Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

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Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Thu Aug 04, 2016 11:19 pm

After a year of using a Jeep Cherokee XJ 4.0 HO Limited as my dogmobile/tow car/general runabout, i decided i really should change the rear springs - so i bought some heavy duty jobbies from a diesel XJ. They are currently sat in my shed with the enthusiasm to fit them.
The Jeep is a good old truck, 21 years old and slightly below average mileage (248k) and while that might seem high to some, they are well known to go on for double that.

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It's also got a working LPG system so is in fact quite cheap to run (pence per mile works out the equivalent of getting about 55mpg on normal petrol) and has been pretty reliable so why would i want to change it?

Well my faithful pooch is struggling to get into it and sometimes i do as well. Also i know i'm going to struggle to fit those springs (anyone who knows me will know why) and then this happened.

I was trawling ebay, not really looking for anything when an advert caught my eye. Clicked on said advert and read the listing and thought yes, it has potential.
Long story short, today Dusan (Alucard7002) picked me up (Thanks again for that mate!) and took me to pick this up :

Image

Image

Bodily it's very similar to my last Dogmobile but mechanically there are a few differences - for a start it's the PRV/Douvrin V6 2.8 fuel injected engine pumping out 168bhp ish mated to an AW71 auto box. It also seems to have the Dana35 Trac-Loc diff in it meaning it's a Limited Slip (same diff as the rear diff on the Jeep) jobby and apart from a few silly problems, it seems to be pretty good mechanically and bodily.
Being the 760 GLE it has a few extras that the 740 GLE didn't have like driving and front fog lights built into the headlamps, air-con/climate control etc.

I'll see how things go but i daresay the Jeep will be up for sale soon as this Volvo does everything i bought the Jeep to do except towing but i can fit (or have fitted) a tow bar.

Won't get to use it much over the next few days though as i'll be preparing the coupé for Peterborough but i will update with a few bits and pieces as and when. Already fixed the courtesy light (bulb missing! :roll: ) and renewed the front sidelight bulbs, given all locks, latches, hinges etc a lubrication and bought a new thermostat for it (one of the silly faults) and have some clear side repeaters to go on soon.
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by traineefarmer » Fri Aug 05, 2016 7:50 am

NICE!

I'd take a Swedish Brick over a Yank Tank any day.
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by mercedade » Fri Aug 05, 2016 8:01 am

Oooh.....now, tell me more about this Jeep you might be selling.... :)
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by CHR15E » Fri Aug 05, 2016 8:41 am

55 mpg? Guessing LPG is very cheap your way?

The rear springs on them can be fun, rear shocks are worse though as the upper mounts have a habit of snapping. Had to do them on Joe's by cutting the boot floor. Fun times!

Got no experience of that age of Volvo, I enjoyed the V70s I had though.

Fingers crossed it serves you well.
Chris
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Fri Aug 05, 2016 10:05 am

mercedade wrote:Oooh.....now, tell me more about this Jeep you might be selling.... :)
Sending you a PM about something else Adrian, i'll include some details! :D
CHR15E wrote:55 mpg? Guessing LPG is very cheap your way?

The rear springs on them can be fun, rear shocks are worse though as the upper mounts have a habit of snapping. Had to do them on Joe's by cutting the boot floor. Fun times!

Got no experience of that age of Volvo, I enjoyed the V70s I had though.

Fingers crossed it serves you well.
Thanks Chris! Round my neck of the woods, LPG is generally about 50p/L give or take a penny or two. On the other hand, BP Ultimate is about 125p/L and the Jeep generally does about 20-24mpg - have seen 25mpg on one run but that's unusual. Taking the lower figure of 20mpg and the relative costs of Ultimate Vs unleaded, that's a factor of 2.5 so 20mpg on gas equates to 50mpg equivalent cost on petrol - 24mpg x 2.5 is 60mpg so split it down the middle and it's 55mpg. On two occasions i have seen it as low as 14mpg, however that was filling up from one particular station that seemed to fill much quicker than the others - in other words going from a near empty tank to full would take 4 minutes instead of 6 for example. Since stopping using that station the economy has levelled out at 20-24mpg so i suspect their pump was errr............."faulty".

When i first got the Jeep, i painted the rear springs, shackles/bolts, shock mounts etc with used engine oil a few times not only to prevent rust but also so it would soak into the threads to enable easier removal when the time came. I've also doused the necessary bolts in WD40 a few times recently so hopefully they won't be too bad to do.
traineefarmer wrote:NICE!

I'd take a Swedish Brick over a Yank Tank any day.
Thanks Tom! I have to admit i enjoyed the Jeep but it was nice getting in a 700 again yesterday - a bit like putting on a favourite pair of slippers in a strange way! The way it shifts it's certainly not a pipe and slippers car , despite the often perceived image of older Volvo estates! :wink: :D

When i get time i'll polish the old beast upand see how it looks - it already looks good for a 28 y/o car though!
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by CHR15E » Fri Aug 05, 2016 10:13 am

That explains it then.

For some reason LPG can't be that popular here, only 1 garage has it in town and I'm pretty sure it's 65p+ when I last took any notice.

After that it's 10+ miles away. It never made sense for me so I gave up with it.

Not an issue running a diesel anyway. :(
Chris
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Fri Aug 05, 2016 11:24 am

In some respects i'm in the same boat as my nearest LPG station is 12 miles away. However my nearest petrol station is 6+ miles and is on the way to where i do most of my shopping which coincidentally happens to be the same town where the LPG station is so despite the distance, it works for me.

