ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Dec 18, 2022 21:17:06 GMT
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Just did the rear calipers on my 9-3, hand break cables are a right pain. I was wanting the £30 quid back on returning my old calipers to Euro car parts so went with a stilson on the cable to eventually get it turning. The cables are a bit chewed but still operate fine...for now anyway. That caliper bracket mounting bolt, man I know that pain! I tried Mole grips and pliers/heat on mine. It was evident they were never going to move. Annoyingly, the Aero rear discs can come off with the calipers in situ. For the folks who claim spanners will take off the bolts, I'd have paid for them to have tried mine, and not round them off. Even with a long breaker bar, the bolts didn't half let off a crack, and send shockwaves down the breaker bar. No way would they have undone with a small spanner. For a consumable, it's up there with one of the most stupid designs I've seen. I think Alfa top them with a couple of their cars, but that's saying something. The next hurdle were the dampers, which I'll feedback on with the next update.
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Dec 18, 2022 21:35:03 GMT
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The next hurdle were the dampers, which I'll feedback on with the next . Yurp, got the dampers to do, had planned to do at the same time but took one look at the bottom securing bolt and thought I'd leave it for another day/month/year/just resell the dampers after I've binned the car. As I'm normally a Land Rover fan a single bolt with slightly awkward access that requires a breaker bar + the break it bar extension is something I'm more than happy to put up with!
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Dec 20, 2022 12:44:10 GMT
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The next hurdle were the dampers, which I'll feedback on with the next . Yurp, got the dampers to do, had planned to do at the same time but took one look at the bottom securing bolt and thought I'd leave it for another day/month/year/just resell the dampers after I've binned the car. As I'm normally a Land Rover fan a single bolt with slightly awkward access that requires a breaker bar + the break it bar extension is something I'm more than happy to put up with! The next hurdle were the dampers, which I'll feedback on with the next . Yurp, got the dampers to do, had planned to do at the same time but took one look at the bottom securing bolt and thought I'd leave it for another day/month/year/just resell the dampers after I've binned the car. As I'm normally a Land Rover fan a single bolt with slightly awkward access that requires a breaker bar + the break it bar extension is something I'm more than happy to put up with! I don’t remember the bottom bolt being a problem. Maybe it’s one of those E Torx bolts. Since I have the Impact versions, the bolts came out with ease with the rattle gun, once I compensated on the stub axle for the end of the travel of the damper, thus ensuring the bolt would come out easier. The top bolt was trickier. Speaking of which, I did the rear dampers. I tried to get my old man to get the top mounts too. He didn’t. He said to see how the job goes. I’m aware with these, it’s either genuine or TRW/Lemforder. When I saw the state of the mounts and that they would hold up, I left the mount well alone. Annoyingly, the bolt securing the damper into the top mount had seized. There was nothing for it but to get the grinder out. With the damper too sawn off, I did not hesitate in fitting the new items. Yes, I know the dampers are slimmer than the Sachs items but I had to draw a line on a cheap car. The Sachs dampers for it were now £60 a damper. I had to come to a pragmatic compromise. That said, it lost the wallow and the old man was happy with the car, so that was a result. This is the last way I did on this wannabe Swede. It’s now time to go onto cars which have been with me via model. Some of you will know already what is coming next. But more until next time, as I have a 325d to fix.
