Right, I decided after looking at my other VSE that I wouldn't waste time getting the alternator bracket cleaned as you can't really see it when it's in the car so I bolted that back on yesterday.
The lad who does the vapour blasting was true to his word. He opened the back door of his unit and let me put the bits inside the door and then I left as he closed the door. He's sent me a picture of them today as they dried in his blast cabinet and the difference is unreal. They look superb!
Before:
After:
Next time I'm out shopping I've to give him a call and he's going to leave them outside the back door of his unit to pick up. We're not likely to need anything until Friday so am hopeful I'll have them back for the weekend to carry on with assembly.
David.
That'll look great when it's finished!
Morning Gilbert, they look like Allen bolts. They were fitted by V8 Developments before we collected the engine.
David.
no10chris wrote:
I had my spare plenum and inlet hydro cleaned, they look better than new, well worth it, I’d look at alternator bracket as well if you can..
I removed it again for that very reason after I took the photograph :)
David.
A little bit of progress has been made :) Just awaiting a couple more deliveries this week.
Cleaning everything as I'm going is taking forever but it'll be worth it in the long run I hope! I've also repaired the manifold heat shields too so they'll be getting refitted shortly.
I've found a company locally who do vapour blasting. After reaching out to them, it turns out it's a one man outfit who is still doing what he can and is only accepting parts that are dropped off outside his door to keep social distancing so I'm going to try and drop off both halves of the inlet manifold this week.
Other than that, the only things left to get are Magnecor Red plug leads, Air Flow Meter and Spark Plugs. I spoke to Mark Adams who was going to supply these so I need to try and get in touch with him this week and see if he's still able to before I order online. One thing he did suggest was using a hot weather thermostat and pipework from a Discovery 2 as this lowers the running temperature of the engine slightly.
I'm also pondering the idea of trying to fit an aftermarket oil temperature and coolant temperature gauge so I can see what's going on rather then relying on the temperature gauge. Someone recently posted a video of the temperature gauge on Facebook and it didn't go off the scale until the engine was getting very hot.
David.
Will do. Just waiting for a couple of parts firstly. I forgot to take the knock sensor mounts off the old engine so I need 2 of them, then I will hopefully start getting it built up at the weekend before having it ready to drop in next week.
Right, the one benefit of self isolation is that you have time at home to get things done...
I dragged the VSE out from the side of the workshop last weekend and started removing things from the inner wings to clean them. I've also started building up this new engine too as it needs all the bits and pieces mounting on it.
Here goes anyway! I've started ordering all sorts of odds and sods as I don't want to be chasing my tail around this for months so will no doubt do a load more then necessary.
David.
I want a Vogue SE badge as mine is missing one. I looked at getting one made and Orangebean said he'd got the measurements for it but never got around to sending me them.
I can't bring myself to spend £45 on a badge that looks battered though.
David.
Being brutally honest, since the new engine was collected and some other parts of the engine were cleaned I've done very little with it.
In Autumn last year I got fed up with a bit of wander in the steering on the other VSE so we ended up replacing every bush underneath it, then I found the exhaust was rotten so that was replaced, there was an axle oil seal leaking so that was done and whilst it was in bits the discs and pads were rusty due to lack of use so they were changed too.
The gearbox oil cooler on my Peugeot 407 Coupe split and filled the gearbox with antifreeze and the cooling system with ATF. I was going to swap the box over but 3.0 HDi gearboxes on those are very hard to come by so I ended up spending weeks flushing the gearbox and cooling system. I ended up using the hose on the header tank and just letting it run for hours, and we ended up using over 80 litres of expensive ATF to flush it.
After that I bought a Citroen C6 3.0 HDi in France that had a gearbox fault. After having the box rebuilt I had to do the timing belt on it, the week after I started using it the clutch pulley on the alternator packed in so I had to strip that down again too.
We also had a death in the family just before Christmas which knocked us all off track a bit.
So... the C6's alternator pulley will be finished today and I'd intended to pull the P38 back into the workshop and get it started but the weather is utterly horrendous today. It's at the top of the list of things to get done anyway!
David.
My Vogue SE did the same. I fiddled with the drive and didn’t get anywhere. In the end I removed the scuttle, disconnected the GPS antenna and refitted it after giving the connector a quick clean and it’s been fine since.
David.
Well, reality is kicking in and I've realised I'm not going to get the time to do all of my projects and I'd rather focus time/money/effort on the Vogue SE at the moment.
Does anybody want to buy a DSE that's had a ton of work done to it and has a full 12 month MOT?
David.
gordonjcp wrote:
Watch, because I bought some O rings for my gearbox cooler pipes and whatever they were, they sure as hell weren't ATF compatible despite being apparently fuel and oil compatible. In about six weeks they'd turned to something like black evostick.
The o-rings that are on it came with the new oil cooler pipes so I'm hoping they'd be ok... although, they did come in a blue bag...
David.
