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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
Day 45 Debugging... Woefully under-size starting battery replaced by a 'low maintenance' 100Amp-hour one with 900 CCA (cold cranking Amps). Only problem is that there's no access through the floor of the van because there's a seat bolted down on top of the original panel.To overcome this when the original battery was refitted the battery cables were made long enough to fit them with the battery off the cradle so the new battery was connected likewise - 
It's a bit of a grunt to lift the battery into the cradle but once it was in a normal bar type battery clamp fits in holes already in the cradle - 
The over-long clamp rods need trimming down yet & the clamp bar might be better upside-down: something to play with if there's time this session. Seizing accelerator cable that made keeping a steady speed very difficult has been replaced by a Brovex one for the 4.108 engine that needed some fettling to make it fit - 
Pedal end bracket hole wouldn't align with the original bolt hole so it's held by a self-tapping screw; pump end needed 5/16" repair washers to span the 1/2" hole in the bracket. Clevises both ends had to be drilled out to 1/4" as well. The main reason for using the 4.108 cable is that it was available; it's longer than the 4.154 cable (4.108 pump linkage is further back on the engine) but this works out fine because it can be routed in front of the top of the radiator & well clear of the air cleaner. If nothing else the new cable buys time to find a new 4.154 cable or get the original one copied. Crankcase ventilation converted to positive (as opposed to the original open-ended pipe) by connecting a hose between the rocker cover & air cleaner - 
Needed some bending of the air cleaner bracket for the hose to clear the radiator cap & some sticky-back foam strip on top of the radiator to prevent wear. Fuel supply problem turned out not to be in the tank itself but in the fuel feed line: a blob of the glue lodged at the connection close to the lift pump, the glue being similar to what was on the sender unit gasket. 
Tank came off anyway, to find another blob waiting to get sucked into the fuel line. All remnants of old glue removed from the sender unit gasket... ---------------------- |
 Mon 10 May 2010 @ 00:41
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
no more wild camping with the daffs then this time Phil 
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Mon 10 May 2010 @ 07:17
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
My van also has no fixing for the battery, just relying on stiff battery cable to stop it leaping of the tray. It is on my list to do something similar, but I just have a couple of quick questions: The clamp rods, are these threaded studding just bent over at the end, or are they plain rods that have the thread cut at the bolt and wing nut end? Also my battery terminals are on the outer van edge, and I’m concerned that careless fitting of the right-angle clamp bar might accidentally touch the positive terminal. Is this how the Bedford batteries were originally fixed? Thanks Nigel. |
Mon 10 May 2010 @ 09:10
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
CFs with batteries with the posts away from the chassis usually came with a clamp plate bolted to the floor of the cradle that locked onto the bottom lip of the battery case. By the time the battery needed replacing the clamp plate bolt would be seized... The reason for fitting the battery with 'wrong' hand posts that land next to the chassis is down to what was available & having cables long enough to suit. Also, the van has rubber spacers on the chassis so the terminals stay clear of the chassis. If the spacers hadn't been there then I would have made something to do the same job. Battery clamp that I've used is a standard £3-4 one that comes with plain rods threaded 6mm for a length of about 40mm; as they are they're best for taller batteries but the hook end can be chopped off & re-bent to suit smaller batteries. Usually these clamps can be fitted next to the battery terminals as well: thing to watch for is the clamp bar pulling downwards rather than across the battery so that it can't slip off & short across the terminals. ---------------------- |
Mon 10 May 2010 @ 10:53
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
Thanks for the reply Phil, where do you buy them from? I was going to make something up from scratch, but if they are only a few quid to buy, it is not worth the trouble. Thanks Nigel. |
Mon 10 May 2010 @ 11:31
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bluebedouin Global Moderator Posts : 2444 Location : Northampton,England. Status : Offline 
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nigelnikkiCF250 wrote: ...I was going to make something up from scratch.... That's what I did but,mine are behind the passenger seat under the bed/seating unit.Just used what I had laying around,a couple of gate hinges! 