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Last Edit: Dec 20, 2022 12:47:04 GMT by ChasR
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Dec 29, 2022 10:09:40 GMT
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So, that's the Saab updates for now. There has been another development, but that can wait. Mainly, as I need to touch on another batch of cars we've had. You know what I am going to say. Mundaneos! But where did it begin. Like most things, it's a childhood thing. When I was younger, I wasn't the most well child, so I had a few years out of school. There were reason for it, and I wanted to go back, but at the time I couldn't understand why (I do know why now). When I did, it was quite something for me. Granted, some things took some getting used to, I enjoyed the lot. Being drop off to school, being picked up, meeting new friends, you name it, as you do when your age is in single digits Part of that thrill was being picked up in Fords back in the early 90s. A variety of them. This started out with -2 Sierras. 1 being a new Sapphire GLS in White and black, but with the optional 5 spoke wheels, which my dad had. The other was an allegedly cut-and-shut 1983 Sierra 1.6 L. There were other Fords, including XR3is, Escort vans etc. but GLS was the family preferred car. ![](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/af/0d/09/af0d0997a99cf70fc3dc6cfb15a333bd.jpg) The first Mondeo would arrive after the GLS was sold. The Mondeo in question was a 2.0 Si Saloon, complete with the full RS kit. In theory, I should have loved this over the Sierra. It was faster, looked better, and was a nicer colour! In State Blue, it really popped. However, while I liked it, I never gelled with it was much as the Saph. The image below is an example of the kit. ![](https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/attachments/rs-bodykit-wheels-side-jpg.8865/) In State Blue, an Si, with the classic looking 7 spoke diamond cut RS wheels, it should have been amazing! However, it just didn't do it for me, back in what I will say is either 1993 or 4. Maybe it was -It not being quite new -The Saph, my dad was talked into being sold via relatives. He needed a new car as a company car, but considering the 90,000 mile 3 year old Sierra went for £2k, only for us to get a low mileage, but very rotten 1986 Mk2 Fiesta for £1.5k seemed like a travesty. My mum was pretty annoyed at the time. I suppose then, mileage was king, even if the Sierra was well maintained. -It seemed to have a few niggles always. The Si would eventually go too. We would then not a Mondeo, bar a company car. A friend however, did have an ST24 in Juice Green, which was a lovely old thing. Our friends and I adored that car. Sounded lovely too, with the Mongoose exhaust. ![](https://scontent-lcy1-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/1916780_657170804515_4568369_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=OUlHCVaqSKEAX8Pzx7s&tn=eraNlup8stw5IJ4L&_nc_ht=scontent-lcy1-2.xx&oh=00_AfB5h0Z7JaSR2Q-9v6zwua8hValp67JhmVgz6EhxFDM7og&oe=63D4C8BE) For us, we would go through a few cars before getting a Mondeo again, from the Si Saloon that we had, which included, and were mostly new -1996 Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 SRi - First ever car we had with AC. We loved that car, oddly. -1996 BMW E36 325tds SE - A nice car. Not the most reliable, albeit those faults would be easy to find now. It was a lovely car to drive, that would eventually see 250,000 miles. -2001 Vectra 2.2i SRi - That seemed quick back then -2001 Volvo S40 1.8i SE with a Lux Pack- This would be the first car I learned to drive in, and it was the car which I'd drive about anywhere, when the Ka wasn't used -2001 Volvo S40 2.0i SE - The replacement. That was quick -2000 Saab 9-3 Aero 2.0T - Compared to the above, this seemed fast. Really fast! Very well built, and very quiet to drive. Not the best for putting the power down, but it certainly had a way! Above car list is from 1996 to 2004(ish). This brings us to around 2004. I was leaving 6th form, unsure of what I wanted to do. My dad fell on hard times in the corporate ladder, something would need to be done for him to have a car, to go to whatever employment he would take. Initially, this was a 1993 Ford Escort 1.8TD LX he bought for £250. Yup, a 9 car shitbox for 3 figures. It had no turbo, as it had an NA fuel pump fitted at some point, it transpired, but it was cheap and effective transport. When my dad's fortunes turned around a little later that year, that is when we'd back into Mondeos again. This time a 1.8 TD GLX. He was now driving for a living. This car would from from 150,000 miles to 250k. At this point, we sold it. We were worried the turbo was going (it was sirening in sound but was fine). Unlike now, we didn't really stick with cars and plough the cash in. If you want to chuckle over car clocking, Google W76 UOH. Someone after we sold it was a very naughty boy! I did wonder why he expected the car to be mint. It's a 6 year car on 250k for goodness sake! He'd then buy more Mondeos over the years. -2001 2.0 Ghia X - 77k to 387k - I would scrap that when the diff went ![](https://scontent-lcy1-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/1919220_186296555842_6737185_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=itQg6GmWS1sAX-2FURS&_nc_ht=scontent-lcy1-2.xx&oh=00_AfB-zxlPmY507GI6uQhumwyVCSxlV1MkVzDhjmDkzkxj8w&oe=63D4DC8C) -2004 2.5 Ghia X Estate Auto - ![](https://scontent-lcy1-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/935553_10151748947890843_1203837193_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=cdbe9c&_nc_ohc=86qW9R-If3QAX9M1VN6&_nc_ht=scontent-lcy1-2.xx&oh=00_AfDTFqqgkwcGfRq3FHAb7cjIp13H-KxQQq_s7MARIv-1pg&oe=63D4DC22) This car would be pivotal for a few reasons -It's the first V6 I worked on -It's the first time I realised good garages were very hard to find -Mechanics hated working on it, or refused to, due to previous encounters with Ford V6s -My dad and I would do way more work on cars than we ever had done, besides drop link changes, brakes and oil changes, outside of the resto projects -The car was a dog. -It would also be the first car I started doing the driving game in. For those who aren't bored yet, I'll give the short story on this next time. It's probably the one reason why I had Mondeos for ages TBH.
