Contains mild tinkering - Ford AU, 2CV

Betty the AU Fairmont and Elly the 2CV undergo some ever so slightly overdue work... Spark plugs and an oil change. Contains waffle.
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[@andrewgurney6019]

" I can't be bothered" Hubnut starting 2023 in style.

[@HubNut]

People were getting alarmed that jobs were getting completed properly.

[@edgarbeat2851]

@@HubNut Never change 😄

[@eefjuh5533]

@@HubNut 😅

[@romac9516]

Bless Elly, I like to just hear the musical engine. One day when I have somewhere to put a hobby car, a 2CV is atop my list. Watching Hubnut over the last few years has destroyed (in the very best way possible) my automobile goals. Elly is equally as much fun as anything and she makes me smile way more than any supercar ever has.

[@andysim232]

I picked up the courage to do my own oil change, plugs and airfilter just before an mot. It failed on a bad catalyst so as I was on a roll I changed that too. Passed no problem 😊

[@davidmccready6471]

Was planning doing a bit of work on my own car but ended up staying under the duvet and watching Ian tinkering away….it is Sunday morning after all!

[@HubNut]

Perfectly acceptable. It was chucking down here so we cancelled our drive out plans and played Scrabble instead.

[@terryatkinson899]

Same here, I'm a lazy sod sometimes 🤗

[@frglee]

Much the same here - the weather was so revolting here in SW Scotland this morning, I got up, had breakfast, looked out of the window and went back to bed to work on my hibernation skills.

[@andrewbeer4715]

Same here. I was planning some work on the electrics of my Morris Minor (which lives on the street), but it has been chucking it down all weekend. Watching Hubnutting helps make up for it though 😊

[@schlookie]

I'd planned to do a driveway service on our Honda Fit and Commodore on Sunday, plus give them a wash. But typical NZ weather. It was hot, blue, and 30+ degrees C last week, and now we have heavy rain and wind. Plus its cooled off quite considerably which is a blessing actually.

[@WatfordWobble]

I know not why but I enjoyed this tinkering.

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Great little tinkering video Ian, Betty and Elly getting some love, the noise of a 2CV is so infectious.

[@russellb1212]

It’s always good seeing Elly playing out

[@robertmackenzie5850]

At last some maintenance going on , need more of this , and will keep the cars running well

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Top bit of tinkering - I enjoyed that!

[@Grimwriggler]

saw a lovely arty hand painted 2 CV yesterday . really a joy to see

[@split_pin]

Always great to have a run in the 2CV as it takes me back to getting lifts in my parents neighbours 1980 Dyane. She used to have to cane it in 2nd to 3rd to get a run at the hill up to the houses and I loved the sound :)

[@johnwaga3702]

Great to see Ellie being given some TLC.

[@jamesfrench7299]

Smelly Ellie.

[@hectorshouse7348]

What a weekend treat….tinkering, yay 😃👍. Thank you

[@TofersCarTales]

Sunday morning with some HubNut tinkering... doesn't get better than this.

[@pauldavies6037]

Nice to see and hear Elly again I like the bonnet cover to keep the cold out

[@benday1218]

Nice bit of old school gentle hubnut tinkering!

[@theotherchannel2279]

1:00 Spark plugs can do over 50,000 miles now. They do not need changing as often as they used to be...

[@HubNut]

Depends which plugs. Iridium plugs will last a very long time but none of my cars currently use them.

[@daniellee9015]

Absolutely brilliant video Ian 👍❤️ jobs well done brilliant

[@Dublintaxitours]

Less 'quirky' collection than you had before. I had a 2CV / a 70 Shelby Mustang convertible and an exPostOffice R4 van years ago 💚💚💚 Doing E430 V8, 16(inaccessible) plugs..😖.Plug #12 snapped in the head..€1300 to dealer to lift engine and remove stub..😭. Current Tucson has 130k km on it's original 'long life 100k km' plugs , must get around to them.. Now have a Grand Cherokee V8 waiting outside to be started.. 🤔🤔

[@rscosworth15]

Good seeing wee Ellie out again ❤️

[@paultaylor9652]

More lovely car maintenance, not so easy on new cars with all their coverings, nice video Mr HubNut.

