Katie's been standing quite still for over a month.
I decided to take the man out for a quick pre-Valentine's coffee/cake and watch-the-sun-set on the 13th of Feb. Well once the sun had set, I turned Katie's key - and got nothing. Stuck at the beach wiht no spark getting through! Eish.
Many hours and calls and a neighbour later, we towed her to overnight in a safe place nearby, then towed her home next day - and there she has sat ever since. I've tried to find the problem but come up short. It could be anything from the battery being so far from the engine (which makes starting difficult to begin with), to the distributor cap connectors being worn, to the HT leads being of many and varied types/ages, to and earthing issue, to... well it could be anything.
She started once since then, but no spark when I switched her off and tried again. I suspect something's worn down or gotten old.
I'm not very good at electrics, so am having to call in an expert on this one - and it may get expensive. Eish again.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
What a jerk!
Katie spent a good deal of today running around town on a large number of errands. Although it was hot and muggy, she did pretty well. Except...
She's developed a jerk. It's probably timing, but it's not good - especially in town driving traffic at low revvs. I need to call in expert help to sort it out, as timing is one thing I'm not very good at setting.
She's got a full day of driving up tomorrow. Let's hope it's going to be a bit smoother than today. And a little more fuel efficient or I'll be pushing the beast home.
She's developed a jerk. It's probably timing, but it's not good - especially in town driving traffic at low revvs. I need to call in expert help to sort it out, as timing is one thing I'm not very good at setting.
She's got a full day of driving up tomorrow. Let's hope it's going to be a bit smoother than today. And a little more fuel efficient or I'll be pushing the beast home.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Being Neighbourly
Katie did some community service today!
We had booked an e-waste collection just down the road, but it fell through at the last minute, leaving my schedule in disarray. Instead we went to go help our neighbour move a bed from nearby storage to his home.
While hooking up the trailer, Katie gave me a bit of a fright. Our yard has a small slope to it, I'd reversed her up this nearer the trailer and had just finished hooking it up when I saw her start to move forward.... without me in the driver's seat! I don't think I've ever run around a trailer and squeezed through the gate gap so fast. I had visions of her popping in across the road for a cuppa, but fortunately she didn't. It was a mere small movement forward, just enough to truly wake me up and make sure I was paying attention.
The rest of the day was uneventful by comparison. We did a trip to the beach area, a trip to the town area, and then battled through the ongoing road construction, up a steepish hill behind a brick-loaded truck in first gear and home again. No overheating, no kak (not even an attempt to throw me out, as she did last Friday when the driver's door opened suddenly as we were speeding down the highway!) and no drama.
Well.. except for one thing. Her friend Olivia is coming back home tomorrow without her heart transplant (replacement engine is a dud) - and Katie's probably going to have to provide the forward motion to get her here.
Sleep well Katie - tomorrow's another big day.
We had booked an e-waste collection just down the road, but it fell through at the last minute, leaving my schedule in disarray. Instead we went to go help our neighbour move a bed from nearby storage to his home.
While hooking up the trailer, Katie gave me a bit of a fright. Our yard has a small slope to it, I'd reversed her up this nearer the trailer and had just finished hooking it up when I saw her start to move forward.... without me in the driver's seat! I don't think I've ever run around a trailer and squeezed through the gate gap so fast. I had visions of her popping in across the road for a cuppa, but fortunately she didn't. It was a mere small movement forward, just enough to truly wake me up and make sure I was paying attention.
The rest of the day was uneventful by comparison. We did a trip to the beach area, a trip to the town area, and then battled through the ongoing road construction, up a steepish hill behind a brick-loaded truck in first gear and home again. No overheating, no kak (not even an attempt to throw me out, as she did last Friday when the driver's door opened suddenly as we were speeding down the highway!) and no drama.
Well.. except for one thing. Her friend Olivia is coming back home tomorrow without her heart transplant (replacement engine is a dud) - and Katie's probably going to have to provide the forward motion to get her here.
Sleep well Katie - tomorrow's another big day.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Back to the grindstone
E went out to start Katie this morning, ahead of towing her friend Olivia in for an engine swap. He came back saying "I don't know what you've done to that truck but it wouldn't tow anything in its current state!" I looked at him in surprise - Katie was doing just fine when I last drove her!
The Disco2 got to do the job instead though and Katie will be parking closer to the front door until Olivia's back from the hospital.
Then it was my turn to have a word with Katie. Started her (pump pump pump...), put my foot down, threw another R100 petrol down her throat and she was fine. I guess she's just not a morning Landy, especially after being a parking-lot-potato for two days. And what truck doesn't need breakfast?
