Repairs
23/12/00 Water Pipe
Decided to check on the car and run the engine as I hadn't seen it for over a week. Started her up got her out of the garage and took the bonnet off.
While looking around the engine I noticed one of the water pipes moving where the cam pulley is. I pulled the pipe back and what should pop out,,,, you guessed it, water...... There are several grooves warn into the pipe and one grove with a small pin prick size hole where the small jet of water was emanating . Hummmm. 4 foot of heater hose and £5 later. I will fit it tomorrow morning.
1 Hose and to clips, only be 5 minutes, I told the wife. Huh, if only. When the engine is built all the clips, screws, nuts & bolts are all put together in a fashion the suits the engine being out. 1 hour 20 minutes and 4 scratches later pipe fitted and system filled with water. Engine run and no leeks. Its a shame that I could not do this next week as the engine will be out then. Needs must or some thing like that.
18/02/00 Spark Plugs
What another great day today. Decided to go gliding and take the old Tiger with me even taking the digital camera to get some nice photos of the car next to a glider (poser). Running a bit late (very late 10:30am) rushed up to the car met the people with the garage next to mine for the first time (they have a Morgan) couldn't talk for long.... Any way got the car started with no problems, driving got about half a mile down the road and it stated backfiring through the carb's and exhaust. Must still be a bit cold so carried on. Then lost a cylinder all together. Drove for a little longer and the 4th cylinder would not come back.... Oh well back to the garage I go.
Now do I dump the car back in the garage and taker the Puma to the club, or do I stay and have a look.. I stayed and had a look. I found out the No4 was misfiring but could not check to see if it was a HT lead or the Plug. So I swap the leads over with No. 3 and No4 was still missing. I hope it wasn't the plug (or was) because they were changed when the clutch was changed. Back Home I go to get some tools and some spare HT leads.
I took the plug out and checked to see if there was a spark. There was,,, Swapped the plug over to another lead, still there was a spark. Decided to check the compression, that was below a 100psi, not good.. Check all the others, all below 100psi That's quite bad, since the GLS Sierra I killed had 150psi+ on all 4 (need to bring the rebuild on the GLS engine forward me thinks as the head will be ready this week) Still this engine should be running on all 4s. I feel a trip to Halfords coming on.
Purchased another 4 Plugs, (I thought Halfords used to do them in single packs) 1 Cap and a rotor arm. First of all I just fitted one plug into the hole of the suspect plug. Stated her up and off all 4 cylinders go. Humm We replace plugs so this doesn't happen and is still does grrrr. Switch engine of and replace Dis. cap and rotor arm. Bonnet on and off I go, but not to the gliding club as it's too late and I wont get a flight in :( Still had loads of fun to make up for it and lost another 4000 miles of rubber of me back tyres :)