Capri Repair And Maintenance - Extracts from posts on the Laser Page Forum Q&A and R&R pages.
Here's a few tips I've put together from jobs on my cars with a few photos thrown in. If you're on with a project for your car and aren't quite sure about it then have a shufty here to see if it's been covered. I still have a long list of things to do and will add items as & when. I did the rear arb poly bushes in april 08 and I've just removed the sierra leccy ignition system, may 08. 11th may I put an electric fan from a mkIII 'L'plate fiesta on and removed the viscous unit.
I've also fitted an Eaton M45 Supercharger for a bit of fun, write up at the bottom of the page
AXLE LOCATION
For handling, once the single leaves are on then fit an axle location kit (available on laserPage) and then a front strut brace next BUT, try the car first with just the new springs, then with the axle kit, then with the front brace on so you can notice the improvement.
Multi-leaves, if you're still on them, weigh a ton so you're hauling unncessary weight to start with. They might be progressive but that's because the soft long top leaves only take some of the bump then the shorter leaves take the harder bumps, these shorter leaves aren't bolted to the chassis so there's more chance of the long top leaves twisting sideways allowing the axle to move (or more relevant to us - allowing the axle to stay where it is moving in a straight line with the tyres on the road as the back of the car swings out on a corner) the top leaves twist & flex sideways then just as you need maximum traction on that long hard corner the spring decides to return to it's natural state - straight - the tyres slip sideways & you end up off the road. If the leaf clamps are splayed out, which they often are, then the shorter leaves don't stop any of this flex.
The benefits of singles are that if new they've not had 20+ years to go soft, they weigh less, all the metal that takes bumps also resists sideways flexing, easier to fit a kit onto, easier to paint (multis always go brown unless you oil them every quarter.)
There is still movement of the axle with an 'A' frame which uses only one diagonal bar for triangulation but this is far far better than not having one and allows much harder cornering. I've not used an 'X' frame but logic says that it will be even better. The other options of muti-links or a panhard rod Like Sarnie's will be better but takes much more work to make and fit and probably cost more. See Neil (No2Lurch on the LaserPage for the best deal)
It might be possible to break a leaf using a frame kit but if you were pushing that hard without one you'd be breaking your no claims bonus first!
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BODYWORK
Make sure you're prepared for the worst if you're on with a bit of touching-up
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BONNET FRONT EDGE JOB
You can strip the affected top surface back down to bare metal to expose the holes which will be worse than it looks because it comes through from the underside rather than being stone-chips from the front. Then jenolite/kurust the naughty bits trying to get as much inside the void as possible using whatever angled brush you can buy/make. Then depress the edges inwards slightly to make a seat for filler which will need to be applied under the edges to hold it as well as on the surface. Then primer & finish the outer surface. Then remove the bonnet, stand it on it's nose - very gently - using old blankets / curtains etc and pour some thinned waxoyl inside the void holes. Tilt the bonnet from side to side & lay it on it's topside/rightside to spread the wax all over until it runs out of the ends. Allow it to dry, clean up & refit the edge trim (with rustproof fixing bolts & wax behind it)
The front trim bolts will snap off so buy/make some new ones. T-cut the old paint & try to find an arsole spray that matches and blow it in along the front rather than pay a ton for a finish that even after that work might not last more than a couple of years before it needs another tidy up.
Or pay £200 plus for a new one then £100 plus for pro spray job.
p.s. bad news guys but if you haven't rustproofed your's & it's not been dry-stored all it's life then that bonnet edge WILL start to bubble.
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BRAKES
REAR
Good back brakes make a big difference to how fast it'll stop!!
Drums & shoes off & check for leaks under the rubber boots, if it's wet behind them, then buy a pair of new wheel cylinders, if it's dry then mark each piston on the shoe yoke with a scratch-same on cylinder, then pull the wheel cylinder pistons out & clean out all the black crud in there, then replace each piston in it's original end - lube seals with NEW brake fluid first. Service all the linkages then adjust the shoes so there's the same travel at the lever on each side.
Photo shows nearside-rear, the bleed nipple is on this wheel-cylinder in the front/upper thread.
This is the pivot pin that rusts up and gives an MOT test fail on 'rear brake inefficient'
Spring layout;
Sticking brakes: Undo the cable ends and tap the lever in towards the backplate to free off the shoes making drum removal easier. Lots of WD40 on that lever pivot when you get it off & tap it about with a hammer if it's solid to free it, it should shake about loosely when it's sorted, more WD to wash out the old rust & keep wiping it clean with a rag. The old wheel cyls will likely be full of black crud behind the back (lower) pistons, bleed nipple needs to be in the front hole (uppermost to collect air) on the nearside cyl.
If you need to take the rear axle pipe off but it's siezed in one side or the flats are rounded off then undo it from the opposite side and pull the full length through the backplate then attack it in a vice. A socket is always best for the cylinder nuts as an open ender will turn the flats off causing grief.
A medium flatblade screwy will move the adjuster (poke it through the hole in the drum flange) one tooth out at a time & try the drums on for fit - best to get both sides as near to each other in movement of the cable arm to lock the drum. The part of the shoe without friction lining goes at the top / front (check to see how yours are fitted before removal.) For maximum efficiency it's best to set the shoes a bit tight so they just catch the drum then run it for a week or two then drums off & lightly sand away any shiny high spots on the shoe friction surface then refit & do the same a couple of weeks later until you get full shoe to drum contact on both sides of the car - it's amazing the difference this makes to new shoes especially as they would normally take hundreds of miles to bed in!
