modelman
Active Member
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- 310
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- Barnsley, S/Yorks
ALL the seats are already out as well as the rear carpet, thanks.
2.5 ton paperweight??
- Thread starter modelman
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- Posts
- 12,628
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- Sud ouest France !
They do get hot yes. That's why I modded mine to use an amk pump from l322
more air, less time
Flossie
Well-Known Member
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- 11,000
- Location
- Shropshire
Just for info.
The rears are supposed to raise first. Stops headlamp dazzle to other road users. Quite clever really
The rears are supposed to raise first. Stops headlamp dazzle to other road users. Quite clever really
modelman
Active Member
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- 310
- Location
- Barnsley, S/Yorks
I ALMOST committed myself to cutting the front carpet to remove & gain access to the footwell damage, but realised that the very rearmost part would need cutting & that is seen under the centre console.
So, I cut a piece of timber about 14" long & somehow managed to lift the heavy & stiff carpet to wedge it up under the glovebox area, this allowed me to see the damage, it was a lot more than I realized, the fist sized lump & tear was just the impact area from the UJ, the actual damage was as long as my forearm extending forward, this was where the propshaft itself hit the underside.
The plastic molded heating-duct was badly deformed as well as it sits directly over the damaged area.
Using my biggest copper/hide mallet the floor/tunnel tinwork was fully back to somewhere normal, the heat-duct was another matter, remember, this car had been sitting in a transport yard for over 8 years & the duct had 'set' to this new shape, I pulled it & pushed but zilch! Got out the hot air paint stripping gun, got it so hot it went all floppy, & while in this state, I held it up & sort of 'waived' it about & as if my magic it reformed back to original, offered it into place & it went straight back!
Swept/hoovered 20 odd years of crap from under there, so lifted the other side & did that as well, carpet refitted & it actually looks very good, a days work & it doesn't look like ive done anything!!
So, I cut a piece of timber about 14" long & somehow managed to lift the heavy & stiff carpet to wedge it up under the glovebox area, this allowed me to see the damage, it was a lot more than I realized, the fist sized lump & tear was just the impact area from the UJ, the actual damage was as long as my forearm extending forward, this was where the propshaft itself hit the underside.
The plastic molded heating-duct was badly deformed as well as it sits directly over the damaged area.
Using my biggest copper/hide mallet the floor/tunnel tinwork was fully back to somewhere normal, the heat-duct was another matter, remember, this car had been sitting in a transport yard for over 8 years & the duct had 'set' to this new shape, I pulled it & pushed but zilch! Got out the hot air paint stripping gun, got it so hot it went all floppy, & while in this state, I held it up & sort of 'waived' it about & as if my magic it reformed back to original, offered it into place & it went straight back!
Swept/hoovered 20 odd years of crap from under there, so lifted the other side & did that as well, carpet refitted & it actually looks very good, a days work & it doesn't look like ive done anything!!
modelman
Active Member
- Posts
- 310
- Location
- Barnsley, S/Yorks
Another question for you clever guys, as I mentioned, I have fully rebuilt the air compressor & all 'o' rings etc in the valve block, the car goes up & down ok.
After a day or so it settles down from 'high' to about 'normal', BUT, it equal across the axles, the rear settling a bit more than the front!!
I have new airbags ready to fit, but I'm convinced its not them or the air line/connectors as everything is equal.
I THINK it must still be something in the valve block, & although I replaced every o ring, seal & diaphragm in the kit, I noticed a rubber end on some of the solenoid cores, these seemed to be 'riveted' on & therefor not replaceable, & I saw that these end-pieces seemed a bit hard when I inspected them, so what do you think, am I looking in the wrong area or have I missed something?
After a day or so it settles down from 'high' to about 'normal', BUT, it equal across the axles, the rear settling a bit more than the front!!
I have new airbags ready to fit, but I'm convinced its not them or the air line/connectors as everything is equal.
I THINK it must still be something in the valve block, & although I replaced every o ring, seal & diaphragm in the kit, I noticed a rubber end on some of the solenoid cores, these seemed to be 'riveted' on & therefor not replaceable, & I saw that these end-pieces seemed a bit hard when I inspected them, so what do you think, am I looking in the wrong area or have I missed something?
Datatek
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- 44,883
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- Near Poitiers SW France
I doubt it's the valve block. You only need one airbag with a slight leak and because the EAS self levels when parked the leak will be disguised. Pull the EAS relay under the passenger seat when you park it and see if one corner goes down.
The fact you have new airbags ready to fit suggests that the bags on the car are old and therefore likely to be leaking.
