The story of our Red T2, Jiggly (Project thread)

[Lazy-Ferret]

Got some more bits done on Jiggly over the weekend...

First job was to change all the mini spade fuses from the normal ones, to LED ones, that light up when the fuse is blown. Now, should a fuse blow, it will be easy for Suz to find it, and change it.

Took the centre console out, removed the window switches, then took them to bits, and cleaned all the contacts... Basically in all of the switches, on at least 1 contact, the lubricating grease had burnt into a black glob, and was stopping it making a good contact. While I had it apart, I discovered all the switch bulbs were blown as well, so changed them all for 3mm blue LED's. It was a bit of work to do it, but they look really good now, and all the windows work as well...

I have now finished all the wiring in the dash board, and this is the finished results..

Next job was to wire up the bits under the bonnet, so with a couple of hours of daylight left, I set to work. First thing to do, was to remove the air filter, so I can mount the heavy current cable joiner on the bracket under it... Good old Nissans "Cheese" bolts struck again though, and despite carefully undoing the bolts half a turn, and doing back up a turn, all the time soaking in WD40, it allowed me to get the first one out far enough there was just that tiny untapped bit still down in the wheel arch, before it then sheered off. Perfect, not enough sticking out the bottom to get Molegrips on, and the top in a spot on the inner wing where you can't get a drill square onto it... 1 and a half hours, 3 broken drill bits, and a worn out Dremil grind stone later, the sheared bolt was out, and a rivnut was in place of the original captive nut.

Fitted junction block, but it was now getting too dark dark, so decided to clear up for the day.

list of Jobs now,

Wheels need balancing
Tracking out
Gas Air Con
Centre Console lid inner moulding
Boot door carpet Trim panel broken along edge
New/repair steering wheel, as stitching has come apart
put modified led lightbar on bull bars
Finish connecting wires for second battery, and extras.
add second battery
Make second Flip key.
Look into replacing front wing
replace plastic captive nut section for the Sunroof
Keep eye for ally thermostat cap, as this has a plastic one.
Make and fit Snorkel.

 

[jims-terrano]

Sounds good, you need to post a pic of your fancy blue window switches now:thumbs

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Sounds good, you need to post a pic of your fancy blue window switches now:thumbs

Here you go...:lol

The camera is not really doing the blue justice...

 

[jims-terrano]

Can't remember last time I saw mine light up:lol

Looking good, not sure I'd be brave enough to pull those switches apart.

 

[Banshee]

Awesome updates buddy :thumbs
I'd love some more info on your wiring into the engine bay and the the relays etc that you are using for your lights as you've really gone to town on the pride you've taken in these jobs

Top pics!!!!

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

moving the towing socket without moving No Plate

Since I needed to re-wire all the towing electrics, I decided I would move the towing socket up to where the number plate is at the same time, to stop it getting damaged when off roading...

The towing socket that was originally fitted had been hit pretty hard at some point, and was bent round against the towbar. The picture does not show how substantial this bracket is, it is about 3mm thick, so not easy to bend, and even harder to straighten out:augie.

The problem is, moving the socket would be presenting a bit of a problem, as the number plate was still there... I did not want to put the number plate on the door, under the handle as I have never been keen on that mod, and I was not sure if I was going to do the hard spare wheel cover conversion to this one, so I decided to go for another option.

I hid the socket behind the number plate...

No Socket

Socket

 

[firebobby]

That looks neat and what a good idea Clive, but I thought I had stumbled across a James Bond themed thread :lol

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

That looks neat and what a good idea Clive, but I thought I had stumbled across a James Bond themed thread :lol

:lol:lol

I was thinking as I did it, if I could find a way to lift it electrically, I could have a second number plate under it to fool the speed cameras, but then I remembered it was a T2 so no fear of speed cameras anyway...:lol:lol

 

[rayf3262]

:lol:lol

I was thinking as I did it, if I could find a way to lift it electrically, I could have a second number plate under it to fool the speed cameras, but then I remembered it was a T2 so no fear of speed cameras anyway...:lol:lol

It could still prove useful to defeat the likes of Parking Eye et al.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

So, it was a simple job yesterday, Jiggly needed an Oil, Oil FIlter, and Air filter change...

