Sparky's winter/spring/summer/autumn work

What with the weather, soap box building and work, I have only managed to do around 150 miles since my last post. As I now only use Esso Supreme, and have lost a silencer, I did some of these miles on Autotune. He now starts first flick of the key, drives away on cold, accelerates well, and everything a Fuel Injected car should do.

70 comes up at 2,350rpm which is nice and relaxed, although the 40mph parts of the area can't be burbled along in 5th anymore, I have to drop it into 4th, which is not really a problem, but does show the difference with the 2.88 diff.

Before I replaced the diff I would get the odd clunk on acceleration or overrun, rare but a definite clunk in the drivetrain. This has now gone, there is no play in take up at all. Even the gearbox seems slicker, so very pleased with the whole package.

I do have some noises though, the worst of them, squeaky brakes. It did seem to be coming from the front, and I do remember some brake squealing before I started the diff change, so off they came.

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I removed the pads, gave everything a good clean. I did find a build up of some sort of resin at the leading edge of the pad though :confused:

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Bit weird, but I have removed it, put it all back together with a smear or two of copperslip in the right places, and hey presto, no more squeakies :)

When I put the Fosseways on I was advised that I could put the dust covers on but it was quite difficult and would never fit too well. So I left them off as Sparky didn't have them when I bought him, I didn't expect their exclusion to be a problem. I will be replacing them, just in case this is the cause of the squealing. I was also advised to put them on as they were i.e. painted, and the pads would clear the thin coat of paint off instantly. Maybe the build up was paint? Anyhoo, it's gone now, so another problem solved :)

Other noises are a whirring noise from the back, possibly the diff. I do wonder if it's been sitting around for some years and just needs to be driven around to quieten down (I hope it's this one), or a bearing, or even the new prop? Not sure yet but I'll find it. It's only audible with the radio off, all windows closed and above 60mph. Also, I get a squeak when I hit a bump, and living in Sheffield, they are plenty of them.

200 miles to go this weekend, fingers crossed :cool:

Richard
 
203 miles, didn't miss a beat :)

Out to Bridlington, then over to Sledmere House on Sunday for the first car show I've been to for a while now.

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Quite a few Rovers there, but only knew one of them :oops:

I did find a pinhole in the tank, OK the petrol (first time he's had a full tank) found a small pinhole on the top of the tank, and gave a faint whiff in the car when the windows were open. Seems like the car gets a slight low pressure in the cabin with the windows open and draws any boot smells in through grommets or the speaker :rolleyes:. So, excellent news, I get to remove the tank again! :mad::confused:

Anyone tried that POR tank sealer stuff?

Whirring noise has gone, so I am hopeful it just needed running around a bit, and won't come back.

Suspension squeak is still there though, so I'll be looking for that soon.

Also, I have found that if I try to accelerate in 5th from 60 or below, I do get a slight vibration, probably too much torque and too high a gear, so I have to drop into 4th for overtaking on dual carriageways and motorways. Not a problem, I probably should have always done that anyway.

Richard
 
I did find a pinhole in the tank, OK the petrol (first time he's had a full tank) found a small pinhole on the top of the tank, and gave a faint whiff in the car when the windows were open. Seems like the car gets a slight low pressure in the cabin with the windows open and draws any boot smells in through grommets or the speaker :rolleyes:. So, excellent news, I get to remove the tank again! :mad::confused:

I doubt that it is a pinhole, if you have the smell only with the tank full, then it could be either the connections of the filling pipe, or simply that fuel sloshing about, escapes the seal on the cap (isn't that difficult...), and with the windows open fumes are drawn in the cabin. I had this happen for years when i had the tank filled to the brim, AND driving on twisty roads, AND had the windows open.
 
Sparky looks terrific. Have you driven far enough to be able to appraise the difference between the original rear end and the newly transplanted IRS? How many hours work, including thinking, do you think it took to carry out the swap?
 
I doubt that it is a pinhole,

I have just looked back through the thread and it seems I have missed a bit. When I changed the pump from an in-tank to an in-line, I was left with a 52mm hole in the top where the internal pump fitted. I took it to a chap who welded it up for me. He then put some thinners in it to check it had worked. It leaked like a sieve, so he tried welding it again o_O

The resulting bang nearly knocked me over, but luckily my hearing came back after half an hour or so. I went outside to get some fresh air when I heard another bang, he had tried to weld it again!!

I took it home at this point, cleared the fumes completely and beat it back into shape. I then dressed the woun.... ermm welds and using my new found welding skill :cool: welded up the holes that appeared. I tested it with water, then had another go, then tested it again and it was water tight. Obviously not petrol tight though as part way into the journey the petrol smell started in the cabin. We pulled over and I ran my hand up over the welded section, and it was wet with petrol. I used some emergency repair tape, which isn't really designed for petrol use, but it did the job quite well as it reduced the smell to a slight whiff.

I thought I had mentioned this - must be my age :)


Sparky looks terrific. Have you driven far enough to be able to appraise the difference between the original rear end and the newly transplanted IRS? How many hours work, including thinking, do you think it took to carry out the swap?

Thanks Al, that's very much appreciated.

Apart from the 6.5% drop in revs, which is nice while cruising the motorways, the main difference is that I can open him up at full WOT and not have to worry about damaging anything back there. So, confidence and no slack in the drivetrain. I haven't been in a situation where the LSD would be handy yet, but it's nice to know it's there.

I have no idea how many hours it all took, but I reckon 2/3 to 3/4 of it would be thinking and experimenting :)
 
Cheers Mark, I had almost forgotten what it was like to drive :)



I knew what you meant - no idea what ICHI means though.

I would love to know what it is like to drive! If I am ever in Blighty would love to see it in the flesh
 
Sparky looks superb Richard! It is a real credit to you, hard work and perseverance pays handsome dividends.

Ron.
 
He then put some thinners in it to check it had worked. It leaked like a sieve, so he tried welding it again o_O

I see...
For those that prefer a more quiet and effective way to perform similar tests, using compressed air to lightly pressurise the tank and submerging the suspect part in water, the existence or not of bubbles will reveal the quality of the repair.
 
Sparky looks superb Richard! It is a real credit to you, hard work and perseverance pays handsome dividends.

Ron.

Thanks Ron, I can't believe it was 8 years ago that the initial rebuild was completed, so he does have the odd mark and scratch now.

I would love to know what it is like to drive! If I am ever in Blighty would love to see it in the flesh

Let me know if you ever get over here, I'll take you for a spin :)

Richard
 
Thanks Ron, I can't believe it was 8 years ago that the initial rebuild was completed, so he does have the odd mark and scratch now.



Let me know if you ever get over here, I'll take you for a spin :)

Richard


Cheers, will do
 
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