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Jan 29, 2023 22:05:41 GMT
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Hmm, so can the front and rear latches be swapped? Let's find out. Front latch:  Rear latch:  Bolt spacing looked the same, and measuring it showed it to be identical. Had to be worth a closer look. So I set about stripping the front door (again) and making my way into the rear door as well. Getting the lock out of the rear door is a little more fiddly than the front, but wasn't particularly difficult. Rear on the left, front on the right.    The core components are the same - though some different bits tacked on for handling locking. However I reckoned we could make it work. Fitting the rear latch in the front (after bending the little lever for the child locks out the way) was pretty easy. The only thing I couldn't easily hook up was the rod from the key barrel. I can live with that, central locking still works from either the passenger door or button on the centre console. In the rear the only thing I couldn't hook up was the lock plunger - again I can live with that as it will still lock/unlock with the central locking. Ideal? No. However far better than having a driver's door you need to slam with 90% of your strength to close and have to bodyslam to open. So let's put everything back together.  Uh... didn't I say put back together? Yeah...I did get the rear door fully back together. Then went to close the window. At which point there was a truly comedic "sproing" noise from inside the door and the window lost all interest in moving. So I had to take it all apart. Again. With the window manhandled into a closed position (I'll address the failed winder cable at a later date). Another half hour later I finally had that door back together.  Another 20 or 30 minutes later I had the front buttoned up again too.  I was rather running out of light by that point.  I'm pretty knackered now, and long term do still need to find a replacement lock - at least before the end of July when the MOT tester will want to actually open the offside rear door...but for now it means the car is actually usable, so that is a big step forward. It looks like a couple of folks on a couple of forums have located decent looking candidates for a replacement - thanks for the suggestions folks, I really appreciate the help. |
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Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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Today I decided to take on something pretty simple as I'm still feeling quite beat down energy wise from a very, very busy weekend. Target: Horrible crusty looking battery terminal connections on the Renault. I want to discount these as a cause of the sluggish cranking before I condemn the battery. The terminals have obviously been replaced at some point with the type which have two screws holding the lead in like a giant terminal strip. I've never been a fan of these as it's difficult to get the things tight enough without stripping the threads out of the brass. Sure enough both screws on both terminals were finger tight. The body to battery ground lead was pretty much dead. It's never a good sign when a piece of electrical flex makes crunching noises when moved.  After wiggling it back and forth a couple of times the wire came away from the flex entirely. Must have been hanging on by a handful of bits of copper. New earth strap installed.   I took the positive side apart as well and cleaned everything up. A new set of battery terminals and crimp connectors are on order so I can redo this in a more permanent fashion. Given the body to battery terminal was about ready to fail I figure the engine to body one is probably in a similar condition (not honestly sure where it lives), so I added a new one between a couple of convenient bolts on the head and cross member.  I will probably shorten that a bit once I've got more terminals on hand. Likewise I might look around for something a bit further away from the exhaust. The engine definitely seems to spin over a lot quicker now - at least it did the two times I've started it today. So we might have a quick win there. There was an utterly unexpected bonus prize to this activity though...  The central multi function display has started working again - and by extension so has the stereo returned to a fully functioning state. As I understand it this display is entirely driven by the stereo, and my guess is that at some point when the battery has gone flat it's crashed. My disconnecting and reconnecting the battery has allowed it to restart in a more graceful manner. The stereo now works, as does the upper control panel and steering column control stalk. Even the external temperature display seems to be showing vaguely sensible numbers - it was showing mid 40s while out driving which ties in with the weather forecast for our area today. If there's a way to switch the temperature display to centigrade I'd prefer that, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Doesn't seem to be any mention of it in the handbook. Though there's barely any mention of this display, it advising you to consult the accompanying Renault Audio handbook for the stereo, which sadly I don't have and haven't yet been