405: Major Works

[white exec]

Gotcha. If it goes from the bottom of the rad as per your diagram above, then it can be deleted.
Down there, it won't be handling any trapped air.

Difficult things are always a combined effort round here. Wouldn't have it any other way!

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

wee question...

how on earth is one supposed to get Injector No. 4 out with this 'proper Injection Socket' when the space available between the Injector and the nearby protrusion on the Head

...is significantly narrower than the Injection Socket?

The 3mm Drill Bit demonstrates that clearance is a touch over 3mm, but the wall of the Injector Socket is approximately 6mm; which obviously doesn't work.

[white exec]

You need a slimmer injector socket.
The one I have here (chrome vanadium) is 3mm max wall thickness, 1.5mm minimum (where your drill is sitting).

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

That's a bit daft isn't it, that there's at least two thicknesses of the same thing. Oh well.

[white exec]

Injector socket with cut-out to clear needle-lift sensor:

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Clearly all Injector Sockets are not equal then Chris. Thank You. That's one for my Christmas List I think.

A slight new development, which could mean big changes

I couldn't help thinking to myself 'it'd be foolhardy not to have the Waterpump off' to see how it is behind there...

...so I successfully made a Gasket, as previously posted

...and having removed the Pump, found this

I'm thinking that this crudiness rather suggests that all was not well with the cooling system on this lump when it was last run, also see text on the pics

....and that at the very least, it was long overdue a Coolant Change, which isn't good either (I removed it from a scrapper in April 2016, so last start-up is however long it was stood prior to that)

If I need to have the Head off, there's no longer any point me using this un-tested bottom end at all, I might just as well use the other one which I had running before I removed it in Oct 2016 (I actually bought it for its recently re-con'd Fuel Pump, which it ended up I didn't need).

Mileage on the 'project' Lump is probably the odo reading on the car of 199k, while the ZX engine mileage is not known; it having the early type Dipstick, but later covers; therefore its clearly not original to a 1994 'M' plate car. It had 275k on the clock, which is the same as it happens, as the current mileage on my 405. (VINs available in both cases)

I had been thinking of preparing to start it / at least turn it over on the Starter, coz I think possibly I detected a lack of compression at one point, turning it on a spanner; that'd be a dead give-away. I suppose I could 'press on' for now and see what it turns like, but.... Hmmm


For comparison....

...this is the Waterpump and Housing on the ZX. The HG was very much shot, that's Coolant in the Milk Bottles!

[white exec]

...this is the Waterpump and Housing on the ZX...

You have to wonder what more might be in other parts of that cooling system, and the head.
Looks like a mixture of rust, calc and maybe a leak-stop.
As you say, badly neglected coolant.

[doctle]

Or just plain water?

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Thanks Guys, that Waterpump pic that Chris copied is of t'other ZX engine by the way; the relevant one is nearer the top of the Thread; also a bit grim, but in a slightly different way.

Moving on though.... (I'm doing the Ostrich 'Head in the Sand' thing with the potentially shot HG until I've got it turning on the starter, coz sometimes you've gotta just keep your Momentum)

Any thoughts on this 'Spreader Bar' sketch, utilising Angle Iron and Exhaust Clamps; anyone made something similar?

Hoist is at top of the page, Gearbox on the right

[ekjdm14]

Ouch, not having it so easy yourself are you Puxa? My thoughts on this whole thing are, what are you looking to achieve with this exercise? If you're looking to prolong the reliable life of the vehicle then I'd probably go with refreshing the 275k ZX engine out of the car if you have somewhere dry to do the work.

I'd go with your header tank with the original lump for now, it'll run for a good while with the HG weeping anyway if not overheated so I'd use the angle iron to make a cradle for the ZX engine instead of the spreader (I managed single handed on the Black Xantia just going carefully and pushing the gearbox nose down to clear the "chassis" leg) then with a solid base to work from I'd do the head gasket and all seals with it on this "stand" so I have a freshly redone engine known good ready to drop straight in.

Do please replace the water pump though, I thought I'd "get away" with a decent looking used pump and it came back to bite me in the rear. Thing is, when they sit the seal sticks to the shaft and then tears, plus bearings can corrode and fail in short order after being put back to work. Here's hoping for better weather so we can get out there and do the considerable work we've got on our plate at the moment!