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Last Edit: Dec 29, 2022 10:10:37 GMT by ChasR
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Dec 29, 2022 13:45:45 GMT
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W76 UOH - Wow, that took some front to reduce its mileage that far!
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dandam
Part of things
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Posts: 72
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W76 UOH - Wow, that took some front to reduce its mileage that far! Not once but twice, 170k first time and 25k a few years later, scary. thoroughly enjoying this thread, looking forward to more
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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W76 UOH - Wow, that took some front to reduce its mileage that far! Not once but twice, 170k first time and 25k a few years later, scary. thoroughly enjoying this thread, looking forward to more Cheers, it had the king of haircuts you can say! It's good to see folks on here are enjoying it. So I started driving the Mk3 V6 Estate in 2010(ish). TBH, I was never enamoured in that car at the time. There were many reasons for it -It had cream/beige alcantara leather. I preferred black as it was easier to clean and less 'grandad' like. -It was the first auto. It didn't drive nicely to me. I had driven an auto before and I was back then, always a die-hard manual fan. -It was slower than the 2.0 that it would replace -It was awful on fuel. On LPG and petrol, it would do no more than 23MPG, no matter how you drove it. -It drove horribly in town on the 18s. On Budget tyres, it also sounded like the wheel bearings were always gone. -It really was a car where you were thankful that it worked for more than a week. Just as you thought you fixed it and broke the back of the car, it would break your heart, and fail again. That said, it taught me some lessons for the ST220, which I'd own last year, and dare I say it, is one reason why I bought it. For a car I'd spend almost 11 hours in a day, I wasn't looking forward to it. It did have some plus points mind you -The Sat Nav was very kick ass back then, as was the Blaupunkt NX screen it had -The interior, being beige, was actually very airy, and dare I say it, added an air of luxury to it -It was very capacious inside. In estate form, it was HUGE. It really did seem very impressive for something with a Ford badge -The engine was smooth, but we wouldn't appreciate that until later My dad would drive the car at night, and I'd drive it during the day. It would run for almost 18 hours a day. Not continuously, but certainly for a good proportion of that time. I'll say more next time on how this well used car would fare. I think you already know the answer to that.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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This car however would teach me a few things -You can get bad cars -Not all cars are as they seem -Perceptions can change. -Never let cars visage decept you. Cryptic, I know! As you can tell, many things went wrong with this car. My dad bought this 2004 V6 in 2009 for £2.5k, on LPG, on 112k. The alarm bells should have been ringing then! Bar, the lacklustre performance, and terrible MPG, and copper traces around the expansion tank filler neck, and water in it, At 140,000 miles, around 6 months later, we thought the head gasket went. It was losing water quite rapidly, and one day, a hose went, loads of steam came out and the gauge went up far too quickly. From my discovery later on with Mondeos, I would (well now), come to see why my dad didn't notice the gauge going up so fast (TLDR : the gauge is massively damped to stay in the middle). We would give it to our garage to repair, who at this point, had been reasonable repairing things. We tried a few garages in the area over the decade, and things were never quite assembled right, which annoyed us. The garage and us decided to pull the heads off, and get the head gaskets done. This is where the horror of the car would haunt us, and explain alot of the above. The heads were scrap. Dead. Basically, the engine had been cooked long before we got our hands on it. So much, that, besides the LPG not helping with valve seat recession, it is said the metal of the heads had gone soft, causing the seats to sink too far into the head, rendering them scrap. Joy. So we now had a dead car, a car in which my dad couldn't earn, and at a time where I wasn't earning alot. It was also a time when V6s weren't cheap for these. After all, not many 2.5 Mondeos were made, especially in the Mk2 format. At this time, I almost wish we went with new heads, but who knows how much life the block had left, if it had been cooked hard. So we found another engine, from a breaker from Essex. ![](https://img.retro-rides.org/i/v/chasr/4db87fc569f8.jpg) The above photo is not the Green V6. It's just put in to break up the text! I'll be doing this as I mention this boring Mondeo, but I feel I need to