able to track down a copy of. Having access to the controls and an FM source has meant I can properly try out the stereo...and it sounds really excellent. Especially now I'm not listening through a tape deck that is kinda sorta working but really needs a service. Haven't actually tried that today - it may too be doing better now, I'm not entirely sure the amplifier was correctly switching sources before. I just can't believe how rich it sounds for a stock automotive system from 34 years ago. Equally importantly though, I have a working clock again. Not having a clock on the dash is something I find exceptionally irritating. Even if you're not a car person (and/or a child of the 80s), it's hard not to have your eye drawn to the big digital display in the middle of the dash, so having it displaying sane information rather than gobbledygook is a definite improvement. This thing does very much shout "look at me!"  For reference, this is what it was showing before.  Other than the colon for the clock flashing it showed zero other signs of life. Additionally to the upper control panel keypad itself not working, the illumination was also dead, which left a really conspicuously huge void up here at night.  Those two yellow status LEDs to the left were stuck on solid whenever the ignition was on as well which wasn't right. Now however it looks far more healthy in the dark.  That whole central stack looks far healthier now, and does help to reinforce the feeling that you're sitting behind the helm of something about to launch into space rather than trundle down to the shops.   A whole new dash at night image will follow tomorrow, realised after taking the photos that I'd forgotten to unplug the connector to put out the washer fluid level warning, so will come back to that tomorrow. Having two bright orange warning lights in the middle of things spoils the effect a bit! If time, energy and weather permit I'll hopefully get the valve clearances set tomorrow. These engines always seem to be a bit rattly from the top end - though I'm tending to think that's because nobody ever sets the clearances rather than because "they're like that." At least it actually has proper adjustable tappets rather than having to faff about with shims or nonsense like that (hello Saab). |
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Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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What a difference! and the fuel gauges remind me of the apollo 13 disaster - if they had a little arrow to the side, moving up and down, they'd be identical!
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Feb 10, 2023 15:38:45 GMT
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I've been in love with the 25's interior design since I was a child. I guess it just looks so radical because everything's angled back so much. I especially love how the radio sits almost vertical and how that huge cliff edge shadows all the gauges and screens and also incorporates the air vents in a very stylish manner. And then there's the multifunction screen and the remote display for heater controls. Years ahead of it's time!
I'm happy to hear you accidentally fixed the radio. Keep up the good work, it's really enjoyable to see a 25 getting the love it deserves!
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Feb 10, 2023 22:26:40 GMT
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I've been in love with the 25's interior design since I was a child. I guess it just looks so radical because everything's angled back so much. I especially love how the radio sits almost vertical and how that huge cliff edge shadows all the gauges and screens and also incorporates the air vents in a very stylish manner. And then there's the multifunction screen and the remote display for heater controls. Years ahead of it's time! I'm happy to hear you accidentally fixed the radio. Keep up the good work, it's really enjoyable to see a 25 getting the love it deserves! It's interesting with the dash, as at first glance the ergonomics aren't great as it puts quite a lot of things far enough away that you need to lean forward to them. Though in reality it's not *that* much work to reach forward six inches for the heater controls, and this has the effect of making it feel vastly more roomy from the driver's seat. The stereo is fiddly - but volume, tuning, band switch and programmed memory switching is all available from the controls on the steering column for the driver - the only button you really need to get to when driving is the huge chunky power button. -- -- -- First order of business for today was setting the valve clearances on the Renault. This is about as simple as it gets for an OHC setup in this area I think.  All nice and easily accessible and easy to see what's going on. It's a bit grubby in a few places there but nothing alarming. Unlike on a certain Mercedes when I went to do this and found the entire top end to be coated in about 1/16" of tar and the camshaft merrily grinding its way down through the head. It's worth noting that the "rule of nine" does NOT apply to this engine. With exhaust valve 'n' fully open, adjust...(I is inlet, E is exhaust, and note that number 1 is at the FLYWHEEL end of the engine by Renault's numbering convention). 