The Dispatch | Expert | Scudo Hub

I've got van insured with saga I think its on 10,000 miles PA [Had Van 5 0r 6 years and barely done 20,000 mls total with it] which i'll never use for £180 with 90 days euro this happened obviously because of my age now and being insured as a motorhome which it is registered as and my policy at time would only insure it as a modified van but it had more mods than they wanted to cover so anyway I took no claims and a refund else where and Saga gave me 15 years intro on my diesel golf also at the time I think life is harder now as rep said un able to apply discounts this year when I called ... not the cheapest but I don't believe in fully comp and cheapen cover by more than £100 voluntary excess to bring it to a total of £200  ...  Motorcycles I never offer any voluntary excess and always look for a total of £100 ecess with 90 days EU and same cover in EU as in UK as One year I ended up in southern ireland with minimum cover for there [It's one thing to be told this but not hiden in small print ... So ask] when I found out thought Never again and changed ............. all vehicles I have are looked at same way

My Van stated life out as just that a 815 Enterprise Van so I assume that brace was cut out to install the glass and the plastic blank thingy behind where the wardrobe is ... In front of what would have been a replacement window on the otherside .................
I don't really know because apparently it's a professionally built conversion [There's all the hallmarks off] and obviously done several years before I got it ..................

Also I'm fairly sure they fitted the Glass to the rear doors as well.....................

Casper P&O no longer sail to Zeebuge from Hull ... I only found this out recently when the memsab fancied doing a re-run  of the mini cruise we did there a couple years ago [How time flies - when your enjoying yourself  ] and only Rotterdam and ijmuden [Amsterdam] were the only available sailings for any listing..................

Many moons ago when truck driving over there I tended to find in france that things [their tolerance levels with brits anyway] got much worse as far as the shrug of sholders and the inaudible french phrase [Probibly Merde] and them walking off- Happened the closer I got to a ferry port when asking a question ETC [My accent may have on occasion helped or the it was The Auld Alliance ... speaking English didnt] ...................

I have I admit been flabbergasted at the french attitude with me at times and the thing we were or not doing then [inc plod]

Plod in belgium have pulled a Gun on me ... Just after asking me for all my paperwork inc the vehicles ............
That scares me lots that a gun can legally be used on you in Europe ...............
Yes I know it's for their protection and what have they just walked into ... But they are still a Human ................
I don't fancey being on my high moral horse from a Hospital bed or a box ..............

A Return trip to Bilbao or Santander can still be very cost prohibitive [But look at the cost of Dover - Calais prices now as well]

Some circuits are controled by relays...............
Being used as a camper and can be a high humid enviroment although a relay might appear to be working it could be cruddy and still pass a little voltage it can go both ways i.e. more likely stop when meant to work ...........................
A clean up like an old set of points can work wonders .............

Like that's what you wanted to hear .....................

I'm hopeless with electrics and loathe them..................
I've NO JuJu/patience in what needs doing ... a black art.............

I've discovered this but unsure where it would be needed looks like flywheel pickup and probably wants a thread drilled and tapping

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293708755552 … %7Ciid%3A1

More likely to fit a onboard water level guage and although China products ... Required things start to mount up

Might it be easier to find and splice a RPM signal off of the diagnostic feed

Funny thing My early 1996 "N" Reg mk 3 golf diesel has an obd port fitted ......................

I must admit using the VW Scanner it appears the only thing that's readable is the air bag .........................

When asked "Does it have any electronics in it" ? ...........................
My answer is          "Of course ... A Wireless !" ................................

I beleive you can use a non turbo pump on a tubo'd engine but it needs to be reset and unlike "proper" turbo pumps you don't get the variable rising rate fuel delivery that's required for effective boost from the non turbo pump as the settings are a static linear rise .......................
Just as you could fit a turbo pump to a non turbo engine but all that would happen is lots of black smoke from unburnt fuel and NO horse power gains.......................

You can also I beleive can get more powerful turbo pumps I.E. if standard dispensing nozzles =10mm increase the size to 11or 12mm nozzles and get more given flow of fuel in same time frame ... Obviously this = possible pump modifications or a diffrent pump form another higher speced vehicle that fits this engine.................

I got a pass on my MOT back in august or September and an advisory I got was a small section of floor near to where the sill connects just behind front wheel is getting cruddy and is coming from the inside out .. That's needing looked at .............

As I had sills fitted about a couple years ago for that very reason .........................
I've figure that the vapor barrier seal has been broken or breached and moisture is finding it's way down to the bottom inside of Van as it's now been converted for well over 10 ...12 yrs .......................

My sticky Caliper was not the slider pins but the piston it's self not retracting properly and a quick stab on the pedal or a squirt of maitainance spray around the piston behind boot stopped the dragging squeek hence change as things were getting worse ...................

Anyway well done at resolving MOT issue ..............

It's good practice to change water pump when doing the timing belt kit especially if your unsure of history ...............
It's a relatively simple straight forward job................

Just the usual tight on space...............

I had a heater that went cold on idle a good many moons ago it was a diesel engine not a PSA one but a Perkins.............
I was hoping it was something like a thermostat..................
No signs of overheating or the likes ..................
It turned out to be a failed head gasket..................

Yet I had a V8 Perkins in a Ford Cargo that blew all the water out .......................
Flatened the hoses and was burning my feet through shoes when I was standing on engine to find that the fan had exploded  ... Taken out most of shroud and gone through radiator .......................
But never touched engine during repair and we drove it for countless miles for about next three years ................................

If the shaft comes out G/box there is a good chance you will lose a good bit of oil out of the box but No damage should have been done but make sure you reseat shaft in box and refill the box before you use van ......................
CV joints are a real PITA to split and reassemble you might have been better using a sticky boot [Their split and you stick them together on refiting] I dont personally like them hence why I had the cone, but it would get you out a bind ................
Cones aren't to terribly expensive there plastic I had at least two maybe three at one time [probably get them for 10 or £12 now IIRC mine were about 5 or £6 at time] ..........................

I chaged my glow plugs last year and year before IIRC both OAT and Casper are both correct .................
OAT is right that on my DW8 access is not clever and when I did the plugs change myself it created lots of swear words and blood and like Casper it didn't seem to do a lot ................
I put it down to cheapo glow plugs used and them being crap ................
I then just coinky dinky changed battery ... Unless you used Van every day or just about every other day it seamed to loose puff quickley............
As battery was ultimately dying it was changed and cold starts were all but instant again on a single heat on plug light going out.............

It's back to being sluggish to start again in the realy cold snaps we've had ... So I'm thinking down a plug and I'm reluctant to be back at it again ... Maybe battery's lowish again or better still check battery maintainer thing I got for battery when I remember to use it ..........................
Van will have done a moon like mileage if lucky of about 1,000mls in last year.........................
Or I'm talking through my ar** again.................