Ex John Lewis MK5, 2.5TDi 85ps Automatic & Air Con.

[Nadjenka]

So here we go... I've had this van for couple of months now, decision to keep it has been made, so it's about time to start a progress report.

My "new" MK5 ('cos they are worth saving ), ex John Lewis van, 2.5 TD, 85ps, Automatic with toys including leccy windows and air conditioning. Weirdly enough - no central locking and... oh yeah... it's GREEN









As you can see, he had a hard life after retiring from John Lewis fleet Bruses, cuts and several bodges indicate some inconsiderate owners or maybe a blind man behind the steering wheel in the past Despite this being a MK5, it has all it's original arches, sills, steps, crossmembers etc, even the inner arches Surface rust showing, but comparing to many "younger siblings" MK6s, not bad at all me thinks Luckily (yeah... I say that now... ) all of it appears to be surface scars, hopefully easy to get rid of...














It has some metal left even underneath





Progress has already started, pictures and more stories to follow

[Nadjenka]

Bodge after bodge was revealed when we started to take it apart...

Instead of intake grill, there was ductape covering it (ductape - MK5's best friend ).
Air intake pipe behind it was cut, screwed with 100mm long screws and covered in filler Filler in the engine bay - now that's new
But it didn't end there... EPIC pump was leaking (now - that one is not new, is it? ), automatic gearbox is due for some upgrade and overdrive fix, so the decision has been made to take the engine out and do it properly

As you all know I'm useless when it comes to mechanics, so AndyG - man of the year, came to put a bung on my wallet and stop the EPIC pump from leaking the precious diesel all over the place He located the leak on this pump from the most common place - square seal. Removed the mischievous Epic pump and repairs started... Here it is, looking all innocent



Andy unscrewed the bolts on the plastic cover and removed it



Mark the position of the sensor and remove these two bolts underneath



And - voala - who would think that such a little seal can cause so much trouble...?



Aaaaall flat and not sealy at all now...



New replacement square ring goes on



And Andy closes the case of leaking Epic pump, all below 10 minutes and wayyyy below £5



Refit is reversal of removal

No more diesel leaks, no more trouble You'd need 5 spanner skills (ref. Haynes) OR AndyGs hands to make this happen Good time to change the timing belt, water pump, tentioner and - of course - set the timing

[psv-hgv-flt]

yes very common for that seal too leak, change the auto to manual and put some 100ps injectors in.

[madbri]

so will this van replace lolo? hope not after all ure hard work! but what ever you decide good luck

[madmark_50484]

Got to love the green ones I used to have one myself but it was a murphy one




that van used to do well when I done removals. Anyway like the new one it looks a bit more solid than lola was he looks like a good friend for her.

[Luke]

maybe a blind man behind the steering wheel in the past

or blind woman

the van doesnt look that bad at all i know the dark green helpis it look better in photos but it still looks a tidy base plus it will have the high spec loom for future upgrades i'd have thought

[Nadjenka]

yes very common for that seal too leak, change the auto to manual and put some 100ps injectors in.

Never gonna happen, this replaced my automatic Audi! I'll tell you what - automatic transmission slows down ageing and decreases stress and mortality... Especially when doing deliveries in London Far less likely to kill the learner in front of me on the road who is only using second and third gear, AND - looking better doing that, 'cos I have less stress wrinkles to worry about

The automatic is staying,, so is the Epic

so will this van replace lolo? hope not after all ure hard work! but what ever you decide good luck

Nooooo To be honest, I probably would never look other way when it comes to vans, but Lola was giving me such a grief back then, she broke down when we were busiest with deliveries and I sinned... I looked at another vans and found this one to be a bargain of the year. But it's not replacing Lola, Lola was supposed to be a camper, so she will This one will take her workload

[Nadjenka]

Anyway like the new one it looks a bit more solid than lola was he looks like a good friend for her.

Thanks, it is much more solid, but it also has soooo much more scars on the bodywork... Main thing was - he doesn't need any welding underneath I hear Luke shouting "Waxoiiiiiiil" from Rotherham... That's what we're going to do at some point

or blind woman

the van doesnt look that bad at all i know the dark green helpis it look better in photos but it still looks a tidy base plus it will have the high spec loom for future upgrades i'd have thought

Oh it's unbelievable how BOTH of my vans photograph better that they look in reality Don't get fooled, there really isn't a panel on that van that wouldn't have a dink or more serious builder scar. It's not plylined from the inside, so you can imagine... But after Lola, who looked GREAT on purchase, I thought - it's so much better to see what you'll be up against! Seller didn't attempt to hide anything. Still don't know if it was a good buy or a nightmare, the time will tell I suppose

Yes - high spec loom helps - he will receive some more toys later on , but this is going to be very long progress...

[MurrayXmas]

You are a glutton for punishment Good luck!

[madmark]

i am a big fan of auto,s you just cant beat them
the epic is good if you get a good one

i had a lwb auto with ac but the box started to play up ,this wasnt a problem till i looked undernieth the van and wow it was rusting like nothing i had ever seen so it was sold very quickly ,shame as it was a rare van with all the options!
1999 v reg

[AlanN]

Hmmmm! Aircon

[matthew2riches]

I can see this is going to be a good one. Nad - you've had the practise with Lola so lets see another gooden!

[AndyG]

The worst part of that particular repair of the EPIC pump has to be doing the cam belt as the part that needed access was on the engine side

So anyone that can change their cambelt on one of these can certainly deal with a silly little pump leak

[AndyG]

You are a glutton for punishment Good luck!

I think so too

[MattBlackMinibus]

Nice wagon Nada.
Auto Turbo
Lucky Cow