I have come to think that with the Series 3 I bought earlier in the year I have taken on too much.

I'll admit that I bought it without knowing much about what I was looking at. It is actually alot worse than what I thought.

The MOT is due at the end of November. In that time I have to (that I know of):

Repair the bulkhead I got off ebay, paint it, get the other one off the vehicle, fit the replacement, re-do the wiring etc.

Sort out the brakes: I replaced all the wheel cylinders, shoes etc, but they are no better than before. After bleeding them twice, the pedal still needs to be pumped to get them to work, just like the way they were before I did them. I haven't doen the master cylinder yet as the one that is on there looks like it has been replaced recently anyway.

Sort out the rear suspension: I replaced the rusted rear leaf springs, but it still leans towards the right by exactly the same amount as it did before.

Finally, I have to do something about it jumping out of 3rd gear.

With 7 weekends left before the MOT, this isn't happening. I'm really not sure what I should do here.

What is most annoying is that with the work I have done so far (brakes, springs etc.) it seems to have made absolutely no improvement.

Don't panic!

Step back and take stock. Replacing the bulkhead can be quite a major undertaking. You don't have to have the MOT exactly when it's due; it just means you cannae use it on the road in the mean time.

As for the brakes, they can be a wee bit dodgy to get them correct.

Many pop outta gear....mine did.

Jumping out of 3rd gear isn't an MOT failure point and solo it should be possible to drive round the problem indefinitely.

Providing the springs are sound and properly attached and suitable leaning shouldn't be an MOT problem.

The bulkhead may be. Corrosion of the footwells and pillars is a problem. Rather than change the bulkhead - which is very major job why not see if you can find someone who will weld it up for you.

Brakes - may be time for professional help. S3's do need loads of fluid pumping through the system especially if the pipes to the back have drained. Try using an easibleed (made by Gunsons) or the Sealey equivalent which pumps fluid through under slight pressure. (Don't use more than 5 or so lbs pressure in the tyre used for the air supply - otherwise fluid goes everywhere.)

Fine tuning of brake shoe snail adjusters are often all the difference between pumping and good solid brakes. Have you got twin leaders at the front? If so best bled with back plate upsidedown or bleed at top cylinder 1st by cracking open the pipe connection between cylinders then at bleed nipple.

As said patching bulkhead may not look pretty but could well get you through an mot.

Yet to find a box that doesn't jump out of at least one gear......it's never stopped me using her as my daily driver though

Brakes can be a bit fiddly to set up, my S3 was too but they worked pretty well once sorted. Take your time and hopefully it'll work out

Thanks for the replies.

That's good to know about the gears. I assumed that would be a failure.

As for the springs, it's a SWB Series 3. I got a "used" set of rear springs off ebay that didn't look like they were that old. They had the part numbers printed on them for the correct sides. However, the driver's side spring with the number ending in "88" seems to sit very flat. I now think that they were crappy aftermarket springs where one side was weak, and that's why somebody shifted them.

The bodywork sometimes sits up to 70mm lower at the driver's side rear wheel than the passenger side. The front two springs are the same ones that came on the vehicle when I bought it and they are fine. It is obvious when I drive it that it is tilted. I haven't driven it much as I don't fancy getting pulled over for a dodgy looking vehicle. It seems to sit alright when my brother who weighs roughly the same as me is in the passenger seat. As the spring that is currently on the driver's side appears to be weaker than the passenger side, I have considered swapping them over. Unfortunatley, as yet have not found the time to do it.

The bulkhead is quite bad. On the driver's side footwell, the seam across the top where the footwell joins to the rest of the bulkhead has gone through as far as I can see. The areas around the pedal box mounting holes are also crumbling away. The area around the steering column mounting is the same. I have access to all the welding kit at work. However, time is the problem as obviously work jobs come first. I have had the new bulkhead since July, but only got round to shotblasting it last week. I now have to have a go at doing the repairs if I want to use that one.

As for the brakes, it is an SWB so they are single cylinders at both front and back. It is also a single master cylinder with no servo. I did think of paying a garage to bleed them under pressure and see if that changes anything. I bought a replacement cylinder, but I am reluctant to take the pedal box out to change it. I don't want the bulkhead to disintegrate any more than it has already. My thinking was that I would change it when I put the new bulkhead on.

It seems that the other things could be overcome, however the bulkhead rust is the biggest problem.

i would swap the rear springs over, the bulkhead sounds like its kaput, i would go for the swap, its supprising how much you can do in a weekend, and once its done at least you can pat youself on thye back and know at least the bulkhead will get through the mot

blue beasty said:

Fine tuning of brake shoe snail adjusters are often all the difference between pumping and good solid brakes.

Click to expand...

This is my experience too, especially with TLS front brakes although you said yours are SLS, late SWB S3s have 11" TLS rather than the earlier 10" SLS. Try adjusting the brakes snail cams until the brake shoes are actually binding and then see what you can do with bleeding them. You might find adjusting them gives you a good "pedal".

Yeah dont pannic over the brakes they can be a bit of a challenge to get right after the previous owners fiddling. Use good quality mintex linings get the steady pins lined up correctly use some chalk on the lining refit the drum and apply brake lightly whilst someone turns the wheel this will tell you if the shoes are square to drums. Fit new addjusters if the olduns are iffy (not out of blue boxes though) My late series 3 with 11" fronts stops well and straight but not for the first couple of applications of the day when it pulls to the left after that it is good and passes MOT without brake balance issues.

I thought mine was going to fail on the brakes, since they are rubbish. But it didn't, so you might be ok. It did pass (with six advisories.. none of which were brake related).

So I got round to swapping the springs over today.

No improvement, it still leans by the same amount to the driver's side.

I saw this on ebay last night, but I didn't bid as I don't have any way of collecting it. Someone got a bargain there.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280982756238?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

So it did get through the MOT in the end with some work. As I had run out of time I paid the garage to swap the front springs, change the master cylinder and put it through the MOT

Swapping the front springs has made it sit much more level, and the brakes are now far better. New front shocks and spring plates were also fitted.

The work wasn't without it's problems though. The new master cylinder leaked the first time they tried to bleed the brakes. Looking back, I should have gone for a better one than Britpart. They fitted a Delphi one in the end. One of the wheel cylinders also leaked. Due to this It ended up costing me half as much again as they had originally quoted.

It turned out that the rust on the bulkhead wasn't bad enough to fail it on, but it does still need doing. The next step is getting the refurbished one painted.

There are a few problems, mainly an oil leak somewhere at the front of the engine, and the radiator doesn't look like it will last much longer. The front grille also needs replacing. I have a friend welding another one up at the moment. My plan is to get all of these three jobs done at the same time. I'm thinking get the seal done while the radiator and grille are off, and re-fit the new ones.

So it passed...well done

Generally speaking avoid Britpart if it involves moving parts.

Well done.

nice work... and i agree with above - avoid britpart if possible