1. 3I, 4E. 3. 4I, 2E. 4. 2I, 1E. 2. 1I, 3E. Or just look carefully - the camshaft to rocker interface isn't that hard to see, so you can see which rocker is right in the heel of the cam lobe with a bit of patience. Clearances should be set cold, and call for 0.1mm on the inlet side and 0.25mm on the exhaust side. They definitely needed a tweak on this engine, especially a couple of the inlet valves which were quite loose. It's still a bit tappy but is definitely better. It's also more consistent though, it was really obvious before that one or two were far further out of whack than the rest. It's worth noting that getting a proper look at the timing gear has allowed me to confirm that this does use a flat tappet lifter arrangement, so WILL want a zinc additive to be added to the oil unless a classic-specific oil is being used. After a good test run it was time (finally) for an oil and filter change. Doesn't it look better having that manky, rusty old oil filter out of there?  Immediately makes the engine bay look about 75% less neglected. I did note however while wrestling with the biblically tight sump plug that I think I'd be best to start looking for a new radiator.  While it's not leaking, there's a good 1/4" of the fins at the bottom of this which are just missing. I imagine the fins largely consisting of aluminium oxide for a significant portion won't be doing the heat rejection properties any favours. Having that replaced will be good for peace of mind. The oil which came out wasn't horrible but did seem thinner than I'd expect for the book rating (10W 40). No glittery residue left in the drain pan at least. Speaking of that...my drain pan is JUST big enough for this...it takes 5.75 litres of oil for a change (I've left it just above half on the dipstick as I'll need to chuck some zinc additive in there once I've got hold of some). Once it was dark I went out, unplugged the washer pump harness to put out the washer fluid warning and service warning lights and retook the general night time photos.     I also tried to get some better photos of the central cluster of warning lights on the dash as they're of a style I've not seen all that many places. Looks pretty traditional for an 80s car, albeit a little stylised with the indicator symbols when unlit.  When lit though the legends are actually the part which provides the main illumination, but also with the field lit more dimly. It is an absolute pig of an effect to photograph properly!   No matter what I do, the parking brake light's legend always washes out a bit. I'd spent about ten minutes fighting with exposure settings by that point so decided to call it done! You'll just have to trust me, it's a deep red just like the background, just brighter. As someone who has always found the different approaches to instrumentation designs between different manufacturers of interest, it has always been a something that drew my eyes and just looks very smart. Remember my 11 used a similar arrangement, albeit with more normally shaped lights. Think in the mid 80s this must have really helped with the futuristic vibe of the whole dash. Next job will be replacement of both the alternator and PAS drive belts as they are both loose and badly perished. I did get a look at the timing belt while standing on my head getting the sump plug off, and I can't see any signs of perishing - though I do still intend to get it changed sooner than later just because it's been on there since 2017 - even if it's barely seen 1500 actual miles of use. |
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Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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Having had a look around it looks like there are a few options out there for radiators, not cheap but equally not ruinously expensive. Of course the real challenge will be actually clicking order and seeing if the stock reported does actually exist. If all else fails it will get a bespoke one made up using the original as a template. I'd rather not go down that road though as I imagine I'd be looking at well north of £500 for that. Had a wander down to a car parts shop in Flitwick today (much as it was an excuse to go for a drive somewhere outside of bloody MK as anything else!). While I failed to find what I was actually looking for, I did find something very much unexpected.  They have quite the selection of models in there, including some quite by today's standards oddball stuff. I saw a Citroen ZX and GSA to name two - but I was trying not to take forever so didn't browse too far after spotting the 25! First time I've seen a pre-facelift one in miniature form in person. Well aside from the Otto 1:18 ones...but I've bought actual cars for less than they change hands for. Quick and easy job this afternoon on the Renault, throttle body/plate and IAC valve cleaning. She's a bit lumpy on light throttle, and definitely stumbles more often at idle than I'd really expect. Though I think you're feeling that more in the car than you should as I think a couple of the engine mounts are a bit tired. Given you need to actually unbolt the intake elbow (3x T30 Torx machine screws) to gain access to the throttle body it wouldn't have surprised me to find this had never been done.   Definitely a bit grubby and well due a clean, but it's definitely been done in living memory at least. IAC valve is nice and easy to get to on this, right on the front of the engine.  So I pulled that off and gave it a good clean while I was in the area. Wasn't really bad at all but I'd rather know that it's been done. Haven't had a chance to go for a test run since this has been done yet, not really expecting miracles as nothing was too dirty, but I feel better knowing it's been done. Plus I can now see there's no evidence of horrific amounts of gunge coming out the PCV system too, though I had no reason to expect that really. |
