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

[Zelandeth]

The transition from the 2101 to the Riva was quite a big change. For all they look similar if I remember rightly the only body panel which was carried over was the roof!

Likewise the early cars shared the Fiat 124 body panels, pretty much everything else was beefed up before it became the Lada, the suspension in particular was significantly strengthened, larger radiator fitted, *far* more powerful heater fitted (go figure...), metal thickened throughout, there were a lot more changes than a lot of people realise I think.

[CitroJim]

Good progress Zel Out of interest the Lada crank pulley nut size is the same as a Xantia front hub nut....

Enjoyed the Lada history lesson

[ekjdm14]

Good progress Zel Out of interest the Lada crank pulley nut size is the same as a Xantia front hub nut....

Enjoyed the Lada history lesson

35mm on the hub nut surely there Jim?

36mm socket will fit at a push but it is actually 35, I bought a socket specially for it during the engine swap Of (perhaps, perhaps not) further interest is the fact that Suzuki Vitara mac. strut damper nuts are the same size & thread as the alternator pulley nut lol

[CitroJim]

35mm on the hub nut surely there Jim?

Yes, quite correct, just testing

[Zelandeth]

Very brief update...pics and details to follow tomorrow when I've had a chance to get things off the camera and my back is killing me slightly less.

Today I have...

(More detail in here than you need to know, but it's so I can remember the sequence I did things in for when I do a proper write up for my website! Will probably also send it the way of PC to see if it's the sort of thing they'd be interested in)

(Already done...)
[] Give as much of the engine bay as you can get as a decent clean. Seriously, you'll thank yourself for it later. Plus you'll be opening up the timing chest and taking manifolds off...So you don't want to be dropping crud in there.
[] Remove battery.
[] Drain coolant.
[] Remove radiator.
[] Release tension on aux drive belt.
[] Remove belt.
[] Remove crankshaft pulley retaining nut (lock crankshaft by putting car in 5th gear).
[] Remove crankshaft pulley NOTE where the bleeping TDC mark is once it's cracked off unlike me.
[] Remove timing chain cover. Note there are three bolts hiding at the bottom in addition to the obvious ones facing you.
[] Stuff a rag in the gap between the timing gear and edge of the sump to prevent any dirt or bits of old gasket falling into the sump.
[] Remove any remains of the old gasket.
[] Fit new gasket and timing cover.
[] Line up EFi spec crankshaft pulley so that the TDC mark is lined up with the same point as the one you took off. It shouldn't move as you tighten it up really.

