Radiator/Overheating Problem - the conclusion...

Damian headed back to the shed to get Booger Mobile back into a driveable condition again... this meant that the mighty number 64 needed its radiator put back in!!

See, it's still out.

First, Damian decided to remove all the hoses etc and give them all a good clean out...  He found this!!  It's a pipe that is completely blocked with mud...  The hose connected to it was the same - although it was only a loopback hose between the two heater hose points (bypassing the heater in the car), this can't have been helping the overheating issues!!

Next up, what to do about the tabs on the edge of the radiator support panel...

Damian worked out that the tabs themselves could be removed without affecting the strength of the support panel, as the strength comes from the curved piece that has been left untouched!!

While in the shed, Damian magically acquired an extra horse power!!  ;-)

Both sides of the radiator support panel adjusted...  has it made much of a difference?

King oath it has!!  See the clean section down either side of the radiator - that is now going to receive fresh air rather than be blocked by the metal!!

This is the mount for the transmission oil cooler...  Damian figured that it was also contributing (however slightly) to the overheating by stopping air from passing...

Voila!!  That looks better!!

The air can now pass through the three spaces you can see in the image below, and directly onto the radiator behind it (not installed at the time the picture was taken).

The mystery of the mud in the pipe had been bugging Damian as he cleaned item after item to see where it could have been coming from... Last cab off the rank - the overflow container (where fluid is pushed to and drawn from as part of the normal operation of the radiator).

It was disgusting inside!!  Clearly the fine red dirt from the esCarpades over the years had been getting into the container, then drawn into the radiator and through to get trapped in strange places!!

Out, damn mud!!

Radiator and auto trans cooler installed...

And thermo fan reinstalled - note that there's still radiator showing to the right of the thermo fan - previously there would have been metal blocking it!!

And in with the sin coolant...  Nothing pure about Booger Mobile!!

And topped up with... err...  water from the hose???

Damian fired up Booger Mobile and left it idling for about 20 mins, and the temperature remained under control...  Hopefully, this will remain the case for this year's esCarpade!!

2014 esCarpade Thank You Lunch

The official 2014 Camp Quality esCarpade Thank You Lunch and entrant gathering was at the conveniently located Redcliffe RSL.  Unfortunately, Angus had to work, so Damian attended with his family to represent Team Booger Mobile.

Place mats made from images from 2014... nice touch!!

And what would an event be without Damian taking a selfie!!

Theresa, the new boss of Camp Quality in Queensland gave a speech...

The entrants who made it to the event plus Emma (the new Camp Quality South Qld fundraising chicky)...

  

A great afternoon was had by all...

And Damian received his thank you plaque from Theresa...

It was a shame that some of the more distant teams were unable to make it, but it's a long way to travel from the likes of Bundaberg or Goondiwindi just for lunch!!  It sounds as though there will be a record number of cars from Queensland this year, so stay tuned... and if you are in any of the towns along the way, keep an eye out for esCarpade!!

Radiator clean out...

With Booger Mobile running a little warmer than usual, Damian decided removing the radiator for a good clean out would be the way to go...

Off with the thermo fan...

Out with the coolant... well, that's pretty clear looking coolant!!  Oh that's right, it was filled with water after overheating coming into Albury in 2014...

Bit muddy there!!

Radiator out...

Seems that the radiator support panel mounts for the original radiator are covering a couple of inches either side of the radiator (as seen by the nice clean strip down either side).  It doesn't look like much, but Damian calculated it's actually covering over 18% of the radiator front surface!!  Might need to look into that...

Ewww... the sludge in the radiator seems a little average too...

Not to worry, a good clean out had it running through all clear!!

Next up, Damian wondered if there was something that could be done about the position of the external transmission cooler for the automatic transmission fluid...  It's an awkward size, so probably not much more can be done, but it's worth looking into!!

There ended the radiator clean out, while Damian wondered how to remount the auto transmission cooler to free up some surface area on the radiator, and whether there was anything that could be done to stop the original mounts from blocking 18% of the radiator...

