Major work on t/d over next few weeks

[rutter123]

Much to do on H677TYB over the next few weeks pre MOT renewal, jobs that have been on the "to do" list for some time,
Rebuild rear arms
Replace pipe seals on flow valve
Engine mounts x3
Intermediate driveshaft bearing
Front calipers and flexi's
Welding to lower front crossmember
Welding to driver door top hinge plate
Replace whole n/s outer sill
Fit towbar
Rebuild/replace turbo
Clutch release bearing and cable, question is do replace clutch? Current one done about 60K
Various gaskets/seals/return pipes
Wiper motor
Most of the dash display bulbs
Handbrake switch,boot light,interior light
Body/paintwork to bonnet, front bumper, o/s/f wing, driver door and plastic roof rails time and money permitting
I have most of the parts together just waiting on the sill and a few small bits.

[KevR]

That's saturday booked up then - what are you go to do the rest of the weekend...?

[themildbunch]

looks like you'll be taking the engine out then!

Top door hinge on my TD became a real pain - much of the sections behind needed replacement too and getting the hinge in the correct place so the pins could go in and the door close easily and tightly took some time and it's still not as good as the factory fit. If I needed to do this again some sort of jig would definitely be the way to go..

[rutter123]

Mines gone just above the hinge along the seam, so hopefully not too much of a problem will be adding in some extra strength to stop the flexing in the pillar. Will see what horror storiy lies inside the sill prob quite a scary one!
Yes engine out gotta be the easiest way makes things so much easier being as im splitting the box to do the thrust bearing and gives a good chance to steam clean the engine and engine bay and easier access to replace some of the plumbing

[Tinkley]

Might as well do the clutch - I did when I swapped engines over and the 'good'un' had 62k on a known new Luk clutch with no problems. Biggest issue I had was the Valeo kit came with the wrong release bearing. I have the pop on ball joint with BE3 box (1.6 petrol) and I had to source the correct type of release bearing - in fact I put a Visa 1.6 GTI release bearing in. Just could not find any other one of the correct type. If you want a new fork type release bearing on it's own, I have one that came with the Valeo kit, absolutely no use to me. Postage cost only.

[rutter123]

Had the same prob when i got the present clutch kit, wrong release bearing supplied, most annoying cos it took a few days to source the correct one, looking at my notes was fitted @ 235k now on 276k so only done 41000 is a valeo unit so should have a good 60/70000 miles left in iit, guess the release bearing was of a lesser quality hence the whining bearing.

[Tinkley]

I think I'd leave the clutch alone and do the bearing. I found most wear was in fact on the leaf faces (tongues?) where the release bearing had slightly grooved the steel. The actual friction part was just fine. The release bearing you have is probably finito but be prepared for it to have done more damage to those steel leaves, at least getting a replacement is OK should you find any damage.

I got the Visa bearing from NEAT but I'm not sure if they have any more. Seem to remember finding the Valeo part number for it from their online parts catalogue but then finding problems with stockists.

[rutter123]

Jobs completed so far, all 3 engine mounts, intermediate bearing, rocker cover gasket, turbo gasket, front calipers and flexi pipes.

[rutter123]

Next job is replacing the pipe seals on the flow valve, for this i will be removing the radiator for ease of access, will i need to bleed the system afterwards?

[themildbunch]

I replaced my flow valve with a reconditioned Pleiades one a few years ago and I removed the rad too - all pretty simple although getting some of the pipes back in and the nuts to catch their threads was a fiddle - I'd released all hydraulic system pressure and I don't remember any problems afterwards - it all pumped up nicely and was leak free for a few years!

[Tim Leech]

Still cheaper than running a new one!

[electrokid]

Replace all the dash bulbs - they're so cheap it's not worth leaving any old ones in...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-X-286-INDI ... 19f4928a5f

You'll need something like 32 of them - 40 off costs £6.

And the interior lights need to be 7W festoon - the easier-to-find 10W bulbs can melt the plastic housing...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ring-Ru237-12 ... 4cf23b32c7

[rutter123]

Jobs done today, rebuilt both rear arms bit of a job getting the rounded off anti roll bar bolts out the nearside (new bolts fitted). Fitted two new rear brake pipes the long curly ones, surprisingly the fittings undone without a prob but all the pipe clamps were all rusted and req drilling out, cleaned and serviced rear calipers whilst they were off, replaced rear silencer box, replaced the short front strut rubber return pipes to octopus, changed wiper motor for one without a worn bush.