nick69 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Hi guys,Picked up my vitesse today and had a really fun drive around for the day. Goes like stink.A few problems to sort:The doors, the glass doesnt seem to meet the weatherstrip on the hood, i changed the hinge pins today and cant adjust the door to make it reach?Is the hood adjustable in any way?Plus the doors are a pain to shut, really got to slam them to close them?Im thinking they might be wrong doors for the car?The oil light comes on when the car is warm at idle? Goes off with a little throttle?If anyone has any advice on these matters it would be very much appreciated.ThanksNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 Plus would someone be able to put up a picture or pictures of the weatherstrip for the hood/door glass fitted and one of the hood itself where it meets the back of the door glass.ThanksNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted User Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 As regards the door, it is more likely they are the right doors but with poorly repaired sills, which will change the size of the door gap. However you did mention you changed the hinge pins, so did you re align the doors correctly?As for the oil light, are you sure you have enough oil?I would recommend you convert to spin off oil filter, this will improve pressure no end. If the warning light is on when you rev, you risk doing serious damage to the block/crank and will knock out the bearings quickly. Sort this out before you drive it any more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyb Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Oil light at tickover can only mean one of two things - faulty oil pressure transmitter or you really do have a low oil pressure!Only way to be sure is to connect up an oil pressure gauge and check the result.If your pressure is low, the likely cause is worn engine bearings - you will probably hear them knock, especially on start up and when you rev the engine if that is the case. It could also be down to the wrong grade of oil in the engine - should be 20/50, if you have a modern thin oil, then that will show the same symptom, unless the oil needs changing, fit a gauge before squandering another gallon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 a friend and myself did try to adjust the doors but couldnt get right, we've done a few before but couldnt get these right. There has been a repair on the rear quarter which is closing the door gap which needs to be redone,The door gaps are so so but i just cant get them up high enough to met the weatherstrip on the hood?I will change to a spin on oil filter asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Get yourself a proper workshop manual, it will help you a lot! Not haynes, ideally a proper ring binder version. Failing that, a reprint or even on CD I believe.Anyway, doors need adjusting, it can take experts a while, or it may be a moving A-post as on a friends herald! Keep adjsuting them, make sure the doorseals are not too fat, some are and need the lip they sit on bending away from the door a little. I tend to loosen (so they JUST move) the door catches on the b posts, shut the door, carefully open it and then work from that as a start position. Also do they have an extra catch below the main catch, sort of hook type thing. Should on a convertable, but often missing.The hood is adjustable, sort of. Often they are not made as a good fit, so will never be great, or can be fitted out of square or whatever. Can be unglued along the front edge and reglued, but needs to be nice and warm really, ie July! There is also adjustment of the window winder mechanism inside the door, can't remember that one at the mo. The rubber strips around the on the hoodframe adjust too, take them out, or if you are lucky, you may be able to loosen the nuts that hold the ally retaining strips, and jiggle them about, but some are pop rivited so that would need a drill, and new bolts/pop rivits.Oil pressure, change the oil for a good 20/50 oil, not nasty asda value or whatever. the 50 is the important bit anyway. It MAY help, but probably engine is a bit worn leading to low oil pressure at idle. May need some new bearings in the nearish futur, but if only at idle not a real problem. Worth fitting an oil pressure gauge to see what the pressure is when running. Do NOT be tempted to play with the oil pressure relief valve, it should only limit the maximum pressure.Ho hum, enough waffle. Got to go and do my hair. Off to see Paul Weller tonight!Clive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 Ill change the oil to the correct grade and convert the filter. Dont think its the bearings as the engine makes no untoward noises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Does the swage line along the doors match with those on the body? Getting that right is the first step, once this is done you can look at the more subtle adjustments. The height of the quarterlight is adjustable, the upper stop for the doorglass is effectively is the top of the front channel, ie the quarterlight. For door closing, make sure your door seals have a decent lip profile rather than the bubble type which is often fitted. Bubble seals don't compress adequately and make door closure difficult on a Herald or Vitesse. They often throw out the panel alignment too.Cheers,Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Dont bother with the spin on conversion, only makes a difference at start up. no change to std once running. Do it when you have spare cash! Sills are not welded or structural (unlike spitfire/GT6's) on the vitesse/herald. It is possible to move the rear tub about on the chassis to improve the gaps if really needed, and indeed washers to raise various points. It is worth keeping a record of the original setup so you can return to it if things go really wrong! (it DOES happen). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 Right ok some very good info here. An oil change is on the cards anyway so ill do that and report the light then if it still does it.The car does have the bubble type weatherstrip for the doors so ill get the correct type. ThanksNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Nick,Quote "there has been a repair on the rear quarter which is closing the door gap which needs to be redone"So the distance across the top of the door gapis shorter than the door?And quote "The door gaps are so so but i just cant get them up high enough to meet the weatherstrip on the hood?"This says to me that the sills are sagging, and the front door jamb and the two hinges point downwards, so that rear of the door is lower than it should be. Unless minimal, this cannot be adjusted out by the hinges and door catches. Sagging sills on a Vitesse are not the potential disaster that they are on a Spitfire, as you have the chassis outriggers to support them. If the outriggers are rotten, or have been badly repaired, the front bulkhead and the rear tub may have become misaligned. Look at the shut line at the rear of the door. Is the rear edge of the door parallel to the rear door jamb? I suspect that it will be much wider at the top than the bottom, if this is your problem.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 [quote by=JohnD link=Blah.pl?b=hervit,m=1165077290,s=10 date=1165082579] Look at the shut line at the rear of the door. Is the rear edge of the door parallel to the rear door jamb? I suspect that it will be much wider at the top than the bottom, if this is your problem.John [/quote]This is the case. How do I fix this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 Just been out to look at the door fitting. The gap between the door and the bonnet is large at the bottom/small at the top.The gap between the door and the rear jamb is large at the top/small at the bottom.The swage lines on the door are slightly lower than those on the rest of the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valencia1 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 re oil pressure, is your tick over too low? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Nick,Sounds as if the door has been off, that the DPO has stood two paces back and thrown it at the door gap. He clearly needs to spend more time at the dart board.The door may be adjusted in a number of ways.The hinges are bolted into captive nuts, in the jamb and the door, so unless the DPO has done something to them, you can unbolt the door and not loose them. But you need not undo them completely. Just loosen the jamb bolts and you can adjust the door position by moving the hinges up and down or forward and back, OR together to rotate the door in the door gap.Doing similar to the bolts into the door and you can adjust the front edge of the door up/down (hardly necessary inview of previous, but you might need extra adjustment) or in and out.Then loosen the screws that secure the door catch (also into captive nuts). Adjust the position of the catch to close easily and tighten.Aim to align the door with the rear door jamb - the alignment wiht the bonnet edge is another form of four ball juggling, that practicing with the door, plus twenty years study of Zen Buddhism (so you don't jsut kick the thing), may equip you for.Do your best with this - and buy a workshop manual as suggested above! I fear that sagging, in or out, may have happened. but until you get the door better located, it's difficult to say.Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 [quote by=nick69 link=Blah.pl?b=hervit,m=1165077290,s=12 date=1165087730]Just been out to look at the door fitting. The gap between the door and the bonnet is large at the bottom/small at the top.The gap between the door and the rear jamb is large at the top/small at the bottom.The swage lines on the door are slightly lower than those on the rest of the body.[/quote]Sounds like the bulkhead might be sitting lower than the rear shell, hard to say without seeing the car though. Got any digital images?Cheers,Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Ive now got a workshop manual coming. Im going to have another bash at the doors with advice onboard today and let you know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 [quote by=heraldcoupe link=Blah.pl?b=hervit,m=1165077290,s=15 date=1165102118]Sounds like the bulkhead might be sitting lower than the rear shell, hard to say without seeing the car though. Got any digital images?Cheers,Bill.[/quote]Ive got a friend coming over today with his camera so i can take a few pics for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Here are a few pics of the door issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 passenger side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 last one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 I think you need to take a good look at the relative heights between bulkhead and rear shell. It's quite common for misalignments like this to occur when outriggers and siderails are replaced without careful measurement. You can deal with a lot of this kind of misalignment using body spacer shims. The difficulty comes if you need to raise the bulkhead as this is theoretically fixed, all other panels should to be adjusted around it. If possible it would be better to lower the rear shell by taking out shims, but I suspect there won't be much there to remove. This makes raising the bulkhead the sensible option, but there is likely to be a knock-on effect with bonnet alignment,Cheers,Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick69 Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Would that be discussed in the shop manual??Because at the moment until it arrives I have no idea where the bolts are to move the rear tub or even how to raise the bulkhead.Im ignoring the bonnet at the moment as i can deal with that when the rest lines up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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