Megadodo Technical Services

Megadodo Technical Services Vehicle repair, servicing, maintenance and accessories. BMWs and Minis a speciality although other manufacturers covered as well.

Permanently closed.

Camper-van & caravans also covered. Re-commissioning and restoration of vehicles also considered.

Once the FJ40 was up and running again following its head gasket replacement the owner decided it was time for a suspens...
27/12/2021

Once the FJ40 was up and running again following its head gasket replacement the owner decided it was time for a suspension refresh, especially as the front of the car drooped on the drivers side. The customer supplied all the parts with new springs, bushes shackles and shocks. All of which are upgraded over standard. The 2 pairs of springs are different front and back, I started at the front, removed a spring and compared it with the new ones. The matching pair were fitted at the front and then I started at the back. Once one spring was on, it was clear there was a stance issue with the nose of the car pointing skyward. A quick part number check (I know, I know) revealed that previous suspension work had meant the springs had been on the wrong way round before I got my hands on it! Anyway, once I'd swapped then all around the car sat nice a level front to rear and left to right! A new steering damper was also fitted. During the spring installation it was noted that the O/S/F rear spring hangar was both snapped and loose (with signs of a poor weld repair) so a new hangar has been ordered.

I've seen this a lot on R50 minis, poor wiping of the rear disks by the pads. Even on cars with good condition calipers ...
19/10/2021

I've seen this a lot on R50 minis, poor wiping of the rear disks by the pads. Even on cars with good condition calipers and free slider pins, I'm not sure if the anti rattle springs age and cause un-even pressure to the caliper?

With the head and block surfaces cleaned, the slight corrosion in cylinder 5 removed and a new gasket in place the owner...
14/10/2021

With the head and block surfaces cleaned, the slight corrosion in cylinder 5 removed and a new gasket in place the owner helped me lift the very, very heavy head back into place. Although new head bolts are not normally required 6 of the 14 were replaced due to the state of some of the old bolts. The head was torqued down, the pushrods placed in their original positions and the valve gear was put back on. At this point a compression check revealed 150 psi cold across all 6 cylinders! Very good for such an old engine. The outlet for the new heater piping id visible in the top of the head. After re-assembly the misfire present before disassembly whilst improved was still there. New points, cap and ignition leads re-solved this issue.

14/10/2021

Valve seat seal check!

Being a cast iron head I didn't expect it to be warped but I checked anyway and it was perfectly flat. I also poured fue...
13/10/2021

Being a cast iron head I didn't expect it to be warped but I checked anyway and it was perfectly flat. I also poured fuel into the combustion chamber to check for valve seat issues and there were no leaks found.

Once the relatively easily removed head was off it was clear the gasket had failed between cylinders 4&5 and 2&3. The bo...
13/10/2021

Once the relatively easily removed head was off it was clear the gasket had failed between cylinders 4&5 and 2&3. The bores looked okay although some light corrosion was required to be removed from number 5.

I was asked to sort out the cooling system and to add a heater to this marvellous 70s Toyota FJ40. The customer had noti...
13/10/2021

I was asked to sort out the cooling system and to add a heater to this marvellous 70s Toyota FJ40. The customer had noticed regular coolant loss in the short time he has owned it. We agreed on a coolant flush and water pump and took the opportunity to start to plumb in the heater pipework. There was a spare plug on the head for one side of the heater but the new water pump had to be modified for the other. Some new coolant pipes and thermostat was added at the same time. The coolant was quite frankly rank with no sign of life left and was full of rust and debris. The heater pipe was run in and out of the cabin through freshly drilled and grommeted holes in the bulkhead. Unfortunately on start up it was quickly obvious that the coolant was being pressurised way too much confirming our suspicions that head gasket had failed.

31/08/2021

One of the non MOT jobs that I've looked at is the non functioning headlight wiper motors. After cleaning and re-greasing this "graunchy" one was working nicely.

A regular customer of mine who owns several nice cars has this rather excellent Lotus Excel. It came in this time for ne...
31/08/2021

A regular customer of mine who owns several nice cars has this rather excellent Lotus Excel. It came in this time for new rear shocks and springs. The top mount nuts initially started to undo but once free they started to bind up on corrosion I could not get off the threads and no matter what I used to clamp the bolt (which is the shock strut and turns easily in the shock) I couldn't get the nuts off by conventional means. They were eventually "persuaded" off with use of a finger power file which took time due to the complete lack of access to the top of the strut. The mangled old spring seats were also replaced, with some poly style replacements. Took A while longer than I'd hoped but I do love a challenge.

This Renault Master van (the camper van I had in a few months ago) came back in following an MOT fail for EML and SRS li...
01/07/2021

This Renault Master van (the camper van I had in a few months ago) came back in following an MOT fail for EML and SRS lights staying on (as well as a few other bits and bobs). The client was quoted an obscene amount of money to fix it so she rang me and asked if I could help. A visit to clients home with my diagnostic kit revealed an EGR (exhaust gas re-circulation) related fault with codes that wouldn't clear and a drivers seat belt pre-tensioner fault, again with codes not clearing. The codes for the EGR suggested that the"sensor" was inoperative so a bit of research and logic pointed me towards the EGR valve that sits next to the throttle body. At over £200 for a new one I wanted to make sure that there wasn't a cause/effect issue in the system generating the code. The more I looked at the system and functional diagrams I was sure my diagnosis was reasonably accurate. The front end of the van came off to access the valve and following its replacement with a new one the fault was fixed. The front seats were changed for ones without pre-tensioners when it was first converted into a camper-van and who ever did it just didn't do anything with the wiring which meant the SRS ecu was looking for a part that wasn't there. Clearly some MOT stations aren't worried about the SRS light staying on! Anyway, a resistor in the line that connects the wiring to the seat convinces the ecu the part is there and the warning light goes out! The van passed its MOT with a couple of advisories that weren't in the first MOT and some that were and after talking to the client the van will come back into me very soon to get those sorted out as well.

Today I finally managed to get this sub frame off an E36 to change the carrier support bushes, some of the bolts proved ...
16/12/2020

Today I finally managed to get this sub frame off an E36 to change the carrier support bushes, some of the bolts proved "stubborn" and will need to be replaced. Whilst removing the prop-shaft some play was noted in the rear universal joint so after discussion with the customer I will look to get the prop-shaft overhauled as well. New disks, pads and hand brake shoes will be fitted at the same time

I did this repair to a camper van a good while ago now. The side was leaking in many places, rotting some of the wooden ...
30/11/2020

I did this repair to a camper van a good while ago now. The side was leaking in many places, rotting some of the wooden frame and that had to be replaced. All the joints were cleaned of their old silicone and resealed as required, some new joint covering trim was required and I had to contend with a broken side window frame.

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Cambridge
CB234LB

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+447740650560

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