:: Diary - March 2009 ::

:: Sunday, March 1, 2009 ::

It's been raining overnight but the forecast says it's going to be dry, so I decide that it's ok to take the Cerbera (open window and everything) to the TVR Car Club meeting.

Unfortunately, the battery is as flat as a pancake, and won't turn the engine over. Aha! I have one of those battery booster pack things in the boot of the Lexus. Open the bonnet, connect that up and.... well now there's enough power to move the starter motor, but not enough to turn over 4 and a bit litres of high-compression engine.

Jump leads! Ah... they are in the boot of the S, which is 4 miles away, and I don't have time to go and get them, come back, manouevre another car into the garage, start the Cerb (maybe!), put the other car away and still be on time to pick up Dave. So I make an executive decision - sod it I'll go back to the house and collect the S and go in that - at least if it rains (and the sky is helluva grey considering the BBC weather forecast) I'll be able to keep the water out!

So that's what I do.

Another Cerbera turns up at the meeting, dark blue with cream interior, it looks lovely, I tell the owner my sorry tale of flat batteries and no doors and windows, and he suggests that I photograph his electrical connections to make sure mine is connected up right.

2 members turn up with lovely brand new Tuscans, and a third, who was also due to pick up his 1-March registered Tuscan today from a different dealer (which rhymes with Gracing Reen) doesn't - basically because they have deceived him into thinking that they were going to deliver a car today, which they don't actually have yet, and don't expect to get their hands on for another fortnight, with a 3-month build and prepare time after that, ie mid-June. AND, cheekiest of all, they want to give him less for his part-exchange because it will be worth less in 4 months (despite the fact that they have buggered him about for 6). This despite them telling him 10 days or so ago that they were on schedule for 1 March. He is not happy. Neither am I, and if the dealership in question is reading this (and I hope you are, along with the hundreds of other hits this site gets every week) then I don't rely on advertising revenue or anything like that so I don't have a "no-name-and-shame" policy. So there.

Anyway, when I get home, I go along to the garage with my wiring photo, and right enough, the connections are wrong. Damn, that'll be the control box burnt stupid then... Nevertheless, more in hope than expectation, I connect it up right, and well whaddya know? It all works properly again! Yay!!!

So that just leaves the mileage reading on the speedo (which is now at 49,999.9) which I am assured by the service dealer, will be repaired if I hit it while driving. We'll give that a try!

Next job is recharging the battery and getting it to start!

:: Thursday, March 5, 2009 ::

Right - I have until lunch time to get the car to start. I go along to the garage and start with a voltage reading on the battery - 11.5 volts. Not enough to turn the engine (I try it but it won't even engage the starter motor properly).

I can't really get jump leads on to the car, because I can't push the Cerb out and I can't get another can into garage door past it. So I connect up a battery charger, and leave it while I footer about doing another couple of jobs.

First I replace all the wheel nuts with nice new shiny alloy ones. Much nicer.

Then I replace all the bits I removed to employ the "secret entry method" - after making sure that the doors and boot still open normally of course!

Another voltage reading - 12.2 volts. I know from the other day that's still not enough to start the car. Leave it charging for a bit longer while I sit in the garage and do some work on my laptop. Another hour passes, still 12.3 volts. I try the starter - still nothing.

I decide it's jump leads or nothing. I push the car forward almost against the front wall, and get the Lexus up against the wall outside. By this time it's snowing heavily so the original plan, to take the car back to the house, is abandoned - I just want the thing to start!

The jump leads only just reach, but they reach - and this time the car starts! Yay! I leave it to warm up (and charge up a bit) and check that the fans cut in - I was bit concerned that it's running a little bit hotter than I think it was when I got it. But it cuts in and works fine.

I buy one of those wee accumate trickle charger things and plug that in. Battery voltage 12.5 volts.

:: Saturday, March 7, 2009 ::

Back along to the car. Battery voltage 13.8 volts, car starts first time!

It takes bloody ages to manouevre it out of the garage though - it's really tight.

Anyway, off for petrol and then I set off to Dunkeld for the Celtic Gathering. The weather isn't great (in fact it's pissing down) but the car is running like a sweetie. I remember to hit the speedo, as advised by the TVR specialist, and the mileage recorder comes to life again as well.

