I knew when I started my car it would be a difficult process. Mostly with me knowing zero about engineering/mechanics. I thoroughly enjoyed building
it but I didn’t envision how moral sapping it is when it breaks. So far I have had:
Speedo Failure at IVA – Duff Speedo
Rear drive shaft failure – RAC’d home on way to IVA retest – My Fault/no Threadlock
Flat Battery – Towed home – My fault/wiring issue
Tacho reads double the RPM occasionally
Coolant Pipe Blew Off
Cooling issues – Duff radiator cap
Having fixed the duff radiator cap and replaced with a a shiny new one the system has pressurised for the first time since the pipe blowoff. Which
means the pressure has found a weak spot and now is leaking from a different pipe. Also on the way to work this morning the temperature gauge
suddenly dropped to the stop and refused to work again. I have no idea why. Might be a loose connection, might be a duff gauge. I bought it used
from another locoster. I does have a bit of condensation in it.
Not driving it won’t sort these issues out but it ruins any fun I might have driving it. 600 miles in and I am still having issues!
Rant over
Doesn't sound that bad when read back.
Tacho at double RPM could be a loose earth or electrical noise depending on where you are taking the signal from
hth
Annoying isn't it? To put it mildly 
After fitting the Jag engine, that took 18 months, not the 6 months as planned 
30 miles in, the £240 propshaft failed, one of the UJ circlips hadn't been snapped into the groove. 3 weeks later
fitted replacement propshaft.
20 miles later, the clutch failed. DO NOT fit a re manufactured clutch kit, a 3 months warranty that expired 6 months before
the car was back on the road
Apart from that, everything is fine 
quote:
Originally posted by HowardB
Tacho at double RPM could be a loose earth or electrical noise depending on where you are taking the signal from
hth
Did you use silicone hoses? I re-plumbed mine with a Polo rad and new hoses. They are buggers to seal, double jubilees etc and the big one still weeps.
quote:
Originally posted by JeffHs
Did you use silicone hoses? I re-plumbed mine with a Polo rad and new hoses. They are buggers to seal, double jubilees etc and the big one still weeps.
Doesn't sound so bad, but I know that horrible feeling when a project gets on top of you. Sometimes its the small stuff that really grates.
I spent a good few months trying to chase a hazard wiring issue (intermittent working). It started working again in the end, but I still have no real
idea why - every wire chased, all parts replaced (switch, relay, bulbs etc).
Sometimes you just need a few days away from them to realise why you love them in the first place - a lot like wives in my experience 
^^ most of the above sounds like a real pain - but they should all be fairly simple fixes at least
I take it you weren't using the OE ford double washer thingys on the dirveshafts ?
The nice thing is, as you keep sorting out problems, the car will get more reliable. Fact is the first few hundred miles will pull out all the early
life failures, from there on in things should get better :-)
Stick with it....
If you're struggling to get a seal on the hoses, try these clamps.
http://www.westfieldfasteners.co.uk/HoseClip_Mikalor_Supra.html
They exert more even pressure than a jubilee type clip, they also work well as exhaust clamps.
Dave
[Edited on 23/8/16 by obfripper]
Hopefully i'm just getting to the end of my teething troubles after 3000 miles... it makes your list look quite pleasant
- Big end bearings went after 100 miles, the rebuilt engine i bought, had not been rebuilt! i learnt the hard way. - towed home
- badly designed cooling system layout has been sorted, after it kept weeping and leaking after use.
- A mate crashed it at donnington last November needing a front end rebuild - again recovered home
- the oil pressure sensor broke, pissing 80psi of hot oil over the exhaust manifold, fire extinguisher used and recovered home. luckily some one was
driving past in a recovery truck, stopped, charged me £1 a mile, i was only 8 miles from home, but he got a large tip!
- left engine mount broke, re welded.
- right engine mount broke 600 miles later (in Scotland), scraped the sump along the floor so i pissed all my oil out... got the lot welded back up so
i could be on my way
and then on the way back from Scotland my diff has started leaking oil out.... still to fix this one as it only happen last week...
quote:
Originally posted by Norfolkluegojnr
Doesn't sound so bad, but I know that horrible feeling when a project gets on top of you. Sometimes its the small stuff that really grates.
I spent a good few months trying to chase a hazard wiring issue (intermittent working). It started working again in the end, but I still have no real idea why - every wire chased, all parts replaced (switch, relay, bulbs etc).
Sometimes you just need a few days away from them to realise why you love them in the first place - a lot like wives in my experience
Quote:
Having fixed the duff radiator cap and replaced with a a shiny new one the system has pressurised for the first time since the pipe blowoff. Which
means the pressure has found a weak spot and now is leaking from a different pipe. Also on the way to work this morning the temperature gauge suddenly
dropped to the stop and refused to work again. I have no idea why. Might be a loose connection, might be a duff gauge. I bought it used from another
locoster. I does have a bit of condensation in it.
