Tag: engine

The bit the Haynes manual forgot to mention…

Yesterday I was trying to work on my car replacing the clutch cable, the Haynes manual made it sound so easy

8 To refit the cable, thread it through from the engine compartment, place it over the self-adjusting cam, and connect the inner cable end to the quadrant. […]
9 Refit the inner cable guide to the top of the pedal.

Easier said then done, luckily I tied some string to the end of the old one so I could just pull the new one through.
Now, try doing that when you are led across both front seats with your head and shoulders cramped into the foot well.
Oh yeah, you are also upside-down resting on your neck, and you have your hands weaving their way through pedals and other bits of car designed to get in your way!

10 Working in the engine compartment, slip the other end of the cable through the bellhousing bracket, and connect the inner cable to the release fork […]

Yep, done! Only its down there, and you need hands as small as a childs to get to it, and fingers as strong as a professional finger weightlifter!

11 Depress the clutch pedal to draw the outer cable into its locating hole in the bulkhead, ensuring it locates properly. At the same time, the inner cable guide will be automatically pulled onto the top of the pedal to hold the inner cable in position.

Only the outer cable doesn’t move! The self-adjusting cam doesn’t lock, so the quadrant springs back and the end of the cable springs free.

Back to step 9!

Oh what fun!!

Another Year, Another Birthday!

I’m getting old now, I’m going to start drawing a pension soon if I carry on like this! Lol!

Yep, as you may of guessed from the title, I have recently had a birthday, it was on Saturday, and I am now 23!

The day started off alright, I opened my presents, and then I got a phone call from my mum, who was on holiday at the time in Cyprus.
Then my girlfriend came over and took me out for the day for a picnic on the Cheddar downs.

Boy was that some trek! First we had to walk up the road to a path, and then we had to walk up a load of steps, which would of been alright, but we were carrying all the food, and my presents!

Luckily it didn’t rain, and, even though the sun wasn’t out, it was warm, and it wasn’t all that windy either!
After the picnic we spent an hour or two in the gorge going in and out of all the shops.

And here’s the mandatory present list:

And now some news on my car.

On Sunday dad took me on a guided tour of the innards of my cars engine, we had towed the car to his work Friday evening, and he was working on it all Saturday. The photos can be seen in the usual places, on my website, and on flickr.

From what dad can see at the moment, it just looks like the valves need replacing, and because its been taken off, so does the head gasket.
But first dads got to make sure the cylinder head hasn’t been warped.

That’s it for now
Till next time!

The End of an Era

The timing belt on my car broke on the way to work this morning, it happened just as I was going on to the slip road off the motorway.

I managed to get the car on to a lay-by, and then I had walk the rest of the way to work – it wasn’t that far.

Dad then towed my car to his work place to have a look at it, he phoned me to tell me what was wrong.

He got a new belt and fitted it, but the engine won’t start again, it’s knackered.

Thats the end of the road for my car, and I don’t have any photo’s of it!