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Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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Feb 13, 2023 23:46:00 GMT
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Not quite sure how I've done 600 miles in this thing already.  Simple answer is because it's so comfortable! You could do 600 miles in a couple of stints no problems. I think next on the to do list is going to be a bit of an annoying one, and that's going to be trying to sort the issues with the speedometer. I'm sure the issue is in the cluster itself rather than a problem with the pickup on the gearbox or wiring to it. Mainly as the trip counter and odometer still increment absolutely spot on, even when the speedometer is misbehaving. I'm pretty sure there's only the one signal running into the cluster, though the wiring diagrams are an absolute nightmare to follow so I could be wrong there. What happens when it's playing up is that the speed readout drops by a large chunk, I'd say about 1/3 of the distance from the home position. Completely at random it will decide to start working again...sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for the remainder of the day. When it's working it's pretty much spot on accuracy wise - one of the most accurate I've ever owned actually. I almost wonder if there's a 3-phase signal involved somewhere between the pickup and stepper (I'm assuming the needle is actuated by a stepper motor like on the Xantia rather than a voice coil for accuracy) and we're dropping a phase somewhere. Anyhow, the panel needs to come out so I can address our intermittent warning lights, which will be either dirty lamp holder contacts, dirty edge connectors or dry joints on the panel. All of the expected ones when you turn the ignition on do *work* - but not often all at the same time! My money is on the edge connectors as when either of the banks is entirely missing, the "stop" or "service" lights also fail to light. So I don't think the signal is getting into the panel itself. I seem to recall this being a pretty common issue even when these cars were current. If the connections into the panel turn out to be a major problem from a reliability standpoint I'm absolutely not beyond re-engineering it to use a couple of multi-pin ECU style connectors. Would be a bit of a fiddly job to set up initially but would be a lot more reliable long term I'd think. |
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Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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generallee
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,096
Member is Online
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I love that dash.
Actually, the whole interior looks a really nice place to be. The French in the 80s knew how to sculpt out some funky but practical interiors.
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Feb 15, 2023 23:24:06 GMT
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Package arrived this morning containing the correct handbook for the Renault.  As a couple of folks had correctly pointed out, the one that came with the car was for a Phase 2 car, so wasn't the original.  Now I just need to find a copy of the Renault Audio handbook which would have accompanied it. The Renault is also in the bad books today as it broke something without me even touching it.  Not immediately obvious, but the rear of that sunroof has dropped. I shut the driver's door and heard something go *thud...tink...rattle...* from right above my head. It appears that the sliding section isn't actually properly attached to the sled - as I have to manually push the panel back though the mechanism is clearly moving freely. It will close itself up to the point when the rear should pop up to sit flush with the roof. Things are not all well. I'm guessing things like this shouldn't be sitting in the gutters.   I can see similar looking things on the driver's side and bits of broken black plastic. I have a horrible feeling that even if I can find (or make) replacements for whatever has broken, that installing it is going to involve having to remove the whole cassette...which will mean removing the headlining. Sure that will be an absolute barrel of laughs... I wouldn't mind so much if I'd tried to open the sunroof, but I'd been deliberately NOT attempting to open it until later in the year! |
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Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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thomfr
Part of things
Trying to assemble the Duett again..
