EA 211 water pump - a nightmare?

[Crossthreaded]

I just posted this in the thread about sump plugs but realized many people might not see it so thought I'd just copy it to here under it's own heading as I think it's very interesting.

Oh dear. I just keep on finding more things to worry me about my Ibiza's wee 1.0 3 cylinder CHZB engine. She's going to get her cam belt renewed at her next service time (Easter next year when she will be 5 years old)

As many will know this new(ish) EA211 engine series does not have it's water pump integrated into the cambelt drive train - It's actually on the "back end" of the cylinder head - flywheel end - and is driven by it's own wee synchronous belt. Of course this means that should it pack in it's not going to potentially right off the valve gear/engine (as long as you "catch it" before the engine cooks off).

The trouble is I've become so used to automatically doing a water pump when changing a cam belt that it's seeming strange not to do one this time? Seat don't quote a change interval as far as I'm aware, and why should they? The engines of old, including my VE engined 1.9tdi Cordoba, were the same and you just kept an eye on coolant level and weeping from the pump.

Anyway, feeling "nervous" about it I've been researching how easy it is to do the pump and I've come upon the attached guidance. I know these engines have separate coolant circulation for head and block and it's very interesting to see there are actually two thermostats to control this - oh dear, more "needless" complexity and "stuff" to go wrong? It's very interesting also to read that there are leakage problems due to warping of the plastic housing. I've recently had a very interesting time trying to sort an oil leak on my boy's '07 Astra 1600 VVT. After struggling valiantly with new seals etc I discovered, by talking to our local Vauxhall indy that these plastic covers are famous, not only for warping but also for the built in PCV valve to stop working - which causes running problems. Don't struggle with it, just fit a new cover complete! Is it just me that thinks a plastic component heated up to "pretty hot and then some" is going to distort? Forgone conclusion I would say?

So. Have a read of the attached and start to feel sorry for me. I knew I should have bought that 1.8 ivtec estate instead?

 

[RUM4MO]

I think that plastics could be fine if they were selected carefully in terms of how it will perform in use and not how simple/easy and so cheap it will be through the manufacture process.

Many years ago, maybe just after we got married, we bought an electric kettle branded as Hoover, the main parts of that were manufactured from Noryl - and after a few years it started leaking, when I took it apart (as some people do!), to find out why - all the O-ring seals grooves had "opened up" slightly, very annoying. Some years at work we used Noryl as the plastic of choice - then we found out the same thing, Noryl is excellent - but it "flows" with time, so it is only fit for using where you frequently replace that assembly, in lots of areas at work, but not in all, same areas in modern cars, these parts are expected to last the life of the engine - so only very stable plastic should be use in these situations. Normally on VW Group motoring forums, when any part "kept" within a plastic cover/assembly, the smart way to deal with replacing that part is to include either the plastic part that retains it or it is mounted into.

 

[Rooster]

Hi, you are spot on in your comments and concerns re the water pump. It is probably one of the easiest pumps to change, however there are two pitfalls that repairers fall foul of! Firstly, the EA211 range of engines can be tricky to get rid of air locks if the coolant is disturbed, and the tensioning of the drive belt needs to be done as per the recommendations! So really there are, as always, two choices, leave the pump until it leaks/fails or the belt fails, or replace it and the coolant and forget about it for the next five years! When i have changed them, i have filled as much of the hoses with new coolant as i could before reattaching, ran the engine with the heater on full blast a couple of times and had no issues. Also, does your Ibiza have a temp gauge or just the warning lamp?

 

[Crossthreaded]

Glad to say it's got a gauge - I'd hate to not have one! Also can display coolant temp on the wee screen between the dials. In fact I keep that displayed all the time I'm driving. It can also display oil temp which I find very interesting. I tend to flick to that during warm up and avoid stressing the engine until the oil is up around 80 degrees. For the first time in many years I'm not going to do this cam belt myself I'm going to have Alan, Keith and the "merry men" at AVW do it for me. This will be around Easter when she'll be 5 years old and I'm thinking the coolant really should be changed at that time too so it would make sense to just do the pump at the same time? It also occurs to me that she's never had an air con service either so probably get that done too. I'm still going to do the service myself though.

