#13: Engine Refits

Steve talks about engine replacements and the new road widening at Handcross Hill in Sussex, UK.

Andy White: Hello Steve, it’s been a couple of months because you’ve been otherwise occupied the last couple of times I’ve come to see you. We’re standing by your big RV. So, you’ve been out in it?

Steve Kennard: Yes, we went out in it last weekend, just to give it a bit of a trial run after its refurb, let’s say. We went just along to Chichester way but it was a nice weekend.

Andy White: I thought you were going to say for a minute, went to Chichester and then stopped.

Steve Kennard: No, no, no. Just went down to Chichester, I mean because of the size of it, we towed a little KA behind. So, we get there, park up on site and then use the KA to run around in locally.

Andy White: So, it doesn’t fit in the boot like some of those big American ones?

Steve Kennard: No, it hasn’t quite got the garage, is what you’re talking about. I mean a lot of them have what they call the garage in the back of them, which basically sort of goes underneath the bed. The bed is raised up quite high and you’ve got this large space underneath that you can put small vehicle in.

Andy White: How was it, Steve? It wasn’t the inaugural trip was it, you’ve been out in it a few times haven’t you?

Steve Kennard: No, this was actually…

Andy White: It was the inaugural trip!

Steve Kennard: First trip, yes. The one we were going to go one towards the back end of last year, last October, that occurred – well I had my little attack let’s say.

Andy White: Yes, your little challenge.

Steve Kennard: Yes, the weekend or the week that we were due to go out in it. We went out on it, the idea was just a long weekend, just to give it a run out and see if there were any gremlins, iron out the gremlins.

Andy White: Did you find any gremlins?

Steve Kennard: The one real annoying thing was the old satellite didn’t work properly. Couldn’t find, it couldn’t find the actual satellite itself. Which was a little bit annoying but it wasn’t out the way, the DVD player and that lot worked. The most annoying thing was, when we got back after the weekend I switched it on to have a look to see what was wrong with it and it worked fine.

Andy White: Isn’t that always the way?

Steve Kennard: Yes, I guess there is a little gremlins in their somewhere, which I’ll have a look at and get to the bottom of but the bus itself ran absolutely fine, turned a few heads. It gets a few looks where it is at the moment, parked outside the workshop.

Andy White: I bet it did. I was going say, it’s the first time I’ve seen it actually out in the open because when we saw before it was sort of tucked into your garage at the side, wasn’t it?

Steve Kennard: Yes, it was tucked in the corner but it’s now out in the open. It’s all been, as I say, all refurbed inside and it drives absolutely lovely. You just have to make sure you give yourself a little bit of room when you swing it because of the overhang on the back.

Andy White: Yes, the back wheels, they’re way forward, aren’t they?

Steve Kennard: Yes, like a lot of these vehicles they have what they call a separate bedroom on the back and that is, it gives you some sort of about a seven foot overhang on the back. Ah, perfect noise in the background at the moment.

Andy White: That’s okay, this perfect technology can still pick our voices up despite the road cleaning device coming along. Anyway, let’s get on to the shop floor, what’s been happening? It’s now April, it’s nice and sunny, still a bit chilly; what sort of problems are you having at the moment?

Steve Kennard: Oh well, where should we start? There are loads of problems.

Andy White: You are mentioning a lot of engine changes, actually replacing engines.

Steve Kennard: Yes, we’ve got a high Hyundai, its been here for a little while, sorry not a Hyundai, it’s a Kia waiting for an engine. The engine was due to arrive yesterday, we’re still waiting. We’ve got a BMW five series there, engines arrived for that, it’s waiting to be fitted. Just finishing off putting an engine into an Espace there, the one with all that front end missing.

Andy White: How so many engines, is it just coincidence? Or was it the volcanic ash getting into the – ruining the engines, this volcanic ash at the moment from the Iceland volcano.

Steve Kennard: No, as much as it would be nice to blame the volcanic ash, it’s not the volcanic ash. This is – it’s like the motor trade, if you talk to a lot of garages, things tend to go in sort of circles. You’ll get a run of clutches and then you might not see one for a couple of weeks.
You’ll get a run of gearboxes and then you won’t see one, you’ll get a run of engine changes, which is what we’re going through at the moment. You’ll get a run of head gaskets and it’s just strange, there’s no rhyme nor reason to it but it is – it’s just the way in the motor trade. That particular Espace there, we had to recover from Swindon.

Andy White: For example, with the Espace, why did the engine need replacing, did it blow up or did it just wear out?

Steve Kennard: That one there, the oil light came on and like a lot of people when they’re driving, the light was on and it’s, “I’ve just got to try and get home,” but it didn’t get home. It gave up the ghost up on the A34 and we have to send the truck out for it, pick it up, bring it back here.
Engine itself has totally had it, not really worth doing a rebuild on it, like a lot of the things nowadays, once you open up, it will be like a can of worms. It will probably cost more to get the parts to rebuild that unit, if it’s salvageable because it was knocking quite badly, than it would be to buy an off the shelf recon unit and just transfer all the ancillaries, which is what we’ve done.