share the pain of this terrible, yet great car. The garage would fit it, but it took them over 2 months to put the engine in. They then had it for another month, as they found issues with it. The coilpack that came with the engine had broken mountings, but it was fine. The one on the car was the opposite. It was broken. Genuine coilpacks for some reason were on backorder. Since we needed the car, we agreed the garage into having us take it, but with the broken coilpack. My dad was at this point, getting sick of renting car, which had their own mechanical issues. It had problems however, when it came back from the garage -The LPG heater hoses had been cut badly in the past, and clearly were very swollen, and had been leaking for some time -The main radiator hose was rubbing on the water pump pulley, due to the garage hastily throwing it back together, and the fact that the LPG pipes were just crowding things around that area. We'd reroute the LPG hoses to get around that issue, and take out the T-Piece joiners which cause so many issues on LPG conversions. This helped the cooling system. For then... Despite this issues, my dad had the car back! After all, drivers had them, but didn't care for them. Naturally they were quick enough to moan if the cars physically stopped moving. We eventually got the coilpack. I'd then start driving it. On the first day I started driving for a living, it snapped the inner splines on the intermediatte shaft, before I even stat in the seat. Another one was thrown in, along with the inner CV being split apart by our mechanic for some reason, and then we were on our way. In this time, more cooling hoses went. On top of that, I noticed something. Via the onboard menu, the car was running hot. Very hot! Even on a mild day, the car was running at 100 degrees on the motorway, all with the temp gauge at the middle!! The fans would then cut in, allow the engine to cool down, and the cycle would repeat. I had seen nothing like this before. I'd only see a similar thing to this on the Stag later on. Both had the same root cause. The radiator was blocked. I would come to find between this car, and my second V6 that -Temp gauge would say in the middle between 80-107 degrees C. -110 would see the gauge move to the right. 115 would be getting you closer than you wanted to the red (i.e the limit). The latter thankfully, was on the second V6, which I only noticed as the gauge went up slowly. It was pressurised at the time, but gauge basically brought to my attention that the fan's operation was intermittent. -The first fan stage cut in at 100 degrees -The second stage at 105 degrees. With a decent cooling system, unless you are really pushing these cars, they don't tend to go above 105 degrees very often. Obviously, that copper stuff I mentioned above was K-Seal. It had blocked the radiator. It's one reason why I hate the stuff. Upon removing the radiator, it had puss like stains on the front, so we knew it had to go. With the new rad, it cooled unbelievably well! For the next two years, the car would keep on finding new coolant hoses to blow, obviously all of the ones we didn't change from before. It also had a few other problems -The gearbox splines stripped again. This time, we'd need to rebuild the 'box. It shifted much nicer after the box was rebuilt. -That CV I mentioned being split earlier. It started clicking like mental -The new engine gained many oil leaks -The PAS rack died, thanks to the wrong oil being put in. -The 3rd cat died in the exhaust, shown by a quiet knocking at times, in addition to the engine becoming mega gutless. It also had the high speed fans occasionally cutting it. Seriously, a W124 250D auto would out-accelerate this thing! Our mechanic said the gearbox had gone tight. We then took it to the gearbox specialist. He said straight away, the 'box was fine. It was the cat. We then got the cat rodded out. It was like another car! From barely doing 22MPG on a run, it was now doing that around town! 32 was now possible on a run. The autobox actually behaved more like you wanted to, obviously not working well before, as the engine was strangled! Like the Rotsun to Freiburger, I was now beginning to see the charm of the auto V6. It had a great character. But just like the Rotson, it would keep breaking our hearts. However, at 281,000 miles, I grew sick of fixing this thing. I don't know how my dad had the patience to fix it almost every other week, and call the RAC crew as much as he did. It got so bad at one point, that I sold my 944 S2, just to buy a replacement/backup for the V6 going back. It seemed mad to just work on the cars. Why were we working on them? We got sick of the garages almost appearing to break the cars. Maybe because we were stuck in a rut, and my dad didn't want to spend much on a sub-5 year old car, we developed Stockholm Syndrome over this dreadful car! That replacement would be a car I'd adore. It's not one I ever intended of adoring however. Looking back, I probably did prefer it to the S2. But more on that next time.
