Crossing the Channel

Getting across the channel is obviously a key part of the rally, with us trying to strike a balance between speed and price (as we're on a budget!). The two options are either Ferry or Tunnel. I did a provisional check and the ferry loses on speed, but wins on price. However, thanks to Greg (see here), Tesco have come to the rescue! Tesco ClubCard points can be redeemed for use with EuroTunnel.

As it's not high season, if we book the right time (1800-0600) we can get it for £49, and since £10 of ClubCard Vouchers = £40 worth of EuroTunnel the net outlay is only £9 :)

A bit of background

The Renault eSpace range was introduced in 1984 as a five-door, five- or seven-seat multi-purpose vehicle (MPV). It quickly established itself as a trend setter and leader in what would become a very competitive sector of the market.

Originally available with a 2.0 litre carburetor petrol engine and a 2.1 litre turbocharged diesel engine, a more powerful fuel injected version of the 2.0 litre petrol engine was added to the range in 1989. This also marked the first face-lift of the eSpace range, with reshaped grill and various styling and mechanical revisions. These first two versions are referred to as 'Phase 1' and 'Phase 2'. 'Phase 3' arrived in 1991 when the range received major engineering and styling revisions. Also introduced at this time was the 2.2 litre fuel-injected petrol engine, together with enhanced emission control equipment and numerous vehicle safety features.

All engines are based on the aluminium block wet-liner J-Series which is similar in construction in both petrol and diesel forms. These engines are all four-cylinder overhead camshaft design, mounted longitudinally at the front of the vehicle, together with the transmission and final drive.

Suspension is fully independent at the front, with upper and lower wishbones and coil springs, while at the rear, a semi-independent, coil sprung, rigid axle is used. Power steering is standard on all models.

A wide range of standard and optional equipment is available within the eSpace range to suit most tastes, including central locking, electric windows, electric sunroof, airbag and unrivaled interior layout flexibility. An anti-lock braking system and air conditioning are available as options on certain models.

Provided that regular servicing is carried out in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, the eSpace should prove reliable and very economical. The engine compartment is well designed, and most of the items requiring frequent attention are easily accessible.

Taken from Renault Espace Service and Repair Manual ~ John S. Mead, Haynes Publishing 2003

Haynes Manual Arrives

What we're affectionately referring to as 'the bible' has now arrived... Bought for the princely sum of £10 from eBay it arrived in the post today.

Now we can set about doing basic servicing, fixing the wheel bearing and making the necessary checks before we put it in for it's MOT. (which believe it or not expires the day BEFORE the rally starts - that's the kind of luck we're up against!)

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I can't help thinking we could have done with 'the bible' earlier... ;)

There's also a guide on how to change the wing mirror which will please Tim - Next stop scrap yard to get the green one!

Day 8: Sit Rep

There's not been much progress with the eSpace this weekend, after Tim and I spent Saturday paintballing with Ross and Greg. We then spent Sunday (and probably most of this week by the way every part of my body is aching today!) recovering from it.

However we did manage to get the battery to a local garage who tested it with the result of "nah mate it's fcuked, looks like one of your cells has gone". So either its definitely broke, or he's reading from the standard 'mechanic handbook'. Just to be sure the battery has been on charge since 1730 on Friday, and we'll give it one last chance to start the eSpace at 1730 today, if after 60 hours of charge it still doesn't work we'll admit defeat!

On the plus side there is potentially some good news on the horizon with regards to a new battery,  but I'm not going to say any more until something's confirmed... stay tuned!

It starts with a key!

Well if nothing else we're making progress - by day five the eSpace started with a key!** And we're now 99.9% sure that the battery is the root cause, which is good and bad, although easier to fit than a new starter, it is double the price :(

** Although it did need jump leads and a Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 to help ;)

So our scrap yard battery almost got it started, the Pajero battery on its own did a bit more, both of them combined a bit more than that, and with the Pajero running it started a treat!

So with our limited knowledge we're assuming the starter must be fine, all we need is a 'new' battery with sufficient charge. We're also assuming that the Pajero battery must be slightly undercharged too (it is old) as I'd have hoped that it could have started the eSpace on its own.

There's still 0.1% of me thinking that maybe a starter 'on its way out' could need more power to work? The eSpace's previous owner has assured us that once he fit a new battery it worked fine (he kept the new battery when he sold us the car - mainly as the battery was worth 92x more than the price we were paying for the eSpace ;) ).

Just to be on the safe side Tim is hopefully getting it tested tonight at a local tyre/battery place (and if there's time I'll get a second opinion at another after). Then to be doubly sure, we'll leave it on charge for 60+ hrs and give it one last go on Monday evening.

Battery Prices

Can anyone find a '096 Battery' for anything less than £59.98 including VAT & delivery?

