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Old 25th June 2022, 23:05   #916
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

It probably wouldn't be my favourite day out, but for you: heaven! Nicely described and photographed . Actually, now I think about it, I would enjoy seeing the cars from my childhood.

On another topic, I was wondering about some history, and I'm sure you'll know!

I always imagine the origins of the Jeep to have been the US Military, whilst I think of the Land Rover as having come from British farms.

Is that true, or have I got a misconception because I grew up in rural GB, watching American films?
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Old 26th June 2022, 00:37   #917
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post

I always imagine the origins of the Jeep to have been the US Military, whilst I think of the Land Rover as having come from British farms.

Is that true, or have I got a misconception because I grew up in rural GB, watching American films?
I think you are spot on!

Jeroen
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Old 27th June 2022, 15:01   #918
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Hi Jeroen!!

Its always a pleasure reading your posts and threads, not only are they entertaining but also insightful.

Many times you have shared with us your experience in various events, shows and festivals (the classic car rallies, the shipping festivals, occasional events in the museums, etc) in and around Netherlands.

I am sure many of these festivals, periodic events and gatherings must be going on for the last 50 years or more. And in the pre-internet era such events may be the only option for people to meet, learn, enjoy and have a good time socially.

But now since the mass adoption of the internet are these events starting to experience a drop in participation. Also is the participation from the "young" crowd (below 30s in general) similar to what it was may be 30 yrs ago?

Last edited by suhaas307 : 27th June 2022 at 15:02. Reason: spacing for improved readability
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Old 27th June 2022, 15:38   #919
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Quote:
Originally Posted by Par_neon View Post
Also is the participation from the "young" crowd (below 30s in general) similar to what it was may be 30 yrs ago?
Unfortunately, classic cars appeals to mostly the more mature aged public it seems. When I bought my Spider some 26 years ago, I was in my late thirties. So we’re many of the other Spideristi in the Alfa Romeo Spider Register. Although the more modern Spiders appear to appeal to the 30/40 crowd, I would say by and large classic cars appeal to the over 50s mostly. I can be a bit more precies, 50+ white males mostly.

The general public is interested just to have a casual look at them. You will find that these sort of tours, often stop in small towns and line up on the market square before continuing their tour. Always draws a car. Generally people like looking at these cars, remembering maybe their parents or great parents cars.

We were actually supposed to stop inLeerdam. Berndt had arranged for a sponsored lunch for all of us. Unfortunately, something went wrong and the sponsor pulled out. So we skipped the stop.

But oldtimer ownership is for the over 50s. It is a worry because some of the specialist that help keeping these cars roadworthy are of the same generation. It is a dying breed. Very few young people are interested in working with their hands these days.

There are several initiatives in countries such as the Netherlands, and in particular in the UK to interest a younger public both for the hobby of oldtimers as well as seen a job in the supporting industry.

The banning of ICE cars in the next 10-15 years in Western Europe is not helping either. Because it will at some point in time become more difficult to get petrol for our cars. E10 is a problem for most 30+ cars as it is. Quite a few initiatives are ongoing to promote eco friendly synthetic fuels.

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Old 27th June 2022, 22:51   #920
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Time to get going on the Jeep: Just to recap:

I want to replace the front crankshaft seal, because its leaking. As it requires pulling the front pulley off, which is also the harmonic balancer I will replace that as well. I figure once every 25 years a new balancer is not a luxury.

Next I want to replace the radiator, because it has two leaks. Tiny, but that will always get worse. Whilst I am doing that I will also replace the thermostat and the water pump.

I started with the crankshaft seal and pulley a couple of days ago. I am taking parts of in a bit of an odd order. That is because I know I will have to take the radiator and other bits of later. Also, I want to see from an early moment, if possible, if I can see any trouble ahead. Sure enough there was trouble!!


First things first. Always disconnect the battery when doing big jobs on your car. My special battery connectors come in very handy for that purpose.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7273.jpeg

Next lets have a good look at these new part that needs fitting. I bought the appropriate puller earlier, I got some extra bolts to go with it that fit in these odd threaded holes. But I need to push the new crankshaft seal in as well. Dont have a real tool. So I look for something round that is big enough.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7274.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7275.jpeg

This is just as I had just started. I have already removed the electrical fan on the left hand side.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7276.jpeg

These are pretty straight forward jobs, even so, I try and study them in the manuals I have and look them up on Youtube.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7278.jpeg

The official Jeep workshop manual, only shows how to extract the seal during a complete engine out. We are nog going that way. I am going to extract it, with the engine insure. Just like everybody does, and also shown in the Haynes manual.

