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| From Farm Find to Camper; Camper Conversion Project | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 24 2013, 11:55 AM (2,902 Views) | |
| cheveco | Feb 24 2013, 11:55 AM Post #1 |
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Thought I'd start a post of the transition of my 4X4 Iveco from a farm find to a camper. I havent been very active on this forum however the ability to post links to photos and embed photos has drawn me to share my experiences and progress for all those interested. The Iveco itself is a 1999 series 2 4X4 which was part of a cancelled shipment bought to Australia for Britz to be turned into campers. The shipment was canceled by Brits and sold at auction by Iveco. To my knowledge 11 were sold at that particular auction which was where my first experience with Iveco 4x4's started. I purchased my first Iveco 4x4 nearly 11 years ago. I still have my first Iveco and may start a post on that at a later date. It wont however be the focus of this topic. The new vehicle is therefore a 4x4 turbo daily purchased and first registered in 2001 which was when the Iveco auction was held. These vans were sold without warrantee and most were 2 years old before being first registered. They are 40-10 short wheelbase high roof vans with rear diff locks only and no side doors. The vehicle that is the subject of this post has had a checkered past and from what I can tell the history is as follows; Purchased in 2001 by owner unknown Suffered a major engine malfunction at around 1700km Sold to second owner around 2002 who removed the engine and had it rebuilt Second owner did not get around to re installing the engine due to overseas work commitments Van sat in various states of disrepair and was moved a number of times and resided in a number of homes from full garaging to hay barn to paddock still with the engine out. second owner moved again and did not have storage so van and engine sat in a paddock belongigg to a friend Van advertised for sale before it became worthless. Purchase price $10,000 Aust with discount negotiated ![]() photo shows van as found. It came complete with engine hoist Van being loaded for trip home. I reassembled the front so it wouldn't look quite so bad when the wife first saw it. The interior was in very good condition however the previous tenants have left it in a bit of a mess. The little black flecks on the floor are rats droppings which wasn't the only evidence they left of their tenancy. The smell was disgusting. Further evidence will become obvious later. Needless to say they wont be getting their bond back More Inside Shots First reunion with his long lost brother Next post Engine installation Dennis Jones |
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| dorset tony | Feb 26 2013, 09:14 AM Post #2 |
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Appears to be in great condition, that would be a pile of rust after sitting in a field over here! Any idea what caused the original engine failure? Looking forward to more instalments! Tony |
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| Ned | Feb 26 2013, 10:54 PM Post #3 |
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nice! so how many km's has it on it? Tony is spot on, mine has suffered in the 12 years its been here, the damp is a killer Edited by Ned, Feb 26 2013, 10:57 PM.
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| cheveco | Feb 28 2013, 12:07 AM Post #4 |
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Ned The km's have just rolled past 2,000 so I've done around 300. I picked it up with 1,700km on the clock Tony The work they did on the engine must have been quite serious because it has a new engine block. the engine numbers don't tie up with the original documentation and the engine no ends with an X On with the story The engine looked like this when purchased (Sorry Poor Images) ![]() ![]() Most of the parts were there apart from 2 of the bolts for the flywheel, the clutch plate assembly and fan belts. I checked the fuel pump timing and chain tensioners and everything appeared to be ok. There was a spare cam tensioner lying around so I'm not sure if the original trouble was associated with the cam chain. I was a little suspicious because the chain cover was off when i purchased the engine so i did a thorough inspection of everything in that area to see if something was missing Spent a day or two tiding up the engine before installing it in the van I know from experience that there is not a lot of clearance around the engine when re installed so its easier to make sure everything is there and working before installation Final assembly and ready for installation. Not too many dramas here. Struggled a little with clutch alignment but otherwise reasonably straight forward Decided to run the engine with the minimum of connections made in case it had to come out again. Took a lot of effort to get the fuel through for the first time. The engine was tight and probably didn't have a lot of oil anywhere after sitting for so long. I removed the injectors and sprayed a large amount of WD40 down the holes to try and lubricate the pistons. Didn't know if the bore was rusty however the engine had been sealed quite well apart from the rag timing cover and most of the internal parts removed for inspection