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Mon 10 May 2010 @ 15:50
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
If worried about shorting terminals, a bit of old rubber mat cut to size should do the trick ---------------------- |
Mon 10 May 2010 @ 21:16
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
Finally on the road with no unexpected stops..... 
Cruising well, very comfortable I must say, the rear view camera is great with a good view of whats behind, 
Cool dude Phil behind the wheel.... 
The new flaps over the previous holes....cd player in centre ( not connected yet) 
Should be on her way to Scotland soon, all credit due to Phil, I can't thank him enough for everything he has done... top job !! Margaret ---------------------- |
Tue 11 May 2010 @ 00:09
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
Day 46 More debugging & a 30 mile trip Mk II mirror arm extensions -
Extensions made a bit more accurately, essentially making the studding work as dowels in tight fit holes made using a jig on a pillar drill. Studs fitted before fitting mirrors - 
Unpainted pieces go inside the door with 1" washers, spring lock washers & plain nuts. A bit fiddly but I think it's easier than trying to start bolts in the mirror arms. The important bit: cord tied to spanner & hooked over door lock button in case the spanner drops into the door - 
Mirrors in place - 
Right side spacer is about 3" long across the top, left side about 4.5"; good view down both sides of the van now. Engine oil dipstick made from a £1 drain cleaning wire turned out to be too short once I'd worked out that 7 litre of oil is way too much because it dribbled out of the rear of the engine when it's standing. Fix came in the form of a 2" oval nail forced tight into the wire then trimmed down until it didn't hit the bottom of the sump - 
With a change of oil on the cards anyway what came out was just short of 5 litre & the dribble at the back of the engine seems to have stopped so 5 litre of fresh oil was put in: level is on the nail, literally. Battery clamp tidied up: hooks sawn off & rods re-bent, threads & wing nuts slobbered with grease to slow down corrosion - 
A demonstration of the CAV thermostart in action - 
Igniter starts smoking almost as soon as the dash switch button is depressed. If the button is held in long enough - 
With the air cleaner in place the flame usually is accompanied by a whumpf as accumulated smoke ignites; this is when the engine has to be cranked on the starter immediately, or the air cleaner loses its paint ... Talking of which, Margrae has been busy with the paintbrush - 
The Carver heater got taken out because it obstructed the narrowest part of the floor in the camper the Suburban forced air heater works fine anyway. The hole in the floor where the Carver heater sat, unsealed (oh my - exhaust fume goes upwards...), has been temporarily covered over with a piece of board - 
Pipework tidied up by using a shut-off tap as a connector so that the heater can be isolated if need be - 
Surplus - 
Check all round again with a gas detector & fire up everything (water tanks filled previously to see whether using them as ballast improves handling). Engine is running better, I think because it's done some miles already & also because the tank has had a dose of Wynn's Clean Burn, & once it warmed up exhaust smoke seemed to be non-existent. Biggest issue is air intake noise but it might be possible to fit some trunking & use the front panel box section as a silencer as for Opel diesel engines (hole for this is next to the top of the radiator, on the driver's side). Back end is a lot better - can feel the ballast - but seems a bit soft now & steering is heavy still but it centres ok so higher tyre pressures all round could fix both. ---------------------- |
Tue 11 May 2010 @ 01:17
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
Good idea for the oil dipstick, Phil. Ours is broken off at the MAX marker line. So the end of the coil can become the MAX mark with the oval nail extending past the MIN. |
Tue 11 May 2010 @ 08:56
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
Day 47. And finally... A rumble that was noticeable when coasting last trip out turned out to be the driver's side front hub bearings -
I wasn't too happy with this hub when it went on; time was a bit tight then I think, with loads of other bits to bolt on to get the van back on its wheels... Anyway, out came all the bearings from the donor front hubs & luck stepped in again: some knackered bits but a good pair of bearings & hub oil seal. Driver's side sorted, & the passenger side bearings had a clean & re-pack with fresh grease while I was at it. Rear axle had a look at too but that seeme fine. Partial fix for air intake noise was a hose from the Frontera engine fitted with the open end pointing downwards - 
