Another D2 S8 gets some TLC

[Nick Jones]

“ I always worry when a D2 is my last working car. A TVR as backup for the D2 is a whole new level of brave ”
Except….. a D2 is my daily drive

I do have a couple of 50 year old Triumphs as back up though.

The Triumphs both got MoT’d yesterday (pass no advisories)and the tester remarked that they were slightly oily underneath, but then, they are pretty old. Neither actually marks it’s territory. The A8 on the other hand……. is a bit of a widdler. He’s meeting that for the first time in a couple of weeks……

Nick

[ThisWayUp]

At last some decent progress to report on this, and another D2 S8 back on the road.
The list of work that's been completed is now fairly long:
1) Brembo's refurbished, new front discs & pads fitted
2) MJ refurbished PAS hoses fitted and working well
3) Transmission fully rebuilt
4) All drains and Botang's hole attended to
5) New horns fitted (now with added sound)
6) Wheels refurbished - PC primer, metallic wet coat then PC lacquer
7) Full set of tyres
8) Interior stripped out, and carpets shampooed
9) Full engine service (belts, water pump, etc..)
10) Cam timing variators renewed
11) Bonnet struts replaced
12) Boot lid struts replaced
13) Headlamp mounts repaired

After all that, the car is up and running, and finally adding some miles to it. It's been a fairly protracted process owing to various factors, but I'm happy it's now roadworthy.

There are of course a few issues still to address as I shake it down:
1) Slight weep from rear final drive output shaft
2) Transmission shows a 'Supply voltage issue - P1750-35-00 too Low
3) Intermittent engine oil pressure warning - level is fine, filter is new, oil is the correct grade, and topped up. Will prioritise this one for sure.
4) Rear parking sensors - two need replaced

There are some other minor items but nothing of major note.

Cosmetically it's reasonable - fresh wheels, tyres and callipers brighten it up.
There are some areas that need improvement.

Enough words, here are some photographs of the story so far.

As mentioned previously the engine had a top end rattle when starting up, and the variators for the camshafts were sounding likely culprits. On dismantling the wire mesh filters on both sides were completely or partial missing as documented by many others.




[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ovyJvP]

The engine was duly reassembled after what felt like quite a significant spend.
On the run up to Christmas 2022 I had the transmission rebuilt. My ideal was to take it to forum favourites Mackies, which I duly did, only to discover they could not source all the parts for the rebuild, and hence declined to do the job.

Plan B was needed. That was either find another transmission builder or consider a 6-speed conversion. The latter is something I really quite like the idea of, but I wasn’t sure it was in the spirit of the S8 and what it is. After some thought I put it to another builder – more on this later.

Early January things looked like this:


The engine and transmission were re-assembled, and ready to go back in – weather permitting. Working outdoors is a pain.
I went through a process of cleaning sunroof drains, attending to Botang’s hole (or so I thought).

Starting to look more normal


The car always suffered from excessive creeping when sat at the traffic lights. It wasn’t quite clear if this was torque convertor related or perhaps the front callipers. On examining the front callipers it did look like the stainless steel plates were lifting. So, off they went to be rebuilt. This turned out fairly expensive once the a few pistons had to be replaced too.

The results speak for themselves
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2ovBXf8]

Likewise the wheel were fairly grotty and really needed tidied up. The tyres were also budget and showing their age. I’d actually been surprised how poor they were in the wet, hence new tyres were added at the refurbishment stage.


The PAS pipes as noted in an earlier post were in pretty poor condition, so MJ kindly undertook this work and provided me with a splendid, refurbished set of hoses.

Usual knackered bits


Brakes built up and bled


This was initially troublesome. The ns wouldn’t bleed properly, and I ended up returning the unit. It was duly checked, cleaned and then bled up fine. Frustrating, but from a customer service perspective it was handled well.
The ac fan was somewhat knackered and had been for some time. I bought a replacement ages back but hadn’t fitted it until now.


Things were inching forwards and I finally had the car in a reasonable state of assembly, however this identified some more issues.

The ABS had not liked being dormant it seemed, and the yaw sensor had seemingly died. This was of course the curse of Botang’s hole.
Out came the interior – which I wanted to do at some stage, just not right now.


Once rather drowned yaw sensor. The acceleration sensor looked okay, but this had fried itself.
In for a penny… The carpets were shampooed and jet washed and required the usual long duration to thoroughly dry out. On the plus side the interior is much better.
The broken ashtray was fixed too, which looks much smarter.


