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Apr 27, 2023 19:29:00 GMT
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Been away to the cotswolds in the mx5 for a few days, as usual it performed faultlesley, did't even leak in the torrential downpours, I bought a boot bag for it which makes it far more practical. once the minor is done I'm going to give the mazda a service and see if I can fix the aircon leak before we go away for another week in may. We have also decided to spend some money on it, new covers for the seats, change the dash to black and eventually new front wings, first step was a proper plinth for the front number plate which I fitted today.
On the minor front, I've drained the rear dampers which were full of a foul smelling black oil with lumps begining to form in it, no idea how old they are but they were painted hammered blue which I seem to remember was a favourite of reconditioners back in the 70's and 80's. Refilled them with a heavy motorcycle fork oil, be interesting to see the difference. Clutch is also back on the engine so it's ready for the box now, hopefully we will get it in tomorrow az we are up in Yorkshire for the weekend
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Apr 28, 2023 15:00:14 GMT
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Front plate plinth fitted to mazda, lloks a lot better that plate screwed to the bumper and covers loads of holes from previous number plates.  Also got 1/2 hour at Lunchtime and Andrew finished his finals yedterday so this happened to the minor.  Still need to fit prop, starter gearstick etc but it won't take long now. |
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Last Edit: Apr 28, 2023 15:01:58 GMT by kevins
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Spent another hour on the minor today and the gearbox is all done.  I've filled it with 70w 90 gl4 gear oil rather than the originally specified engine oil run it up with the rear wheels off the ground and it all seems fine, remakably quiet. Also took the door trim off the mazda and greased the window tracks and cables it's now much better than its ever been. |
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Last Edit: May 4, 2023 20:53:20 GMT by kevins
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Is that Waxoyl coating the floorpan?
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It's bilt hamber dynax UB, seems really good, the underbody is still pretty much perfect, there are some chips on the bottom of the sills though, I've cleaned them up, zinc primed and topcoated them, plan is to do the bottom 10mm of the sill wheelarch lips etc with the dynax and see if it lasts better.  |
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Last Edit: May 6, 2023 19:48:02 GMT by kevins
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May 11, 2023 19:33:44 GMT
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Took the minor for a drive today, good news is the gearbox is quiet and shifts nicely, bad news is after a mile or so it still makes the loud shreiking noise. Given all the other horrible noises the box made we kind of went for that without really diagnosing the noise, driving it today it's clearly something at the rear, a quick look when I got back and one wheel is noticibly warm, jacked it up and the wheel won't turn , turns out the handbrake cables are partially seized, we obviously didn't pump enough grease in when we fitted them or it has gone hard, might try some swivel grease on the new ones I've ordered. Also notoced a strange wear pattern on the top shoe, I guess it has been chatteriing  All in all a bit of a pain but at least it forced me to sort out the gearbox. Also painted some of the dynax ub along the bottom of the sill lets see if this prevents corrosion otherwise it might be time for stainless ones.  |
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Last Edit: May 11, 2023 19:34:35 GMT by kevins
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May 21, 2023 19:44:03 GMT
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Been away for a week in the mazda,  We spent a few days in the new forrest then went to the Isle of Wight for 4 nights. We decided we would try a proper posh hotel, an experience but not really for us. Dressing for dinner at set times etc.is far to rigid for us, and it's pretty poor value for money. Lowered the tone of the car park as well!.  With it looking like I will be "volunteering" to retire next year this got us thinking about what we want in the future. The mazda is great but even with the boot bag there is not really enough space for more than a few days, the mrs would also like a camper with a toilet. We have looked at campers, 70 grand for a new one is out, and decent secondhand vans to build one from are also expensive. The mrs then hit on an idea, why not turn the Range rover into a camper, Dormobile did this in the 70's and for what we want it looks entirely dooable. Our needs are somewhere to put a loo, somewhere to make tea or sandwich and a bed for very occasional use. With a pop up roof, and inflateable rear tent it would work a treat. So it looks like I have a new project for this winter. The other point of discussion is my wife's daily, currently I have a company car, when I retire we will need something for the mrs to cart our geriatric parents around in, we were going to buy the new fiesta I currently have but while the 3 pot turbo, latest 6 speed gearbox and plethora of modules are great when new I'm not sure I want go keep it for 10 or more years, we have now decided to hunt a low mileage 2012 or thereabouts fiesta with the 4 pot sigma engine, Ib5 gearbox and relatively simple electrics. The difficult bit is space limitations will mean one of the other cars will need to go, It will probably be the TR7V8, as that barely gets used. |
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I am sorry to hear about the “volunteering” Kevin. I am just going week to week now, after the last one they threw at us two weeks ago. Is it worth looking at other options on the camper scene? I am sure Range Rover extended vehicles exist, as double axles etc. Part built, ready built, something that can be multi-purpose? I recall seeing a very short, tall Sprinter van in a movie or TV program a few years ago, it Amy not at all be your cuppa coffee, but, I like to rock the boat gently. This clearly is not where you are headed, but an idea.   |
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May 22, 2023 12:01:52 GMT
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I can't complain to much they are basically bribing me to go early so it's a pretty good financial deal, Hopefully I can make things work without having to find another Job. (or at least have the flexibility to take a job I want to do rather than have to do)
On the camper we will take seats and boot trim out then roughly mock something up without the pop up roof and see how it works for a few days away, then decide if we want to go further, reality is if we get a camper van the range rover will have to go too which I really don't want to do.
