LDV pilot van diesel engine - Ignition system

Ratchets And Wrenches has another good video on ignition.

I've had to learn a lot about ignition for my boat that has a petrol engine

but I can't help thinking of the problem my van used to have.

I had replaced and checked fuses and relays over and over again.

Now I think I would check and clean or replace if necessary each and every ENDS of every cables in the ignition system of the van (including the ECU ones - although I had done some of this already)

but before this I would look into the ignition switch!

I don't have the van anymore anyway and to be honest I have enough work with this 1960's boat I own...

Another rainy day and a van not starting

It happened again.

Today (2 months later) after the van having sat under torrential rains for a couple of days, it refused to start and displayed the same symptoms: glowplugs get on but a clicliclic noise and no start + funny warning lights going on by itself for a while.

I was wrong. It never was the battery neg earth connection.

I swapped my glowplugs control and relay for a tested one so it is not the cause.

Ii looks more like it is due to a faulty relay (probably the warning lights one).

I am gonna do a thorough check of all relays and replace the bugger one.

For the time being I'll have to try to park on the other side of the vehicle because I believe when the road is bent and the van lean on the left, the rain water drips in and humidity accumulates, causing the relay to malfunction.

The van starts fine after a while (me doing long parasitic test, checking and wiping the relays and looking for the fault every possible where), hence that relay must be drying and when it's dry, everything is fine.

The video below is (imho) the best and most complete one on the topic on the tube.

Thanks to Ratchets and wrenches.

[UPDATE]
It seems I have found the culprit.

I forgot that it's good practice to do as much diagnosing from the cabin.
I should have started there, with all doors shut.
I noticed that the driver's side indicator flashlight was flashing faster than the passenger's side.

The sound was similar to the one I heard from the relay.
I remember that touching the light bulb fitting once made something react when I was trying to figure out what was going wrong from the bonnet side.
So it clicked. I mean it clicked in my head.
and the friend who was my passenger at the time said it:
"you have a dead bulb".
I checked and he was correct.

It wasnt the earth, it wasn't the rain.
It was a defectuous old bulb that caused the circuit to disfunction.
It's replace with a new one now.
Let's see if anything else comes up!

New LDV files website and forum online

Here the link to the new LDV Files website that also have a forum announced by Michael Mc Donald who runs the LDV Files group of fb. The new website front page reads as follows:

"Welcome to Ldv Files - We have workshop manuals for the Pilot / Convoy & Maxus as well as a forum where you can discuss , the sherpa , 200 , 300 , 350 & 400 , Pilot and Convoy & Maxus.

As well as all this you can browse videos , your vans , self builds , selling page and a lot more ( even camping recipes ) 

Click here to go to the FORUM"

Long live to this new forum.

The LDV Sherpa II forum remains available.

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!

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."

LDV Pilot van - Hardknott Pass video!

Watch this for a nervous laugh but a good one!

LDV vans Sherpa Pilot Convoy - No MOT etc - Don't scrap them!

Yet another post on our dear Club LDV social network group from Matt who writes:
"Going to the scrap yard in the sky on Saturday its a shame other than the rust not much else wrong with it but cant afford to keep it on the road any more 😢 "

Please! Dont scrap!

Save the parts for us! We ll make them last another half century!!

And surely you'll make more than this ridiculous amount of money due to the crash of metal s worth itself due to speculative (capitalist) fuckers in power all around the world. Scrapping means sending this good steel to China so it comes back in the form of utterly useless items of miserable quality (otherwise called shite).
Come on! Make a few quids, bypass "supporting already rich fuckers" and recycle the good things for the people who take care of it, make it last and therefore make our planet and life sustainable! (uff I needed to say that).

Come join the Club LDV group and get recycling!

Replacing the accelerator cable tutorial

The mystery of the slowest van is finally solved.

The cable of my LDV Pilot van snapped off the other night while I was driving.

I rang Channels Commercials but they didn't have it in stock and offered to order it for early next week.

I needed the van operational for Saturday morning so it wasn't good enough. I rang KSL garage services who didn't have it either but directed to LDV Parts. They had it and could deliver on friday morning.

When I bought the van 2 years ago I was told its only downside was that it had been fitted with a speed-limiter and sometimes would run slow. It didn't do it when I test drove it.

Then it was getting slower and slower. Driving was harder and harder too as I had to press the gas pedal hard t get the van to pull its own weight only. I tried changing the oil filter but nothing much happened. It was getting slower. I heard about some of these vans had been fited with long rear axles to protect the gearbox (exRM van) which requires double work from the engine.

When I changed the cable today I tried it out and to my surprise the van is very responsive and fast... as should be I guess... It's like having a new van! No more gym work for my right leg.

