My HPE....now a rolling recommission

[WestonE]

Hi Nigel

I am glad you have your work in use. Well done.

Eric

[peteracs]

Hi Nigel

Looking good, glad to see you finished them.

Peter

[Nigel]

Hi Nigel

Looking good, glad to see you finished them.

Peter

And thanks to you Peter for the contact and initial transport to my car.

The driving seat needs some adjustment with lowering at the front. Nice Sunday task.

Also, the passenger seat, eventually, needs some fettling due to learning curves
ironed out somewhat on the other one. An example is that to fit the headrest cover
it is best to remove the steel insert which makes the foam much more pliable.

Nigel

[Nigel]

I obtained a pair of hatch struts from SGS Engineering back in 2020,
choosing the VX variant as I thought they'd be more up to the job.

They worked OK, except that they juddered a lot, were quite powerful and
started leaking, and out of the 2 year warranty period.

So I opted last week for the standard variety. However when installing them today I
found they only just held up the hatch. A slight nudge, and it would fall.
So I've returned them and ordered the VX ones again.

The difference is 670N against 830N, as marked on the strut.

Nigel

[Nigel]

The new hatch struts are so good compared with the 4 year olds. I now wish I'd
originally sent them back as they were rubbish from the start.

I finally got to install a replacement electric window regulator in the drivers
door today which had been sitting on a shelf since I refurbed it last year. It's working
much better but still not as good as the pax side. I'm now tempted to try
a conversion to a more modern wire cable-driven unit.

Slowly getting it ready for the trip to Laon in June, another oil and filter change, and a
serious fuel hose inspection/replacement. 

Nigel

[Nigel]

During some running around town I'd noticed a new clunk
from the front which could be felt and heard coming from the top of the
left side strut.
I'd installed Munroe inserts with the weld-on collars a while back.

Upon closer inspection I found that the collar nut had come loose. While still
on the car I could turn it a full turn before it tightened.

So I removed the strut and stripped it down. I didn't find anything wrong so either
I'd not tightened it properly or it came loose. Either way, locking it seemed a wise move so
I drilled a 1.5mm hole in the collar nut, and drilled a washer to bolt to the spring plate.
Then fitted a wire between the two.

I'll now check the other side and do the same.

[Nigel]

The quest for a perfect relationship between me, seat, gears and steering
is now almost getting there. I say almost because it's only had a one hour drive test.

I bent the gear lever back another inch, and added the same to the steering wheel.
I can now reach first gear without stretching, and my elbows are now
bent more comfortably.

It's a rather busy photo but anyway....lever is in neutral.

[Nigel]

After having done some 2000 miles in the last 2 months,
I've had no more cramps and it's all quite comfortable. Not perfect yet, but ok.

During our return from Laon the coolant temp gauge shot up to max and the lamp lit up.
Peter diagnosed correctly and disconnected the wire at the sensor. I now had a working gauge again.
I've now replaced that sensor, and all's good.

I replaced the 3 gear linkage bushes during the initial recommission, but still had play.
I got a pair of centre-pivot bushes from Mark recently and will be fitting shortly. I recall from other
comments that the steering rack had to be moved to get sufficient access but I wonder if
releasing and lowering the rear of the subframe would achieve the same result?

Other jobs coming up are a gearbox/diff oil change, replacement of throttle cable, and
a new brake light switch. And another engine oil and filter change.

Nigel

[Ferrit]

I keep reading about dropping the subframe is it that bad to do? 

I need to do a throttle cable, where did you buy it from Nigel?

[peteracs]

Hi Nigel

If you mean the swivel part of the gear linkage which is on a vertical pin, then yes the steering rack gets in the way of taking the pin out which goes upwards to remove. You do not need to touch the subframe. You have the PS rack so unsure how much movement is required to clear the pin. To get my manual rack out I had to undo the two bulkhead mounts and had just enough movement upwards and outwards to get the pin out. You may have to disconnect the steering column to do yours to give enough movement.

Peter

[Nigel]

I keep reading about dropping the subframe is it that bad to do? 

I need to do a throttle cable, where did you buy it from Nigel?

I got it from Mark at Betaboyz. Looks like I bought the last one, for now.
Maybe check with him whether the LHD part will fit. It will be longer, but not by much.