[@bombakdik]

Spark plugs on injection engines are always white. They look good to me! Concerning thermal degrees on NGK, it is the other way round. The higher the number, the higher temp they can resist to AND the higher temp they need to keep themselves clean. The 5 is hotter than the 6. Lovely tinkering video! Cheers from Belgium.

[@lesklower7281]

A basic maintenance video on two cars on the fleet love your tinkering videos

[@mikewilson631]

Berlingo You may be aware of this but I think you need to use the vacuum barb on the fuel filter housing to pull fuel from the tank, to fill the housing, after a change. If you try to churn it through on the starter, a) it probably won't work and b) you will cause significant wear to the high pressure fuel pump, if not complete failure. Ford used to make a similar engine with this design feature. Elly. Aircooled engine of a certain age - I would be using something like a motorcycle 10w-60 oil, preferably one that is known to have plenty of ZDDP to lubricate sliding surfaces. More expensive, yes, but also much more protection.

[@Cayres9]

And good to see Elly going at 100% again such a great loaned engine , hope you can find one just as great to put in her one day when you return the old one.

[@MrButtonpresser]

Classic HubNut tinkering! Lovely jubbly.

[@colinjones2505]

No drama vid Good straightforward down to earth tinkering that all goes well. Most enjoyable. Shame the weekend drive was scuppered by our yet again, crap weather.

[@Snarfcat]

It's called winter

[@colinjones2505]

@@Snarfcat Thanks for telling me. I didn't know.

[@PaddyWV]

Two ends of the Motoring stratosphere in perfect harmony.

[@johnlladron735]

Thanks for the most welcome tinkering video, Ian. Nice trick with the copper washer too.

[@waynetetley584]

Nice bit of copper washer anealing for Elly 👍

[@bradjohnson6717]

My 85 Saab was doing the same thing-- sputtering at idle and dying during braking. I change the fuel filter and surprisingly that fixed it! I'm a bit shocked that's all it was. Never thought the fix would be that easy.

[@kevinnye5132]

It’s called “ The muddling thru” car service schedule Ian 😉 and we all do to some extent , but with your car collection it’s totally understandable .

[@allanriches9381]

Good to see you back in the workshop

[@tony-yp6qk]

another great video has always Ian and miss hubnut and hublets and hubmutts 👍

[@Blurredman]

Bedlam was indeed a fun game.

[@Tom.Jackson.]

I've always let oil settle before checking dipstick, well when I used to work on me cars 👍🙂

[@Kai-Peter.Schellhase]

Nice little tinkering video, Ian. Elly's running like a dream with her new engine. 👍Shame you have to give it back.

[@geoffreymccormack2090]

Yeah I tend to use morris oil from my local motor spares place as its one of the cheapest they stock. I've never had any problems with cheapo oils. Nice to see Ellie on the road, hopefully the Loaned engine will give you great service.

[@MrFordAddict]

I recently did stuff to my AU Fairmont for the first time ever and I bought the car in January 2017 🤣🤣🤣🤣 All is good though.

[@ianhelyar6383]

Ford never went away from a cast iron block, thank goodness! That's why the last Barra block could withstand 3000hp!

[@sleepycatpictures1176]

Short cuts . . . Love 'em! This is the way. Life's too short!

[@donnysweekendvanlifetravel7854]

It's a lot off work with a fleet as big as you got thanks for the vids Ian donny

[@whitemoor66]

Cooking on gas in 2023 Ian! So many relatable things here too. Remember having the same problems with the rubber donut in a spark plug socket years ago. As for oil filters that can't be prefilled, that is a pet hate of mine and sadly all too common especially on modern cars.

