Handbag Legerra Developments

[James Doulton]

After getting the Legerra home a few weeks ago, I have been using it as my daily commute. I have done a few things to it to 'improve' it:

1) I have removed the centre console because I could not take my foot off the clutch with it in place because I have to get my knee next to the steering wheel and my calf was hard against the edge of the console. I have still got to find a place for the dials and switches that were there. When removing the heater controls I found that the outer sheaths of the cables were not fixed, so moving the levers did nothing. I don't think that the heater control works at all. So that is another job on the to-do list before next winter.

2) I have moved the main instrument cluster up about 2 inches so that I can actually see the majority of the dial face of the speedo and the rev counter. The speedo is badly out of calibration - the mile-o-meter is currently registering about  3% low but the speedo is over 25% low. How can that be? It is a Czech dial, not the original Ford one so I guess that it must have always been wrong. I just have to remember that it is 900rpm per 20mph in fifth. Moving the instruments higher meant cutting the dashboard to clear the speedo drive. I now have a gap of about 2 inches below the instruments where I could site the dials and switches from the centre console.

3) I have removed the exhaust and welded up the holes where it seems to have leaked ever since it was fitted. I welded some patches made from bits of bike tube. It was quite difficult with my arc welder but I eventually managed to fill the holes that I made too. The exhaust is still loud and tiresome - it sounds really good when I rant it, but for the other 99% of the time it is an irritation. The local stainless exhaust place will make a bespoke system for £330.

4) I have replaced the original 13" cobra alloys that had 205/65 tyres with 15" wheels from a Ford Focus with 195/60 tyres. They only just fit in the rear arches and one touches the body occasionally over big bumps. The wheels were replaced because the old tyres had very poor grip in either the dry or the wet. The use of larger wheels increases the gearing about 11% and, more importantly, increases the ground clearance over local speed bumps - the exhaust used to touch before.

5) I have removed the radiator in order to cure a leak caused by the way that the electric fan was fitted using bolts through the radiator matrix. The fan had been moving up and down and wore a hole in the front of two of the cores. As a temporary bodge, I fixed it with Araldite. I'm going to weld up a frame to hold the fan in place and fix it on the radiator mounting bolts. I have bought a new in-line thermostatic switch for the top hose.

6) I had noticed that the car sometimes pulled to the left under breaking. I have now found the culprit - a leaking damper. It seems that the leaking fluid drips onto the disk when the car is parked and the brakes pull the first time that they are used. I will have to get the unit off the car to measure it to get a new pair. I don't know whether to change the springs too.

I still need to sort out the seat and I would like to move it back a couple of inches further but I think it is tight against the bodywork.

I also want to get or make a hard top or targa top - I can't be doing with struggling to get the soft top on and off all of the time, with all of those pesky poppers and the stiff locking pins at the front.

[James Doulton]

I'll have to try and find one of those when I get back from Cornwall. I did move the car a few yards after I was towed home and the engine started fine with no clues that it had overheated, except for a coolant level warning. There was no smoke or cloud of steam.

Is it likely that it would overheat just because of oil in the water? I was just rolling along at 60mph so I was using very little power, say 30-40 bhp. Could the oil pressure be the problem by pressurising the cooling system until something leaks somewhere, letting the oil/water mix out. I shall have to check how much oil is left in the engine.

[James Doulton]

It is 10 years old with 147,000 on the clock. What is a sniffer?

[James Doulton]

Yes, Mike, it overheated. I was in heavy rush hour traffic doing 50-60 mph but I didn't see the temperature rise as I was pre-occupied with the antics of the 'gain-a-yard' lane-changers. First thing I noticed was a loss of power. Only then did I see the temperature light blinking at me and the needle off the gauge. I was in the slow lane so I pulled over immediately and there was brown foam coming from the header tank and water pouring down the front of the engine. What would you suggest, I would appreciate an expert opinion?

[Pete Clayton]

Try a compression test on it, that will give you an indication of the headgasket

[James Doulton]

I sanded the thermostat housing and just scraped the residue off the engine face which was in good condition. I guess I should just try that again when I get back. So you don't think it is the head gasket? Maybe I'm getting a thing about head gaskets.

[Adrian Southgate]

I resealed my therostat housing wednesday night and (touch wood) its been ok so far.

Water pump still to do though :-(

Did you block sand the mating face? I painted my cylinder head and block with paint that apparently goes soft when heated causing the gasket to weep.

[James Doulton]

Still fed-up with the Legerra, I took off the water pump and thermostat, cleaned the mating faces and refitted them with silicone gasket sealant. While doing that i also discovered that the alternator needed remounting and a different fan belt. It is all refitted and when I refilled the system I had water leaking onto the top of the water pump still. The thermostat housing seems to be properly fitted and I cannot see where the water is emerging from. Could it be the head gasket?

As a result, I had to use a different car to go down to Cornwall in. That didnt go smoothly either and I ended up borrowing my daughter's Corsa after my V6 Omega overheated on the motorway with oil in the water (=head gasket). Thank goodness for the RAC.

[Dave Adams]

Pinto thermostat housings ate prone to going porous. as a temp (permanent if you need) you can repair small holes in the top hose connection with silicon self amalgamating tape. they are also VERY prone to leaking from the gasket face against the block. you may need to sand the gasket face flat to get it to seal again as they corrode very badly (ally up against iron block)

[Adrian Southgate]

Look for vertical leaks if its spraying round the cambelt.

17mm nut that holds the alternator adjustment brace to the block through the waterpump or any of the other waterpump bolts.  

waterpump pressure release (the little hole in the bottom)  

Thermostat housing cracked or loose.

Sounds like a fast tickover test in the drive is required with a dry sheet of 'stuff' under the car to spot anything dripping early. If you're hitting 6k rpm that water pump is going to be generating a lot of pressure.

Looking deeper and learning from Dave A.. might be wise to check the head bolts with a torque wrench too.

Bottom hose fitting to waterpump

[James Doulton]

I'm well fed up now. I took the car for a test on the motorway because I was in two minds about using it to go down to Cornwall for a week at the beginning of September, when I get back from the Czech Republic. So I drove down the M5 to Portishead then turned around and came back via the M48 then the M4. All the time the car just purred along at 65 to 75mph with the temperature gauge solidly at 80C. When I got home and was opening the garage door, the engine stopped. I restarted and drove into the garage and it stopped again. There was steam coming from the front so I opened the bonnet and I could not see where it was coming from. I restarted the engine and discovered the water was getting onto the cam belt and then getting thrown all over the place, particularly over the coil and distributor. I braved the boiling water spray but, despite all of the water going everywhere, I could not see where it was coming from. Very annoying.

I guess I will have to take the tin top to Cornwall even though the garage warned me that it has oil in its water. Now I'm going to go and have a swearing session to get rid of my frustration.