Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Nick W]

Lubricate the seals - washing up liquid is good, vaseline, whatever
Use stronger hands.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Talc or washing up liquid, never vaseline as it rots rubber

[Doctor Gollum]

Judicious use of long nosed pliers to squeeze the flanges together. The clips won't fit securely until the flanges are close enough.

Don’t damage them though

[Nick W]

Talc or washing up liquid, never vaseline as it rots rubber

Oh.


Wish you had told me that 30 years ago.

[Kevin Wood]

Talc or washing up liquid, never vaseline as it rots rubber

Oh.


Wish you had told me that 30 years ago.

Didn't need it 30 years ago.

Oh, wait! What type of rubber product are we dealing with?

[terry paget]

Judicious use of long nosed pliers to squeeze the flanges together. The clips won't fit securely until the flanges are close enough.

Don’t damage them though

I appreciate that. I have spent all day failing to get those wretched clips on. The clips don't pull the flanges together, do they? It's ridiculous that this task is so difficult. I have tried gluing the washers into the holes in the matrix, then I cannot get the pipes into the washers. It's hard to apply much pressure on the pipes in that location.
Any more tips would be much appreciated.

[Doctor Gollum]

The clips HOLD the pipes together, and won't fit until the pipes are fully seated.

Are the connections in the engine bay still disconnected?

[terry paget]

Yes, pipes in engine bay are still disconnected.
I have tried to pull the flanges together with long nosed pliers, it helps, but not enough. I have lubricated the pipes and washers with washing up liquid.
This job should be easy, but it is not! I am at my wit's end struggling to join a pipe to a matrix. All over the car there are hoses on pipes, held by hose clips; they are no trouble.

[Doctor Gollum]

Not sure what elsee to suggest unless there's a special tool for it 

[terry paget]

Thanks for your help, Doc. The special tool would b a pair of pliers, with fingers 25mm apart on each grip to pull the flanges together.
I imagine on assembly the lads have some way of easily making the connections.

[Doctor Gollum]

You could try popping them apart, then spray some silicon lube into the female side of the fitting and having another go. Fit one pipe at a time

[terry paget]

This job is driving me nuts. Surely all I should need to do is put the washers on the pipes from the engine compartment, push the pipes into the matrix, assemble the clamp around the junction, push the pipe into the matrix, and tighten the clamp, ensuring it turns freely around the join.
Problem is pushing the pipe into the matrix far enough to allow the clamp to sit astride both flanges. My son, with stronger hands, had a go, but he too failed.
It seems daft to scrap the car. I suppose I could emply a garage to do the job.

[Nick W]

You have checked that the new matrix fittings are  the same as the original? And that the original is easy to fit?


Perhaps the gaskets are distorted?


Or the new ones aren't the right shape, and you would be better off using the old ones with some sealant - the cheap matrix I fitted to the Omega required that.

[terry paget]

You have checked that the new matrix fittings are  the same as the original? And that the original is easy to fit?


Perhaps the gaskets are distorted?


Or the new ones aren't the right shape, and you would be better off using the old ones with some sealant - the cheap matrix I fitted to the Omega required that.

Checking today. Both old and new matrices fit OK, and the pipes fit in them easily without gaskets.
One original gasket was destroyed on dismantling, the other fits well. The new gaskets are not identical to the originals. I tried gluing them into the new matrix, then I could not get the pipes in at all.
I visited my local Vx dealer, only to learn that the gaskets are not available alone, they only come in a £250 kit.
I tried reconnecting the pipes and matrix, the old washer fitted well, but the new one not so well. could not get the flanges close to each other.
Looks like some delicate surgery on a new washer might solve things, or just make it leak. Food for thought.

[Doctor Gollum]

A thought...

The new matrix doesn't have its own seals already fitted?

Obviously the pipes won't fit if the matrix has seals fitted and the pipes have seals fitted... You would bend the flanges before getting two seals in each fitting to compress enough to fit the clamp.

Also, if the matrix already has seals fitted, you need to be bloody careful fitting the pipes to ensure that they only go in true otherwise they will cut chunks out of the seals... This causes two problems... Obviously chewed seals WILL leak, and secondly, being new, they will be resistant to the pipes going in 'on the piss', which will make fitting them a nightmare unless the alignment is spot on.