Monday, July 13, 2015

Conversion tool for your mileage and more motoring conversions UK, US

Look no further and try this converter site. It works well for me (found one eventually).
Plain and simple mpgtokpl.com.
Handy to figure out your fuel consumption if you are going on a journey.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

LDV Pilot van - Squeaking serpentine belt


Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
My current unresolved problem probably caused by (me)splacement and probably misalignment too which happened I presume when I replaced the belt.
This video from the Dayco videos serie is helping me out.


So far, I took the belt out and re-placed it but to no avail. I noticed a wear on one side, edge of the multi grove belt (referred to as sidewall wear in the video). Some of the worn out rubber seems to have accumulated in and around the alternator too. I cleared it out.
I check manually that all pulleys, discs were sound and to the right tightness. It feels steady but probably needs better checking but no wobble.
I also noticed that on the tensioner roller I can see misalignment of the belt and can't do a thing about it.
My next step will be to take the belt of and listen and I will need to take the brake vacuum pump (shorter) belt to do that.
My guess is that my tensioner is worn someone. Let's see.

Review your belt and pulley basics with Eric the car guy's video and understand why, although it doesn't stop you from using your vehicle, it's not a good thing to use it with a noisy belt for too long as it directly can affect the timing of your engine resulting in more consequent and costly damages to essential parts of the engine like the camshaft itself.


and this is from Chris Fix which I will need in case my "diagnosis" (guess) is correct. That's another belt and tensioner replacement cost.





(Let me transcript this last video bit as it's too fast spoken for me to get it clear)

Diagnosing with water bottle spray


  • Run engine (keeps your fingers, limbs, hair, loose clothing away!)
  • Spray a little water on the inside rib of the belt (direct to pulley's groves)

If noise stops - the belt is still moving, the pulleys are still moving:

  • NOT a bearing problem.

If the noise does NOT change:

  • A bad bearing in a pulley
If the noise gets LOUDER:

  • Belt tension is too tight or too lose
  • which could be due to a bad tensioner pulley
  • or could be due to a worn/stretched belt



LDV Pilot with a DW8 pug - A silent video on changing a head gasket

It is not the best tutorial (also because it's subtitled in french) but it gives you a good idea of the amount of work involved to change a head gasket on a DW8 peugeot engine.


LDV Pilot van - Engine oil leaks? Viscosity, Honey and Water on the menu

I finally managed to get enough little coins to do an oil change to my dear LDV Pilot van.
And since I'm getting bigger oil leaks. One around the head gasket, two around the gearbox...
Here's a video from Eric the car guy that explains what's happened.

He speaks about the difference between liquid flow rate and viscosity; and about the mix of oil and combustion gases that wear the gaskets, rubber joints and metal parts. Those are the main culprits!

His very articulate way of sharing his knowledge and experience through talk and video works very well for me, it might as well for you.


Looks like there a gaskets replacement session ahead!

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Engine epihany and anatomy with a very instructive video on the basic of engines parts

Recently I'm having an epiphany. I am starting to understand how engines works (it's about time).

That's thanks to a lot of hours reading, listening and watching as well as keeping my nails dirty.
It's not like I have a choice; I got two engines (diesel and petrol) and no money to pay for a mechanic and do my Qigong routine each morning to nurture my self-confidence and solution finding mindset as opposed to giving in to despair and disproportionate amount of colourful language.
This formula seems to work with lots of advice and guidance from anywhere I can get.

Now I am re-watching the video below from Eric the car guy (who's on that big online social network) and it's making sense (!). I can feel the shifts in my brains when I hear camshaft and timing belt. Enough about my godly revelation, here is the video:


(Thanks for all the work you put in doing these videos Eric.)

Gearbox - How does a manual transmission clutch work?

What is a manual transmission clutch and how does it work?

If you are like me you can drive for years and have a 'feel' or a basic understanding of that is a clutch
but you still don't understand what it really is on a vehicle and how it operates.
I'm done with daily use of things I don't understand so I looked on the net for readings and among others, I found this article and very straight to the point video from Howstuffwork.
It tells and shows the various parts flywheel, crankshaft, input shaft, pressure plate, clutch disc and explains how friction is used to connect elements and get power to your wheels for spinning.


So now you should know what is really happening when you hear a horrible grinding noise:
it's the sound of the friction between the flywheel and the clutch disc which is made of ceramic based materials in today's cars (asbestos in some older cars).

If you still don't get it, have a read of this article about transmission on Howstuffwork
and watch more videos.




If you prefer real images to animations, watch Ericthecarguy's very articulate take on the topic


What is the difference between a Petrol and Diesel Engine? - Just a reminder

Just a reminder to self:

"What is the difference between a Petrol and Diesel Engine?