Andy White: So, how long does it take to actually fix a new engine into an Espace?

Steve Kennard: On this Espace here, it’s probably all told something around about 15 hours because of the – you know, you’ve got all the front end to take off, all the lights, bumpers, cross member, everything out the front, drop the engine out.
You’ve then got to split the gearbox from the engine, unbolt all the ancillaries, so all the ancillaries need to be taken off and transferred over, rebuild the unit on the floor and then just lift it up into place and reconnect everything. So, probably about 15 hours.

Andy White: So, kind of a two day job for one mechanic was it?

Steve Kennard: Yes, absolutely. I mean that one hopefully will be sorted out and finished today. So, it’ll be nice to get that one out of the workshop.

Andy White: Is that the new engine in it at the moment?

Steve Kennard: Yes, it is.

Andy White: It is difficult to tell, it’s like spaghetti.

Steve Kennard: It is, there’s an awful lot to connect and disconnect and, you know, it’s just pipe work and wires everywhere. Like a lot of things, if you’re a little bit methodical with the way that you work and just lay things out correctly, then it should really be a problem to put it back together again.

Andy White: So, what’s the story with this beemer then, having its engine replaced? Beemer, BMW. Was it a BMW or was it a…

Steve Kennard: Yes, it’s a BMW.

Andy White: It is a beemer, isn’t it?

Steve Kennard: Yes, a five series BMW.

Andy White: Is this it down here?

Steve Kennard: This is the one. It came in with a head gasket problem and when we’ve looked at it someone’s been there before. The threads have been pulled out of the block.

Andy White: Is this the point when you look at it and you go, “Phhh, who did this last time?”

Steve Kennard: Yes, it’s quite well known that the blocks tend to go a little bit brittle. It’s an aluminium block, when you put the head bolts down through the head, bolt them up into the block, tighten them up, if the aluminium block has gone a little bit brittle it will tend to pull the threads out, which is what has happened with this.
Very difficult to try and do anything with it, you can helicoil, this one has been helicoiled in the past. So, its sort of already had a stay of execution and the only long term way of sorting this out was to replace it.

Andy White: The whole engine?

Steve Kennard: Yes, well the block itself, as I say, the threads have been pulled, so trying to put a head back on and torque it down, you can’t because you can’t get the bolts to grip correctly. We tried re-helicoiling but where it was helicoiled by a previous mechanic, technician, whatever you’d like to call – yes, it hasn’t been done correctly. So, the threads were not done right, consequently the bolts were not as tight as they should have been, which then, the head gasket went.
So, to do it right, to do it properly, we’ve got to replace that block and the cheapest way, because of the age of the car, is just to get a replacement engine. Which is what we’ve done and that’s waiting there to go in as soon as we get time.

Andy White: So, Steve, can you put a Porsche 911 engine in a Volvo 940 estate?

Steve Kennard: Anything can be done! Seriously, you could put whatever you like in anything. Not quite as straightforward on some things, but anything is doable. Just a case of modifying bits and pieces here and there but yes, you could put whatever you want, realistically, into anything. It’s sort of – you can cut them around, you can modify, you can do this, you can do that but it’s – most cases it’s not practical.

Andy White: I’ll just stick to the original engine then, I think, in my car.

Steve Kennard: I would if I was you like, you know.

Andy White: What else have we got then, Steve? Two engine replacements you talked about. What’s happening with the Kia, was that an engine replacement as well?

Steve Kennard: Yes.

Andy White: What’s the story with that one?

Steve Kennard: That one there just had the…

Andy White: Is that it up there on the – where are we, can’t find it. Oh, there it is, it is there.

Steve Kennard: It’s up on the ramp at the end of the workshop there. It had the timing chain snap.

Andy White: Ah, a classic.

Steve Kennard: The timing chain snapped, not a belt, it’s a chain. The chain itself snapped and yes, then you get the same effect as a cambelt break because the crank shaft still turns, the valve gear stops, you then get pistons contacting valves, but this has done serious damage. I mean it’s put holes in major components, like pistons and its damage the bores and everything. The engine is a total write-off. So, again, we’ve got a replacement coming but that’s been a bit of a pig to source, that one.

Andy White: Has it?

Steve Kennard: We did order one up, there’s a new one sat on the floor down there. We gave the supplier all the correct details, the engine turned up and it’s the wrong engine. It does – this is what we find with all parts nowadays, we can order parts, we can give them every detail that we can.
Most suppliers have got reg checkers, which is registration number checkers, which then should be able to pull up all the chassis numbers, engine numbers and everything from the reg number. Which should, in theory, give you the correct part but it doesn’t always work that way.

Andy White: Is it really obvious when the engine arrives, “Oh, hand on a minute,” can you take a look at it and go, “Oh, that’s not the right one?” Or is it when you try and offer it up you realise?

Steve Kennard: No, it’s quite often they can look pretty identical, it’s just some subtle changes. You might have drillings in different places, they might have moved certain pipe work. That particular one is like that, its got – the engine essentially looks the same but there is some distinct differences and it will not fit into that, without making major changes.
So, rather than do that, I mean yes, we could modify and make it fit but it then means that the car itself is modified, it’s not original and for the next people to work on it, they then have to, you know, they’ve got a different setup to what it should be.

