Needing help with a couple of jobs

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by Nick Greg

I no longer have a Rover 75 but I used MG Independent in Bradford for 3 years. Both time served and trained Rover mechanics. 01274 722533. They also used to have courtesy cars available as well. Looked after me well. Tell em Nick from Brighouse with the Wedgewood Blue Connie recommended them to you. They will also scavenge 2nd parts as well.

I have emailed details of the required work two days ago, no response and tried ringing them a few times again no answer.

[bl52krz]

Go for it Harry. It would be a nice few days away and the info you could swap with Jules would be invaluable. Not to far to walk to the sea, and I think he would lend you one of his collection to have while he gets yours done. Keep us up to date but don’t put any dates up .

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by HarryM1BYT

I have emailed details of the required work two days ago, no response and tried ringing them a few times again no answer.

I got an answer from M&G this morning. They have been closed, on holiday and are flooded with work. I have asked him to take a look at the email I sent him, detailing what I need doing and then get back to me.

[COLVERT]

Originally Posted by tourer

I fully sympathise, Harry.
After working on my own vehicles for the last 54 years, I seem to be left in pain for days/ weeks after working on cars nowadays.
Trying my best not to give up, but three weeks ago swapped the wheels around on my wife's Fiesta. Still nursing a painful shoulder.
Last week I swapped the pollen filters under the glove box on my BMW. Painful ribs ever since.
It's no fun getting older but it happens to us all.

I'm in TOTAL sympathy with you as I'm 83 this coming Sunday.
Earlier this year I replaced the front suspension lower arm assembly. My fingers hurt for several days afterwards.--

[HarryM1BYT]

I tried to make arrangements with Jules to pop over to him, to sort my a/c out and the brake pipes, but it was looking more and more impossible to risk going there, what with the lockdowns, logistics and costs involved.

Instead, I found a local guy who I later realised I had top my a/c up before, several years ago, when I first found my fan was kicking in at high speed when the a/c was in use. He agreed with me over the phone, that it was most likely the condenser which had split and the condenser originally failing, which caused the fan to kick in to high speed. He quoted me £280 to replace it, test and fill the system back up and comes to you to do the work.

He arrived to do the deed this morning, I had already prepared the front bumper for removal, to save him a bit of time. The condenser looked OK looking through the grill and the fan, but once the fan and bumper was off, it was obvious how bad it was. It just crumbled away at the slightest touch and a slight oil stain marked where it had lost its gas. Two hours later, all tested and put back together.

I came to test the lights with the ignition turned on, but engine NOT running and I could get neither dip, nor main to light up. They have always come on before without starting the engine? Once I was able to start the engine, all worked normally.

Just the brake pipes to worry about now, but I am not even sure I need to worry about them.... It has been a couple of years since I have been able to get under it to inspect them. MOT is due 26th Nov.

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by COLVERT

I'm in TOTAL sympathy with you as I'm 83 this coming Sunday.
Earlier this year I replaced the front suspension lower arm assembly. My fingers hurt for several days afterwards.--

I hope I can still carry out that work at 82, hats off to you, getting old and becoming incapable scares me. A car lift is now on my shopping list.

macafee2

[Gigagator]

Kudos to those of you who are in your 80's and still doing this type of work!

I'm 28 and doing the front suspension on the other halfs 25 last month near wiped me out! Think I need to lose some lockdown weight.

[DMGRS]

Great news Harry - I'm glad it's all sorted, a good job well done.
We seem to be selling an extraordinary amount of condensers these days - they must be giving out in great numbers.

Originally Posted by bl52krz

I know where you are coming from. Since I got to be an octogenarian I find if I do to much of anything, I ache for days.
I am just changing the pencil coils on the KV6, rear bank. Leaning over the side of the car bonnet trying to get at them, quite tight to reach them. Had trouble getting the plug off number 4 plug because the holding clip was partly broken. Managed it in the end and am now waiting for the arrival of a set of 6 coils and spark plugs from DMGRS, which should have arrived within 2/3 days instead of the usual 3/5 days, absolutely nothing to do with DMGRS, the parcel went round the country and the packaging was destroyed somewhere along the line and has to be re-packed before being delivered tomorrow. They better hope there is no damage to anything in the package. I only needed one for number 4 cylinder but decided to change them all, along with the plugs. Going round kicking the cat now. So I am expecting to feel sore round the ribs when I have finished.

Just checking in, did these land OK?
Apologies for the parts going on a bit of a 'grand tour' - what a nightmare!

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by DMGRS

Great news Harry - I'm glad it's all sorted, a good job well done.
We seem to be selling an extraordinary amount of condensers these days - they must be giving out in great numbers.

I was puzzled as to why condensers fail so often, much more often than cooling system radiators - so I asked the guy.

He explained that a/c condensers work at around ten times the pressure of a radiator, yet with much thinner metal in galleries and suffer more from the road salt.

My only symptoms over the years, were the fan high speed cutting in after coming to a stop and alloy dust falling when I took the engine under-tray off, until it failed completely.

I thought that rather than the condenser being the problem, the alloy dust might have possibly been from the radiator or the intercooler. There was no obvious damage to the condenser viewing it through the grill, in fact it looked not too bad even when the bumper was removed, looking through the fan - so I was a bit worried I had wasted his time ordering a new condenser and the leak might be elsewhere.

However, once the fan was removed the degradation was very obvious. All the fins had gone in the upper side, hidden by the fan cowling and and he pointed out an oil stain on the condenser, which confirmed it had leaked.

Once the new one was installed, he ran an extended vacuum test (or maybe pressure), to check for leaks, which it passed, before re-filling it with refrigerant / oil then more long pressure checks.

I was put off a local garage doing it, because they were suggesting my paying them £60 to just refill it with refridgerant, including dye, then them checking where it leaked from - which is illegal when it has an obvious and reported leak.

[bl52krz]

Originally Posted by DMGRS

Great news Harry - I'm glad it's all sorted, a good job well done.
We seem to be selling an extraordinary amount of condensers these days - they must be giving out in great numbers.



Just checking in, did these land OK?
Apologies for the parts going on a bit of a 'grand tour' - what a nightmare!

Hi.Yes They did eventually turn up after their ‘grand tour’. The last time I had phoned them, they told me that the packaging had been damaged, and they would have to be ‘re-wrapped ‘. When it did arrive, you could see that the packaging at some stage had been wet. Not to worry. Everything was ok, it just looked worse than it was. Fitted the coils and they worked perfectly. The spark plug’s Scott. They do not seem to be the correct reference number for the KV6 engine? They fit anything between Chevrolet and Fiat I think it was. So I have not used them . Has something gone wrong with the number on the spark plugs not being a suitable fitting for The Kv6? I ment to get in touch with you but have been running up and down to Birmingham eye hospital with my wife who has had two operations on her eye. One of them ok, the other failed. Would be nice if you could clear the spark plug question up for me please Scott.