I should point out that the bit about me 'deciding' get out was my attempt at humour - I certainly didn't feel I had any choice in the matter...
I had a few friends round and one of them as part of his job regularly drives new Land Rovers, so he was keen to see how an old one felt in comparison. I went with him to make sure he didn't do anything silly (ha!) and it didn't even cross my mind to put on a seatbelt as we'd only be going up the track a minute (it's only about half a mile long). I think he just hit the edge of the track and we went along for a short while half on, half off before we rolled over.
I feel lucky and stupid in equal proportions.
Mat's BX Blog
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mat_fenwick
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toddao
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Sorry to see that Mat! Just a shame it wasn't a Rav 4 then it wouldn't be so bad.. any other useless comments? Ah yes, next time try to balance the consumption of drinks with drugs ( to be sensible) and see if you can get a snap of yourself as you're rolling down the hill!
'At least you've got all your limbs!'
PS just noticed that was post no 1666 for me - wasn't that the Great Fire of London? There you go Mat - reasons to be cheerful - at least it didn't burst into flames and explode like in the movies!
'At least you've got all your limbs!'
PS just noticed that was post no 1666 for me - wasn't that the Great Fire of London? There you go Mat - reasons to be cheerful - at least it didn't burst into flames and explode like in the movies!
Todd
this yellow writing is really hard to read
this yellow writing is really hard to read
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mat_fenwick
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Back in the BX after it had a couple of months break - it did develop another starting problem where it would crank for ages before firing. That turned out to be an air leak in the thermostatic valve at the bottom of the fuel filter housing, and on trying to remove it to fit a new O ring the plastic plunger disintegrated. Replaced the whole housing and all is perfect again.
At least with starting that is - my nearside caliper has developed an LHM leak, so if you squeeze the handbrake lever cover you actually get LHM seeping out! I have a spare caliper that I will need to split to put the wider 16v body onto (using the strange 5 sided bolt!)
We've managed to find a replacement Discovery for Lana to use - V8 again and already converted which was a bonus. Although the company that installed the LPG system had obviously not heard of soldering and heat shrink tubing. Multiple poor quality crimps hidden under rolls of old sticky insulating tape, so I'm gradually working my way through the system and replacing them - we had a few days where it wouldn't switch to gas as it had lost the signal from the coil to say the engine was running. On the whole it seems to be a sound vehicle, needs a couple of patches welding in before the winter but that's to be
expected from an old Landy!
The possible plan for the old Disco (now craned out)
is to either remove the whole body, and build a (shortened) Defender bodied hybrid, or possible keep the front part of the body intact and turn it into a pick up. It would have taken a lot of work to straighten out the frame under the skin (panel gaps had closed up in places) and the roof is actually welded on, making replacement more difficult. It stood up to the accident remarkably well I thought though.
And now I feel like a whinge.... We have a footpath running across a small field of ours, and the night before last I spotted a group of 4 mountain bikers riding across it. I do a fair bit of riding myself, and although it's not really right for them to be using a footpath and not a bridleway, I'm not especially bothered - I've done the same before on occasions. But when they got to the stream, which is only about a foot wide and edged by a flat stone either side so walkers can step over it, they stopped and proceeded to prise up stones that were marking the edge of the footpath, to block the stream so they could ride across!
Is that really taking the piss or am I turning into a grumpy "Get orfff my laaaand" type person? I saw them do it from the house and shouted at them, but by the time I had run over to them they had gone. Should have let the dog out in a Mr. Burns style "Release the hound!" but didn't think of it at the time...
At least with starting that is - my nearside caliper has developed an LHM leak, so if you squeeze the handbrake lever cover you actually get LHM seeping out! I have a spare caliper that I will need to split to put the wider 16v body onto (using the strange 5 sided bolt!)
We've managed to find a replacement Discovery for Lana to use - V8 again and already converted which was a bonus. Although the company that installed the LPG system had obviously not heard of soldering and heat shrink tubing. Multiple poor quality crimps hidden under rolls of old sticky insulating tape, so I'm gradually working my way through the system and replacing them - we had a few days where it wouldn't switch to gas as it had lost the signal from the coil to say the engine was running. On the whole it seems to be a sound vehicle, needs a couple of patches welding in before the winter but that's to be
expected from an old Landy!
The possible plan for the old Disco (now craned out)
is to either remove the whole body, and build a (shortened) Defender bodied hybrid, or possible keep the front part of the body intact and turn it into a pick up. It would have taken a lot of work to straighten out the frame under the skin (panel gaps had closed up in places) and the roof is actually welded on, making replacement more difficult. It stood up to the accident remarkably well I thought though.
And now I feel like a whinge.... We have a footpath running across a small field of ours, and the night before last I spotted a group of 4 mountain bikers riding across it. I do a fair bit of riding myself, and although it's not really right for them to be using a footpath and not a bridleway, I'm not especially bothered - I've done the same before on occasions. But when they got to the stream, which is only about a foot wide and edged by a flat stone either side so walkers can step over it, they stopped and proceeded to prise up stones that were marking the edge of the footpath, to block the stream so they could ride across!
Is that really taking the piss or am I turning into a grumpy "Get orfff my laaaand" type person? I saw them do it from the house and shouted at them, but by the time I had run over to them they had gone. Should have let the dog out in a Mr. Burns style "Release the hound!" but didn't think of it at the time...
1993 1.9 TZD Turbo Estate
1996 3.9 V8 Discovery
1993 VW LT35 campervan
1985 Hyundai Stellar V8
2016 Hyundai iLoad
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mat_fenwick
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Why oh why do small jobs turn into big ones???
Just doing a few odd jobs on the van before its MOT, replacing a couple of suspension bushes (fairly simple job despite them being welded into position, new set of tyres and 'just' curing the small oil and fuel leaks. Oil leak was easy, it was only a matter of replacing the rear camshaft seal (injector pump is driven by a seperate belt from the rear end of the camshaft). Some muppet had previously tried to stop the leak by plastering silicone sealant on the outside of the seal!
The fuel leak I had hoped to be just a loose hose clip but no such luck - from the contamination on the belt it appeared to be coming from the pump drive shaft seal. At least I can replace that in situ I thought. After pulling off the pulley (which cracked on removal - oh joy!) I could see it wasn't that but must be (and was) the cold start lever, which is on the side of the pump between the pump and the block.
So I took the pump off, and a seal kit is on order. Question is do I replace all the seals, all the easy seals, or just the ones that are leaking?
And while the pump is off glow plug access is stupidly easy, so 6 of those to change, more expense! At least the engine is in the cab so I can work on it whatever the weather.
The BX also needed 4 new tyres, why does everything need money spending at once?
Apart from a worn lower engine mount it's pretty sorted now so shouldn't really complain!
At least it doesn't need any welding, unlike the Discovery. A small soft part of the passenger footwell...
...soon grew...
but is now nicely solid again.
Oh, and the scars are healing nicely, apologies for the pasty white flesh on show!
Just doing a few odd jobs on the van before its MOT, replacing a couple of suspension bushes (fairly simple job despite them being welded into position, new set of tyres and 'just' curing the small oil and fuel leaks. Oil leak was easy, it was only a matter of replacing the rear camshaft seal (injector pump is driven by a seperate belt from the rear end of the camshaft). Some muppet had previously tried to stop the leak by plastering silicone sealant on the outside of the seal!
The fuel leak I had hoped to be just a loose hose clip but no such luck - from the contamination on the belt it appeared to be coming from the pump drive shaft seal. At least I can replace that in situ I thought. After pulling off the pulley (which cracked on removal - oh joy!) I could see it wasn't that but must be (and was) the cold start lever, which is on the side of the pump between the pump and the block.
So I took the pump off, and a seal kit is on order. Question is do I replace all the seals, all the easy seals, or just the ones that are leaking?
And while the pump is off glow plug access is stupidly easy, so 6 of those to change, more expense! At least the engine is in the cab so I can work on it whatever the weather.
The BX also needed 4 new tyres, why does everything need money spending at once?
Apart from a worn lower engine mount it's pretty sorted now so shouldn't really complain!At least it doesn't need any welding, unlike the Discovery. A small soft part of the passenger footwell...
...soon grew...
but is now nicely solid again.
Oh, and the scars are healing nicely, apologies for the pasty white flesh on show!
Last edited by mat_fenwick on Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
1993 1.9 TZD Turbo Estate
1996 3.9 V8 Discovery
1993 VW LT35 campervan
1985 Hyundai Stellar V8
2016 Hyundai iLoad
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docchevron
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Loving the oily / dirty finger nails in the last pic! A true engineer!