FRONT
Front calipers are a much bigger job to service so if pistons aren't sticking just get a set of new Mintex pads ( about £5 - £8 round here for iirc M1144 )clean out the pad housing, sand the disc faces to deglaze & remove the rust build-up at edge & middle of disc faces & fit pads, fit your new braided hoses then with a NEW bottle of brake fluid bleed through to purge all the old fluid.
Moisture under the dust seals on the front calipers may have started rusting on the pistons, if they all move freely they should work after new fluid & bleeding, when the time comes for new pads then best to clean out calipers rather than just pushing the pistons back into the cylinders along with all the crap & rust or it'll start the cylinders rusting and cause sticky pistons / pulling to one side etc.
If the retaining pins are difficult to remove it's because they were put in without much though the last time they were done. When you refit them rub with some emery & smear with coppaslip then put the pins in from THE BACK rather than the easy way of popping them in the front, that way you can get at them with a punch & hammer to drift them out after three years of road salt and they'll come out easily. Easier to see the R-clips to put on & grease aswell.
New fluid & a good bleed job to purge out the old fluid that will have absorbed water should make a big difference but there'll still be a few air bubbles trapped in suspension in the new fluid that will take time to settle out so bleed again for maximum effect in a couple of weeks.
You will be surprised at the difference, if not then check for disc run-out or oval drums etc.
Front Discs off:
The disc bolts are often damned tight so you might need a vice to clamp the hub. Keep the hub & disc faces spotless or it'll cause problems with run-out - wobbles.
Vibration/wobbles is often caused by a buid-up of brake lining on the disc face due to holding the brakes hard on when they are locked and hot. There is a natural transfer of material between the two faces but always allow the wheels to rotate slowly for a bit just before you come to a holt using gentle pressure - better ride for passengers too!!
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CARBURETTOR:
32/36 Weber off a 2.0 litre
This is what you'll find under the top - often brown sandy crud in the chamber bottom that gets drawn through and blocks jets, be careful you don't split the thin gasket.
The larger brass screw standing proud of the top face with two down-angled alloy arms pointing into the choke inlets is the Accelerator Pump Jet assembly. If you have a flat-spot when you floor it then with engine off, airfilter removed, check that both of these squirt a jet of fuel down the carbs when you open the throttle
The gubbins sticking out of the left corner with four small screws is the diaphragm housing for this accelerator pump system operated by a lever on the front end of the throttle spindle.
The bit on the right corner is the LOVE device - Low Vacuum Enrichment Device to give a squirt just before the engine stalls.
The shiny extended brass nut is the float needle housing, you can see the needle below it level with the float's hinge pin. The big mucky flat brass nut to the right of that contains a fuel filter - worth checking if you're fiddling under there. The fuel pipe is for the return on a 2.0 litre, 1600's don't have one.
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CHOKE MECHANISM.
If you have the ally dome with two rubber pipes on the side of the carb like a 32/36 then it's a metal coil like a giant clock-spring in there (above) When cold it contracts and turns the choke spindle mechanism to put the choke on i.e close the flaps.
When the coolant flowing through the ally dome heats the metal coil it expands and puts tension on the choke mechanism so that when you blip the throttle it flicks the choke off.
The three screws on the ally dome will slacken so that the body can twist a bit for fine adjustment. When near running temp the flaps should be wide open, when cold they should be shut. That's the principle, the choke also has the fast idle link to up the revs.
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CLUTCH:
Three different Capri clutch release bearings, if you've fitted a new clutch and it won't work then check new bearing against old one!
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COOLING SYSTEM
The impellor can sometimes snap off it's shaft but it's unusual. With the engine cold, remove the radiator cap then start the engine. It will take maybe five minutes for the engine to get hot enough for the thermostat to open, when it does then you should be able to see the coolant flowing from the top right (as you look at it) side from the top hose across the top tank of the radiator. If it does flow then refit the cap - test over. If it doesn't flow & the stat is duff (stuck closed) then the coolant will soon start to boil into steam and expand backwards against the pump and up the bottom hose ejecting from the rad top --GET OUT OF THE WAY & SWITCH OFF QUICK if it does!
As the stat opens normally the engine will cool fractionally for a moment as the cooler water in the rad gets pumped around the block/head then it will soon get hotter and expand the water until it overflows out of the top of the rad filler - don't ever run it any longer than this because with the coolant not being under pressure it will boil and fountain out of the rad covering everything nearby, it can also let the engine overheat as the water inside turns to steam.
Check the tubes inside the rad top, only a few are visible but if there's a build up of brown crud in them then have it re-cored/replaced. Never sling an old metal radiator, new plastic tanked ones are $hyte so save the old one as a future re-core job, cheaper and better than plastic.
I guess you already know not to remove the rad cap when the coolant is hot.
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DAMP
If your car is damp inside, condensation on the windows etc:
It could be getting under the door step trim
I got in the car t'other day and opened the passenger door for the dog and a big chunk of water welled over from the front end of the bottom door seal where the front of this plastic trim strip is!!!
Or soaking up through the floor seam under your feet
Water could be slowly soaking under the screen rubber during long wet spells which wouldn't show with a quick splash test. When you get ten minutes undo the two phillips screws holding that black rubber spout at the back of the cylinder head and rake out the dead leaves as it always hold crud round the lip, it's a one inch upstand collar around the heater air inlet that stops water & stuff getting in the car. Possibly heater matrix - you would notice the radiator level keeps getting low & either brown stains or anti-freeze smell inside.
