Diesel power...the D24TIC 940 rolling restoration project

[360beast]

Originally Posted by AllHailKingVolvo

I've got an ezi bleed-brilliant bit of kit!

My issue is the bite point is too low, not too high-I need to investigate, but first port of call is to flush the clutch fluid and make sure it's bled properly methinks.

Jor, I don't need to change the injector pump but will be changing the injector pump belt as it makes sense to have it done at the same time as the cambelt and glowplugs, as the pump needs to be loosened and moved out of the way a touch in order to access the rear two plugs anyway, and I have no record of the last time the injector pump belt was changed.

Bite point is too low? That's a new one haha.

My Fabia VRS clutch was biting virtually the instant the pedal started to move, great for traffic as it was a diseasel I could just use the clutch only to plod along and I could even get enough speed up to go in to third gear without even touching the accelerator! If the bite point is low then I'd say it is in good order and the cars you're used to have partially worn clutches hence the bite point being higher.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by 360beast

Bite point is too low? That's a new one haha.

My Fabia VRS clutch was biting virtually the instant the pedal started to move, great for traffic as it was a diseasel I could just use the clutch only to plod along and I could even get enough speed up to go in to third gear without even touching the accelerator! If the bite point is low then I'd say it is in good order and the cars you're used to have partially worn clutches hence the bite point being higher.

Sadly all too common, especially on hydraulic clutches. Ideally should bite about halfway up so when the clutch is disengaged there is no drag that would cause the gears to spin in the box.

Usually bleeding will cure it but some hydraulic clutches can be a real pain to bleed.

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Today was MOT day...the old girl failed on a slight leak from an injector spillback pipe and a small hole in the OS sill which needs patching...she's back in on Friday to have the work done.

To my surprise, other than advisories rusty rear springs and a couple of other minor bits I can take care of in the coming months, all else was fine. Emissions were well within tolerances (helped no doubt by a bottle of Forte injector cleaner and some "spirited" driving en route to the test centre!) And they remarked on how decent the car is all round given its 26yrs of age and 280,000 miles.

Friday will see a fresh ticket on her which will be another box ticked...very much enjoyed the 1.5hr round trip to the test centre and back, such a nice and driveable car.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by AllHailKingVolvo

Today was MOT day...the old girl failed on a slight leak from an injector spillback pipe and a small hole in the OS sill which needs patching...she's back in on Friday to have the work done.

To my surprise, other than advisories rusty rear springs and a couple of other minor bits I can take care of in the coming months, all else was fine. Emissions were well within tolerances (helped no doubt by a bottle of Forte injector cleaner and some "spirited" driving en route to the test centre!) And they remarked on how decent the car is all round given its 26yrs of age and 280,000 miles.

Friday will see a fresh ticket on her which will be another box ticked...very much enjoyed the 1.5hr round trip to the test centre and back, such a nice and driveable car.

Spill-pipes are a common failure Phil, even on well-maintained engines. If i owned a diseasel i'd inspect them at least every 6 months and renew as/when necessary but probably every 2 years at the very most.

As for the other thing it failed on, a small hole in a sill after that mileage and age is relatively minor, i'm sure once you're back up to full-speed yourself you'll take measures to ensure it doesn't corrode further.

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Spill-pipes are a common failure Phil, even on well-maintained engines. If i owned a diseasel i'd inspect them at least every 6 months and renew as/when necessary but probably every 2 years at the very most.

As for the other thing it failed on, a small hole in a sill after that mileage and age is relatively minor, i'm sure once you're back up to full-speed yourself you'll take measures to ensure it doesn't corrode further.

Absolutely, yes! Once it's drier weather and I'm feeling a bit more up to par, I'll get under the car and treat any corrosion, then either underseal it or similar. I'll do the same on my petrol 940 and make a weekend of it. I need to change the driveshaft centre support bearing on the diseasel too, the tester flagged up that it had seen better days, and I'd figured that it was on the way out as it does the telltale judder in reverse, as my old 240 used to do when the DCSB was knackered.

All relatively minor stuff that I can tackle myself when in bluer skies and better health. I put it in for the test today with a bit of trepidation as I've never been under the car-I normally like to give my cars a good going over before I put them in for a test but I fell ill a few days after buying the diseasel and have only had the time and energy to do a few minor bits since then.

I'm feeling a lot better though in general...looking forward to a summer of fettling all being well!

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by AllHailKingVolvo

Absolutely, yes! Once it's drier weather and I'm feeling a bit more up to par, I'll get under the car and treat any corrosion, then either underseal it or similar. I'll do the same on my petrol 940 and make a weekend of it. I need to change the driveshaft centre support bearing on the diseasel too, the tester flagged up that it had seen better days, and I'd figured that it was on the way out as it does the telltale judder in reverse, as my old 240 used to do when the DCSB was knackered.