PS. If you're taking the pump off, I'd do all the seals whilst it's out, you just know another will fail soon enough if you dont!
PS. If you're taking the pump off, I'd do all the seals whilst it's out, you just know another will fail soon enough if you dont!
Smokes lots, because enough's enough already!
Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
Far too many BX's, a bus, an ambulance a few trucks, not enough time and never enough cash...
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mat_fenwick
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toddao
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Mat, I had a similar seal set for my Bosch pump but I only replaced the easy ones. Once you open those b'rds you'll find that it's a whole other universe to contend with starting with springs firing at you! Citro Xim knows the innards of those things. I assume, being a VW, it is a Bosch pump?
Todd
this yellow writing is really hard to read
this yellow writing is really hard to read
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mat_fenwick
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I ended up chickening out in the end (springs popping out give me the heebie jeebies...) too - even Doc said that getting the lid back on was a bastard of a job, so I only did the leaking ones and any others that seemed easy.
Anyone want a half used seal kit?
Yes, it is a Bosch pump, fortunately(?) someone hadn't bothered with the tricky mounting screw underneath so I hadn't got to struggle getting that one off.
The puzzling thing about the camshaft pulley was the fact that it wasn't keyed to the shaft! It had the slot for a woodruff key, and a taper, but in the end of the shaft there was just a slot across it. I wonder if there's something missing?
Off to wash the stink of diesel off my hands, and maybe hit the sack now.
Anyone want a half used seal kit?
Yes, it is a Bosch pump, fortunately(?) someone hadn't bothered with the tricky mounting screw underneath so I hadn't got to struggle getting that one off.
The puzzling thing about the camshaft pulley was the fact that it wasn't keyed to the shaft! It had the slot for a woodruff key, and a taper, but in the end of the shaft there was just a slot across it. I wonder if there's something missing?
Off to wash the stink of diesel off my hands, and maybe hit the sack now.
1993 1.9 TZD Turbo Estate
1996 3.9 V8 Discovery
1993 VW LT35 campervan
1985 Hyundai Stellar V8
2016 Hyundai iLoad
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mat_fenwick
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- Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2005 4:08 pm
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Just got back from a very enjoyable 2 weeks in France, mostly wild camping in the van. In total we spent about 40 Euros on campsites - most were happy for us to give them a Euro or so just for the use of their showers. I don't like the tightly packed in nature of most campsites so it's nice to just park up wherever takes your fancy.
Setting off for the 330 mile trip to Dover was a little worrying - I had previously set the injector timing by ear and suspected it was a shade down on power. Plus a fill just before the trip showed the mpg had fallen from the usual 25 mpg to 22! I had expected an improvement seeing as I had sorted out the small diesel pump leak. So a cautious journey down at 50mph, followed by a mad dash once we left the M25 and realised there was an hour before the ferry was due to set off and still 60 miles to go! We made it with 10 minutes to spare but unfortunately were too late - still, we were first in line for the next boat. Despite the caning on the last part of the journey we managed 28mpg and the exhaust (which normally deposits soot all over the back wheel) seemed a lot cleaner, so the timing can't be that far off.
Once in France we headed for the Loire valley, where we alternated between seeing chateaus, swimming, sunbathing, canoeing and drinking wine by the river.
The largest chateau in France
The best table in the house?
Sadly a fantastic engine museum we had visited previously was now closed. Many of the engines were connected to fuel and a battery, so could be started for an interesting audio visual display!
After a week or so we decided to head for the coast for a bit more warmth and the sea, so we headed for an area of coast just below the Ile de Noirmoutier.
After a few days on the beach, and probably achieving the record highest score on the local crazy golf course the weather turned cloudy and windy so we headed to St Nazaire. We had a tour of one of the shipyards where they were making a new naval vessel. Everything was epically huge, construction on a different scale!
After a slight confusion between Loudeac and Lohuec (about 75 miles apart!) we visited the Lohuec motor museum again. In terms of what there was to see there, it was one of the best value for money attractions of the trip, although the Group B rallying video showing a car ploughing through a crowd (followed by a slow motion clip) was a bit shocking.
Non hydraulic rallycross BX - an early 16v
After this we headed through Normandy briefly, visiting the Pointe du Hoc on the way.
The end was in sight, so we stocked up on a couple of bottles of wine (the underseat storage in the van can carry a surprising amount) and headed back to Dunkerque.