Put a couple of dry newspapers under the seats & in the back and change them every weekend, they'll absorb the moisure quite well.
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DIFF
If you need to ask about the diff then best to either pay someone a ton to do it + bearing cost or get a second hand sub 100k miles replacement, they're not something to tackle without expert guidance which is nigh on impossible to get!
You can swap the axle without too much trouble, things to watch out for are the U-bolts snapping with a bang when you try to undo them - prepare to buy new ones. The brake flexi hose needs to be disconnected so get a brake hose clamp from the motorparts shop to save loosing all the fluid. Support under chassis forward of front leaf spring mounts and put the back wheels under there too, you'll be pushing & pulling a bit!! It can be done on your own but two makes it easier as you have to move it sideways to drop one side inside the leaf spring then back the other way over the other spring, while you're lifting that side the opposite brake plate digs into the ground - they're damned heavy so don't drop it on your foot. You can undo the rear spring hangers to roll it out the back but the threads on those usually snap so prepare.... etc.
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ELECTRICS :
LOOM IGNITON WIRES
I had a look over a spare engine bay loom and peeled back a bit of tape to see what's what.
From the big red plug by the fusebox there's a beefy Black&Yellow wire going straight to the lower spade connector on the starter solenoid.
From the big black plug there's a thin Black wire going along the loom to just past the servo unit,where it connects to the Ballast resistor which is a very thick grey wire, the Ballast resistor goes almost as far as the bulkhead/nearside inner wing corner where it splits into two thin Black&Yellow wires, one going to the solenoid as a round rubber plug and the other goes to feed the positive coil terminal which is the thicker of the two. When the engine is on cranking to start it will backfeed full battery live power through the solenoid, up the rubber plug black&yellow to the coil but won't backfeed up the ballast resistor as there is a diode further back up somewhere?
Where the thin black wire joins the ballast resistor it also carries on in the loom across to near the headlight relay by the nearside bonnet hinge where low and behold it exits the loom as a female bullet plug doing (on a 2.0 litre) nothing. On mine it's the live feed for the ignition which is what that wire started out as!
It's in the right place to feed the switch side of a relay for a fuel pump.
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EXHAUST
Fit a four-two-one manifold for better flow.
Sheared studs, drill it out, knock an extractor in & unwind.
Something to check on your exhaust pipe, look for a mark where the tyre might be catching it - the axle can move sideways a bit causing contact during cornering. This will cause the noise you have. If that's it then consider an axle location kit off Neil (No2lurch)
Don't forget to put the exhaust system U-clamps on so that the two thread ends are pointing just above horizontal. This will help to keep them off speed bumps that would rattle the joint loose again. The rounded part is more likely to ride over anything without too much damage.
When there's a slight manifold to head leak it can sound like a ticking noise. If you have a viscous fan start the engine and using a suitable stick or large screwdriver pointing downwards, very carefully feather the ends of the fan blades from their back edge just in front of the dizzy under the top hose to slow them then stop them, as long as the engine's not hot the fan shouldn't be locked so it'll stop turning even with the engine running. You can then have your assistant test with a lighter/candle etc. to check if there's a jet of exhaust gas getting out anywhere. Doing it with your fingers will result in a burn!
Take suitable safety precautions.
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FAN. I fitted an elecric fan in front of the rad to free up space behind it, and to save a bit of power wastage because with the newly re-cored radiator (£20 from an autojumbler at Evesham - don't knock CCI) she's been running right at the bottom of the gauge even with a fishcake box covering half the rad. I found a suitable 'BOSCH' type relay in a jamjar in the shed with four pins - #85 is the activation power from the manual switch under the dash (the power-out from an automatic thermostatic switch will cut into this wire, when I find one will) #86 is the Earth for this side of the relay. When I flick the switch ON it makes the contact inside between the main power fromthe battery across to the power to the fan motor. #30 is the main power that works the fan, this comes directly off the battery +ve terminal which is only inches away from where I mounted the relay under the front slam panel, it must have a fuse in this wire such as an inline one from Halfords. #87 is the power going to the fan motor. The fan also has an earth connected to the bodywork nearby. I checked the two wires from the plug on the motor to see which way it needed to be to make the fan turn the correct way to blow air backwards through the radiator before cutting them to length.
This fan & housing came off a 1993 'L' plate Fiesta 1.1 along with the wiring. A couple of the fiesta radiator mounting rubbers came in handy for the bolt through the rad fins to stop vibration causing any wear, the shroud is a couple of millimetres off the radiator for the same reason although when spinning it doesn't vibrate noticeably.
See Viscous below for old fan removal.
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Front brakes&suspension
It's a road car right, that you might take round a track once or twice a year. You could spend a couple of grand having everything built up to try & keep up with the fast boys on the corners on track days or you could accept the limitation of the car's basic design & just tickle whatever is already on then enjoy it. Uprated front springs 145lb or 175lb or 190lb (have a ride beforehand in someone's to feel the difference)
A strut brace tightens the front end helping to stop body flex which puts the geometry out;
Anti-dive kit if you're on 145lb, much harder & the firmness of the springs has the same effect as a/d kit. Polybushes for 4 x a/r bar, 2 x rack/crossmember, 2 x radius arms inner or heavy-duty rubber.
You can re-drill the crossmember for the radius arm mounts rather than buy adjustables.
Best tyres you can afford for whatever wheels you have or can afford.
The sliding caliper upgrade increases the front track width by about
20mm, wider offset wheels by even more.