(Started today...)
[] Remove all vacuum lines from the carb & the vaccum buffer tank on the offside inner wing.
[] Disconnect fuel feed and return lines from carb.
[] Disconnect electrical connections to carb (idle and main fuel metering solenoids and closed throttle detection switch).
[] Remove the throttle return spring which attaches to a bracket on one of the rocker cover retaining bolts.
[] Disconnect the (ridiculous) throttle linkage at the carb end by popping the ball joint out with a screwdriver (fiddly!).
[] Now that's loose you can slide it out of the yoke nearer the bulkhead.
[] Remove the top coolant elbow connector and remove old gasket.
[] Disconnect inlet manifold to carb choke assembly coolant lines.
[] Remove carb retaining nuts (12mm)
[] Remove carb.
[] Removed carb heat shield.
[] Stuff a rag into the manifold to stop dirt, rain, bees or dropped 7mm sockets ending up in the engine.
[] Disconnect EGR pipe at EGR end (it's not used on the models with injection and only exists to comply with Canadian regs anyway) 17mm.
[] Remove remaining vacuum connections to inlet manifold (brake servo, PCV line to oil separator).
[] Remove the five nuts holding the inlet manifold on. Two at the top, two at either side underneath, and one hiding in the middle (13mm).
[] Remove the inlet manifold - The EGR line makes this a bit of a faff, but it will come off. If you've got a really tiny 10mm socket you might be able to release the EGR line at the inlet manifold end, but none of my sockets or spanners would fit!
*[] I made the executive decision at this point not to disturb the exhaust manifold - though I'm going to revisit that tomorrow if the one dodgy looking nut wants to come undone...so this bit might get an addition.
[] Block off the inlet ports in the head with rags to keep crud out.
[] Remove the two hoses leading to the heater matrix to improve access for the next steps (you'll DEFINITELY need to do this if you're going to disturb the exhaust manifold).
[] Remove vacuum hose from the brake servo if you didn't remove it entirely earlier.
[] Disconnect the two parts of the throttle linkage by levering the ball joint apart. Don't get smacked in the face by it.
[] Remove the throttle linkage retaining nuts on the bulkhead (x3 10mm).
[] Head inside the car and remove the accelerator pedal from its stem by removing the two nuts behind it (10mm).
[] Reach up to the bulkhead and remove the little rubber boot from where it passes through the bulkhead.
[] Return to the engine bay and clear up some spaghetti in the offside corner...Disconnect the WOT Vacuum switch from its loom connector by the brake/clutch fluid reservoirs.
[] Remove the two screws that hold it to the inner wing and remove it (these were immediately nicked by me to secure the heater hose bulkhead sealing plate which was missing on my car and I'd just taken the opportunity to fit!)
[] Disconnect the two electrical connectors to the lambda sensor.
[] Remove the 10mm nut holding the emission control system ground connections to the bulkhead under the hydraulic reservoir tank bracket. Remove the ring terminal, and refit the nut. It should be possible now after snipping a couple of cable ties to move the emission control system loom over to the nearside of the engine bay out of the way for now.
[] (Do as I say not as I did...) Drain the clutch hydraulic reservoir and remove it complete with its flexible hose.
[] With some careful manipulation around the metal hydraulic lines it should now be possible to just about manhandle the accelerator linkage out through the hole in the bulkhead.

This is massively fiddly and I think took me longer to do than the rest of the items on this list that I did today put together. It's one that will require some of your special swear words. It's *simple* enough, just awkward as I'm pretty sure that this is fitted to the engine bay before any of the clutch or brake hardware!

That's where I left it for today as dinner was ready.

Still to do...

[] Remove charcoal canister & associated pipework.
[] Remove distributor.
[] Remove ignition coil.
[] Remove fuel pump.
[] Fit distributor stem & fuel pump blanking plate (coil pack bracket serves this purpose...Waste not want not!).
[] Re-plumb heater matrix connector.
[] Re-fit radiator.
[] Fit replacement accelerator pedal (which thank goodness uses a conventional cable...).
[] Fit EFi inlet manifold.
[] Fit TBi unit.
[] Fit EFi charcoal canister.
[] Fit fuel pump.
[] Fit MAP sensor.
[] Route EFi wiring loom. Should do itself really save for having to extend the main power feed a bit because the battery is in a different place to on the donor vehicle.
[] Plumb in the various vacuum lines between the TBi unit, charcoal canister, PCV and MAP sensor (there are like four...not fifty!).
[] Plumb in fuel supply and return connections.
[] Refit aux belt and tension.
[] Refill cooling system.
[] Wedge everything in place sufficiently to do a test run.
[] If it works and the timing isn't massively off, drill a hole in the bulkhead for the EFi loom so the ECU and relay block can live behind the glove box where they belong* I haven't actually checked where the existing lot goes through - I may be able to enlarge and use that yet.
[] Modify dash wiring to accommodate the revised check engine light arrangements (existing setup switches the supply, wheras the revised setup will switch the ground - I'll use the feed from the oil pressure light).
[] Tidy everything up!

...We all know it can't possibly be that simple!

Sure there are things I've forgotten that I'll remember in due course and need to add (that's why I didn't number things!). Watch this space...

