fishsponge's ongoing thread of problems!

[fishsponge]

you're assuming i can cook! I did cook Christmas dinner for two when my girlfriend and I moved into our first house (roast beef-based) and although it turned out great, it was by far the most stressful thing, to this day, i have ever done in my life.

Never again!!!!!

 

[fishsponge]

right, an update regarding the doughnut and pinion oil seal!!

The doughnut is replaced (although it took me 3 hours somehow)... here's old and new:

As for the rear diff pinion oil seal, that's not done, sadly.

Nobody, including myself, knew how to get at it! The prop shaft was off, but how to get inside that end of the diff to change the oil seal was something we all couldn't figure out. The Haynes doesn't cover that either as far as I could see on the day.

Time to go searching for a guide, I think...

 

[jamesmartin]

you mean removing sgot to get at pinion nut/bolt,i use 6mm bolt welded to 2ft bar made into slide hammer,but some place socket or tube over with washers and pull it out that way with 6mm set screw (bolt threaded to head)

 

[fishsponge]

Time to go searching for a guide, I think...

OK, just done this, and I think it's out of my depth again!

There's talk of needing a "slide hammer", having to change the "collapsible spacer" to get the correct "preload" on the "tapered pinion bearings" and something about "end-float".

All very confusing.

 

[fishsponge]

you mean removing sgot to get at pinion nut/bolt,i use 6mm bolt welded to 2ft bar made into slide hammer,but some place socket or tube over with washers and pull it out that way with 6mm set screw (bolt threaded to head)

Thanks for the reply... is "sgot" a typo or something i've not heard of...

All I know about my diff is that when the prop shaft comes off there's something sticking out the front of the diff (which the prop shaft bolts to) and I can see no way of removing it. There are no fixing around the outside and nothing on the back of the diff. Is is press-fitted into something?

As for using a 6mm bolt welded to a 2ft bar, I don't have a welder, nor any welding skills!

I've just looked up a slide hammer in google image search actually, and I certainly don't have one of those!

presumably then, a bolt needs to be screwed into the thread and the thing just effectively pulled out by the slide hammer?

 

[jamesmartin]

yes i meant spigot yes it pulls out but can be tight but some use socket deep enough to pull spigot into it once flange off diff just replace seal and retighten theres no collapsible spacer and preload endfloat is already set using shims ,if brgs ****ed or diff flange has end float ie flange will pull away from diff ,fit another diff as thats a different kettle of fish ,so you can change seal once spigot removed with no worries

 

[fishsponge]

ah... so let me get this straight...

Once the prop shaft is removed, there is a thing that sticks out the diff which has a smaller cylinder attached to it with a threaded inside. This "thing" rotates with the diff but does not move forward, backward or sideways.

This "thing" simply pulls out with the right tools and the seal just sits behind it. I can then pull out the seal, push in the new one and push the "thing" back in as far as it'll go.

Does that sound right?

 

[fishsponge]

ah... so let me get this straight...

Once the prop shaft is removed, there is a thing that sticks out the diff which has a smaller cylinder attached to it with a threaded inside. This "thing" rotates with the diff but does not move forward, backward or sideways.

This "thing" simply pulls out with the right tools and the seal just sits behind it. I can then pull out the seal, push in the new one and push the "thing" back in as far as it'll go.

Does that sound right?

As well as my above question, I have one more...

and if anyone can answer both, i'd greatly appreciate it!

So... question number two... does this look like an MOT failure? Should I get it welded ASAP?

 

[jamesmartin]

yes as its near seat belt mount,behind spigot will be bolt or nut that will have to be undone then remove flange do seal packed with vaseline or grease ,then replace flange tighten nut tight tap spigot back in

 

[fishsponge]

thanks for the advice - i think i'm gonna have to get the garage to do the pinion oil seal in his case, hopefully where i can watch it being done.

And I guess I ought to have them weld that part up for me too... I wonder if it'll ever end! lol

 

[xat44]

I wonder if it'll ever end! lol .
in the nicest possible way, i hope not
i`m learning a lot from this thread

 

[fishsponge]

well I own a disco, so i'm sure it'll never end! lol

glad someone else is learning too, cos i'm learning loads!!

 

[fishsponge]

right... an update - the welding was done and so was the pinion oil seal, all at the same time. £150 total. It then passed its MOT with no advisories!

One question though... i've done almost 12,000 miles since buying the Disco and one thing i've not done in that time is change put any cleaner through the fuel system.

Should I put some cleaner/detergent through the fuel system at some point, or only if I see problems? I've heard that it's a good idea to keep the injectors clean by putting something into the fuel tank every so often (which makes sense!), but how often should that be done? is it a standard thing to be done at a service?

 

[jamesmartin]

no,they run at 280 bar

 

[fishsponge]

do you mean "no", as in "don't put cleaner through the system"?

I'm certainly not going to dispute your advice, but I have heard many stories of people putting it through the system and noticing a difference (smoother running etc...), and also that it will do no harm by putting it through anyway. are you saying it's pointless though?

 

[jamesmartin]

im not a big fan of additives its unlikey to make any difference for the better,if its running fine leave it ,if you want to help vehicle change filters ,oil,belts ,grease wheel brgs etc

 

[fishsponge]

yeah... i do all the filter & oil changes and grease points already... I won't bother tipping any injector cleaner into the tank in that case!

 

[DiscoLew]

I use Forte diesel injector cleaner...I'd seen a lot of the boys on a VW forum raving about it, and all the Taxi Drivers chuck it in their tanks around here. The MOT guy commented on how low my emissions were at MOT time, but how much of that was Forte I don't know!! Have heared stories of cars just failing MOTs on emissions, then passing after running some Forte through.

You can get it for less than a tenner on ebay. I think STP do a good one aswell!

 

[fishsponge]

how often do you shove that into your tank and how much each time??

 

[DiscoLew]

I do it every 6 months and its a 400ml bottle, all of which is poured into the tank. I usually put it in with a half a tank of diesel, the bottle says it's effective in tanks of up to 100 litres.

Forte Diesel Treatment -Advanced formula 400ml More MPG | eBay UK

That's the one, have a look around and you might find it a few quid cheaper in an auction.

HTH,
Lew