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Last Edit: Jan 4, 2023 22:17:56 GMT by ChasR
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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So, the replacement car came in, as I just didn't have any faith in the 2.5 V6. Was it a shame to get rid of the 944 S2? It was. However, without the risk of coming under the wrath of the RR police: -There is more to life than cars -There is more to life than doing 5,000 miles in a car, and wondering 'what next' will go -There is even more to life, than trying to get said car into a good state in the shortest amount of time ; after all, time is money in the driving game, and the car is your tool. With this in mind, I sold the 944. I was gutted and annoyed, and even my family (mum and sister) could tell I was gutted and wondered why I sold it. I should point out that at this time (2010), I had: -A share in a 205 GTi![](http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a68/randhawac/Cars/205/March%202011/photo4.jpg) -The MGB Sebring project, which was annoying everyone in the family, bar my dad and I, and the neighbours. All of the work was done on the driveway, in broad daylight. At around this point, I actually learned how to work on cars better, and accepted I was going to have to spend quite a bit to get the car right. ![](http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a68/randhawac/Cars/MGB%20Restoration/DSC_0146.jpg) To them, getting rid of the MGB, as is, would have been a better outcome. The Porsche looked better, drove better, and sounded better, and seemed cooler to most. But it wasn't an MGB Sebring and it wasn't my first car either. Sentimentality can do strange things to a man. But, I made my choice. I now, had to go with the ruleset of the car I could drive -Had to be less than 5 years old by the registration date ; Mandatory -Could be more than 5 years old if it was already licensed by the council ; Folks would charge a small fortune for these cars, and they were not maintained as I would like them, so that was out of the question. -Have 5 doors -Be spacious enough -Be frugal enough. Seeing as the 2 Mondeos before the V6 were good, we decided to go with another one. Begrudgingly, we'd consider TDCIs, which we didn't want to do. We had heard of injectors going on them, and the big bills which came with that. We saw a load of Mondeos around the £4-5k price point. They just seemed to be tired old wrecks, tarted up well! We then saw a 3.0 V6 Ghia X 6 speed manual estate, which was ex-SOCA, and local, being sold by a guy in Earlswood who sold ex-forces cars. To be honest, this car was a cut above the rest condition wise. Despite having 100k on the clock, the interior and switchgear felt new ; it was very odd! The bodywork looked more representative however, but the car sounded and drove beautifully! We were sold! However -The chap would take no offers on the £3.5k -It was a V6 While we were looking at other cars, and the 2.5 V6 went wrong again, I sold the 944, for the same money as what the 3.0 V6 was up for. With that, I bought the car. From the moment I drove it, I adored that car. It was smooth, comfortable, superb over the bumps and just a nice place to be. It was also quick, really quick. OK, it wasn't as fast as an E46 M3, but for a daily hack, it was spot on. With a spread of 201BHP across the power curve, right from idle to the redline, it was lovely. It was soooo smooth as well. I didn't care about the MPG! The idea with this car was, it would be a backup to the 2.5 V6, but you can see how this is going to go... However, here's one of the few pics I have of that V6. It was nothing inspiring to look at to be fair, especially in the colour it was in! That Passat, I'll touch on that, much later. I did have another problem however. MPG. At 5,000 miles a month, I needed to do something. This is funny, I was meant to talk about the cars I had now, and from speaking about the cars my family have now, I've gone WAAAY into the past. I'll have to see if I can wrap up 10 years worth of stuff into 1 post, maybe 2 at best ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) .
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Last Edit: Jan 12, 2023 7:56:28 GMT by ChasR
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Davey
Posted a lot
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Resident Tyre Nerd.
Posts: 2,318
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Jan 12, 2023 10:23:35 GMT
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Really enjoying this so far, do continue!