[van ordinaire]

I've kept out of this as I've felt very humbled. It's the sort of thing I regularly did with SV Fords, A & B series BMC's, even Rover V8's but (2CV's aside) couldn't imagine anything major on one of "our" cars BUT, yes do replace the WP - they're not even terribly expensive.

Bonne chance!

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

thanks Guys for some really nice input, including the new WP which shall be heeded.

Allàs quiet at the moment, I am taking a break from everything and have discovered a proper Desktop PC at my Hotel (very fancy... fabulous deal!!), hence a brief stop today while SWMBO sleeps. Things are slightly diffferent here keyboard wise and attempting to type an Apostrophe actually gets me an "am", as you can see

Old girl got me 100 ish miles to Gatwick lovely, some of which in heavy traffic on the M25 and M23, wahey, took the precaution of having an overnight prior to the flight in case she broke down, but was fine. Needs to be right though for 1000 miles round trip for my own wedding in Lossiemouth Autumn next year (if I get my bottom in gear) and foreign use. Anyone up that way, it ll be on the beach, do come if you would like to!

Things havent been idle prior to my departure, but little to justify a post.

Have got all the necessary Hoses, Reducers, Bungs (M12 plastic bolt!) and Jubilees for the Coolant Bottle and Cooling mods - except the main 22mm Hose. Scrappy trip required.

Spreader Bar is nearly finished, just needs a Hole drilling in it for an M8 Exhaust Clamp I found on eBay (fingers crossed my guestimate of where to pivot it is about right) and I might need to weld up the Fence Bolts I have used to ensure they donàt open up on lifting

Various small bolts and fittings have been found, always a time consuming PITA

The Clutch is on, the Engine and Box are mated, the Starter Motors and Battery Cables are on and its looking good.

Am going to use the Engine Hoist to support it just take the weight and sit it on an old motorcycle tyre I acquired, rather than make a Cradle. That should be the next photo, in maybe a weeks time ish

[van ordinaire]

The gods are truly smiling on you, & long may they continue to - at very least all through next year.

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Thanks Van, jolly decent of you to say so.

We returned late on Saturday, to a very chilly UK, what a difference less than 1,000miles makes! One weird thing I noted about Rome is that the only old cars one sees are Series 1 Panda's; there's a fair old sprinkling of those, but nothing else. No other old Fiat's (not even an Uno / Cinquecento), Lancia's, Alfa's etc...

Possibly a woman's Car? ...and no, I didn't need a Coat, Scarf & Gloves.... I should've been smiling really then! (S. Maria Maggiore in background; Piazza dell Esquilino)

The car was fine but I don't think it appreciated the long run. The Heater went back to 'cold unless well above normal operating temp, in which case only maybe' and the Gauge demonstrated towards the end of a further journey today just how quickly it can sprint from normal to 100c + in the course of accelerating modestly (very easy, that in my car) out of a junction in a 30mph urban environment; so things have got more urgent. : (

A brief stop at my favourite Scrappies in the course of today hopefully yielded the last Hose I needed for the Header Tank, and in the course of doing so a Corsa Header Tank leapt out at me and said 'I'll be much easier to make fit' specially if you take a big Hammer and Chisel to my mounting bracket; so I got that too; lets hope that things start progressing.... soon !!

....before other family cars give up. Daughter's C3 is hopefully not unwell, but was reported as potentially having a petrol leak (investigation yesterday failed to find any evidence), while MiL's K13 Micra needs a Clutch; "is it a bad thing to do to balance it on the clutch at a junction said SWMBO"; and a Timing Chain

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Any Idea why my Starter Motor pinion is refusing to fly out to 'Engage' the Flywheel. Am I making some sort of School-Boy error?

I had hoped it was a case of my spare battery gone bad, but no, the spare Battery still starts the car cold (just 10mins ago) and also no joy also with the Bosch off the car, a fancy 5 year warranty pricey one; new this year.

The Starter was good when I started the ZX with it 3 years ago and the Cog can be manually pulled 'outwards' by hand. Since this video, I've chucked a bit of WD40 down it, but to no avail.

Has it probably gone bad in Storage (in my Loft)? I'm a bit loathe to pinch the Starter off the car.

Couple of Videos, 1 with Starter mounted properly, t'other with it back to front.





Naturally, I'm shorting with a Screwdriver between the main lead and the Solenoid to get it to turn, which is the only connection to the Battery, Terminals are 'proper' as is the Earth Strap