Quote from Simon Light - SimonRace3.0 / Laser Page:-
"Depends how often you use it on the road as too much of anything thats good on the track can become a pain in the arse on the road."
Neg camber: This helps on the fast corners, my race car has 4deg. My 24V Ghia has 2.5deg which is still a bit too much for the road ie. makes it hard work cruising in a straight line, increased tyre wear. I re-drilled the crossmember holes, so it's not adjustable but as I don't do many miles in it I live with it.
If you car is lowered a decent amount then you will have around 1deg anyway which is fine on the road and ok for the odd track day.
Castor: Helps turn in on tight corners, I run as much as the front of the wheel arch will allow. Makes that V6 weight feel like a X-flow. Again mine is non adjustable as I ground the ARB shoulders back. Negatives pretty mush as above.
If your car is lowered then you will have actually lost castor over standard and will need to increase it or you will spend all the time on the track understeering.
So if you do lots of road miles then adjustable may be the way to go by having positions for road or track and have the best of both. In answer to your question about spending forever setting it up, well you could make adjustments to your liking at a trackday, but not squeeze every hundredth of a second out of it as a race car would in a test session.
Don't bother with compression struts as you will be getting into problems setting it all up, what these do is allow the ARB to be isolated from the suspension geometry by mounting it on drop links so it can then be adjustable or even removed completely."
End of quote.
Don't try to remove the front springs off the leg without a set of spring compressors & when you use them be very carefull they don't twist off - tension each side evenly.
If you're having a problem getting the front anti-roll bar back on the car - mainly locating the threaded ends into the radius arms the cause is that with the car either jacked up or the wheels off etc. the radius arms will swing downwards under force of the road spring extending. This brings the a-r-b- holes nearer to each other. One often-quoted method is to use a lorry ratchet strap across the full length of the bar to compress it, fine if you have one or can get into town & want to pay for one from MachineMart, but a PITA if you don't. The best way I've found is to have the front of the car on axle stands with a trolley under the engine X-member and a pair of ramps or large wood blocks under the front wheels, you can then jack it up, drop the stands to a lower peg (for safety) and then lower the weight of the car onto the tyres which will compress the road springs lifting the radius arms up and into a horizontal position giving the maximum distance between holes. If it's still not enough get someone to sit on the bonnet slam panel and try to get the radius arms level. Push the a-r-b into the holes and get a few threads on to hold it, lower car onto the stands and finish the job.
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Fuel:
Watch out for rust on the tank breather, it's where all the road spray builds up mud, grit and salt.
If your FUEL GAUGE doesn't work or reads low then pull the wire plugs off the tank sender and clean the connectors up inside and out.
Fuelcat:
Ive been using a Fuel Cat inline between the pump and carb on my 2.0 engine from the time of the Stoneleigh show 15th march 1999 (unleaded came out in january 2000) and the car's been thrashed about the country for the last x# of years. It must have saved me a bob or three! Still ticks over sweet & goes well and is now in my replacement 2.0S running Mikuni bike carbs with 118 at the wheels (Boggs Bros r/r)
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GEARBOX
To get box to mate up to engine fitting box from underneath, first put it in gear (do this before putting it under the car or removing from car) and push the propshaft into the box so that you can twist it to twist the gearbox input shaft so that the splines mate up then keep twisting it a bit as you push box to engine.
If doing it from above and leaving the box on a support (don't forget to fit the metal plate between block & box first) if you can't get the box & block to fit together that last half an inch then the input shaft splines might well be stopping it. Stick the box in gear, wedge one back wheel both sides, jack the other just off the ground and use it to turn the whole drivetrain a bit when mating the two units together, this will turn the gearbox input shaft enough to help the splines to mesh and for the shaft to slip into the spigot bearing.
Gear oil will spill out of the rear end so if possible leave the propshaft in till you're ready to lower the box then push the propshaft back in after you drop the box below the exhaust & drag it all out together.
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Heater:
Burning smell - Mine went that way too so I stripped it all out and freed it off then I mounted the motor very carefully in a vice on the bench and ran it through a fused supply from a spare battery for a few minutes to make sure it was still o.k.
you don't want to re-fit everything to find it's all got to come out again
If you leave it switched on when it's seized -
SEE PAGE FOR HEATER REMOVAL ETC. THE BLOWER JOB
You don't need to take the centre tray & cubby out
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Ignition:
If there's no spark and points, coil & condenser appear o.k. then there could be a problem with the Low Tension wires. The points need to be insulated from the main body of the dizzy, have a check & if you're not 100% sure they're right then whip them out and make sure the little plastic washers etc. are fitted properly.
Live power comes from the ignition (The small wire on the positive terminal of the battery supplies this to the ignition so check it for soundness) then through the coil to the points, through the points to earth in the dizzy & this energizes the coil. When this current through the coil is interrupted - by the points opening - it causes the secondary winding in the coil to produce the HT spark.
If there's a break in this small wire system then no power through coil, if the points don't open then no high tension current out of coil.
Worth checking for power at the coil with a bulb or meter.
Get a bulb or pull one out of the glovebox/boot light etc. Bare the end of a yard of wire & solder or tape it to the side of the bulb. Ignition on, Pull the +ve plug off the coil (the thicker thread,) & contact the loose end of wire inside the end of the plug and then the end of the bulb on the battery negative, the bulb should light up. Replace the plug & try the -ve thinner connector thread coming out of the coil for power. Replace that coil plug and remove dizzy cap, with the points closed touch the wire end to the movable arm of the points and open the points, the bulb should light up, as you let the points go the bulb should go out again as the power goes to earth.