[@stephenjcuk7562]

So many new t shirt slogans in one video. Nice, 'its a gone a bit hub nut' is my favourite.

[@johnalees99]

I used to use 5 heat range plugs in my AU, but that was the recommendation because I was running on LPG most of the time. 6 is definitely the correct heat range for petrol.

[@ianmontgomery7213]

I have changed to running 6 range in mine and it is running better on both LPG and petrol.

[@ianmontgomery7534]

Is yours an AU1 or 2 or3. AU1 have a recommended plug gap of 1.1mm but 2&3 are 1.3mm gap!

[@HubNut]

AU2.

[@johnalees99]

@@ianmontgomery7534 mine was an AU1, factory dual fuel. Sadly missed. Needed a new transmission and I had no money, so off to the wreckers it went.

[@ianmontgomery7213]

@@johnalees99 ouch. sad to hear that.

[@davidflamee]

Everything seems to be going swimmingly. Long may the force be with you. Maybe now would be the time for some dog whispering with Diego!! Happy new year.

[@stuartmcdonald5772]

The only thing this is missing is the cup of tea or coffee. Other wise a great easy to watch video. Great watch

[@micheltebraake7915]

Nice, overdue maintenance caught up!

[@iangrice329]

I glued the rubber back in my spark plug socket about 10 years ago. It's still in there.

[@HubNut]

You apparently did a better job than I did...

[@mikewilson631]

@@HubNut I was going to suggest a decent superglue until I saw you had used epoxy. Superglue might still work, once the poxy (not a spelling mistake) has properly cured. In my experience with fast cure ones, this is about the 12th of Never.

[@robkleinlangevelsloo259]

The engine in Elly is very, very good. It runs so smoothly. Do you have to return it? I would try to buy it.

[@garywillcox9684]

Hi Ian, according to Australian parts catalogues then NGK is BPR5EY-11, champion RN12YC. They also do a universal battery clamp

[@michaelstaunton1632]

Always enjoy your channel best of luck in 2023 with the videos 👍👍

[@jfv65]

1 grade colder or hotter isn't gonna matter 1 bit. The heatrange of the sparkplugs are a measure of how well the plugs burn free of deposits (or not) NGK heatrange 6 for a stock car engine is just fine. For plugs it's MUCH more important that the plug GAP has been checken and set correctly. No, you can't rely on the plug factory to set them correctly for your car. Better check them before you screw them in. I like the anealing trick on the copper washer. 👍

[@matthewcoupeofficial]

Hopefully they’ll all be in fine fettle for the 100K special in a few weeks time!

[@stewartellinson8846]

I entirely agree on the oil front. I often think that people spend a lot of time justifying expensive oil - almost like they feel they need to....

[@robames1293]

Contact adhesive works well on rubber in spark plug socket as it stays a bit flexible

[@anthonystevens8683]

Some good progress Ian. Betty has some new toys in the engine and Elle had a chance for a quick play in the winter without the salt riddles roads that tend to attract the dreaded metal moth. It's always nice to see Elly having a run. Hopefully one day in the future I'll get a 2CV.

[@brianiswrong]

I did some tinkering on our 2017 kia rio, hubnut style,outside, coated and hat'd up. Adding front and rear footwell ambient lighting. £10 in parts, 3 hours laying on my back upside down in the car, gas soldering iron, piggy back fuse carrier and a chuffing modern car which is bloody hard to hide wired in panel gaps. Still I survived, as did the car, and I think they work🤔 Wife thinks iam nuts,but as I said " you spent enough on shoes, so I thought it would be nice to light them up at night for you." Apparently what ever iam having for tea,iam making myself😇

[@jamesm90]

I love your video titles! The click baity stuff that other channels use can do one. It just puts me off.😄

[@Bowerprods2011]

Happy Days when Elly is up and running :)

[@chrisrand5185]

I don't have power or water at my lock up, but I do have a portable generator and take water in a water barrel (as used for caravans). This combination allows me to use a jetwash for a short but adequate time, or plenty of bucketfulls for washing and rinsing.

