Hi all, newbie 1L EFi owner. (omg I originaly put 'MFi')

Hi All

Just bought a 1996 tatty 6 seater. Much tattier than I hoped but it's fine cos I planned to respray anyway. Other plans are a engine swap and some new wheels and a suspension drop.
Immediate problems are one Sliding Door Handle, a Windscreen and most importantly to fix the overheating issue....although I just realised it's on a manual switch. I'll go back to a thermostat system asap. Finally the heater is not blowing hot, so if it isn't the head gasket...I'm hoping it's the heater matrix that needs bleeding/un blocking.

The boiling over thing I experienced on my first 'urban' journey was strange, obviously I didn't realise the fan wasn't on which wouldn't help but then after getting it home and leaving it to cool for half hour.....I went back out to show the wife her new car. No evidence of steam or boiling noise.....until 10 minutes after looking around it without starting..and it boiled up again with steam! What would cause that?

I guess what I'd really like is a guy experienced with these vehicles that can give it a once over, 'health check' and potentially fix any annoying issues. Does such a man exist, ideally in the Midlands area.

Finally, I'm still thinking of the 1.6 engine solution, but can a 1.3 be bolted straight in to replace the 1L? What do you do? Lower it out from underneath? Failing that is there any funky tuning one can do to the 1L assuming it's not got a knackered HG?

Thanks for your help, will post some pics up of it's 'before' condition.

Steve

Buy a 1300 Hi-Jet and then put a 1600 engine in it. Forget putting it in a 1 litre.

Welcome Steve!

Just thought i'd say, bolting the engine in and out is the easy bit.

The wiring looms are very different from the 1.3 to the 993

So you'd need to do a full loom swap along with all the other bits to support that.

Starting with a 1.3 is the best way forwards.

Or you could drop a carb setup v6 in the space only then have to work out an efficient cooling system so no change to normal then.

bike carbed 1.6??

How hard can a loom be. Is that the only tricky part about converting from 1L to 1.3. Changing actual vehicles so soon is not an option but keeping the 1L is fine if it's a massive ball ache.

Anybody got any recommendations for a health check/once over for my Hijet? Obviously I'd pay!! Really need to get the heater matrix sorted and possibly the pressure test described in the excellent overheating article.

Oh yeah one other thing! Why does it have a label saying don't fill the expansion tank only use the filler cap? Is it to do with one being higher than the other thus forcing air up and locking out the matrix/Rad?

If you can do an engine/loom swap and not fuck it up.

Then you can do a health check on your own hijet!!!!  

Fair comment well made, but I was thinking health check short term which I can't do and pay some help capable of wiring looms and 'simple' engine conversion....which I can't do long term. Hence the questions :-)

I can do most things I put my mind to but the time it takes to figure it out vs the cost of paying someone else to do it much quicker, while I meanwhile, work to my strengths. It's a false economy otherwise.

First of all Steve, welcome to the Forum and it's mine of informative users. Loads of help on here.

But sorry, I really fail to see your logic. You are talking about a respray, new wheels, suspension drop, how hard is changinging a wiring loom-- try taking one out of a vehicle you are totally dismantling and you will find out. Then you have got to strip one and all the relevant electronics out of a 1300 and then put it in
yours then there is the engine out of your one then the engine out of the 1300 donor one .
Have you totted up all the cost of buying all that stuff? Obviously not !!!
Next you are asking  about  a simple job like bleeding the heating system and yet
you are talking about doing all this "swopping over work".

Then you have the cost and hassle of converting the 1600 engine over to 1300 spec's--- once you have found an engine.
Tot it all up on paper first and you will see it is totally impractical.

My advice to you is run the one you have just bought  and learn all about its problems and quirkiness and spend the very least you can on it and once you have found out that you love your Hi-Jet  ( you may find you don't like it )
then look round for a very sound 1300 and pick up a 1600 lump and follow HJ's
superb article on converting the 1600 lump to 1300 specs then you can do your
proposed 1600 project.
Until then live, love, like, and learn all about your new toy.   Woody.

I would like to see the injection system as a mechanical fuel injected Hijet is new to me as I have a 1995 EFI     

Thats better  

Eh???

Hmm interesting welcome. Perhaps the most interesting welcome I've ever received in about 15 owners club forums for all the car's I've owned.

I thought my questions were fairly straight forward but obviously they gave a strange impression!

1.) Is the 1.3 a bolt in replacement for the 1.0?
Obviously not but I don't see why a simple 'Actually no, it's a right PITA because of the loom etc..' wouldn't suffice as an answer. Instead of 'how dare you consider such a change when you haven't even bled the system!'
'Have you even considered the cost!?' Err yes that's what I'm trying to do, evaluate what's involved and whether I can make it happen....either by myself or by paying someone, which leads on to.

2.) Is anyone able to give my vehicle a once over who knows the model inside out?
Given the info pages and reading some of the informative stuff on here I would have guessed there would be. HJ is only in Cheshire, I don't know what the day job is but if it was mechanical he 'just might' have wanted an easy hour or two's labour, helping out a new owner. I thought it was a perfectly reasonable question. Obviously not!

