Hi - I'm a newbie and just bought a petrol / LPG Hijet......

Hello

I've recently picked up my hijet (which I've named Betty)
I've never owned one before and I find myself laughing constantly when driving it - I read somewhere about going over speed humps like you're on a bucking bronco, and how true is that?!
She drives lovely and didn't read hot temp wise on the 80 mile journey home (I read they are prone to overheating)
My only gripe is I bought her because she had low mileage, but it wasn't until I did a local journey that I realised why the miles were so low.......A 5 mile journey equates to 0.6 miles on the milometer! I should have spotted this when doing the deal, but I didn't think to watch the dial on the test drive

I do have a couple of questions.....She is a bi-fuelled model, and not knowing much about LPG, I wondered if there is any special attention I should give to that area of Betty? I have had a quickie browse thru the manual, and it says fill up 80% max (doh, how do you know when that's done?)

I have noticed that when driving on LPG and I'm wating at traffic lights etc, there is quite a strong whiff of fuel, but not so with normal petrol driving in it. Is this normal for these vans or should I forget about lighting a ciggy at the lights, and switch back to petrol?

Well those are my queries so far (well apart from how the heck do I fit the roof bars which are sat in the back....I am a mere woman after all!)

Cheers folks!
Tara

Welcome to the wonderful world of Noddy Vans

Does it smell of gas or petrol? I've noticed a few with poor sealing fuel caps which cause petrol leakage when you come to a stop because all the petrol sloshes forwards.

If it smells of LPG then it might just need a fitting tightening up, most gas places will do you an inspection and safety certificate for about £80. Also you need a certificate of gas saftey or your insurance will probally be void.

I'd forget the milage as your betty looks like a lovely example, does the speedo work? What a lovely van, its a really good machine, and if you get on the LPG you'll be laughing at your fuel costs.

Roof bars tend to lock into the "gutter" on the roof, usually something sits in the gutter then you tighten up a nut that clamps the gutter tight with some sort of plate with some rubber sandwiched between, if in doubt post a picture of your roof racks.

Hope all goes great! Becareful of those wet corners

Matt

Welcome. I'm a fellow new owner. I was pretty weary for the first couple of weeks now I love mine. My red looks a bit more grotty than yours so I'm going for a fresh new colour. Let us Know how you get on with the LPG. MPG etc would be nice to compare.

yes it gets interesting when going over bumps! sleeping policeman types at 20mph max!
and yes watch the back end in wet/ice.. you can pop a small/med bag of sand over the rear axial to reduce traction loss.

Hello and thanks for the replies

Well I drove about 20 miles in Betty today and no fumes smell so maybe the pong I got, was down to the LPG being used for the first time in a while. I'll see how I get on in her tomorrow.

Highlyjetted - I'll call the insurers in the next day or so and see what they say about a cert of gas safety, because when I bought the insurance online, there was no mention of LPG - just the petrol option.
I'm going to have a go at the roof bar fitting on sunday (should be fun!) If I get stuck, I'll be sure to post a piccy here
Re; the speedometer... It does work, but the needle is a bit erratic - If you stick at a constant speed, it flutters up and down like a butterfly's wing - Is it common for the speedo / mileage clock to act up on the vans? I have no idea how many miles Betty has done so far, and can only hope that the clock went dodgy recently and not ages ago.

So the vans are skiddy in the wet .... I must say I do corner very carefully as I'm swapping between driving a bum scraping low down two seater sports car, to what feels like driving a pair of tippy step ladders, ha ha. She's such good fun though (I'm very surprised at the engine - I thought it would be screaming at 60 mph, but not at all) I did a big food shop today, and then bought loads from the garden centre, and oh what a joy to just whack it all in the back with no effort involved
There is a large basket the width of the van which is screwed into the far back walls, I haven't decided whether to keep that in or not, as it can be useful, or in the way, dependent on what's being loaded.

Oh and while I remember, I covered a back road today that had NINE, yes NINE speed humps, which I went over very slowly - I must have really annoyed the drivers behind me I'm sure!

Chat later folks!

OMG - I've just noticed I've registered my profile age as 47! I'm off to sort that by a couple of years

Hi again folks

Betty is making noises that she shouldn't When I drive at approx 28-35 mph, there is quite a racket coming from the rear of the van. If I go under approx 28mph, the noise stops, and the same goes for when I go over 35mph.
I thought at first that it was the screwed in inner metal cage at the back, but after removing that, she still makes the same noise. It's not a grinding sound; it's more like a very loud vibration.

Does anyone have any ideas? It would be helpful if I could short list a few things before taking her to the garage

Many thanks

Back door is prone to rattling, I trap a bit of rag in mine as it wont adjust any more.

My cover over the battery also rattles, also the tool set needs to be well packed.

There is a heat sheild over the exhaust which was rattling on mine which ended up in the wheelie bin.

One of the hanger brackets rots off the exhausts front pipe/cat pipe, that pipe is double skinned so it doesn't blow but the bracket rattles on the side of the exhaust. It does mean the front pipe would be on its last legs but simply removing it from the rubber gets another 12 months life.

Other than those bits look at the drive train, apparently there can be propshaft issues and the diffs often drone.

Ello HJ

Well everything seems tight and secure in the back (spare wheel / jack and brace ) oh and the doors. I just find it odd that the noise only kicks in at a certain speed, and disappears as quick as it starts.

Other than those bits look at the drive train, apparently there can be propshaft issues and the diffs often drone.
I'm guessing that fixing any any of these issues could also cost quite a bit of money - Oh hell!
I have no idea how to check these, so it looks like Betty will have to go into the garage for investigation, as I shouldn't make matters worse by driving and hoping the noise will go away (If only!)

