Elmas Xantia V6 and Musical Stuff

[daviemck2006]

I can concur with Zel about all 4 wheels on a bus locked up, a 40 feet long object going near sideways is not a nice place to be. Thankfully I did not hit anything with it, that time lol

[Stickyfinger]

Are we talking about Dianne Abbott now ?

[elma]

Had an oops today.
I decided to show my worker how amazing car glass is on his scrap car.
I convinced him to whack the windscreen with a club hammer.
Usually the hammer bounces off but with ford glass it just shatters into many millions of pieces.
I've no idea how they got that through safety regs.

We're going this evening to view a replacement car which I find a hassle but at least he'll stop asking me for lifts.

My fuel pressure reg and funnel have been dispatched and are arriving tomorrow so theres a good chance I get some decent work done.
I'm being pulled in several directions all weekend though so will be happy with an oil change and the pressure reg replaced.

[CitroJim]

Usually the hammer bounces off but with ford glass it just shatters into many millions of pieces.

Sounds like old-school 'Triplex' toughened glass rather than the more modern laminated screen James...

How old was the Fraud in question and what model was it?

I always believed 'Triplex' windscreens went out of use in the early 80s...

I believe side and rear windows are still made of toughened glass as they shatter into millions of fragments..

Safety is not at issue as all the fragments are blunt and it's designed to be that way...

Biggest problem in the day was if you had a windscreen shatter on the move you were blinded until you punched a hole in the screen with your fist. To overcome this, the best 'Triplex' screens had clear zones so that even when shattered some visibility remained... In the sunshine you could see these zones quite clearly in the glass; they appeared like vertical transparent Venetian blinds...

[elma]

It's an x reg Puma, I'm sure the hammer should have bounced.
It definitely was not laminated.
I didn't think to look at the labels before it was attacked, it must be a dodgy replacement screen.
I can't imagine that even Ford would fit such rubbish.
I wouldn't try the hammer trick on a side window as like you say millions of pieces will fly everywhere.
I probably won't do it on a windscreen either now this has happened, smashed glass even on a scrapper just isn't fun.

[CitroJim]

Yes, must have been a cheap/dodgy replacement screen James...

I'm frankly amazed they're even available for such a modern car...

[elma]

It does belong to a polish labourer. They seem to have a knack of getting terrible stuff for pennies. I wouldnt be surprised if it was an old fishtank reshaped with a blowtorch.

We've just been out to collect an identical replacement puma. The glass has a ford badge so itll be interesting to hit the screen when the wheels fall off of this one. Im actually quite impressed with how well hes done. £300 and its fairly tidy but has had a clutch and cambelt kit in the last few months plus some other bits.

[CitroJim]

he glass has a ford badge so itll be interesting to hit the screen when the wheels fall off of this one.

You won't have to wait long James... It's a Fraud after all

[elma]

Today my Xantias aircon was regassed and is very cold now. When I got home I resealed the sump and treated it to fresh oil and a filter. I made it so clean it probably put new ones to shame, I do hope I sealed it correctly as it was a major effort.

I found a tiny amount of debris in the pickup strainer but nothing worrying. No grit or anything bad at all so I'm quite pleased. The old filter didn't want to come off so in the absence of a chain or strap wrench I went all primitive and hammered a screwdriver through it.

Only just finished cleaning up and the other bits arrived so tomorrow bit of loom tidying, fuel pressure reg and gearbox oil.

I noticed when underneath (for the first time) that the leaky cambox is far worse than I thought and must be moved up the priorities to next job. Also the strut tops don't look as good from under as they do from over and will be changed shortly. On the plus sude the front discs are ok and the p bushes aren't so bad so I guess the wobble is from the strut tops.

[myglaren]

I wonder if I should get mine regassed.
It was struggling a year and a half ago and had it regassed but it only lasted a few weeks.
I presumed a leak but thought recently that a leak would have been flagged when it was regassed.

[CitroJim]

Excellent work James Well done!

[elma]

So after a test drive the sump seems to be sealed. When I got back home and check it I realised that the rear cam box is quite a steady drip and straight onto the exhaust where it turned to smoke. Not going to drive it again until I sort that out, seems a bit close to fire. Unfortunately that means no gearbox oil tomorrow as I won't be able to warm it up but I will spend the day getting as close to resealing the cam boxes as possible. I'm not sure if I'll need to take the cambelt off or not. If I do I shall wait until next week so I can replace the belt. Tomorrow I shall find out if I already have the new tensioner or if I need to get that as well.

When I was under the car I noticed the O/S inner cv joint is missing a clip and will need regressing and clipping. Shouldn't need to remove the shaft for that. I didn't notice much else other than the splattering of oil which has had a first scrub but will take a while to get totally removed. The N/S abs ring does look a little weary but it hasn't thrown a fault so I'll not worry about it unless it does or I have the driveshaft out for another reason.

[RichardW]

Re-sealing the camboxes, if the leak is from the lower joint rather than the rocker cover, is a major job involving removing the camshafts; so yes, the belt will need to come off.

You can buy a bag of CV joint clips from J and R for a few quid - easy enough to fit, if a filthy horrible job!!

[elma]

Re-sealing the camboxes, if the leak is from the lower joint rather than the rocker cover, is a major job involving removing the camshafts; so yes, the belt will need to come off.

I've been reading Mikes description and can see it's quite an involved job. I have a few issues doing it right now as well as I will need more sealant, an inlet manifold gasket, timing belt, maybe a new tensioner and might as well do the spark plugs.
I'm not sure if it's the upper or lower joint leaking though so tomorrow I plan to find out which tensioner I have and which parts are leaking.

[CitroJim]

James, if you are in no hurry I have a tube of sealant here you can have... A big tube of Loctite 5980... If you can hold off until I come down your way on holiday in three weeks I can bring it down then else I'm very happy to post it... let me know...

I'm most unlikely to ever need it so you are very welcome to it...