Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

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mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Fri Jul 26, 2013 12:28 pm

Alucard7002 wrote:
mercedade wrote:
Fail, but only on handbrake efficiency (n/s). So this weekend will see me digging out the excellent thread (I think it's on .org) which has all the pictures of the self-adjusting mechanism, getting the wire brush and WD40 out, then following the excellent thread on here for reftting and adjusting rear pads, then back for a free re-rest and we're good to go!
Was this the thread perchance :wink:


viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4094

Super fiddly and not worth doing unless you're bloody minded enough and have enough spare time to do it.

I see you've bought a recon caliper, definitely the way to go.
Actually, no! I remember reading that thread at the time and thinking "he's got bigger balls than me" - my tolerance for fiddly jobs like that is rapidly diminishing. I did however make extensive use of the pictures in your thread to understand that, if I couldn't free up my handbrake lever by working it back and forth, it was going to be curtains for the caliper.

I used these threads http://www.rovertech.net/forum/viewtopi ... =6&t=93266 and http://www.rovertech.net/forum/viewtopi ... =6&t=50092on Rovertech to better understand what it was I needed to get working.

Very useful information all round though - very much appreciated!

(As an aside, I did notice that the one I took off was a Girling caliper - I think you mentioned this was probably a MK1 caliper originally. Also, I've noticed I have Goodridge braided hoses all round, which is nice)
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Thu Aug 29, 2013 11:56 am

Always the way isn't it?

The Vitesse was rewarded with an oil and filter change for passing its MOT - at £29 for the garage to do it, it's not worth me getting dirty for the sake of saving £5 doing it myself.

However, whilst in there they showed me a hole appearing in the front pipe and a definite rattle/clunk coming from inside the cat. They've put some gunk over the hole for now, but it looks like I'm going to need a front pipe and cat. Sigh.

I'm sick of changing exhaust parts on my cars. That'll be my 3rd front pipe in as many cars! And each as been as nasty as the last - the Galant came apart beautifully at the manifold but was seized solid on the cat, whilst the 827 was an absolute monster of a job. I'm not looking forward to this...
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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Richard Moss
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by Richard Moss » Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:16 pm

I have a cheap, 12V impact wrench that runs from the car battery. If I soak the exhaust nuts in WD40, leave them overnight, and then use a 6sided socket, the impact wrench does a decent job of spinning the nuts off.
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

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:36 pm

Richard,

I've actually been out looking and nothing looks anywhere near as nasty on the previous two cars. The previous owner had changed from the cat back and those nuts look pretty good, whilst the other ones have significantly more material than the 827 did!

Plenty of plusgas and WD40, and I reckon I should be OK (tempting fate a little there...)
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Sun Sep 01, 2013 11:31 am

Can people who know better than me confirm something for me?

I'm aware appearances can be deceptive, but is there a difference between the 600 and 800 front pipe?

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-WCD103330EVA

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GEX33653

Obviously they're listed as different items, but I'm being wildly optimistic...
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by Richard Moss » Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:11 am

No idea - but if it's just the flexi that is shot, try http://www.cbsonline.co.uk/category/Exh ... ing,b.html for a new flexi
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

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Mon Sep 02, 2013 6:28 am

Sadly, it's not. There's a pin hole on the seam just before the flexibility section. It's probably weldable, but only as a spare. Normally holes like that hide a world of bad metal.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by Richard Moss » Mon Sep 02, 2013 6:48 pm

Bum. As you say, though, perhaps suitable as a spare.
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

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Sun Nov 10, 2013 2:42 pm

It took some time, and it's still not done but I started on the exhaust today.

I'm no longer using the car every day, so I was able to soak the nuts connecting the cat to the mid-section and the front pipe to the manifold liberally in WD40 for 2 days. Consequently everything came undone much, much more easily than expected. Result.

Got my 'new' cat and downpipe combo lined up, ready to attach. Having specially scoured the internet for exactly the right pair, I was particularly annoyed to discover this:

Image

Yes, the new downpipe (pictured here with new cat attached) is about 2 inches too short. *really bloody furious*. The scrap yard in Cardiff apparently swapped it for "one in better condition" - a nice idea, but clearly not the right part. I'm especially annoyed because there have been others around my way which i rejected because they weren't from my MY(1998) and I didn't fancy the lottery.

It's too late to do anything about it now so....

8cm of pipe and flange cut off the old downpipe

Image

This is a front pipe a very nice man in Bicester donated about 2 months ago 'in case it came in handy'. Turns out it really did!

Image

Chop

Image

Weld

Image

This hasn't actually been welded up yet, but it's marked up to make sure the flanges are oriented correctly - another massive faff I could have done without. I'll take it to a garage later this week and get it done.

Hopefully next week, it'll be done and I'll be silently driving again.
Last edited by mercedade on Wed Apr 16, 2014 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:22 pm

At the same time, i've been replacing the exhaust manifold gasket - again, more nuts needed soaking in WD40 for a few days and again, all came undone without too much of a fight. A decent 6-sided 15mm socket was the only 'special' tool required. Something had obviously been done in the past because the nut behind the alternator was entirely missing (stud AWOL as well) and the one on the far right had been helicoiled down from an M10 to M8.

Anyway, it came off easily enough (all the studs came out) and I took the opportunity to replace 2 of the studs with new ones, meaning I could insert one of the old stud+nut combos into the 'b**tard' hole behind the alternator.

Without starting it up (still no downpipe attached), it seems to have gone OK. Will know more next week...
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by rosshenocsr » Sat Jan 25, 2014 11:31 pm

mercedade wrote:Richard,

I've actually been out looking and nothing looks anywhere near as nasty on the previous two cars. The previous owner had changed from the cat back and those nuts look pretty good, whilst the other ones have significantly more material than the 827 did!

Plenty of plusgas and WD40, and I reckon I should be OK (tempting fate a little there...)
Yes it has the last completely genuie Rover exhaust system for the 1996 model onwards Vitesse. The bolts i used were stainless ones so shouldnt have rusted to bad.

As for the exhaust manifold, i did find from time to time one of the studs would come loose and i would get an exhaust blow, may have been the one from behind the alternator but i cannot be 100% Luck for me i never had to remove the manifold in my 2 years of ownership..................every thing else used to drop off or stop working.
2003 MG ZS 180 - Trophy Blue
1998 Rover 620 ti - Kinversand Orange

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:11 pm

Another 12 and half months of ticket awarded.

Needed the handbrake adjusting to convince the tester it had 'reserve' travel, but I'll be slackening it off a little now I've had the ticket as I don't like the cable to be over adjusted and it was holding just fine before hand.

I also needed a patch on the driver's sill - found a mobile welder who did it for £40 and although it's not the neatest job in the world, it'll do for another 12 months. That'll give me time to establish if I want to put new sills on (£££) ready for next year.

Chuffed with that!
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

mercedade
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by mercedade » Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:12 pm

In fact, I've resolved to reward it with a replaced air-con pipe and finally getting the original wheels refurbed.

Anyone breaking any 800 with aircon? From what Rimmers tells me, this pipe is common to all.
Adrian
1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (white gold)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 820 Vitesse Hatchback (green)
Gone...1992 Rover Mk1 827 SLi Manual (green)
Gone...1998 Rover Mk2 825 Diesel (green)

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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by TDHFastback » Tue Aug 05, 2014 7:40 pm

Congratulations on the MOT pass. Its always good to have another year ahead with an 800

Kate :D
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Re: Mercedade's '98 Vitesse in BRG

Post by SJG » Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:28 pm

Good news on the MOT
Simon

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