Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by traineefarmer » Tue Sep 27, 2016 8:45 pm

They're a fairly common repair piece. I first came across one when asked to fit an exhaust to a friends Renault Megane. The factory fitted pipe was one piece and fitted above the rear suspension beam!!

The aftermarket system was available in two parts and came with a similar joint to dave's, allowing you to cut the factory system at a midpoint join on the new section.
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Tue Sep 27, 2016 9:19 pm

Perhaps i'm mistaken then Tom and the aftermarket exhaust makers have made them for all the various models with strange exhausts that are one piece originally?
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by CHR15E » Wed Sep 28, 2016 5:37 am

Got to love French cars!

My Mum's old Clio made me smile when that needed a back box, as you get asked whether it has ABS or not.

Silly French didn't leave enough room on the early cars so when they added ABS later on they had to move the path of the exhaust. :roll: :lol:

Pretty sure it wasn't one piece though.
Chris
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Tue Nov 08, 2016 11:28 pm

Still not got the exhaust sleeves done! However, in between life getting in the way of living and a few other things, it's had new front discs and pads, front shocks and springs, anti roll bar drop links, new plugs, cooling system flush and antifreeze, rear wiper blade, the Clarion stereo and a twin cup holder that sits neatly in the cubby hole just below the stereo!
Probably a few more bits i've forgotten but life has been strange for about 6 weeks so i apologise for not updating as regularly and accurately as i should have done!

Oh yeah, it also sprouted a replacement pair of front indicators thanks to the locating lugs/fingers breaking on the nearside unit and not far behind on the offside.

Image

The final view :

Image

and at rest :

Image

Planning to fit HID bulbs in the fog and driving lamps to complement the LED headlamp bulbs. Because the LED bulbs are "instant on" at full power for dipped and main beams, the driving lamps can take a short while to warm up to full brightness as can the fog lamps - big advantage here to using the HIDs is cost and lack of availability of H3 LED bulbs. I've fitted a pair of H3 HIDs in the driving lamps of the coupé and they give good beam definition although are slower to reach full brightness than the LEDs in the outer pair.
Gives the best of both worlds though! :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by CHR15E » Wed Nov 09, 2016 5:28 pm

I can't get over how big the headlights look compared to your coupe.

I've never tried any LED bulbs in a car as yet, as and when a bulb fails in the Mondeo I may consider it.
Chris
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Wed Nov 09, 2016 6:28 pm

I think that's because of how the camera in my phone focuses Chris but i see what you mean! :lol:

In real life, the headlamps are about the same length as the 800 units but slightly deeper to accommodate the fog lamps and driving lamps, rather than just driving lamps on the 800 lights. I think they look slightly bigger as well because there's a "border" of light unit that protrudes from the body :shock: :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Wed Nov 09, 2016 10:27 pm

Another little job that has shown up now the cold weather is here is that the heater, although improved, still hasn't got that "red hot" quality about it that i'm used to from Volvos. Looking at the hoses that feed the heater matrix, the hose that comes from the rear of the right hand head and goes to the matrix via the heater cut-off valve is feeding into the bottom of the matrix. On the previous 740 (same matrix, different engine) i had similar trouble and also the same on the Jeep where the feed was coming into the bottom of the matrix and out the top which can give rise to air locks and reduces the flow rate through the matrix either way.

I've double checked the diagram in the Haynes Book of Fantasy and although that is a mirror image of what it should be, the hose coming from the rear of the cylinder head is definitely the feed and the other that goes back to the centre of the Vee is the return.

This suggests that the matrix is being fed the wrong way round and indeed, the hose currently coming from the top doesn't look like it sits naturally - same goes for the feed hose (with the cut-off valve in) going to the bottom. I'll get some pics tomorrow and swap the hoses round. I know it had a heater matrix replaced a few years back so there's every chance the so-called mechanics that have bodged everything else on the car have got this wrong as well.

Time will tell tomorrow when i swap the hoses round! :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Thu Nov 10, 2016 6:13 pm

Once more unto the breach! Or at least under the bonnet! :D

This is how the heater hoses started life today :

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Although the feed hose (with the valve in) looks reasonably natural, look how awkward the return hose looks! It's even easier to see in this shot :

Image

This next shot shows them after swapping them round on the matrix :

Image

The return hose now sits much more naturally and is less likely to be heated by the exhaust running over the bellhousing. Granted the feed hose looks a bit more awkward but less so than the return hose looked before the swap in my opinion.

You can see in this shot the feed hose does in fact look more natural again :

Image

Now for a bit of anecdotal evidence! Running it up at about 1000rpm with a coin wedged in the throttle barrel to hold the engine speed steady -

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- warm air started blowing out of the vents at this point on the temperature gauge :

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Previously it would have to get to this point and then still not be as warm :

Image

Taking it for a drive revealed the heater output is definitely much improved, i now can only hold my hand in front of the vents for a few seconds before it gets too hot to bear - previously i could hold my hand there for ages and it still wouldn't get that hot!

As an aside, very little coolant came out of the matrix during the swap, it was only really the feed hose that actually had any amount of coolant in. This helps to bear out my theory of an airlock in the matrix because of the hoses being wrongly connected.
Strangely the engine response seems improved once more across the range, particularly when cold. I haven't investigated but i suspect a sensor wasn't getting the right flow past it as a result of this problem - time will tell if economy also improves! ;) :D
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by CHR15E » Thu Nov 10, 2016 7:34 pm

Good stuff, having little or no heat at this time of year isn't fun.

Don't miss those days in my Espace. :D I reckon the matrix or pump was shot in it as it never improved after numerous flushes.

It would be tolerable at speed but then as soon as you dropped below 30 it was useless. The simple things in life. :D
Chris
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Thu Nov 10, 2016 10:22 pm

I'd lay bets the matrix was connected the wrong way round Chris!

