Thread: Top 10 preventive maintenance tasks when buying a D2a

Originally Posted by alpick

Dont things generally break because they are not strong enough?

Sometimes the question is not whether something will break, but what will break, and at what limits. If the Al head and Iron manifold expand at different rates which breaks the studs, and so you replace the studs with stronger studs, then you are more likely to have the head or manifold break (or warp or whatever).

While I'm no expert here, I can guess that if you fix the problem of differing expansion rates by tying everything down stronger, you risk more catastrophic breaks, or plastic deformation of the components. Bridges and railways are built with the capacity to slide or grow together as they heat and cool. Seems reasonable to allow for sideways movement in this specific case.

Looking here Aluminium has a coefficient of expansion of about 22um/m/K, and cast iron about 10.5. For a temperature change of say 600oC over a length of about 0.5m, the difference in movement between the head and the manifold could be in the region 3mm or more. Not much, but a movement of 1.5mm at each end of the manifold against fixed studs to me would seem to apply a bit of pressure. Widening the holes seems a simple fix, and if the central stud hole isn't widened, it'll fix the manifold in position well enough.

SInce buying a 2003 D2 in July, we have done:

Rear SLS bags
Fuel Harness from tank (rub through)
Oil and Filters + Air
Split the hose from MAF to Turbo (replaced all with silicone)
Cam Seal
Battery
Shocks getting done in next few weeks (absoloutly rooooooooted!)
Adding a MadMan
Boost gauge

pretty much routine maintenance

Hi Pedro,
What is the easiest way to check for fuel line rub through? Do replacement and preventative measures always require the tank to be lowered?
Nick
I could not find anything on The Good Oil.

Originally Posted by Pippin

Hi Pedro,
What is the easiest way to check for fuel line rub through? Do replacement and preventative measures always require the tank to be lowered?
Nick
I could not find anything on The Good Oil.

D2s have an inspection/access plate in the floor of the luggage compartment, it is under the carpet. The carpet can be lifted by removing the screws on the strip at the edge of the compartment where the door seals.

You will know when you have rub through of the fuel lines, your car will mark its territory with fuel.

Thanks Slug_Burner,
I have already replaced the fuel pump once and removed it twice, I was asking if there is an easy way for checking the wear points of the fuel lines, particularly the High Pressure line without too much work as I don't want to wait for it to mark it's territory if I have a risk of developing a problem .
Thanks
Nick

Replaced all fluids -diff oil, engine, transfer, radiator etc. and filters.
Had underside pressure cleaned to inspect for leaks
Rebuilt front diff- had a lot of wear (about$950)
New rotors and pads- easy to do yourself (don't forget to buy some new locking screws for the rotors. Costs $2-5 each, but you don't want to damage the old ones and not have a replacement)
Gearbox service.
Used some guys at Redcliffe. Know their stuff- well I think they do!...

Havn;t spotted yet but clean all the earth points.causes a lot of the electrical problems,