Here I have already removed the large support beam on top of the radiator. What surprised me were these little rubber idolaters on top. It all looked very rusty and I had doused them in rust remover.

the one on the left was ok-ish

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7279.jpeg

But the one on the right snapped right off. As it would! Not the thread, but the complete central pin.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7280.jpeg

Here you see the underneath of the support I took off, you can still see the remains of the central pin of the isolated. Simply pulled out of the rubber.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7283.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7284.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-242fcaef08e340589508052bdf02414d.jpeg

If need be, i could probably salvage this one. But I found two new ones on Bay and ordered them. Might take 10-15 days to arrive. If anything I will fix and install the old ones and replace them with the new ones when they arrive.

The new radiator does have different configurator for these idolaters. But I think they will still fit.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7281.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7282.jpeg

I had to take the complete front grill off as well.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7286.jpeg

For no other reason, its the only way to get at the little drain cock. Its hidden otherwise. And as I am working inside my garage, I really need to be a bit careful on extracting the cooling fluid, don’t want 8 liters of the stuff all over my garage floor. So I am going to find a hose, hook it up to this little drain cock and try and drain as much coolant into containers as I can, before undoing hoses and such.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7285.jpeg

I had a few worries. One of them being the quick connector on the lower transmission line. The problem with these quick connector is, they simply seize over the years. And then it becomes a quick break connector as you end up breaking the end of the tube off.

With the grill and other bits out of the way, I started spraying it very liberally and frequently with penetrating oil. No way you can get at this connector with everything in place.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7288.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7287.jpeg

Good news, the upper transmission line came off very easily without any problem.
You see it here, metal connector, just above the black large diameter coolant rubber hose.

Click image for larger version

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I had to take the drive belt off, obviously. So one thing you need to do is to double check the routing of the belt across the various accessory drives, pulleys, tensioners and what not. I take lots of photographs, just in case.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7289.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7290.jpeg

Also, the Jeep manual shows the various routings for the various engine variants.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7292.jpeg

It’s just a question of loosening the tensioner and taking it off.
This is a serious long drive belt!! I inspected it very closely. I can’t find anything wrong with it, so it goes back on for now.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7293.jpeg

Here we are, with some more things out of the way, we are beginning to get access to the pulley/harmonic balancer.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7295.jpeg

In order to get access, I had to lift the shroud of the other fan (can’t take it off) and move the upper transmission line out of the way. The transmission line is packed in plastic wrapped with lots of tape, to prevent any leaks.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7296.jpeg

First thing it to get the central bolt out of the pulley. That bolt is tightened to 108 Nm and is not going to budge easily. Problem is you will rotate the engine crankshaft before it breaks loose. I tried various ways to immobilise the crankshaft. In the end two bolts in the pulley and a tire lever though it, gave me enough leverage to undo the central bolt with a large socket wrench.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7297.jpeg

Next getting the puller ready to do its job!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7299.jpeg
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Old 28th June 2022, 02:24   #921
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

In order to pull the pulley off, you need to ensure that the puller is fitted correctly to it. I had bought the new bolts of the correct thread. But it was very difficult getting them into the threads. I spend a huge amount of time, cleaning and driving them in and out, every single time a little bit further.

This is how far I got the first try:

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7301.jpeg

Still was not happy with it. I was not convince the bolts went in far enough. They need at least 10-12mm in, to be secure. So another hour and half fiddling and then it looked better. Probably difficult to see, but the puller sits about 3-4 mm closer then at the previous attempt.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7305.jpeg

I started turning the centre bolt slowly and it came without any problem!!

This is how it came off eventually, lots of turns and due to it all being a bit cramped under there, I could only do about a 25oC turn with my socket wrench. But steady and slow it came off.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7306.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7307.jpeg

First time I could have a good look at the crankshaft seal:

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7308.jpeg

Prying it out was relatively straight forward. I have several pullers and implements that can help you getting these seals out. Next I spend another hour cleaning everything.

