Mike T

I am considering buying an ultrasonic cleaner to get the grime off all my 404C engine parts and I would appreciate any advice. I have a spec sheet from a Canadian-designed range of these - see attached file - and they seem pretty good although they're not as cheap as some of the ones on eBay etc. The least expensive one is $395 CAD. I'm aiming to use it on rocker arms, pushrods, throttle body, perhaps intake manifold (if I get a deep enough tank!), timing gears, distributor drive shaft, engine bearing caps, connecting rods and more. Any advice would be gratefully received. SS ULTRASONIC - SPECS.pdf

It reminds me of the 1300 cc Renault 8 Gordini - 4200 RPM minimum to be happy (and on the cam).

Polished up the aluminium oil filter cylinder on a drill - worked quite OK!

Brakes mounted. It seems I may have lost or at least misplaced the brass connections between the front brake hoses and the forward brake cylinder. The hose can be screwed straight in but that's not correct. I'll find two of them somewhere.

Front cylinders assembled: Autopsy on the old oil pump - trashed inside. The new one is perfect but of a slightly different form. I will have to use a later type oil strainer with it. Luckily I have one, but I would rather use a new one if I can find one.

Yeah those units are so self-incriminating.

Weird: I ran a 405 DL (XU9J2 engine of course) in Rossland BC for 5 years in temperatures as low as -35C and never had a problem with the oil vapour recovery system or fuel lines. There was of course a service bulletin about removing the metal gauze from the oil filler to prevent the symptom you describe. What it would do is not latch the front doors when it was cold due to ice formation inside (after driving 5 minutes it would thaw and they'd latch) and the MOTRONIC would throw Code 52 when driving from Rossland to Trail down the long hill below -15C.

Rear brakes mounted - handbrake connected and able to hold the car! A good step forward.

Thanks!

Those parts prices are incredibly low. Are any 404 parts left in Nigeria? Especially for the fuel injected 404s? Or C models?

Seat belts mounted High temperature paint on the brake shoes - rear linings need to be changed Whipped the brush holder out of the the SEV-Motorola alternator - dirty inside Brush holder before cleaning clean slip rings Remounting. (the bolts holding the brush holder in are 1/8 inch, which is neither nor 5.5 mm. American parts!

Couple of dark blue US-made seat belts for the front of the 404C. The car only came with two belts and soon it will have them again.

Ooh needs valve caps! Overall, looks good.

Zsolt Parragh in Hungary kindly sent me this tiny commutator for the AEG-KF fuel lift pump of the 404C - for free! Zsolt also has a 404C and his needed a new commutator, so he had a small batch made up. Very generous of him.

$30 for "genuine Bosch" does seem to point to them being cheapo "pattern parts".

Second time doing the driver's door panel. The window winder was not happy staying in place and that was down to the padding under the vinyl being too thick next to the embellisher. I also had to remount the lower part of the vinyl in order to slightly recontour the lower edge to better fit. And finally, the screws under the armrest were mounted. I got new lifters and timing chain tensioner from Alveas in France, and two sets of NGK BP7ES from Rock Auto.

Great work!

Painted the mirror body and mounted it today.

Yes, I have 8 NGK BP7ES on the way and I'll use those and save these for the historical value.

Yeah it's nasty crap. The hard plastic underneath is like an Airfix model kit from 1968. Maybe you could cover it with some Alcantara.

I thought I'd treat the engine to a set of period spark plugs. This set came from Italy, S.E.V. Marchal 35HS.

What's the weather like there? My former 405 loved to throw CELs for no apparent reson when it was cold.

No actual work has been done on the 404C for a couple of days but today I ordered: a new old stock camshaft (specific to the KF2 Injection engine) from Loewendoctor in Germany; a set of 8 new lifters from Alvéas in France; a timing chain tensioner also from Alvéas. The cam was very expensive but I think a new old stock cam will be better than any regrind. A few weeks earlier I ordered new navy blue lap belts for the car, which should be here really soon. And a bit after that, some SEV Marchal spark plugs in NOS for the KF2 Injection engine is on its way from Italy. I hope that's the last of the new parts I will need to get the engine back in shape. I expect to get both in the next few weeks.

After I had finished assembling the pump that will go on the car - and cleaning the fuel line banjo unions that are now on it - I had a closer look at the seized pinion. I got a brass punch and gave it some gentle taps and it began to move. Sprayed some WD-40 and it moved some more...then I was able to get it out. Cleaning the shaft and inside of the pinion made it work again when I reinserted it. It was not rust that caused it to seize. So I think it could be made to work. Although the driven shaft seemed a bit graunchy compared to the one I used, maybe graunchy isn't the right word, but at least less smooth. That too could be cleaned up with a full disassembly. The seized valve adjuster is a bit more of an issue. I suppose it could come out if I had the perfect screwdriver for it. I soaked it in WD40. The commutator is shot as seen in an earlier post in this thread but a kind soul in Hungary is sending me a spare new one he had made locally, for free no less! So perhaps one day I could put together a second well functioning pump with what's left. I also found another nearly new set of brushes inside the second motor....