If you had to make a special trip or detour, then it might not.
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Sat Aug 20, 2016 2:55 pm

It seems ages since i first started this thread but it's only been about 2 weeks. However i've done quite a bit in terms of sorting silly faults, upgrades etc.

One of the first things i did (mainly because i had them sitting here) was upgrade the side repeaters to clear ones with LED bulbs :

Image

Image

As i had a few bulbs out on the dash/switches, they got the LED treatment as well :

Image

Moving under the bonnet, i renewed the thermostat (99p + £2.45 P&P! :shock: ) and cleaned some of the breathers out. Still got more work to do on the breathers and adjust the throttle linkage (already adjusted the cable but the throttle is late opening due to wear in the linkage) but even just this small amount of work has reaped benefits in performance (and hopefully economy too) and the rest of the breathers will be cleaned monday or tuesday when the oil and filter i've ordered for it lands.

One of the big reasons it was up for sale in the first place was a braking problem. This turned out to be a new set of pads needed on the back and the pistons pushed back into the calipers. For the princely sum of £11 for the pads the brakes are now sorted although at some point i will check the fronts as well.

Also ordered a set of aftermarket tailgate struts (I'm allergic to beheading! :lol: ) and bonnet struts which had to come from the USA for $8.99 each - the Shipping & Handling came to about $25-26 so all in $43.65 or about £33 for something Volvo wanted £68 each for!

Still loads of silly jobs to do, they'll all get done eventually but it's coming together nicely! :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by vito » Sat Aug 20, 2016 10:11 pm

Looking good Dave
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Sat Aug 20, 2016 10:50 pm

Thanks Gaz - need to get the Jeep on ebay soon, had planned to get it on a 7 day auction to finish friday teatime but thanks to some internet problems i'll have to do a 5 day auction instead.

Once the Jeep sells i'll use the money for the new springs/shocks on the Volvo, meanwhile it will be whatever cheaper bits i can find that need doing! :lol:
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by CHR15E » Sun Aug 21, 2016 10:16 am

In my experience you're better off with a classified ad on eBay these days.

I usually put things on for 30 days that way if it doesn't sell as quick as you'd like you're not paying to relist.

Plus the way people are these days they often don't actually want to wait for an auction to finish and look elsewhere as a result.

Just my two pence. :)
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Sun Aug 21, 2016 1:43 pm

I was going to go for a bidding price and a Buy It Now as well Chris to try and cover the options you mentioned. I don't want a classified as it takes too long, i want/need it gone by the end of the month really.
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Wed Aug 24, 2016 6:00 pm

Well the bonnet struts landed today so i spent a happy 5 minutes fitting them! I did take some photos but haven't uploaded them to the PC yet and to be honest, they were dead easy to do.
One of the old ones had more resistance when the rod was pulled out than pushed in! The other one still had some life in it so i wonder if someone has done the repair on the cheap in the past and just fitted one new one.

I did clean the breathers out a bit more but couldn't get any pics because it's pretty much hidden. From the oil filler cap, follow the thick black hose towards the throttle body and there is a valve (more of a 3-way tubing junction really) on the end of it, another thick hose goes to the air filter side of the air intake trunking just past the throttle body and then the small bore tube goes to the inlet manifold. I cleaned out this stub with some carb cleaner and then pushed the nozzle through it several times to make sure it was clear.
Also removed the oil filler cap and sprayed plenty of carb cleaner into the flame trap and positioned the hose/cap so the flame trap was uppermost and sprayed it again. After it had a good soak i turned it up the right way and let the carb cleaner (now dirty) run out before refitting it.

The throttle link rod was also a bit on the slack side so that had a tweak too! Now the idle speed when hot is up to about 900rpm in "P", i'll see if that settles down as the ECU re-learns the parameters. Bear in mind it was running cold (due to the thermostat) for however long before i got it, there's a fair chance the system is still re-adjusting/re-learning itself.

Hoping to get out and about in it a fair bit at the weekend so that should give it a shake-down and the copious amounts of carb cleaner that went through the auxiliary air valve might improve the cold start - the fast idle is way too low for a cold engine!

Still waiting on my new tailgate struts - turns out Hermes lost or damaged the originals and a new pair are winging their way to me! At least i can then open the tailgate without beheading myself or truncating my dog if i'm taking him walkies!
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by Alucard7002 » Thu Aug 25, 2016 2:15 pm

As a near recipient of the tailgate decapitation method I'm glad you've got new struts on the way ;-)

Take care and have fun tinkering! Looking forward to when you've repainted the hatch and got it polished up :-)
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Thu Aug 25, 2016 6:00 pm

Decapitation does tend to spoil your day somewhat! The annoying thing is, i ordered the tailgate struts on the 18th and still don't have them - the bonnet struts (which came from the USA) were ordered on the 19th and landed yesterday! Go figure as they say in California! (Other states too probably! :lol: ) Apparently myHerpes managed to damage the package so the original set of tailgate struts are on their way back to the seller and they have allegedly dispatched a replacement pair.

I had planned an oil/filter change yesterday as well but couldn't find my oil drain pans. Also had trouble finding the oil filter on that engine as well! It's located behind the PAS pump/reservoir with other things round it as well. Only obvious means of reasonable access will be to remove the air cleaner box completely!
Just thought - i may be able to get it through the N/S/F wheelarch if i take the wheel off, might look at that tomorrow as i want to check the front brakes in any case. Oh yeah and the front shocks as well! :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


Image
'94 827 Sterling saloon
'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
'95 827 Coupé LPG gone but not forgotten!

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