And a well done for your kind help from me too Simon. :bowdown:

Thank you very much Willy. :}

Yesterday evening I removed Mr. & Mrs. Mouse's bed from the plenum chamber and in doing so I noticed that the drain tube below the pollen filter was missing. As it appears to traverse a double skin in the bodywork I would like to obtain a replacement so I've posted in the "Parts wanted" section.

I've also received authorisation to change the engine oil which is jet black, gloopy and probably overfilled as everything else was (coolant, PAS fluid). The car will also receive a pair of new bonnet struts.

Simon

Sometimes the top of the plenum drain tube can be pushed inside the gap it sits in when rodding is attempted Simon. It might not be visible on casual inspection but on close inspection it can often be seen sitting beneath the surface and still retrievable with long-nose pliers or maybe another improvised way. Could this have happened, is the bottom of the tube still in place and visible from underneath the car?

Thanks for this Willy. I am always interested in the unexpected solution not involving purchasing of parts.

I did crawl under the car this afternoon but had real difficulty seeing the drain tube on the offside which is still in place. On the nearside, when viewed from above, there is no evidence of a tube. I can clearly see through the double skin to beneath the car. I've taken a photo but it hasn't made it to the cloud yet. When it does, I'll post it.

Thanks for your suggestion.

Simon

PS A kind club member is donating a drain tube so that Fiona's Dad's plenum chamber can once again discharge rainwater as designed.

The happy ending!
 

Well, Fiona's Dad's car is fixed! Let's remind ourselves of the diagnosis by the garage in France:

The only reason that the expansion tank was "leaking" was because the garage overfilled it. It even ejected coolant after being driven the 50 yards from the trailer to my house! I removed 0.65 litres in order to see the 'MAX' marker. You'd have thought that they'd have noticed that marker whilst pouring in the antifreeze solution but apparently not. :rolleyes: There was also evidence that they hadn't bled the system properly, if at all. I'm sure that there was never anything wrong with the expansion tank.

In the 'V' there were the usual pools of coolant. I fitted four new standard MG Rover 'O' rings to the original thermostat housing and pipework after painstakingly removing the black gunge that a garage had smeared over everything. The housing was not the original and no attempt had been made to tighten the two serrated clips on the straight pipe so it was not surprising that the 'O' rings were leaking.

Since the inlet manifold gaskets have an elastomer seal, when removed I always fit new ones. The deteriorated originals in this case showed some evidence of engine overheating.

Other faults rectified

• The battery was too small so the clamp and safety strap had been left disconnected! As this was potentially dangerous I obtained a new '100' size battery (so that the lid could be fitted) at an attractive Black Friday price.
• The mouse's nest was removed from the plenum and the missing drain tube found, cleared and refitted.
• The bonnet struts were weak so were renewed. The bonnet release was extremely tight and it was also a real effort closing it. Both strikers were found to be bent, one severely. They were also out of adjustment and completely devoid of grease. Once all these faults had been rectified the bonnet can now be closed with a little finger! :D
• Leaking crankcase breather tube renewed, PAS fluid level reduced to 'MAX' line, engine oil & filter changed and all tyre pressures reduced to the correct setting.

I've test driven the car and it runs with its coolant temperature in the low nineties with no coolant leaks or ejection through the cap. The fan cuts in at 100˚ and out again at 95˚. So no head gasket replacement or change of engine was required! :rolleyes: What a surprise.

Fiona learnt about our club through an English contact in France. I'm so pleased that she followed this up with her call for help as otherwise this Copperleaf Connoisseur with only 54,000 on the clock would have been destroyed on economic grounds or further bodged by "professional" mechanics.

:getmecoat:

Simon

A real success story Simon! :xmas-smiley-008:

Fantastic, Simon. Well done for you!

The world needs more Simons. Say, your last name isn't Templar by any chance, is it? :icon_biggrin:

Cheers,
Glenn

Thanks Glenn. :D Ahh, that Volvo P1800 was product placement before the term was invented.

Simon

Yes I would be interested as well:xmas-smiley-008: