All smoke and no go....FIXED!!

[owelly]

FIXED!!!
It would seem that I had two main problems with the Freda.
1. As the old bus had been loosing power for a while, the turbo was the main suspect but it was turning OK. However, as the thrust bearing in the turbo had failed, when under load, the impellor was jamming on the housing and stalling the turbo. A second hand turbo fixed that and I thought all my troubles were over. But no.....
2. The Freda would start and drive fine for a few yards or sometimes for a couple of hours. Then it would lose power and the engine would knock like a sick woodpecker on a toilet door. And it was pouring out smoke. I've just inserted a piece if tin into the EGR flange (flange, snigger) and the problem seems to be fixed!!
So, I think I can finally bolt the centre console down and clip the seats shut!!
Unfortunatley, Miss Owelly has her heart set on a new Freda so this one is up for sale...........

[mikeonb4c]

Excellent news. Make sure that whatever you blanked it off with doesnt fatigue with vacuum pulsing in the system and end up breaking and getting sucked into the engine. We all remember RobinKathryns disaster (leading to an engine rebuild) caused when the 2p coin used for blanking the EGR came adrift and got sucked into the works

[francophile1947]

Excellent news. Make sure that whatever you blanked it off with doesnt fatigue with vacuum pulsing in the system and end up breaking and getting sucked into the engine. We all remember RobinKathryns disaster (leading to an engine rebuild) caused when the 2p coin used for blanking the EGR came adrift and got sucked into the works

I used the 2p coin Mike and it's still working fine. The coin that disintegrated was a smaller foreign coin.

[mikeonb4c]

Excellent news. Make sure that whatever you blanked it off with doesnt fatigue with vacuum pulsing in the system and end up breaking and getting sucked into the engine. We all remember RobinKathryns disaster (leading to an engine rebuild) caused when the 2p coin used for blanking the EGR came adrift and got sucked into the works

I used the 2p coin Mike and it's still working fine. The coin that disintegrated was a smaller foreign coin.

Apologies Franco. We've had this one before. I think that wasn't made clear at the time and the 2p thing embedded itself in my brain ( ).

The general point though is watchout that what you put there, stays there. A bit of tin sounds like it could be a bit flimsy

[francophile1947]

It does sound a bit flimsy Mike - what we really need is an old penny

[owelly]

OK, so it was a 1.2mm thick piece of stainless steel that was cut to shape and sealed at both sides with .75mm Sentinal jointing and a smear of Hylomar. I couldn't afford a two pence.....
I'm sure the Freda will be gone long before my blanking plate!!

[owelly]

And as an aside; before taking your freshly fixed Bongo for a decent test drive late at night, ensure you have some diesel in the tank....
A four mile walk in the pouring rain isn't fun.

[kawasaki kid]

Owelly , your not the only one to have done that................ Isn`t it a nice feeling as the engine loses power and the fuel gauge needle is at the bottom . I did it on the way to a party and boy was the missus impressed.

[bigdaddycain]

I used the 2p coin Mike and it's still working fine. The coin that disintegrated was a smaller foreign coin.

I believe it was a rouble that caused all the trouble..... (that was bad even for me)