3.) Does anybody know anything about the unusual instance where it seemed to cool down but then boil over again without starting the engine again?
Ignored.....nobody knows I guess.

4.) Sliding door handle?
'Yes this is a common problem, they get brittle and the tabs snap over time' or....the spring usually seizes, you need a replacement inner/outer handle/spring, I sell them if you're interested'......nobody knows I guess!

5.) Why wouldn't you top up from the filler cap in the engine bay?
I guess it's a height thing but somebody who knows the model better might expand on the purpose of that cap etc.

Finally I don't see the relevance of even mentioning me talking about lowering and paint in reference to some preliminary engine swap issues. But most forum users might offer some encouragement or some advisory comments perhaps about leaf springs or clearance issues etc.

That's kind of what I expected...you did tell me that it was probably a non starter with a 1L base but I thought the request for further info was reasonable along with the request for any recommendations/offers of giving the vehicle a health check.

Anyway off to post elsewhere about what I need. Will start separate threads, perhaps that will help.

Where in the country are you?

Sorry Dinoh, would help ....updated profile. I is in the middle too.

A blocked heater matrix won't cause these problems... but you've got another thread going now about overheating which we'll talk about there to not mix this stuff up.

Door handles snap because the runner bearings go crap http://www.daihatsuhijet.co.uk/repair-hijet-sliding-doors-rough-sticking-grinding-bearings-dropped/ , and the handles are weak. Replace it, there is a pair of brand new genuine ones on ebay at the moment:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIAGGIO-PORTER-DAIHATSU-HIJET-Door-Handle-6922087Z01000-NEW-OLD-STOCK-/181205864148?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2a30b60ed4

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIAGGIO-PORTER-DAIHATSU-HIJET-Door-Handle-6921087Z01000-NEW-OLD-STOCK-/350813503178?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item51ae1d3eca

But if you don't sort the runners so they slide smooth then you'll break your new handle in no time.

We'll talk coolant system stuff elsewhere, but basically you've got the same old problems every new member turns up with, which they try and find some easy solution for, which they never find, because time for the small fix is long gone. If its been overheated a couple of times then the head will need skimming as it'll be warped thus why the gasket has gone.

Now I didn't agree to doing some kind of health check, because I could already sense your van has problems. It's not a quick look and say ooooo' you need to fix this and that.

We are all very friendly round here and will help anyone, being a member of quite a fair few owners forums, for quite a few years, I can tell you this forum has the best vibe of folk I've found yet. I have made some real good friends here.

Now what you can do, is use the search button at the top, and click on advanced search, then type in overheating or bleeding and press the google search button -you'll learn about loads of different people experiences. And be grateful that information is there, because 4 years ago, there was zero information out there, nothing, zip, nada!  

Good luck, and if you want support we/I will point you in the right direction all the way. I'm sure as you've been part of 15 car clubs in the past, you'll know what your doing with stuff so you'll have no problem what so ever fixing your van with a little guidance.

Have an idea those handles are for the front doors, HJ.

PFM wrote:Have an idea those handles are for the front doors, HJ.

Well spotted dude! There are (or was) some sliding door handles on ebay.

Indeed: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DAIHATSU-HIJET-CENTRE-DOOR-HANDLES-BOTH-SIDES-TWO-HANDLES-FREE-BEARINGS-/370578761026?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5648372542

Howver, the plastic tab you pull rubs against the door so I put a small washer on each bolt before the handle. I have wondered if they're the design for an earlier Hijet. They also not quite as strong as the originals methinks.

Cheers HJ, that's cool. I know, didn't mean to drag up old stuff and your right, I have already seen a zillion overheating problem posts so you're probably tired of answering. It's using the search that I learnt about the matrix air-locking.

Funny about the door handle it seems to go fairly smoothly when opening from the inside. Are you saying it's should be like smooth as in pulling it with one finger? In which case I'll need to do the other side too. Thanks for the link

Will put some pics up as soon as I've been about for 7 days. I'm sure you all want to see a shagged HiJet :-)

If you want to see a a 1.3 against a 1.0 you can nip down to Penkridge on Sat if you want

Sure, what time? Sounds cool.

should be around all day but will let you know friday

Hi STVC. Welcome to the forum, sorry it seemed to get off on the wrong foot. I only joined the forum a couple of months ago with very similar problems with my Hi-Jet. I cannot speak highly enough of the knowledge and support I was given especially by "Highly Jetted" and "Woody" and the lengths they went too to help me. I would never have completed the work in time for my trip without them.
I hope you find them and the other members as helpful as I did.
Buzz

Cheers Buzz, all the guys have already been very willing with info so I have no complaints beyond the first couple of posts on this thread. Think it was just people bored of answering the same problems being 'frank' with me but it caught me off guard.

Good assessment!

We have had quite a few though the door in the same situation recently.