And then reassembled






And this is how the car looks now




Coolant topped up!

It’s a 10 footer in some ways, but much better than at the start of the thread.

It also has it's S8 wing mirrors reinstated along with the grille which it was missing when I purchased it. (Engine code was correct though)

A few areas to address, including a weep from the rear final drive which I really need sort out, along with the oil pressure.

[Conan_the_Librarian]

Well done you! great to see all that work and now you will enjoy driving it knowing its all working!

[MikkiJayne]

Great work Rare to see TPMS on a UK car.

The oil pressure sensor is a very common failure and replacements are cheap. Can't remember the number but IIRC the Febi is about £6. Its handy to have a sacrificial long-reach 24mm socket on to which you can grind some flats and then grab it with vice grips, as the sensor is too deep for a standard socket and ratchet, and too recessed for a spanner. Obviously

[steamship]

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

The oil pressure sensor is a very common failure and replacements are cheap. Can't remember the number but IIRC the Febi is about £6.

Part number is 06A919081A, superseded with 06A919081D and then 06A919081J.

[Ronin]

its good to see someone who does their own repairs to this extent

[ThisWayUp]

Thanks all, for your kind words and helpful information.

I've got the oil pressure switch on order, so hopefully that'll solve the recurring warning.

The electrical fault on the gearbox is probably the wiring to the selector switch itself, as I already identified a broken wire there, so perhaps some damage has occured as it has been moved around.

The CD changer has always been quite unreliable, so I really need to look at alternatives to try and get a iPhone interface. The Dension offerings look quite pricey unless I can luck out with a used one.
Any other suggestions?

Thanks again
Brian

[Spanker]

Originally Posted by ThisWayUp

Thanks all, for your kind words and helpful information.

I've got the oil pressure switch on order, so hopefully that'll solve the recurring warning.

The electrical fault on the gearbox is probably the wiring to the selector switch itself, as I already identified a broken wire there, so perhaps some damage has occured as it has been moved around.

The CD changer has always been quite unreliable, so I really need to look at alternatives to try and get a iPhone interface. The Dension offerings look quite pricey unless I can luck out with a used one.
Any other suggestions?

Thanks again
Brian

The Dension Gateway Lite BT seems to have rocketed in price. A year ago I paid £105 + shipping.
Now it's £199
https://www.carcommunications.co.uk/...GBL3AU2%2FA2DP

I know others have used something like this though which is half the price:
https://usb-nachruesten.de/usbn17-us...-seat-retrofit

It looks like you've got a fog-light grille missing there.

[MikkiJayne]

I like these usb-nachruesten.de for simple bluetooth and hands-free addons, although last I checked they weren't shipping to the UK any more. Simple and reliable if you can get hold of one though - that's what I put in Paul's FE.

There are of course the OEM-lookalike Android units that Marcel and I have too. They have Carplay for a higher level of integration, but are obviously more complex to fit and not really plug & play.

Weird faults like that in the TCU are usually a symptom of water ingress. Alas the TCUs are becoming pretty unreliable these days and so they are quite rare and expensive. I'd swap it out for a known-good unit to see what happens before chasing wiring issues. I may have one I can lend you for diagnosis - I'll have a look.

[strummagnet]

Originally Posted by ThisWayUp

The ABS had not liked being dormant it seemed, and the yaw sensor had seemingly died. This was of course the curse of Botang’s hole.
Out came the interior – which I wanted to do at some stage, just not right now.


Once rather drowned yaw sensor. The acceleration sensor looked okay, but this had fried itself.

I wonder if there is a way the sensors could be mounted off of the floor, say 10mm, to alleviate the dangers of water ingress. One of MJ's magical designs for a support mounting that could be made waterproof as well?

Originally Posted by MikkiJayne

I like these usb-nachruesten.de for simple bluetooth and hands-free addons, although last I checked they weren't shipping to the UK any more. Simple and reliable if you can get hold of one though - that's what I put in Paul's FE.

I spent ages looking for a working alternative head unit, but none are 'stock' and trying to keep the car as original as possible - at the moment.

Yes the Nachruesten works great. connects automatically when in the car. Currently using my mobile for music, calls (hey google), and google maps / waze. Only drawback is that I need a mobile with at least a 10" screen!