Thursday 20 August 2015

Maintenance and improvements

Some serious maintenance jobs...

It's been a year of a few big problems and conundrums but eventually some good solutions. The first trip of the year was to Skegness, and as the journey went on, it became harder and harder to access 3rd gear. The synchros had been going for a long time, in fact ever since I bought the van, but they had finally gone necessitating double de-clutching and matching engine revs to get it into gear. Never fun. I knew what the problem was, and frankly the options for repair though available, are a bit hit and miss with second hand or old stock parts. Certain parts of the Vauxhall 4 speed box that i've got on the van aren't available any more, but my fellow CF enthusiast in Northampton Graham West came up trumps with a spare box that he'd removed from a crashed vehicle about 20 years ago. It had sat in his garage ever since, but when we dragged it out, it was still full of oil and seemed to turn smoothly, so we took a chance.

At least there's plenty of room to get under a CF without jacking up, and the cross beam in the picture is the only other part holding in the gearbox:



Fitting it is both a very easy and very difficult manouevre. Getting to it, stripping off the prop shaft and cross member are easy - 10 minute job. The difficult part is getting the bolts out that join the box to the bell housing. You have to go in through a tiny window, and have the clutch lever in the way. There's plenty on the internet about how to overcome this - buying the special Vauxhall tool being the easiest, but i don't have one and the price on the internet could surely be bettered by a bit of ingenuity...

Photo's upside down, but there's a bolt somewhere through that hole behind the lever and down a bit. First I cut a spanner in half and welded it back together on a crazy angle to allow me to get to the bolt. that's effectively what the Vauxhall tool does. I also had to shave some material off the flanks of the spanner jaws, and that made it so weak that it sprang off the bolt rather than turn it. Several hours of frustration later and I discovered how to disconnect the lever from the rod, allowing it to move out the way more, get better access, and get a standard ring spanner on the bolt. 1/12 of a turn at a time and job done.

Next it was fitting the new box. Effectively you have to push it upwards to the right height, then slide forwards locating the input shaft through the clutch spines. Easy with the right kit, difficult when you're lying on the road with the box on your chest bench pressing it into place trying not to bend the shaft... About 4th go I managed it, think I didn't do any damage, and got it bolted back together. Filled with gear oil and tried it out.... perfect. The annoying gear stick vibration is gone, the shift is smooth and synchros actually working fully.... lets hope it lasts. The only problem was a severe leak from the rear oil seal, but Adrian Bailey has some new old stock, and after chisseling the old one off, fitted a new one OK and problem solved. There's a small leak through the gear selector but nothing to worry about (I checked it after several long journeys and it hadn't lost a measurable amount.

Next was the exhaust. I'd done the back box years ago in stainless, but the down pipe was second hand in mild steel and kept coming loose at the manifold joint. Decided to replace it all, especially as it looks like Adrian is packing up the business, and as far as I know, he's the last man out there re-making bits for CFs. brand new stainless steel pipe and box fitted and will be there still in one piece many years after i've expired!

 It did take some cutting and bodging as it seems there are loads of variants of diameters of pipes and of course my old and new pipes don't match. But a sleeve joint and loads of sealant sorted it!

Finally, after years of really trouble, i've finally sorted (fingers crossed) the battery drain and starting problems. Some years ago I replaced the starter motor as i'd done everything else and concluded that had to be the problem. The new starter always turned over a bit slowly, so assuming it to be good, I ended up back at the battery. Faulty leisure batteries and a mis-functioning split charge relay that prevents the leisure battery from being connected when the engine is cranking were all part of it, so I decided to go back to basics, strip out the leisure battery and all other wiring systems to just leave the radio, wires to the dash clock showing battery voltage and the main starter. After all that work - no difference. Next to check was the main wires to the starter. I'd shorted using jump leads and it made no difference, but I decided to make sure by getting new battery cable and routing it direct to the starter for the +ve and -ve. That eliminates the well known problem of corrosion of the seat mounting box that has the -ve connected to it (battery sits under the passanger seat) causing bad earths throughout. Still no difference. While on holiday, the starter packed up completely, I guess the solenoid sticking. See kath's post about bump starting at 1am... When home I contacted a guy I'd used years before who deals in alternators and starters from a barn just outside Daventry. Picked up a starter form a Jag V8 engine that fits the CF with a minor mod of drilling out the mounting holes, wired it up (same terminals so dead easy) and turned the key. It's a geared started unlike the CF original, so the motor turns a gear that drives the output shaft at three times the speed. Therefore the engine turns at three times the speed, making it much more likely to start on the first turn. Turned the key and vroom, straight to life like never before, instant firing of the engine and problems solved. Just shows, everyone advises that starting problems are almost never the starter, but when all the evidence says it is, worth checking the starter. The old one must have had a short, causing major battery drain when you cranked, and causing it to turn over extremely slowly. That's the second major headache i've had where a replacement part is faulty putting me onto the wrong track for ages...

here's the new starter and wires. New earth connected to the bolt that attaches the starter to the bell housing:

 And the battery. Earth goes via a kill switch that enables the battery to be completely disconnected when not in use. Switch is the other side of the wooden panel so accessed through the passenger door (or by leaning right across). Wires are there for a secondary battery, but don't think I need that now.





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