Ross pointed out www.batmanuk.com but that came in at £69.35 inc VAT but then I found one on eBay (here) for £59.98 - both are much better than my previous best of £93 from Halfords!

Car Battery Test Guide

Simple Battery Test:

1. Connect the voltmeter directly across the "Battery Terminals". (NOT to the Cable Clamps)
2. While watching the meter, try to start the Car.
3. The Battery Voltage should never fall below about 10 Volts.
   If it does:
   
   a) The battery is either "Low in Charge".
   b) The Battery is "Low in Water".
   (The water level in the battery should be about 1/4 of an inch, Above the Plates.) "DO NOT" Fill it up FULL.
   
   c) The battery has a "High Internal Resistance".
   (Probably Time for New Battery)

**NOW Repeat This Test BUT:

1. Connect the voltmeter directly across the "Battery Clamps on the Battery Cables".
2. This Reading should be Within 0.1 Volt Maximum of the reading taken in point 3 above.
   ***If NOT, Clean Battery Terminals and Clamps.
   
   a) If Necessary, Repeat Test to Verify it is now OK.

**NOW Repeat This Test Again, BUT:

1. Connect the Voltmeter Directly Across the Positive Terminal of the Starter and an 'earth' point.
2. If the voltmeter reading is More than 0.5 Volt Lower than the Previous Test You Probably have a Cable or Connector Problem!
   
   a) Check the Connections between the Cable and the Cable Connectors. ON BOTH ENDS.

Battery or Starter Motor?

General consensus appears to be that it could in fact be the 'new' battery that is the cause of it not starting, not a dodgy starter motor. Here's the facts:

• Sunday
• No lights when just connected to original battery
• Connected to 4X4 via jump leads
• 1st attempt wouldn't start - starter wouldn't complete 1 revolution
• 2nd attempt after leaving 4X4 running at higher revs for 5 mins started fine via the key
• 3rd attempt (approx 1hr later) wouldn't start under it 'own steam' or via the running 4X4 as per 1st attempt
• Wednesday
• All lights on dash, plus electric windows, central locking, wipers, headlights all work fine
• Tried starting 'under its own steam' but starter wouldn't go fast enough - noticeably better than 1st/3rd attempts on Sunday though

So maybe the 'new' battery is either a) faulty or b) not fully charged? We had it on a charge for 24hrs, but maybe we should have tried it for longer?

Plan ahead...

Tonight I'm also going to try jump starting the eSpace with the 'new' battery AND the 4X4 (both running and not running). Hopefully the combined charge in both will get the eSpace going - which I guess proves the starter motor is fine?

If there's time after work tomorrow I'll take the 'new' battery into a local garage and see if they can test it. (I can only test the voltage, not the amps which is the important bit). Depending on the outcome of that I'll stick it on charge for another 48hours and see if that has any effect.

Thoughts...

Now if the battery does turn out to be the culprit its actually bad news for team '2008: An eSpace odyssey', as a new one is £93 RRP whereas a 'new' starter motor is only £25-30 from a scrap yard.

Now buying a £93 battery for 1 trip to Rome seems excessive, especially as we're not bringing it back! So it makes more economic sense to buy a 'portable jump starter' for < £30 (on amazon here, picture above) which we just use each time we need to start the engine - and then immediately put it on charge inside the eSpace once it's going. Also it has a build in compressor so we can pump up any flat tyres we get and I can bring it back on the easyjet flight to use again and again (even if we didn't it'd still save £60+ on new battery from Halfords). We could even try and run cables so we could 'jump' start from inside...

Tim raised a point - does a car need to be able to start off an 'attached' battery to pass an MOT? I've had a look here and here and can't see it mentioned... anybody know?

It Lives!!

Having tested the 'new' battery and re-filled the coolant system we the set about re-connecting the battery. However due to  slight 
'compatibility' issues with the battery terminals we were forced to use our ingenuity and decided to temporarily connect it with a set of jump leads (see above).

With everything ready we waited with nervous anticipation for the key to turn...

and.... it didn't work! :( Although the starter motor was making a noise and trying to turn over slowly, it wasn't doing it anywhere near fast enough to start the engine.

Following advice from friends and forum posts we rocked the eSpace with it in gear, tapped (what we think was) the starter motor with a hammer in a vain attempt to 'free' a potentially jammed starter motor - but it was to no avail.

Un-deterred our intrepid heroes would not be beaten! The battery was mounted (read as 'wedged') on top of the the turbo, and with a bit of elbow grease the eSpace was pushed through the car park... Once up to speed the clutch was brought out sharply with the eSpace in 2nd gear and the engine spluttered into life!