Pull the king lead off centre of dizzy, ignition on, hold it with pliers/rubber glove putting the brass end close to the battery negative, repeatedly flick the points open with a screwy (not touching anything near them) and it should give sparks from the lead.
If you're getting power that far check the carbon brush in the centre of dizzy cap bounces free on it's spring & can touch the rotor arm.
Best/cheapest way;
Upgrade to a sierra electronic system, you'll need the Motorcraft black box on it's alloy heat-sink mounting that needs to be earthed, the coil, distibutor and the connecting wiring. just a couple of wires to join - easy, fit and forget with no points/condenser to worry about.
This is what you need off a sierra (obviously a pinto model) the black Motorcraft module, the coil, the distributor and all the connecting wiring loom with it's various plugs.
The sierra wire ends are to the left of the picture, the thick black & green wire comes from the coil through a little black box with some push-in plugs.
The thin green wire & thin black wire come from the Motorcraft module. There's a wire I had made up with a loop on each end to earth one of the module backplate screws to the battery earth wire on the wing-top. I mounted the module on the rearmost coil-bracket screw one end and a seperate screw through the inner wing with the earth further back.
These are the connections to make. I'm not an auto-sparky but green's a nice colour so I put the two thin green Capri wires to the thin green wire from the Motorcraft module, then I put the thick black and yellow Capri wire to the thick black and green sierra wire along with the thin black wire from the module and it worked for me.
If you refit the dizzy the rotor arm twists as the gear meshes, this is where it should point for #1 top-dead-centre:
Next step is Megajolt Lite Junior (Brent Picasso) using the Ford EDIS (electronic ditributorless ignition system) off such as a mk111 Fiesta.
This is the coil-pack
Crank position sensor with bracket.
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INDICATORS or HEADLIGHTS not working right;
Check the earth screw in the back of the headlight bowl - it'll probably be rusty & need sorting, that's it sticking out in the lower middle of the photo, right where all the road spray started it corroding on it's first trip along a wet road all those years ago!
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Misfire test:
An easy/quick way is to warm up until she'll tick over or wedge the pedal down a bit with a brick etc. then pull each plug cap off in turn using a thick rubber glove and/or insulated pliers. Use a twisting motion before and as you pull so you don't split the cap. When it goes onto two cylinders then that plug is getting a spark, when you take the cap off and there's no difference in the engine note then you've found which pot isn't firing.Handy to have a spare plug which you know works so you can check if a spark is getting to the plug cap, if not then work backwards from the lead. On a standard 2.0 manifold you can wedge the plug between the tin heat shield/manifold by the front plug hole and still see for a spark whilst turning the key yourself.
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MOT TEST:
Failed on emissions,
A good thrashing for five minutes can get a pass on a car that's been pottering around town at 30mph, it worked wonders for my sister's old fiesta when I took it for a spin - passed the emissions when I got back to the test centre after failing 1st time but the smell of hot bits made your eyes water. If your engine is about to go pop then you don't want to be paying for an mot yet anyhow!
One option is to do the best as far as you can in the engine bay such as new spark plugs if they're of unknown vintage and set the gaps as per the manual and make sure the points contacts are clean and set right, a new airfilter element can also work wonders if that's an old item. If the engine oil hasn't been changed for over a year then do that too along with a new filter, it can make a small difference. Top grade petrol such as Excellium or BP-Plus or whatever they call it should burn cleaner!
The guy doing the MOT test will be able to make any small adjustments to the carb that are needed to pass the emissions test so when you ring up to book your re-test say that you want them to check the emissions and adjust as necessary before the test, this will probably only cost a few quid, if you're a regular face there they might well do it for free. An independant tuner could easily set you back eighty quid if you leave him to do the job:
"Supply & fit new points, plugs, distributor cap, air filter call out fee, labour charge oh and the fuel pump was leaking petrol past the seals and thinning the oil making it get past the piston rings and fouling the plugs so I put a new one on for you £95.99 plus vat sir thank you." I know of this happening a few times!
The basic bits are easy when you know how so get the parts and diy, you'll find all the help you need on here The Laser Page to sort most things out. Even if you have to buy a couple of spanners to suit and a pair of axle stands they'll save you money in the long run as you can do these and other jobs in the future.
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NOISES
Something to check on your exhaust pipe, look for a mark where the tyre might be catching it - the axle can move sideways a bit causing contact during cornering.
If that's it then consider an axle location kit off No2lurch:
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Regular fast knocking sounds could be pinking - might be worth checking the timing to see if it's out a bit. Putting the engine under heavy load such as flooring it is the moment when pinking will happen if it's going to happen and it's not something you can see such as a loose part or something making contact. Most new cars are fitted with a 'knock-sensor' to monitor this then it interacts with the ecu to alter timing.
Ticking noise - When there's a slight exhaust manifold to head leak it can sound like a ticking noise. If you have a viscous fan start the engine and using a suitable stick or large screwdriver pointing downwards, very carefully feather the ends of the fan blades from their back edge just in front of the dizzy under the top hose to slow them then stop them, as long as the engine's not hot the fan shouldn't be locked so it'll stop turning even with the engine running. You can then have your assistant test with a lighter/candle etc. to check if there's a jet of exhaust gas getting out anywhere. Doing it with your fingers will result in a burn off the exhaust/gases or a cut off the fanblades!
Take suitable safety precautions.
