Dabooka

Monte Carlo or Bust 2018.  Fans of beer and geeky stuff. But mainly beer.

[dabooka]

Better late than never... [Pt 3]

It’s been a while, allow me to continue.

Day three saw us travel south down Lake Como towards Genoa, before hanging a right and heading west towards Monte Carlo and Nice.  After a lovely breakfast we all had a 30 minute journey or so to a small shopping venue to meet up with the rally.  A few weird events from the night before (which was a great night before... #beer) which resulted in one AWOL member of the rally another going for a swim and a couple bailing on their bar bill, were mainly on everyone’s mind, but a quick breakfast and we sharp forgot about the idiots and moved on.

It may not look like much but we had a lovely run down through northern Italy down towards Monaco.  Monza was but a slight detour from our route but a race event put paid to our plans to swing by and despite our fears traffic around Milan and Genoa was remarkably passable.  We did miss one exit at Genoa which resulted in a slight repeat journey (could only re-enter the motorway eastbound) but otherwise it was miles and miles of bridges and mountains, high up with the sea below to our left.

The we were there. Monaco!

Looks a bit rubbish doesn’t it?  Well it was okay, not a high brow as we were expecting (although the prices were), but it was fantastic to drive the circuit!  Three laps with us each at the wheel, we took on the Mirabeaus like pros, hard into Portier before opening her up for the roar down the tunnel (being careful to not creep over the limit), kissing the run off curb before passing the harbour and back round to the start and finish.

Fabulous and worth every minute just for that.

Once we got Jacknife away from the clutches of an over zealous rozza who took exception to our taking photos (miserable twonk), we headed off to Nice where we found a lovely apartment suite for our final night in France.

After a prize giving event in some ‘Irish bar’ (insert own cliche here) we drank lager, smoked cigars and eventually staggered home for a lovely night’s kip in some lovely beds.

Next the drive home.  Will the car make it?  Come back to find out more....

[dabooka]

Better late than never... [Pt 2]

Well I couldn’t land the saga to Monte Carlo on you in one go could I?!

The day that saw us go between Germany and Lake Como was uneventful thankfully, as our bodge was holding out.  The journey was fantastic, the route took us along a few miles of boring motorway monotony before climbing up through the Alps via the Gotthard Pass...

The ride down and along the coastline of Lake Como was lovely and relaxing, the engine never missed a beat and delivered a lovely tone.  We had a great hotel in the village centre and enjoyed some proper local grub and wine.

I loved this place and would like to return with the family and tour around for a few days.  Getting the ferry across the lake and mixing up the venues would be a great way to spend a week.

Next, off to Monte Carlo via the outskirts of Genoa

[dabooka]

Better late than never... [Pt 1]

Well we got there. And back. Did I not tell you?

What a journey of epic proportions.  Not since Hannibal has there been a greater journey across the Alps.

The jouney started well, with the three of us in fine fettle setting off from the Tyne on an overnight journey to That Europe.

A few beers and a stogie each and we settle down for the night.  First port of call on Day 1 was to pop in and see some lovely pals of mine who live in Holland. Here’s me enjoying a hug (fab burgers here by the way).

After meeting Paul (her lesser half) for a pint on the way down, we made great time heading to Nemur for registartion until....

Pop! Remember that fucking fuel filter from a few months ago?  Well just south of Brussels the sodding clip snapped, leaking petrol everywhere and killing the engine.  Despite valient efforts on the roadside, a bodge could not made up and we were towed away, thankfully to a salvage yard where Jacknife and I got it up and running.

We were late when we eventually arrived and missed registartion by several hours, but many expensive pints and a deserved shower fixed a lot.  The next morning we headed off to the meeting point where a dazzling display of decorated sheds awaited, and soon we headed south to Frrberg after finding a motor factors for spares; just in case that bodge failed.

The junrey down was great fun and thankfully uneventful, but we were shattered by the time we checked in and headed out for a pint. A Big Night Out this wasn’t.

Part 1 concludes....

[dabooka]

SPOILER ALERT [This post contains spoilers]

Amongst other things, this week we bodged the air-con.  Do you want to know more?

Replacing the fuel filter last week drew a line under the servicing side of things and only left us with one small niggling issue; no air-con.  With much of the journey taking place in the mid to high 20s, leather seats and a coupe with no rear windows, Jacknife and I were keen to get it resolved.

We’d already established the clutch had worn out on the compressor (pic below), and indeed had a gap big enough a small child could pass through.  [Finding a replacement was a hell of a challenge but eventually I found somewhere in Germany and for a touch over 30 quid one is winging its way across to me now].

However there was no guarantee it was just the clutch that was borked as there’s so many things that could go wrong with the AC, especially on a late 90s Ford.  A bit of bodge enabled us to at least get the compressor spinning, and we achieved this by removing the clutch plate (8mm bolt, easy as) and wedging some sizeable spring washers between the flex and the backing plates.  This basically secured the clutch plate onto the compressor and got everything spinning up, and lovely, lovely, cold air was soon flowing into the cabin!  It is a bodge as it can’t be turned off, so definitely not a fix, but at least it confirms that the other workings in the system are all sound.  Hopefully the replacement clutch should get the job done properly, should it arrive in time.

In other news we attached the rear spoiler, essential for the design we are going to deploy.  A good dollop of good old Tiger Seal saw that fastened down nicely ahead of Gotenks and I getting it all painted up next weekend.

We also hooked up the mighty airhorns for some essential additional noise, and we were also able to retro installed a cruise control module (I have already swapped the steering wheel over and fitted the replacement clutch switch, just the brake switch to go).  The chaps didn’t feel it was necessary to have cruise but I genuinely struggle to get comfy driving this thing.  A lack of an adjustable steering column and a weird body shape convinced me to add it.  It’s been a remarkably easy job, if a little fiddly, and cost next to nothing.  A small modification is needed to reduce the slack in the cable (see pic below) but we should have that done in a few minutes once the part arrives form Fleabay.

If you look carefully at the picture, the cable in front extends too far beyond the black retaining clip.  Cutting the bobble off the end and fitting one of these things will resolve that.

So all in all a good weekend.  We only have to decorate it now and then we’re off, and the air-con bodge will at least ensure it’s Coolio all the way there and back.

[dabooka]

Totally clips (of the heart)

Fuel filter is the cause of my woes this week.  A simple 5 minute job turned into a sodding nightmare!

So when we identified the engine fault a few weeks ago, the list of things to do to eliminate it was swap the fuel filter (Rule 101: No matter how unlikely, no matter unrelated the fault is, always start with the fuel filter).  Well as it turned out due to a combination of ECP lying about stock and then my online retailer of choice dispatching the wrong one, we’d resolved the error message before the fuel filter got replaced.  But hey, it’s here, the one underneath is looking scabby so let’s swap it anyway.

The only catch is it was so scabby it destroyed the connection when we removed it, scattering o rings and plastic into the catch bowl beneath;

See that yellow ring?  That’s sat on a piece of plastic (a ‘top hat’) both of which should have remained inside the connection I’m holding.  Instead it was so gunged up it was a real effort to remove it without shagging it up completely.  You can’t see the other loose piece (a black o ring and a plastic spacer) beneath in a bowl.  I also managed to snap a rather delicate plastic retaining clip, something that should've been supplied with my new filter, but alas not for me.  Thankfully once again the wonderful chaps at Cougar Owner’s Club came to the rescue with some posted out first ting Monday to arrive the day after.

There’s also a slight difference in size meaning it was awkward as hell getting them in but eventually much perseverance and swearing saw the job done.

Five minute job this.....  IF ever I meet the team responsible for designing this fuel line setup, I will not be responsible for my actions (I’ve a history with these from an old Mazda I owned which was a rebadged Ford and used the same connections).

This shows just how buggered the old one was.  The inlet at the bottom is what tore the connection apart.  Do NOT click here!

[dabooka]

Final Service

Jacknife and I spent a sunny Saturday catching up on a few jobs, some essential some not so.  You want to know more?  But of course you do!

On the list of essential jobs to do was a coolant flush (the pictures show Jacknife hard at work), replacing the auxiliary belt and the fuel filter.  The flush was easy, drain out the nasty stuff to dispose of, before running a hose through the engine block to remove any built up crud.  Removing the expansion tank (pic below) allowed us to get the compacted deposits out too, so that’s all sparkly.  The auxiliary belt which drives the air con*, alternator etc was absolutely shot so we replaced that for peace of mind and moved onto the fuel filter.  

A cartridge type that sits underneath the car, a couple of plastic clips slide in and out, so it’s out with the old and in with the new EXCEPT the muppets at Fleabay sent the wrong filter so that’s left unchanged (if anyone has a Mk1 Ka or Mk2 Mondeo I have a fuel filter going begging).

The big job however was replacing the faulty lambda sensor.  The error codes the car was throwing up could’ve been down to a few things which I’d ticked off already, so the horrible job of getting into the engine and swapping the sensor needed to be done.  Jacknife, after a little consideration and swearing, was eventually able to get the crows foot spanner on and out it popped.  Screw in the new one, a quick blast and BOOM!  The codes have gone.  That my friends is a big relief; no codes pending ahead of the trip although we’ll still keep an eye on things.

The non essential jobs were replacing the boot struts for some used but functioning replacements and installing a rear support brace.  Now the boot doesn’t try and decapitate us and the brace means the handling is, dare I say, transformed.  It may only be a metal bar, but wow what a difference.