N.

[Nigel]

Hi Nigel

If you mean the swivel part of the gear linkage which is on a vertical pin, then yes the steering rack gets in the way of taking the pin out which goes upwards to remove. You do not need to touch the subframe. You have the PS rack so unsure how much movement is required to clear the pin. To get my manual rack out I had to undo the two bulkhead mounts and had just enough movement upwards and outwards to get the pin out. You may have to disconnect the steering column to do yours to give enough movement.

Peter

Thanks Peter. Looks like rain from now on so I'll be waiting until it dries up a bit!

[peteracs]

I keep reading about dropping the subframe is it that bad to do? 

I need to do a throttle cable, where did you buy it from Nigel?

I got it from Mark at Betaboyz. Looks like I bought the last one, for now.
Maybe check with him whether the LHD part will fit. It will be longer, but not by much.

N.

Hi

I have a spare used one if that helps

Peter

[Ferrit]

I can wait

[Nigel]

It's been a busy HPE day......

I started by intending to change the gear lever pivot bushes but found some oil leaks all
over the place. Nothing apparent lower down, it all seemed to be coming from above,
and probably the cam covers.

So, took them off and, while I was there, thought I'd check the valve clearances.
The engine has been performing very well over the last 5 years, and it takes
me a while to procrastinate, so the first check in my ownership showed all gaps within
tolerance.
I'd had a pair of cork gaskets and fibre washers for also that long, and asked the question
earlier on fb, how much to you tighten the cover screws? Baring in mind the fragile
nature of the stud bridges, I have done them finger tight with the short
end of the allen key.

I also found several exhaust leaks, perforations in pipes and holes in both silencers,
so in addition the the tail pipe I'd recieved today,I've also now got a centre section coming as well.
The old sections are now off, time at a premium to get finished for the
already booked MOT mid August.

[Ferrit]

Love what you have done with your 12v supply and leads (looking in the background).  How come you moved the battery?

I am going to do the valve clearances as I have the same little leaks from the cam cover.  I have the gaskets ready.  Thanks for the torque tip.

[Nigel]

Love what you have done with your 12v supply and leads (looking in the background).  How come you moved the battery?

Mark, I wanted to create space for a wiring refresh, which is partially done with
wipers and indicators rewired. Lots of remaining space for the rest.
At the same time I included jump posts, fuses and a battery cut-off in the boot.

N.

[Nigel]

I had a good MOT experience this morning.

Halfway through the test Paul led me into the workshop and first checked that the winders
connected to the headlights were indeed the height adjusters ( as they are still using the
now-disconnected hydraulic pistons as anchors) He wound them down a bit, all good.

The emissions reading was about 6.5, (limit 4.5) so he performed an in-test adjustment, allowed by
the DVLA web system. He disconnected the machine from the computer, then loaned me a screwdriver to wind in
the mixture screw. Got it down to 2.5. Then he had to zero the analyser, reconnect to the exhaust, and send
the new reading to the system.
This saved a lot of possible faffing around.

Two observations:
The mixture screw felt loose, it may well have wound itself out since last year.
I'll replace the O ring.
I had adjusted the headlights for the Laon trip, just in case I had to do any night driving.
But I clearly did it wrong. What a plonker.

Although I pay full price for my MOT's, I get a seasoned tester who I get along with very well,
and is willing to go out of his way to achieve a pass.
Paul earnt his gold star today!

N.

[Nigel]

...and later I acted on a query by Mark Ferris about full throttle.

I found the clamp bolt on the 'transfer' shaft was loose, causing loss of travel.
I had to then fully slacken off the cable to get a full off position. Once I'd
checked I was getting full throttle + on 2nd choke, cable adjust was next.
Popped off the spring clip, and wound the end back many turns.
Then adjusted the outer cable nut to give slight play.

This made a great difference during a road test. The pedal was higher and
response greatly improved. Result.   

[WestonE]

Well done Nigel. Not getting full throttle is so common it is the first thing experienced Rolling Road operators look for soon followed by correct ignition timing. Logical really with old cable and linkages on something moving about on flexible mounts. It takes another dimension with a drive by wire conversion as I discovered fitting the sensor 90 degrees wrong initially!