Heater valves and weird old filters.

[Guildbass]

Well, I finally got a bit of time on a ramp to do a few 'must do' things.
While the traveller is a well preserved thing, I am always suspicious of other people's oil so an oil change, and a few bits and bobs were in order.
I'd already changed the little green indicator lens as the old one had its threads snapped off and was glued in, bought extra keys with the obligatory old style key fobs one has to have, but idle speed was a touch high, the valve clearances were on the generous side and I fancied putting some extra time into getting the brakes better balanced.
Sadly the ramp turned out to be a four poster so it remained on its wheels, so 'wheels off' will be an 'on the drive' once the weather clears.
The oil drained fine, although it was 'diesel engine' black', and the filter came off OK. It took me several minutes of trying to seat the ring gasket before I realised there are two sizes... Mine uses the slightly smaller diameter one....
I then made a mistake. I reassembled the spring, plate and filter as they had come out, which was wrong. The plate was on top of the filter instead of below it so the spring was doing nothing and as a consequence, the engine was not filtering its oil. ... At the time I didn't';t realise though.
Tappet adjustment went fine. Used the 'Rule of nine' and that was very straight forward. To be fair, they weren't that far out.
I then broke my Gunsons Timing light on the fan... It's been 40 years since I haven't had electric or viscous coupled fans and I can now testify that metal blades destroy Xenon timing lights... Sigh...
I wanted to drop the idle speed down below 400 rpm to check timing but the throttle cable is too tight and I had nothing to hold the rotating ferrule so I could loosen the retaining nut without bending the cable... A job for next time...
Setting off I was immediately struck with how responsive and revvy the engine felt.... Modern oils are a huge leap forward...
Anyway, got halfway home and the heater stopped working. Had a quick look and there was no visible coolant...Bought a massive barrel of water at the Co-op and the car drank it all. Took the rad cap off and drove the rest of the way home unpressurised and found the heater distribution valve was just vomiting coolant.
Found a new old stock one on Ebay, bought a couple of gaskets from ESM and waited for a gap between storms...
Removed and refitted the oil filter properly, that was easy enough, but that valve!!!
First, the heater hose clamp on the valve.... What a sod that was... Soaked in ACF50, threads cleaned with a wire brush, the square 'nut' held with pliers, then turned an 8th of a turn back and forth for at least half an hour. Obviously once off and apart, the thing wound in and out like it was brand new...
And then, the two nuts holding the valve on. The 'outer one' not an issue, I don't have any AF spanners, but 11 mm is close enough for MOWOG work and that loosened nicely. The inner one though.... I had to take the battery out to get enough movement on the spanner to be able to catch the next flat and leant over the engine like that for what seemed like hours as it gradually eased off was... Not fun.
I sprayed a little silicon into the 'new' valve and it could hold a vacuum against my tongue so with a bit of gasket goo either side of the new gasket it went on OK. I carefully adjusted the cable wire to give a full range of movement and now it not only holds coolant, but allows a reasonable amount of adjustment, from almost ridiculously hot to mildly warm.
I have a few black stains on a couple of the woodwork joins, so bought a bag of Oxalic acid powder and, get this, a bag of syringes complete with needles... from Amazon. I'm going to try using the needle to get the acid solution into the gap between timber pieces to see if that is a better solution.
If it works, I'll report back!
She's back in the bag now, all snugged up, with a small Solar panel on the outside trickling into the battery. Next time, the throttle cable, check the full advance with my new timing light, and do those brakes!

[svenedin]

Sounds like you have been busy. Well done.

It is good that you have corrected the oil filter being assembled incorrectly because, as you say, the oil would not have been filtered at all.

On the subject of timing, the mechanical (centrifugal) advance of the Lucas 25D4 does start at rather low revs but as I understand it, this is often quoted as distributor rpm and not engine rpm. The rpm that the advance starts at varies between the many Lucas 25D4 models and if you know the exact model (e.g 41269) you can look up the rpm that the advance commences at. Distributor rpm is 1/2 the engine rpm on a 4-stroke engine. If you can adjust the engine rpm down to about 800 rpm there should be no mechanical advance in operation (because that would be 400 distributor rpm). Remember to remove the vacuum advance pipe from the distributor and block the end with insulating tape or something.

Bad luck about the timing light. The Gunson G4123 Supastrobe is very good and a tough tool as it is made of metal. Expensive though but I doubt you would ever need to buy another unlike the plastic nasty that I had which broke after a year.

Regarding the heater valve which I am assuming is the later cable operated valve, this has a rubber diaphragm inside and this is what fails. ESM sell a new valve that has a slight offset. This makes it easier to remove and it does not foul anything. Nonetheless it is a fiddle to take off. I suggest you invest in some AF combination spanners. The tool of choice here is an AF articulated ratcheting ring spinner. The Facom 467F.JPU8 set is marvellous. I am not sure about a NOS valve due to risk of rubber perishing over time. For some years the new valves had a poor reputation for reliability (I had one "explode" with total loss of coolant) but ESM assure me this is not the case any longer.