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PROPSHAFT JOINTS
BSL BRAMMER (Bearing Services Ltd.) is my nearest stockist in town so I stripped the joints out and took them in for the guy to measure. Usually with them it's a £20 minimum order. I did happen to notice that Nev had a box full of Hardy Spicer spiders @ a fiver each sat in front of his motorhome on sunday at CCI Nationals & I'm pretty sure they're the same item for pinto & injectors.
http://www.gmscaprispares.co.uk/
0191-3771718
To split the joint you need a hammer and a sturdy vice, sit one yoke on the jaws and with suitable application of your hammer on the opposite yoke (which is at the top) you should see the retaining cap push out of it's staked hole and lift upwards - it's round this hole that you are hitting to force that yoke towards the centre of the joint) Re-position the joint so that you loosen all sides --- 'wish I'd taken photos!
Take photos of the retaining caps before starting so you know how deep they need to go on refitting as they must be exactly the same depth on each opposite side of a yoke - if not then the whole shaft will be out of alignment and will wobble & vibrate badly. Refitting needs to be in a spotlessly clean area with a tin of new grease, clean hands, clean rags & tools etc. you'll know why if you drop one of the needle rollers! Grease them up and then gentle squeezing in the vice to fit the new joints but they don't go tight in or they'll squish the inner rubber seals - just far enough as per your photo - if you get one too far in then it'll have to be knocked out again, a socket of the right size will help to press in the caps. If there's any hint of stiffness in any part of a joint then it's possible that a yoke has been bent inwards or outwards! the new ones should be smooth through their full travel. I re-staked the joint using a sharp punch around the very edge of the yoke holes.
At fifteen quid plus centre bearing price£??? plus p&p it must be worth diy rather than paying £200
Then again if you can find a second hand one with no play in the joints you can fit that to keep rolling and service the original one at your leisure.
OOOOOOH - I did take some piccies:
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RADIUS ARM (Track Control Arm)
You'll need a balljoint seperator to split the tca from the McPherson strut, leave the nut on the thread flush with the end to give something for the jaw to sit on, get a bit of tension on it then clout the outer joint housing with a hammer to shock it off -it'll go with a bang.
Squeezing out old rubber inner bush ready for poly bush;
If you're having a job to get the inner bolts out from the cross member because the steering rack and rubber gaiters are in the way the try this.
For nearside, if you put the steering on full right-hand lock - (for offside use full left hand lock) - and squeeze the rubber gaiter upwards you should be able to drift the bolt out using a medium size phillips screwy or a 1/4" drive extension bar etc. It is a tight one so be careful, a smear of grease will help stop it grazing the rubber. A pair of grips/pliers on the bolt will help direct it where you want it You might benefit from an extra pair of hands if you're struggling. Refit the bolt from the back - much easier, ignore what the manual says. If you secure it with suitable washer & split washer & get it tight enough it won't ever come out.
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RUST
Most of the water gets in along the grey plastic kick strip thats fixed with small philips screws on top of the rubber door seal/carpet. Water cappiliarates between the rubber & under this strip then just soaks into the carpet and drips off onto the footwell out of sight so most owners don't even realise this until an mot fail for rust underneath, if there's water sat in the groove in this door-bottom rubber seal then it will probably be brown under the carpets - not always severe but a bargaining point when buying. Also see photos above in 'Damp.' Someone who knows capris can often leave a seller feeling like their pride and joy is a rust bucket with all kinds of problems even when it's still a good 'un. All will have rusty bungs - not a problem, most that have not been garaged all their life will have rust starting somewhere under there. Boots often hold water under the spare, could be round the boot rubber or spoiler bolt holes. Look under the bootlid ends near the boot-light switch and rear screen heater contact plate - at each corner is a tiny oval plastic plug - these need to come out and be thrown as they stop any water draining out, this is why you'll see rust coming through from inside the bottom edge where inner & outer skins join. Rust bubbles just behind the sunroof are bad news, it's from years of water hanging under there when it's frosty/snowy on the roof then damp from under the carpets condensates on it. The seam under your heels starts to rust from underneath where there's a little downwards-angled lip ( by the jacking points) this isn't a big job to weld but passenger side has the fuel lines near it (1.6 & 2.0 {not sure on 2.8} ) so they need to be unplugged, slid out & rubber gromets removed before welding. The mud-shields were billed by Ford as noise insulation plates & were only on the 2.8 standard as luxury bits - £45 a pair from CCI but worth fitting on all Capris.
Headlight bowls are expensive to buy but can be built up with sheet. The chassis above the rearmost spring hanges goes because of the open end behind the bumper letting water in & it's a bigger job because of fuel tank removal but a repair panel is cheap, beware cars with a repair panel just welded over the old metal as it'll just rust through again - old rust must always be cut out.
If you own a Capri you should have this kit in a box in the garage:
If you're after buying one then keep looking and saving and get one with as little rust as possible -worth paying a bit more for!
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SUSPENSION;
Front strut Brace reduces flex in the front bodywork between suspension leg tops maintaining tracking settings for better handling - they DO work - get hold of Colin aka Capri Turbo on the LASER PAGE Forum for a price on a made-to-measure job.
(and a set of Mikuni bike carbs for a bit extra go)
Wheel alignment printout - from a decent computerised tracking machine;
Fitting front poly bushes to radius arm;
Rear Anti-Roll Bar, new bushes.
The old knackered one:
Fit a junior hacksaw together inside one of the bush holes and cut the outer casing, try not to go into the housing!