Seems a strange thing to say but I'm pleased to see the factory fit Bridgestones on the front are now getting fairly worn - around 3.5 mm now left and I change when getting near 2 mm. I really don't like these tyres so feeling quite excited at the prospect of trying something new. I rather like Barums, - strange choice I know - which I've used on several vehicles with great success, but I've been meaning to try a set of Avons for several years and never got round to it. I'll change just the fronts at first (probably putting them to the rear as recommended) but if I like them I may just junk the other Bridgestones prematurely and do another two in their place.

 

[Crossthreaded]

I hope it's Ok to resurrect this thread but last time I posted was just before I did my first service on her - Twinkle, my 2016 1.0 EA211 3cylinder Ibiza - Up 'till then she'd been still under warranty so I'd kept my hands off so as not to void warranty (and a good thing too as she had to have a new turbo due to the wastegate linkage seizing up, which I've covered elsewhere).

Now we're a couple of years downstream from the warranty expiring - she's a March 2016 reg - and two annual services performed by me, so I'm much more familiar with the old girl. Thought a few observations might be interesting?

The general service work doesn't hold any particular "nasties" although I'm not a fan of the slider pin arrangement in the front calipers - too easy to get them cross threaded - and the air filter casing screws are corroding so I may have to cut a slot in one at next service time On the other hand I especially like the cabin filter, it's a peach to change. Only my daughter in law's Jazz has an easier one, you can do it sitting in the passenger's seat, very civilized, unlike my older boy's Punto which requires obscene contortions in the footwell! The oil drain plug is a steel one with a steel washer, Identical to the one my boy's old PD engine'd Fabia used. The dealer fitted a new plug at each service but when I examined it I just couldn't see any reason why - it's not a crush washer - so I've just reused it and had no problems (always torqued though, had enough of stripped threads in ally sumps!). Oil filter can be done without dropping the "vestigial" under tray but it's easier if you do, specially to get a good grip on it for tightening.

AVW did the cam belt for me back in the spring and also did a brake fluid change - much easier with their power bleeder. I also got them to do an aircon recharge. There was nothing wrong and it was working well but hadn't been "scrubbed" since it came out the factory. I also got them to do a set of plugs as I'd heard the coils can be a sod to pull and just didn't want the hassle. I've since learned that the "secret" is to pull them vertically (special tool available which makes this easier) but if one does leave a boot behind I now know how to use compressed air to blow it out. So I'll be doing the next plug change if I still have her by then.

Now about those Bridgestones. I junked them all in the end. Fronts had 3.5mm rears just over 4. All were quite badly suffering from degradation with cracks in the tread grooves and general signs of perishing. I had no confidence in them towards the end, especially in the wet, when dramatic degrees of understeer could be experienced at quite moderate speeds in the wet. After a lot of research and talking to friends I settled on a set of Falken Sincera SN110 which, although a summer tyre, gets a very good rating for wet grip. They've been on the car for a few months now and I'm extremely impressed with them. Of course it's not fair to compare their performance to the 5 year old hard Bridgestones but they have literally transformed the car and given me confidence in it again. Supplied to me by Steven at City Mobile Tyres: https://www.citymobiletyres.com/ and at a very good price too! Mostly he seems to supply and fit for the independent garage trade around here and he works pretty much inside the city boundary - so doesn't go outside the bypass - so only worth contacting him if you're a local Edinburgh person. However, if you live here he's well worth trying as his mobile service means he comes to you - which I find very convenient and allows me to jack up my own car and tighten wheel nuts "properly" myself, all in my own driveway. Of course he does the whole fitting bit himself if you don't want to get your hands dirty. His prices are very good and his balances are excellent - not a single mark on any of my wheels or my older boy's wife's Kia to which he's just fitted a complete set of Falkens too!

There are two things which still "trouble" me though, both of which the main dealer and AVW tell me are "fit for life" - I want these manufacturers to define "life" for me - One is the fuel filter under the floor and the other is the water pump/thermostat housing/synchronous belt. I'd intended to have the water pump's synchronous drive belt replaced when the cam belt was done but was advised not to do it "They are "for life" and we don't really do them unless they fail or other major work is being done, I was told. Rang the Dealer and got the same story. So I didn't get it done. Anyway, if your going to do the belt you have to remove the pump assembly/thermostat so you'll need to renew the seals, might as well just do a complete pump/thermostat? Since however, I've read a number of reports and seen videos of pumps which have failed and belts too. This has alarmed me but I've also been thinking about it. It seems that the pump itself and/or rubber gasket seals can leak and this can be seen as staining on top of the transmission/clutch housing. Also I would hope I'd be alerted when I do my weekly levels check. Also there is a top cover for the belt which can be fairly easily removed so I can inspect the belt and look for leaks inside the casing. I've decided this is going to be my approach and I'm going to stop "worrying" about it but I will be checking for external leaks weekly and taking that wee top cover off a couple of times a year. The belt doesn't seem to like running with coolant wetting it! Seems that it's quite difficult to get air locks out after refilling - which doesn't surprise me in the slightest when you look at all those coolant pipes/tubes - so that'll give me an excuse to buy a vacuum refill kit! I rather fancy the Neilsen kit: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334354126159?epid=2254314695&hash=item4dd90f154f:g:XSgAAOSwuqViJKuq&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA4BDJ+177HFly7y3qWBHTlbfZKej4/ZPIPOXgzFzWbxGqGJPdUBfjOXyWV0Q+1U64ExgNYN8TnsHeNdd5jo73FJKcmqX3tit1tm/hZHgg86ci/9Io2yG7+jTzLJwgXKH9wsVziQ2sxriwovM46MDKx42VND3DwKCX4vGrnr0JdKlOQv+8PKv/BlEM/YNdFlTlIVGogasYLfsIs5Yrzu++G/Banv/cRXxvQ/n4wATtiW+6Ji6SBDPJlorzCJPr+r+t65HIHEfZExkUtD1G6oiu4ef+NIHJiFjKAmXFfpZDET9M|tkp:BFBMutSe95dh I already have a couple of their other products, most notably their timing tool kit for the wee Fiat engines:

which I have found to be of good quality - I like my wee Fiats!

The EA211 pump/thermostat assembly doesn't look too difficult to change, just getting the airlocks out could be the problem. Now. of course, I'm wondering if creating a vacuum in the system, so it can suck the fluid back in, carries any danger of imploding stuff like radiators, heater matrix, etc, etc. However many garages, and most main dealers, seem to be using these vacuum fillers so I suppose they're Ok?

Lastly, as mentioned above, are concerns over the fuel filter. Again advised that it's a "for life" - "We've never changed one just as a routine service item" I was told. I've seen one cut open, which was interesting as it incorporates a pressure relief valve, - seem to be two common pressures, mine is a 6.6 bar one, it's stamped on the case. I believe the other one is around 4 bar. Apparently they look the same but mine wouldn't run well on the 4 bars and who knows what havoc the 6.6 bar one would do to the lesser system? Anyway, the filter element looks just like any other petrol paper element and I've seem a good few of those disintegrated during my working life and I certainly don't want wee, microscopic, bits of element finding their way into the high pressure side of the fuel system. So next service she's getting a filter. However I've been "bricking it" about tales of people damaging the quick release unions and how if you do so you can't just buy new unions, you've got to buy the entire pipe - which could be a front to rear and cost lots of shiny pennies! Then I saw this tool on ebay

:

and I thought "that looks like it'd do the job!" I haven't bought the new filter yet but I couldn't resist trying the tool out on the most accessible pipe and it worked magnificently. Compressed the fitting, got a good grip on it and allowed it to be wiggled and jiggled easily until it came off. At a bit over £7.00 it's been money well spent.

So there you are folks. That takes you all pretty much up to date with Twinkle's adventures, oh, except I got a shard of glass in one of the new tyres last week - flat as a pancake and sidewall of course, so not repairable - Steven quickly supplied a new one and commiserated with me!

Edit. PS. I meant to say that I discovered that Falken seems now to be an OE supplier to the V/A group - Steven has a number of nice posters on the inside of his van and one of them is a Falken Poster which proclaims this fact. For once in my life I'm actually ahead of the game!

 

[RUM4MO]

Good to hear from you again after a long period of "nothing"!
Petrol fuel filter, push-on type, I too was a bit concerned about them on my wife's previous 2002 VW Polo 1.4 16V Petrol, I bought the official repair parts from VW so as just to be prepared, they are sold by the "pipe size" - I've not looked to see if they are still supplied as a repair kit for cars with these engines. I bought a new filter for that car but never used it, it was sold at 13 years old with either 105K miles or 135K miles on it, original filter still on it. From my experience - way back then, so maybe 2008 or so, if you walked into a VW parts place and asked for one of them, it would have to be ordered, ie they never held any in the "retail sales stock", though maybe in the workshop stock.
Spark plug coils, so easy to remove them with the correct type of coil remover tool, I bought a Laser Tools version, but it differed from what was in the catalogue in that it was roughly/crudely finished and not nice and professionally finished as in the pictures, so on that count, I'd suggest just buying a cheapie "made in China" as I think that is the source for the more expensive Laser Tools version! Time again for new plugs for wife's 2015 Polo 1.2TSI this summer, parts all bought as and when found at a sensible price!
That Coolant Vacuum Refill Kit looks a lot like what comes with the Draper kit, but at under half the price, the Draper kit worked for me okay, I would expect that to do this job properly you would need to be able to demand that some sections either opened up to coolant flow, or the associated electric coolant pump was activated, I'd think that will be available in the options within VCDS, I could not find any way to run the charge cooler pump in my old 2011 Audi S4 system when looking using VCDS, its electric pump is controlled by the engine ECU ie when it runs and its running speed. I do know that some people that highly increase that 3.0TFSI engine's output, do cut into that pump's supply cable and chop a wire so that it runs flat out as a safety default, but I didn't want to go that far. In the end what I did, after maybe 1000miles of use with new G12evo coolant in it, was to apply a vacuum to the small coolant line that returns to the reservoir and doing that seemed to drag out some air - only time will time. For evidence of "no air in system" I'll use the Cold and Hot fluid level as a guide, ie no or very little increase in coolant level = no air, a significant increase in fluid level when Hot = air in system.
I'm afraid I'm still into buying new tools, first buy this past year, I think, was a Gen2 wheel bearing assembly renewal kit, as that 2015 indicated that one of the front wheel bearings was a bit "wrong", so I replaced both!
I needed to buy a new small hand vacuum pump to remove the air from my 2011 S4 only because my original one, bought maybe 20 years ago and hardly ever used, had lost the "knowledge" on exactly how to draw a vacuum!
I seem to have converted myself to being a "vacuum brake bleeder" from being a "pressure brake bleeder" - I'll blame rubbish design/quality of Gunsons EziBleeder for that, I have binned my original one, but I still have my 2nd and 3rd Gunsons kit, and felt it was time to buy my 4th, that one just had too many air and fluid leaking issues for me to bother resolving, maybe I will for next brake times, which will be in just under 2 years times - or in Spring, if my younger daughter and husband drive up from London in their 2019 Arona.
I bought a Laser Tools "straight" 3/8" sqr drv tap holder, to reach threaded holes in assembled things. I took my tap and die set over to my mate who lives "thro West" so that I could sort out some issues with the Ford Germany V4 that he had removed from his SAAB 96 - shame I had not brought that "straight" tap holder as the only thing that he had to hold it "way down" through things was one of these strange old style "right angled" adjustable spanner - last time I'd seen one of them was in a LandRover tool roll! Still, I got that job done, his other issue of one rocker cover bolt hole being stripped is probably down to someone losing a 1/4UNC bolt earlier in that car's life, and with it being a Swedish brand with German engine, assumed that an M6 bolt would be good enough! Very strange to think that a German Ford V4 which is different to a British Ford V4, would have UNC fixings on/in it, but he says there is quite a mix of thread types used on it!!
Next tool being bought, ahead of time, but in time for Christmas, is a coil spring compressor that fits inside the coil, looks ideal for "preparing" new springs for fitting into position - where there is no damper tube inside them, or even "preparing" modern tapered springs prior to fitting normal outside compressors - I hate using DIYer spring compressors on tapered coil springs!
Brakes, I don't mind dealing with ATE brakes with threaded guide pins, I serviced the brakes on my older daughter's 2019 Leon Cupra, first time I've worked on a VW Group car that had TRW brakes on the front,and so bolts+blue Loctite on the front,and ATE and so threaded guide pins on the rear. Just a pity that someone added in electric handbrake without leaving enough working clearance for torquing up these guide pins on the rear! Maybe easier on the lower powered cars that only have a twist beam axle, but not so good with the higher powered ones that have the more complex linkage.
I had a look to see if I could reach the (front) eDiff to replace its friction modified fluid - but being a sort of realistic person, doing that job while the car is only sitting up on 325mm jack stands (under the side sills) is not on. Buying QuickJacks could work, but I can do all I need to do on my cars with the big wooden ramps and Jackpoint Jackstands I already have, so spending almost £2000, by the time I buy the higher weight rating QuickJacks along with an extended extra pair of platforms and correct lifting adaptors for VW Group cars, just does not make sense at my age, so AVW will probably get that work, although I have already bought the parts, the point here being, VW Group Audi, GTI and VRS rated dealerships will only drop out the old fluid and dump in almost enough new fluid, that, it has been said is not good enough, the pump needs removing and its mesh strainer cleaned of all friction plate bits, and then new fluid put back in, I'd think that AVW will do it that way, or will if asked to.
The annoying thing wrt these Quickjacks is, that daughter's partner has a Lotus Esprite that needs that sort of system to lift it - but he is not willing to buy it - yet.
Onwards and upwards!