Here is a tutorial on how to replace the accelerator cable. It's an easy enough task.
First I unscrewed this part to let the cable loose with spanner 9 or 10 (metric system. Correct me if I'm wrong on this.)

It's a bit tricky to take off and fit back the cable end from the (beige) plastic part

(which is not supplied with the new cable = breaking it is not an option).

What worked for me is to hold back the spring and push down the end. This released the cable.  

I removed the accordeon pipe (2 philips head screws)

to access the nuts seen on the next blurry pics.

It also has a rubber ring (LDV S&M).

Inside the cabin,

I unmounted the nuts holding the gas pedal to release the cable from it.

Never mind the spring. Just replace it as is when mounting back.

Have a good look at how the cable end fits in the slots on top of the head of the pedal.

The cable end looks like a bicycle one.

Can't recall the nuts size but i reckon was between12 and 15.

I used these (cheapest I could get) tools but it'd be better to use shorter deep sockets.

This is the old cable's rubber housing. It was well bent and snapped.

Let's admire both beautiful ends of the rubber housing.

Here is where the cable clips in and goes from boot to cabin.

I filed the hole in the body to make it go through the body.

Perhaps a better idea is to slighlty file the cable end as it seems it had been done on the old cable

but I chose no to take the risk to overdo it and to not be able to fit it correclty afterward.

Hope that helps.

If you have any question please post it in the comment.

I can't always reply as I'm a busy bee but take a look at this page for suggestions to get support from the international online LDV community.

Enjoy your LDV Pilot van ride!

Conversion and off-grid life

Article about Mike Hudson's van life
and his vandogtraveller website.

Loving the conversion work.

fuel filter symptoms

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/signs-of-a-clogged-fuel-filter.html

Fuel Filter vFF 1001 for LDV Pilot and Convoy.

MOT ckecks when buying a van/vehicle

ask the owner for the MOT, you need the reg and the mot certificate number, or the V5 document number

http://motinfo.direct.gov.uk/internet/j ... equest.jsp

Convert mpg to km/l and reverse

http://www.vangeyn.net/mpg/

Brake vacuum pump replacement...

Yesterday the belt on the brake vacuum pump of the Pilot had its last spin ion a white smoke and the brakes went off on me.
Lucky I wasn't going fast and I wasn't far from a place to stop safely.
I was sold an approximately similar belt (according to seller) but it was a lot too short and I tried in good faith to fit it on but it only lead me to crack the pump's bracket. Don't replace thing in a hurry early in the morning if you can cause your brain might not be yet fully switched on. Mine wasn't.

It's an easy job with the right belt. I did it before.

Now I am after that part as I must go back to MOT second round very soon to show my brand new front shocks...

This is what it looks like on the DW8 diesel non turbo non a/c 2003.
The belt spec are Dayco 10A0675C.
(Thanks to Steve and Joshua from the LDV fb group!) 

Difference between SWB and LWB vehicles

"The SWB and LBW is the distance measured from axle to axle. Each maker will have different measurements and size and weight. So the terms are just a guide to the model."

"The wheelbase is the measurement from the centre point of the front wheels to the centre point of the rear wheels. Though we have gone metric this length is often still quoted in inches. The longer the wheelbase the greater the cubic capacity of the load area. However, obviously, the longer the van the more unwieldy in narrow streets and when parking and there is not much point buying an LWB unless you need it's extra capacity. 

An LWB van will usually have a higher load rating than a SWB one. But again, if all you carry are a few cans of paint and some step ladders then the extra load facility is academic. 

There should not be much difference - if any - regarding the insurance costs."

" If you plan to carry heavy small things, then the SWB will be better, but if you plan to carry furniture, the LWB will suit your needs better. You will also find low, medium and high roof variants of these."

Read more >>

LDV Pilot van racing!

LDV Pilot engine

Is this a XUD engine?

I might be becoming a bit obssessed with Pilot's engines...
Yes it's a XUD. The metal intake manifold makes it recognisable fromm a DW8's plastic manifold.
Their respective shape helps to differentiate them too.

