 Seems like the Range Rover has been sat broken for a long time, well it has been over a year since I started taking the top of the engine apart. With the prospect of selling it, I got under the bonnet and put the engine back together and got it running again, albeit with no boost getting to the intake from the turbo. Sent the car off with 'The Hobbit' to get a Controle Technique (bi-annual inspection), only to find the buyer no longer wanted it, and ultimately the car failed it's test, on some fairly serious faults. Anyway, while the chap was looking over the car, he noticed that the intercooler hose had just popped of the intercooler, hence the no boost situation we found ourselves in all that time ago. Had I been able to see that, I wouldn't have started taking the top of the engine apart. Again this goes back to the joys of being in a wheelchair, access is pretty limited when you are not able bodied. So I tried to see from the top, but things get really busy, and there was no way to get at the hose. Next attempt was to get on the floor, remove the under tray and 'et volia' there it is.  Getting the hose back on was a fairly easy process. I had to search the workshop for a jubilee clip big enough to fit on the pipe, and then when it was on, I found the original Land Rover part sitting there staring at me, on top of the under tray that I had previously removed. Must be more observant!  So then it was onto a quick test drive around the field, and the old bus was back up to 177hp, or closer to it than it was before hand. It revs out quite well now, just wish that I had been able to see the pipe after it happened. For some reason I was convinced that the hose had exploded, mainly due to the noise it made when it went pop.
Now onto other jobs that need doing for its CT, I shall be writing and video about those as we do them.
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 It's finally in the Garage, been a long time coming, but it is in and work has started already. Videos will be released in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on our channel for those. The Hobbit is getting rather excited, the fact that she can have her dream car on the road and in tip top shape, is keeping me going on this project.  We had already sourced a lot of the parts required, this is most of them in the picture above. But as in all old car restorations you always come across parts that need changing, and parts that we don't have. So a bit of time as been spent online trying to source parts for a 1987 car, it has been fairly straight forward as most parts are readily available.  The thing that we have going for us, is that the car is super basic. Even though it is four wheel drive, the system is very old school and easy to work on. There is plenty of room under the bonnet for you to work, apart from the steering rack which is tucked behind the engine and I do have some jobs to do on that. Most of the jobs under the bonnet have been done, Timing belt & water pump, electronic ignition and headlights have all been changed. Will be doing an engine and gearbox oil change at some point, but I am concentrating on the suspension and brakes at the moment.  So if you are at all interested in our little Panda project and you want to find out more, then please click the link below to see what we have done so far. That's it for this installment of 'A Fiat Panda 4x4 is Born'.
Hopefully you are enjoying the content, and will come back to see how we are getting on. So for now, take care and from Ben's Garage it's 'Bye For Now'. So what news on the Range Rover TD6? Well there was someone that was interested in buying it, but they have been giving me the run around, promising this and that, and in the end (right at the last minute) decided they didn't want it. This has caused me a few problems, but nothing we can't sort out. Moral to that story is don't trust anyone when they say one thing, they likely mean something else. Anyway moving on from all that drama, we had the car put through it's CT, and it failed. It failed on some rather large items, which normally would mean scrapping the car or at least breaking up for spares. trouble is the car is too good for scrap.  The big failures happen to be both the front and rear sub-frames! On a normal car this would be a fairly easy job to do, but on a Range Rover with four wheel drive and air suspension, it gets a bit more complicated. I could probably do the work myself, however being in a wheelchair makes it a bit tricky.  Having mentioned previously that I would hold a Ben's Garage event here in France, there was a lot of interest. I thought I would put out the idea of a Ben's Garage event where everyone could help out in the fixing of our old TD6. That notion has also gained a lot of interest, so plans are being laid out to get something arranged for 2022. If you have been following us here at Ben's Garage, and you want to help out at an event being held here next year and want to find out more, then please check out the link below. That's about it for the TD6, I am going to re attach the intercooler hose and we shall continue using it on our land to pull the trailer about, and other off road duties. So it will still appear in videos I would imagine, and then hopefully get a new lease of life with the help of our loyal followers next year at some point.