 

[RUM4MO]

Sorry, I missed out the water pump stuff, I think that all your "thinking" on this based is based on past experience of belt driven water pumps, when they were driven off the aux belt they could/would end up having their bearing stressed by the belt needing to be able to drive other heavier loads, so if/when they failed, they would either lose coolant or try to seize the aux drive belt which would maybe jump off and you lost all the other bits like dynamo/alternator and power steering, both of which would cause worrying issues.
And of course, the worse situation with cambelt driven ones!
With this remote belt driven water pump, the belt will have been hopefully rated to easily "see out" the life of that water pump, which in itself should not be getting stressed too much by the tension on its drive pulley. So, I can see that it could be ignored a lot more than earlier water pumps.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Thanks for the warm welcome back RUM. You raise a lot of interesting points there and I'm intending to reply to some of them soon. I feel the need to explain that my main forum is the FIAT Forum and I spend a lot of my on line time there, only dipping in and out of our forum here from time to time. However I'm also very busy - who said you'll have time on your hands in retirement? - with Family stuff. Looking after the younger members of the family so parents can go out to work in particular. I'm very involved in finishing work on the extensions both my boys have recently had built. The older boy's builders were very good and there's a minimum of fettling needed however, my younger boy has had quite a bit of trouble just trying to get them to finish the job off - not the same builder as my older boy - and in particular supplying us with the certification to satisfy building control and get his completion certificate issued. Luckily the chap I'm dealing with at building control is very nice and is cutting us quite a bit of slack in terms of deadlines, However there was to be a limit as to how long he's going to continue with this. I'm nearly there though, just one more certificate needed.

On top of this of course, I'm still looking after the cars. Oldest boy's Punto serviced a couple of weeks ago and all went well except it needs new front pads and probably would be the better of replacing the discs too. The gasket on the exhaust downpipe joint is blowing too, but only slightly, Will have to be done for MOT though. It's just held with two nuts so you'd think it would be simple but they are so rusted they will have to be cut off, drilled through (they're studs) and replaced with nuts and bolts to reassemble.