Cost wise the Range Rover makes a lot of sense, mechanical parts are cheap and widely available, the fuel consumption is not that different to a van, an off the shelf pop up roof is around 2.5K, a blow up tailgate tent around £500, a diesel heater a couple of hundred and the rest is camping gear we already have, also its a lot nicer to drive than many vans.
The car would need some money spent on it too though, the engine is a bit low on oil pressure (sounds fine but light flickers at idle in drive) it probably needs a new cam (don't they all!) and the injection system could do with some updating but these were things I had planned anyway and the cost is tiny compared with any engine issues on modern diesel vans (probably less than just replacing a DPF!)
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May 27, 2023 11:30:03 GMT
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Finaly got round to fitting the handbrake cables to the minor yesterday, the one that was dragging was so stiff you can't pull it through by hand, I think the pfoblemmay be the dynax UB Andrew got all over them, brake seems to work well with no dragging now, hopefully I'll take it for a spin later and the screach willbe gone. I also drilled some holes in the rear bump stops the new ones they supply seem to be made of Oak, probably means they will crack butbif it improves the ride I'll look at adapting some modern polurethane ones to fit. Finaly I looked at the breather, tje engine leaks in several places and nothing comes out of the breather can. The breather cans are welded up with gauze inside so the only option is to cut the top off.  Not ideal, so I cleaned it out and replaced the gauze with half a pan scourer.  I akso drilled the top so I can fit z MX5 PCV valve.  I had intended to joinnit back together with a pice of hose but forgkt how close to ghe exhaust it is, so I usec a mikalor clamp and some RTV instead, if tjis leaks I'll turn up a alloy cap with a O ring.  Until I find a T piece to plumb the PCV in a piece of 15m copper enables me to use the original air cleaner breather vent.  |
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Last Edit: May 27, 2023 11:31:14 GMT by kevins
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Took the minor for a test drive today, no more screeching noises (must have been the handbrake dragging) gearbox is nice and quiet, shifts nicely (a little slow into 4th but I suspect that's just how a tight new one is), the driveline vibration has gone, the clutch judder has gone and the handbrake works much better so overall a success.
Drive did remind me of a few niggles still to sort out,
- the boot stay has come unbolted (Easy just need to find 3 screws of the right thread)
- need to wire in the heated screens.
- there is a significant wheel wobble through the steering as you approach an indicated 70 (around 60 on the sat nav), which gets worse as you go faster, I think this is the combination of cheap tyres and wheel spacers on the front, we have a plan for this though which is the set of minilite type alloys Andrew has bought, we haven't tried them yet but a rough measurement says we may only need a 5mm or so spacer, might also see if we can turn up a plug to make them fit hub-centric.
- needs some sound deadening over the trans tunnel sounds like the engine and box are in the car with you at the moment.
Overall though very pleased, he can push it back into regular use with no worries now.
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Andrew's been using the mimor regularly, no problems so far, so as my daughter is away I did this to the street ka at lunchtime.  Reason was to try to find where the AC was leaking its a very slow leak around 4 months for the AC to stop working. A look with the UV light seems to indicate it's small leaks at most of the O ring connections, I'll take a look later when it's dark to check. If this is the case I'll change the O rings tomorow. I do have a new condenser but you have to take the radiator etc out and I'd rather not disturb all of that. Other thing that suprised me is how little rust there is, only a few areas of surface rust which I have treated and painted with epoxy. Also thought I'd try to push a crease out of the LH wing while the bumper is off, in the process I damaged the paint so I've smoothed it with a thin layer of filler and primed with epoxy, hopefully I'll get it flatted back and paint the wing tomorrow, it's tiny so shouldn't take too long. |
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Last Edit: Jun 8, 2023 20:41:36 GMT by kevins
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Here's one of the connectors on tbe condenser, these and the compressor all have similar flourescing lines around them, couldn't see anthing else so I'll change the O rings tomorrow.  |
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Took the AC joints appart today, the bottom one on the condenser was where most of the leak must have been, the joint was full of leakfix compound, top one was perfect and the compressor had some small signs of leakage.
Put it all back together with new O rings, it held a vacuum for 1/2 hour so I put some gas in it and all seems well.
Blew over the repaired wing with a rattle can as a temporary measure and put it all back together.