Finally the inevitable bad news.  A trip to our friendly Kwik Fitter to get the AC topped up resulted in a blank.  The good news is there’s no leaks, but the bad news is the compressor isn’t working.  That’s next on the list because we really, really, want working AC.  Watch this space for updates...

[dabooka]

Update: The good , the bad and the ugly

The last week has seen some minor tweaks, some frustrating deliveries and new challenges...

Right the good.  Mrs Dabooka kindly took the car to her tyre place and has had the tracking done, and as predicted (and hoped) it has made a big improvement to steering feel.  Twenty five quid well spent, it was way out as you’d expect after the work we’ve done down there.  Oh, and we’ve swapped the pollen filter over too, and improved up the gear change by simply tightening the two torx bolts hidden beneath the gear stick gaiter.

The bad.  The engine has thrown up some error codes which point to faulty lambda sensors.  We thought we’d start with the front as it’s easier to find but Amazon ballsed up the order and sent everything (special socket etc) but the bloody sensor.  So that’s been put back a week.  Also ECP, the lying gits, didn’t have the fuel filter either so that’s now on order from eBay and will also be done next week.

So, the ugly. After swapping the water belt the other week I figured the main belt for the alternator etc would be past it’s sell by date too.  And it is!  A quick look this morning and beady eyed Gotenks spotted a chunk is missing (see picture).  Can’t risk that, so that’s something else for next week too.

I hope the chaps are ready for a long day next weekend, the to-do list is getting longer by the hour and we’ve only got a little over four weeks before departure day!

[dabooka]

Found it!

Well I found that retaining clip and the engine is back together, so, you know, that's good.

A good session saw us rebuild the TB, MAF and airbox, we installed a replacement oil cooler (used for the power steering fluid) and installed some air-horns ready for the trip.  Classy eh?!

However apart from making the engine run nice and sweet, the cleaning of the MAF hasn’t prevented the error code returning.  Next up will be oxygen sensors.

I’m also not happy with the tyres but that’s a different story for a different day.

[dabooka]

It’s the little things in life...

Had a chance to run the car and plug in a diagnostic reader and the results aren’t great. 

Okay so that’s a little melodramatic maybe, but the machine does tell us that the cars running a little lean, which in plain English means it’s not running the right mix of air and fuel.  Downsides included poor performance, reduced economy and more importantly it runs HOT, and that’s a big issue for us.  The problem is it could be caused by several things not being right (despite what you may think it’s rare for a diagnostic to point at a specific part to replace, it simply reports faults), but there are some likely candidates and some are easy, quick and free to check.

First the air box and MAF (Mass Air Flow) is out and cleaned.  The MAF tells the car the volume and temperature of air coming into the engine and is quite a delicate piece of kit; great care needs to be taken in cleaning it.  Generally these should be fairly clean as they should only really have uncontaminated air flowing through it.  Ours was a little grimy which could indicate a leak somewhere.

Next was the throttle body.  Basically a flap which opens and closes allowing air in to make the engine go bang, these do get gunged up  with all the exhaust gases it comes into contact with.  Ours was particularity manky as was the inlet into the Upper Inlet Manifold, so a good dose of carb cleaner and all is good;

The inlet into the UIM;

And the throttle body afterwards;

I also discovered a split pipe on what turned out to be the crankcase breather (Thanks goes to the excellent Cougar Forum who’s members are always on hand to point the lost in the right direction, I didn’t have a clue what it was).

Now this system allows gases building up to safely vent back through the engine rather than the air, reducing pollution).  Not too serious, that’ll just get taped up until I can source a replacement.

So that’s it then for now. Oh hang on a mo, there’s one other little thing....

So the throttle body needs to be disconnected from the throttle cable to allow you to remove it for cleaning.  No problems here until I went to reattach it where the bloody little retaining clip pings off and rattles down through the engine bay, where it remains.  Out of sight but not out of mind, this little thing has now rendered the car undriveble as the cable will not stay in place without it.  Replacements are dirt cheap, but the ridicule I have had bestowed on me by my partners in crime has been enormous.  Lesson learned, next time get a sheet or something underneath to catch the bloody thing.

[dabooka]

Let the tin rattling commence!

So we’ve decided to launch the fund raising element of our trip to Monte Carlo.  Being lads from the North East, with a penchant for all things ‘Toon’, the charity of choice is the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Click below to read more....

As most people know, Sir Bobby Robson was one of England’s greatest ever footballers.  A football manager of international renown Bobby was synonymous with the north east and Newcastle United in particular. Back in 2008 Sir Bobby launched the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation just a year before his untimely death.  His name continues to live on through the foundation which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and has raised millions of pounds for cancer detection and treatment.

All of the donations made through Just Giving go to the SBRF.  The trip is 100% self funded by us, and in no way does any money support the costs of us three careering around Europe in a 20yr old Ford.

