(09-04-2021, 02:40 PM)jobbiejew Wrote:  UPDATE

YAAAAAS!!!!

We only have to MOT a car over here when it is first registered on the island, or if it's untaxed for more than 2 years. As my Berlingo came from the UK it had to be MOT'd before it could be registered, and I'm genuinely more excited that yours passed than I was when mine did   

You've got the patience of a saint having read through this thread, hopefully you'll have some trouble free motoring now!

Well done mate, happy days. I can't believe you said they reused the old head gasket....what???

Anyway, get some pics up bro, now it's back on the road.

I’ll get pics up as soon as it’s back in my possession. I’ll go up and grab it within the week. Need to get the rest of the cash to give to the garage as it’s went over budget with parts and labour plus with the cost of the engine that I paid for and never fully got paid back for so it left us with a bit of a hole in the account. About £700 over budget cause of the fudd that decided not to send an engine. On top of that we’re 10 pages deep in this thread so far so think I need to amend the subject to {SAGA} Timing Snapped lol.

So while I get the rest of the shortfall together I think I’ll spend a little more on getting the advisories put right and getting the top mounts done. While it’s in the hands of the garage can you guys think of any other cheapish things that might be worth replacing while they’ve got it? Strut top mounts are a must. What about the engine/gearbox mounts? Think it might be worth getting those done just to continue the renewal process? 230k on the clock, bodywork is bang on so want to look after it properly from here on in. Wanting to add at least another 230k onto it.

Check the rear axle!
There are needle bearings in the pivot(the wheels are hung on a short arm that pivots, with torsion bars and a sway bar clustered around the pivot point).
If the axle is original, it might be nearing end of life for those bearings, and they're a bit of a pain to swap out.
Many just buy a recon axle assembly instead.
Some recon axles comes with grease nipples installed. If you see grease nipples near the pivots, you're good. Just squeeze in a bit of grease every few thousand miles or so.

The rear mounts of the axle assembly have a rubber block cast into a metal frame. There's one bolt going through the block and up into car chassis, and there's two bolts holding the rubber frame onto the axle assembly. If it's original, the rubber may have deteriorated and may have torn out of the metal frame.
It's not visible normally, it needs to be jacked up using the points on the chassis. Then you'll see the wheels and the rear mounts swing down a bit too far. My car went through 'MOT' with this fault and the inspector didn't notice.
Note the bolt holding the rubber to the chassis can only be fastened with a long torx bit thorugh a small hole in the subframe.
If that is done for, then the shocks may also have taken a bit of a beating...
Shocks are cheap anyway, so replacing them if they're old isn't a bad idea.

Finally, the 'Load Leel Adjuster'...
Do you have ABS?
If not there's a block of metal near the righthand rear wheel, where the brake lines enter.
On it is a short arm that connects to a spring, and this spring connects to the arm the wheel hangs on.
It's there to adjust brake power according to the weight of the load in the back of the car in order to reduce the danger of locking the rear wheels when braking.
Anyway, the short arm can seize up. This is often not detected during MOT.
Oh, and the spring...
On mine it had rusted apart...
that wasn't spotted on 'MOT', either.

(10-04-2021, 09:13 AM)Gadgetman Wrote:  Check the rear axle!
There are needle bearings in the pivot(the wheels are hung on a short arm that pivots, with torsion bars and a sway bar clustered around the pivot point). . . .

The B9 doesn't have a torsion bar rear axle, they use coil springs.

.

(10-04-2021, 12:59 AM)jobbiejew Wrote:  I’ll get pics up as soon as it’s back in my possession. I’ll go up and grab it within the week. Need to get the rest of the cash to give to the garage as it’s went over budget with parts and labour plus with the cost of the engine that I paid for and never fully got paid back for so it left us with a bit of a hole in the account. About £700 over budget cause of the fudd that decided not to send an engine. On top of that we’re 10 pages deep in this thread so far so think I need to amend the subject to {SAGA} Timing Snapped lol.

So while I get the rest of the shortfall together I think I’ll spend a little more on getting the advisories put right and getting the top mounts done. While it’s in the hands of the garage can you guys think of any other cheapish things that might be worth replacing while they’ve got it? Strut top mounts are a must. What about the engine/gearbox mounts? Think it might be worth getting those done just to continue the renewal process? 230k on the clock, bodywork is bang on so want to look after it properly from here on in. Wanting to add at least another 230k onto it.

This has been a most interesting thread to follow, fingers crossed for you that all is well from now on.

(10-04-2021, 10:20 AM)jj9 Wrote:  

(10-04-2021, 09:13 AM)Gadgetman Wrote:  Check the rear axle!
There are needle bearings in the pivot(the wheels are hung on a short arm that pivots, with torsion bars and a sway bar clustered around the pivot point). . . .

The B9 doesn't have a torsion bar rear axle, they use coil springs.

.

I KNEW there was a reason I prefer my M49... ;-)

Coil springs all the way!!!

Which ones would you guys recommend?

I'd fix the advisories and see where you are from there.