Our £1 eSpace works! (sort of)

The joyous next few moments are shown in our blog's first video:

So our plan for the next few days is to positively identity the starter motor and source a 'new' one for as cheap as possible. Before we get one we'll try and get a mate who's a mechanic to take a look and see if he thinks its the starter motor (or in our dreams) something more simple. Stay tuned for developments...

Our Alternator is OK!

A bit of good news for a change, the eSpace's alternator is working a treat. The workshop manual we've got states that with the engine running the voltmeter should read 13.4v to 14.8v. The picture on the left was taken with the engine just idling, so at higher rev's we'd probably get somewhere approaching 14.8v - exactly what the Renault workshop manual suggests.

There's potentially more good news with the battery. Before removed it from the scrap yard eSpace it was reading 10.1v. After 24hrs of charging at a mate's it now reads 13.0v and there was a definite spark when connecting the jump leads to it (something the other battery never did). Also another test is the lights - with the 'new' battery connected the headlights and beam were very bright, the electric windows and central locking all kicked into life.

Sadly the 'new' battery was still unable to start the engine, however it was trying - the starter motor sounded to be ticking over - just not fast enough...

Stay tuned for some even better news in our next post... :)

eSpace Original Specification (1994)

5Dr MPV 2.1 dT RN Helios 5-Seat

Price	£18,458
Engine	2,068 cc
Power	88 bhp
0-60mph	15 seconds
Insurance Group	14
Fuel Economy (urban)	32 mpg
Fuel Economy (extra urban)	36 mpg
Fuel Economy (combined)	34 mpg
Fuel	Diesel

So based on our £1 purchase it's depreciated at £1,318 a year since it was first registered in 1994. I'm assuming the 0-60 and fuel economy may also have suffered ;)

Engine technology appears to have come on somewhat in the last 14 years, despite having an engine 3x the size of my Smart Roadster (698cc), it develops only 7 more bhp and does 15mpg less... Of course being a diesel it can run on vegetable oil (if we ever get it started!)

Batteries Included...

So, it appeared the old battery was not only u/s, one of the terminals broke off during preliminary tests (the fecking car wouldn't start). So Brad swiftly claimed some major pwnage over a scrap yard dealer type bloke and managed to get one from an Espace sitting lonely and dented in his yard...

However, this very afternoon, the old battery was diagnosed as simply not having enough of the old electrical juice in it (despite outputting 12voltsish) - the level of deionised [?] water in it was rather a little... negligible is the right word i think. So, i set about trying to devise a way of using the old battery as a spare, for those just-in-case moments which i expect will happen. It'll be dead easy to fill up - got some deionised water knocking about somewhere... ;)
Also, I managed to hacksaw under the broken terminal and created a sort of recess that we can either push the neg cable under and clamp down or drill into and pop a bolt through to enable proper usage.
Wire brushed the hell out of the little sod as well, so it's shiny now...

eSpace Photos

What you've all been waiting for... Pictures of the eSpace!

The 'chariot' undergoing the coolant reservoir transplant.

Tim re-attaching a coolant hose.


The view from the back


The interior

The back seats folded forward... these will be removed.


View from the drivers seat, the picture doesn't do it justice, its over 6ft from the rear door to the front seats.

Hope it's genuine ;)

Scrap Yard Challenge Part 1

Yes it is possible to get to a scrap yard, remove a battery, two hoses and the coolant reservoir, haggle with the owner and get back to work inside a 1hr lunch break!

It turns out we were very lucky that the battery was there though, as it's a legal requirement that they are removed for safety reasons. The guy at the yard said I was doing him a favour when I arrived - which I reminded him of when we were negotiating for the price later ;)

The multi-meter gave a reading of 10.2V, which hopefully means the battery still has some 'life in it'. So hopefully using a mate's battery charger tonight should get it back up to 12V ready for us to try in the eSpace tomorrow evening.

Getting the coolant pipes and reservoir proved slightly more fiddley than hoped - it appears Renault use 'one way' clips, much like a cable tie (only made from metal) for some of the joints - so a hammer and chisel later and they were off. Incidentally if anyone knows a clever way of removing these seemingly impossible to remove clips please let me know!

Anyway I got the lot for £20, which considering the battery is £92 alone in Halfords, (providing it works) surely means we bagged ourselves a bargain!

Day Two: Things are looking up!

Having trawled the interweb I've sourced three 185x65 tyres AND wheels for £50 delivered (taken straight off another Espace)!!

I've just called them back for a quote for all four tyres (then we can use the random 195x85 as the spare).

Update: They'll do us 4 tyres for £60 delivered! :)

Also during lunch I went to a local breakers yard and they've got two espaces in (or what's left of them). Anyway after a bit of haggling I'm going back tomorrow to extract the battery (£15) and the replacement hose (£1) we need. Subject to more haggling I hope to get the coolant reservoir and the drivers side wing mirror (in green - a special request from Tim). They had tyres for £15 each, but we'd somehow need to get them on our Espace's rims so the £50 delivered option is much better.

