Discussion
Okay this is a bit of a bodge but I need a car that works. I've wired a switch to the cold start injector via the Hazard light live feed.
That was the "Will it work?" phase now I know it does I've tidied it up a fair bit.
Stealthy black switch for now. I'll see if I can find a push button or just wait for the new coolant temperature probe to arrive. On the topic of things arriving...
...I told you I'd buy a keyring.
That was the "Will it work?" phase now I know it does I've tidied it up a fair bit.
Stealthy black switch for now. I'll see if I can find a push button or just wait for the new coolant temperature probe to arrive. On the topic of things arriving...
...I told you I'd buy a keyring.
So one problem solved and another rears it's head. This time the ABS light came on and the car started to have that cat litter tray left out in the Sun smell. It was only coming from the passenger side front so I took the wheel off the find the pads are due and disc wasn't a lot of cop either.
Brakes and suspension were top of my list anyway as they should always be so now I have "190E Breaking" in my eBay search profile waiting for a parts bin upgrade.
Brakes and suspension were top of my list anyway as they should always be so now I have "190E Breaking" in my eBay search profile waiting for a parts bin upgrade.
I do like those plastic covers, erm I mean engines. 
Back to my car and I have a new starting procedure.
1/ Turn the key and wait for the fuel pump to stop.
2/ Turn again to initialise the starter motor.
3/ Flick the cold start switch for three second.
4/ Drive carefully for the first half a mile as she's a little spluttery.
Works first time every time.
Back to my car and I have a new starting procedure.
1/ Turn the key and wait for the fuel pump to stop.
2/ Turn again to initialise the starter motor.
3/ Flick the cold start switch for three second.
4/ Drive carefully for the first half a mile as she's a little spluttery.
Works first time every time.
BigBen said:
The cold start regulator is controlled by a relay with its own fuse on top of it. Replacing this fuse on my R107 SL fixed cold starting issues so could be worth tracking down on your 190.
Good work on the 3.6 transplants, my R107 is currently in the process of a similar swap.
The OVP? I couldn't find it anywhere. Good work on the 3.6 transplants, my R107 is currently in the process of a similar swap.
So it's been about a week and I'm pretty happy with the old bus. She has a few issues, the rear subframe wobble and it feels like the gearbox cross member is loose due to the prop'shaft rubbers. The front brakes are stating to squeak. I didn't want to replace the standard discs and pads as part of the upgrades I have planned for later Cosworth hubs, brakes and so on were going to be fitted. If I replace the standard items out of necessity I may as well do the best I can with the calipers and hubs I have.
Wallowy soft ride with a bit more lean than I remember but as quick as my old Punto Sporting (1.6) point to point and as economical as my Alfa GTV thanks to the long gears.
220 miles on £40 worth of petrol works out a little under thirty four to the (UK) Gallon (miraculous considering the cold start problems I had initially).
I was looking at mad body kits, a tidier two tone paint job (bright red up top with a deep metallic burgundy lower section) and upgraded wheels in a retro-chav way but I feel that because you don't see enough 190E's on the road these days (I've only seen two this year) and my complete lack of money means anything spent on styling is a waste of tuning budget; Q-Car.
Just waiting for my mate to get back to me about his rear end write off CLK 230K six speed.
Should be good for nearly double the bhp, two thirds the 0-60 and 30+ extra mph.
Wallowy soft ride with a bit more lean than I remember but as quick as my old Punto Sporting (1.6) point to point and as economical as my Alfa GTV thanks to the long gears.
220 miles on £40 worth of petrol works out a little under thirty four to the (UK) Gallon (miraculous considering the cold start problems I had initially).
I was looking at mad body kits, a tidier two tone paint job (bright red up top with a deep metallic burgundy lower section) and upgraded wheels in a retro-chav way but I feel that because you don't see enough 190E's on the road these days (I've only seen two this year) and my complete lack of money means anything spent on styling is a waste of tuning budget; Q-Car.
Just waiting for my mate to get back to me about his rear end write off CLK 230K six speed.
Should be good for nearly double the bhp, two thirds the 0-60 and 30+ extra mph.
Thanks to the 190E Facebook page I found this place...
http://www.190parts.co.uk/
...I was going to get standard brakes from eBay but these guys are cheaper.
http://www.190parts.co.uk/
...I was going to get standard brakes from eBay but these guys are cheaper.
Yes to that!
So I finally got down with OVP (ask your parents)...
...pain in the faff of a job to get to but the fuse was blown and the terminals were a bit cacked up. New fuse and cleaned up the points with WD40 and a toothbrush, plugged the cold injector back in and I have a new start procedure.
Turn the key and go.
All but the coolant level light is out and the car is completely different animal. No wet nursing a spluttery cold engine, no back firing just after starting the old girl up, no flat spot and I can now sit at 30mph in fifth without the car feeling as if she's about to stall. What a difference a fuse makes.
On that topic this is one of the most accurate speedometers I have ever had on any car. 30 is 30, 40 is 39.5, 50 is 49.5, 60 is 60 and 70 is 70.5mph for a car this old that is amazing. My Panda for example 30 is 28, 40 is 36, 50 is 46, 60 is 58 and 70 is 67.5 My old works 2010 Corsa 30 was 28, 40 was 37, 50 was 47, 60 was 54, 70 was 63 and 70 on the Sat' Nav' was between 75 and 80 according to the speedo'. Of course this means if I get pulled for speeding I can't use the...
"Sorry officer it's an old car"
...excuse that has saved my licence more times than Henrik Lundqvist has saved for the Rangers this season.
I had a go with that G3 stuff and apart from making my garden look like a snow globe it's useless. Did a good job on my Panda bonnet though. I have a plan for the 190E. I'm starting to appreciate subtle.