[van ordinaire]

Makes me feel better about my interminable ramblings.

b-t-w, sounds more RC's thing than PC

[Zelandeth]

Really need to give that one a proper read sometime. Just default to PC as I've been reading it forever!

Few things to get done around the house then hoping to get stuck into it again. My (probably vain) hope is to have finished the strip down and bulk of the engine bay work today. Leaving things like piping and wiring in the should to the back of the car for the fuel pump and interior wiring for tomorrow.

[CitroJim]

Gosh, now that's a good list Zel , OCD perfection I do exactly the same sort of list/ticksheet when I do big and complex jobs - and one good example is rebuilding a 4HP20...

I also have many small boxes and plastic bags - all marked up - so I can place disassembled parts along with all their fixings in logical groups.... I like to put nuts, screws and bolts back exactly where they came from.

[ekjdm14]

I have to say, I've started gravitating more towards RC and PPC than PC the last CoY (Couple of Years... Had to get another acronym in there lol!) but PC is still a great mag and the "original" as far as my readership is concerened... As a kid I was given a load of old PC mags dating right back to issue 1 "win a frog!", how I wish I'd kept them!

PC, to my mind, tends to focus on more "mainstream" classics with a few notable and welcome exceptions (I imagine, Zel, your favoured contributor would be Sam Glover?) whereas RC and PPC have more stuff that would still be classed as "just an old car" by many... Anyhoo better stop here before I myself enter into another ramble (however nice a place it may take me!), got cars to attend to!

EDIT- Jim, I too like lists and putting things in boxes/bags to go back from whence it came... At least, in theory I do. In practice I tend to put important fixings back in their hole and then everything else goes in one pile/box together as I get far too 'into' the job at hand. I am blessed though with a great memory for how things came apart over a long while... I once stripped a 12hp Briggs/Stratton flat twin to repair the cases & then the job took a back seat and the bits sat in a wheelbarrow for 18 months before I reassembled it all. Admittedly not the most complex of engines but the governor was different to many. (oops [/ramble] ) (further edit, strangely though, I can NEVER remember the routing of drivebelts once they've been off a few minutes!)

[CitroJim]

PC, I agree, is a very good magazine indeed. I know one of the staff very well... I like their ethos and approach...

All the others seem a bit UTOA to me and exist on some other planet... A bit like the old TG in JC's days... Cars nobody could possibly afford and none practical...

[ekjdm14]

I would suggest you have a look at Retro Cars Jim, it's pretty darn good too and the cars featured can largely be picked up at scrap value if you know where one is... But I do agree, PC's proactive approach to keeping classic motoring available/practical to all is admirable and I don't doubt certain types of owners would be in deep without their support.

Speaking of PC, I haven't had one for a while, has there been any further CX or Activa content from the friend you mention?

[CitroJim]

I must have a look at RC...

Thanks for the heads-up

Speaking of PC, I haven't had one for a while, has there been any further CX or Activa content from the friend you mention?

No, he's been deeply into his DS recently and now working on his latest project - a rather nice Saab... He is running a C5 estate as his daily hack and loves it to bits...

I know the new owner of his old Activa is still looking for a replacement engine for it as the original went bang and spat a conrod. A very unusual occurrence with a TCT!

[ekjdm14]

Oh, he sold the Activa now then? very strange to hear of another thrown rod, maybe it's the year for them? (I've always found that once I've seen a car with a particular, unusual, problem that i seem to then experience/hear of a good few having the exact same fault within weeks...)

[Zelandeth]

Alternator Brushes arrived and fitted to alternator.

Will hold off refitting it until I've done the plumbing down there, aside from anything else it's one less thing for nuts, washers, sockets etc to get wedged behind when I inevitably drop one down there!

[CitroJim]

Yes, now you say it, the Activa TCT bottom end is basically and XUD with a petrol head stuck on top of it... Be interesting to keep a note of any other failures...

Hope it's not the beginning of a trend...

Zel, that's some seriously good service on the brushes