- Messages
- 261
- Reaction score
- 553
- Points
- 133
- Location
- Cheshire
- First Name
- Carl
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- North West
This going to be a bit ranty, a bit pity party so I'm sorry in advance.
When I bought my Elgrand it was supposed to be the last decent car I owned when my prognosis was basically changed to terminal. Something I could enjoy, I've always liked quirky unusual cars with cult followings and as I've got older I've had to leave "sporty" behind and I always loved the big van shapes so I started the hunt.
Budget was limited so I knew it would have to be one that needed a bit of work but be safe and legal to start with so I ended up with a series 1 from Ramsgate and 300 mile shakedown run home. It drove flawlessly. That was February 24.
All of 24 went great. Trips to our 1st wedding anniversary in Blackpool, the Dave Day run to Barrow, discovered the "faulty" LPG system worked perfectly, got the AC investigated, tested and regassed and no leaks. Replaced the rear shocks and springs for heavy duty, along with drop links and discs and pads.
Come 2025 the bus handled a full load of camping gear to get us to Bearded Theory to knock a camping music festival off my bucket list, driving locally all good but come Dave Day it overheated on the motorway, the local import specialist couldn't find any fault or make it overheat but did note that that there was Kseal in the coolant. That annoyed the hell out of me. I spent weeks making sure it was properly bled, eventually replacing the radiator cap that seemed to fix it and drove the whole Autumn, Winter and early Spring without any problems but needed new camshaft sensors and an all service by the same specialist I used previously and they noted it will also need a new inner CV boot on one side and inner rod end on the other.
In May this year it was Bearded Theory time again. On the way home it overheated spectacularly with 12 miles. I guess 30⁰C+ temps, a heavy load of gear and AC blasting was too much for it, and a 12 hour recovery journey ensued.
Since then it has sat on the parking space across the road and the battery is dead thanks to the recovery driver while left the ignition on with the side lights, hazard lights and radio on but engine not running for the entire journey.
I know now after 3 months that battery of unknown age, and the original small size so it needs to be replaced with the bigger one if I can get it in with the valve lube tank where it is fitted. While battery is out I might as well replace the dip beam hids and they are starting to fade and yellow.
Once it's running again I still need to get it booked into the garage again to get them to chemical flush the engine, radiator, heater core and LPG vaporiser then fit new thermostat and hope that it fixes it. When it overheated the first time I ran a sniff test several times and it was all good. Then I need to get the whole rear end undersesled as it was advised the last two years it was a bit crispy but not weakened before the next MOT in October and the anxiety of finding a new MOT tester I can trust to not just looking for work as my regular one retired.
Doesn't sound too big a deal does it. Except last November I had to give up work for health reasons so my income halved overnight, and thanks to treatment fatigue I can't do much of it myself. A few years ago I would had it jacked up, and be crawling under it with a a Lanoguard wand, done the brakes myself and taken apart anything that didn't need a specialist tool. My heart is broken that that what was to be my toy is now a practically abandoned jumbo paperweight they see every morning when I come out to take the missus to work and I can't help but worry that won't have the money together in time to get it fixed before the MOT. It really is depressing, I put everything I had into buying and correcting the obvious faults and now I can't even drive it.
Sorry for the rant. If I can't sort this my Elgrand days are over once and for all.
When I bought my Elgrand it was supposed to be the last decent car I owned when my prognosis was basically changed to terminal. Something I could enjoy, I've always liked quirky unusual cars with cult followings and as I've got older I've had to leave "sporty" behind and I always loved the big van shapes so I started the hunt.
Budget was limited so I knew it would have to be one that needed a bit of work but be safe and legal to start with so I ended up with a series 1 from Ramsgate and 300 mile shakedown run home. It drove flawlessly. That was February 24.
All of 24 went great. Trips to our 1st wedding anniversary in Blackpool, the Dave Day run to Barrow, discovered the "faulty" LPG system worked perfectly, got the AC investigated, tested and regassed and no leaks. Replaced the rear shocks and springs for heavy duty, along with drop links and discs and pads.
Come 2025 the bus handled a full load of camping gear to get us to Bearded Theory to knock a camping music festival off my bucket list, driving locally all good but come Dave Day it overheated on the motorway, the local import specialist couldn't find any fault or make it overheat but did note that that there was Kseal in the coolant. That annoyed the hell out of me. I spent weeks making sure it was properly bled, eventually replacing the radiator cap that seemed to fix it and drove the whole Autumn, Winter and early Spring without any problems but needed new camshaft sensors and an all service by the same specialist I used previously and they noted it will also need a new inner CV boot on one side and inner rod end on the other.
In May this year it was Bearded Theory time again. On the way home it overheated spectacularly with 12 miles. I guess 30⁰C+ temps, a heavy load of gear and AC blasting was too much for it, and a 12 hour recovery journey ensued.
Since then it has sat on the parking space across the road and the battery is dead thanks to the recovery driver while left the ignition on with the side lights, hazard lights and radio on but engine not running for the entire journey.
I know now after 3 months that battery of unknown age, and the original small size so it needs to be replaced with the bigger one if I can get it in with the valve lube tank where it is fitted. While battery is out I might as well replace the dip beam hids and they are starting to fade and yellow.
Once it's running again I still need to get it booked into the garage again to get them to chemical flush the engine, radiator, heater core and LPG vaporiser then fit new thermostat and hope that it fixes it. When it overheated the first time I ran a sniff test several times and it was all good. Then I need to get the whole rear end undersesled as it was advised the last two years it was a bit crispy but not weakened before the next MOT in October and the anxiety of finding a new MOT tester I can trust to not just looking for work as my regular one retired.
Doesn't sound too big a deal does it. Except last November I had to give up work for health reasons so my income halved overnight, and thanks to treatment fatigue I can't do much of it myself. A few years ago I would had it jacked up, and be crawling under it with a a Lanoguard wand, done the brakes myself and taken apart anything that didn't need a specialist tool. My heart is broken that that what was to be my toy is now a practically abandoned jumbo paperweight they see every morning when I come out to take the missus to work and I can't help but worry that won't have the money together in time to get it fixed before the MOT. It really is depressing, I put everything I had into buying and correcting the obvious faults and now I can't even drive it.
Sorry for the rant. If I can't sort this my Elgrand days are over once and for all.