Stephen

IMG_8458.jpeg (2.05 MiB) Viewed 48166 times

[Guildbass]

Sounds like you have been busy. Well done.

It is good that you have corrected the oil filter being assembled incorrectly because, as you say, the oil would not have been filtered at all.
On the subject of timing, the mechanical (centrifugal) advance of the Lucas 25D4 does start at rather low revs but as I understand it, this is often quoted as distributor rpm and not engine rpm.

That's great info... It may say that in my book but I probably just saw '400' and assumed it was engine revs... It did seem a tad low mind!!!
As soon as I realised I had assembled the filter wrong, I was distraught, couldn't sleep or anything... I'm not saying I obsess,... but!!!

Bad luck about the timing light. The Gunson G4123 Supastrobe is very good and a tough tool as it is made of metal. Expensive though but I doubt you would ever need to buy another unlike the plastic nasty that I had which broke after a year

It wasn't the sexy metal one, but I'd kept it since the mid '80's so it was annoying to say the least. i have a cheapo plastic replacement and will wait until the ground dries out a bit before I throw that one into the fan...
.

Regarding the heater valve which I am assuming is the later cable operated valve, this has a rubber diaphragm inside and this is what fails. ESM sell a new valve that has a slight offset. This makes it easier to remove and it does not foul anything. Nonetheless it is a fiddle to take off. I suggest you invest in some AF combination spanners.

I just ordered a new old stock set of Gedore combination spanners . I have AF sockets in my set anyway but the Gedores are those lovely old rough cast ones like the ones my old 1971 Puch VS50 had so I'm well on the way to having enough to have a' travel kit'


Stephen


IMG_8458.jpeg

[Bill_qaz]

They are open ended spanner, combination is ring one end and open on the other
Williams superslim is also an old brand of none chrome spanner that are good and tough.

[svenedin]

Incidentally, sometimes the heater valve leaks and it appears to be coming from the join with the head. It is actually coming up the studs. The solution is to remove the studs and apply thread sealant to the stud threads that go into the head. This also sometimes happens with the thermostat housing studs. No other goo is necessary but I've seen cars with lots of totally unnecessary goo and they still leak!

Stephen

[Guildbass]

They are open ended spanner, combination is ring one end and open on the other
Williams superslim is also an old brand of none chrome spanner that are good and tough.

now!
Indeed, but at least I've got every common AF size for £15 now!
I always wanted Superslims as back in the day they were the only ones that would fit under the barrel fins of a Tiger 100 to get the barrels off... I love Facom but they are so expensive!

[Guildbass]

Incidentally, sometimes the heater valve leaks and it appears to be coming from the join with the head. It is actually coming up the studs. The solution is to remove the studs and apply thread sealant to the stud threads that go into the head. This also sometimes happens with the thermostat housing studs. No other goo is necessary but I've seen cars with lots of totally unnecessary goo and they still leak!

Stephen

Good to know! Mine was spurting out of the point where the shaft goes into the valve. It was stuck when I got the car and freeing it off was almost certainly what finished it off.

[svenedin]

Incidentally, sometimes the heater valve leaks and it appears to be coming from the join with the head. It is actually coming up the studs. The solution is to remove the studs and apply thread sealant to the stud threads that go into the head. This also sometimes happens with the thermostat housing studs. No other goo is necessary but I've seen cars with lots of totally unnecessary goo and they still leak!

Stephen

Good to know! Mine was spurting out of the point where the shaft goes into the valve. It was stuck when I got the car and freeing it off was almost certainly what finished it off.

Yes that is the usual point of failure. The rubber diaphragm perishes. Some people fit the older type of valve which is like a tap but this is on or off unless you open the bonnet to change it. I prefer to keep my car as it was made with the cable operated valve.

Regard Facom tools yes they are expensive but they are a joy to use. I was very lucky to get my set in a sale and I believe they were also incorrectly priced but the seller honoured the price. I justify the price of tools like this: if a tool stops me having a horrible time grazing my knuckles, swearing, dropping and losing nuts and generally having an awful time it is worth the money (and it also helps save my marriage which is priceless!). Another justification is how much would it cost to have a garage do the work instead.

Stephen

[Guildbass]

Regard Facom tools yes they are expensive but they are a joy to use. I was very lucky to get my set in a sale and I believe they were also incorrectly priced but the seller honoured the price. I justify the price of tools like this: if a tool stops me having a horrible time grazing my knuckles, swearing, dropping and losing nuts and generally having an awful time it is worth the money (and it also helps save my marriage which is priceless!). Another justification is how much would it cost to have a garage do the work instead.

Stephen
[/quote]

I have a \Facon 3.8ths socket ratchet i've owned for 30 years, and I recently acquired a 10mm ratchet spanner which is gorgeous, but at £30 a pop its not something I intend to add too!