New kit
The thicker shoulder goes next to the chassis, outboard side of arm!
Give it a bit of tension first
Then a squeeze with the grips
A bit more tightening to this stage:
Then squeeze the shoulder in with grips
Wind it tight then remove the thread & nuts
Final push with a big socket or what have you to let the end pop out
FRONT SPRING REPLACEMENT
You can leave the bottom ball joint connected if you don't have a scissors-type joint seperator (the fork&bashit type will split the rubber boot meaning new ones)
Jack & stands under x-member, wheels off, Castellated arb nuts off, inner tca bolts out. Either be very carefull you don't stretch the brake flexi-pipes or undo them - there will be enough movement with the pipe in-situ to lower the strut down for replacing the spring but you do need support for the strut or extra help to hold it.
Three top nuts off and the strut will lower down (or drop on your toes & bash the wing if you don't hold it.)
Spring compressors carefully on, wind them down, centre nut off, get compressed spring away from the car, carefully remove them and fit to new spring. Don't fit them onto the end coils or they won't fit in the cups.
Best to paint your new springs when they arrive rather then when fitted, if you don't they'll go brown. Good idea to waxoyl everything before re-assembly, especially under the top strengthening shroud and in from the back of it under the area of the rearmost of the three top nuts.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nige-d-smith/capri/images/balljointseperator.jpg
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TOOLS:
Splined tools for old type cylinder head bolts (re-useable type) and the cambelt tensioner;
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Valve stem seals:
unless you have a fancy compressed air adapter that fits in the spark plug hole to keep the valve closed as you compress the spring, remove collets, lift off spring and swap the oil seal, then I'm afraid it's a head off job.
Don't try pushing bits of nylon cord down the plughole unless someone who's successfully done it before is gonna help you.
If there's big blue smoke on start-up that you can't live with then it's time for the head off anyway,a polish-up inside, grind valves in / re-set clearances / fit new oil spray bar / front camshaft oilseal,etc.
Exhaust Spring compressed with retaining collets against the cam lobe.
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Viscous Fan unit removal.
I ground out an old pushbike spanner to fit the large nut holding on the viscous unit to the pump. This nut is a Left-Hand thread!
You can see from the photos which way it needs to be turned, with precise application of an extension bar I had a target for the short-duration impact shock from a suitable tool.
I won't need the fan shroud with the leccy fan in front so I took that off first and the fan lifted out.
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WHEEL BEARINGS FRONT
Plenty of rags for the grease, a CLEAN pot of new grease which you pack into the bearings with your Clean hands, something CLEAN to lay it all on while you're fitting it.
Oil seal will prise out of back of hub with a screwy and inboard bearing race will then drop out. Wipe it all clean then with a suitable drift / chisel / screwy / bit of metal evenly tap the old bearing casings out through the middle of the hub. Clean it all out then use the old outer casings to drive the new bearings in. Make sure you use the thicker edge of the old one against the thinner edge of the new one, this way if you drive the old casing into the hub a bit then there is a lip which you can tap to knock it out again (don't scratch the new casing). Send the bearing all the way in till it stops, you'll feel & hear it. A thick smear of grease on the bearing outers, the roller cages full of grease and some more wherever it'll go round the bearings will do the job.
Fit inboard bearing and seal to hub then fit hub to stub axle. Torque as per book!! these bearings are not tightened hard but have some freeplay.
If you don't have a manual-
The nut needs to be hardly tighter than hand tight, gently turn it with your socket wrench until it stops without pressing on the handle, spin the wheel a few turns then grab the tyre top & bottom and try to rock it, you need to feel for 'perceptible play' in the bearing. Slack it off a flat on the nut then try again, keep on doing this until you can feel a very slight click in the bearings then tighten one flat or less if that's all you need to get the retainer hole aligned then fit the retainer. Check it spins freely.
Wheel bearings rear - easiest to get a spare halfshaft with them on, four bolts for the flange, swap shaft, bolt back up, coffee time! well maybe you'll need a bit of bashing to get the old shaft out - old wheel bolted onto studs & two hammers on inside or best is a Slide-Hammer borrowed from a friendly garage.
New bearings will mean grinding off the old retainer ring and using a fly-press to fit new bearings & retainer.
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WINDSCREEN Remove & Refit
I tried pushing one out with my feet once a good few years ago after reading about someone using that method, crack! oops! good job it was a scrapper & not my daily runner
Safe way is to get all your fingers on the inside rubber at the top a few inches from one corner and pull the rubber down a bit so you can push it onto the edge of the metal frame. Try it & you'll see what I mean. work along the full top and down each side, you might need a medium flat blade screwy for the top corners to carefully pull the rubber down & push it it but there's no need to lever against the metal. Once you've done a few inches it gets easier and you can push the rubber almost all the way under the metal edge. when you get down as far as you can each side then gently push the top of the screen outwards and lift off the bottom. It's much easier with some help to stop it falling forwards and to lift it off when it's free. Have somewhere safe to stash it on a bit of carpet etc. and leave the rubber on it.
To refit,
Strong cord in the rubber seal groove all along top, both sides and a couple of inches along bottom from corners, fit screen with rubber on it onto the bottom metalwork, have assistant put gentle pressure on the screen then slowly pull the cord from one end at 90 degrees to the glass to pull the rubber lip inside the frame.
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To get hold of someone who knows about Capri maintenance and find out whatever you need to find out then visit:
The LASER PAGE FORUM
It's free to register and only takes a minute then you check your emails for the confirmation link. Make sure you get on the Rant & Rave page for some fun.