Next I pressed the new seal in place by using one of these rings I had chosen earlier. Needs to have a slightly smaller outside diameter than the seal. A few gentle taps with a hammer and the new seal was properly seated.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7362.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7363.jpeg

Next to get the new pulley/harmonic balancer back onto the shaft. I stuck it inside my wife’s oven for about an hour at 50oC.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7364.jpeg

I had my special bolts at the ready, with some additional washers. Again you really want to have at least 10-12 mm of thread engaging. It went on very smoothly, no problem at all. I think warming the pulley up to 50oC made it all a little more easy.

I had to torque the original centre bolt to 108 Nm. I put a few more bolts back into the pulley, stuck a screw driver through and that gave me sufficient leverage, so I would not be turning the engine whilst tightening the bolt.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7365.jpeg

Time to start working on the cooling system. First business of the day, drain as much as I can. Hose attached to the little drain cock.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7369.jpeg

Old oil canister to catch the coolant.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7368.jpeg

When I started undoing some hoses, more coolant came out of those, so I put a few drip pans underneath the car. All coolants is collected and will be disposed off, through the council garbage disposal fascility.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7371.jpeg

Took a bit of wiggling, but here it is! Old radiator is finally out!!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7372.jpeg

My special hose clip pliers worked really well!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7370.jpeg

By the way, I could not get the quick-disconnect of the transmission line to quick disconnect. I had my special quick disconnect tool kit. But nothing would budge it.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7366.jpeg

In the end I decided to just saw the inlet pipe off the old radiator so I could at least take the radiator out.

Next was to try and free up the quick disconnect connector from the sawn off piece of pipe.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7373.jpeg

I tried every trick in the book. Then I found a new trick which involved clamping the grip pliers that were holding the connector, with a clamp down the chassis. So it was properly secured. After a very long struggle (must have worked on it for 1,5 hours) I managed to pull it free.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7374.jpeg

Hot work, time for a cup of tea!!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7304.jpeg

Next I took the thermostat house off the engine, two bolts only.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7375.jpeg

When I checked the old thermostat with the new one, I discovered a difference. The old thermostat has got a little ball valve made into the flange. This needs to be orientated towards the top and is supposed to aid the de-airing of the system.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7376.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7378.jpeg

I phoned around, but nobody had a thermostat with this little valve anymore, so I decided to stick the one in I had bought earlier. First a lot of cleaning.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7379.jpeg

You really need to ensure both flanges are very clean. I have some special scrapers that will allow you to take off the majority of the old packing. Then I use a small wire brush in my pneumatic drill. Works a treat.

New thermostat fitted:

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7381.jpeg

Put the thermostat housing back on, tightened it very carefully to the specified torque, re-attached the hoses and this is done!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7382.jpeg

Next job, the water pump and putting the radiator back in and dealing with the elusive quick disconnect coupling

Last edited by Jeroen : 28th June 2022 at 02:25.
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Old 28th June 2022, 04:04   #922
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Would a trip to your favourite toolshop have yielded a set of taps to help clear out those bolt holes? Or do they only stock present-day usual metric stuff?
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Old 28th June 2022, 10:49   #923
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom View Post
Would a trip to your favourite toolshop have yielded a set of taps to help clear out those bolt holes? Or do they only stock present-day usual metric stuff?
Yes, it is difficult getting non metric stuff. You might be able to get a complete set with all different sizes, but I would require two sets as well having two different kinds of thread to contend with.

Jeroen
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Old 28th June 2022, 11:36   #924
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

When I started on the water pomp I realised I should have taken the bolts of the pulley of before taking the belt of. Because without the belt the pulley turns freely .
Gave it a try with my impact wrench, that worked surprisingly well!!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7383.jpeg

Four bolts undone, it took quite some force to pry the pulley of the pump. Eventually with the help of my trusted tire lever it popped off.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7384.jpeg

Here you see me using my fancy hose clip plier, with remote control. Extremely useful on some of these “hidden” hose clamps!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7385.jpeg

The pump is attached to the front of the engine with four bolts. Important: they have different sizes, so make sure you remember which bolt goes where!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7386.jpeg

Lots of cleaning of the mating surface again. Look inside, that cilinder looks very clean. Virtually no debris and hardly any rust in the coolant liquid! That was quite a surprise. It means that the system had been well maintained and the coolant regularly refreshed, most likely.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7387.jpeg