So I finally got down with OVP (ask your parents)...
...pain in the faff of a job to get to but the fuse was blown and the terminals were a bit cacked up. New fuse and cleaned up the points with WD40 and a toothbrush, plugged the cold injector back in and I have a new start procedure.
Turn the key and go.
All but the coolant level light is out and the car is completely different animal. No wet nursing a spluttery cold engine, no back firing just after starting the old girl up, no flat spot and I can now sit at 30mph in fifth without the car feeling as if she's about to stall. What a difference a fuse makes.
On that topic this is one of the most accurate speedometers I have ever had on any car. 30 is 30, 40 is 39.5, 50 is 49.5, 60 is 60 and 70 is 70.5mph for a car this old that is amazing. My Panda for example 30 is 28, 40 is 36, 50 is 46, 60 is 58 and 70 is 67.5 My old works 2010 Corsa 30 was 28, 40 was 37, 50 was 47, 60 was 54, 70 was 63 and 70 on the Sat' Nav' was between 75 and 80 according to the speedo'. Of course this means if I get pulled for speeding I can't use the...
"Sorry officer it's an old car"
...excuse that has saved my licence more times than Henrik Lundqvist has saved for the Rangers this season.
I had a go with that G3 stuff and apart from making my garden look like a snow globe it's useless. Did a good job on my Panda bonnet though. I have a plan for the 190E. I'm starting to appreciate subtle.
I haven't heard from my mate with the CLK for a while. He works stranger hours than I do so this is nothing new.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/mercedes-clk230-/2718511...
I hope this one stays cheap as a back up.
The plan being sell the parts I don't need to cover the cost of the donor car.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/mercedes-clk230-/2718511...
I hope this one stays cheap as a back up.
The plan being sell the parts I don't need to cover the cost of the donor car.
How do the Italians treat you with a right hand drive out there? There were a bit arsy with me when I was over in my Panda.
On the topic of Fiats. I'm having a shed clear out on eBay...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261865677542?ssPageName=...
...reserve set at a new set of discs and pads all round.
On the topic of Fiats. I'm having a shed clear out on eBay...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261865677542?ssPageName=...
...reserve set at a new set of discs and pads all round.
So the last £40 got me 225 miles before the reserve light came back on.
£40 / £1.14.9 = 34.81L
34.81 / 5.5 = 6.33G
225 miles / 6.33G = 35.54mpg
Not bad at all. Normal "up to the speed limit spiritedly" driving.
Brake bits are on the way and I have a bottle of predator blood (Coma) coolant ready for the new sensor to arrive.
£40 / £1.14.9 = 34.81L
34.81 / 5.5 = 6.33G
225 miles / 6.33G = 35.54mpg
Not bad at all. Normal "up to the speed limit spiritedly" driving.
Brake bits are on the way and I have a bottle of predator blood (Coma) coolant ready for the new sensor to arrive.
Another £40 and 434 miles.
£80 / £1.149 = 69.63L
69.63 / 5.5 = 12.66G
434 miles / 12.66G = 34.28mpg
Nice and consistent.
More good news. I fitted the brass temperature sensor last night and it made no difference. So today I took the expansion tank off, removed the ballcock level indicator and it was covered in what looked like mud. I'm guessing Radweld. Cleaned it off, cleaned the tank out, cleaned the terminals, put it all back together and topped up with tap water for now.
I now have no lights on my dash at all!
I'll use this evenings commute to flush the water through the system, drain it tomorrow and fill with Coma Predator blood coolant.
The front discs, front and rear pads arrived today so I can do the front brakes on my days off this week and if the rear discs arrive in time that'll be done over the weekend (at work as I'll have nothing else to do). The M.O.T advisory items will be dealt with this payday as it's the last one before she's due another test. As she's a 93 I can't do the bike carb's conversion so back to the drawing board so far as tuning goes.
£80 / £1.149 = 69.63L
69.63 / 5.5 = 12.66G
434 miles / 12.66G = 34.28mpg
Nice and consistent.
More good news. I fitted the brass temperature sensor last night and it made no difference. So today I took the expansion tank off, removed the ballcock level indicator and it was covered in what looked like mud. I'm guessing Radweld. Cleaned it off, cleaned the tank out, cleaned the terminals, put it all back together and topped up with tap water for now.
I now have no lights on my dash at all!
I'll use this evenings commute to flush the water through the system, drain it tomorrow and fill with Coma Predator blood coolant.
The front discs, front and rear pads arrived today so I can do the front brakes on my days off this week and if the rear discs arrive in time that'll be done over the weekend (at work as I'll have nothing else to do). The M.O.T advisory items will be dealt with this payday as it's the last one before she's due another test. As she's a 93 I can't do the bike carb's conversion so back to the drawing board so far as tuning goes.
Front brakes done.
Fair to say the old bus needed it. Just waiting for the rear discs to show up.
A little something I do on my threads (to fill them out a bit) is "Tool of the Job"
Apart from things like ball joint splitting there are a few tools out there designed to do one job. I hate that and have always thought a piston pusher would be a waste of money and valuable shed space. So I when doing brake pads and discs I have always used welding clamps to push the piston back. Just for that it's today's "Tool of the Job".
Fair to say the old bus needed it. Just waiting for the rear discs to show up.
A little something I do on my threads (to fill them out a bit) is "Tool of the Job"
Apart from things like ball joint splitting there are a few tools out there designed to do one job. I hate that and have always thought a piston pusher would be a waste of money and valuable shed space. So I when doing brake pads and discs I have always used welding clamps to push the piston back. Just for that it's today's "Tool of the Job".
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