Get out your flexible friend and head over to our Just Giving found on the link below;

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dabooka

Thanks for your support and please spread the word.

Dabooka, Gotenks and Jacknife

[dabooka]

Speakers Corner

While we were at the interior swap we replaced the knackered speakers in the back.

Seems that the rubbers had perished. No wonder they didn’t work! 

As before we had to unsolder the terminals to match the cable plugs but that only took a few minutes.  Tunes in the back for the journey is now a reality...

[dabooka]

Oooo, shiney-shiney!

The old interior was tired and a bit threadbare.  Thankfully a local scrappers happened to be breaking a Cougar with a leather interior and a deal was done.

So one sunny morn we head off to some place at the other end of the A69 and strip the insides out of a rotting Cougar.  Despite  it being on 90 odd thousand miles, it wasn’t too shabby and has a lot more padding and support than the old cloth interior.  The pictures don;t really do it justice the sunlight highlights and exaggerates the bad bits.

It was given a thorough clean and a leather treatment and the difference was noticeable.  It will no doubt benefit from further treatments so we’ll keep on top of that in the future.  The only thing is the centre armrest was somewhat bizarrely not included so I need another one of those.

Jacknife was very impressed with the additional comfort, as was I, and it’s been well worth it.  The only hiccup is the wiring looms, as yet another Fordism resulted in different plugs and socket combinations.  Needless to say if your ever in a similar position make sure you take BOTH CONNECTORS from the breaker.  Cut them off with a good size tail and making a patch cable is a straightforward job, otherwise you’ll be in a world of pain with bullet connectors and electrical tape.  We still need to hook up the heated seats (did I mention this cow hide warms your arse at the touch of button?) but that’s a straight forward job.  Well it is for Jacknife, I’ll just be making the tea and stripping wires back.

[dabooka]

Another day, more progress made on the car

After the bearing was resolved, we had time for an annual service.  Click through to see what we achieved...

The bearing took some time, but despite the problem we had more than enough of the day left to tick off some long awaited servicing.  This included;

Full oil change, using Ford spec fully synthetic oil, new filter and sump plug

Replaced air filter

Brake fluid replaced and all brakes cleaned and bled

New rear number plate fitted

We didn't’ have time for the coolant flush, that’ll be next along with a new water pump belt and fuel filter.  Spark plugs seem okay so no point swapping them over as they’re quite expensive (These engines along with the 2.0 litre Zetecs of the era, are very particular about the plugs and HT leads they have.  Genuine Ford Motorcraft are typically used).

We did find the source of a leak in the power steering oil cooler which can’t be fixed so a custom replacement has been ordered in stainless steel.  Fitting will be done on our next get together, along with a clean and hopefully the design and aesthetic elements ahead of the trip.  

More on that later....

[dabooka]

Stop bearing down on me

So that horrible rumbling from the front near side wheel has gone.  How have we done that you say?  Well read on to find out...

For those oh-so-avid followers of the blog will know, when we had the car put through it’s annual MOT an advisory (a yellow flag if you will) was recorded saying the front n/s bearing was somewhat borked.  A wheel bearing has a very important job, by basically allowing the wheel to turn via the drive shaft (you can see the shaft at the bottom of the picture with its splines, which fits inside that hole with the grooves).  When they start to break apart they are not something you can repair, they simply need replacing.  Not too bad a job with the right gear, and not expensive either at about £30-£40.

The problem we had was the lack of the correct fitting tool, namely a hydraulic press which is used to push the new bearing into the hole left by the old one.  We inadvertently damaged the replacement doing it the old fashioned way (which means keeping it in a freezer overnight to shrink it slightly and hitting it with a hammer), but thankfully on the way to buy a replacement we convinced a local garage to push it in for twenty quid.  Money well spent.

Jacknife can be seen in the picture above trying to remember where all the bits go.  It’s normal to have some bolts left over right? [FYI, these wishbones have FOUR bolts, 2 x M10 and 2 x M12]

[dabooka]

Monte Carlo Route v1.2

Destination and route map

So the three of us met up and stared tweaking the map slightly, click the pic to embiggen.  

We’ve incorporated a short ferry hop across Lake Como, which sees a nice scenic road down the east shoreline, before a slight detour to hit the famous Autodromo Nazionale Monza for a photo op.  The road between Monte Carlo and Nice now takes in the fabulous coastal route, adding a bit of time but hey, it’s about the journey not the destination right?

Finally we’ve now detoured around Lyon on the return leg to comply with French regs for old smog producing bangers like ours.  Read about that here; CRIT’Air

[dabooka]

Look what’s turned up in the post.  This shit is getting real.

So we just need a team name now.  Well, other than the n/s bearing, the service, the decoration of the car, the odd hotel......

[dabooka]

Started to make the playlists ahead of the trip.  First, The Hoff