All relatively minor stuff that I can tackle myself when in bluer skies and better health. I put it in for the test today with a bit of trepidation as I've never been under the car-I normally like to give my cars a good going over before I put them in for a test but I fell ill a few days after buying the diseasel and have only had the time and energy to do a few minor bits since then.

I'm feeling a lot better though in general...looking forward to a summer of fettling all being well!

Had a feeling you had plans Phil! Get yourself better first though!

[oman5]

I'm so glad you're cracking on with her, I always felt she was way down on power compared to my previous 740td, glad you sussed out what it was. I bet she flies now! It did have clutch work carried out last year (either master or slave cylinder, can't remember now) so bleeding it again may well sort it. I'd be very surprised if the clutch itself is at fault, it's never slipped once.

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Originally Posted by oman5

I'm so glad you're cracking on with her, I always felt she was way down on power compared to my previous 740td, glad you sussed out what it was. I bet she flies now! It did have clutch work carried out last year (either master or slave cylinder, can't remember now) so bleeding it again may well sort it. I'd be very surprised if the clutch itself is at fault, it's never slipped once.

I'm glad you spotted the thread! Yes she is really pulling well now. Brand new MOT as of today too! Just a small handful of advisories to take care of (clean up the rear springs and give them a lick of paint, new front brake hoses, a spot of underbody treatment, new driveshaft centre support bearing) which I'll tackle when the weather gets a little better, and a new cambelt which I'm having fitted in a couple of weeks. I'll be fitting a new set of glowplugs in the next week or two too.

I'll flush the clutch system with fresh fluid and bleed it-I'm sure that will sort the low bite point. I had a similar problem with the first 940 I owned years ago, but that was a lot worse as the pedal would sometimes arbitrarily go to the floor entirely and stay there with the clutch engaged! Cue an awkward dance which involved hooking my foot under the pedal and pulling it back up into position, where it would then stay and return to normal function. That was cured entirely by fresh fluid and bleeding, there was quite a bit of air in the system in that instance.

I'm delighted with the car and am very much looking forward to getting it fully restored over the summer. Once I've done all the little mechanical tasks I'm going to take it in for a partial respray to have the lacquer peel addressed, the paintwork on the sides is in good shape and will look great after a touch up and polish, so it will be the bonnet, scuttle, A pillars and roof that get fresh paint.

I'll post pics in due course as things progress!

I meant to ask-what engine oil did you use? I'm going to do an oil and filter change shortly and would like to keep using the same stuff as she runs very well on it.

[Laird Scooby]

Try wedging the clutch pedal down overnight Phil, it's an old trick but often works and saves a lot of faffing about.

Also if you're going to change the front flexis, i'd suggest doing that at the same time as bleeding the clutch, saves having the fluid open more than necessary and can probably mean less work overall. If memory serves it's a shared reservoir but i might be thinking of something else........

[oman5]

Originally Posted by AllHailKingVolvo

I'm glad you spotted the thread! Yes she is really pulling well now. Brand new MOT as of today too! Just a small handful of advisories to take care of (clean up the rear springs and give them a lick of paint, new front brake hoses, a spot of underbody treatment, new driveshaft centre support bearing) which I'll tackle when the weather gets a little better, and a new cambelt which I'm having fitted in a couple of weeks. I'll be fitting a new set of glowplugs in the next week or two too.

I'll flush the clutch system with fresh fluid and bleed it-I'm sure that will sort the low bite point. I had a similar problem with the first 940 I owned years ago, but that was a lot worse as the pedal would sometimes arbitrarily go to the floor entirely and stay there with the clutch engaged! Cue an awkward dance which involved hooking my foot under the pedal and pulling it back up into position, where it would then stay and return to normal function. That was cured entirely by fresh fluid and bleeding, there was quite a bit of air in the system in that instance.

I'm delighted with the car and am very much looking forward to getting it fully restored over the summer. Once I've done all the little mechanical tasks I'm going to take it in for a partial respray to have the lacquer peel addressed, the paintwork on the sides is in good shape and will look great after a touch up and polish, so it will be the bonnet, scuttle, A pillars and roof that get fresh paint.

I'll post pics in due course as things progress!

I meant to ask-what engine oil did you use? I'm going to do an oil and filter change shortly and would like to keep using the same stuff as she runs very well on it.

I always used semi synthetic (millers I think) it was recommended to me years ago when I had the 740 td, something to do with being better at dissipating heat from the turbo. I always changed it every 5000 and never had a problem.