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K11 Micra x3 - Mk3 astra - Seat Marbella - Mk6 Escort estate - B5 Passat - Alfa 156 estate - E36 compact Mk2 MR2 T-bar - E46 328i - Skoda Superb - Fiat seicento - 6n2 Polo - 6n polo 1.6 - Mk1 GS300 EU8 civic type S - MG ZT cdti - R56 MINI Cooper S - Audi A3 8p - Jaguar XF (X250) - FN2 Civic Type R - Mk2 2.0i Ford Focus
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dandam
Part of things
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Posts: 72
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Jan 27, 2023 18:13:10 GMT
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Please keep going
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Jan 27, 2023 20:24:56 GMT
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Had a couple of saab 93’s. Pretty good cars, gear linkage went which is common, shame they gone bust the new gen Saab’s looked good.
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1994 BMW 525i touring 2004 BMW Z4 sorn and broken 1977 Ford Escort 1982 Ford Capri getting restored 1999 Mazda B2500 daily driver.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Feb 12, 2023 10:45:30 GMT
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Not a problem folks. Work has been mental, as has dipping into other projects, but I'll give this another update ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) Had a couple of saab 93’s. Pretty good cars, gear linkage went which is common, shame they gone bust the new gen Saab’s looked good. They're good for what they are. I can see however why they are cheaper than the equivalent German car however, but similar to a Ford in price. It's interesting as to whether they are better than a Mondeo or Focus. From the badge side, I'd say yes. To other aspects, I'm not sure. It is a Vectra in a frock after all, and with some sprinkling of Saabness. Anyway, back to the story. The 3.0 V6 we called 'Goldie' was a stellar companion. However, it's one of my least photographed cars. Maybe that's the sign of a good car. I just enjoyed driving it, and never once thought about selling it. However, it was thisty! Something had to be done, especially if it was going to cover 5,000 miles a month! We had some chaps convert the car to LPG, but some of the methods were a bodge job, where he felt it would make no difference. Our little fixes did however make a difference. From a car that was cutting out on LPG, to one which no longer was, was something, as well as one which had no difference in power output between the two, according to the bum dyno. After my dad and I sorted that, we enjoyed the car. For me, I remember the following -Going from Warwick to St. David's somehow in around 2.5 hours. Was I stupid? Yes. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't adore the drive down. -LeMans Classic, LeMans and then Blanes in the car. -Another Euro trip in it -Final outing to Lille. -Going down to the Brighton every other month to pick my sister up from uni. I'd jump in the car, leave Warwick after a 10 hour day, M40>M25>M23>A23. I adored hustling it past the cars on the bendier, but NSL sections of the A23. As they were slowing down, I was enjoying the bends It was just a perfect car, bar the badge. The engine had a lovely, yet subdued note that made itself well known when pushing on. It handled lovely, it was very practical, yet not too hearse looking for an estate. It was just a great car. Yes, it had a curse word badge and was wrong wheel drive, but I didn't care. It's probably why I bought the [url=https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/217496/mondeo-st220-estate-project-crusher?page=6[/url], to relive the moment. The ST220 was what I always wanted, but the Ghia X was something. Maybe it being a Pretender to the Throne made it more appealing. The underdog. I also learned about tyres on this car. Some cars prefer 'iffy' tyres, but in general, you get what you pay for. Also, sidewalls, in at least in the real world, do help with the handling of the car. With this car, I tried the following: 17s -Goodyear NCT5s -Kumho KH31s The NCT5s were a lovely match on the car. The KH31s were so-so. They didn't last long either. Considering they weren't much cheaper, I was a bit miffed. It's something I've noticed on a few cars with Kumhos. 16s -Kumho Solus -Continental SportContact 2? -Michelin Primacy HPs -Michelin Primacy 3s -BF Goodrich WinterGrips -Continental WinterContact TS820s? The Kumhos I'm going to let off. They came with the 16s. These 16s, actually started life on the green car as my dad destroyed an 18" wheel on a pothole. The Contis drove well on the 16s. I really came to appreciate the 16s over the 18s on singletrack country roads. Instead of finding every bump, and making the journeys skittish and hellish, I could really throw the car about, and revel in the grip. The downside? The Contis didn't last at all. I think the fronts went in less than 10k, and the rears in around 30k. Then we went to Michelins. I always wanted to try Michelins on cars for the first 7 years of driving cars, and had the chance to on cars I owned. However, I never did, mainly as: -I was too tight -Until this job, I wasn't really earning, and had been a student before that -Other tyres, which were 'better' to other folks had my attention, like the Toyo T1-R or the Kumho KU31s. Because they were cheaeper, I went with them -Some cars, the tyres were cheap, and there were other models in town. The Ka had Goodyear GSD3s on it, the Focus Contis. Both drove very well on those. Maybe I was jsut making excuses for being tight. It didn't help having a mixture of friends, most of whom, were also tight. Or my dad. Maybe it was a pride thing. Anyway, the Michelins had the car cornering lovely. Best of all, they lasted. 