HEEEELP! Is my cage haunted? Mechanical opinions needed.

**CookMySock** · 11th April 2010, 13:20

Originally Posted by Hans

Right now, I'm wondering wtf I've got myself into.

It's time to take a break and ask yourself how far down this rabbit hole you want to go. If you leave it for a couple of days and go back to it you will have a new calmer picture of things, or perhaps get a mobile mechanic to finish off the complicated bit for you.

If you do decide to continue, I would be extremely careful about marking the old timing belt and the pulleys, just in case one of the cams decided to leap off in one direction, or else you will be there for days, or worse of you don't realise and manage to get it started.

Steve

**FJRider** · 11th April 2010, 13:26

Any frosts up your way lately ... ?????

**Hans** · 11th April 2010, 13:29

Originally Posted by FJRider

Any frosts up your way lately ... ?????

Nope. 10 char.

**Hans** · 11th April 2010, 13:34

Originally Posted by DangerousBastard

It's time to take a break and ask yourself how far down this rabbit hole you want to go. If you leave it for a couple of days and go back to it you will have a new calmer picture of things, or perhaps get a mobile mechanic to finish off the complicated bit for you.

If you do decide to continue, I would be extremely careful about marking the old timing belt and the pulleys, just in case one of the cams decided to leap off in one direction, or else you will be there for days, or worse of you don't realise and manage to get it started.

Steve

Good point. Certainly feeling the pressure of needing to get the fucking thing up and running as this is our only cage and the other half is fairly dependent on it. The whole problem is not so much the mechanical issues. I'm fairly decent at the mechanical stuff. The big problem is ACCESS. There's fuck all space around the engine and just undoing three bolts on an engine mount can take an hour and a half...

**CookMySock** · 11th April 2010, 14:28

That's where an air ratchet spanner is good, or ratchet ring spanners - it might be tool-buying time - Repco is open all weekend!

You have to get that pressure off yourself or it will go pear-shaped for sure. Take regular breaks at least. Good luck and be careful.

Steve

**Hans** · 11th April 2010, 14:31

Originally Posted by DangerousBastard

That's where an air ratchet spanner is good, or ratchet ring spanners - it might be tool-buying time - Repco is open all weekend!

You have to get that pressure off yourself or it will go pear-shaped for sure. Take regular breaks at least. Good luck and be careful.

Steve

Yeah, defo not tool buying time. If I weren't broke, the car would be at Toyota and I wouldn't have to deal with any of this.

**peasea** · 11th April 2010, 15:56

Originally Posted by Hans

Good point. Certainly feeling the pressure of needing to get the fucking thing up and running as this is our only cage and the other half is fairly dependent on it. The whole problem is not so much the mechanical issues. I'm fairly decent at the mechanical stuff. The big problem is ACCESS. There's fuck all space around the engine and just undoing three bolts on an engine mount can take an hour and a half...

While this won't help; that's why I got out of the motor trade. The way cars are assembled is for ease of assembly, not servicing. Try telling a customer that chagning plugs on their V6 east-west shitbox will take four hours and platinum-tipped plugs are around 40 bucks a shot.

And people wonder why I buy simple motor vehicles.

**Hans** · 11th April 2010, 16:01

Yup, the primary reason for getting this POS in the first place was handling and brakes -ie active safety, because it's the missus' car. I coudln't give a shit what car I drive, I drive a truck so I can deal with any handling a car can throw at me. If I ever buy anything else, it will most likely be something, where I can stand next to the engine in the engine bay.

**scissorhands** · 11th April 2010, 19:03

The electric car has no real servicing, and your hands get no oil or muck on them, no oil on the road or in the atmosphere...

Its a no brainer really, especially with maintenance and repairs

**Hans** · 11th April 2010, 19:24

Originally Posted by scissorhands

The electric car has no real servicing, and your hands get no oil or muck on them, no oil on the road or in the atmosphere...

Its a no brainer really, especially with maintenance and repairs

Gee thanks. That is just the sort of advice I asked for, and definitely the sort of advice I really need. Now go and agitate somewhere else.

**mdnzz** · 11th April 2010, 21:47

Originally Posted by Hans

Well, it turns out that the water pump is not belt driven. So that's not what caused it.

You're right, but it was still after the alternator was done that this happened, maybe it a fault in their water pump and as others have put with the new surge of electricity. Or maybe its just the japs fucking with ya for Hiroshima

**kevfromcoro** · 11th April 2010, 21:56

watching in interest.. had one of those.. got the engine in the boot
cant see the alternater causing it overheat.
they are a bit hard to work on.............
dunno... did you do a test on raidiator...
oil in the water?
water in the oil?
blown head gasket will do that......