Are you sure there isn't an air pocket surrounding the sensor, if its not in the coolant it won't read, the RV8 was designed to run nose up,
thats why most 4bbl inlet manifolds angle the carb forwards, and in horizontal applications a wedge plate is needed to sit the carb horizontal, but
running the engine horizontally can cause air locks in the manifold if the top hose runs downhill to the rad, the solution is to vent the stat housing
to the top of the expansion tank, so any air can escape, this could also explain your hose issues. Had this problem many times in the late 70s when
building rods....Text
[Edited on 23/8/16 by r1_pete]
[Edited on 23/8/16 by r1_pete]
Reliability!
I am unable to list ALL of my 7 problems, as ive erased them from my memory, as it was slowing up the cache in my head,
There's been a lot !!!
I liken my 7 to my old 2+2 Lotus elan, as in " lots of trouble usually serious"
steve
I call it character, it would be no fun if it worked properly all the time!
My engine smoked a bit, so I rebuilt it. A lot of time and money, engine back in and ready for the dyno. 2 days before the dyno trip, starter motor
pinion falls apart. £250 later an uprated starter fitted. On the dyno, last run, all going well then oil everywhere. Blew the (new) rear crank seal.
Engine out again put a new one in, now the sump is leaking a bit. Not worth pulling the engine again until the winter.
Just before I took it for mot, threw on the kill switch to be met with smoke everywhere! A rogue live wire had found its way into the back of the fuse
box. Dash out, replace a load of burned out wire, reassemble, it's good now!
I do now have a starting issue which is proving difficult to fix. Once running it's perfect, trying to get it running can either be, start
straight up or wind on the starter for 10 seconds plus! It seems like a heat soak issue but it also does it when cold!
I also think a wheel bearing is going/gone too.
It's all fun and games.
Hi,
I will just throw in my 2 pence worth for getting silicone hoses to stop leaking.
Firstly, I have been told by a 'high quality' hose supplier that the hose should be 'difficult' to fit. The hose clamp should be
of good wide quality and that's it.
My hoses were very easy to fit and after every heat cycle another joint would leak. Got very annoying.
Anyway, I stopped them leaking by wrapping the male part of every joint with an overlapping length of self annealing silicone repair tape. This gave a
silicone to pipe seal and when I put the hose on - with a little effort - the hose clamp did the job with far less compression force than before.
Not had a single leak since I adopted this technique.
HTH
Len.
[Edited on 23/8/16 by avagolen]
quote:
Originally posted by avagolen
Hi,
I will just throw in my 2 pence worth for getting silicone hoses to stop leaking.
Firstly, I have been told by a 'high quality' hose supplier that the hose should be 'difficult' to fit. The hose clamp should be of good wide quality and that's it.
My hoses were very easy to fit and after every heat cycle another joint would leak. Got very annoying.
Anyway, I stopped them leaking by wrapping the male part of every joint with an overlapping length of self annealing silicone repair tape. This gave a silicone to pipe seal and when I put the hose on - with a little effort - the hose clamp did the job with far less compression force than before.
Not had a single leak since I adopted this technique.
HTH
Len.
[Edited on 23/8/16 by avagolen]
You think you got problems?? I have a Triumph Dolomite Sprint powered Dutton, that's enough said in that statement !! BUT, I wouldn't change
it. 30 odd years old now, still quick and brings a smile when its running on song. Its almost like "TRIGGERS BROOM"
quote:I think you mean self amalgamating tape rather than self annealing
wrapping the male part of every joint with an overlapping length of self annealing silicone repair tape.
Just to even things out a bit, my silicon hoses seal just fine! (famous last words)
well I am still frustrated with the car too! - the megasquirt is still resetting at idle type rpm.. seems like a never ending game of finding what
could be causing the noise, or bad signal.
hey ho.. occasionally I get out when there isn't traffic and get to put my foot down - and there comes the smile - and the surprise if it has
been a while!
back to the original OP - I don't know how your coolant set up it, but I had to add a highest point - above the rad height to get it to breath
all the air out. I guess I am saying make sure there isn't an air lock, or stuck thermostat.
[Edited on 23/8/16 by Chris_Xtreme]
quote:
Originally posted by gremlin1234
quote:I think you mean self amalgamating tape rather than self annealing
wrapping the male part of every joint with an overlapping length of self annealing silicone repair tape.
its useful stuff ;-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-amalgamating_tape
Thanks Gremlin :-)