The Dispatch | Expert | Scudo Hub

So trying to order a new middle section and I don't understand why it is so hard.  I found a compatible part (yes I know it's not the exact part, but no one has a reasonably priced euroflo middle section).  Someone had one for 100 quid but that's way outside budget.  I found something that looks the same and I can work around any issues by maybe using a flexible hose to connect the two parts if needs be.  It lists on the ad as compatible with Euroflo.  Cue four emails from the seller.  I feel like I'm wading through thick mud.  Honestly just send me an exhaust section and i will mod it to fit if it doesn't, I really don't care.  I will even break out the mig welder if needs be.  I just need it fixed and back on the road.   If he keeps giving me the runaround he can refund me or I will force it myself.  I just don't care anymore.

Failing all else I will use the whole old section and just patch the fk out of it.  I watched some repair your exhaust thing from Scotty Kilmer on YT and he said to patch it with stove cement and aluminium foil, then spray paint it with high temperature paint.  Might try that if everything else fails.  if it goes through MOT that's all I care about.

The one I ordered was this one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234290512654

Those 1.6 vans have weak engines and gearboxes.  I've seen so many for sale as spares or repair on ebay, with gearbox and engine issues.  i think at least if you stick with the 2.0 HDi it's a known quantity.

I'm past the small van phase.  If I came across the right Transit, specifically a Euro 5 or 6, MWB, High Roof, then maybe.  But with all likelihood I will move back to cars, with cheaper everything.  But for me a Galaxy of around 05-07 would tick the boxes.  It will take the smallest version of the porta potti (and yes I can just about sit on it), it has load length of around 2m (so I can lay in it) and they tend to have cruise control and do quite a lot of mpg.  Also less electronics than modern monstrosities.

Throw a cheapo chinese head unit in with Bluetooth and use that when the main one decides to shutdown.  If all you want is to listen to the radio or maybe play MP3's from your phone, it doesn't need to be an all singing and dancing system.  Just a couple of small speakers and a cheap unit.  Or the low tech version that i use, is a £16 home bargains bluetooth speaker connected to a USB port on the shelf above my head, when driving.  It does radio and it does bluetooth for the phone.

I did read your thread AlvyLad.  This is also the first time I have ever swapped an exhaust.  I did kind of work on the fact that once you pick a manufacturer you should get everything from them.  Thankfully the back box on the Euroflo diagram is pretty much the same as the back box I currently have including mount points.  The middle section also looks the same.  Yes it's a Euro 3, so no problems with emissions, as long as it isn't black smoke I don't think it matters and filling it with super adds a chunk of ethanol to the mix, so it burns clean.

So I will order some of those hangers (the current one doesn't use them, it uses the old style ones), I only have the old school big chunk of rubber with two holes, type.

This was the one I bought.  But the cat section looks more like the one you linked, ie, flatter and less circular.

All of it most likely.  The whole thing fell apart the other night, so this will be a job for this coming week.  I need to grab the whole thing this week. Bare minimum I need the front and middle sections.  Technically i think the back box is fine, but I need to see what sort of a pain it will be to remove it from the middle section.  If not I will get a new one.  The previous owner had the middle section welded to the cat and it snapped just by the cat, so it's a no go to reweld.  For the money it will cost, I will sort it all out.  I just wish the sellers on ebay would be a bit more upfront about which one I need.  I think the cat section will cost £120, but it seems like there are several variants.  The cheapest one I think is not type approved, although it doesn't say it isn't in the ad and it matches with my vehicle.

Are there supposed to be any rubber mounts on the front section?  On mine I don't have any and i think that contributed a lot to why it snapped.  But at the same time I can't see anywhere on that section to put a rubber.

Yeah it will be going on as that.  It is basically a Day Van.  Has solar capability, VSR, battery in the back and a couple of USB ports.  Double gas hobs that run from screw on cartridges (not the spray can type).  Never did get as far as the diesel heater and the vent on the roof came to an untimely end on a barrier, but is now a porthole window (was a temporary thing made from a Haribo tub lid that ended up being permanent).  Obviously a bed and mattress.  Porta Potti 365 (the one with the big tank). Sink. Some extra bulkhead lights.  Even put an awning rail on the outside, but the awning didn't work out so well. There is an 8.5mm cable running from the electrics area to the other side of the van that was earmarked for the diesel heater, that i thought of trying to remove, but since I put it in I stuffed a ton of bubble wrap into every channel and I had a tug on it and no joy, so it can stay in. 