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- 19,297
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- Buckinghamshire, UK. ('95 DT)
Usually it is a height sensor (you can check resistance through range of travel) or a connector, either the one behind the passenger kick panel or the driver pack connector. Those cones on the end of the solenoids do get hard though ... and worn to the point they have a circular indentation. I tried sanding them back to some sort of shape (not very successfully) and @kurtjohnson10 has some method of building them up with something rubbery and then reshaping but I think the only real fix is to replace them. Kurt can probably help you there.
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- 19,297
- Location
- Buckinghamshire, UK. ('95 DT)
Oh, I heard a rumour the early EAS can self-level all the way to the floor if parked on uneven ground, maybe with a wheel in a hole. Later EAS self-levels but not for so long and in a more restricted fashion. As Data says, let it get to height, open a door and then pull the delay timer and see if it stay up. If it stays up then it is the computer dropping it.
Datatek
Well-Known Member
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- 44,883
- Location
- Near Poitiers SW France
They will all level down to the bump stops if there is a leak or if one wheel is parked in a hole given enough time.
modelman
Active Member
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- 310
- Location
- Barnsley, S/Yorks
Ooops, I forgot to mention, I run the car for only a couple of minutes now & again just to check things as I go along, and I actually dis-connect the battery every time, it therefor sits there 'dead' as it were & I assume self-levelling etc. cannot happen, which is why I suspect the valve block leaking somewhere.
Datatek
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 44,883
- Location
- Near Poitiers SW France
Leaking airbags are much more common than leaking valve blocks. 8 years 80K miles is the design life of the bags.
Worth doing the soapy water test where the pipes enter the valve block.
modelman
Active Member
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- 310
- Location
- Barnsley, S/Yorks
OK, thanks for that, I bought new bags anyway, just in case!
Following the previous postings, I have just left it for the first time with the battery connected, lets see what happens now after a day or so!!
Refitted the carpets & seats today, so I can at last sit with my foot on the brake pedal, started her up, into drive, a little clunk & she slowly went forwards, ( remember, its been stood in a transport yard for 8 years ) foot right down & it was a bit sluggish, then back as I can only go about 100ft or so on my drive, did this back & forth maybe a dozen or so times, & finally it was quite responsive, im guessing it took a while to pump the tranny up to speed??
In my limited space. I managed to run through all the gears in hi & low range, the discs were solid rust, but I managed to get to 15, 20 mph & jamming on the anchors & made the wheels lock, seems even as well, but of course only a road test will tell.
Machine & me are not ready to risk a trip around the block just yet, but confidence is building day by day, also, im only on the rear propshaft at the moment, & I haven't tried/tested the V/C coupling yet, even if it HAS failed or seized, can I fit the front propshaft just to try & check the diff is ok??
Following the previous postings, I have just left it for the first time with the battery connected, lets see what happens now after a day or so!!
Refitted the carpets & seats today, so I can at last sit with my foot on the brake pedal, started her up, into drive, a little clunk & she slowly went forwards, ( remember, its been stood in a transport yard for 8 years ) foot right down & it was a bit sluggish, then back as I can only go about 100ft or so on my drive, did this back & forth maybe a dozen or so times, & finally it was quite responsive, im guessing it took a while to pump the tranny up to speed??
In my limited space. I managed to run through all the gears in hi & low range, the discs were solid rust, but I managed to get to 15, 20 mph & jamming on the anchors & made the wheels lock, seems even as well, but of course only a road test will tell.
Machine & me are not ready to risk a trip around the block just yet, but confidence is building day by day, also, im only on the rear propshaft at the moment, & I haven't tried/tested the V/C coupling yet, even if it HAS failed or seized, can I fit the front propshaft just to try & check the diff is ok??
Datatek
Well-Known Member
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- 44,883
- Location
- Near Poitiers SW France
If the VCU has seized, don't fit the front prop as if you use it like that you will knacker the front diff. Take the drain plug out of the diff and look for bits of metal.
kurtjohnson10
Well-Known Member
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- 15,235
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- midlands
Save the stress and burden and swearing and depression. I have a valve block for sale that is Virtually as new 
#problemsolved
#problemsolved modelman
Active Member
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- 310
- Location
- Barnsley, S/Yorks
Hmmm, the 2 ton paperweight in my first posting may be a bit nearer.
I thought everything was going too well, got the BeCM working, put coolant in & she fired straight up, goes back & forth, brakes work, ripped out the interior, washed everything, hoovered everywhere, centre console back in, carpets & seats back in, pulled the headliner out yesterday, new cloth came today, & many other jobs done.
So, this morning I thought I'd hook up my old Rovacom & try & clear all the faults shown on the dash, you know the stuff. 3 beeps everywhere, Traction failure, ABS , Airbag fault, SRS, EAS, Slow 35MPH etc, Before, the Rovacom could not communicate due to the BeCM being in 'Alarm mode' that's now sorted ( I think ) so various modules where brought up, door outstations, windows, mirrors, voltages etc. were checked out ok, the dash all checked out ok as well.