Anyway, We (better half and I) are just about to leave for Newton Grange to pick up my younger boy's kids from school and look after them till Mum and Dad come home. The building control chap wasn't too happy with the way some of the loft insulation had been applied so I'm going to do a bit of loft insulation "rearranging" while "Her indoors" (capitol H you'll notice) does homework with the kids. Then I'll regress and do some rolling around on the floor with them when I've had enough of the loft.

Speak soon, over the next few days anyway, probably after I've got the Punto brakes sorted, but in the meantime, Bye for now.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Ah well, that was inevitable I suppose. Had a bit of a sniffle yesterday but have woken today with a full blown cold - sore throat, runny nose and eyes, etc. We see the grand kids several days a week so I've almost certainly caught it from them. The point being I don't feel up to sitting on the drive, in the cold, sorting out the Punto's front brakes so here I am with enough time on my hands to converse with you folks! Waiting for delivery of a roll of insulation for the boy's loft too - those builders were a bit mean with waht they installed.

RUM, your experiences with that fuel filter reassure me considerably but it'll be about 7.5 years old by the time I do the next service - I time shifted the service intervals from March (when she was registered) to mid summer so I would be working in the warm. I felt able to do this as I'd covered very few annual miles due to covid and, using a top quality oil, I knew that it wouldn't suffer - Still feel I'd like to fit a new one though.

Talking about that filter has brought the whole subject of spares to mind. Sources of supply has been a subject which has often occupied my thoughts and has been a consideration for many years now, ever since my friends at Edinburgh Motor Factors had to shut their doors - very sadly due to health issues. This was a great blow to me as I'd bought my spares there for so many years and had known the owners for even longer, way back to the times when they worked for the factor's in Newhaven Road - long gone now. They would sell me high quality aftermarket brands (Mahle filters for instance) at very reasonable prices and there was always a very pleasant "craic" going during the process. I miss them a lot! It was quite "traumatic" for me when they closed, I turned up one day to buy "stuff" to find the shutters down. Then I found out about the very sad circumstances, realized I wasn't going to be getting stuff from them any more and started drifting around the other suppliers local to me. Non of them are particularly close however. Then I discovered a branch of SRS in Newhaven road. I've known of their existence since they had a unit off Easter Road next to where Edinburgh Motor Factors first set up and even bought a couple of things from them but, back in those early days I'd not felt the quality was there. Very different now. Also they're now owned by Group Auto and the quality of parts seems very good now. Just recently they are supplying a lot of NAPA branded parts, The discs and pads I've bought for the Punto are that brand and they look to be of good quality. I know NAPA from my exploits with the chap i got to know while visiting my daughter in Maryland and getting a little involved with his early Corvette restoration. Last time I saw him he was working on the carb, a multi choke job which was like a marriage between a Ford VV and an old Solex/Zenith fixed choke. Never seen one like it before. Anyway, the point being, he quite liked the NAPA stuff. Well, I've been rambling on here so I'd better come to the big revelation, I've pretty much given up buying genuine manufacturer branded parts!

This has been brought about because I realize I've now been servicing the "family fleet" - 6 cars from various manufacturers - largely with factor supplied parts for many years now without any problems. Mind you I always buy a "known" brand and for super critical parts - that fuel filter would qualify - I would buy a the brand originally fitted by the manufacturer. I've been lamenting the fact that I can't buy directly from TPS any more but feeling much happier now I've made this decision.

Regarding the coil removal tool, this is the one I've been told to buy: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203755627436?hash=item2f70c823ac:g:7LsAAOSwxYxhvCsH&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAAsOuf7ZSnqHCOuCZLAyo6ouFX/NzVcz/1ndUEAIiBv6uxAYotsgH+1KFP9IqvuYAqoMx5NVvWyR8/6StgpFX+1tlsDEZl8jnGvkVnXBsJnEFqW2HphF0EeZjoXZX6O+E3OYR10ETc0z/eHeNMSn09Fv7EmhyW92w8u1+YVLl1MgHW1IAVxa0W9FpdUEJzSu+FzvlCQ6afcCnJN4h9prDJgnu9AIKbfRuCRtyJfnYG9z6X|tkp:Bk9SR-SzmP6YYQ which i think is very affordable. I've been told that if the rubber gets left behind in the plug well all you do is poke your airline blow gun down the middle and it'll blow the rubber up and out. Sounds like it'll work to me? Some silicon grease inside on reassembly - which I've been doing for years anyway.