Today she saw a bit more of the Cape. I had a collection to sort out in Stellenbosch, so off we went - via the plastic recycling people in the opposite direction. The trailer is a lot more stable behind her than either Olivia or the Disco2 - I barely notice it.
After last week's hill episode, I was interested to see what she'd do on the R44 out of town toward Stellenbosch. We'd had a word with the guy who drives a Series with the same engine over the weekend and figured out the carb gets starved of fuel at a certain angle (cuts out), and steep hills are not her friend. Yup, going uphill the temp rose a bit, came down again on the other side. Not steep enough to cut out but I can see the pattern here. We'll be looking at timing as soon as we can manage. The radiator also seems a bit overfull even when cold - I want to check for any blockages and make sure the thermostat is doing what it's supposed to.
She drove well the rest of the day - back to Somerset West, down to the noisy and dusty scrapyard, and a trip or two into town.
Tomorrow she'll be visiting a local school - I'm sure the kids will love her.
The Disco2 got to do the job instead though and Katie will be parking closer to the front door until Olivia's back from the hospital.
Then it was my turn to have a word with Katie. Started her (pump pump pump...), put my foot down, threw another R100 petrol down her throat and she was fine. I guess she's just not a morning Landy, especially after being a parking-lot-potato for two days. And what truck doesn't need breakfast?
Today she saw a bit more of the Cape. I had a collection to sort out in Stellenbosch, so off we went - via the plastic recycling people in the opposite direction. The trailer is a lot more stable behind her than either Olivia or the Disco2 - I barely notice it.
After last week's hill episode, I was interested to see what she'd do on the R44 out of town toward Stellenbosch. We'd had a word with the guy who drives a Series with the same engine over the weekend and figured out the carb gets starved of fuel at a certain angle (cuts out), and steep hills are not her friend. Yup, going uphill the temp rose a bit, came down again on the other side. Not steep enough to cut out but I can see the pattern here. We'll be looking at timing as soon as we can manage. The radiator also seems a bit overfull even when cold - I want to check for any blockages and make sure the thermostat is doing what it's supposed to.
She drove well the rest of the day - back to Somerset West, down to the noisy and dusty scrapyard, and a trip or two into town.
Tomorrow she'll be visiting a local school - I'm sure the kids will love her.
Friday, January 22, 2010
One more work day
Today I had an unplanned trip required into Cape Town. A company had 60 computers and the equivalent monitors needing recycling, and I made arrangements to do so. We hitched up the trailer (after J figured out how to remove the "condom" from the hitch), poured more petrol into her gullet and off we went.
She was feeling hot by the time we got there, and as we pulled up we got a surprise. Someone else had pitched and claimed the load, and was piling it into a Kia bakkie. In a bit of a huff I had a word with the guy in charge, who said he'd sommer told a whole lot of people to come collect, as no-one ever did. So poor Katie didn't even get a chance to cool down before we had to drive again.
I had another collection lined up, so off we went to do that one, and it turned out not to be too big. We were loading on a lawn - when it came time to pull off, poor Katie seems to have had a bit of a shock, she simply didn't want to go! Had a brief word in her ear, tried again and she gave in.
She made it back very well with the small load. Bit of a taste of things to come.. :-)
And, being Friday, it was time to park her up for the weekend to rest. I think the poor old girl needed it after being thrown so thoroughly back into being a daily driver.
She was feeling hot by the time we got there, and as we pulled up we got a surprise. Someone else had pitched and claimed the load, and was piling it into a Kia bakkie. In a bit of a huff I had a word with the guy in charge, who said he'd sommer told a whole lot of people to come collect, as no-one ever did. So poor Katie didn't even get a chance to cool down before we had to drive again.
I had another collection lined up, so off we went to do that one, and it turned out not to be too big. We were loading on a lawn - when it came time to pull off, poor Katie seems to have had a bit of a shock, she simply didn't want to go! Had a brief word in her ear, tried again and she gave in.
She made it back very well with the small load. Bit of a taste of things to come.. :-)
And, being Friday, it was time to park her up for the weekend to rest. I think the poor old girl needed it after being thrown so thoroughly back into being a daily driver.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Uh-Oh...
E & I swapped vehicles today. His first shot at driving Katie (and being a Landy expert, I was waiting for his comment...). He needed a truck that could transport a long ladder, and Katie has a roofrack, so there we had it. Me, I was staying at base camp so would use the Disco2 if I needed to go anywhere.