Posts: 694
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Feb 16, 2023 10:28:11 GMT
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Hi,
No panic, almost every plastic part can be 3d printed nowadays by almost every 18 year old ;-).
But I understand you annoyance.
Thom
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73' Alfa Giulia Super
64' Volvo Duett
65' Volvo Duett
67' Volvo Amazon 123GT
09' Ford Focus 1.8
20' VW ID4
71' Benelli Motorella
65' Cyrus Speciaal
The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys
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Feb 20, 2023 21:06:03 GMT
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Hi, No panic, almost every plastic part can be 3d printed nowadays by almost every 18 year old ;-). But I understand you annoyance. Thom Or indeed can be 3D printed by me...if I can make the model anyway. -- -- -- Having failed to read the instructions properly when I set the valve clearances last week (I missed that the instructions specifically stated a *tight* sliding fit), I went back in and did the job again today. It takes all of about 15 minutes so no excuse not to. If you ever wanted a demonstration of the efficacy of the detergent properties in good quality modern oils, here you go. This was what the top end of the engine looked like about a week ago, the oil was changed later the same day as I recall. Fast forward to this morning and about 100 miles since the oil was changed.  It's plainly obvious to the naked eye even at a quick glance how much of the varnish on the rocker arms and around the head has been cleaned away. The oil that was drained wasn't horrible either, definitely due a change, but not like the black ink that was drained out of a certain Mercedes S123. Be curious to see if this effect continues over the next few hundred miles. Can't say I can hear any difference now, but at least I know the clearances are properly set by the book. I guess these engines just are a bit tappy from the top end. It's not bad by any means, just seems a little conspicuous on a car that is otherwise so refined. |
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Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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Feb 21, 2023 20:57:36 GMT
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Did you use a syntetic oil?
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Feb 22, 2023 19:44:34 GMT
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insignificant detail but i noticed the throttle plate has a wedge on the back of it. vauxhalls of the era had one too and in the manual calls its a "ruck sack". supposed to smooth out air flow in transient throttle positions or something (so engine doesnt take a huge slug of air kind of thing, or more to the point the management having to deal with it)
boring science.
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Last Edit: Feb 22, 2023 19:45:10 GMT by darrenh
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Feb 22, 2023 20:19:40 GMT
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insignificant detail but i noticed the throttle plate has a wedge on the back of it. vauxhalls of the era had one too and in the manual calls its a "ruck sack". supposed to smooth out air flow in transient throttle positions or something (so engine doesnt take a huge slug of air kind of thing, or more to the point the management having to deal with it) boring science. Never noticed that! However given the attention to detail in the design of the induction and exhaust systems on this car it doesn't surprise me. Shouldn't have to worry about turbulence upsetting a MAF sensor reading or anything here at least as it's all MAP based. -- -- -- Today I was busy, so not going to be touching the cars save for a run to Toolstation for some cavity wall anchors. Car on the other hand apparently had a different idea for how I should spend my afternoon.   Yeah, that's somewhat sub optimal. Of course the fuel filter is the one that's still sitting in the boot waiting to be fitted, otherwise I'd have spotted this! The guilty party:    That hose was fitted in July last year according to the paperwork. So almost six months on the dot. Completely aside from the fact it's dissolved away to nothing, it's just normal fuel hose - not high pressure rated for use on injection systems. So shouldn't ever have been installed in this location anyway. Yes, this was done by a garage. Oh, no surprises this was holding the hose on at the filter end rather than a proper fuel hose clamp.  Naturally 8mm isn't a hose size I had in stock. Cue a run round to Pirtek. This should do nicely.  I think that should handle the ~50PSI or so this system runs at just fine. All back together. Only took 30-40 mins.  The jubilee clip was begrudgingly reused as I don't have a proper fuel hose clip to hand the right size - though it will be there precisely as long as the weekend when I'll be swapping out the fuel filter. Doing that with the car on ramps though as I can't get at the outlet end with the car on the ground. Then back to building furniture - and cursing the fact that our walls aren't square. |
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Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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Feb 22, 2023 23:00:58 GMT
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I’d be a bit wary of R6 rated fuel hose in the long term with ethanol containing fuels. At best it’ll just smell fuelly and go hard after a while. At worst it’ll fall apart like the last one.
Genuine R9 ratedl is what you need. I’ve been using Cohline 2240 with good results. It’s lasted 3 years and still supple, which is at least 2 years longer than the fake eBay R9 that came before it.
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1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend)
1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing)
1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)
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I’d be a bit wary of R6 rated fuel hose in the long term with ethanol containing fuels. At best it’ll just smell fuelly and go hard after a while. At worst it’ll fall apart like the last one. Genuine R9 ratedl is what you need. I’ve been using Cohline 2240 with good results. It’s lasted 3 years and still supple, which is at least 2 years longer than the fake eBay R9 that came before it. Few things have made me want to just sack this hobby off once and for all and just buy a Tesla and be done with it than this ethanol nonsense. I've been messing with cars for thirty years plus change in some form...and issues with fuel lines aside from physical damage or just plain old fashioned old age just weren't something that really were a major headache until the last ten years or so. Around then it seemed that the quality of over-the-counter sold fuel line went absolutely down the pan, and the silent slipping of ethanol into everything has just compounded that. My usual go to is ISO7840 marine grade line. However that's not something I can just go out and pick up locally anywhere I know of - and the last two attempts at buying it from online sellers resulted in what was plainly Halfords grade rubbish turning up and having to chase things up through PayPal for a refund. I've had the same from another couple of what I assumed were reputable car spares sites sending out what plainly wasn't good quality hose when it arrived - so it's something I've just sworn off buying from online sources any more unless I really have to. Hence my asking for advice in a specialist who just does fluid transfer stuff today...had kind of hoped they of all people would have been able to steer me in the right direction. Especially as I kind of needed this today rather than in a week and a half when the post arrives. My other local options run to Halfords (X2) or Motorserv...who have equally nameless loops of hose to Halfords date coded four years ago with the wrong type of clips included hanging on the wall. I will see what Top Gear down in Flitwick have in the fuel hose department next time I have time to run down there - but it's still an hour and a half round trip which I just can't spare a lot of days. How just getting something so simple can be such a pain baffles me. Thanks for letting me know exactly what to look for spec wise at least. On the plus side, the bit I've just fitted is easy enough to keep an eye on and replace if needed. For reference, the bit which failed today is labelled as SAE30 J9 - though the printing in this case is obviously worth absolutely nothing! |
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Last Edit: Feb 23, 2023 0:51:38 GMT by Zelandeth
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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I haven't logged on in over a year and was just hoping there would be an old Renault to read about. Was I lucky or what? Read it all and enjoyed the lot. Could not tell you the last time I saw an R25 outside of France.
As for your instrument cluster, I bet it's going to be like the 11 and 19 I've had. This weird almost wax paper like stuff instead of a regular wafer PCB. It's truly horrid and maddening to get right once it starts to fall apart. Especially seeing as every time you remove or reattach the connectors, you're pretty much damaging the traces. My R11 has the cluster from a 19 with all the 11 gauges in it because I had two 11 clusters that always had at least one dead connection I couldn't reliably bodge with wire and always was missing various warning lights.
That stereo (something similar looking was available on the 11 Electronic) looks so amazing in a very 80s way. I usually have no qualms removing a factory stereo provided it's just some generic tape deck but that thing is wonderful. I'm guessing you're decent with electronics? (not sure what kind of engineer you are) I say this as instead of the tape adapter you could go over the top and tap into the tape preamp chip. I've done this on some old 80s boom boxes. Tape decks in home or car audio tend to use pretty generic and well documented preamp chips. You can tap into the output of the chip with the L and R pins and hide a 3.5mm input somewhere in the car. Then you just need a switch to trigger the tape deck on without putting in a tape. Bonus points if you use a DPDT switch to kill the motor when in aux input mode. That way you still have a fully functioning tape deck.