[@matterhorn1975]

Ian, there is a C reg red one in Halifax outside someone's house, been there years just rotting away at the back end

[@grayfool]

Multi car tinkerage. Nice.

[@SmashingPistons]

I remember when you first got that unit and it was full of space (if that makes sense). Now it looks as spacious as MY garage does on videos. lol

[@catherinewheldon913]

With NGK the lower the number the hotter the plug. I work at an NGK distributor 👍

[@bentullett6068]

Good to see some tinkering videos. I wonder if the Citroen owners club members will know of anyone with a 2CV being broken for spares with a decent engine?

[@turnfordguitars]

Put a bot of superglue on the rubber tube & pop it back in the socket, job done!

[@leeallen1407]

Picking my Mercedes Replacement up Tomorrow ...a 54 plate 3.0, S type Jag

[@raymondo162]

9:18: you don't need to quench copper ;-)

[@HubNut]

I can't win. Last time I did this, people told me you DO have to quench.

[@twocvbloke]

It is joyful hearing that 2CV engine revving, and yeah, a long-term solution would be a good thing, though whether that's getting the 652 stuff on another block, or going the whole hog and building a 720, well, time will tell... :D

[@karstentopp]

Or put a BMW boxer in it. You want one of the older carburetted 2V boxers from a R80/90/100. Enough torque to last and a nice sound.

[@reddermot]

Ian, the NGK heat range runs from 2 to 11 ... 2 being warmest and 11 being coldest. So BPR 5EY is warmer and BPR 6EY is colder. A warmer plug heats faster, a colder plug resists heat. I use NGK BR8 for road use and B10 for the track.

[@HubNut]

Yeah, I knew what I meant in my head but it turns out the terminology is wrong. I thought a colder plug was more likely to overheat...

[@reddermot]

@@HubNut well my terminology wasn't stellar. The firing end heats faster in a warmer plug and slower in a colder plug. The heat rating is a measure of the amount of heat dissipation. Good to see Betty running smoothly.

[@jugostran]

Next time you polish the headlamps on the AU, remember to apply a UV resistant clear coat onto them.

[@paulcost6446]

I stuffed electrical tape in my spark plug socket works even on twin cam motors with the deep recessed plugs in the head

[@ianmontgomery7213]

20K on plugs! I changed mine at 150k and they weren't even bad. I am using BPR6EY on my 6cylinder Fairmont wagon on dual fuel, so you should be sweet.

[@raysmancave1]

You can but 1way valves to stop the back flow in fuel lines. 1, it helps with starting the car as the one way doesn't allow the fuel returning down the fuel lines needing you to crank the fuel up to pressure. 2 it keeps the pressure constant in your lines. You might find out that these valves sort out a lot of fuel input faults Hope this helps.

[@joshonthetube]

For the spark plug socket, especially for plugs down in tubes, i'm a big fan of magnetic/swivel ones, (gearwrench ‎80546 is an example). Seems to work better than the rubber type for me- they come in various sizes and lengths to suit different cars. I use that short-ish one with a locking extension to make it a bit longer for my vehicles currently- seems to work well.

[@ianmontgomery7213]

You should be able to make a battery clamp fairly easily. I just use a piece of garden hose to remove the plug once it is loosened. The -11 plug is 1.1mm which is right for an AU1 fro AU2 & 3 (petrol) they recommend 1.3mm.

[@christopherhudson4720]

Hi did you mean detritus, as in getting rid of waste or rubbish. Tritus means rubbing ooh Betty.

[@timgray3491]

The white plug is often caused the fuel injection running a lean mixture. According haynes manuals biscuit colour.

