Hi from NG17

[Mich1958]

So today was the day.

Shake down run 50 plus miles multiple stop starts traffic and high speed M1 run fueled up even did a bit of shopping with the wife so how did he do? well 

It didn't start off well I had left the battery (which is almost new) conected and it was a flat as yesterday's open can of beer 

Any ideas what could be draining the battery that quickly ??

So after a fall at the first fence the NOCO bought the beast to life (wife was on stanby JIC) so off we went nice quite counrty roads, first thing I noticed was the speedometer   all over the place up down not working working etc.

Second was the brakes   OMG now I have driven bad but this was up there I almost had to treble my braking distances (the feeling did improve over the 50 plus miles as they bedded down new pads etc) but what did not improve was the shudder in the brakes which feels to me like the discs are warpped or have been overheated and formed cementite in spots either way there toast so new discs and pads for the front.

Auto gearbox has a very definite almost hard upshift  (I wonder if the box has had a shift kit fitted) also I could not get the autobox to kick down is this normal no kick down???

Steering was alittle wayward but nothing major.

A few rattles and bangs coming from various places somewhat amplified by our glorious British tarmac   

AC seems to have very little cool air.

And last but not least and most scary was no oil pressure     why     fortunatly i was very close to home after he cooled down I checked the sender unit JIC  maybe a cable had come loose but it hadn't. I undid the nut holding the ring electrical connection and oil started to leak (that was maybe the reason I kept finding a spot of oil on the garage floor but with no apparent leak) anyway tighten the nut back up started car to move into the garage and I have oil pressure   but I'm guessing that unit toast to.

So that was the sum of my 50 mile shakedown, on the plus side he never missed a beat started 10 or 15 times on the button everytime never got close to overheating, so all in all I was resonably pleased.

Any pointers would be appreciated 

Cheers Mich

[Rissy]

Well that's quite some list.

Battery draining and DeLoreans are synonymous bedfellows. The simple rule of thumb is to disconnect the battery when not is use. Everyone does it. The draining is caused by the following:

- Door lock module (You can mod this to reduce the mA drain down to uA drain - I've done this, but still I'm lucky if I don't have problems starting the car after at most, a week, so I still disconnect my battery. It's fine for a club weekend away, but I always disconnect it if I'm not using it for more than a few days.)
- Alarm (if one fitted)
- Clock memory (if you have one)
- Stereo memory (stock or after market)

Good shout on the NOCO jump starter. I have one and it's an excellent piece of kit and recommended for any DeLorean owner.

Sounds like your angle drive could do with a grease up to smooth out the speedo reading. I'd do this sooner rather than later or you risk snapping the angle drive, and that will cost you more. It could also be slipping in the plastic cup the end of the drive rod sits in and gets spun by the wheel.

I can't comment on the autobox. I have a manual. Sounds like you're on top of the other issues.

[Stuart Rees]

All very typical DeLorean issues. Lots of upgrades/improvements available to sort them all.

Re the Auto box, there's a kick down switch near the throttle spool which activates when you mash the pedal.

Also the governor computer might need repairing or replacing with a new digital version which is vastly better than the original. 

Great to hear it's on the road...

[Justwatching]

I assume the transmission has been serviced in recent history and is showing a correct fill level.

You can test the microswitch mentioned above with a multimeter. You could also have someone hold the accelerator peddle down and check the switch is physically set correctly to close at WOT position.

I believe the governor computer only signals when to shift, not how hard to shift. My suspicion would be toward solenoid shift valves, or maybe fluid pressure setting if it has always been like that.

[Pikey07]

(22 Mar 2022, 21:58)Mich1958 Wrote: Well 4397 is safely at home and tucked up in her garage   time to start getting to grips with my new baby, Handbrake first I think living on a hill it wont even hold on a slight slope let alone the hill of my drive 
Let the fun begin.

Welcome to the group, I have so little mechanical knowledge I can't contribute to anything that's being said but I have 4400 so our cars are practically sisters. So I thought I'd share that!

[Rissy]

(13 May 2022, 20:04)Pikey07 Wrote: Welcome to the group, I have so little mechanical knowledge I can't contribute to anything that's being said but I have 4400 so our cars are practically sisters. So I thought I'd share that!

You know Mike, you’re not allowed to play that innocent harp tune forever

[Mich1958]

Hi Guys 

After reading the super Chris Willams article in issue 89 of the Delorean news I decided to take the same steps as Chris as I found the brakes on my Delorean very wanting.

I took my car to my local garage and had a rolling brake test to find a base line from which to work from and found out that the pumping I was feeling coming back through the brake pedal was actually from the rear brakes and not the front as I had assumed, that said my guy said he could not have failed it on an MOT as it was within the legal requirement.

This prompted me to go the whole hog on the brakes and replace the front with vented and the rear with new disc from Delorean Go along with mintex pads (which I personally have always found a good pad) and a set of Austin Princess calipers.

So after my kit arrived I spent some time going over Chris's write up and then I dived in, I chose to go with the uprated flexible brake lines but otherwise very similar to Chris's article.

While everything was off I also replaced the joints new rack (which had a terrible clunk in it) and new front wheel bearings, to be fair the brake swap was pretty straight forward, and my conversion went very well, the steering rack not quite so easy that's a bit of a faf but doable (mainly the rack was a problem to get back in because I chose a new one not a refurbed one and the new one has a plastic plug in the top which it seems will not go through the chassis hole without removing the plug then replacing it when its in situation) I do intend to rebuild my old rack and keep it as a spare.

So does it make the brakes feel any better   Yes, is there as Chris said a placebo possibly, but having done nearly a hundred miles since the conversion and with the new discs and pads starting to bed in It definietly feels alot more sure footed as far as the braking and handling goes.



Cheers Mich

[Chris Williams]

Quote:which it seems will not go through the chassis hole without removing the plug then replacing it when its in situation) I do intend to rebuild my old rack and keep it as a spare.

Yehh there's another article about fitting one of them on another owners car. Exactly the same issues.

[Guinney1971]

If I can just add my 2pth, the oil situation - my car never showed much/any oil pressure, even after
having a new oil pump and oil pressure switch. It got serviced every year too. That old engine is
now removed from the car after suffering block rot 6yrs ago and p***sing oil everywhere on the A610
near Ikea. I've got a 3.9 V8 Rover engine waiting to go in once the chassis is done.

Also the oil leak, a common one is the rear main oil seal - if you look up the Wheeler Dealers episode
from about 7 years ago with the DeLorean in it, Edd China does the rear main seal on the car they
brought over. Its quite a big job, and better if you have access to a ramp or a pit.