Fixing the MOT advisories and a bit more
Discussion
I finally decided to get the steering rack refurbished and replace the bonnet hinges, both of which were advisories on the MOT.
Once I removed the hinges from the bonnet the mounting plates literally fell apart in my hands, With the bonnet off I had a good look at the radiator, there has always been signs of weeping from one of the seams, but now I could see there were large sections of the cooling vanes missing at the front and further evidence of leaking. So that needed to be refurbished. In the process it became clear a lot of the cooling hoses were beyond their best, so they are all being replaced. I've managed to pick up most of the correct ones on eBay, just one I need to try and get from Ford along with some heat shield for the ones near the exhaust.
A couple of the outlets on the swirl pot had rusted through and the chap who's made the bonnet hinges said the metal was so thin in places it wouldn't be possible to repair - I'm looking forward to the stainless one that Shaun S3C is making for me.
I've been thinking about cat bypass pipes for a while and coincidentally there was a set for sale in the PH classifieds. What I hadn't expected when I took the cats off was to find that one of them was empty, all the 'cat stuff' has gone through the exhaust, the other was OK. The bypass pipes are now on.
The steering rack has been refurbished and is back, so all I need to do now is paint the front of the chassis once the POR15 paint arrives and finish it off with Hammerite before putting everything back together.
So, all in all, a pretty productive couple of weeks.
Once I removed the hinges from the bonnet the mounting plates literally fell apart in my hands, With the bonnet off I had a good look at the radiator, there has always been signs of weeping from one of the seams, but now I could see there were large sections of the cooling vanes missing at the front and further evidence of leaking. So that needed to be refurbished. In the process it became clear a lot of the cooling hoses were beyond their best, so they are all being replaced. I've managed to pick up most of the correct ones on eBay, just one I need to try and get from Ford along with some heat shield for the ones near the exhaust.
A couple of the outlets on the swirl pot had rusted through and the chap who's made the bonnet hinges said the metal was so thin in places it wouldn't be possible to repair - I'm looking forward to the stainless one that Shaun S3C is making for me.
I've been thinking about cat bypass pipes for a while and coincidentally there was a set for sale in the PH classifieds. What I hadn't expected when I took the cats off was to find that one of them was empty, all the 'cat stuff' has gone through the exhaust, the other was OK. The bypass pipes are now on.
The steering rack has been refurbished and is back, so all I need to do now is paint the front of the chassis once the POR15 paint arrives and finish it off with Hammerite before putting everything back together.
So, all in all, a pretty productive couple of weeks.
mk1fan said:
I'm swapping over my hoses to silicone items whilst sorting out my S3C. Which hose are you after?
It's hose number 3 on this: http://www.fordopedia.org/parts-catalog/24-29-v6/B...Mine is kinked and one end (the larger diameter is starting to split, let me know and thanks
What are you doing about the metal water pipes. You can replace these with stainless steel. But the bottom pipe is different for a non-cat car. However with the cats removed you can use the shorter non-cat version and just replace the rubber hose to the water pump with a shorter elbow...
Good luck
Good luck
AutoAndy said:
What are you doing about the metal water pipes. You can replace these with stainless steel. But the bottom pipe is different for a non-cat car. However with the cats removed you can use the shorter non-cat version and just replace the rubber hose to the water pump with a shorter elbow...
Good luck
Thanks, I thought about replacing the pipes but the existing ones are OK, so I'm just repainting them.Good luck
After almost 8 weeks I finally got the car back on the road today with:
Repainted radiator mounting and front end of chassis
Refurbished radiator
New bonnet hinges
New radiator hoses
Refurbished steering rack
New steering rack bushes
New steering column U/J
New tie rod ends
New swirl pot via Shaun S3C
De-cat pipes
New hoses
Stainless steel nuts, bolts and jubilee clips wherever possible
Surprises were: the condition of the front of the radiator once the bonnet was off and the state of one of the catalytic convertors; at some point all its innards have been blasted through the exhaust system, the other appears to be fine. Lowlight was refitting one of the bonnet catches and finding I couldn't open the bonnet. All sorted now and I just need to get the lights checked and have a small hole in the pipe blanked off with a bolt on one of the exhaust manifolds welded up.
Repainted radiator mounting and front end of chassis
Refurbished radiator
New bonnet hinges
New radiator hoses
Refurbished steering rack
New steering rack bushes
New steering column U/J
New tie rod ends
New swirl pot via Shaun S3C
De-cat pipes
New hoses
Stainless steel nuts, bolts and jubilee clips wherever possible
Surprises were: the condition of the front of the radiator once the bonnet was off and the state of one of the catalytic convertors; at some point all its innards have been blasted through the exhaust system, the other appears to be fine. Lowlight was refitting one of the bonnet catches and finding I couldn't open the bonnet. All sorted now and I just need to get the lights checked and have a small hole in the pipe blanked off with a bolt on one of the exhaust manifolds welded up.
I've been considering purchasing an alloy rad whilst I'm doing my coolant hoses and swirl pot over the winter. I finally sat down and sorted through my folder of paperwork/history at the weekend and counted five radiator replacements during her lifetime. I think i'm just going to bite the bullet...
Austin has had one replacement in 27 years. :toucheswood:LawrieS said:
...I've been considering purchasing an alloy rad... ...
Why alloy? They won't last any longer than a normal one and in fact might fail sooner. They do look good though. You might want to investigate why your car has had so many failures before spending a shed load of money on another new rad. Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff