Rodders.

[Radagast]

Pale pink or milky white neck you mean - there has to be sun to get a red neck!
Sat up last night waiting for some dogs that have been killing sheep. Six hours and nothing moved, not even a rat. On the drive home I saw three foxes. Hunting is a strange game.

[hairyyoda]

Rodders, I have been having very strange looks off a few dozen petrol station attendants and fellow motorists over the last eleven months ,
Bought a Doblo van off Ebay for £64.88p or £66.88p "can't remember which exact price" but I know that I did put enough "rounded up £. s. & p" in a bank bag because I was to embraced to give the seller the sixty odd £ notes TOPPED OFF WITH THE 88 PENCE, got a feeling that the seller was handed £67.00p 54,000 miles, clean, central locking, electric windows, fitted protected carpet mats, seat covers and a face-off Blaupunkt CD player and over half a tank of diesel with 3 months of MOT still to run and 9 old consecutive MOT certificates , this was one of those "could not stop myself decisions" when all the planets were coming into alignment and there was a full moon due as well anyway
Doblo van was located in Emsworth not far short of Chichester Harbour which was a round trip of 414 miles plus the extra thieving cost of the Seven Bridge charges "to get back in to God's Country".
The van was advertised that "two garages had diagnosed high pressure diesel pump failure" and the seller had already bought another van for his work etc. I already had a spare 1.9 D Delphi pump so 93.5% sure that the "project plan in my head could not go bad" ?
Sent a mate with car trailer and the £67.00p payment down to retrieve the "new Doblo van project" mate came back and dropped Doblo off "all good etc."
Keyed the ignition and behold the Doblo was up and running with a solid throb so I am now off down the back lanes on a fault finding test drive without caring a jot that the "new deluxe Doblo had any further road going issues ?" around the quiet rear lanes, across two fields of a permission and a swift detour down a unmade private road and a safe return to my rear back lane and & and "well impressed with this mighty fine example of Fiat engineering this was "a good-un and a keeper ?"
Key back in the ignition, lashings of battery power but not a thump of any hope of any combustible firing ? "not good", anyway had a feeling that it can't be much of a issue, just done more than a 4 mile test drive" just a teething technicality"
Good woman indoors mumbles across rear gate that food is on the table and going cold "good old fashioned diner with "PROPER GRAVY THICK ENOUGH" to seal up any leaks in a clinker built boat.
Food followed by a good fart and my eyes closed for forty minutes, up and back out to the Doblo, crank engine over "then from cold" and we were up and running with the same solid throbbing when first started up earlier
Quick exchange of emails with Kevgun on this forum (thanks again Kev) and we are half way to finding which engine management sensor is sensing "hot engine cranking issues" and also discover a further third issue of air bubbles in diesel line from the "dull flow and return Fiat bypass valve on top of the diesel filter"
Remembered about some intermittent starting problems on a Alfa belonging to a friend and decided that "engine crankshaft sensor on new deluxe Doblo must be the BAD LINK telling the ECU not to open the fuel stop valve when hot engine was on stop ?
Change crankshaft sensor for a Bosch c/sensor off a spare low miles Doblo engine and behold new deluxe Doblo is all singing and dancing whether cold or hot or wet :lol
Air bubbles in Fiat fuel line not a problem, remove complete Fiat flow and return filter set-up and scrap to junk pile , replace with AC Delco glass bowl filter housing with fine brass mesh gauze off a 1960's Mk. II Jag "that had never been used and had sat on a shelf for more than 50 years and only became available to me as a gift when an old gent died, because I had helped his family a little bit in years gone by.
A swift bit of clear fuel line plumbing "so that I can count and see any illusive air bubbles" to the exceptionally neat bracketed new glass bowled filter and with the added modification of a 12 litre emergency fuel tank "shoe-horned into the spare space behind the battery tray" and we are looking good to go for test drive number 2 to check the soundness and reliability of the new added modifications ?
The "under bonnet" reserve 12 litre emergency diesel fuel tank ended up as the only used fuel supply for eleven months while I searched around for a replacement fuel tank instead of repairing a split in the main fuel tank.
A bit when fuel pump attendants start a conversation over a Tanoy and ask where are you putting that fuel ? and it gets worse when you answer them with a thumbs-up and your hoping that they can lip read your reply from forty paces and then the person on the pump opposite is motioning that "they think that they on the Tanoy are trying to ask what are you doing under the bonnet with the diesel nozzle ?
12 litres gave me a wee bit more than 115 miles before I would have to dive under the bonnet to refill etc. I would willingly swear blind that my MPG increased because I was always thoughtfully driving with a light foot
Reading back through the above I am not sure if my simplistic remedies to motoring issues is just a case of "we shall over come at a minimal outlay to the pocket" or a case of no body has advised me to see a therapist and talk my green recycling issues through with a good listener ?
Put the NEW FREEBEE main fuel tank back to normal operations last week for this years new MOT, acquaintance in MOT garage asked what is that extra tank behind the battery for ? "Told him that it was a swirl-pot in case I entered the Paris Dakar Rally "He replied is that useful in a hot climate ?" I shut up quickly in case he thought that I was taking the p##s.
Sorry it's a long and drawn out saga but a whole year slipped by before I sorted out a 2 hour job ?
The attached photographs could be better but they show the set-up clearly

Thanks all
Phil

Bare with me while have a fight with photograph hosting website