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	Bedford CF-UK Message Board > CF Questions > Need to pick brains!

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Anon
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Need to pick brains!

Hello, on monday this week i purchased a 1981 cf 350 16 seater bus converted into a camper van from Cornwall it has a 2.3 petrol engine. I was driving it home when all of a sudden i was engulfed in a cloud of smoke! I pulled over onto the side of the M5 just outside of Exeter and it turns out that oil was pouring out of the air filter, and onto the engine. It wouldnt start again as the spark plugs got soaked in oil as well, so I cleaned as much oil of the engine as i could, pulled out the spark plugs and cleaned them as well and he started first time, i then hung a plastic bottle in the engine and connected the air filter to it to catch the oil, an pulled over every 20 miles or so to put the oil back into the engine. Anyway I made it back to dorset eventually and now im wondering what my options are!

Any ideas about what it could be, I have my own suspicions but dont want to influence any suggestions you may have.

also what are my options, I purchased the bus for £1800 and really dont want to chuck that money away, i would love to get some use out of my bedford, but on the otherchand i dont have alot to spend on him.

Ive attached some photos of Ned for your viewing pleasue.

oh i forgot to add, the engine seemed in really good nick when i got him, it has only don 71 000 miles, and came with full service and Mot history.

Wed 09 Oct 2013 @ 17:23

Anon
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Whats the engine oil level like?

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Wed 09 Oct 2013 @ 18:12

Gethin
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Sounds like either to much oil in the engine or that the piston rings are worn.

Welcome to the club,

Wed 09 Oct 2013 @ 19:38

Anon
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I suspect it is blow by and the piston rings are worn. if this is the case, what are my options? is it worth having somebody take the whole engine out to replace the rings, or some people seem to suggest replacing the whole engine. Ide like peoples views if possible. Ha ha i want to exploit the wealth of knowledge you all seem to have. thank you all in advance

Wed 09 Oct 2013 @ 21:18

Anon
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If it was my engine I would strip it to see how severe it is. You might find it just wants rings and bearings and although more labour is involved you will be spending less on parts.

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Wed 09 Oct 2013 @ 21:26

Anon
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thanks for your views, as much as ide like to get hands on and tackle this myself, im not equiped to take the engine out and replace the piston bearings and rings myself. I live in Dorset does anybody know of a recomended mechanic in my area who might want to take a job like this on? I took it to a mechanic in Exeter before deciding to try and drive it home, and he really did not want to take the job on, he was worried about the Van being stuck in his yard if he could not source parts. he wa very pesimistic about it and seemed to think that the majority of mechanics would notntake it on.

Thu 10 Oct 2013 @ 17:21

Gethin
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taking the engine out is not that big a job as the whole front end comes off.

spares are readily available either on ebay or various suppliers as the engine was used in a lot of Vauxhall cars..

Thu 10 Oct 2013 @ 17:57

Anon
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Thanks Gethin

Im looking at replacing the rings I think, where can I get piston rings for a vauxhall 2,3 slant 4 petrol?

And seeing as im going to the trouble of getting the pistons out and replacing the rings is there anything you experienced Beddy men would recommend that might be worth doing whilst im about it?

Tue 15 Oct 2013 @ 12:39

Gethin
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first thing to do is take the head off the engine to determine if the engine is ok to be re ringed.

If the piston bore is badly worn then you mite be better off fitting another good engine rather that re build yours.

other option you have is to convert the Beddy to diesel.

Tue 15 Oct 2013 @ 18:42

Gethin
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If the engine is good enough to re build then getting the head done is highly recommended... you need to get unleaded valve seats fitted this will allow you to run on unleaded with out adding additive to the fuel.

if your going to stick with petrol engine then you need to be looking to fit an LPG System at a later stage..........

Tue 15 Oct 2013 @ 18:46

Anon
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nice van old son stick with it there worth it ...where abouts in bmth are you ??

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Tue 15 Oct 2013 @ 21:09

Anon
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thanks again Gethin, your a legend!

Guypjfreak - I live in Charminster.

Wed 16 Oct 2013 @ 10:45

Anon
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nice im pokesdown old son lol

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Wed 16 Oct 2013 @ 23:11

Anon
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Hi,
First off that's one fine van you have there!
I'm no mechanic but I would start off with a compression test on all 4 pots. Someone on here will be able to tell you what you should see. If that's OK then the rings and bores are good.
I had a similar problem on a tuned VW bus. It turned out to be a problem with the internal oil breather pipes. They were blocked with gasket paste from when it was reconditioned. I also added an additional rocker breather kit. This solved the problem and the bus is still going strong 10 years later!
Hope this helps?

Steve

Sun 20 Oct 2013 @ 19:20

Anon
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Hi, ok so Ive taken it to a old gent of a mechanic who has worked on plenty of bedfords and slant 4's before. figured it was worth just paying the man to do it as I neither have the time or know how to confidently deal with the inner workings of my engine, plus he was pretty confident that he could source the parts quickly.

There are jobs that I am happy to do however, e.g

On the last MOT (July 2013) there were no majors, but one of the advisory's was and I quote "most suspension bushings worn".

Where can I get new suspension bushings and is there a difference between the cf1 facelift and cf2 bushings? (dont want to purchase the wrong bushings!)

thanks

Mon 21 Oct 2013 @ 13:45

bluebedouin
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Smith2feeble wrote:

.... Ive taken it to a old gent of a mechanic who has worked on plenty of bedfords and slant 4's before. ...

Treat him like royalty,they're (literally) a dying breed!

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 @ 14:56

bluebedouin
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Smith2feeble wrote:

...

On the last MOT (July 2013) there were no majors, but one of the advisory's was and I quote "most suspension bushings worn" .

Where can I get new suspension bushings and is there a difference between the cf1 facelift and cf2 bushings? (dont want to purchase the wrong bushings!)

thanks

* Can you be a bit more specific?
I'll pop some pics up soon but there are a number of parts that someone could call "bushings".

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 @ 16:14

bluebedouin
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Mon 21 Oct 2013 @ 16:32

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