Refitting the water pump and other little jobs.
September 19th 2019
This morning I had another delivery of parts, a new water pump gasket, fuel sender gasket and some radiator bolts. Now I can start to get this engine back together.
I smeared a healthy dose of gasket sealant onto the water pump gasket and fitted it into place before sliding the water pump into position. As I did that, I had to wrestle the new bypass hose over the inlet on the pump and then bolt everything together securely. I don't want any leaks!
I then gave the inside of the grille a good clean and a coating of rust converter while it was accessible. Once the radiator is back in it will be hard to reach this area. Once that was done I bolted the radiator back into place with my new bolts, connected up all the hoses and refilled the system with coolant.
Finally I ran the engine for a few minutes just to check for leaks. Job done!
One thing I noticed the last few times I turned the ignition key is that the fuel gauge now seems to be reading correctly. I suspect this car has been standing unused for quite a long time at some point and the fuel sender probably got stuck in one position. Now with a bit of use it seems to be starting to free itself up so I might just keep an eye on it and if it keeps working then there's no point messing around with it.
Another thing that has been bugging me for a while is the non-working speedometer so I think I'll tackle that next. My main suspect is a broken speedo cable but I need to check that before ordering a new one. I hope it isn't a broken gauge because these early Series 2 style gauges are getting quite rare and expensive now.
Taking a look under the dashboard I spotted two likely bolts which were holding the dash panel into place so I removed them and the panel came off easily enough.
That gave me good access to the gauges and also the panel bulbs which was handy because the left bulb wasn't working. I removed it and gave it a test with my circuit tester. The bulb seemed ok so I used a little wire wool to clean up the base of the bulb and that fixed the problem nicely. I now have two working panel lights!
Then I unbolted and removed the speedo from the dashboard, unscrewing the speedo cable from the rear. As the back of the car was already up on axle stands, I started the engine, put the car in 3rd gear and let out the clutch. Unexpectedly the square drive at the end of the speedo cable started to spin! I honestly thought that this was the problem but it appears to be working just fine. Oh dear, does that mean I need to look into getting an expensive refurbished gauge? I found an appropriate drive bit for my drill and connected it to the back of the speedo to give it a test. I used my drill to spin the input shaft but there was no life from the gauge.
Before searching the internet for a replacement I decided to have a quick look inside the gauge in case it was something simple, but I wasn't hopeful.
I started to open up the back of the gauge but then realised the front glass was removable on a kind of bayonet fitting so I took it off and examined the stuck needle. Strangely it wasn't even bobbing around as I moved the gauge. I looked closer and it suddenly became clear... Yes this car certainly must have been sitting idle for a long time as the needle had stuck itself to the little 'stop' peg at the bottom! A little gentle prising saw it free and then I reconnected my drill. Yes, the needle now rose easily depending on the speed I ran the drill. I kept it spinning long enough to watch the odometer increment the mileage too, just to make sure that was working. Fantastic news, that will save me a lot of money!
I refitted the speedo into the dashboard and gave it another test, running the engine in gear and watching the spedo needle climb happily through the range.
The last thing to do was to refit the dash panel over the gauges and give those lights one more test.
One last thing before I pack up for the day. I filled a plastic tub with paraffin and immersed the end of my air cleaner in it. I'll leave it soaking overnight to help dissolve any contaminants. Then I'll take it out in the morning and allow it to drip dry properly ready for re-oiling.