Progress - Work Begins

Having got Tillie home, the first area of concern is the cooling system and oil system. Neither of the gauges work so anything could be happening. I've decided to first investigate a water leak from the water pump area.
On further investigation its not the pump but the pump bowl that is badly corroded. Having phoned around this is a common problem on TVO Fergi's and bad news, only second hand parts are available.
A visit to Specialised Welding in Steventon seemed to offer a solution. Unfortunately, the casting is so thin that when welded, further cracks appear ! Option 2 is to flood the surface with silver solder. The result looks good (thanks Frank) but we will have to wait until its refitted and pressurised to see. As I've had to drain down the water system I'm taking the opportunity to replace the hoses, fan belt, thermostat, pump, temp gauge and sender. This should, fingers crossed, mean I have a reliable cooling system.
50 year old nuts and bolts mean a combination of lots of release oil and in some cases heat. The most difficult bolts have been the two holding the thermostat housing down, I guess the ally casting and mild steel bolts are to blame for this. One of the bolts sheared off during removal. I managed to drill this out, but with no UNF taps, I ended up re-cutting the thread as 8mm (Imperial taps and dies added to the shopping list).
The temperature sender was also a pain to remove and I ended up drilling the main body and screwing in a large self tapping screw and then using a pair of stillson's to turn and release the sender.
Another area of interest has been the need to make up a joint for where the pump body bolts to the engine block, this takes be back to my apprenticeship. I've managed to obtain some jointing material and crudely made a joint used the pump body and a ball pain hammer (hole punches also added to the shopping list).
New pump, temperature sender, gauge, thermostat fitted a coat of paint to the removed components plus a new upright exhaust (to replace the underslung one), new battery and new oil pressure gauge and I'm ready to refill and test.
Spend on the above bits so far £230.


Labels: Ferguson TED20 Water Cooling System