Cooling System - 0 for 3 !

Firstly be warned there may be a RANTING in this post . . . . . FECKING PRIOR OWNERS / DODGY GARAGE ! Even my daughter could and does do better !


Anyway onwards.
Along with the list of initial planned maintenance is the cooling system.
As we are in the sand pit here this always has the potential to go wrong quickly and in a big way.
So routine changing of hoses is always a good plan.
After having a look under the bonnet the hoses look . . . . . Good to Iffy.


Also the temperature gauge never seems to move more than about 10C past the 'Cold' point on the gauage, never even close to 'Normal'.
So in from the UK comes :-
- Complete Silicone hose kit (much longer lasting and better flow than rubber)
- New temperature sensor (thermistor type)
- New 75C thermostat (75C is for summer / hard use)

First pull off the hoses.

WHAT THE FECK !
Cracked and bodged up with bath sealant !
Okay just drain the system and flush with hose then fit the hoses back.

Even a modification to tidy up the top hose to the heater box.

　
Next the temperature sensor.
Single wire sensor which is earthed through the engine.
Its a thermistor which means that the resistance drops as it heats up.
So if the sensor plug is insulated from the body it gives a false cold.
Such as by . . . . . . TEFLON TAPE, another WTF !!!!


I know the gauge works because I shorted the cable to the engine and needle quickly went to 'H'.
So clean the threads and fit the new sensor job done.
The seal comes from a conical face on the bottom, not by using teflon !
　
Lastly the thermostat.
Before fitting CHECK. While the wife isn't looking heat in a pan of water on the stove.

Opens about 75-80 which is fine.

Now remove the thermostat housing and remove thermostat.
Wait. . . . remove thermostat. . . . . . WTF NO THERMOSTAT !!!



Okay fairly straight forward, fit new thermostat, including new gasket.

The old elbow had a mounting bracket for a so called smog pump.
The smog pump isn’t fitted so to tidy up, out with the hacksaw and grinder.


Bolt it all back up and fill her up.
Fire her up and wave the laser thermometer around.
After few minutes all seemed to work, as temperature came up thermostat opened followed by radiator getting hot.

All Done, this is considered to be okay / normal.


As the engine was effectively over cooling, fingers crossed nothing to badly damaged.
Just hope nothing more sinister lurking and that she now doesn't start running hot.
If so I suspect will be new water pump which is a pain as means radiator off.
　
Cheers,
Richard B.

Next . . . . . Seats bases, unless Prince of Darkness Lord Lucas strikes or I end up doing the water pump !

iSpanner 2.0 aka GearWrench Flex Spanners

Hi All,

I've had my eyes open for some ratchet spanners for a while now I've only ever once seen a set of 5 metric stanly ones in ACE. Not bad but 5 pieces isn't not enough and I need Imperial as well.

After a bad night under the bonnet and busting open my knuckles (again) I caved in and hit the WWW.
So thanks to Amazon in the USA and Aramex Shop'n'Ship I soon had these winging there way over to me. Not cheap and nearly 10kg of shipping weight but !

A 16 pcs Metric and a 13 pcs Imperial set GearWrench Flexhead ratcheting spanners.

They come in nice spanner racks so fit in draws nicely

From Small to Large

Straight to right angles (built in spring washer applies tension to keep the angle you set).

I've had these for a few jobs now and it is true, you get what you pay for and "GearWrentch" were the inventors of ratchet spanners.
These ratchet very smoothly, and only 5 degrees of movement so even a small turn and they'll work.
According to the maker they are built to the same strength specs as normal spanners, however they recommend not to use them to bust out seized fasteners, so NO DOUBLE WRENTCHING.
As these are flex head your able to get into all the tight spaces.
I wonder how I managed before not sure I'll need a traditional 1/2" ratchet much anymore.





Now I'll try to be a good boy and no more shiny buying for a while.
But I do have my eye on some Snap On screwdrivers ;-)

UPDATE :-
I recently did my gearbox cross mounts and there is a set of nuts that are "impossible" to get at.
People even drill big holes in the cross member to get at them.
But not with these babies ! BINGO straight on and ratchet, ratchet 6 degrees at a time and tight !

Cheers,
Richard B.

EDIT :
Somebody else likes them too !

Mechanics seat modification

Hi All, Like a lot of people I have to live with my main tool box in the house and then work outside under the carport. I'd have loved a proper workstaion / trolley but don’t have the storage space. So in order to organise my ready use tools this is what I've done. Yes its another JXZ drangon mart toy. Added long M4 dome head bolts on side and bottom. Each side peg holds 1x normal and 1x flex head in each of my common sizes. Bottom holds same sizes in sockets and also larger for wheels. (I only work on one car so 6 sizes are 95% of the ones I need.) Other side has hooks for screw drivers and pry bar. Underneath also added a stick on LED light as I have to work at night so makes grabing toosl easier. Might add on a drinks holder for the summer and some bigger rubber castors if I see some. Cheers, Richard B. Next (or soon'ish) . . . . Will post a review on the superb Gearwrench flex head spanners hanging on the side of the seat.

Master Cylinder - BACK

Hi All, Courier arrived at long last ! New master cylinder here so time for fitting. New Cylinder. I don’t worry to much about replace/restore but in this case the old reservoir was okay, just dirty and yellowed. So a good clean, new seals and back on it went. Both master cylinders all mounted back into the pedal box. As she is a US spec car it is a dual circuit brake system, ie front and rear are independent. In modern / sensible cars this means two master cylinders but here it is the same, just two pistons in same cylinder ! Therefore when fitting back it is important to "bench bleed" them. The proper kit is some bungs, flexible hose and non return valves but I've not got one and they don’t grow on trees here. Necessity is the mother of invention so I made a some basic non return valves from the fingers of latex mechanics glove. Took a while but bleed through in the end, guess that means it was worth it. Box back in. Then pedals, feels better now. Cover back on, spanner work nearly finished. All re-assembled, then bleed the clutch and all four wheels bleed, 2 litres of DOT4 scraped. Many thanks to the wife for helping. Then re-adjust the rear shoes. And the hand brake. Now safely back on the road ! Cheers, Richard B. Next . . . . Cooling. Hoses, Thermostat and Temperature sensor.