Glad it's all done and working! - both O-rings and diagnostics :)
There is actually a guy up on the farm area with a workshop who does car spraying and the likes. He used to be in the workshop that myself and my mate now rent, and he's moved into a bigger place, so I guess business must be ticking over for him.
I was thinking also about trying to do my headliner - I have a headliner back (with sunroof) that I was going to re-trim and put in mine - but if there are enough of us, then again, maybe we could approach the places on the like of eBay that do the material/glue kits and see if they do a discount for a bulk roll of the fabric/ high temp adhesive?
I have a feeling that I also have a complete steering column in the workshop from one of the ones we stripped for parts if required.
BMR kit /brake service should be easy enough - likewise on the LPG. I caught a whiff of gas under the bonnet on mine again but doesn't seem to be from the feed hoses - I've replaced all the injector hoses with new 6mm hose, but thinking I might try and replace it all with 5mm to make sure it's a nice tight fit.
Marty
It surprises me a bit aswell - especially as eBay have fees if you sell something, and then they take a fee on the postage cost aswell, and then Paypal take a fee for money coming in if its from the sale of something...
I worked it out and on £45 for a door latch if I sell them on eBay, after all the fees - I get about £37, so every single item which I'm the one who puts the time and effort in to actually do the work on, I'm just handing %17 to other people - just for the convenience of having the outlet to sell them.
Oh, and because I've sold a fair number of them in the last couple of months and it's all traceable, it will have to be declared on my tax return as I'm self-employed aswell, so there's another %15-%20 straight to the tax man.
Oh the reality of doing 'business' in the modern age - but I guess until it no longer becomes worth my while to actually do it, then I'll still do them... one of the reasons that I want to push people more towards my own web shop as then I only get stung the Paypal fee - but as the likes of eBay are where a LOT of people (myself included!) go to buy things I probably wouldn't sell anything if I didn't list them up there... catch 22 I guess..
But it is surprising that people don't charge more on eBay to make up for it. I recently put my core charge up to £20 from £10 as people weren't bothering to send faulty latches back... and funnily enough of the 6 or 7 I've sold - even with the higher core charge - I've only had 1 returned... which again starts making it un-sustainable to do door latches at £45 if I then have to go and spend between £15 and £40 to keep buying ones to recondition
Oh well... rant over... I do still enjoy being able to repair and supply bits cheaper then buying new and appreciate the people who do send bits back!
Orangebean wrote:
I tend to buy 20L at a time of this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATF-DIII-DEXRON-3-Semi-Synthetic-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-Oil-20-Litre-/370282353380
or 2 of these would do the trick and leave some spare:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATF-DIII-DEXRON-3-Semi-Synthetic-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-Oil-5-Litre-/250521944613
I use Smith & Allan stuff oils etc on everything I build or run. No complaints or issues yet and very fast delivery!
SNAP... I use their oils aswell... I've got the remnants of a 20L of ATF at the workshop at the moment, and am looking at getting a 20L of 10W/40 engine oil so I can do an oil change in my one - and then have some for the other 2 aswell - but also would also be useful for if people if they want to do oil service etc at the workshop day etc..
Of course it's allowed Oldshep! the more the merrier - it will be good to put some names to faces!
Ok, so not the 9th/10th... how about the 2nd/3rd?
I've got kicking about 5 spare transfer cases and a H24 gearbox kicking about aswell. 3 of the transfer cases came with a job lot of parts I bought, the other 2 and the HP24 came with the 2 project P38's. My plan is to take them all to Ashcrofts as core at some point, but think I may have a couple of ratio motors. I also have a load of bits from a couple of P38's myself and mate have stripped - which as they are joint between us, I would need to sell - but can do good mates rates on them! They're all the non-common bits, but think there are a few ECU's, bits of trim and things like that.. Also a full running 2.5BMW engine and HP22 box! <br>
Sounds like between us all, there should be a fair whack of tools and the likes to get things done.. should be a good weekend!
Ok... sounds like we are starting to make a plan...
Next question... when? I'm pretty much away now until the 23rd/24th June - so will have to be after that. Ideally I would like to get the bits done on mine before the MOT is due, which is about the 13th July from memory, so ideally for me would be either weekend of 2nd/3rd July or 9th/10th July.