So for now, take care of yourselves & Bye for now. If you are a keen follower of Ben's Garage, then you would have seen from previous videos that we have just fixed the Audi, also the old TD6 Range Rover is now back together and running. Being as there is always something to do here on the Mad Dog Farm, finding the time to get stuff done isn't always easy. The weather that we have been having, doesn't help much either. Having said all that though, we did manage to get outside between showers. The Audi wasn't so bad as it was in the garage, but we had some dramas with that car. If you know about Audi's, then you will know that the front has to come off the car to do a lot of the jobs. We got it off OK, but really struggled getting it back on.  In the picture above you will see the Turbo on the Audi. It's all back together, cleaned out and working as it should. Making the correct amount of boost, as and when it should. All that's left for the car now, is a good clean and get it up for sale.  That brings us to the Range Rover TD6! If you have been watching our videos then you will know that we also suffered a boost problem on our TD6. Not quite as catastrophic as the Audi (intercooler had exploded). This time it (I think) is just the Turbo to intercooler hose. And typically you can't reach it from the top or from the bottom. The rocker cover has to come off, which normally wouldn't be a problem, but on this car the inlet manifold and the injectors have to be removed. It has got to the point where we have more cars sitting about the place doing nothing, so its time to move some of them on. In the end I have just boxed the Range Rover back up and got it running, and we shall sell it as it is. I do have someone that is wanting to buy it, depending on the results of the CT test.
So that will leave us with just the two cars. The Mighty Panda and my pride and joy, the Range Rover TDV8. Both are going to receive some love in the workshop. The Panda is getting a full front to back suspension and brake refresh, plus a bit of tidying up. The the Hobbit will start using it instead of the TDV8. When that happens, even less mileage will be going on the Range Rover. But that will give me a chance to do some off roading upgrades. Mainly the tyres, won't need much more as it is already a capable off roader. I would also like to fit some under body protection, sill protection and possibly a full length roof rack with access ladder. I don't want it to be too extreme, as I would still like it to ride really nicely on the road, as it does now. Other news from Ben's Garage! I have set up a new linktree, where all my Ben's Garage websites are linked. You will find everything, from YouTube and Social media platforms, if you want to follow us. Right through to our Amazon pages and ways you can support us, either by buying us a beer or becoming a patron. Check out the link below. Thanks for getting this far on our latest blog.
Hope it keeps you up to date with stuff going on here, I will try to write them more often. Until next time it's 'Bye for now'.  The first day of December! Weather has taken a turn and there doesn't seem to be a lot of heat in the sun. The new wall as seen in the picture (although a couple of courses higher now) has come to a standstill due to lock down restrictions. Hopefully to resume in the new year. But for now we have cleared out some space and got the Audi in there, ready and waiting for some work to be done on it. Plus we have a heating solution to combat the cold so its full steam ahead for fixing stuff. I plan to make a start with the Audi, diagnosing which pipe has burst and then getting to the bottom of why it keeps over boosting. A couple of things to look at, which could be classified as common faults. The first being the Variable Vanes inside the Turbo, they can stick due to a carbon build up and cause the aforementioned problem. Secondly there is a valve that controls the Variable Vanes, this gets its signal from the ECU and alters the Vanes as and when the engine requires more or less boost. So plenty of things to keep us busy on that car. We also have a chainsaw and strimmer in for repairs and then a rotavator to get running. The Hobbits little Panda is sitting patiently waiting its turn, its coming in for a bit of an overhaul of the brakes and suspension, so there is that to look forward to. And then we have the faithful old Gang mower! I'm going to hopefully do some kind of working restoration on that. Don't want to do it to concours levels as its a working machine. Hopefully in amongst that little lot there will be something that will keep you all entertained. Until the next Blog, take care & Bye for now.  |
Ben Elliott
Rolling around the garage, trying to get stuff fixed. Archives
July 2021
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