1974 DAF 66 'Ena' - Head transplant underway !

[howard]

We had a computer server in the assisted conception clinic called "Norris". No-one quite worked that one out, thankfully.

Those jets can be a sod to clear - involving much sucking and blowing (oo-er) but they can usually be persuaded to work.

[33grinder]

;D ;D ;D Just which 'jets' are you referring to Howard? ;D

[thebear54]

Well done with ENA.

Look forward to further updates soon.

John

[Sigmund Fraud]

Thanks for the advice, gentlemen. I'll hopefully get some work done over the weekend and update you with my progress and findings.

Water pistol is not a bad idea, I could even use it to threaten my MoT tester if he claims that it's not an appropriate alternative to the OEM system.

I've already tried the pin method, but to no avail. Next step would be to have Ena's tubes looked at, then the sucking and blowing can begin. Ooh, erm...

[Kenr]

Shame about the pin. Used to work happily on my Triumphs. It was a valued member of my toolkit.

Keep going!

[Sigmund Fraud]

Update time !!!

It's been a frantic, DAF-tinkering weekend here at Fraud towers.

It all started pretty casually on Saturday morning, when I took the ramps out of the shed and reversed Ena onto them to 'have a look underneath'.

A ratchet somehow found its way into my hand, so I decided to take the fuel tank off to investigate the fuel line issues.

This freed up lots of space underneath the car, and as it happened to be in the vicinity, the right driveshaft was unbolted from the diff. The CV joint came off and got cleaned in my 'ghetto parts washer' (patent pending). It was then lubricated with nice, fresh grease, covered with a new boot and reinstalled onto the driveshaft which was then bolted back onto the diff.

The rigid fuel line was tested and found to be intact, so the rubber hose to the tank was replaced and the tank re-installed.

I noticed that one of the exhaust mounts was broken, but I couldn't find a compatible one in the shed, so a handful of zip-ties was used as a temporary* repair.

In the meantime, the coolant was serenely draining out of the radiator. The garden hose appeared and was used to flush a few decades' worth of rust and other crud out of the cooling system. The latter was then filled with a nice, 50% ethylene glycol mix and Ena was left to run for a while to bleed the system.

This got the engine nice and hot, so I wondered if I should take the opportunity to change the oil. I rummaged through the shed and emerged with a compatible filter (that I had originally bought for my old MGB) and a can of Halfords' finest 20W50, which improved the sound of Ena's tappets significantly.

That was as much as I had managed yesterday, so I woke up early this morning to continue the DAF marathon (see what I did there ?).

I began by taking the drivers' seat belt apart, as it refused to retract. Unlike modern seatbelt mechanisms which are full of fiddly parts and explosives (no, really !) the one in Ena is a wonderfully simple 1970s 'magnetic' design. It took five minutes to dismantle, clean, lubricate and reassemble, and is now fully functional.

The position lights were next on the list, so I took out the owners' manual and unfolded the wiring diagram for some much-needed guidance. After a few minutes of following lines around and getting increasingly confused I gave up and put it back in the glovebox. I decided to take the simpleton approach and checked the fuses. Luckily, I found that the relevant fuse was loose so after bending the terminals slightly the position lights returned to life.

Windscreen washers were next, and I decided to use DAF special tool No.5698-234570-923 which looks deceptively like a piece of garden wire stripped of its green plastic coating. This marvelous contraption managed to unblock the left washer jet without the need for any dismantling, which I was very pleased with. The old wiper blades were renewed, and Ena's windscreen wiper and washer system was now up to MoT standard.

The wonky rear plate plinth was then restored to concours standard bodged for the MoT with some gaffer tape.

As the sun had come out (after a day and a half of alternating drizzle and heavy rain), I decided to soften the door and boot seals with some silicon spray and then attacked the many areas of surface rust with a pot of Kurust and a brush.

The 'to do' list was getting shorter and shorter and I felt very smug, so I decided that rather than have a break I should continue work and renew the ignition components.

Plug leads were marked and removed, plug holes cleaned then I began to undo the plugs. Numbers 1,2 and 4 were fine, but number 3 was barely finger tight. Something was clearly wrong.

Further investigation revealed that No.3 had been rather brutally cross-threaded. Great.

So here we are : after two days of hard work I have a car that is up to MoT standard but has a borked cylinder head.

Has anyone ever used a helicoil on a DAF/Renault head ? Has it worked ?

[macplaxton]

Dec 22, 2013 21:56:03 GMT Sigmund Fraud said:

Has anyone ever used a helicoil on a DAF/Renault head ? Has it worked ?

No, but I've had a Time-Sert fitted before. (Er, came out with the plug, but it can't drop in)

Helicoil should be fine, just expect it to come out with the plug, maybe.

[33grinder]

Superb progress that man, well done!

Sorry to hear about the spark plug hole, had no idea.

'Helicoil' seems to be used as a generic term these days and there are various companies peddling wares along that theme but I have used Helicoil themselves on my Rover V8 engine...several times. I found it to be very effective indeed. The one thing you will need to look out for is to try not to loose any swarf into the combustion chamber. If you manage that you'll be fine. Alternatively would it be worth using a tap and die set to recut the thread?

[Sigmund Fraud]

Thanks once again for your advice, gents.

There seem to be many different thread repair kits on the market, from no-name £10 chinese jobs to Wurth's £80 time-sert kit.

After doing a bit more reading on the subject, I decided to order an Australian 'Recoil' kit which seems to be of decent quality and is designed specifically for spark plug thread repairs.

With a bit of luck, the kit will arrive by next weekend, and will be as foolproof as the manufacturer claims. I'll keep you updated.

[Kenr]

As I read through the posting I was overcome with increasing amounts of awe and positive warmth as to your progress using simple, everyday objects. I was mightily impressed.

Then I read about the plug and thread and was then gutted. Damn.

Hopefully the kit will sort it out.

Fabulous progress otherwise mate. Brilliant. I did say that it wouldn't take long to sort out (if only the plug woe hadn't happened.

Don't forget about the tyres Panos, not sure how roadworthy they might actually be for proper driving. On roads and things.