Petrol engine:

  • In petrol engines fuel is mixed with air
  • then forced into the cylinders
  • where the fuel-air mix is compressed by the pistons
  • and ignited by spark plugs.
Diesel engine:
  • In a diesel engine the air is compressed before the fuel is added to it.
  • When air is compressed it heats up. This means that when the fuel is added to the compressed air it is very hot and the fuel-air mix ignites automatically. (So there are no spark plugs in a diesel engine as pressure is used to ignite the fuel-air mix.")
source




Brilliant animated demonstration of the working of a diesel engine on Thomas Schwenke online channel


Monday, July 6, 2015

Nothing to do with a LDV van? Baddie the Pirate talks LED lighting for your motorhome too.

This is the simplest and clearest explanation I found on the net about electricity.
How does it relate to LDV vans? Pilots and Convoys are often purchased for camper conversion!
Having been at the school of "nothing hands-on" I've struggled for so long at understanding what Volt, Watt, Amps etc relate to and how they work together. Thanks to the school of "nothing hands-on" I can read and write well enough so I'm gonna share what I found with you with no further adue!

Source: Baddiethepirate

"MATHS

The units that are used to measure electricity are:
  • Volts:  Electrical force of pressure behind the electrons in a circuit. Like water pressure or PSI for air. (Usually 12v on a narrowboat). 
  • Amps:  The number of electrons flowing past in a second. Like litres per second in a pipe, it defines the electrical current in a wire. 
  • Watts:  Total amount of electrical energy, per second.

The formulae to work them out are: 
  • Watts = Volts x Amps 
  • Volts = Watts divided by Amps 
  • Amps = Watts divided by Volts 
For example: a 20 Watt light bulb in a 12 Volt system:
20 Watts divided by 12 Volts = 1.66 Amps"

Baddie The Pirate is a small website/business that sells "LED lighting for boats. motorhomes, caravans and chicken sheds."

Thursday, July 2, 2015

LDV Pilot and Convoy vans - Basic advice on replacing the kin pins

How and what tools do you need to replace the king pins on a Pilot or a Convoy LDV van?
In 2 posts, quoting from auto banter:
external usenet poster
Posts: 70
Default LDV pilot - convoy

Whats the going rate for a king pin change - mine needs doing and I
swore blind never to do another myself ;-)

Also, is front axle same off convoy, can get a complete one with new
pins for £100.. seems like a much nicer option!

  #4 (permalink)  
Old October 12th 09, 10:32 PM posted to uk.rec.cars.maintenance
external usenet poster
Posts: 41
Default LDV pilot - convoy

Pins are only £29.. which makes up for the fact you either take the axle
off and take it somewhere with a press, or spend three days with a
sledge hammer beating the fcuk out of it...
(3 days? Some say a week)

  #5 (permalink)  
Old October 14th 09, 11:53 AM posted to uk.rec.cars.maintenance
external usenet poster
Posts: 1,691
Default LDV pilot - convoy

a big air hammer takes them out in seconds. 
(Don't forget to grease them well)

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

LDV vans forum - Alive and quicking!

About 3 years ago when I got my Pilot I used to look up two forums set up by LDV vans, sherpas etc owners and lovers. These were the only forums available online and were very useful.
Unfortunately soon after I joined they all disappeared. I took up the task to set them back up and archive some of the best tips and most useful conversations on the then newly set up fb LDV groups.
My archiving was slow as it takes a lot of time to search on the fb group page for posts that keep disappearing in the scrolling down system (*#@%$?!!!).
However few admins from the ex-sites took over and slowly but surely new members registered.

I was delighted today to see that it's well alive and quicking!

LDV lovers, Join up our forum!
http://ldvsherpauk.prophpbb.com

The advantages over fb is that you can look up the infos without having to scroll down for ghost-posts (I'm gonna call them that), it's always there for you. The search option is much easier to use than fbook.

Thanks again to the admins who are taking care of the forum.

Why driving on the left? or on the right?

That is ze question.
I always wondered the reason why different countries would have a different system on the road.
Apart from the usual frog/rosbeef jokes no one ever could tell me.
Thank to the instructor in the bicycle mechanic course I undertook this month,
I now know and thanks to internet I now can tell and share.
In this article, it explains why do the British drive on the left?

in brief this is why:
"In the Middle Ages you kept to the left for the simple reason that you never knew who you'd meet on the road in those days. You wanted to make sure that a stranger passed on the right so you could go for your sword in case he proved unfriendly."

In France Napoleon's successful attack strategies and his massive ego are responsible for France and its colonies to have kept the driving on right system.