There seem to be a number of vacuum coolant fill kits on the go with different selections of adaptors for header tanks, so good to know that this type does the job. Thanks. The "ball type" expansion tank cap looks a bit different from the generic type cap you find on many vehicles so I had been wondering about suitability. Thanks too for your findings on refilling - I wouldn't have particularly thought about vacuuming the return pipe but I like the idea. Also agree with the thinking behind level variation hot/cold and it's relevance to air in the system.

What I'm doing about bleeding is still a "moving feast". What's for sure is that the, very old now, Gunson is not cutting the mustard. Vacuum appeals due to the unlikelyhood of spills but I don't like the idea of always seeing bubbles in the bleed line - I'm experimenting. Also I can see an advantage in having a vacuum pump/source for diagnostic testing of MAP sensors and the like - I'd like a smoke generator too.

Regarding the Ford V4 engine. I never worked on either a British or German one but remember quite well the similar situation with the V6 where the cologne engine was quite different. Do you remember how awkward the locking nuts were to get at on the middle cylinders of the old Pinto OHC engine? I still have the angled open ended spanner with half inch square drive and I don't think I've ever used it on anything else!

Talking about the front caliper slide pins on the Ibiza. What I dislike is that the pad retaining clips - The springy "bits" on the pads - tend to push the caliper forward as you're trying to get the pin started in it's thread. This makes cross threading much more easily achieved - as was the case on Twinkle which I discovered the first time I serviced her. To be fair, I doubt if it was the dealer as I don't think they'd had a wheel off her - they were "welded" to the hubs and took a great deal of "persuasion" to shift them. My guess would be the top pin, which was the one with the ruined thread, was fitted this way at original build! Macinnon's in Clockmill lane drilled it out and installed an insert for me. When I went to pick the car up he took me into the workshop and showed me the repair kit - it's not simply helicoils - and told me he thought, if I ever have to tackle another, he thought I could do it myself, and I agree. I know nothing about this garage, although I've known they were there since the days I would buy parts from Hunters breakers yard (Long gone now but they now have a garage in Linlithgow by the way. bought my daughter in law's Jazz there and it's been a good buy). Back to those caliper pins, I find the best way to locate them is to tip the caliper in at the top a little which lets you easily get the top pin started on it's thread, then push quite had on the bottom of the caliper and "feel" the bottom pin into it's thread - works well for me. Still don't like the design though.

I've been thinking about the water pump - but not loosing any sleep over it - You were talking about side loading of the bearings, over tensioned belts and their effects on bearing life. Undoubtedly over tight belts can easily destroy or shorten bearing life but I think many water pumps fail because the seals start to let coolant into the ball races. Thinking about the pump on our wee EA211 engines. The tensioning is done at fitting by applying a turning torque - 30nm I think? to the pump housing at the time of fitting. It's not subsequently adjustable and I'm sure that if you slackened the pump retaining bolts to do so you'd end up with leaks anyway! Synchronous belts are supposed not to stretch though, so adjustment should not be needed? Thinking about side loading of the bearing. The 30nm is applied as a rotational force with it's centre some 6" or so (I haven't measured it) away from the centre line of the pump bearing. I occurs to me that this small force is doing little more than taking the slack up so side forces on the bearing will be minimal, drive being transmitted via the teeth rather than the sides of the belt - as is the case with V or Multi V belts which drive on the V side of the belt so require greater tension. This scenario must bode well for the longevity of bearings in our pumps? Of course, if it fails, you won't know unless you pick up on the water temp indication - I keep my centre display panel "tuned" to display water temp during normal driving.

Well, I've "gone on" for probably too long now and this cold is bringing on a rather bad headache, probably not being helped by working on this screen! So I'm off to make a lemsip and snuggle up with a blanket on the couch.

Bye for now folks, I may not have posted much of late but I think this probably makes up for it?