The Fuzzmobil also needed a bit of TLC, as she did over 2K miles over Christmas, and a lot of wading through flooding. I started the day, taking all 4 wheels off, and checking, cleaning and adjusting all the brakes. Since I have been driving Jiggly, I have been surprised at how different the brakes feel, and keep stopping Jiggly on her nose, as they seem a lot harsher than the ones on my car. Mine has new rear shoes, and cylinders just before Christmas, plus only recently had new pads and rotors at the front. It also had a full system bleed and change of the fluid, so I was intrigued why mine feel so much softer, and wanted to make sure all the cylinders were working OK. I also needed to adjust the hand brake, as that was appalling. Everything was fine, including checking the vacuum, so it appears it is just one of those differences.

Next I did the Oil and filter change... As I was doing both cars, I needed 14Litres of oil, and believe it or not, it was cheaper to by a 20l container than 3x5l...

I laid a Tarp on the drive (I have used this tarp many times), and parked the car on it, then set to work draining the oil. While that was draining, I changed the Oil, fuel, and Pollen filter.

On a side note, while at a steam fair last year, I found a stall that had a bag of about 30 British Leyland copper sump washers in, They looked about right size wise, so for the grand total of £2, bought the lot. I had a real result when I discovered today that they are exactly the right size for my T2, so for the first time ever, I actually changed the sealing washer before putting the sump plug back in rather than trying to anneal it (little things keep me happy!).

Having refilled the my engine with 7L of new oil, checked for leaks, I moved my car off the Tarp. There were one or two new oil drips on the tarp, where the wind had blown as the last few drips past the bowl... I wiped them up, then put Jiggly onto the tarp..

First job was trying to undo the Sump plug... Well, my car is 2" higher off the ground than Jiggly, so it's a lot easier to get to the sum plug. Why though, did Nissan change the size of the plug from a decent 23mm as mine has, to a paltry 14mm one like on Jiggly? Not only that, but they have gone from a nice thick copper sealing washer on the 23mm one to some folded copper foil that squashes totally flat on the 14mm one (So much for my 29 spare washers!).

The sump plug was so tight, I could not get it undone by laying in front of the car and stretching under it. I had to lift the car up in order to be able to lay right under it and get a decent angle on the bolt. It was so tight, I was really worried it was going to shear at one point, but luckily with an almighty crack, it came undone.

What I had not thought about though, now the car was up on stands, and the oil was coming through a much smaller drain hole than on my T2, it completely over shot the waste oil bowl, covering me, my tools and the tarp...

To make things worse, I had left the Trolley Jack lifted against the middle of the cross member as well, so could not pull the bowl any further forward... Oil every where.... So much, it was running off the edge of the tarp, and was all over the wheels of trolley jack as well....

After a bit of cussing (Well a lot actually), and copious amounts of old rags to try and mop things up, and act as dams, I left the remainder to drain into the bowl. While it was draining out, I set to work changing the Oil filter...

I had forgotten all about Oil Filter changes in the old, pre 2" body lift, days!!!

I tried to get at it the easy way, via the wheel arch, but my arms are too thick (Fat) to get through the gap there, and I ended up with many cuts and scratches (It looks like I am doing self harm)... I tried over the top, removing the air filter and turbo hose, but could not get the leverage... What does that bit of metal that hangs down the outside of the filter do, apart from get in the way?

Now, I spent 4 hours on the Fuzzmobil, and in that time, I had all 4 wheels and brakes off, Centre console out to adjust hand brake, Glove box out to change Pollen filter, Second trip back to motor Factor as they gave me the wrong fuel filter the first time, Changed Fuel Filter, and bled system, and then the Oil and filter change. Jiggly took 2 and a half hours to do just oil, Oil filter, and air filter...

It then took me another 2 hours to clean up the drive, trolley jack, and tools. I had to throw the tarp, as I could not get the oil off of it.!

Not sure what oil was in Jiggly, or how old it was, but it was weird, it made everything it touched black, but even when you wiped it up, the black stayed... When I poured it into an old clear plastic container to take to the dump, it left the plastic black anywhere it splashes.


To add insult to injury, this morning, when I checked under the cars, the Fuzzmobil is all nice and clean, but on Jiggly, where I spilt some oil while removing the filter, despite putting a rag under it to catch any spillage, some has dribbled down to the cross member, and then dripped onto the drive, leaving a very black stain.... Jiggly is in disgrace today:naughty

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Just a simple job this weekend, take the steering wheel off, and re-stitch it back together....

OK, so there is no such thing as a simple job....

First, start the car and turn the wheel so you can remove the 3 covers on the steering wheel, one each side, one underneath. Then centre the steering wheel. Switch off and remove the keys, before moving the steering wheel until it locks in the straight ahead position.

Lift bonnet, and disconnect the negative terminal of the battery.