IF YOU'RE NOT SURE WHAT YOU'RE DOING THEN DON'T DO IT,
ASK SOMEONE WHO DOES KNOW FIRST. IF YOU BUGGER IT UP IT'S YOUR FAULT
I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY PROBLEMS YOU HAVE.
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EATON SUPERCHARGER
I got the Eaton charger in early june last year. On 27th july last year I got hold of a Cosworth yb 4X4 crank pulley (early Cosworths used 205 pinto blocks) to drive the charger, it had poly and single vee grooves so would be ideal for keeping the existing system and adding the charger belt.
Unfortunately it has too big an internal diameter for the early pinto crank nose and would have been a pig to align with the other pulleys, shame.
After a visit to a couple of mates at the college motor shop who have engines everywhere I went for a cvh pulley, only about 28mm rather than 31.5 but it would bore out.
I used the original block in the garage for alignment etc.
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Out came the plastic & I phoned up for a remote take-off & filter mount, I hate having to splash out for these parts but it's a bit beyond me to make them in the garage!
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Burton high pressure oil hose inserts, home-brewed of course:
After trying 15mm copper pipe every which way and finding that even when hammered to a taper it cut into the inside of the rubber I figured I needed some pipe with a diameter a shade under 15mm. I knew I had one monoblock basin tap tail in my old plumbing toolbag from god-knows-when but eventually had to go to the scrapyard for more, I was going out of town to see if a village plumber's merchant was open on a sunday morning & saw one of the local guys in his van at the petrol station half way there, he said the non-ferrous scrappy had a few on his office shelf so dropped in there after loading the fishvan on the monday & got to work on them that night.
This is how it looked, out of the way under the engine mount.
I changed this route to allow longer rubber hoses so the filter wouldn't get the shakes. When I got some oil hose locally it was 1/2" inside and plain old copper tube could be used. The oil pipes now run along the side of the chassis to underneath where the lead-light is.
To hold the remote mount bolts captive so I could tighten them on my own in the bay I soldered them to a bit of flattened copper tube
The remote mount also has a bit of cut down angle ally behind it to bring the filter bead off the bulkhead
- daft design if you ask me but they can't be mounted on a flat surface using a standard pinto size filter.
Here's the take off plate with the pipes as they are now, temporary fuel pump blanking plate as I was using the car at the time, dizzy plug using an old points unit cut down to spin the oil pump and the only modification to the pinto block - a bit cut off the side to get that charger in as close as possible to the centre of movement to reduce any imbalance which could cause stress on the engine or charger mounts.
This was the second attempt with the fuel pump, the first was a 2.8i type that came in a job lot off ebay with charger in & outlet pipes etc. but that was too high from the tank to prime itself so I had to get the plastic out again :-( & phone up for a Facet competition silvertop.
I re-did the loom from the battery area to the bulkhead top at the same time to route it out of the way, temp sender & block earth wire etc. etc.
This ran fine through the regulator I'd already been using on the bike carbs on the recommendation on Martin aka Snake. The system now has a boost sensitive pressure regulator pressurised from that take-off in the top corner of the black plastic carb plate and a pressure gauge downstream.
I mocked up a few bits round the block when I'd made enough room, this is the car's original nearside engine mount which is cut down & ground to fit where the ally blanking plate is and onto the two black bolts you can see down there on the charger.
Here's the airfilter assembly, the ally inlet came with the ebay bits and is the only aluminium that is welded on the whole set-up.
At the Newark Kit Car Show last summer I found a guy from Sweden selling an aerospace sourced product similar to ordinary plumber's solder but for the extravagant price of £40 / metre, show price £25. I bought a metre knowing it would come in handy! It's neither solder or weld but somewhere in between
I ended up with just one inch of it left after the whole job.
I cut the welded inlet duct in three to use the round tube for the charger outlet and carb-airbox inlet making for easy fitting of some flexi rubber pipe I found in my parts collection. A solid duct wouldn't allow any flexing of the carbs on their rubber mounting pipes - the whole inlet assembly lifts a bit when under boost!
The welded charger inlet (above) is joined to a made up air filter base plate, K&N filter, then a made up top plate with an ally tube (corner bend off a deck chair) going into that from the recirculating bypass valve, positioned to aim straight back through the middle of the filter into the charger. The bypass take off from the charger outlet is from a length of aerial mast I had kicking about in the shed, jointed with some rad hose off my sister's old fiesta that I scrapped a bit back.
The charger outlet being fabricated. I'd bent it around a length of scaffold bar I found behind the garage to give a radius somewhere near that of the welded section. The shaped flange end is cut off for fixing to the airbox.
This outlet was joined to a thicker plate which had to be bolted down to the charger gasket face. (see last photo) Most of the ally sheet was shelving from my previous fish van, the thicker plate was one of the shelf support brackets.
The airbox probably took longer to make than anything, I formed that around a spare L300 van propshaft which lives in the garage - it looked about right for the depth of the carb inlet plate
This needed a bit of bending & shaping to fit the plastic carb plate. The ends then folded in, corners formed, & a fiddly bit on the front end where there's a screw inside. Flats for three screw heads made from angle ally, a couple of L-brackets underneath with cut & ground screws to suit. I had to make up three more retaining screws using 6mm stud with nuts peined onto the end because you can't get 5" screws that thickness.
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At least it didn't jump out of there when I spun it up;
All done, she just needs tuning now to get the best from it - when I can get booked in at the rolling road:
