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Sept 12, 2016 18:59:09 GMT
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Yeah, Just use threadlock. Avoid locking washers - They make things worse in almost every case. Threadlock and a stout plain washer is best. Loctite Blue is "medium strength" and more suitable to stuff that's a larger diameter thread, with red it might be a nightmare to remove without heat.
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Sept 10, 2016 22:01:28 GMT
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Do you know whats causing the misfire?
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Sept 10, 2016 19:00:40 GMT
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That's an absolutely lovely old Passat, it looks in fantastic fettle!
The exhaust needn't be a massive headache, really - There's bound to be a Powerflow/Longlife agent near you that could whip one up from stainless, they wouldn't need a pattern, but they would need the car. I think Cybox are over your way and I've heard really good things about them, but they'd probably cost more than a longlife one.
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Sept 10, 2016 13:57:05 GMT
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That looks great!
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Sept 8, 2016 20:23:26 GMT
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Yeah, when I used to convert these we'd just clean everything with a pressure washer. Cab mat, door cards, all the inside of the back, it's the only way to get the mucky smell out. Get rid of all the wood, use them for templates if they fit but if you carpet over it them thing will always smell like a builders van.
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Last Edit: Sept 8, 2016 20:24:06 GMT by cobblers
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Sept 8, 2016 13:51:34 GMT
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Last Edit: Sept 8, 2016 13:51:59 GMT by cobblers
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Sept 3, 2016 21:19:22 GMT
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A part like that would be quite a challenge for someone who does that kind of thing for a living - It's got hollow fins and ends - it'd have to be made from 8 separate moulds because it's such a complex shape. Even if you had one to copy, it would be a huge undertaking. Starting from scratch would be months of work.
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Sept 3, 2016 17:59:33 GMT
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I've often thinned it a bit with no issues, a little thinners makes quite a difference though so go steady.
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Sept 3, 2016 14:49:20 GMT
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I think what Rich means is that if the turbo has been lobbing oil out, this'll have filled the inlet manifold with a load of oil. It'll take quite a while to burn all that off in normal use. Might be worth whipping the inlet manifold off and cleaning it out if it's straightforward enough?
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Last Edit: Sept 3, 2016 14:50:18 GMT by cobblers
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Sept 3, 2016 12:12:00 GMT
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Sept 2, 2016 17:06:55 GMT
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It might have been 7.5 years ago.
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Aug 30, 2016 21:21:26 GMT
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You'll probably be OK If you make sure your charging leads and engine earths etc are all good and solid, so that you're getting every bit of that 36A. That said there's probably a fairly simple upgrade for your alt.
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Aug 30, 2016 20:47:41 GMT
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Yeah, your way is the common old way. It's the worst of all worlds really - the leisure battery will charge slowly but will always draw current, even when the main battery is very low, and obviously there's no fuses so the van'll go up in flames as soon as one of the badly crimped terminals overheats and falls off.
Your old alternator will do what it can - I'll assume it's 40A or something? An overly simplistic way of looking at it is that when wired to two batteries, the alternator will charge whichever battery is the most flat, up until the point they're equally charged and then it'll distribute current equally.
However with a self sensing split charge relay, it'll only cut in at about 13.2V meaning it'll only start charging the leisure battery once the main battery is about 60% full, there's no risk of it leaving you stranded.
Whether you run the fridge off the main battery or the leisure battery through another relay is much of a muchness really. If you leave it as it is, you can flatten the main battery if you leave the fridge and ignition on.
Really if you want to get much life out of either battery you should fit a couple of LCD voltmeters - don't let the leisure battery drop below 12v. If you put LED bulbs in your interior lighting then you can happily camp for weeks with no issues -I left all the lights on in my van for over a month once - came back and there was still plenty in the leisure battery.
