I have had a faded red (pink) Driver ever since I owned it, except for a couple of times when I used some red T-cut apparently to good effect, but it all went faded again very quickly:
New Developments: The 1.6 Driver has a mechanical fuel pump, where an eccentic cam in the engine actuates the arm of the pump. My trusty garage (Rosewood in Slough) have come up with a suggestion; their theory is that over 33 years successive fuel pumps have become less effective as the cam has worn, exacerbated by each pump gradually getting less efficient as it ages. This is their explanation as to why my swapping out the latest fuel pump for a new one hasn’t quite sorted out the longstanding fuel starvation problem the car’s been having (and I mean for years!). Their solution: fit an electric fuel pump. As you see, they have fitted the electric fuel pump under the offside rear seat floorpan. It works, and the carb seems quite happy with it.
The only problem is that it makes a noise. As you see from the picture, they’ve only secured one side of the bracket, and loosely fitted an ordinary sponge in an attempt to deaden the noise!! Here are a couple of mp3s, demonstrating the noise outside the car (NB the engine is of course running in the background, but the main noise is the pump!) and inside the car.
I’m wondering whether I could refit the pump with a piece of sound-deadening foam between it and the floorpan, with appropriate length self-tapping screws? Maybe something cut down from this? Would it be OK to screw into the floorpan?
"Reason(s) for failure Nearside rear shock absorber has a serious fluid leak (5.3.2 (b))"
Obviously I should change at least the rear two, or even all four, but I wanted to check what the experts think about gas shock absorbers. Are they just for performance cars, like the GTI, or does it make sense as an upgrade/replacement for a modest little car like the Driver? I would be looking to tackle this myself.
Bilstein seem to be the market leaders. Any others to consider, or should I just forget the idea?
I see you have the advantage of the fuel tank out of the car, giving easier access to the grey knurled ring; it's much less accessible when in the vehicle.
I did swap out the fuel pump, and various bits of fuel line, and fitted a nice brass t-piece instead of the broken plastic one.
All this was successful, in that I got the car back the 100 miles between Bristol and Slough, and it's now at my trusted garage in Slough (Rosewood) for MOT and I've asked them to consider replacing the 32-year-old fixed fuel lines and to check on the pick up point gauze and general crud in the tank. I imagine the there's all sorts of dirt and water at the bottom of the tank after 32 years!
Thanks. It's not going well! Could not undo the big grey knurled ring. It shows signs of brute force on previous attempts.
Then, to try and test existing pump, tried to remove rubber fuel pipe from connecting T-piece (which garage must have fitted in place of the reservoir they removed) the plastic T-piece snapped, so I will have to source a replacement. Will need to wait until next week when I can get back to the vehicle. As I already had this piece of pipe open, I tested the pump by getting the engine turning over using the AA man's brake cleaner trick. Seemed to fill the fuel filter but not send any regular reliable spurt of fuel out of the hose end.
I've been having some intermittent problems with this. Drove down from Slough to Southampton without problems on Friday, but after stopping on an upward slope in the town to check my route, the car would not start, and I saw that there was no fuel in the see-through fuel filter. The AA man I called out suspected I was out of fuel, even though I knew I had half a tank. He towed me to level ground and got the car started by spraying brake cleaner into the side port of the Weber carb while I cranked the engine. As he still suspected low/no fuel, he accompanied me to a petrol station where I topped up, which confirmed I had had half a tank all along. Finally, he suspected a weak fuel pump (this is mechanical cam-driven on the Driver), and suggested it be investigated further.
I was next due to drive to Bristol, and this went without any problem at all. The next day I did a short run for shopping with no problem either. However, yesterday, having gone locally into Bristol again, initially without problem, suddenly the same issue arose, this time on level ground. The engine died and wouldn't start. Again, the fuel filter was empty. I found a GSF store some way away and purchased a new fuel pump, but also got some brake cleaner, in order to emulate the AA man's trick, which worked! Got back the 8 miles to home without further problem, until setting out again in the evening, when the problem arose again, but this time the brake cleaner trick didn't work.
I intend to swap out the fuel pump today, but what if the problem is not that? A couple of years ago, when my trusted garage in Slough were sorting out an intermittent issue which they couldn't decide was fuel or electrically related, they replaced several units such as fuel pump and coil and distributor cap, but also removed the reservoir. Since then, until now, the car has been running problem free, but now I can't help feeling having the reservoir in there might help to even out fuel delivery if the pump is occasionally struggling to pull sufficient fuel up from the tank (this is the only pump in the driver; there's no pump in the tank).
Is it worth renewing all the 32-year-old fixed fuel lines? Is it an idea to have the fuel tank drained and cleaned out, if there might be 32 years worth of crud in there? Any advice gratefully received.
Well, surprised myself by managing to get all the screws undone (3 needed drilling and the use of an EasyOut with a carpenter's brace!). Damaged screws replaced with new stainless steel. Extracted the sunroof panel and replaced the seal, though one corner appears not to be seated properly, so I'll have to redo that when the weather's dry again (no garage!). Replaced the deflector side arms with very nice but expensive stainless steel ones. Now just waiting for the replacement deflector to arrive.
2 screws on one front fixing plate will not budge (not rusty, though) - what's that tool for shifting stubborn screws/nuts? It's a pozidrive screw head but it will not budge. Penetrating oil? Drill it out? wind deflector pretty rusty on the corners - have ordered a replacement deflector side arms detached and fixings worn away where they attach to deflector - have ordered replacements - but do they attach to the deflector with rivets or screws?
I'm not absolutely sure if this is the right section to post this - please move if necessary.
I acquired this 1990 Mk2 Driver (1.6) from its first owner in 2008. They had removed but retained the winding handle and stated that the sunroof leaked, so they had stopped using it.
Since then, I have had no trouble with the sunroof, despite its perished rubber seal, and have left it alone.
However, having a little time and a bit more money to use for this beloved motor, I'm wondering about bringing the sunroof back to life. Naturally, I'm worried about 'waking a sleeping dog' in this regard. I have made some enquiries about sunroof repairers, and discover that they are a dying breed. I was told modern sunroofs are all managed by dealers rather than independent companies now. Nevertheless, I found one not too far away in Surrey, and spoken to the proprietor. He seems very busy and couldn't give me a date at the moment, but remains a distinct possibility.
Naturally, I'm also wondering if this is a viable DIY job for someone like me with no skills. Has anyone worked on such a sunroof (don't know model, but assume it's standard for the model and date of car)? I am also needing to get the headlining renewed, and it seems clear that the sunroof needs sorting first, and really needs to be functional for the headlining job to be completed.
I also have to take into account the fact that I don't have a garage, so would be a bit stuck if it all went wrong!
Here are a couple of mp3s, demonstrating the noise