This DSE really is the car that keeps giving... problems that is!!
Collected it from it's MOT yesterday. I was home on my own so rather then trying to mess around get back for it, I popped down with the L322 and trailer and towed it home.
Upon moving it from the trailer I noticed oil on the back of the drivers front tyre, a quick rub and smelling of it confirms it's diff oil so it needs a front axle oil seal so I've ordered a pair of them, I then noticed ATF on the bed under the oil cooler for the gearbox which is brand new so I'm just hoping it's a connection that needs nipping a bit more, and finally an EAS diaphragm that I fitted less then 6 miles ago ruptured so it's now stuck on it's arse again.
Looks like it's some more spannering for this bloody thing.
David.
Well, I can now update this thread... after an embarrassingly long time!!
I sourced a replacement gearbox from someone who broke a P38 locally over 2 years ago! I got it fitted not long after I got it but it took me ages to finish putting it back together. When I started filling it with gear oil I noticed it was pissing out of the oil cooler so I think I found the reason the original box failed. The gearbox oil cooler pipes were rotten too.
I replaced both pipes and the oil cooler and had my Dad sit inside it moving it through the gears whilst I was under it filling the gearbox. He moved the steering from one side to the other and one of the metal power steering pipes exploded. It was crusty as hell and rotten too. I replaced the steering pipe from the pump to the box and bled that out. Thankfully whilst filling the gearbox I could hear the engine note change and could see the propshaft starting to take up the slack in the drivetrain.
When I thought I was finished I put it in drive and the car wouldn't move. I nudged it into Low and tried again, and with about 1500 revs it moved grudgingly. I stripped the brakes down, the drivers side front caliper was seized solid. I couldn't get one of the pistons to move even when using the airline behind it. the passengers side front was ok as was the passengers side rear. The drivers side rear caliper was ok but one of sliders was seized solid in the carrier.
I ordered a caliper, carrier and front and rear pads from Island 4x4. The discs front and rear were like new but the friction material came off the rear pads on removal and one of the springs fell off the front pads.
Once I'd done this I took the car for a short run up the lane and it was driving nicely and changing gear perfectly which was a relief! After a quick prod around with a screwdriver I found it needed a small patch of welding.
Today it went in for an MOT... It failed...
Both rear indicators were no longer orange... 2 new bulbs cured that...
Windscreen washers not scooshing enough fluid... This was harsh as 3 of the 4 jets were perfect and the 4th was hitting the bottom of the screen.
And the brakes... the efficiency was below 50%...
I trailered it to it's MOT as I hadn't had time to insure it so the new pads on the cleaned discs hadn't actually done anything. It had a run around the block in which we did some emergency braking and the brakes started to feel much better. I let the tester try it again and he got much better readings on the tapley meter and he compared them to my P38 that I'd gone down in and he was happy that they were ok.
So... 2.5 years after I bought it, the DSE now has an MOT!! :)
I started to do a bit of looking through it and found that although it has a sat nav screen in the front it doesn't have a sat nav unit in the boot... It doesn't even have the slot in the trim where it should sit!
The tester did advise me today that there is no play in anything when the car is on the ramp but when driving it to test the brakes he said the car wanders on the road and you're steering constantly to keep it in a straight line so it probably needs a set of bushes.
I'll collect it on Monday and see what it drives like.
David.
Told you last nights thread was the first of many daft questions...
Thermostats...
Looking on the Island 4x4 website, there are 3 different makes of thermostat. They range from £11.66 for a Shitpart one, £13.99 for an AllMakes 4x4 one, up to £73.33 for a Genuine LR one (Plus VAT).
Usually I try and stick to Genuine LR, especially where the cooling system is concerned but at almost 7 times the price, it's a huge difference.
Anybody got any thoughts?
David.
Thanks Chris.
In that case, I'll probably reuse the originals.
David.
Evening Gents,
Starting to accumulate the parts to rebuild the new engine... So the likelihood is this is the first of many daft questions!
What are the recommendations on the exhaust manifold to head bolts? I've heard people have used Allen key bolts before as it makes removing them in situ much easier.
Cheers,
David.
I've moved several P38's on trailers behind P38's. Total distances covered is probably nearing 1000 miles doing so.
Our trailer weighs just under a ton when I take the sides off so a P38 on the trailer is within the 3500kg towing limit. So legally it's not an issue. Be careful though, any play in steering, bushes and brakes that aren't perfect will be massively highlighted when towing a load like that.
I'm only 32 so had to go and do a separate trailer test to allow me to do it legally.
David.
I've done this before on other cars, never a P38 right enough, use a 4ft breaker bar on the bolt, brace it against the floor and flick the engine on the starter motor, literally, just a flick, don't risk letting it start or turn it over for long.
David.
Thanks guys.
There's a company on eBay who sell refurbished ones for £180. Given that they're not the easiest of things to change, I must admit I'm tempted to get a refurb and just be done with it rather then taking a risk on a secondhand one.
David.