17. I think most of us reckoned 6 months. Makes my engine seem bloody boring...
     
    Huyrob, Lasty, matty and 3 others like this.
  18. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    It was fine until he let someone else work on it to be fair.
     
  19. Who worked on it?
     
  20. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    A "garage" that left out bits of exhaust gaskets, lost his copper gaskets, fitted the foam seal such that it got sucked into the fan and who knows what else. sounds like a right slappy place to me.

    "I can screw it up myself without paying someone else" is my motto. :thumbsup:
    i sooooo much prefer blaming myself than just not knowing what's been going on.
     

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