Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

looks like an unusually tall Tower. Is that space for 6x SATA 3.5 HD's in there? Running a HP DC5100 with an E8200 Duo here. About the same age (probably lower spec).

[Zelandeth]

My usual approach whenever building systems was to simply use the biggest case that I could get hold of at the time. Just makes life so much easier when you can actually see what you're doing and don't have to dismantle the entire thing to get a single component out. Spec wise this one is a 3.4GHz dual core Pentium 4, which while laughably outdated now was pretty decent when I built the thing. My main desktop is a dual core Athlon X2 5000+ of a similar vintage...and that's still my daily machine. It definitely doesn't owe me anything at this stage.

Glad to report that other than the fan on the front panel deciding to let out the magic smoke at some point this evening, that it's still running quite happily 24 hours on. Definitely need to consider alternative cooling arrangements though (and figure out where the heck the rest of the case has gone...and how to deal with the dent in the top from when it got dropped) as it is currently doing a passable impression of a hovercraft.

[Hell Razor5543]

The case I have got is (in my opinion) the best for my needs. I got it over 15 years ago for around £250. It is made of stainless steel and brushed aluminium, has a sub chassis for the motherboard and cards (so if I have to work on that I just need to disconnect the cables, undo 6 bolts, and slide out the whole sub assembly), and room for 13 drives (four 5 1/4 external drives, two 3 1/2 external drives, and seven 3 1/2 internal drives). There are no sharp edges (unlike some I have worked on), and, even now, no striped threads anywhere.

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

can see a whole lot of sense in that. Room's tight in mine when I need to swap a Drive . Nice too to hear someone saying "who cares if its the latest thing, it suits me fine"

[Michel]

can see a whole lot of sense in that. Room's tight in mine when I need to swap a Drive . Nice too to hear someone saying "who cares if its the latest thing, it suits me fine"

I'm like that. I needed a new phone - I like my camera on my phone, it's great for taking random snaps while out on bike trips or for spotting s**t old cars. I gave my decent Samsung phone that was out of contract to my mother-in-law recently. I decided I wanted something small, cheap, and with a camera. I get a decent deal with O2 via work. Now, I could have gone for an iPhone X or lord knows for a total of £1500 over some years. Looks like a nice bit of kit. I want one. However, what do I *need*? A reasonable camera, and a phone that fits in my pocket comfortably.. so I got a 32GB iPhone SE, on O2, with my work discount for £12 per month...

[Zelandeth]

This just arrived...

Will try to get it fitted later on today. Fingers crossed that will put an end to the belt issues. Sure getting the crankshaft bolt out will be fun given it's tightened to OMG-You-must-be-kidding lb/f and has thread lock on it if I remember right...

[CitroJim]

Zel, it'll be interesting to see if the timing hole is accurate

They never are on original pulleys after a few years...

[Zelandeth]

Stupid question of the day before I make an idiot of myself:

Is the bolt a normal or reverse thread?

[CitroJim]

Is the bolt a normal or reverse thread?

Normal

It'll be reassuringly tight... Use a dab of Loctite on the thread on reassembly...

[Zelandeth]

Thanks, knowing that for certain before starting is a definite help!

This has become my default method of releasing the belt tension...

Way easier than on the XUD as the tensioner is readily accessible.

Old pulley came off without too much fuss (I really need to get a long extension so the breaker bar is easier to use in such settings).

The outer has rotated slightly as evidenced by the timing hole, but not as massively as some I've seen...

However looking at the edge reveals quite how knackered it really is compared to the new one.

That definitely won't have been helping anything.

Bolt given a quick wipe down before a couple of drops of fresh thread lock were added...

Before slotting the new pulley into place and bolting it up.

I've marked the bolt and face with a paint marker so I can keep an eye on it for a week or so to make sure it is indeed not unscrewing itself, then I'll put the wheel arch liner back in.

It wouldn't be a job on a Xantia without leaving some shattered bits of conduit behind would it...

The belt now does appear to be running true again. It does seem a bit noisy though, in the same breath though it's a brand new belt and the battery is quite low, so the alternator will be pulling a lot of power from the belt. I'll keep an eye on it for a few days and see how it goes - being honest I'm probably just being overly suspicious.

Next task is going to be going after the LHM tank top with some good quality hose clips. I know I've got a bit of a fluid aeration issue, and one of the returns obviously weeps a bit as the top of the tank always looks like this a few days after it's cleaned.

Hopefully a new set of hose clips will solve both of these issues.

Having been using a 50/50 split between the Lada and the van as my daily transport lately it was quite a shock to drive the Activa again! The clutch is so light that it honestly doesn't feel like it's attached to anything, and of course the prerequisite grin returned to my face once the boost arrived first time I put my foot down...

[CitroJim]

Zel, excellent work

I know what you mean about the clutch!

On the clips subject, you'd be better off with the OEM originals rather than Jubilee type affairs... I may have enough here to do the reservoir...

In my view the original clips look nicer too... More aesthetically pleasing...

[Zelandeth]

The ones I am planning to use are the circular type normally used for fuel hoses, so hopefully they'll be up to the job. Far better than the usual worm drive rubbish anyway.

I should really pick up one of the tools for the OEM style clips at some point though, it's been on the to do list since about a week after I bought my first Xantia...

[xantia_v6]

The puddle of LHM on top of the tank is usually caused by the spring bar that holds the lid on the tank deforming the tank so that there is a gap under the rubber sealing ring, and the LHM just splashes out when cornering and braking. I have had 80% success rate of fixing this by applying a bead of a suitable silicone sealant to the underside of the rubber ring.

[CitroJim]

I have had 80% success rate of fixing this by applying a bead of a suitable silicone sealant to the underside of the rubber ring.

But choose your sealant carefully as many are not LHM-proof and rot spectacularly into a gooey mess

[Zelandeth]

Oh, and fixed this, which has been on the to do list since about May.

Took all of 30 seconds to do...