What suits everyone else? <br>
Also what do people want to get done? <br>
My list is pretty much as above in my other post: - <br>
Hopefully install a recon steering box, and a new PS pump, and possibly lower steering column linkage <br>
Radius Arm bushes <br>
Swap ABS modulator for a spare one I have here and refresh fluid/bleed. <br>
Possible look at gearshift mechanism (bit tight getting down into 1st/2nd gear - might just be the cable) <br>
Possible swap VC if I've managed to swap the front bearing out of a spare VC by then <br>
General service - Diff oils, engine oil, Transfer case oil <br>
Orangebean, if you are looking at doing the BMR kit on your modulator at the same time, then I'll look at getting some DOT4 in bulk as we'll need a few litres of the stuff. <br>
If anyone else is wanting to do oil change/diff oil change/transfer case or auto box, then I will also look into getting these fluids in bulk as it might work out cheaper all around. <br>
I am looking at getting a press, and possibly the radius arm bush LR Tool to use with it, so if anyone else in interested in doing their radius arm bushes with genuine ones rather than poly, then I can look more seriously into getting the tool to do it. <br>
Likewise on other parts, if there's a load of things we need to get, then I am happy to do a bulk order to save on shipping and the likes. <br>
Workshop bits that I've got: <br>
3T trolley jack (plus my mate has one there, but no handle for it - hence he's kept pinching mine!) <br>
2x big axle stands <br>
2x medium axle stands <br>
2x small axle stands - all rated at 2T minimum <br>
2x Wheel ramps <br>
Engine Crane <br>
Big air compressor with a few tools. Don't have a decent air impact wrench at the moment but it's on the list to get. Have air ratchet, drill, grinder I think <br>
Kettle! <br>
13A power outlets <br>
I've got a whole bunch of tools including all the normal spanners and the likes, but also: <br>
Ball joint press kit <br>
Exhaust gas sniffer <br>
Hydraulic crimpers for battery cables <br>
Sadly no lift :(
Mine could do with an LPG tune up, but a bit more of a pain as it's multipoint....
There are some sealed roads around the workshop area, but don't think you'll want to go flat out around them either as they're pretty narrow and wouldn't want to meet something coming the other way!
Yeah, I was going to first see who was interested, and see what they were wanting to look at and see if we can work out a list of things to get done and then filter that a bit to see what we think is realistically possible to achieve.
If it's general maintenance and service, then I'm also thinking of considering bulk order on the likes of engine oil/ATF/gear oil to make the most of bulk buy discounts from some suppliers etc.
I'll have a few months whilst I'm away working to try and get it all organised...
Just had a look, and there isn't much around the workshop area in the way of accommodation :(
Swindon itself however, there's Travelodge in the centre of town, and Premier Inn both in town and also one just up the road from where I live aswell.
Also a couple more Premier Inns around and Holiday Inns too. I think there are probably B&B's and the likes about too..
Will put a post up on the other forum aswell, but think if we have maybe a max of 5? Just thinking of time and space!
I've had a couple of the manual ones, and don't know if I've done something wrong, but they've always leaked out the back past the seal or not sucked the oil up properly :(
Was the main reason I went for the electric one, but it's still not perfect.. I'm tempted to try one of the pump units that you use in a drill chuck aswell..
If it's a Bosch model, then the MAF sensors don't seem to clean up aswell as the GEMS ones do, but can cause the issues you are having.
It could be a whole load of things. Mine idled a bit like that when the fuel trims were pulled too far from normal, so it was running rich the whole time and that was causing unsteady idle.
Originally it was a bad MAF, but bad O2 sensors can also cause it.
Bosch models don't have a stepper motor like GEMS do, so probably not likely to be that as the IACV works differently. It's worth giving it a clean up though to be sure...
I use one of these:
Seems to work OK on ATF... struggles a bit more on thicker diff oil etc...
I keep looking for something better/a bit more robust, but still haven't found anything yet which is in a reasonable price range. It can get a bit messy though, as the fluid lines that came with it were quite rigid, but I'm sure you would replace them for something a bit more flexible
The workshop is a bit out of the way (which is why it's fairly cheap to rent!!) But it is just out of Marlborough, so I will have a look and see what is around.
