I thought you'd like it

I don't think a regulator based on that chip would have any particular advantage over any other replacement one, I just don't much like the idea of spending £20 on a new regulator when the components are a matter of pennies and I all ready have a few chips left over from a previous project. A few different set-ups for the chip are shown on the datasheet which may be helpful. As soon as I have some time to modify my printer I'm going to experiment with printing and etching my own PCB's, so expect a lot more nonsense when that happens



Luke, how silly of me not to have thought of that! The change also happens to coincide with fitting the fancy yellow coil, so I popped out just now and investigated. With one terminal of the meter grounded, just bringing the other wire near the engine bay is enough to induce misleading readings. I really should have thought of that, considering I had only just a few days previously been battling with the same problem for Pete's thermocouples.

@£20
http://jhau.maliwi.de/mot/voltreg.html

The charging all seems to be working for now, and I am inclined not to touch it for the time being unless it stops working...

However, it just hadn't been feeling 'right' the last couple of days, banging rather a lot over the potholes, and feeling somewhat skittish in the corners. After my last experience I decided to give it a fairly thorough investigate!

I knew the N/S hub / kingpin was in need of some attention, the previous welch plug (a washer) had been badly welded on, and the bottom plug threads were completely stripped where it had been fitted with a hammer instead of a screwdriver . Also the fit between the kingpin and the suspension arm was fairly poor, not quite a 'gentle push fit' but not far off.

Anyway, I made a few hours of free time this weekend and had a play. I thought I would have to use a welder to build up some more material on the bottom plug thread, but it turned out I could simply run a tap through it and that seems to have done the trick.





The plug stays put with the considerable pressure of the grease gun at least, so it should last a few more years like that.

For the loose kingpin / suspension arm fit, I hired a welder for the day and ran a hot bead into a groove running down the arm. That seems to have done the trick, it now most definitely requires a ball peen hammer to fit, but not so tight as to necessitate a lump hammer, so I think that should do nicely.



There is now absolutely no play in my steering, which is great for peace of mind if nothing else. It still feels somehow 'off' to drive though, so I thought I better check all my shock absorbers. The rear ones were fine, I had checked them both during the rebuild, but I had never had the front ones off before. Turns out the front two were on upside down. The N/S seemed fine, but the O/S had about 1cm of travel before there was any sign of any damping effect. That 1cm of travel at the shock absorber presumably translates into rather a lot more at the business and of the suspension arm.

I then went and drove over a few manhole covers for testing purposes, and it does seem to be only the front O/S wheel that makes an appreciable racket.

Is there any way of servicing these lipmesa dampers? I thought I read somewhere about changing the oil in them - I half wondered if just driving them for a bit the correct way up would rectify the problem by itself?

If I do need new dampers though, what are the van-specific parts of them, as I am fairly certain my van has been fitted with standard 2CV front arms and axle. Is it just the mounting stud diameter, or are there any other differences?

Thanks,

George

Well, turning the shocks the right way around and driving for a bit seems to have cured them. Given the price of new shocks, I am not going to question it too closely, and it is feeling absolutely spot on to drive. I felt I ought to give an update of some sort, but nothing has really gone wrong!

The land-rover rear lights I stuck on there aren't that great, they melt



But for £2.50, I wasn't really expecting great things. I have fitted LED clusters in there for now to stop them melting any more, but I'll put the proper metal holders back in as soon as I can find another metal rear light unit for a van. I think the only issue with those is the crummy method of retaining the bolts



But I can just weld captive nuts to the van body, and bolt the lights on.

Anyway, there isn't much else to say really, the van has just been working. I have done nearly 5000 miles since getting it on the road, averaging 51.3 mpg. It has jump started an Audi, bump started a tractor and towed a glider. It also starts first time on the handle when I leave the lights on.

I might sort a few bits out and slap a bit more paint on to keep the rust at bay over Easter / the summer, however I am hoping to (re)build a 2CV for dad so I imagine that will be the main project this year.

Anyway, a big thank you to everyone here for all your help and advice

George

How are you getting on with Albert?

Gosh, nearly two years since an update, how time flies...

Albert is still going strong. I took it off the road for my final year of uni - poor student etc.
Dug it out of the garage a year later, stuck a key in and it started first turn
Needed a driveshaft gaiter for the MOT, but that was about it. It has been on the road since last summer as my sole means of transport. One day I will get around for touching up a spot of paint, honest, but I haven't had a moment of free time in ages.
I'll have to check what the odometer was reading on the old speedo before I replaced it, but I must have done about 20,000 miles since finishing uni.

The kingpin on the O/S is just starting to develop some play now - I have been religiously greasing them monthly - and then every 600 miles after speaking to Joolz as that was coming sooner. So I suspect it is a slack interference fit between the pin and arm, rather than worn bushes. I'll weld up this side like I did the other for now, but it got me wondering - are van arms compatible with saloon axles / racks? Are the swingarm bearings the same size? The steering arms are different too I think, but are the... track rod end housings, for want of a better description, the same?
My van has standard saloon arms on the front at least, presumably when it was converted from left hand drive. I was just wondering what the likelihood was of tracking down a pair of van arms, or if they're like rocking horse poo.

I tend to be quite laden, and often in inappropriate terrain, and have been looking at further adventures on the continent, so the beefier arms and correct spring rate seems like a good idea to me. Or can I get a similar result just by reinforcing the existing arms and relocating the knife edge mount?

I believe the arms are the same, I'm sure you could fit some aks400 springs?!?! They have to be fitted into larger cans. Anyway nice van

You can fix the bolts in the lamps with 2 component glue.

I'll bear that in mind for the next one. I think the issue with this one was the nut seized on solid, but the head spinning uselessly in the shell. Really awkward to get a grip on with anything, and no room for a hacksaw, at least with my patience. A dremel or grinder would have been handy, but they were in the wrong county. I did have a welder though.



It's got AK springs and cans, and I believe rear arms. The tie rods are nice and level at the rear, but the front ones almost foul the threaded section when the arms are on full droop, presumably because of the different knife edge placement on the arm. Or potentially the spring can chassis mounts, it's a GW fabrications chassis, one of the first knock-offs of Ken's I believe, I don't know all the ins and outs of it.

From this thread:



I'm probably not going to be as adventurous as Eirik, but if they came as standard on the AK anyway, I feel it would probably be worth tracking a set down.

Well look who I just drove past.
Are you around tomorrow George I'm in Canterbury all weekend if you fancy a drink?