Our rat problem continues and this Winter its been worse than previous years. I think the reason is there have been no cats around. Next doors cat that has been around for 3 years went missing in Sept and as a result this has tipped the situation in favour of the rats.
So, the Rexton and Dispatch have both been 'done' 3 times this Winter, last time as well as the by-pass lines on the Rexton they ate half of the primer bulb away as well. Went to start the big Ransomes Mower last week and there were no by-pass lines left on it!
However I think I have solved the problem with Rats on the engines. At a few places on the top of the engine I have fixed little balls of cotton wool soaked with peppermint oil which rats hate. All is OK so far (fingers crossed)
Whilst fixing the pipes on the Dispatch I noticed another bio leak going down the rear of the sump, a strange place as no lines are anywhere near it. On further inspection the leak was from the main pump seal and bio was running down the inside of the cambelt cover and dripping down the back of the sump.
The pump was sent to have a new seal with a company that has been mentioned on this and the vod forum. It duly came back and was re fitted. After a couple of weeks I checked the underside of the van and the pump was still leaking. It wasn't as bad as previous but still leaking. I phoned up the company and was told the pump bearing must have gone between re fitting it and me finding the leak again, or the return line had a partial blockage making the pump over pressurise.
I didn't really accept either of these explanations and suggested if there was no obvious reason the job should be re-done foc. The guy (sorry can't mention his name on the forum) reluctantly said ok and it was left for me to contact him when I could take it over (220 mile ret journey) must say his attitude was a bit 'off' considering the reputation he seems to have.
I googled to see if there were any fuel additives that would swell seals that I could add to the fuel as a quick fix and yes there are. One is manufactured in the USA but I couldn't find it here in the uk. However several forums had reports of people using ATF. I did a little test to see if the ATF is miscible with bio and it was. So with nothing to loose I added 125mls of ATF to 10litres of bio and added it to the tank contents which were approx another 10 litres.
I did a little journey of about 35 miles to pick up some oil and when i returned I checked under the engine and the leak had stopped. That was 2 months ago and every other top up I still add the ATF and all is well. Someone told me that they had a friend who had done the same thing. After 18 months and still OK he thought he had better get the repair done properly with a new seal. I won't be doing that, if it leaks again it will be an auction job!
I wish I had gone with the ATF in the 1st place instead of wasting my money!