Bergers Van

[berger]

Topdad the blooming design is terrible there is one nut you can only breath at and just see with a torch unless like the book says isolate the air bag and use magic with the steering lock and all the other associated bits , mark the steering wheel and shaft , turn that one way turn that the other way insert pins for magic releases etc. loads of spanners piled up in the book to show the difficulty of this job. i will have to gaffer it but now i have done my back in really bad. RD fella i will have a look about the big black plate that i thought might come off but even if i undo all the bolts it will only drop about 1 inch because of all the bumph fastened to the steering column and wont alter access to the blind nut i thought the outside plate that holds the servo would come off and i could pull the cylinder out but it has to come out from the inside with another bolted plate. the pedal brackets where the nuts go on studs are deep with long sides and stupid angles so you can't get to them without a big struggle. no wonder there isn't a video of this particular model and year. i look like taking the column off now just for one nut, grinder or anything else is  impossible to use ,  if it was left hand drive it's an easy job!! also all these vids show changing a slave cylinder but not my van where you have to take rack off and all the subframe , if only i knew about this before i bought it

[Greybeard]

I believe I wrote about the problems I had changing the starter motor on a left hand drive Renault 16. The steering column blocked access to the starter motor bolts. I came away believing that the French must hate us; imagine that 😁

[berger]

its orrrfff , i had to snap part of the bracket and bend another part to let it drop as far as the steering UJ , i didn't want to have to deal with the air bag , power steering and the other annoying things that the book says you need to do . that UJ has to come off if you do it by the book. the reading of the different sections of getting things off  was scary to say the least.  the muck i got out of the cylinder was possibly why it wouldn't work pics of the silver bracket as far down and onto the UJ as possible, and the now butchered cylinder and the broken bit next to the infernal plastic clip that is a pain to release on this model unless all the steering is off, this is because of everything bolted on to the column bracket and everything is in the way don't ask me how i am going to get the new cylinder in and get the bracket back in place minus one bit. i will go steady and not get mad at it.  i don't think it will hurt to have that bit missing with the amount of studs that go through this pressed steel bracket and the nuts it has.

[Worty]

You're right about taking your time Bergs, rushed jobs usually end up going bad and I get really upset with myself when I've made an avoidable ballsup through trying to get things done quickly.

One good thing though, when you put it all back together, you can partially re-engineer/reassemble it in the way it should have been done in the first place.  Like making access holes/points, using different fasteners, omitting useless bits and pieces, etc, etc.

Just on the airbag thing, when I took mine off it suggested isolating the airbag before removal.  I think I took it off once without isolating, so it must be an 'ultra' safety thing.  However, when I was taking the ignition switch apart and the pcb, I disconnected the battery as I didn't want to fry the pcb or bugger up the ECU.  The rest of what you describe about the top part of the steering column is similar to mine.  I also replaced the non tamper bolts with Allan screws - no-one will be nicking my 15 year old motor.

[berger]

worty i can't alter anything there is no room to try and alter anything i will just have to get the new part in somehow and force the bent bracket back onto the studs.

[Worty]

worty i can't alter anything there is no room to try and alter anything i will just have to get the new part in somehow and force the bent bracket back onto the studs.

Is there any way you can test it before it all goes back together???

[berger]

worty nooooo

[Worty]

worty nooooo

S**T   Put it back together carefully mate

[berger]

after spending hours with my head under the pedals i have got the new clutch master cylinder in place and the umpteen nuts back on the many studs that hold the brake pedal and clutch pedal in pressed steel- monkey metal cages. next stages are buy another clutch sensor switch because the plastic tangs broke and see if the clutch will bleed. then it's servo on, some trim back on, diesel filter, windscreen wiper motor, water expansion bottle , this van is built up like a 30 layer cake and everything has to come off to get to parts you need to renew.

[Worty]

after spending hours with my head under the pedals i have got the new clutch master cylinder in place and the umpteen nuts back on the many studs that hold the brake pedal and clutch pedal in pressed steel- monkey metal cages. next stages are buy another clutch sensor switch because the plastic tangs broke and see if the clutch will bleed. then it's servo on, some trim back on, diesel filter, windscreen wiper motor, water expansion bottle , this van is built up like a 30 layer cake and everything has to come off to get to parts you need to renew.

  Just take it steady and keep all those B&Ts in the back of your mind.  Sitting outside on a nice sunny day with a completed, working motor and a beer in your hand - nothing like it mate!

[berger]

worty this lying in the footwell has badly bruised my back and trying to get back out has pulled my side really bad, working on my own with no one to pass the tools has been many repeats of getting in and out , i also have bruises all over my ribs. even having tools in the footwell didn't help because i had to keep shuffling about to release my arms from various trapped positions when tightening up this horrible set up. never again and if i had known it was going to be this much of a nasty job i would have had it sort of taken   so sod it today i need B&T'S , pub day

[Worty]

I know what you mean Bergs, getting up and down is knackering, and all that twisting is not good.  I've been scraping underneath cars all my life, and always feel the pain afterwards (well, especially now).  I try to assemble as many tools in arms reach as possible, but with a job like yours - jeez.

Pub is a great idea, have one for me whilst I go back outside to do more lawn-levelling

[berger]

At last i think i might be winning, clutch master and slave has fluid i might have to check it for air again when it's on the road. now i need some good luck with a bit of wiring put back on the clutch pedal , wiper motor and washer motor because at the moment it wont start. i never have had to press the clutch to start it so up to now i haven't got a clue unless it's brain says i need full circuits

[Worty]

Well done Bergs!!  I'm hopping mad at present trying to put in a new shower tray and surround.  The surround was knackered, and needed replacing, so Sue says she'd like the (damaged) waste surround changed as well.  So, I unscrew the waste surround and the bottom half of the waste falls into the floor void.  So, I try to get the stone composite tray out and it cracks.  So, for the sake of a £10 waste, this has turned into getting a new tray for £200.  On top of that, I can't find one deep enough so it looks like taking tiles off and retiling the bottom row at least.  I want to swear a lot, as the old stone comp tray was brilliant, and has lasted 16 years - would have seen us both out.  Tell you what, if it ain't broke DON'T fix it.

Having much beer now.  Oh, and if anyone knows where I can get a good-priced shower tray 1200x800 offset quadrant with the waste on the radius, do let me know!

[dave55]

Worty you could try Just Trays over at Morley off the A650, its all they make . Even ones that look like stone .