But when I choose ABS, Gearbox, EAS it chunters away forever 'communicating' then it tells me 'failed to communicate with etc. etc. It tells me to check connections, power etc.
It MUST be connected ok since its already reading some of the stuff !
Everything on the car seems to work, but I cant read any codes or clear them, now Im stuffed, any ideas why it seems to read some areas & not others??
I thought everything was going too well, got the BeCM working, put coolant in & she fired straight up, goes back & forth, brakes work, ripped out the interior, washed everything, hoovered everywhere, centre console back in, carpets & seats back in, pulled the headliner out yesterday, new cloth came today, & many other jobs done.
So, this morning I thought I'd hook up my old Rovacom & try & clear all the faults shown on the dash, you know the stuff. 3 beeps everywhere, Traction failure, ABS , Airbag fault, SRS, EAS, Slow 35MPH etc, Before, the Rovacom could not communicate due to the BeCM being in 'Alarm mode' that's now sorted ( I think ) so various modules where brought up, door outstations, windows, mirrors, voltages etc. were checked out ok, the dash all checked out ok as well.
But when I choose ABS, Gearbox, EAS it chunters away forever 'communicating' then it tells me 'failed to communicate with etc. etc. It tells me to check connections, power etc.
It MUST be connected ok since its already reading some of the stuff !
Everything on the car seems to work, but I cant read any codes or clear them, now Im stuffed, any ideas why it seems to read some areas & not others??
Datatek
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 44,883
- Location
- Near Poitiers SW France
Not all ECU's use the same connection in the OBD connector, so that is the first point to check for corrosion.
No, but alot of those faults could be down to a low battery, so get that fully charged first.
Then as its been stood suspect corrosion on connections to the suspect modules.
Keep moving forward it will be worth it in the end.
J
Then as its been stood suspect corrosion on connections to the suspect modules.
Keep moving forward it will be worth it in the end
.J
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- 3,877
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- Near Heathrow.
Most of those (except EAS) connect through C102-C202 in RH footwell. Fairly sure the gearbox is via the BECM, not direct from diag connector.
modelman
Active Member
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- 310
- Location
- Barnsley, S/Yorks
Battery new, over 13v, checked EVERY fuse, swapped all the relays around assuming a dud will throw other problems, not so.
Checked (by eye) all plugs/sockets, dis-connected battery, connected cables together to drain any residual voltage, operated all ign & other switches many times etc.
Reconnected, now I get 3 beeps on message centre & it tells my 'TRACTION_FAILURE' ABS, fault, all windows work correctly as does the sunroof, key locks & unlocks, all lights work, EAS works, engine starts easily, brakes seem to work fine, everything on the seats work, the HEVAC now lights correctly after I rebuilt the backlight assy.
What exactly does 'TRACTION FAILURE' mean??
It moves forward & backward readily, but I haven't tried it through the gears since I'm not confident with it yet to take it on the road, ( if it stops, I've no way of getting it back onto my drive)
Could the traction failure be due to the fact that I've yet to fit the front propshaft? ( I have a s/hand V/C ready just in case)
I've also tried the hi-lo setting & that works as well.
Not had time to retry the diagnostics yet.
Toying with the idea of plastering all the connections with STABILANT, which should sort all the joints once & for all.
I think ill get the interior finished (headliner out & cleaned up ready to re-cover) before getting up in the air & having a crawl about underneath !!
Checked (by eye) all plugs/sockets, dis-connected battery, connected cables together to drain any residual voltage, operated all ign & other switches many times etc.
Reconnected, now I get 3 beeps on message centre & it tells my 'TRACTION_FAILURE' ABS, fault, all windows work correctly as does the sunroof, key locks & unlocks, all lights work, EAS works, engine starts easily, brakes seem to work fine, everything on the seats work, the HEVAC now lights correctly after I rebuilt the backlight assy.
What exactly does 'TRACTION FAILURE' mean??
It moves forward & backward readily, but I haven't tried it through the gears since I'm not confident with it yet to take it on the road, ( if it stops, I've no way of getting it back onto my drive)
Could the traction failure be due to the fact that I've yet to fit the front propshaft? ( I have a s/hand V/C ready just in case)
I've also tried the hi-lo setting & that works as well.
Not had time to retry the diagnostics yet.
Toying with the idea of plastering all the connections with STABILANT, which should sort all the joints once & for all.
I think ill get the interior finished (headliner out & cleaned up ready to re-cover) before getting up in the air & having a crawl about underneath !!
Flossie
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 11,000
- Location
- Shropshire
Traction failure comes up if you have an abs sensor issue.
Dead, not pushed in enough, connector issues.
Dead, not pushed in enough, connector issues.
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