So there's a 1% chance that by tomorrow night we'll be back on the road. Did I say 1%, its more like 0.001%. If it doesn't work the next thing is to try and work out wether its the starter motor that's gone? (does anyone know how you can tell?). Could the alternator cause it to not start - surely it would just mean that the battery would just keep going flat but wouldn't effect it jump starting?

Dark day for Team '2008: An eSpace Odyssey'

I got the call we'd all been waiting for on Sunday morning, "our chariot awaits!". However the day took a turn for the worse shortly after we arrived to get it...

After getting the 'chariot' going (jump started off a mate's 4x4) and replacing the flat rear O/S tyre with the spare we had a major coolant failure (appears to be need a hose replacement - for once luck maybe on our side and the hose appears small and relatively easy to get at). With coolant pouring out onto the tarmac we cut the engine. Sadly when we went to restart it it wouldn't have any of it. Jump starting from the 4x4 didn't work either. Then to top it off the negative terminal broke off the battery!

So in summary, points of note from what we're referring to as 'black Sunday:

• Probably needs new battery - regardless of broken terminal - will check with multi-meter tonight
• Possibly needs new starter motor and/or alternator  - will check with multi-meter tonight
• Rear D/S tyre is the only "spec" tyre (195x65 R14 - RRP £72), the other 3 + (now flat) spare (which at least 3 need replacing) are "non-spec" 185x65 R14s (RRP £32)
• Rear D/S tyre has 2 bolts that we can't undo (we'll keep soaking with WD40)
• Brakes need checking
• Needs new D/S wheel bearing (apparently < £10 and easy to fix)
• New coolant hose
• Coolant system needs draining and cleaning - reservoir full of black sludge!

Other cosmetic issues:

• Rear child-lock appears broken
• Rear D/S window is made of Perspex
• D/S wing mirror has some kind of Perspex 'hall of mirrors' style cover?!
• Catch holding the front sunroof handle a 'bit loose'

On the plus side:

• Engine seems fine, sounds ok, no cloud of smoke when flooring it, oil cap clean and no sludge/whiteness.
• Exhaust looks new and not blowing
• Suspension seems perfect
• Chassis seems fine, no rust
• Lights all work
• Sunroofs and E/Ws work
• Fuel filler cap is brand new!

Looks like we'll be investing in a Haynes manual ASAP, and I'm off to a scrap yard at lunch! We'd better get the 3 rear seats on eBay ASAP to try and raise some money for repairs.

Espace Mods and Kit List

A trip of this nature demands an extensive list of kit that we'll need to cobble together before we board the ferry to Calais in September. Then there's the Espace modifications we'll need to make to ensure our journey is as comfortable as possible.

Kit:

• Fire Extinguisher **
• Road Safety Kit **
  (First Aid Kit / Hi-Vis vest  / warning triangle)
• European Lens Kit **
• GB Sticker **
• Two new 'off-side' tyres (185/65 R14)
• Cooking equipment - Disposable BBQs or Camp Stove?
• Car Stereo (ideally with 3.5mm / iPod input)
• Camcorder - I've got one but want a smaller SD card based one
• 240V Inverter
• Toolkit
• TomTom
• Maps
• Mini-USB Car Charger(s)
• Tow Rope
• Jump Leads

Mods:

• Remove rear seats and turn into 'Camper Van' style accommodation
  • With Cab Separator?
  • Fold out table?
  • Fit fold-out BBQ grill (if spare is under a panel just inside the boot door - this will work very well!)
• Decals
  • Team Name
  • Driver Names and Flags
  • Plus others
• Red 'eye' (lit by switch) mounted in dash

If anyone has any of the above going spare, or knows a cheap place we can pick it up from let us know ;)

** I think these are a legal requirement in France?

And so it begins...

And so it begins. As all good tales do. This one in particular is about a couple of noble gents, keen to leave their little (skid)mark on the world.

It began with an idea, or a dream, if you will. To complete the Home2Rome Rally in a car that would befit any dude of the road. The one rule that would seemingly be their downfall? "You may spend no more than one hundred of the finest English pounds on your carriage". Our two intrepid 'heroes' trawled the interwebularnet and local auctioniniums, but to no avail, it seemed a lost cause. However, as everybody knows, good things happen to good people, and this is no exception. A friend of friend was able to furnish our explorers with a noble steed known as the 'Espace' or 'space' (using Babelfish).

So, the odyssey has started (or 'commencement' as it is in French). Modifications will ensue, plus about 1400 miles, but we hope you'll be with us every step of the way...