Last weekend headed down to Portishead to visit the grandparents. Opa was a little sad that we didn't turn up in the 'Yellow Peril' (apt name, will explain later) but at this point I still didn't know if the heating worked!
Had a lovely time, consumed a rather large amount of food and the weekend was finished off by this amazing vanilla panna cotta with raspberry coulis and controversial grated chocolate.
Now fast forward to Sunday evening, as the TV offering was pretty lacking the decision was made to try and get the van started. The ultimate aim was to fill up with diesel and add a cleaning additive to cut through some of the gunk in the tank. So after jump starting the van (as the van battery had completely given up the ghost) we drove to Stoke, setting off at about 7:15pm.
Good Points:
1. Managed to get heating! Basically played with the many toggles and had hot air flowing round the cab.
2. Van sat at 55mph (by sat nav) all the way to Stoke with no complaints.
3. Filled up with fuel and started first time.
BUT....
Upon leaving the petrol station I spotted that the engine was running very hot and the coolant light was on.
Tentatively drove back onto the dual carriage way and the engine starts to cool. Phew we thought.
We were wrong.
Suddenly the temp starts to rise and we loose all heat to the cab. Dropping down to 35mph we limp to the lay by at the end of the road and Sarah points out there there is smoke coming out of the engine bay.
I pull over very quickly.
Having heard of all the scary stories involving fire and camper vans we clear out the stuff form the back and open the engine bay. I'm stood at a safe distance with the fire extinguisher. Luckily at this point Dad points out that it's steam. Tension wound down a notch.
Once the steam cleared it was time to investigate the engine. Sadly I didn't take any photos so you will have to take my word for it. Discovered that although the filler tank (?) was full, the other tank was pretty much empty. Probing the hoses connecting the two identified a pipe which wasn't attached to anything. First guess was a clip had come loose and the hose had come off. Luckily we had a cable tie so reattached until a proper metal clip could be added on.
Next stage was to try and start the van. Nope. Nothing. Nada. Not a peep from the starter motor. Fearing the worst a call was made to the RAC. We were advised there may be a 3 hour wait. It was at this point that I realised that draining the water from the sink system meant we couldn't even have a cup of tea :(
While waiting for the RAC man we attempted to start the van using the leisure battery. Partial success, got the engine to turn over (so starter motor worked) but not enough to start the van.
Which, it turns out, was a good thing.
RAC man turns up at about half 9 and promptly declares he used to have a T25! Anyway properly connects the pipe, fills up the bottle and bleeds the radiator. At this point there is a little bit of a silver lining, no rust under the front grill! Possibly the only part of the van that isn't. Sadly a check on the coolant revelled the presence of oil.
At this point my heart sank. Having previously wrote off 'The Pig' due to blowing a head gasket and ruining the engine I got pretty upset.
But it wasn't as bad as I thought, I had missed the word 'leaky' from the sentence and the RAC man assured me it was a 4 hour job to just change the seals. So the rest of the engine should be OK. Managed to limp home and hugged the dog for comfort. Back to Manchester by 2am. Ouch.
Had a lovely time, consumed a rather large amount of food and the weekend was finished off by this amazing vanilla panna cotta with raspberry coulis and controversial grated chocolate.
 |
| YUM |
Good Points:
1. Managed to get heating! Basically played with the many toggles and had hot air flowing round the cab.
2. Van sat at 55mph (by sat nav) all the way to Stoke with no complaints.
3. Filled up with fuel and started first time.
BUT....
Upon leaving the petrol station I spotted that the engine was running very hot and the coolant light was on.
Tentatively drove back onto the dual carriage way and the engine starts to cool. Phew we thought.
We were wrong.
Suddenly the temp starts to rise and we loose all heat to the cab. Dropping down to 35mph we limp to the lay by at the end of the road and Sarah points out there there is smoke coming out of the engine bay.
I pull over very quickly.
Having heard of all the scary stories involving fire and camper vans we clear out the stuff form the back and open the engine bay. I'm stood at a safe distance with the fire extinguisher. Luckily at this point Dad points out that it's steam. Tension wound down a notch.
 |
| Note steam. |
Next stage was to try and start the van. Nope. Nothing. Nada. Not a peep from the starter motor. Fearing the worst a call was made to the RAC. We were advised there may be a 3 hour wait. It was at this point that I realised that draining the water from the sink system meant we couldn't even have a cup of tea :(
While waiting for the RAC man we attempted to start the van using the leisure battery. Partial success, got the engine to turn over (so starter motor worked) but not enough to start the van.
Which, it turns out, was a good thing.
RAC man turns up at about half 9 and promptly declares he used to have a T25! Anyway properly connects the pipe, fills up the bottle and bleeds the radiator. At this point there is a little bit of a silver lining, no rust under the front grill! Possibly the only part of the van that isn't. Sadly a check on the coolant revelled the presence of oil.
At this point my heart sank. Having previously wrote off 'The Pig' due to blowing a head gasket and ruining the engine I got pretty upset.
But it wasn't as bad as I thought, I had missed the word 'leaky' from the sentence and the RAC man assured me it was a 4 hour job to just change the seals. So the rest of the engine should be OK. Managed to limp home and hugged the dog for comfort. Back to Manchester by 2am. Ouch.
 |
| NO RUST!! (honest) |