Place masking tape on top of steering wheel, and also on the cowling behind. Draw a line across the two bits of tape. Pull Steering wheel hard left against the steering stop, and re mark the new position of the line on the steering wheel, on the cowling tape, then repeat hard to right. The 3 lines on the cowling will allow you to make sure you have it in exactly the right place, when reassembling by making sure the lines still match.

Pop off and have a cup of tea, to give the airbag circuit plenty of time to discharge.

Through the removed cover on the bottom of the steering wheel, disconnect the single horn wire from the spade, and unplug the 2 pin air bag connector.

Find the correct Torx screwdriver bit with a hole in the end to clear the pin in the centre of the bolts that are visible through the 2 side panels on the steering wheel. Undo the two Torx bolts which are not just tight, but "kin tight".

The centre of steering wheel with the air bag, will lift out, make sure to place well away from where you are working, and make sure to place it so the plastic surface faces up (I put it on the floor behind the passenger seat).

Undo the 19mm nut in the centre of the steering wheel, but leave it on a couple of threads. Using a puller and the convenient 8mm bolt holes provided in the steering wheel, release the wheel which will make a huge bang and scare the living daylights out of you as it releases. Now remove the nut completely, and lift off steering wheel

Make sure not to turn the part under the wheel, as this needs to stay lined up with the wheel, and if turned will need to be re-centred following the instructions in the service manual.

Once the wheel is off, it's "JUST" a "Simple" case of re-stitching the leather cover back on... 5 days of cussing, swearing, punctured fingers, and broken needles later you can re-fit the steering wheel, which is the reverse of the removal procedure.

Just a small note, make sure the pip on the part under the steering wheel lines up with the hole in the steering wheel, then line the wheel up on the splines making sure to line up your marks. Before pushing it on too hard, move the wheel left and right against the steering stops to check all the lines match.

Still it's another job crossed off the list...


list of Jobs now,

Wheels need balancing/aligning/replacing
Gas Air Con
Centre Console lid inner moulding
Boot door carpet Trim panel broken along edge
add second battery
Look into replacing front wing
replace plastic captive nut section for the Sunroof
Keep eye for ally thermostat cap, as this has a plastic one.
Make and fit Snorkel.

 

[solarman216]

If you peel back the rubber near the steering box you will see the shaft as it enters the box, on it is a plastic washer with a pointer on it, when aligned with the mark at the top, this is the straight ahead position, Rick

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

If you peel back the rubber near the steering box you will see the shaft as it enters the box, on it is a plastic washer with a pointer on it, when aligned with the mark at the top, this is the straight ahead position, Rick

Cheers Rick, I have been searching for that bit of info for a while now and drawn a blank. Just what I needed. I will check that out.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

It's coming up to MOT time for Jiggly, so I spent the day going over the car from top to bottom. I have been meaning to get under it and have a real good look around since we got her, but time has just run away.

First job was to lift the front, and make sure the Tie rods could be undone, as she still needs the tracking done. Well it would have been the first job, but I struggled to get the wheel nuts undone, as they were so tight. Got a bit worried, as it has locking wheel nuts on 3 of the wheels... So being very careful to keep everything square, and using the trolley jack as a fulcrum, and a 30" breaker bar, I got them all undone.

As I expected, the tie rods were very tight, but I managed to get them free, and could run the nut right up to the ball joint, so no excuses not to get the tracking done now.

Next was to look into the steering, as it seems to have a much better turning circle turning Left, than right. I checked the steering wheel, and Left was 1 and a half turns, but Right was only 1 and a 1/4.

So first I checked the steering box as per Ricks post

If you peel back the rubber near the steering box you will see the shaft as it enters the box, on it is a plastic washer with a pointer on it, when aligned with the mark at the top, this is the straight ahead position, Rick

The steering wheel was 1 spline out, so I corrected that, and then looked at the steering stops... I have no idea what has happened to them, but out of the 4, only 1 was actually fitted correctly and had the lock nut done up. On 2, the lock nut was up by the head, and it was only the fact that they are quite stiff that had stopped them coming undone. 1 was locked, but there was only about 2 threads into the mount, so by locking it, and it being the one that hit most of the time, the thread was damaged and it was seized. Luckily as it had the lock nut on, I was able to wind it off carefully and re shape the thread. To fix the mount, I ended up taking the Rotor off, and winding the stop through from the other side, till I got the thread sorted enough to let me screw it in from the correct side. I now have 1 and a half turns both ways :clap

Next the brakes, One side of the front was fine, but I was very lucky as the other side had partially seized on one pin, and seized on the other, but I was able to free it with just a spanner. The Back brakes were a lot better, but she seems to be wearing the shoes unevenly, the shoes towards the front of the car seems to have hardly warn at all, with 7mm of friction material, where as the ones towards the rear are down to 2mm.