Andy White: Can you log that anywhere, on the log book or is there any sort of documentation that goes with cars?

Steve Kennard: You could put it in with the various paperwork and…

Andy White: Don’t worry, we can still hear you, Steve. What’s revving there?

Steve Kennard: That’s a Ford Focus, failed its emissions.

Andy White: It’s a bit cloudy.

Steve Kennard: Yes, apparently is using a bit of oil but when we looked at it the guys overfilled it with oil anyway. I suppose because it’s using oil, he keeps topping it up and it’s just burning. All it’s going to do is stuff the cap, you know the oil gets down into the cap, damages the cap. So, you’ve really got to sort out, again, the underlying problem which is oil burning, whether it’s rings, whether it’s valves, stem seals, guides, that sort of stuff.
One of the technicians is looking into it at the moment. So, other than that, I mean MOT wise it just needed a couple of bulbs and a washer sorting out. The main problem is, of course, we need to sort this smoking out on it.

Andy White: Now, I want to talk to you because we’ve got the main road that comes down to Brighton, the A23, there is a sort of windy, down hilly bit, that’s always been a bit of a black spot. They’re planning to make wider, aren’t they, Steve? This actually happened about a couple of months ago because we haven’t got together for a few months yet. I was wondering what was your opinion about that, Steve, because you’ve always got a good opinion on road works and things like that?

Steve Kennard: Yes, I’ve always got an opinion on anything like that. The A23, which is the road that you are talking about, at Bolney, no sorry, not Bolney, it’s Handcross Hill. For anyone that’s familiar with it, you’ve got the – what was the old Little Chef on the left hand side with the garden centre just after that, on the straight stretch at the bottom of Handcross Hill.
That is two lane, it’s a dual carriageway, it’s two lane either way, north and southbound but it’s three lanes leading up to it. There’s usually lots of accidents as the three lanes go into two.

Andy White: Whereabouts are these accidents, are they going up or going down the hill?

Steve Kennard: No, you get quite a lot of accidents where the three lanes on the northbound side go into two lanes, right by the, I think it’s the turnoff for Cuckfield.

Andy White: Yes, I know what you mean. It’s a tricky bit that.

Steve Kennard: Yes, because again you’ve got a slip road coming to join the 23 there, just round a little bit of a bend. It’s not a sharp bend but again when you’ve got three lanes going into two and at the same place you’ve got slip road joining, there’s going to be accidents and that’s one of the spots that has always been a problem. Likewise, if you continue northbound there’s a fairly, sort of, sharpish corner that does have a speed restriction on it.

Andy White: Yes, there are a couple of sharp corners actually, aren’t there?

Steve Kennard: Yes, and that’s just on the approach to the main hill. Once you get to the top of the hill, it opens out again to three lanes. So, you’ve got essentially a stretch of road there that’s probably no more than, maybe 2 miles, that really should be made into three lanes and it should be straightened out. The bends create problems, if you come southbound, on the southbound side…

Andy White: It’s just like a boy racer regime, coming down.

Steve Kennard: Yes, you come down the hill but one of the big problems, at the bottom of the hill you have an exit which has got no slip road, so it’s a straight turnoff to one of the little country lanes there. I can’t remember where it goes to but likewise, you can actually join the 23 there without a slip road. Now, if you’ve got traffic coming down Handcross Hill at 60 mile an hour and…

Andy White: 70 usually.

Steve Kennard: Yes, and you’re coming out from a standstill, it’s going to be a problem. This is, again, what’s happening on that sort of stretch of road there. The road can be straightened, if you look at the actual road setup there, the central reservation area is quite wide and it could be – the road could be straightened, made into three lanes without encroaching too much on the near side curbs.
So, you’re not really taking up any more space for the road itself, you’re just going to straighten it out a little bit, you can put the third lane in either way with a minimum of fuss.

Andy White: By using some of the space on the central reservation?

Steve Kennard: Yes, I mean, of course, this is my own opinion, I’m no expert. I’m just one of the unlucky motorists, the thousands, hundreds of thousands that have to use it every year. It is a black spot in Sussex and the problem is, all the planners just do not – I can’t find anyone that makes decisions nowadays.

Andy White: I thought they’d decided they were going to straighten it and make it three lane?

Steve Kennard: Yes, but how long have they been talking about it? How long has this been going on?

Andy White: They haven’t got a date to start yet then?

Steve Kennard: Not that I’m aware of. Yes, they’ve sort of decided, yes, it’s going to be straightened but how many years has it taken them to get to this point.

Andy White: Oh well, Steve, we better leave it there. I could go on all day. You’ve actually given me some ideas for the podcast. I think we should walk around Brighton, commenting on the roads. Anyway, great to speak to you. So, Steve from 1st Class Garage, Kemptown, Brighton, UK. Thank you very much indeed.

Steve Kennard: Thanks, Andy.