Hopfully about 1.5metre of 60mm diameter trunking should be enough to route over the air filter to the hole on the front panel for 2.3 Opel diesel air intake & things will get a bit less noisy. Tyre pressures were taken to 40psi from 35psi; passenger side front was down to 25psi though which explains a gentle pull to the left better than 3 passengers all on one side. Then out for another run, to come back smiling. Van is a lot smoother all round & although it's noisy still it's nowhere near as intense as it was before adding the 'silencer' hose. Best bit was feeling the road through the tyres now but the ride still being comfortable, steering fine (for a CF350 anyway!), so 40psi all round can't be too far off optimum for the weight it's carrying now. Mirrors are just right too & make the rear view camera a bit superfluous on the road although it's a Must Have for tight manoeuvring, like shunting the van to & fro to turn it round before hitting the road, & seeing what's close up behind anyway. Engine is running much better, more or less as it should too: some black smoke at maximum acceleration while it warms up past a flat spot when cold but the Wynn's Clean Burn seems to be helping because there's been a noticeable lurch between power on & off while the hydraulics caught up but that seems to be fading away. I'm done now I think. Apart from some trunking for the intake all that's left now is for Margrae to use the van some & get the living area the way she wants it: what might shake off before the van is due a coat of looking at hopefully won't be much more than the usual for a 30+-year-old CF... ---------------------- |
Wed 12 May 2010 @ 01:42
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
Great news, 'beddie the auld biddie' is now on the road. I would like to thank Phil for all his hard work and dedication, a fantastic ambassador for CF UK. The amount of work was a mammoth task....practically rebuilt from a shell of a cab!! If it wasn't for Phil I think she would have been scrapped but instead she is looking so good now. I will be making my way back to Scotland today, fantastic. Three cheers for Phil and CF UK, hope to see some of you at Moffat next month. Margaret ---------------------- |
Wed 12 May 2010 @ 01:53
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
What fantastic news  I'm really pleased that it's all sorted for you. Go out and enjoy yourselves
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Wed 12 May 2010 @ 07:24
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
Great news. My respect to Phil and best wishes to Margaret. ;-) ---------------------- |
Wed 12 May 2010 @ 07:47
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
Fanatastic news Margrae - and much homage to Phil for working his magic and informing us all in such a clear and exciting way[bow] 
Enjoy the 'van Margrae - just be careful of low bridges/trees/overhangs etc as extra wide mirrors and reversing cameras dont help in these situations!!!!! Carl ---------------------- |
Wed 12 May 2010 @ 10:40
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bonouk1 Member Posts : 314 Location : merthyr tydfil s.wales Status : Offline 
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Margrae,s little problem great news ,im made up for you mags,hope you have many years of fun in her ,well done philly wiz ,been great watching and reading your progress .ill sorta miss it now its finished lol |
Wed 12 May 2010 @ 17:46
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
It ain't over yet: van has sprung a leak North of Newcastle. AA have had a go at fixing the top hose but now reckon the radiator has burst. Van presently is waiting for something big enough to get it back to Leeds so I'm going over shortly with a spare radiator & stuff. More in due course... ---------------------- |
Wed 12 May 2010 @ 18:23
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bonouk1 Member Posts : 314 Location : merthyr tydfil s.wales Status : Offline
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Margrae,s little problem oh shyyyte ,poor mags ,hope it goes well phil |
Wed 12 May 2010 @ 19:34
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bluebedouin Global Moderator Posts : 2444 Location : Northampton,England. Status : Offline
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If you want to save & print this Phil,use this link.;] ---------------------- |
Thu 13 May 2010 @ 00:38
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Anon Deleted Posts : Location : Status : Offline |
:# oh no. Everything crossed that you will get it sorted.
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Thu 13 May 2010 @ 07:26
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