Old pump on the work bench to be checked versus the new one as is usual.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7388.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7389.jpeg

These pumps have a separate J- shaped tube attached to them. They always rust badly and might be difficult to remove. So I had ordered a new one with the new pump, made sense I thought.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7390.jpeg

Pump back on again. In order to re-install it I had to undo the complete power steering pump assembly as well. I had hoped not to, but I just could not get the pump back in place properly. So decided to remove it too. You want to make sure the pump and the gasket are really flush with the front of the engine, before starting to torque up the bolts.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7393.jpeg

Tried this tool to hold the pulley from turning when torquing up the four bolts. But it would not hold. So I will have to wait till I have the belt back on, before I can properly tighten these bolts.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7394.jpeg

New radiator ready to go in! Took 2 minutes to fit it back in. Re-attached all hoses. But I have a problem with the lower transmission line. That quick connector is properly buggered! These connector are crimped onto the hoses and the hose is crimped onto the steel tube, which goes all the way back to the transmission case. Which means I will have to replace the complete hose/tubing assembly. Also, I am not quite sure how these quick connect work, or rather how and what kind of O-rings are required. There is also a quick connector on the transmission case, slightly different kind again. So I need to figure out what I need and where I can order it.

Jeroen
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My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7395.jpeg  

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Old 1st July 2022, 16:05   #925
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

It took quite a bit of googling and phoning around. But I have found somebody that can supply me a new transmission line at a reasonable price. I ordered it, should arrive sometime next week

So this morning I decided, in preparation of the new one, to take the old one of. It was still connected to the transmission. Undid it, also a quick connect. This one came out real easy. Getting the whole transmission line from underneath the car and the engine block was a bit of a puzzle.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7404.jpeg

Here you see the other end (as opposed to the hose). This tube has a little flange on it, around it a plastic insert which keeps it in place. You push the two clips together to unfasten it from the female connector, threaded into the transmission box.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7405.jpeg

I managed to pry of without damaging it, I think.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7407.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7406.jpeg

Although it looks in reasonably good shape I would prefer to mount the new transmission line with a new insert too. This is a case where a Euro 100 transmission line is held in place and sealed with a Euro 0,50 bit!!

But sofar I have been unlucky in finding anybody that can help out. I’ve send a few mails to the official Jeep dealers too. Let’s see what turns up.

Jeroen
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Old 7th July 2022, 20:04   #926
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Last Monday I got a call: My new transmission line had arrived. I found another Jeep part supplier, again close to my home, Tiel. About a twenty minute drive.

So I went over to pick it up. Also got some new wipers and I discussed these plastic inserts at length. He gave me one to try out.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7452.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7453.jpeg

Shame, it did not fit either.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7454.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7455.jpeg

In the end I decided to just try the old one. If worst came to the worst I could always order the complete connector fitted to the tranny. That comes equipped with the plastic insert too.

Here you can see that connector on the tranny and the little plastic insert. Its that plastic insert that keeps that whole line tight!! It sit right behind the flange on the tube as shown in the image above.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7467.jpeg

Putting the new transmission line in place went pretty smoothly. It took me a while to get the old one from underneath the Jeep. Very peculiar shape. Somehow I managed to put the new one into position within seconds. Both quick connectors went on without much problems too.

You just pinch the two halves together, wiggle the line a bit and out it pops!! That is the theory and for once, it worked for me!

I was still waiting for the two isolators for the radiator to arrive. According to the postal tracker they would arrive on Thursday between 11.00 and 13.00. So I decided I would start this morning and hopefully I would be able to complete everything.

Put the belt back on, checked my diagram carefully. You need to get this right! Tightened up the belt. Jeep drive belts are very very tight. You can’t over tighten them, they say. I had actually taken a measurement before releasing the tightener, so I just put it back into its original position.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7469.jpeg


With the drive belt back in place and tightened, I could now torque the four water pump pulley bolts correctly.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7470.jpeg

By now I was waiting for the isolators to arrive. So in order to kill some time, I just fitted the support to see if everything was installed fine.