[@mrbwa1]

Dad puts a bit of duct tape on the edges of the socket to provide just enough interference to hold into bolts. A quick fix for that spark plug socket on the fly if you need

[@jamesfrench7299]

Have you shown how straightforward an oil and filter change is on the AU's six yet Ian? I vaguely recall you did it in Betty's New Zealand days. After being accustomed to more challenging access to sump plugs and filters in other cars, doing a Falcon's felt like it was designed for the home mechanic.

[@HubNut]

Struggling to remember. She's had two services in the UK so far.

[@jimmyquinn9639]

Car sounds nice for doing 198,218 miles 🚗🚙🚘👍👍👍👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@alansmith1770]

Dear little old Elly.

[@flatheadV8]

You should think about a rainwater barrel to collect water from the roof.

[@mikes747]

That engine sounds so sweet. Shame you can't keep it!

[@2tone209]

AY UP MR HUBNUT

[@EVguru]

Sparkplugs are not 'hotter' or 'colder'. They are more or less conductive of heat. A plug needs to run hot enough to burn off deposits, but not so hot as to burn or degrade the electrodes. That temperature is pretty much the same for all Petrol engines. On the NGK range, the plugs conduct more heat as the number increases, or 'colder' in the inacurate common parlance. A 5 grade plug was not conductive enough and was therefore running hot. You need a 'colder' plug, for hotter combustion temeratures, hence so many people getting confused.

[@owensteele1645]

Betty the Fairmont is still quite a new car in my eyes.

[@NilssonsGarage]

You should get an spark plug socket with magnet, those with rubber in is usually rubbish.

[@steventhomson7531]

Don't scare me like that! 😂 On the NGK scale 5 is hotter than a 6. I run 7s in my Mini race car and the standard cars run a 6. I was scared I'd gone the wrong way for a second when you put that on screen 😂

[@eddiejones.redvees]

When I did my Own Servicing on my cars I used to Duckhams oil it looked like washing Up Liquid And smelt proper oil

[@paulnicholas9436]

Can Bob be stored upright on it's tailgate, to save space. I have successfully stored trailers this way for years.

[@HubNut]

Doubt the rear panel is strong enough for that.

[@mbak7801]

The spark plugs in my car are 9 years old. My garage took them out at the last (annual) service, cleaned them and checked the gap and told me they may need changing next year. They were original from new and long life types so ten years does not sound unreasonable. Hubnut seems fixated on changing plugs even if they look not far off new. I have never understood that. Also I would use impact adhesive rather than araldite for the rubber insert..

[@HubNut]

Iridium plugs can last a long time, but are very costly to replace. None of mine are currently using iridium plugs.

[@Phiyedough]

Yes, I changed the plugs in my Chevrolet Spark after they had been in 10 years but the old ones still looked fine!

[@leewilliams4541]

The two engine's there sounding sweet Ian. Your closing shot there of the headlight, is the light pointing in the right direction or the camera playing tricks?

[@amack9771]

Might be best getting a few spare plugs to save the pain if they become harder to get

[@chrisdowns1987]

Apologies if this has already been covered: What happened to Elly's original engine and what mileage did she get to when it was changed?

[@HubNut]

She did 170,000 miles on her original engine, and I should have just replaced pistons and barrels, or maybe even just rings. Instead, I chucked in my spare engine, then ended up raiding the old engine for heads after damaging two... Still have the crankcase with internals.

[@peteracton1515]

Ellie = Happy

[@isaacplaysbass8568]

Fab tinkering :)

[@BobM925]

Make sure your spark plug sockets are decent folks! Changing some plugs recently (with my rubbish plug socket) the plug didn't come out in the socket. After retrieving the plug with a magnet, to my horror I discovered the plug ceramic was broken and there was a piece missing... Anyone care to guess where that bit of ceramic went?

[@matthewlockwood9533]

Ask the breaker for the headlights I'm guessing they could be in better nick than yours with it being a limo?