Checked the exhaust mounts, not going to get caught on that one again!!

Lubricated anything that moved, and many bits that didn't.

Checked all the lights, just need to change the O/S front indicator bulb tomorrow, as while it is yellow when off, it shows white when on.

Put all the wheels back on, changed the locking wheel nuts for normal nuts, and torqued them up correctly. Went to put the wheel trims back on, and found one had been stuck on with silicon as it was missing the wire ring that re-enforces the clips, fixed that.

Noticed that the centre mount for the side steps is very badly rotted so will have to keep an eye out for a replacement.

So, need to book it in for the MOT now, get the tracking done, and the Aircon re-gassed.

Fingers crossed.

 

[jims-terrano]

Good luck but I'm sure it'll be fine.

 

[Blocky10]

Aye. A very thorough man you are. Shouldn't be a problem by the sounds of it. :thumb2

 

[terranosaurusdoug]

Yeh mate all that prep will pay off, you're on a par with rustic :lol
Let us know eh :thumb2

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

It's booked in for Monday Morning.

Changed both the indicator bulbs, much more orange now, and as I went to re-fit the N/S indicator, the thin fixing arm at the top just fell off... Thankfully, Super glue, and some "QuickSteel" epoxy to strengthen it, plus a bit of careful shaping, and it all went back OK.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Suz took the car out Sat afternoon, and heard what she thought was a rubbing sound... Got it back home, and I got her to roll it forward as I walked along side, Sure enough, front O/S wheel making a strange scratching/hissing sort of sound.

Discovered a rip right at the bottom of one of the grooves, right by the wall, that only actually leaks air when at the bottom of the wheel on the road. I later pumped the tyre back up and 2 days on it is still hard, it only leaks when it has the weight of the car pressing down on it.

I changed to the spare, only to discover the spare is a Steel wheel, the rest are Alloy. To have the tracking done, all 4 wheels need to be the same...

Now have a dilemma, the tyres on the car are all the same manufacture (Pirelli Scorpions) made in 2011, all with 4mm of tread, and we planned on changing them all when we put AT's on it nearer the end of the summer. The punctured tyre though, is beyond repair. It seems silly to put a new tyre, especially as they don't make Scorpions any more, but not sure we can afford 4 new AT's right now.

The spare looks new, but you can see the wheel has never been used, and the tyre is a different make to the other tyres (I can't find the date stamp on it), so it may be the orriganal.

Just about to look on Ebay for a spare Alloy to stick on it, might even find one with a usable tyre on it.

Anyway, the good news is, we took her in for the MOT, sans spare wheel, and the good news is it passed the MOT with no advisories... :clap:clap

Aircon was re-gassed and seems to be working, so another bit of good news.:clap

Just need to sort out the tyres now.

 

[Banshee]

Suz took the car out Sat afternoon, and heard what she thought was a rubbing sound... Got it back home, and I got her to roll it forward as I walked along side, Sure enough, front O/S wheel making a strange scratching/hissing sort of sound.

Discovered a rip right at the bottom of one of the grooves, right by the wall, that only actually leaks air when at the bottom of the wheel on the road. I later pumped the tyre back up and 2 days on it is still hard, it only leaks when it has the weight of the car pressing down on it.

I changed to the spare, only to discover the spare is a Steel wheel, the rest are Alloy. To have the tracking done, all 4 wheels need to be the same...

Now have a dilemma, the tyres on the car are all the same manufacture (Pirelli Scorpions) made in 2011, all with 4mm of tread, and we planned on changing them all when we put AT's on it nearer the end of the summer. The punctured tyre though, is beyond repair. It seems silly to put a new tyre, especially as they don't make Scorpions any more, but not sure we can afford 4 new AT's right now.

The spare looks new, but you can see the wheel has never been used, and the tyre is a different make to the other tyres (I can't find the date stamp on it), so it may be the orriganal.

Just about to look on Ebay for a spare Alloy to stick on it, might even find one with a usable tyre on it.

Anyway, the good news is, we took her in for the MOT, sans spare wheel, and the good news is it passed the MOT with no advisories... :clap:clap

Aircon was re-gassed and seems to be working, so another bit of good news.:clap

Just need to sort out the tyres now.

Good man!!! Slap the spare on and save your pennies for a good set of 31 AT's!!!