Well, the new radiator gap was a problem! I could not undo it with the support in place.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7471.jpeg

The reason it has these two “ears” for easier handling than the old one. But there is not enough room for those!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7472.jpeg

Quickly took out my trusted Bosch angle saw, solved it in ten seconds, if that!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7473.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7474.jpeg

Whilst waiting for the isolators I decided I might as well fill up the cooling system.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7480.jpeg

I filled the system first via the radiator. When that was full, I undid the return from the cabin heater core. Poured in some coolant till it came out of the thermostat assembly. I was a bit concerned about not having the correct thermostat with the bleed valve. I have read some horror stories about bleeding this particular 4.0L Jeep engine.

But it all looked ok. With the front support still missing I decided to start the engine and see how everything holds and performs.

This is with the engine just started from cold. You can hear the piston slap.



I wanted the engine to warm sufficiently so the thermostat would open. So I tried to create a load by switching on the cabin fan and the AC to max, also the rear window heater. Sure within about 10-12 minutes the thermostat opened. This one opens at exactly 195oF as per specification. The old one, although a 195oC thermostat as well, opened at 210oF. We will see if it affect fuel efficiency.

Everything looked fine, no apparent leaks. Topped up the coolant a bit afterwards. Had a bit of problem with my special exhaust hose I have been using when I run my cars in my garage. I shove this hoover pipe into the exhaust, the other side goes out of the window. Must have shoved it in too far this time. It melted!!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7482.jpeg

Just as I was done, the little Postal van rocked up in front of our house. Delivery of my two isolators. Packaging from the USA is always fun!!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7483.jpeg

The old versus the new. Note, I had repaired the one that had broken, just in case.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7484.jpeg

This is how they get fitted to the top of the radiotor.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7485.jpeg

I re-installed the top support and next was the grill and light mounts. Before bolting everything down, I decided I had better check if all the lights still work. You never know, with all this work I might have pulled on some wires, a bulb might have broken. Better check now whilst I still have easy access. Sure enough, one of the indicator bulbs was not working.

I checked and it looked like corrosion on the contacts for the bulb.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7486.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7487.jpeg

The indicator lens cap was actually partly split along a seam. Water had gotten into the unit. So I just added some glue along the seam.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7488.jpeg

These plastic glues take a long time to harden out. I did not want to wait another 24 hours or so. So I just wrapped some tape around the whole unit. I installed it with the tape in place. Tomorrow I can just cut away the tape and nobody will be the wiser.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7489.jpeg

I took the Jeep for a 30 minute test drive. Filled her up as well. Look like my fuel efficiency has improved. I did almost 1:9,5 which is pretty good for this car/engine.

So job well done. I will check for leaks the next few days. It will be interesting to see whether I have solved the oil leaking from the front crankcase seal as well.
Although it all went relatively smoothly it still took the best part of the whole day to finish. Then another hour to mop and clean my garage floor. Ready for the next job. Not sure what I will do next, or on what car. We will see

Jeroen

Last edited by Jeroen : 7th July 2022 at 20:09.
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Old 8th July 2022, 05:15   #927
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

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Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
Some people dont like Japanese cars, but these little Honda's are very cute, interesting little cars! They are tiny though, especially for the fairly tall and big Dutch!
Is this a Serial One? Is a bit hard to say from the angle of the photo.

We get a lot of small and early Japanese cars in New Zealand, due to our close proximity to Japan. The first cars the country received were from America, followed by Japan. The latter being the more popular choice for mainstream users due to their dependability. Many are seen on the road today. Early samples of the First generation Honda City, Mitsubishi Mirage are a common sight. Small cars and definitely not suitable for larger frames. They have a huge cult following here. These cars are like what the Mini was for the UK and Beetle for Germany/Europe.

I've been attending car shows in New Zealand for some time now. I don't post about it here. The photo below is from the last one I attended called Coffee and Cars in April 2022. Is a regular event during Summer and Autumn months (Seasons are reversed for us). These are beautifully restored first and second generation Toyota Corolla's. The Brown and Orange cars are the First Generation E10 and the red one is a E20. There was one more (Not pictured) that caught my attention later in the show. It ran the stock 1600cc engine strapped with a Turbo charger and Super charger. Looked unassuming from the outside. The owner did not want to give away anything so it retains a complete stock look on the outside. Surprisingly dependable even after extensive modifications.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-dsc_0781.jpg
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Old 8th July 2022, 11:42   #928
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

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Originally Posted by sandeepmohan View Post
These cars are like what the Mini was for the UK and Beetle for Germany/Europe.

