Back up in the north east again today to round off the week where we started it on Monday & Tuesday.
Wednesday didn’t happen, as the car that was supposed to be with us from Llanelli was unfortunately let down last minute by the courier. As it happens it helped us out with getting more forms to the relevant people to try and secure our house purchase, yes that’s still ongoing, but hopefully nearing the completion date! The Llanelli car will be up with us in a couple of weeks time.
It was really great to meet Mick on Thursday who came over to us from Mexborough, we were going to go over to him, but with the list of things we had to do and the fact he had limited space for the van he suggested coming to us instead and having a run out in his TF 135 (in JHG) that he’s owned for 4 years and is his daily drive.
Cambelt service carried out along with replacing all filters and spark plugs. On the last MOT it was mentioned that the front wheel bearings were needing attention. On inspecting them it was down to top ball joint nearside front and track rod end offside front, plus both front top arms had little or no grease in them, so we duly packed these. Fortunately, for Mick all sorted and after a test drive, we found everything to be good and smooth.
It was also in for query head gasket failure, but we found that the water pump had been leaking, which would account for the one time it overheated in traffic.
A health check carried out and everything else found to be good on the list of queries, Mick will now be looking at getting the body work done. Date to be arranged to go over and check out his TF 160 at some point.
Our first call today was in Shildon, where we met Fred and his recent bargain purchase of a TF 1.8 mpi. He had bought the car knowing the head gasket had gone and subsequently got in touch with us, we advised not to attempt to start the car, as due to his description it may have been acqua-locked, which would have resulted in an unhappy outcome for the engine and the owner! Sure enough this was the case, but Fred had drained off all the coolant. On our further inspection with the borescope there was no further damage to the pistons. A date to be arranged to return and carry out all the work required to get the car up to full spec for him. The bodywork is spot on and obviously been well cared for with the previous owner, so it’s definitely a worthy save.
We then headed over to Darlington to see Terry and the ‘Chairman’. Terry had been noticing that the battery was draining over periods of none use, so we suggested that he might benefit from one the remote immobilisers. This was duly fitted. Great to see Terry and have a catch-up over a bacon butty (for Jon) and a cracking brew! Terry was in the middle of fitting all his Christmas lights, so we look forward to seeing pics of the big switch on! Thanks Terry for the gifts, really appreciated. Jon will enjoy sampling a gin later!
For our last call of the day, and the week, we headed a few miles down the road to see Nev at his new abode and to check over his new car. A TF 160, that he had bought knowing that there were issues as the cambelt had snapped, but wasn’t sure to what extent. We couldn’t see anything obvious with the borescope, so we whipped off the head. The head had previously been skimmed to within an inch of its life, and had 4 bent valves, but fortunately there wasn’t any damage to the pistons or liners. Date to be arranged to go back with a refurbished head and refit everything. Everything else on the car appeared sound and one that’s worth saving, always a good result.
A really great full on week, with lots of interesting stuff going on. Now time for a full weekend off for family time. ☺️ (well apart from still doing the admin for me and some maintenance on the van for Jon). – https://ift.tt/aDHVMqs