Now E is very tall, and any Series truck is a bit of a squeeze. Granted, Katie has much more comfortable seating arrangements than Olivia, but he was still having trouble with foot and leg room within minutes, compared to the roomy D2. He soldiered on and come afternoon was going to give her a real test of what she could and couldn't do.
We have a high site on the slopes of a mountain. Some of our fellow high-site dwellers brave the roads in Unos and Toyota Ventures, but we like our Landys. Conditions were not too bad, albeit a bit hot, when E & J loaded up Katie for her first expedition up the slopes.
An hour or so later I got a call - oh dear, I could hear things had not gone well. Katie had stalled twice going up the mountain, had overheated, and E was swearing never to get into her again (except, of course, to come back down). Actually, he was swearing about a good few things at the same time, and Katie featured prominently in them.
Yes, she made it up the mountain as any 4x4 should - but not as well as expected. I know she's sat for a while and probably isn't used to being driven around over all sorts of terrain, but this was pretty scary. What was wrong?
Katie's dad received a couple of very panicked messages on his cellphone, and when he got back to me we tried to figure this out. At the same time I was all over the Landy forums to find some wisdom.
And it was during all this I found out she does not, in fact, have an R6 engine. Instead it's a Chev 4.1! Hmmm... whole different kettle of fish, but now I know where to start looking.
A bit of investigation revealed the likely culprit to be timing. Between the jerking and the overheating, those two fingers pointed pretty squarely in one direction.
It was after sunset before they made it back, exhausted, hot, hungry and stressed out. The work there had been terrible - and Katie's contribution to the bad day had been duly noted.. :-)
At least now we had a bit of direction though with knowing how to manage her engine. And we know someone who has one...
Now E is very tall, and any Series truck is a bit of a squeeze. Granted, Katie has much more comfortable seating arrangements than Olivia, but he was still having trouble with foot and leg room within minutes, compared to the roomy D2. He soldiered on and come afternoon was going to give her a real test of what she could and couldn't do.
We have a high site on the slopes of a mountain. Some of our fellow high-site dwellers brave the roads in Unos and Toyota Ventures, but we like our Landys. Conditions were not too bad, albeit a bit hot, when E & J loaded up Katie for her first expedition up the slopes.
An hour or so later I got a call - oh dear, I could hear things had not gone well. Katie had stalled twice going up the mountain, had overheated, and E was swearing never to get into her again (except, of course, to come back down). Actually, he was swearing about a good few things at the same time, and Katie featured prominently in them.
Yes, she made it up the mountain as any 4x4 should - but not as well as expected. I know she's sat for a while and probably isn't used to being driven around over all sorts of terrain, but this was pretty scary. What was wrong?
Katie's dad received a couple of very panicked messages on his cellphone, and when he got back to me we tried to figure this out. At the same time I was all over the Landy forums to find some wisdom.
And it was during all this I found out she does not, in fact, have an R6 engine. Instead it's a Chev 4.1! Hmmm... whole different kettle of fish, but now I know where to start looking.
A bit of investigation revealed the likely culprit to be timing. Between the jerking and the overheating, those two fingers pointed pretty squarely in one direction.
It was after sunset before they made it back, exhausted, hot, hungry and stressed out. The work there had been terrible - and Katie's contribution to the bad day had been duly noted.. :-)
At least now we had a bit of direction though with knowing how to manage her engine. And we know someone who has one...
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Seeing the sights
Today Katie got to see a little bit of Somerset West and Strand. With all the goods we picked up, some of them go here, some of them go there - and delivery was in order.
Up and down we went to all sorts of places, and she did OK. Except for the jerking.
But if you put your foot down it goes away. Eish :-) Seems she doesn't want to be driven TOO gently.
Our final stretch home after a day on the road and she was starting to feel as if it was rest time. It's a bit of a hot day. She's been doing a lot of town driving today, around the local mall, a place where we're installing wireless internet, and to get the groceries. She definitely prefers the open road. Fuel consumption is not lekker.
Have I had any Landys wave at me? Nope. Not a single one.
Up and down we went to all sorts of places, and she did OK. Except for the jerking.
But if you put your foot down it goes away. Eish :-) Seems she doesn't want to be driven TOO gently.
Our final stretch home after a day on the road and she was starting to feel as if it was rest time. It's a bit of a hot day. She's been doing a lot of town driving today, around the local mall, a place where we're installing wireless internet, and to get the groceries. She definitely prefers the open road. Fuel consumption is not lekker.
Have I had any Landys wave at me? Nope. Not a single one.
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