And final comment, (I promise I'll leave now!) I totally learned something useful here I was not expecting to about fuel hoses! I have a 99 Audi A4 (my daily) and years ago I had to change the fuel filter at the side of the road. Long story short I wrecked the plastic hard line and needed to fix it on the spot. I bought rubber fuel line, some clamps and a filter from a Buick V6 that looked similar in size to the very specific Audi one. Audi also wanted $450 for the line... Anyway, every couple of years it splits right before the filter so I basically carry the stuff to change it at all times. I've used high pressure rated stuff every time and never could figure out what was going on. Wouldn't be surprised if ethanol was partially responsible. Might research and invest in some ethanol rated hose now.
Love this thread and it's inspiring me to do an almost 2 year update to my R11 thread (when I'm home in a month or so anyway)
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Last Edit: Feb 23, 2023 6:18:30 GMT by brendanr: typo
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mrbig
West Midlands
Semi-professional Procrastinator
Posts: 506
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1969 German Look Beetle - in progress
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Feb 23, 2023 13:31:42 GMT
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I haven't logged on in over a year and was just hoping there would be an old Renault to read about. Was I lucky or what? Read it all and enjoyed the lot. Could not tell you the last time I saw an R25 outside of France. As for your instrument cluster, I bet it's going to be like the 11 and 19 I've had. This weird almost wax paper like stuff instead of a regular wafer PCB. It's truly horrid and maddening to get right once it starts to fall apart. Especially seeing as every time you remove or reattach the connectors, you're pretty much damaging the traces. My R11 has the cluster from a 19 with all the 11 gauges in it because I had two 11 clusters that always had at least one dead connection I couldn't reliably bodge with wire and always was missing various warning lights. That stereo (something similar looking was available on the 11 Electronic) looks so amazing in a very 80s way. I usually have no qualms removing a factory stereo provided it's just some generic tape deck but that thing is wonderful. I'm guessing you're decent with electronics? (not sure what kind of engineer you are) I say this as instead of the tape adapter you could go over the top and tap into the tape preamp chip. I've done this on some old 80s boom boxes. Tape decks in home or car audio tend to use pretty generic and well documented preamp chips. You can tap into the output of the chip with the L and R pins and hide a 3.5mm input somewhere in the car. Then you just need a switch to trigger the tape deck on without putting in a tape. Bonus points if you use a DPDT switch to kill the motor when in aux input mode. That way you still have a fully functioning tape deck. And final comment, (I promise I'll leave now!) I totally learned something useful here I was not expecting to about fuel hoses! I have a 99 Audi A4 (my daily) and years ago I had to change the fuel filter at the side of the road. Long story short I wrecked the plastic hard line and needed to fix it on the spot. I bought rubber fuel line, some clamps and a filter from a Buick V6 that looked similar in size to the very specific Audi one. Audi also wanted $450 for the line... Anyway, every couple of years it splits right before the filter so I basically carry the stuff to change it at all times. I've used high pressure rated stuff every time and never could figure out what was going on. Wouldn't be surprised if ethanol was partially responsible. Might research and invest in some ethanol rated hose now. Love this thread and it's inspiring me to do an almost 2 year update to my R11 thread (when I'm home in a month or so anyway) Useful to know on the instrument PCB issues. So long as the traces are actually copper rather than aluminium (Hello Lancia and Citroen) it shouldn't be a problem to bridge out any dodgy areas - wouldn't be the first car where I've totally done away with the original edge connectors and wired in a more modern ECU style multi-pin latching connector. Takes a while to do, but massively more reliable in the long run. Also adding a cable pig tail to the instrument panel itself can make actually getting the panel in/out less of a pain as the cabling is often exactly as long as it needs to be and not an inch more out the factory. Now I've got the stereo fully working I'll likely be leaving the head unit will alone. The sound quality using an FM transmitter is entirely acceptable, so that will likely be built into the little tray by my right knee where the voice synthesis module would have been if this car was specified with the talking dash. I have an absolute seething hate of cables and things stuck all over the dash, so it will be installed in a way that's invisible if at all possible. |