including the timing chain cogs had no surface rust. I made sure I primed the oil filter well and tried to pressurize oil down the galleries with an oil can but don't think that was very successful. I used the hand primer to try and prime the fuel system but again only with limited success. Had better luck using an air gun into the fuel tank to pressurise it and force fuel through. That's probably not in the Iveco manual. You need to disconnect and block off the return line to the tank. use a rag around the air gun to block the fuel filler and pull the trigger. The injector piping was all disconnected since the injectors were out so I soon found out when the fuel was through (Still cleaning diesel off the drive way). Wound the engine over by hand a couple of times until oil appeared on the cam chain and covered that area up. Time to reassemble the injectors and test fire. This is the point where you find out if you bought a vehicle or a pile of spare parts. Hopped in, turned the key and it started first crank. Hardly felt like it went a full revolution. Gave me a hell of a fright and I panicked and turned it off straight away. Felt a bit of a goose. It could be running on excess WD40 for all I know. Started it a second time and let it run for a while. It was a little rattly for the first couple of seconds then quietened down. Having another Iveco was handy because I can recognize the sound of a sweet running Daily reasonably quickly. That was "a runner" as far as I was concerned. Time to shut it off and re install the radiator air cleaner heater bumper supports and other ancillary parts before taking it for a test drive. Cant Wait Dam a big puddle of oil on the drive. That's not good. Didn't need to worry about the diesel stain any more. After further investigation I found the cover plate that covers the hole where the mechanical fuel pumps should be, hadn't been re installed properly by the painter. ( I gave myself a right telling off.) Also explained why the alternator was bouncing around. Its mounted on that plate. I noticed a number of lights not working on the dash and the electrics were behaving a little erratically but its an Iveco and that's not their strong point. Little did I know-------- |
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| Ned | Mar 1 2013, 07:35 PM Post #5 |
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...and then..... |
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| ivecojoe | Mar 1 2013, 08:50 PM Post #6 |
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That looks in real good condition tin wise, I hope you dont have the same trouble with the wiring that is common with the old classic tractors......rats chewing the plastic and making nests! on servicing a mk 2 for a friend I made an unwelcome discovery ,a dead cat it had crawled up into the engine compartment for warmth I geuss and hudled up under the air cleaner box on the black plastic under tray, it had been there a long time as it was dried out just skin and bone,reckon it was injured or ill,anyways keep the pictures coming nice job on that engine glad it runs good. tractor Paul |
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| cheveco | Mar 2 2013, 11:49 PM Post #7 |
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Tractor Paul - Got it in one Everything was going well for the blue slip (that's our equivalent of whatever you need to get a vehicle back on the road after it hasn't been registered for a while) There were a few lights not working on the dash and but after checking the head lights, tail lights, Horn and wipers. the biggest problem apeared to be one side light on the front quarter panel wasn't working. Didn't appear too much of a problem. Had to be either fuse or bulb. Unfortunately not the case. After much testing I found it had no earth wire connection. I was going to take the quick way out and rig up a temporary earth but decided to trace the wiring back and fix the problem. This is what I found You can see all the straw in and around the wiring They were entering through the hole where the heater was removed from the engine bay to get the motor out. At some stage the pevious owner had blocked the hole up with a piece of wood but it was a little too late the damage had been done. The repair was done by cutting the wire where the insulation was chewed through and sliding heat shrink over the wire before soldering the wire back together and heating the heat shrink. There were about 20 wires with insulation damage and 12 or so chewed right through. They had chewed all the wiring off the back of the speedo which meant pulling the speedo and clock apart to fix. The wiring to the sidelight was the hardest to fix because it was right where it entered the bulkhead. The loom had to be disconnected and withdrawn completely to repair. Seams to have fixed it as everything appears to work and no electrical problems so far Next Brakes |
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| 244t | Jul 14 2013, 10:42 PM Post #8 |
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4x4 Daily... The ultimate Daily, I have noticed one near where I live, it's quite incredible how high they are!!! Hope the brakes don't give too much grief!! I notice its a while since the last post!!!, could we have another episode please? |
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