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Last Edit: Aug 30, 2016 20:54:38 GMT by cobblers
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Aug 30, 2016 20:22:13 GMT
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Every split charge system I see is a fire waiting to happen. They're a nightmare
Theres two workable ways, either way keep your fridge on a relay direct from the main battery as it's totally impractical to run from a leisure battery - it'll draw about 10A. I presume it's got gas or mains supply. Way 1 is "cheap £14 wanky ebay auto sense split charger and loads of thin wire" This works but is slow to charge so you can't really just run the engine for half an hour every few days and expect to keep your beer cold, The relay will realistically only handle 15A tops so if you use thick wire there's not enough voltage drop and the fuse blows - These are designed to be used to keep a caravan battery charged when you're driving, with a huge length of wire with enough resistance that you drop about a volt across it and it limits the charge current in practice to 10-15A.
If you fit one to a camper with short thick wires, you'll blow 20A fuses often. So you have to use fairly thin wire (12AWG) to keep the current down. Fuse as close as practical to both positive terminals with a 20A blade fuse. No matter what, the relay will probably fail after a while. If you use them at 35A or 40A like they claim to handle, they will melt the casing and weld the relay contacts shut.
Way 2 is to use a "proper" split charge relay and proper wire that will handle everything your alternator will give out. The leisure battery will charge much faster, you won't blow fuses all the time but you'll need to spend £60 instead of £30. Disadvantage is that the leisure battery will charge at a much greater current so it'll actually slow down charging of the main battery. In practice this isn't an issue unless you flatten both. Durite make a decent self sensing 140A relay. part no 0-727-33 Use 4AWG wire and a 100A fuse as close as practical to the positive terminal of both batteries.
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Aug 29, 2016 20:48:48 GMT
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Even if you can recharge a battery that's been flat for a while, it's still not gonna perform anywhere like it could.
I do a lot of work with gel SLA batteries and test them quite thoroughly. A couple of months ago I tested a battery at 22AH when discharged at 30A to 11V on our jig. Charged it back up, put it back in the product and sent it out to the customer.
A month later it came back and the battery measured 1.6v - The customer hadn't charged it (their charger was faulty)
I charged it back up on the jig which measured 14AH going back into it - but on discharge it could only manage to put out 4AH, the rest gets wasted to heat on charge and discharge.
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Aug 28, 2016 20:22:55 GMT
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There's no need to sell the wheels to pay for it - you can get your massive big toes shortened on the NHS for free.
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Aug 28, 2016 12:38:31 GMT
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With a lease or PCP deal basically you pay for the depreciation. Most new cars are sold this way because it makes it more affordable each month.
Manufacturers always choose 5K per annum for the adverts as it means the car is worth more after the term ends so the monthly cost is lower. It doesn't make all that much difference.
For people who can't or don't want to work on their own cars and are happy to pay a little for the knowledge that their car will cost X per month no matter what, a new car on PCP can make sense. Sure you can buy an old snotter for £300 and maintain it on a shoestring budget, but if you're someone like me who needs a reliable car that will absolutely get me to work and back (and has a courtesy car when it's in for a service) then it's worth paying the extra.
What I don't agree with are these "£149 per month" leases that have a £5000 initial fee! Mental.
Anyway, when I added up what I'd spent on my old Ibiza Cupra over 18 months of ownership, it worked out at nearly £180 a month. I was fed up of having to arrange lifts here and there and stuff when it needed to go into the garage (I've nowhere to work on a car myself). I figured I could have a nice new car for that, that someone else would have to fix and I could drive their courtesy car while they did it!
So now I've got a new Abarth 595 and it's awesome. Soon, when we move house to somewhere with a drive/garage, I'll buy myself something interesting and old and use my tinkering time and mojo for something fun, rather than just keeping my daily driver going. I'm totally through with rushing round in the girlfriends car trying to find a motor factors open on a sunday morning to try and find a part to get my daily moving again so I can get to work on Monday.
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Last Edit: Aug 28, 2016 12:40:14 GMT by cobblers
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Aug 25, 2016 21:31:15 GMT
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Ebay is alright for lumps of aly.
I've got a 3d printer at work but limited time, If you can draw up the adapters (www.tinkercad.com) I'm happy to print them and stick them in the post.
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Aug 17, 2016 19:09:46 GMT
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It's 100% better off uncovered unless it's got massive leaks somewhere. The cover will only wear the paint. It'll definitely get damp underneath and a waterproof tarp will hold this against the paint and make it bloom and blister. Make sure it's kept dry inside - Air it out whenever you can, otherwise it'll go mouldy.
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