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Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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Feb 23, 2023 13:36:30 GMT
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I haven't logged on in over a year and was just hoping there would be an old Renault to read about. Was I lucky or what? Read it all and enjoyed the lot. Could not tell you the last time I saw an R25 outside of France. As for your instrument cluster, I bet it's going to be like the 11 and 19 I've had. This weird almost wax paper like stuff instead of a regular wafer PCB. It's truly horrid and maddening to get right once it starts to fall apart. Especially seeing as every time you remove or reattach the connectors, you're pretty much damaging the traces. My R11 has the cluster from a 19 with all the 11 gauges in it because I had two 11 clusters that always had at least one dead connection I couldn't reliably bodge with wire and always was missing various warning lights. That stereo (something similar looking was available on the 11 Electronic) looks so amazing in a very 80s way. I usually have no qualms removing a factory stereo provided it's just some generic tape deck but that thing is wonderful. I'm guessing you're decent with electronics? (not sure what kind of engineer you are) I say this as instead of the tape adapter you could go over the top and tap into the tape preamp chip. I've done this on some old 80s boom boxes. Tape decks in home or car audio tend to use pretty generic and well documented preamp chips. You can tap into the output of the chip with the L and R pins and hide a 3.5mm input somewhere in the car. Then you just need a switch to trigger the tape deck on without putting in a tape. Bonus points if you use a DPDT switch to kill the motor when in aux input mode. That way you still have a fully functioning tape deck. And final comment, (I promise I'll leave now!) I totally learned something useful here I was not expecting to about fuel hoses! I have a 99 Audi A4 (my daily) and years ago I had to change the fuel filter at the side of the road. Long story short I wrecked the plastic hard line and needed to fix it on the spot. I bought rubber fuel line, some clamps and a filter from a Buick V6 that looked similar in size to the very specific Audi one. Audi also wanted $450 for the line... Anyway, every couple of years it splits right before the filter so I basically carry the stuff to change it at all times. I've used high pressure rated stuff every time and never could figure out what was going on. Wouldn't be surprised if ethanol was partially responsible. Might research and invest in some ethanol rated hose now. Love this thread and it's inspiring me to do an almost 2 year update to my R11 thread (when I'm home in a month or so anyway) Useful to know on the instrument PCB issues. So long as the traces are actually copper rather than aluminium (Hello Lancia and Citroen) it shouldn't be a problem to bridge out any dodgy areas - wouldn't be the first car where I've totally done away with the original edge connectors and wired in a more modern ECU style multi-pin latching connector. Takes a while to do, but massively more reliable in the long run. Also adding a cable pig tail to the instrument panel itself can make actually getting the panel in/out less of a pain as the cabling is often exactly as long as it needs to be and not an inch more out the factory. Now I've got the stereo fully working I'll likely be leaving the head unit will alone. The sound quality using an FM transmitter is entirely acceptable, so that will likely be built into the little tray by my right knee where the voice synthesis module would have been if this car was specified with the talking dash. I have an absolute seething hate of cables and things stuck all over the dash, so it will be installed in a way that's invisible if at all possible. I just as an experiment went out and checked both Halfords stores, Motorserv and Top Gear - Not a single one stock fuel hose that's anything above R6. Which I think shows how well catered for we really are. Have to laugh...Apparently Pearl are now a "decent brand"...is that really the level the bar has dropped to? Do you have a reliable supplier you use for the Gates hose? That's been one of the biggest headaches I've had with buying things online, it's never knowing for certain if what turns up is going to be the real deal or not. Not to say that's not an issue in person too, but at least you can see what you're buying there. |
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Last Edit: Feb 23, 2023 13:55:09 GMT by Zelandeth
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.
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