Also sucked the thick black gloop out of the pas and replaced with fresh fluid, in the cold weather the steering assist was noticibly lacking for the first mile or so, hopefully this will help.
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Last Edit: Jun 10, 2023 17:12:46 GMT by kevins
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Car time has been at a premium lately,sweetpea has his gatehouse, I have 2, both my and my wifes parents, all in their 80's so very limited in what they can do. Round the inlaws I'm terracing the whole garden and adding a 3m by 9m deck at the top so they cat around more easily and round my parents it's replacing most of a conservatory that is splitting appart and spreading. At the moment I can't do much more round the in laws until the builders they have in building a downstairs loo and shower have finished. So I'm currently on the conservatory, by saturday lunnchtime it looked like this.  We've now got the new door in the side, a sturdy timber header with half lap joints in the corners on (this was the problem with the old one splitting), all the roof structure is up and the first 4 of 9 35mm multiwall roof sheets up. All been a bit of a pfaf because it is 4 inches narrower at the front than the back on the home run now though. I did in amongst all of this get some car time, 2 years ago I painted the RH wing on the Lotus and then left it to harden, I finaly got round to flatting and polishing it last week. End result.  I was pleasantly suprised how well it came up, I also re-painted the black background of the wing badge and fitted the L O T U S letters to the bootlid, hopefully get a chance to polish up the rest soon. Range rover is doing stirling service moving tools and materials around but has been reluctant to start on a couple of occasions, the starter is sticking and current fix is to carry a 2 foot long iron bar around to tap it with. Also the belts need a look at, the aircon and PAS both screech. Next for some ramp attention will be the mazda though, mot in a month and overdue for a service. |
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Last Edit: Jul 2, 2023 19:06:30 GMT by kevins
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Polished the rest of the elan an took some pics for the insurance.   Looks good in the pics but the rest of the front (other wing and front panel) does need re-doing there are micro blisters just below the windscreen and a few sinkage marks (there are about 8 layers of paint). The bonnet and bodywork rear of the doors has all been replaced in my ownership and only has one coat which is fine. I think this will be a retirement project. I also painted a wing on the street ka which had a big dent in it using a rattle5 can, it was perfect until a breeze flipped a bit of the masking on it, I think it will flat up OK though. Oh and the conservatory at my parents is almost done.  Just need to add the flashing to the ridge and patch some damaged flashing to the house and fit the guttering, We've escaped to shropshire for the week for a rest though and left my son to get on with it. |
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Jul 20, 2023 13:30:02 GMT
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After a week a away the range rover seems to have fixed it's self, the window that was jamming 2 inches from the top works fine now and it hasn't played up on starting (I pulled the crank signal wire off the solenoid and put it back on, it's not very tight so I will squeeze it up and clean it properly at some point).
Still heavily into other peoples DIY got a floor to lay in the conservatory and a patio to lay round the in-laws, hopefully that will pretty much all be done in a couple of weeks.
In amongst all of this the mx5 needs an MOT, so I checked the lights and went for it, lo and behold it came back with a clean sheet, needs a few things non mot related (service, cam belt/water pump and the bonnet painting) I'll try to at least get the bonnet done while the weather is still warm.
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Last Edit: Jul 20, 2023 14:08:42 GMT by kevins
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75swb
Beta Tester
Posts: 1,052
Club RR Member Number: 181
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Jul 25, 2023 23:22:24 GMT
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Wins all round other than the diy! Nicely done
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Jul 26, 2023 20:43:32 GMT
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Most of the diy is done now and today I was going to replace the voltage regulator in the Lotus Alternator which is charging at 17V for the first mile or 2. But I now have another complication, father in law needed to be taken to hospital for a minor proceedure, as I'm between company cars I took him in his 2016 citroen C4 grand picasso 1.6 diesel auto. Stopped at home on the way back and now it won't start, has 12.4V at the battery I think it made a bit of click from the starter but no go, starter is burried somewhere totally inaccessable down the back of the engine, no fuses blown. So now I have dead piece of french Cr@p in the way. He bought the damn thing about 5 months ago, it's already burst a hose, stinks of fumes because the injectors leak and looks like someone has already had the fusebox in the engine compartment appart, also made a horrible metalic clank when I started it, I suspect the DMF has gone and parts of it may have done the starter in.
Thing is I told him to get a simple petrol car and he went and got complex french diesel from a dodgy dealer on line.
So after a day of pfaffing around blind with no info I've decided I can't do everything, I'm giving up it can go to a garage, just got to work out how to get it there now.
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eurogranada
Europe
To tinker or not to tinker, that is the question...
Posts: 2,556
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We all have our limits!
It's just when it's family we have a tendency to always want to try to help get things done as cheaply as possible for them. Especially if it's in the realm of things we can (usually) do ourselves, but they can't. Sometimes it just can't be helped and it seems this is such an occasion. Had a similar thing with my parents the past two weeks only not car related.
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