So I know I got myself a wee project run about, '09 Scout 2.0 tdi BMM, and so far not so much to sort, but we are on to the big problem.

 

It looks like the last time the cambelt was changed the stretch bolt wasn't replaced and/or not tightened properly and the result is the top mount near the cambelt has broken the back of the block off.  Google tells me this can happen and ushered in the purchase of a bracket from Darkside Engineering. My question is has anyone had experience of fitting one of these? 

No but its good to know that it exists

 

When I bought my car it was described as "engine mount fractured" it didnt look like much and I'm a positive thinker so I bought it as it was cheap.

 

On the drive home I began to have my doubts, the supposed 2.0 TDi should have 6 gears not 5 and why did it seem to have less power than my MK1 1.9 110TDi?

 

The V5 revealed all, 1.9 105 TDi BKC engine then the killer, the garage report saying that the engine block was broken and vehicle needed a new bottom end

 

As always I came out smelling of roses though, what was broken was a lug on the alloy alternator/power steering mounting bracket that the engine mount bolted to, cost £30  and 30 minutes to fix.

 

Car was a real bargain and had I actually done any research I would have chosen a 1.9 BKC PD engine and it now has all the grunt that I want after an ECU swop.

 

Like you the damage had been done when the cam belt was changed, its a good reminder for me to check the tightness of the bolts.

Edited 29 March, 20197 yr by J.R.

Love it! That's how we roll.

I paid a little over a grand for an '09 Scout that's had some hard love after the paramedics finished with it, at least it has had some love. Owner had paid near 6k for it in 2016 and to be fair, everything works on it and it drives well and I've done 1k miles in it before I found the mount issue. 

I love it almost because of its imperfections. Once mount sorted it'll get cambelt, haldex and transmission fluids
 

Nice!

 

Its rewarding isn't it!

 

I paid £750 for a low mileage two carefull owner 1.9 Elegance Estate in really good nick, my MK1 lasted me 14 years and at the price I paid even one or two years would have been good value, this one has half the mileage and electronics apart I expect it to last as long if not longer,

 

Only downside of such reliable vehicles is that you get out of touch with  vehicle repairs mechanics and electrics/electronics. I have had to seriously up my skill set on Canbus etc to get ahead of the game.

 

Here in France we pay the equivalent of road tax once only when we register the car in our name, the CT (MOT) is every 2 years and third party insurance is very cheap, as a consequence the longer you keep a vehicle the cheaper the fixed costs become.

 

Lets say I get 10 years out of it, then the carte grise (equivalent of road fund license) works out at €11 per year, the CT's at €30 per year and my insurance is €110, add in depreciation if I get another £100 back again at the scrapyard my annual fixed running costs come to only €226 or about £200

 

When you get a car at a good price and you are not concerned about reselling it the next week its nice to be able to replace many parts with new that will transform the vehicle even though the old ones would have carried on and were not MOT failures, brake discs, road springs, shock absorbers etc, I have been really surprised at how cheap parts are from European suppliers.

Edited 29 March, 20197 yr by J.R.

Man that sounds good. Great value motoring. This one has yet to prove its metal but my gut is beneath the odd dents etc it's a good ole bus. 158k miles and if its OK I'd be happy to keep it for a long time, bar major surgery needed. 

 

I'm liking the sound of those French economics. Still this is cheaper to run than previous vehicles so I'm happy with it. 

 

I just need to know this bracket fix malarkey works before I get my wallet properly out in it. 

 

Favorite fix so far is the climate control blowing cold air on the passenger floor and no heat coming out the heater. One new pollen filter and a replacement cover to hold it in all for £26 and good as new. 

 

That and air in the tyres... 

Link for pd mount repair bracket 

So does anyone know if removing egr etc from the top would make it possible to get to this location and fit the bracket? I've looked from underneath and it looks a pig. 

Mine had 122K miles and I have put on another 8 since September so its doing twice the mileage of the old one which was still running like a sewing machine at 325000 miles.

 

Most satisfying job will have been the mounting bracket, most rewarding finally cracking the aircon problem after several months of faffing around I finally bit the bullet and fitted a new compressor, £110 ish delivered from China within a week!

 

All sorted mechanically and I have started doing small paint repairs on the few minor scrapes it had, then I put a huge gash in the bottom of the rear door  and cill/wheelarch clipping a dwarf wall.  The repair done outside went well but I had little confidence in losing the blow in using a colour match aerosol, I did a lot of paintwork years ago and could never part repair a panel with metallic paint especially silver, to my great surprise I cannot see the blend in whatsoever so am currently repairing previous damage to the corner of the front bumper.

 

Its nice to have the time to do a job well as well as the wisdom and patience.

ah time is not something I have plenty spare off unfortunately so I've booked it in with a trustworthy local garage to hopefully have this fitted tomorrow. I've got plenty of other battles I'm better fighting than this one at the moment

some times paying a guy you trust who has a ramp etc is the easiest and best solution 

5 minutes ago, seriesdriver said:

some times paying a guy you trust who has a ramp etc is the easiest and best solution 

Haha yeah definitely, knowing when to do and when not to do is quite a skill

Shouldn't have got too excited about sorting this. Seems i didn't know/spot that this doesn't fit the 4x4. The garage just rang to let me know as they had come across this before. Thankfully they hadnt done any work on it  yet. Not sure where we go from here at the moment.

State of play. Darkside have seen the photos and are confident it will fit but as it requires DPF, EGR Cooler and potentially propshaft removing the garage suspect its an 8.5 hour job so over £500. Which if it doesn't its a bit grim to bear.

 

Currently I am contemplating buying some big boy pants, any tools I haven't got for the job, growing a pair and take my time over the job! Good bye knuckles, sanity and my swear quota for 2019. At least i'd know the car well by then, What you recon?

Definitely what I would do, the knowledge that you will gain is priceless, why pay to let a garage gain what they dont already have?

 

Plus you will be able to make any necessary mods or whetever if needed whereby the garage probably wont want the hassle and risk and would just say "we were right, it didnt fit" after taking your money.

16 hours ago, J.R. said:

Definitely what I would do, the knowledge that you will gain is priceless, why pay to let a garage gain what they dont already have?

 

Plus you will be able to make any necessary mods or whetever if needed whereby the garage probably wont want the hassle and risk and would just say "we were right, it didnt fit" after taking your money.

 

You are absolutely right and that is what I'd like to do. However last night reality dawned I just don't have the time as I am conkers deep in some other projects, one being a house renovation, and I really need the Scout to be functioning properly quickly. Darkside have been really helpful via email and have repaired Octavia 4x4's before with this bracket and have never not been able to complete the work. The only risk seems to be the egr cooler in that it is quite close, but they have seen photos and are sure it will be ok. Worst case then is there is a different egr cooler apparently that gives more space at the back of the block. I could argue that whilst its all off i put a new one in whilst at it as that appears to be a £100 - £200 on ebay.