Soon to be owner

Hi I’m buying a hijet camper.998cc ,will have to drive from West Yorkshire to Hertfordshire, bit nervous, anyone know garage/mechanic in Hertfordshire,that is good with these vans, I’ve no idea but looking forward to the chat on here.
I’m Sharon the van has been named violet by the way

Finding a mechanic or auto electrician thats familar with Hijets is no easy task.
Even some of the old Daihatsu dealerships I used couldnt get things fixed properly they were ok but also hit and miss at times and always costly.

One near me in london was sadly done over by gypsys twice so had to close down.They were good too ,the owner lost all his tools that took decades to
gather .
The vans ideally need someone with past experience working on them for a cost effective outcome ,even sourcing parts can require time today.

Which if you spend hours reading through past posts you will see that experience is needed as far as the electric sensors and cooling system are concerned .

One chap on this forum Woody has sadly retired, the other Highlyjetted used to have a workshop in Congleton .
I dont know if Highlyjetted works on hijets anymore but he helps out on this forum .

The vans are not as common as in the past nowdays most are broken up I believe.
Woody used to use them ,fix them ,resell them and break them for parts so without doubt had a absolute goldmine of knowledge on hijets.
His workshop was burnt out and he decided to kick back in his early 70,s now I believe ?
He was invalueable and helped me out 4 years ago with some advice .

I still search for Woodys/Highlyjetted past posts today on issues

Its a real shame that the forum is low volume and the above are less involved but things change and people move on .
Some others on here know abit about the older hijets though...... so the fat lady isnt singing just yet .

Thank you I will keep watching on here . I’ve read the past posts and yes it’s really good sound advice.
These vans are selling like hot cakes .Hope I’ve got a good one and can enjoy some travels this Summer.

Just got a nice reduction on my insurance form being on this forum

Hi Vi, I too have a Hijeet with a Romahome body. As you say, good advice is in old posts. Only last week I contacted an ebay seller for an exhaust and was pleased at the immediate delivery and service that had been mentioned here three or four years ago. My first big trip next week. 150 miles to the Peak District for a couple of days.

Violet wrote:Just got a nice reduction on my insurance form being on this forum

That's interesting, well done! Which insurer?

Adrian Flux

Trip back to Hertfordshire didn’t go to well coolant leak after 2 hours.
The orange light came on and top popped off coolant tank and leaked.
It this major , got breakdown recovery back , so didn’t drive on .
Taking to a garage tomorrow.
What should I expect for repair?

Suspected head gasket fail , put some sealant in for now.
Trying to source head gasket 3 cylinder,
two more mature mechanics working on it and they have repaired the hijet before so fingers crossed

If the head gasket is replaced and everything else is working for now should I have a reliable van that doesn’t overheat?

Fingers X, yes, that's the usual problem. Keep a close eye on the coolant level when it's done. There's a link on here somewhere to a head gasket set, IIRC posted by HighlyJetted, maybe Raggy.

Thank you

Not got a link to the head gasket set, but few links on EBay. Usual advice really, get that head done, change both rad caps, flush coolant system, put correct coolant in and jobs a good un! Welcome to the world of Hijet. Post some pics when you get chance of Violet.

The garage have located the parts . violet is going in on Monday for her operation it will take a week .We are going to have one night camping locally this weekend then all going well we can travel further and shake off this lockdown feeling . Thanks for all your support hopefully this will be a new lease of life for us both.

My first long trip today in my 1.3 Hijet carrying a Romahome body. 150 miles to the Peak District for the weekend.

I had a great trip and the Hijet was faultless both ways. Motorways and some heavy traffic. No sign of her overheating problem, probably because I put 2 litres water in the expansion tank. Now to get the LPG checked out. I cannot for the life of me find the filler for it. It is factory fitted, so an clues please?
I hope Violet is doing as well.

Great weekend had here too

Roddy wrote:Now to get the LPG checked out. I cannot for the life of me find the filler for it. It is factory fitted, so an clues please?

It's usally pretty obvious, on the O/S/R side, just above the door runner.

Violet wrote:Great weekend had here too

Smart looking van, thanks for sharing.

PFM wrote:

Roddy wrote:Now to get the LPG checked out. I cannot for the life of me find the filler for it. It is factory fitted, so an clues please?

It's usally pretty obvious, on the O/S/R side, just above the door runner.

I agree that it should be obvious, even though I have a pickup base. I shall have to crawl around and sarch from the tank.
Here she is.

Great set up .They just have that charming look that makes one smile.
Well at least when looking at this angle and not under or fixing / filling

Violet was very poorly clucking noise idling ,white smoke from exhaust, coolant bubbling up , engine light flickering on starting, but got her into garage for head gasket job , just hope they can bring her back to life.
As a camper she had been well looked after full service history , little rust, someone had installed solar power, Bluetooth radio, good paint job ,new radiator, coolant system and thermostat done no advisory on mot. Just praying it goes well and we can have her back in a week ready for more adventures

Found the LPG filler hiding behind a little unmarked plastic box. No idea why I pulled at it, but it came away and there was the filler.

Update from garage water pipe corroded which couldn’t be seen until taken apart.
Some kind of tampering with thermostat to try and prevent over heating.
Head gasket warped .

Hope Violet is soon better. Daphne had a clean bill of health and now runs beautifully on LPG and petrol.

What was the LPG issue, Roddy?

There was no issue except that I had no idea how long since it had been used. It cost me £50, but I am now happy that all joints have been checked, Pressure tests passed, emissions are correct on both systems, and I am not potentially riding a bomb. At 60p per litre, I would be daft not to.
I drove 20 miles home and honestly felt no difference in the engine at all.

Glad to hear it’s all now running well, corroded pipe would not have helped at all!

Regards Violets post in this thread on Adrian Flux van insurance brokers .
I dumped Swinton of many years after the above broker found me a price that was about £165 better.
So they may be worth checking out if your getting quotes .