I get there just in time for the photo shoot, and then a couple come up and say that they like the colour. She has her photo taken sitting inside.

Loads of people there, many I don't know. We set off for a run around the local Highlands, and at the second stop, my temperature gauge goes off the scale and steam escapes from the expansion bottle under the rear corner of the bonnet. The temperature rises dangerously high each time we stop, I think the fans may not be cutting in (although they definitely were on Thursday and I didn't even fiddle with anything mister!).

Also, half way round the run, the passenger door decides to stop working from the outside.

Anyway, aside from that, a great day out, followed by a drive home in even heavier rain. Here's some photos of the day:

Then I take the S along to the garage, so that I can keep the Cerb at the house in preparation for leaving early next Saturday to take it for a service.

:: Sunday, March 8, 2009 ::

The idea today was originally to have a run and try to replicate the heating-up problem on the Cerbera, and then check / wiggle connectors until the fan comes on. Problem is, it's snowing, and I don't want to just run the car stationary because (a) I might break it and (b) I'll upset my neighbours.

So I wait until the snow goes off and then check the tyre pressures, which all seem a little bit high. Or maybe my pressure gauge reads a little bit low. Paranoid, me?

Then I dig out my old box of cassette tapes (no CD players in there!) and check that it works.

A bit of sticking the edge of the dashboard down, where a little bit is coming off.

Oh and, the passenger side door opener button that wasn't working yesterday? Well it's working just fine today...

:: Thursday, March 12, 2009 ::

It's a nice day so I decide to try to track down the overheating problem. The fan isn't coming on, and internet advice suggests that the first place to check is the temperature sensor in the coolant pipe across the front of the engine. So it's off with the F1 panel, and off with the sensor connector. I peel back the rubber boot and find that one of the wires has pulled out of the terminal. I manage to get it back in and squeeze it shut till grips.

A quick check - and yes the fan comes on this time.

I top up the water level which is a bit low.

:: Saturday, March 14, 2009 ::

I've booked the Cerbera in for a service at Hexham, about 100 miles from here. I'm driving down and getting 2 trains back. No problem!

Except that about 15 miles from the house, the temperature rises well above where it normally is, and stays there, whether I'm moving or not. The needle is jumping about a bit too.

I have a quick look and it seems to be ok so I press on.

Another 10 miles on, and out of the corner of my etye I think I see a puff of steam from the nearside rear of the bonnet (where the expansion tank is). I keep an eye on it for a bit but it seems ok. Then 5 minutes later, another one - definitely this time. I decide to stop at the next garage and check the water and that connector.

I reach the garage and leave the car for a bit. I pull the wires off the connector so that it goes "open circuit" - that should bring the fans on all the time. Except it doesn't. There again, the temperature gauge is almost back to cold again. I start the car and move it a few feet so that I can put some water in, slowly, to let it adjust to the engine temperature. OK let's see how we get on.

Except now it won't start. It turns over easy enough, but no startee.

Trailer time. I phone the free breakdown I have through my insurer, and they send a man out - from the garage I am parked in! So that doesn't take long. Half an hour later it's on a flatbed and we're off again.

Once I have dropped the car off (having taken 4 hours for a 2 1/2 hour journey) I get the train back home. That takes 5 hours including 2 hours on a bus to do the last 15 miles (with most of the delays arising from Edinburgh's determination to build a tram system for the 21st century, with roadworks that bring the city to a travelling speed last achieved in the 15th century by a lame ox towing a cathedral).

The journey down was bad enough. The journey back is hellish.

All I have to worry about now is the size of the bill.

:: Sunday, March 15, 2009 ::

I need TVR therapy so I go along to my garage and take the S out to wash it. Then I polish the wheels, clean under the bonnet, round the doors etc. There are some drying marks on the paint and it needs a good polish. Not today though, my polishing muscles have been used up on the wheels.

I also notice that the black paint I put around the windscreen isn't lasting well, it's flaking off everywhere. Alternative solution required!

Then I decide to have a wee run, just to see how she goes. It's great - no worries about costs here! Not as fast but still sounds good, pulls well, and I find a little bit of twisty road and have a good hoon along that. The S handles well - partly because I know it much better, but also because it's much smaller and lighter. It's a magic wee car. By the time I get back and put it in the garage, I'm a happy scone again.

