As the title suggests, it has all gone a little quiet on the blog. Following on from our breakfast visit to the local reservoir we hit a road block or two, not literally I have to add.
So we have been looking at the temperature gauge, which seemed a little erratic in use either showing hot, cold and flicking between the two. The gauge has been tightened up as it seemed lose in the housing and the temperature sender has been changed for a better item (although it is unknown if it actually functions). It was during a test run to check the sensor and gauge that we hit the first road block
So there we were driving back home from the Railway Station and Lizzie decided to cut out. We pulled over and tried to start her and she did fire up, but only for a few seconds before cutting out again. The fuel pump was prime suspect. To get us home, recovery was called for, and they turned up promptly thankfully. This is where things decided to go down a slightly more unpleasant path.
When pulling Lizzie on to the wagon, the driver unknowingly tied the winch around the Track Rod resulting in the damage shown in the above picture. This damage was easy to rectify though as a replacement was “in stock”
Moving on to the fuel pump, this was taken off and stripped down, the cause of the failure being a small split in the diaphragm. A call to Pop Parts and a new track rod (to replace the damage one) and a fuel pump were sourced.
Monday 7th October saw the new pump delivered and was duly fitted. A quick test run showed that the engine was working as expected but it was found that she was pulling to the left. This would require further adjustment to the track rod.
On Wednesday 9th the necessary adjustment was made and we can report that the steering is much improved. A further small tweak improved the handling even more.
Rubber mounts were also sourced for the fuel pump which, when running using the original mounting points, was noisy in operation. These were fitted and the noise in the car has improved to acceptable levels.
On Sunday 20th October a longer test drive was undertaken to test the performance of the new fuel pump as well as how Lizzie handled with the adjusted track rod. We are pleased to say that all went well, Lizzie was able to handle the duel carriageway and the hills around Blaenavon with ease.
The test run has highlighted a couple of jobs that we are looking to do over the next few weeks/over winter, including:
- An oil change
- A flush of the cooling system
- Replacement of the temperature sender and thermostat as part
Parts are on order to allow these jobs to proceed. The thermostat and temperature sender are being replaced with new parts as a matter of preventative maintenance whilst the coolant system is drained. These parts will be kept in stock, if deemed serviceable.