I know there are Travelodges and the likes around Swindon itself - which might be an option too, as I have to travel from Swindon anyway - and could make it good to be able to go for food and a couple of beers if people aren't knackered after a busy day.
I will take a look and see what is about a bit later, both around Swindon and also nearer the workshop and post up for anyone who's interested...
Welcome to the 'other' side :)
I'm sure you'll be of help - if you've got any bits you want to do on your one, then I am sure that we can get a load of things done in one go...
If anyone else is keen on coming around and has some things they want done aswell, then maybe we could look at organising a 'P38 weekend'
I'm happy to look at anything electrical for people in return for help on the mechanical side of things... Might post it on the other forums aswell and see if there's any other UK owners in the vicinity who fancy it... could make it into a bit of a P38 meet up aswell...
Marty
Stick with the Thor 4.6.
I've only see one successful conversion to a LS 6.0, on the 'other' forum. I know that Overfinch used GM engines in their P38 conversions, but there weren't that many of them done, so doubt that the parts/adapters/electronic workarounds they used aren't readily available anymore.
The one done in the thread on rr.net started out with a hiss and a roar, and I think he was planning on making kits to do the conversion, but I also know there has been a lot of teething problems between the engine/box and having to adapt a lot of linkages, wiring looms and all that - so going from that, and the fact he works on engines a lot and has all the tools to be able to fabricate/adapt parts, then I think as far as a DIY project, it's probably a fairly involved swap to do - especially on this side of the pond, as the LS engines are commonplace in the states, but not so much over here...
My thought process is more along the lines of if I want more power out of it, then I'd be looking at going to someone like V8 developments and get a 5.2L short Rover engine and then build that up into a replacement Thor V8 - so you know that everything will mate up and run. Tornado Systems (Mark Adams) who did all the bits for chipping the GEMS engines now does the Motronic systems too, so if I went down the 5.2L option, then I'd look at getting the map tweaked to make the most of it.
Would probably work out quicker and more cost effective in this country go down that route.
Not saying it's impossible, though! someone has to be a pioneer in the UK...
Could be something simple, or it could be the screen itself... I know that bits of my screen work all the way across it - but enough of it is faulty to make me want to get a massive crack in it and get it replaced! but then I haven't needed it that often in the last few years, so it's not high on the priority list!
Hmmmm,
Food for thought - I haven't had the steering aligned since the new rods were put in.. I will check the steering box for being centered, though when rocking the steering wheel back and forth I can still feel play in the shaft going into the box. I wondered if it was the intermediate steering shaft, and the rubber coupler, but when I grabbed the intermediate steering shaft and tried rocking it under the bonnet (I was on my own) it still moved on the steering box input.
I'm toying with the idea of getting a refurbished steering box, and maybe new intermediate steering shaft aswell, just because of the slop that is in the box.
Bushes... I have been considering doing the radius arm bushes - I've got a spare set of radius arms up at the workshop, so could get some bushes and then get them replaced, and then swap the arms over.
OK, so my list at the moment (for when I get some time - and unfortunately don't that will be until the end of June now, as I'm away for work for about 10 weeks solidly from the middle of April):<br>
If anyone is about towards the end of June who fancies a day of helping out, then I could do with a hand for some of this.. I also want to swap my ABS modulator out, and replace/bleed brake fluid. I've also got a new power steering pump to install as the one on there sounds like it has a grumbly bearing - which makes sense to do at the same time if I do the box.
All that and an engine oil change and she'll be in a happy place for the MOT in July and ready for summer!
Let me know if anyone is about and willing to lend a hand... I'm hoping by then I'll have some of my workshop space available.. Also happy to help out if you have any bits you want to look at on your P38(s) and share time/workshop/tools etc so we can all get some things done!
Cheers,
Marty
Orangebean wrote:
Only time I change mine is when I'm on sites related to my "other" interests, such as naughtytortoisesmustbespanked.com. I use Marty_Nz for those :-)
Ahh, that explains all the spam email I get saying I've signed up to things... I have a pretty open mind, but the one with the donkey's... really?!?
;)