Terranovation

I checked the engine just now after it has been sitting for a few hours, it started first go so it appears everything is ok. The air con compressor I listened to with a screwdriver against it, it seems fine, tested the air con running and the belt screech is gone. I think that this problem is solved, it was just a loose belt. It's freaking hard to get tension on the thing when you are lying underneath trying to hold the pulley up with a couple of fingers and trying to tighten the front bearing bolt at the same time. I ended up getting a nice length screw driver and wedged it in there between the pulley and the bottom frame where the radiator sits. That made it possible for me to then have both hands free to hold the socket onto the bolt and tighten it up, then I wiggled the screw driver out. It was the only way I could get it tight enough without having someone else hold the pulley up from the top while I then tighten it

But the problem is that it's been hard to start since changing one belt so I think it's to do with the belt tension but Il try anything at this stage. Thanks for the advice Il have the voltage tested.

Hi guys, I recently replaced the air con drive belt on my TD27 and because of the belt's placement I had to take all the belts off just to get to it. After tightening all the belts back up, the car took three attempts to get it started. Turn the key and the starter cranks, the engine would run for like half a second and then die. It does start up but takes a few goes. Driving along the other day, I switch on the air con which after I heard a Screeching sound which I assumed was the air con belt. I found it was quite loose but the alternator and pwr steering belts are tight. I tightened the air con belt up today and tried starting up the engine and the same thing happened again. It took three times to get going. I turned it off and tried starting again and it fired up first go. This engine has a one year old battery so it's fine, the starter motor I haven't even touched and the alternator seems fine. It doesn't have spark plugs it has a row of four glow plugs which are only two years old. I'm really confused about what is wrong. Everything was fine before I did the belts. Should I tighten the belts or loosen them a bit? They are on there tight with a slight deflect in them as per the manual.

A big 10-4 on that one. Also spraying wd-40 on the adjusting rod ends will help the wheel alignment guys. I was sent away by the tyre shop they tried a pry bar on those bolts and they wouldn't budge so they said spray them every day for a week and then come back. So I sprayed wd-40 every morning for a whole week and then went back, finally the bolts turned so they could do the adjustment! I now spray them every time I change the oil just to keep them in shape so I don't have to go through the same hassle as last time.

Remember to check the rear bushes too, if the back end is swaying side to side as you come to a stop then yeah they are stuffed. So what you need is front and rear bushes, front tie rod end bushes, upper and lower control arm bushes and idler arm bushes. The whole lot. Add shockies to that list as well if they haven't been replaced in the last 100k miles.

Nice work, looks like an OEM part!

Oh true if you finished it off with fibreglass and sanded it smooth, bit of paint, yeah that works. But I wouldn't just slap bare wood in there that's red neck style. I'm just saying if you're gonna do something do it right the first time. After all, you are the one who is going to have to look at the job you've created and if it looks good then you are going feel good as a result.

Could also be blocked drain hole at the bottom of your inner fender. Open your front doors and have a look at the front base of them, where they meet the bottom front fender. There's a gap down there that has a habit of filling up with mud, sand, sticks and road gravel. You should flush those out every now and then, it's definitely a good idea in the battle against rust.

I would use plastic or something metal. Please don't use wood cause it will look s**t

I had an annoying high pitched squealing noise in my Pathy too! I found the Justin Bieber cd so I threw it out the window.

Oh and yes, the bushings are the round rubber things that go between the 'knuckles' either side on the inside of the front and rear wheels. Climb under the front and have a look. You'll see them in there, between the metal rods. If they are in good condition they should look nice and fat, just under an inch in width. If they are cracked and squashed like a pancake then yeah, I'd get them replaced. Your rig sounds sweet, mine was similar story, it was garaged and looked pretty much brand new - interior spotless, little minor rust near back left passenger entrance but was just surface rust and easy to polish out. The other thing it had was the air vent surrounds had melted from the hot sun but apart from that everything else was ok. These cars are going to last forever if you keep on the maintenance so they are well worth hanging onto, maybe even going up in price one day since they are becoming a rare beast and many are approaching the 25th anniversary date too.

Agree with that, although you know what these tyre guys are like, they won't clean off dirt clods from your wheel arch, they are going to do your tyre fittings, balance em and that's it! Any cleaning of mud is up to the owner. My Pathy was shaking so bad, the steering wheel would literally shake and vibrate so bad, you'd have to fight the wheel to keep it in a somewhat straight line. I would actually get sore hands just from driving the thing. I got new idler arm, front bushings replaced, upper and lower control arm bushings and sway bar bushings replaced, new front shocks. To finish off, new wheel alignment. All all this solved the steering issues but it was very expensive! But worth it if you love your Pathy!

In order to do that, you'll have to make/find some sort of collar that will fit into the stereo slot. Go to your local diy shop and have a look around for a rectangular bracket you can put in there but make sure it is tight. You don't want that thing to go flying out if there's an emergency stop.

Well what I normally do is I buy the 10 litre then on the next oil change I get a 5 litre so I then have 8 litres. The 1.5 litres I don't use on that change I just pour into a separate clear container I keep for top ups if needed. Yes I believe there is an oil cooler on this engine, it's an intercooler mounted on top, I have an air vent mouth on the hood that sucks in air which in turn cools the engine. You can feel performance is better in cool weather as opposed to humid air but the temp doesn't climb any further than halfway even on a hot day. It's normally like this position _\__

I believe it's got to be 5.1 litres and you have to fill up past the side top up plug. To do this you have to fill it through the gear selector. You have to take your gear shifter off, then there's a C clip you take off with needle nose pliers. I don't know what you have to do after that though.

Yeah it is about 6.2 litres, last time I did the oil change I put 7 in it. Doesn't smoke although it's up to the full mark. I wish it would just take 5 litres instead of 7 because they sell the oil here in either 5 litres, 10 or 20 litre containers. It would be so much cheaper to buy 5 litres than having to buy 10 litres and have a bit left over. In one way it's ok in case I need an emergency top up, if it ever happens.

Only 3.5 litres coming out? What engine do you have because I have the turbo diesel 2.7 and mine takes 7 litres to fill up. You probably need more oil.

I know I'm digging up an old topic but I actually made a video on the exact replacement of the globe

The only grease zerk I found on mine is at the idler arm. It appears the universal joints still have the original grease screws still installed. I hope these a just a matter of unscrew and screw in grease fittings.

Bottom aircon belt was hanging on by a few pieces of wire also discovered the radiator fan shroud wasn't even bolted down! It was just sitting in there, attached to nothing. So had to remove all the belts (first time I've attempted this) managed to get new belt on down there after much aarrghing and yelling but I got it all done. Found four screws to attach the fan shroud on properly. Turned the key, nothing. Second attempt, still nothing. Third attempt, Roooaaaarhhhhh hooray it's Alive hahaha it's Alive!!!

Another trick to try if you suspect crud blocking the nozzles or blocked hoses is get a glass of water, fill your mouth up then blow the water through the line from the pump end. Water should be coming out the other end of the hoses and it might dislodge anything causing the blockage. Also handy for checking blocked nozzles.

When you've been trying to spray the water the water goes through the hoses to the washer nozzles. My bet is there's crud in the lines and inside the nozzles. Clean them out with mum's sewing needle or try scrubbing with an old toothbrush.

Or take the rubber hose off at the motor pump end and blow through the pipe with your mouth. There might be some crud in either the hose or the washer nozzles might be a bit blocked. Take them out and wash em. Removal is open the bonnet and using a small screw driver pry the plastic tabs inwards while pushing em up and out.

I checked this morning after driving to work and the hose connection is dry which is a good sign and no leaks, level is ok but I'll definitely flush the trans cooler to get all the old fluid out on the next service. Thanks for all your help Silverton!