The photo below is from the last one I attended called Coffee and Cars in April 2022. Is a regular event during Summer and Autumn months (Seasons are reversed for us). These are beautifully restored first and second generation Toyota Corolla's. The Brown and Orange cars are the First Generation E10 and the red one is a E20. There was one more (Not pictured) that caught my attention later in the show. It ran the stock 1600cc engine strapped with a Turbo charger and Super charger. Looked unassuming from the outside. The owner did not want to give away anything so it retains a complete stock look on the outside. Surprisingly dependable even after extensive modifications.
]
Thanks for sharing , very interesting!
When we lived in the USA there used to be these coffee and car events everywhere. Usually on a Sunday morning. You would just rock up at about 0800am, meet and talk cars for an hour and a half, have a coffee and by 10.00am everybody would be gone again. Great events, very casual, made lots of friends this way.

Jeroen
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Old 10th July 2022, 12:47   #929
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

I am very annoyed with myself!! Really made a mess of my Spider the other day.

I had gone for a day of touring, gorgeous day, wife was doing some other things, so I decided to go touring. After a while I noticed some peculiar spots on the front window. I thought it might have come from trees or so. So I pulled over at a petrol stop and removed them. Drove on, but the spots were coming back. Stopped and cleaned them again. Only after it happened a third time I decided to investigate a bit better. I opened the bonnet and the problem was immediately very clear> Just before I had set of, I had topped up the engine oil and forgotten to put the oil cap back on!! Oil had sprayed everywhere!! Luckily, the oil cap was still there, wedged between a spark plug and the valve cover. I found a nearby self car wash and cleaned up all the oil and hosed down the engine bay as best as I could. Surprisingly small amount of oil had disappeared from the engine, but it was still a huge mess.

I am still mopping up and cleaning more. When the Spider is parked, oil keeps leaking out of nooks and crannies. Very annoying.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7457-2.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7458-2.jpeg

On the upside, it is oil and a bit of extra rust protection is never a bad thing on an old Italian car!

Whilst I was mucking out the engine bay I also noticed the cover of the air mass flow meter being a bit loose.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7460.jpeg

So I removed it, it is held in place by nothing more than a liquid gasket. So I cleaned everything and applied some new gasket.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7461.jpeg

This is the first time ever, I have seen the internal bits of this sensor. I almost wish I had not. I doesn’t look all that great. But I am not going to mess with it. These Bosch air flow meters are incredibly sturdy, so I am just leaving it.

Yesterday I went to a workshop about car respraying, polishing and similar things. A very interesting company.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7495.jpeg

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7491.jpeg

It was organised by the KNAC (Koninklijke Nederlandse Automobiel Club). It is one of the two National car owners clubs/association. I used to be a member as for many years my classic cars were insured through them.

Many people turned up in their classic cars.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7494.jpeg

I took my Jaguar, about a 40 minute drive, just about all motorway.

We got a very interesting two hour talk about the theory of car paint, paint damage and restoration and so on. Followed by a very typical Dutch lunch. (Bread rolls with meats and cheese). During the afternoon they gave a number of demonstrations on spraying, polishing and so on.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7500.jpeg

And of course, endless chatting about cars. Bumped into two old colleagues of mine and somebody from the Spider club. Nice catching up with them.

They had some interesting cars inside their workshop too

The ever illusive Maserati!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7492.jpeg

Jaguar XK (R) and a Lotus Elise.

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7493.jpeg

Very interesting workshop with lots of cool tools!

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7496.jpeg

This is masking paper on a roll, different sizes. Note how the sticky tape is already attached on one side for easy handling/application.

We got a nice booklet with the slides we were shown earlier. A very interesting and relaxing day.

Jeroen
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My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7462.jpeg  

My Car Hobby: Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123, Alfa Romeo Spider, Jeep Cherokee & Mini One-img_7497.jpeg  

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Old 10th July 2022, 15:21   #930
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Re: My Car Hobby: A lot of fiddling, and some driving too! Jaguar XJR, Mercedes W123 & Alfa Romeo Sp

Oh, Jeroen! Thanks for the humble reminder that even the most careful people can do something like leaving a filler cap off.

That looks like a very interesting meet/course on the polishing/etc. What is the big yellow machine behind the welding(?) gear, with lots of attached hoses, marked LAScare?
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