Thanks for the reply and I'll post back with any news

p.s
I managed to fit the roof bars in 10 mins - I was chuffed that it was so easy!

Bet you its something daft like the head sheild or the exhaust, it fits perfect with the type of symptoms... just driving at a certain speed makes the item rattle. Give the exhaust system a good wiggle around, see if you can hear anything. Try the spare wheel and bracket.

You can be quite brutal, at the end of the day things underneath cars should be held on pretty welll!!

If you can make it rattle with the van stationary by just gently increasing the revs then its just something daft. But maybe not try that at this hour

If I were you I would check if the Prop is the cause. Worth a ring through to make sure. If it is the prop then it might not cost you anything!.

Howdy doody HJ and TUKZ

Hmmm, today I also realised that the noise stops when the clutch pedal is down.......

Does this help at all?

Many thanks

If you can make it happen at stand still = Not the running gear

If only happens while moving = Probally the running gear


Does it happen at the same speed, even in different gears? If yes then running gear issue

Does it happen at certain revs, irrelivant of which gear your in? If yes then probally not running gear.



There is a sticky topic regarding prop shaft issues... I know nothing about this as never having this problem.

if the noise goes away with the clutch pedal in, sounds like the thrust bearing is on the clutch is worn.

sitting stationary in the hijet, start the engine with your foot on the clutch.
then let the clutch out slowly (not in gear) and listen for a vibrating rattle.

now thrust bearings go on most vehicles, and are relatively cheap to replace normally...
most people decide to replace it when they have new clutch, or if the clutch doesnt work anymore...

I have heard a wide variety of different stages of thrust bearing wear from a slight rattle to the pedal vibrating, upto the clutch wont disengage as the bearing has collapsed and jammed...

And highlyjetted as a response to your post:

a noise/rattle can be the running gear even when not moving.
resonance created from the movement of the engine, can cause drivetrain rattle.

good luck, and I hope its something simple.

Hi HJ and difflock123

Does it happen at the same speed, even in different gears? If yes then running gear issue

This is exactly the problem......


sitting stationary in the hijet, start the engine with your foot on the clutch.
then let the clutch out slowly (not in gear) and listen for a vibrating rattle.


The noise never occurs when stationary, and I made a boo-boo in my first post, because the noise starts at 20mph and stops at approx 33mph. I never 'feel' vibrations anywhere (laughing here) its just a sound which is not a grind but defininely a very loud rattle.

I'll take Betty to the garage next week, and at least I can guarantee the guys will hear the problem (there's nowt worse than an intermittent problem that goes away when you want it to happen!)

Thanks again for the replies, and I'll post back with the diagnosis of Bettys illness

If you turn your engine off and in neutal at 20-35mph and its still making the noise then realistically its going to be running gear - it cant be something rattling to the tune of the engine can it! Neither can it be clutch based because non of thats spinning.

difflock123 wrote:
And highlyjetted as a response to your post:

a noise/rattle can be the running gear even when not moving.
resonance created from the movement of the engine, can cause drivetrain rattle.

True! But if any of the drive train was that loose you'd hear it when moving pretty well

If it was the thrust release bearing you can make the noise change from stand still just by playing with the clutch pedal. This also can be drive input shaft nose from a gearbox bearing though.

Hi back tracking a little the door on the back of ours needs to be shut very firmly or it rattles at about the speed you said I only done it once before but have tried and it does seem to be the only rattle at that sort of speed and my speedo flutters intermitantly when I get a chance I'll take the cable out and check it as have already tried a different speedo

Sounds very much like a loose heat-shield. I had this myself, with very similar symptoms, a few years back and have been shield-less ever since. With the exhaust cold, have a look at the box and feel to see if the shield is securely fixed. (Box is passenger side, just forward of the rear wheel.)

Hello everyone

Well Betty's loud rattle is cured, and thankfully it didn't cost a penny to sort out

I took her to a local Daihatsu dealer to see if she'd had the recall prop shaft change (which must have been done at some point, as I was told she has the newer type) and I explained the noise issues at the rear. A mechanic took her out for a spin, and then put poor Betty over the garage pit and checked this and that while I waited dreading the news.
It turns out that a new (not Daihatsu) exhaust has been fitted and part of it was hitting summat else (I'm embarrassed to say that I've forgotten what the guy said it was knocking against!)

Anyhow, for the past week there hasn't been a peep from Betty's rear end and I'm so happy, as the racket was SO loud Oh and the lovely chap at the garage didn't charge me a bean either, so I'll be sending a 'Thank You' card to them shortly.....

Thanks folks for your help and guidance too

at least you have cured the problem
and its always nice when it doesnt cost anything...

The only thing I could think that would hit the exhaust is the spare wheel carrier...

after finally getting the van unloaded (have had all sorts in it since I got it ) I noticed that my spare wheel carrier rattles and clatters alot :S
I didnt get a spare wheel with the van, so picked one up at a scrapyard with an OK tyre for £10

Just wondering if I havent got a stock rear pipe
the spare wheel carrier lowers down a bit and then rests on the exhaust...
And I cant get a wheel to fit. it is the correct wheel and tyre (155R12), so its not because its got wide alloys or something :S

Ello again

My spare wheel is mounted inside rear of the van so I know the exhaust wasn't hitting that

Betty is parked up the road for now until I sell my car, but I'll pop up later and have a look at the tyre size on her and get back to you.

hasnt your van got a carrier underneath for a spare?

mine has, but as I said even a standard size wheel (like I have fitted) wont slide in because the carrier fouls the exhaust.

Has anyone got a pic underneath so I can see if my exhaust is wrong/different?