I swapped the MPPT out for a PWM controller a bit back, because a 30A MPPT on a 100W panel is like overkill.  I had some issues with the VB so moved the solar charging cable to the other side of the VSR to try and keep the VB topped up.  Theoretically it should produce enough voltage to open the VSR, but so far doesn't seem to, so maybe the float voltage is set below 13.7V on the PWM or I have too much of a loss on the cable (it was 16AWG between VB and LB, plus the voltage drop calcs were negligible).  It seems to be working anyway and the display on the PWM reckoned it was over 13V yesterday.

Yeah i will be putting it on as a basic camper.  It is a basic camper and has been used that way.  One of the original bad points was the vent on the roof (especially in winter).  Since losing it and adding all the bubble wrap the warmth factor in the back went up considerably.

I even have the old bulkhead if someone wanted it.  Never got rid of it.

So where yours snapped, mine snapped about 5-10 cm further along towards the back box, but before the join.  Technically on mine I suspect it could still be weldable, if I had any skill in that area.  I did wonder if I could get 3-4 pieces of 0.5m threaded bar and weld those to both sections to hold it in place.  But I need to look at the back of the engine part as well.  I think the whole thing is knackered.  When it snapped the whole cat section was a good 15-20 cm lower than the pipe to the back box.  but it could also mean the pipe on the back of the engine is flexible and not rigid.

So I see these non approved cats on ebay for a reasonable price, but they are apparently illegal to fit.  Any more info on them?  I've looked at a site about cats, but it seems to be very grey area.  So if you have a van that is reg'd in 2001 and one reg'd in 2002, you need two different cats for identical vehicles.   The emissions end doesn't worry me.  I've found running redex the week before and then putting 2-3 gallons of Super Diesel in a couple of days before the test has ensured it passed every time with flying colours.  All of my MOT emission tests for the last 15 years or so I have done the same way and never had an issue.  Still if putting that exhaust on would get me in some trouble i'd rather avoid that problem.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305295732862

If needs be, I am happy to go for a second hand one that's in better nick.  It's a stop gap of sorts.  The whole supporting it is a problem though.  Did wonder whether to sink a bolt through from the inside to make a new mount point for a rubber hanger.

Cheapest new one i can find.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294891098901

I don't think the overheating is related to that error.  The overheating says more coolant problem, maybe a blockage or the pump needs changing.  If the fan is working the problem would appear to be upstream of that.  I would probably drop the coolant out and flush the system with a hosepipe.  Then start over with new coolant.  Unless someone else has a better idea.

I've never weighed mine, but calculated the weight as I built it.  Added about 200-250kg from the build materials.  I should probably weigh mine at some point, but it was a pretty minimal build.  The heaviest items inside were the brick shithouse level bed, weighs around 30-40kg at a guess, but I can pick it up, made from wood. The AGM battery i used which weighs about 40kg and probably the solar panel on the roof.  The floor panels I don't know, but 18mm marine ply, so not light.  The rest is oddments like the cooler, the day to day stuff (cutlery, pots/pans, bottles of water, etc), plus electrics stuff, toilet, etc.

Now you have me intrigued.  I looked all over for bolts to remove to get the disc off.  Do you have to completely remove the caliper?  Was a major bugger to get the old pads off and the whole caliper is rusted every which way.  I was going to leave it until summer and then remove both of them and clean them up.

Anyway i couldn't find anything on YT (but the search wasn't thorough) on how to remove a disc from a mk2.  Lots of generic, but each vehicle is different.  My old Punto you had to pop the wheel nut to get the disc off.  This one looked similar.

So how do you do it?  I have two new discs and would love to install them.

TIA.

Funnily enough I finally, after two years, found the cause of my flashing STOP light.

Changed the brake pads and found the wires from the old pads were, well, not connected (or in existence).   Plugged the new ones in and when I started it last night, no flashing STOP light.  Also the ABS has started to work correctly.  Before it would judder when braking.  Now it doesn't.  I did clean and wire brush the calipers, then copper greased everything, before winding the pistons in, but they need more work and new discs, but I don't have the tools to pop the hub nut, nor a big enough torque wrench to put them back.  Might let a proper mechanic do them.