So on to the problem of emptying a chemical toilet whilst wild camping. I suppose I could have used one of the motorhome service points which are dotted around, but in the event it lasted till we got home. I was however very tempted to sneak into the Gents with the tank, go into a cubicle to unleash 25 litres of liquid, whilst at the same time exclaiming "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" in a relieved tone...
We did about 2000 miles in all (nearly 700 this side!) and I was pleased to find that we'd not used any noticeable amount of oil or water, plus had not budged over half way on the temperature gauge despite temperatures in the mid 30s. We do have plans to fit a shower to the van though, and a greater on board water capacity to give us more freedom. Yet more jobs on the To Do list then...
Lastly, anyone guess what this is based on?
I know one of you can...
Setting off for the 330 mile trip to Dover was a little worrying - I had previously set the injector timing by ear and suspected it was a shade down on power. Plus a fill just before the trip showed the mpg had fallen from the usual 25 mpg to 22! I had expected an improvement seeing as I had sorted out the small diesel pump leak. So a cautious journey down at 50mph, followed by a mad dash once we left the M25 and realised there was an hour before the ferry was due to set off and still 60 miles to go! We made it with 10 minutes to spare but unfortunately were too late - still, we were first in line for the next boat. Despite the caning on the last part of the journey we managed 28mpg and the exhaust (which normally deposits soot all over the back wheel) seemed a lot cleaner, so the timing can't be that far off.
Once in France we headed for the Loire valley, where we alternated between seeing chateaus, swimming, sunbathing, canoeing and drinking wine by the river.
The largest chateau in France
The best table in the house?
Sadly a fantastic engine museum we had visited previously was now closed. Many of the engines were connected to fuel and a battery, so could be started for an interesting audio visual display!
After a week or so we decided to head for the coast for a bit more warmth and the sea, so we headed for an area of coast just below the Ile de Noirmoutier.
After a few days on the beach, and probably achieving the record highest score on the local crazy golf course the weather turned cloudy and windy so we headed to St Nazaire. We had a tour of one of the shipyards where they were making a new naval vessel. Everything was epically huge, construction on a different scale!
After a slight confusion between Loudeac and Lohuec (about 75 miles apart!) we visited the Lohuec motor museum again. In terms of what there was to see there, it was one of the best value for money attractions of the trip, although the Group B rallying video showing a car ploughing through a crowd (followed by a slow motion clip) was a bit shocking.
Non hydraulic rallycross BX - an early 16v
After this we headed through Normandy briefly, visiting the Pointe du Hoc on the way.
The end was in sight, so we stocked up on a couple of bottles of wine (the underseat storage in the van can carry a surprising amount) and headed back to Dunkerque.
So on to the problem of emptying a chemical toilet whilst wild camping. I suppose I could have used one of the motorhome service points which are dotted around, but in the event it lasted till we got home. I was however very tempted to sneak into the Gents with the tank, go into a cubicle to unleash 25 litres of liquid, whilst at the same time exclaiming "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" in a relieved tone...
We did about 2000 miles in all (nearly 700 this side!) and I was pleased to find that we'd not used any noticeable amount of oil or water, plus had not budged over half way on the temperature gauge despite temperatures in the mid 30s. We do have plans to fit a shower to the van though, and a greater on board water capacity to give us more freedom. Yet more jobs on the To Do list then...
Lastly, anyone guess what this is based on?
I know one of you can...
1993 1.9 TZD Turbo Estate
1996 3.9 V8 Discovery
1993 VW LT35 campervan
1985 Hyundai Stellar V8
2016 Hyundai iLoad
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1992 TZD Turbo Estate - SORN
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Looks like you had a great time I'd go along with the Merc theme for the bread van 
I'd go along with the Merc theme for the bread van 2002 C5 2.0 HDI Estate - Jasmine - Now SORN
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
I'm not just a username, i'm also called Matthew.
2011 Mini Cooper D Clubman - SOLD
2016 Mercedes A180D Sport - Auto refinement
1992 TZD Turbo - Bluebell - My daily
1991 Gti 16V - Blaze - crash damaged, will get repaired.
1990 Gti 8Valve SOLD - looks like it's been scrapped
2002 Mini Cooper S - SOLD - i miss this car
1992 TXD - Scrapped in March 2014
1988 CX 25 GTI Turbo2 - SORN
1996 - AX Memphis 1.5D - Dream - SORN
I'm not just a username, i'm also called Matthew.