Replacing the glow plugs on DW8 diesel engine

 I need to replace the heat plugs of the DW8 since my van only start with a cold start spray shot if the temperature goes down or if the dampness is too much.
I had a look today but couldn't figure out how to take the air intake manifold out which is needed cause it blocks access to the plugs.
And lucky me found this from Liamautomechanic!
Thanks Liam!

replacing the glow plugs removing the inlet manifold citeron peugeot video


 If i get it correctly we have to take off and disconnect:

• 4 bolts (HEX wrench/ alen key 5) [b]>[/b]metal pipe from exhaust (screwdriver) 
• flexi pipe 
• electric plug at bottom
• water bottle to be moved out of the way

next step is to remove the nut on top of the heater plug.
He uses a 10 socket and a small ratchet to unscrew the plugs.

hopefully i dont need that:
+++ Day 2: All went well. It took me 2 or 3 hours not counting in the time it took to find the tools (I havent got that many and they re all scattered + when I went to buy the extension for the ratchet the shop employee got the key stuck in the display's lock...). What I needed was slightly different than on the above video which is normal since my engine is on a LDV Pilot 2003 DW8 diesel non turbo. Tools used:

• DW40 lubricant
• short arm HEX wrench/Allen key 5 (not sure of the size though) 
• medium or long arm HEX wrench/Allen key (bigger size but again I don't know exactly 
• flat screwdriver pair of pliers 
• socket 7mm
• deep socket 10mm (for plugs) 
• ratchet 
• ring offset spanner (or deep socket wrench) 8mm light 
• set of new plugs... 

Before anything give the plugs a good DW40 bath...
First unscrew the Allen head bolts.  These with long arm Allen wrench:

 These with the short arm smaller hex wrench

Next unscrew the air intake pipe collar with the flat screw driver.

snap open the clip-on collar of the metal pipe from the exhaust using the screwdriver too.

If you disconnect these two you can already pull out the air intake manifold that covers the engine head and prevents access to the glow plugs.
Then you can start unpluging the flexi pipes (there are 2 of them) and the electric plug. They are located close-by the air intake connection.
You can see the plug here and the red labelled flexi pipe - connected beside each other. Right behind is the third flexi pipe which connects underneath.

The third flexi pipe.

Disconnect that bigger rubber pipe at the very back of the manifold (below the electrical ringed plastic pipes on the image) using the flat screwdriver. Pop it out like the pipe from the exhaust. Same clip-on collar type.

 

Lastly unscrew the bolt that hold these 2 electric wires right under that rubber pipe you just took off. Use the ring spanner or deep socket one 8mm for that job.
They are disconnected on the image.

 
 Pull out the manifold and you can now access the plugs.
Get your 7mm socket and your ratchet + extension to undo the bolts that hold the wire (sometimes a metal plate) between the plugs.

Once undone pull out the wire and change the socket to the deep 10mm one so you can get cracking on the plugs. Go carefully cause it seems they can break easily. I had no probs at all but maybe it was due to the DW40 bath?
It's appropriate to clean around the plugs before you take them out or else just make sure nothing gets in their hole when taken out and when placing in the new ones. A reasonable amount of grease on the thread of the new ones is probably a good idea too.

The old ones on mine looked like that:

No wonder why the engine wouldn't start as soon as the temperature would go down...

Once you re done with the new ones, go all the way backwards:

1. electric cables at the back
2. rubber pipe at the back (bit of a pain to close the collar back - I used a pair of pliers)
3. flexi pipes x 2 by the air intake connection
4. electric plug by the air intake connection
5. Main air intake pipe to the manifold - tight up the collar back
6. Place the manifold where it should be
7. Metal pipe from the exhaust (pain as well -I used a pair of pliers which crunched flesh off my fingers)
8.  Screw back the Allen bolts

 that should tighten up everything.

If you did it correctly and hopefully this was just maintenance, the engine will start up right away as mine did.

LDV-sherpa forum - The Revival

Since the previous one went off line and much LDV van owners asked where it went and why, I set up the new ldvsherpauk forum.
Hopefully that'll be as helpful as the previous has been to me...

Which Jack to lift your vehicle?

A while ago after buying my van, it had its first puncture and I realised that the only jack I had was the one from my previous car - a butterfly jack - which would hardly reach the body of the van even in its fullest stretch...

I could go straight out and in a half*rd shop but me being me I am going to look for an alternative. Although I know there a big chance that my buy (unless a second-hand) will also be made in China or somewhere in Asia. I read about the consequences of our buying habits in China - dreadful thoughts. One physical and ecological example here and all the recent reports about workers committing suicide.

Back to our practical topic:

• We need  a jack with a high jacking point (I'm going to take measurements).
• reasonably priced.
• 2 x axle stands (it's not enough to lift the vehicle and get under it. We need safety don't we?)
• The Pilot calls for a 2.5T or 3T
• A long enough bar to make it easier

 Links on the topic:
Forum talk
A comparison article (2T though)

And if you really need...

 

... available here. 

And of course our DIY youtube videos for visual help.



More advices and discussions here: http://www.lets-getaway.com/caravan-jacks.htm http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=114839