:: Saturday, March 21, 2009 ::

I've managed to arrange a lift back to collect the car from the garage, so I get there nice and early. The car looks lovely sitting outside the garage - they've washed it and cleaned it up.

The good news is: there's no permanent damage arising from the journey down. The problem, they think, was an air lock in the coolant system.

The bad news is: there's serious permanent damage to my wallet when I see the bill. They've changed the coolant sensor and wiring, serviced the car, tidied up a few other odds and ends, so it#s not too bad. So I keep telling myself.

They also give me a list of 20 points they've noticed during the service, for me to work my way through. The list seems depressingly long and probably expensive.

Ah well... At least the drive back is more enjoyable than the journey down!

:: Sunday, March 22, 2009 ::

I decide to spend the day checking over the items on the list.

1 Front number plate cracked
2 Bonnet heat shield loose - this is the heat shield stuck to the inside of the bonnet. I bit of spray adhesive and it's sorted.
3 rear tyres at wear bands - There's still a good 5mm of trad on the tyres, so I'll leave them for now.
4 corroded fuel pump connectors - OK they're a bit rusty so I'll get round to that.
5 4 split CV joints boots - Yup, they are! Fixing them means taking the drive shafts off - a job for the winter, combined with other jobs on the list!
6 rear dampers leaking - again, a job for the wonter.
7 front & rear discs corroded - ok but not too bad, probably worse because the car's not been getting used.
8 o/s exhaust rubber perished - yup!
9 top diff bush cracked - another winter job
10 side bush splitting - and another
11 rear short bushes near chassis - hope it's a long winter!
12 steering rack leaking - the pinion housing is covered in oil - the seller said that he'd spilled oil over it, and it does look more like engine oil than steering fluid. I'll clean it off and see though.
13 water pipes corroding and leaking - I see they're very rusty, can't see any sign of them leaking though.
14 water pipe rubbing on n/s mounting - I'm able to re-route it slightly, but just enough.
15 aircon belt split - don't see a split in it at all.
16 slight radiator leak at nearside - seems to be the hose loose on the stup.
17 check antifreeze strength - I have an antifreeze tester and it's ok.
18 rear anti-roll bar bolts siezed - another winter job.
19 No 1 throttle pot screws stripped - I'll leave this alone until I have to touch them
20 screenwash cap missing - aye ok.

A lot of the jobs I've marked as "for the winter" are all related - I'll have to take the driveshafts off to get the diff out to change the bushes, and also to remove the rear suspension to change the wishbone bushes. I'll do the lot in a oner with the car off the road.

:: Saturday, March 28, 2009 ::

I decide to examine how easy (or more likely, difficult) diff removal is. I've also been reading on the forums that changing the bush CAN be done with the diff in place, but it's extremely fiddly. To be honest, it doesn't look as if the bush will be all that accessible even when the diff is out!

Then I order some bits - rear exhaust mounts, aircon belt, and a screenwash cap. Then I phone Hexham for a number plate with their logo on, to match the rear one.

Coincidentally, Adrian walks into Hexham just after they've made the plate, while they are trying to figure out how to get it to me. They hand it to him and then on his way back up the road, he arranges to meet me to hand it over! Good eh?

:: Sunday, March 29, 2009 ::

Still working through the list of 20, the task for today is the major engineering feat of changing the front number plate. Sounds simple - held on with 2 screws, remove screws, drill new plate in same position, screw new plate on. Except the screws are so rusty that the screwdriver won't grip them. I remove the plastic white covers and then mole grips get one out but won't grip the head of the other screw, so I cut the head off with a dremel. Putting the new plate on with new screws and white covers is simple.

Then I decide to take off the F1 front panel to check the steering rack and it's covered in oil. It doesn't look like power steering fluid though, so we'll see.

I also check the water pipes across the front of the engine, and yes, they look very rusty. No sign of them leaking though, but I'm sure Hexham must have seen them. You can just see the water pipes under the washer bottle and all this other gubbins. They look like a right pain to change... or maybe I'm just getting lazy.