Meet Flintstone, our 1992 1.9 Petrol Caravelle Syncro

[Mickyfin]

Before..



After...

[syncrowjoker]

Snows come at last then, get out and do some Donuts!

[Mickyfin]

Too right mate, I have already, and considering even making a video! Its crazy how sharp the Syncro is whan in an empty carpark

[Mickyfin]

Well today whilst running Flint to recharge his battery a little, I managed to remove the faulty winder handle to reveal the issue. Like a numpty though at first I was trying to remove the round part of the plastic of the window winder to gain access to the screw that retains it, then upon successfully unscrewing it, it got looser, and looser, then came off revealing the following.



As you can see, due to the window winder handle being loose, its been rounding the teeth off, and as you can see, leaving metal filings at the six oclock position.

I will clean this area the best I can and see how it fairs once I refit the handle.

I didn't realise that you have to remove the complete plastic moulding of the handle to gain access to the screw head Lesson learned.

[Mickyfin]

Not done much to Flint that last few weeks, luckily I sorted his coolant out months ago as its now -30 outside.

Flint does have an engine block Defa heater, which I have yet to use due to not having the correct lead, or an extension long enough to run from our first floor apartment balcony down to his socket. We are on the waiting list for a parking space with plug in, but the list is long, and could take a couple of years or so before we are allocated one.



So what I plan to do today, seeing as I have now fully recharged his battery, (Purchased the charger below, which is just like the Lidl trickle charger many members here have purchased) although its the wrong type ah battery, i do have a good 80ah battery coming tomorrow (Was sold out today), is to plug in his engine heater for a few hours, then fit fully charged battery, then attempt to start him up for the first time in what seems like ages.





I had been given another battery, but not only was it too tall, after charging it for five days, I discovered its dead anyhow.

I also invested in a multimeter to help aid my up and coming electrical upgrade/install.



So fingers crossed, the engine heater will do its magic today, and if it does, i will invest in a timer, and cabin heater for the Defa system too

[Mickyfin]

So far so good..



Successfully ran cable to Flint, and plugged him in. Checked the internal power outlet for power, and that is working ok, also checked if I could feel any heat coming from the heater area, but didn't notice anything significant, so will check after an hour or so.

Things are a little chilly in the living room now though because I'm unable to close the balcony doors whilst lead is plugged in, so sat here in my winter clothes

[Mickyfin]

Well we were freezing here in the living room, so set out to take the undersized fully charged battery to try and start flint, but sadly this small battery was not up to the job. This means I now have to wait until tomorrow when the store gets the 80ah battery in stock!

The engine heater I have, the Defa, this heats the coolant, not the oil, and Im guessing its the oil which has really thickened due to -30 temperatures which is causing the cranking to be slow. The new battery Im getting tomorrow has a CCA rating of 800, so fingers and toes crossed this works. What Im not panicing about is the petrol tank was quite low, so there is a possibilty that the fuel has frozen now too. I did plan on filling the tank, but with the battery being flat, been unable to get to the fuel station

[Mickyfin]

You ever had one of those days where nothing goes right? Well today is turning out to be just one of those days

Father-in-law showed up and gave me a jump start, great, engine running!

I then noticed my drivers side front winter tyre was flat, great!

Whilst engine running, I started to jack flint up to change the wheel for my spare. Now remember its -30 degrees here, and this is the first time in my life I have had to work in these conditions.

Upon jacking up flint, engine stalled, but would it start again, hell no, battery dead.

Father in law gone, so thats me off the road for more time now, not happy, my fingers are currently on fire, burning due to the freezing temps out there.

When it rains it pours and all that

[jebiga41]

Oh dear will never compain about working in the cold again talking of which have to go and do some work on the van in a balmy 3 or 4 degrees Celsius. Well at least you got the engine running maybe low on fuel and when you jacked it up you airlocked it? Maybe get your father in law to pick up some fuel for you and try again? Best of luck with it

[Mickyfin]

Thanks my friend. ~tomorrow its new battery time, and €50 Euro fuel top up so fingers crossed all will be well. That is after I change the front drivers side wheel. I'm hoping its not a puncture but a poor rim seal, but time will tell i guess. All my winter tyre's are in pretty good shape, so I'm confused as to why the one has gone flat on me.

[jebiga41]

sounds like its probably rim seal or maybe the valve ? fingersX'd for you good luck

[Mickyfin]

Will find out later, going to remove flat soon, put spare on, then go to garage to blow up, and see if it stays up before refitting.

I'm really annoyed as of right now, our caretaker just knocked on the door, and told me Im not allowed to plug my engine block heater! So thats no cleaning your car in the street here, and now I can't even protect my engine, What the blithering heck!!!! Grrrrr

[Mickyfin]

Well that was a mission yesterday, changed the wheel and put my spare on. Brought the flat tyre indoors as it was frozen solid, ran hot water over it, and inspected both the entire tread, and walls, and no visible indications as to why it went down.

Went out in my father in laws car to buy my new 80ah battery, and fitted it, it was a very tight squeeze to get it in as it was 190mm tall.

Before starting Flint up, I put in some fuel from a can we got earlier as I suspected I had run out of petrol hence the stall the other day.

Upon starting, I had indeed ran out of fuel, but after several turns of the engine, he fired up.

I then took the flat tyre to the garage to blow it up, and will check today if its still up, and if so, will be refitting it. Its -32 this morning here, so that will be fun.

Discovered my power steering is now stiff, so need to inspect this further. Fluid ok, and tensioned the belt ok, so suspect either the UJ has gone, or the fluid filter needs replacing.

Anyone know how to replace the power steering filter?

Oh, and I purchased a breaker bar, as the only thing I had previously was a very worn wheel brace, and it kept slipping off the nuts.

Scrapping ice off the inside windows is not fun.

[tencentlife]

Anyone know how to replace the power steering filter?

...but the top of the reservoir is very hard to unscrew, you might have to take out the reservoir to be able to grip it with big water pump pliers. Warming it up (obviously, in your case; sounds dreadful) with a heat gun would really help.

All that said, the filters aren't often a problem, but on the other hand at extreme temperatures all bets are off.

[Mickyfin]

Thanks so much for that photo, I now know what Im looking for, cheers