Stay tuned!!

Planning Day

Booger Mobile...  The mighty number 64...

Angus arrived to do some planning...  He left with a small list of items to source.  What were the boys planning?  Why is there only one photo on this blog?  Why is Damian asking these questions?

All will be revealed over the coming weeks... or months... or perhaps never if the boys change their minds!!

Roof Racks part 2... aka what to do for a rooftop ornament this year?

Booger Mobile was kicking back in Damian's shed, minding its own business...

Damian took the opportunity to complete the installation of the new roof racks (some position-holding screws and a good tighten of all clamps etc)...

Then it was time to think about a new rooftop ornament for 2015!!  Damian bought this roof pod (via his brother Jason who just happened to be passing through Maryborough when Damian saw it advertised in... Maryborough!!)

Stickers are a bit sunburned, so out with the lovely Tricia's hair dryer (shhhhhh don't tell her) to remove them...

Through the magic of the interwebs, voila!!

Meanwhile, this bunch of safety lights (amber strobes and rear facing white light) are still to be reattached...  Hmmmm...

Stay tuned...  things are starting to happen!!

Roof racks... a necessary evil!!

Having snapped the roof-rack mounts on last year's esCarpade, Damian figured it would be a good idea to get a new roof rack sorted out...

But first... the roof was washed for the first time in over 5 years!!  (And the rest of the car was washed, too...)

After a snappy trip to the shop (in Booger Mobile), it was time for some driveway shots...

Work it baby... work it!!

Inside the shed, the new roof racks (the same brand as the previous set) were installed - hey, they had lasted five years!!

Shiny... new...  And a lot of mucking around to get even!!

The old roof rack had the lights and signage removed...  These two signs probably won't be used any longer...

The old roof rack looks bare now...

What's this?  Something different?

What could be happening here?  A new theme?

Of course it's not a new theme, just a new implementation of the Booger Mobile theme...  Booger's head was looking a little tired after five years and two designs, and the broken roof rack provided the perfect excuse to try something new...

Stay tuned for what the new implementation will look like!!

Test Drive... Fuel problem is...

RESOLVED!!  Or so it would seem... 

Damian took Booger Mobile out for a snappy 100km test drive up and over some local hills... (For those familiar with the area, he went through Caboolture to D'Aguilar, up and over Mt Mee, through Ocean View to Dayboro, then home via Petrie and Narangba.)

Booger Mobile at the Mt Mee lookout... turning heads as always!!

The intermittent fuel problem would finally seem to be resolved!!  Either that 2" of rubber hose, or the adjusting of the carby float level, (or a combination of the two), seem to have Booger Mobile running like a champion again!!

Damian isn't going to be super-comfortable about it until he's driven a few hundred more km and put a couple of tanks of fuel through, but so far, so good!!

Onward and upward - time to get cracking on some of the other bits and bobs (like the broken roof racks, perhaps some engine cross bracing etc).

Fuel problems... surely there must be a solution???

So... this damned fuel problem is driving Damian insane... time to get to the bottom of it once and for all!!

First, car up on jack stands... safety first!!

Next, remove and inspect every piece of hose (all replaced previously), inspect and blow out metal fuel line between the tank and the pump (unable to remove from car easily)...

One tiny piece of hose (that connects the fuel tank to the metal fuel line) hasn't been replaced this time around, so it can get done too!!

Now, every single piece of rubber fuel hose has been replaced this month.

Damian did some more google-stalking and found that some people had experienced intermittent fuel problems due to an incorrectly set carby float level...  Off with the top of the carby!!

A check of a spare carby showed that the float level on this carby appeared to be lower than the spare carby...  Fixed!!  Float level adjusted...  (This means that more fuel remains in the carby bowl after the needle and seat stops fuel from coming through.)

Put the damn thing back together again, and hope for the best.

A snappy test drive around the block for a few km seemed to show that Booger Mobile was behaving itself... sadly, the fuel gauge was on E for enough, so Damian took Booger Mobile back to the shed...

Full test drive and results to follow.