Since letting it cool down and taking it down the shop a short while ago i noticed the heater fan now ramps up more gradually when in Auto mode on the Climate Control.
The cabin was getting warm ish before but just not as warm as i know Volvos can be or warming up as quickly as it should inside. That was what made me doubt my theory a bit to be honest as with both the Jeep and the 740GLE, they behaved the same as your Espace did. That said i noticed this one has a new (looking) water pump so it could be a bit more efficient than those on the other two cars.

Thing was, i hadn't really noticed the lack-lustre output of the heater until the weather turned cold but had wondered about the matrix because the hoses looked so odd. :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Sun Nov 13, 2016 10:11 pm

Friday came and being pleased with my efforts on the heater and also having sorted the front suspension gremlins with no recurrence of symptoms, i thought i'd treat the beast to having the tracking done at ATS - not the best idea i've had this week! The tracking was still out afterwards but worse than that, they had caught the exhaust on the ramp and made the blow from the front really loud!

I had planned to get under and sort it all yesterday but it rained - biblically!

The weather was better today, not much but better so armed with my disc cutter and a few tools, i visited my mate to give me some help to remove the front box, cut the flanges off the front pipes and box and fit these :

Image

Image

I thought i had taken more than 2 pics but it seems not! :oops: :shock:

These cured 99% of the blow from the flanges that were so corroded they didn't have a flat mating face between the pair of them! The other 1% i'll get rid of when i move the rest of the system forward again but more of that in a bit.

It turns out there was still a bad blow from one front pipe where the brackets that hold it to the gearbox are were welded on. The brackets are still holding miraculously but it's wrenched a hole in the front pipe, obviously where they clobbered the exhaust on the ramp because it wasn't down properly! :roll: :evil: I'd call them halfwits but that's overly generous!!!

Now a few Jubilee clips, GunGum and a dog-food tin will come to the rescue of the front pipe! I mentioned bringing the exhaust forward again - they had also broken one of the exhaust mounting rubbers and shifted and broken the exhaust strap round the middle box. New strap and rubbers ordered from fleabay, should land later this week giving me a few days to get the Jubilee clips, GunGum etc.

On a lighter note (or should that be a straighter note ;) ) i tweaked the tracking a bit - half a turn in on the left, half a turn out on the right and it's pretty much spot on now - still a mite twitchy over bad surfaces but a whole lot better than it was.

Just got to wait for these last few bits to land, sort the exhaust finally and then i can do that other ATF part-change, check the CO level and get it in for MoT, with luck it should go straight through, it hasn't been for the want of trying! ;) :D
Cheers,
Dave

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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by Richard Moss » Mon Nov 14, 2016 1:15 pm

CHR15E wrote: I've never tried any LED bulbs in a car as yet, as and when a bulb fails in the Mondeo I may consider it.
I've got LED headlights in my Patrol (replacing the High/Low H4 bulb). The low beam is much better - brighter, more crisp and longer range - but the difference between high and low is marginal. Overall, though, they're better but the combined light/cooling fan unit takes up a bit of space behind the headlight (luckily there's enough) and at around £20 they were worth doing.

I would only use HIDs on projector headlights - conventional ones scatter the light too much. My Lumina had projector lenses with H11 bulbs and they weren't very good. A £20 HID kit was easy to fit and made a massive difference.
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by scoobyh123 » Mon Nov 14, 2016 6:40 pm

That was a good price for the LED headlamp bulbs Richard - have you got a link please? :? :?:

As for HID bulbs having too much light-scatter in non-projector lamps, that was one of my concerns as well. However i'm happy to say the H3 HIDs i fitted recently in the coupé driving lamps don't exhibit this or if they do, i'm not aware of it. Certainly on the beam setter they showed a fairly crisp beam pattern and don't seem to light up parts of the scenery that i don't want to see. Maybe it was beginners luck with HIDs! :wink: :D
Cheers,
Dave

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


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'94 827 Sterling saloon
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by CHR15E » Tue Nov 15, 2016 7:00 am

scoobyh123 wrote:I'd lay bets the matrix was connected the wrong way round Chris!
Guess it was possible. It's long gone now and I'm having no more French crap again. :D
Richard Moss wrote:
CHR15E wrote: I've never tried any LED bulbs in a car as yet, as and when a bulb fails in the Mondeo I may consider it.
I've got LED headlights in my Patrol (replacing the High/Low H4 bulb). The low beam is much better - brighter, more crisp and longer range - but the difference between high and low is marginal. Overall, though, they're better but the combined light/cooling fan unit takes up a bit of space behind the headlight (luckily there's enough) and at around £20 they were worth doing.

I would only use HIDs on projector headlights - conventional ones scatter the light too much. My Lumina had projector lenses with H11 bulbs and they weren't very good. A £20 HID kit was easy to fit and made a massive difference.
Never thought about space. As yet I haven't even removed one of the headlights in it so no idea if it'll be an issue. Conversely my other halfs Astra has had at least 2 new headlight bulbs, plus new units a few months back as the old ones looked very scruffy.

In all honesty I'm happy enough with them and I'm still looking for a replacement car for her Astra so mine will be used a lot less anyway.
Chris
19 Vauxhall Astra 1.6T SRi Nav Estate
08 Vauxhall Astra 2.0T Design Twintop
02 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 4.7 V8 HO

Previously owned 57 800s 2000-2012
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Re: Scoobys Dogmobile - Take 2!

Post by Richard Moss » Tue Nov 15, 2016 8:14 am

scoobyh123 wrote:That was a good price for the LED headlamp bulbs Richard - have you got a link please? :? :?:
They were purchased in the local industrial area in Abu Dhabi - so no link, sorry
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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