10k on the front became 20k. I was no longer in the tyre shop every other month. I went from being in the tyre shop, to being in the local shops, with friends. Time was freed up. Oh, and i had great wet grip. However, things would come to a head. It would get hit up the rear by a heavily pregnant woman, which saw to the end of this car. My dad and I debated buying it back. We were going to try and keep this car good. However, it's time was up. It was time to try something else. Another Mondeo, of course. But which one? I'll show a shot of the V6 as a parting memory. This was the last Eurotrip the car did with my mates and I, in 2014. How different times were back then.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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I've decided to update this again, now things are getting quieter. Also, because the Saab has decided to break again, and have yet more awkward to change parts. The hose in question is hose no.7, which needs the subframe to come off. What a stupid car. ![](https://www.esaabparts.com/static/images/diagrams/83138.jpg) . Anyway, back to the Mondeos. Goldie was written off. We debated buying it back, but we didn't. We figured that 4 years and 130,000 miles clocked onto it by ourselves, showed it was time to buy another car. It took a while for the insurance company to cough up the cash, and there were issues with the valuation, mainly as they could not find another V6 Mondeo Estate on LPG for sale. So, we went newer. We both weren't driving, but it seemed like the right time to upgrade. What would we get? Another Mondeo! This time, one of the unsung cars. A very rare one. A MkIV 2.5 Turbo Titanium Estate. Ford only made 1000 of these. Not because they were a limited edition. Mainly because no one bought them. This was meant to be a silent successor of the ST220, but considering the flop the ST220 became, it's not a surprise this car didn't get the ST treatment. I suppose big petrol engines were out. But here are some shots of what we bought. In 2015, £3.2k got us this ex-Met Office 125k car with a small amount of ticket
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ChasR
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Club RR Member Number: 170
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May 28, 2023 21:05:07 GMT
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So, what about the car?
It left the factory as a Mondeo 2.5 Turbo Titanium Estate. From what I can tell, Ford make 1000 2.5T Mondeos. Why so limited? If you dig deeper, if the numbers are to be believed, it's not hard to see why
-The ST220 was a flop. Ford no longer had the BTCC heritage with the Mondeos, or the rallyship with previous cars, so even if the Mk4 echoed vibes of Aston Martin with the grille, had a 2.5T Ghia X in Casino Royale, with James Bond himself driving it, it was not going to cut it. -With the good looks, it would still not cut it. I remember when the MkIV came out, almost everyone I knew loved the look of the car. However several also said, but it's a Mondeo. Mondeo man was an echo left from Tony Blair's time. The man he targeted to get into his votes was now a person who did not want to be that, and with questionably good reasons -Finance deals and other cars actually being a genuine challenger didn't help either. As much as I think B6 Passats are steaming piles of poo, they did back then have more class about them, as did the A6. 3 Series and 5 series variants were now within the reach of the 'Mondeo man'. Mondeo man became "Insert prestige German" mark man. -Petrols were the enemy of all creation back in 2008. Diesels however were the fuel of the future. People loved the MPG of diesels, and the pace of them too. With 6 cylinders, you even gained some refinement.
With all of the above, it's a surprise the 2.5T Mondeo made it to the drawing board!
The spec of this car was odd to say the least. It had the following
-ACC (Adaptive Cruise Crontrol) ; I have only even seen two other Mondeos with this option -Electric adjustment on both front seats -Ford Converse -Blaupunkt NX Sat Nav with a 6 CD Autochanger -Directional headlights -Alcantara centred, but non-headed/AC'd seats -Standard key to start the car, not a keyless start.
A wannabe Ghia X with some odd features removed? Yes, this car was it?
What would I do with this? Well, my sister and my dad used this car for the first two years from 2015. It lived in London and somehow survived it.
When it came back from my sister having it, I had to clean the interior out. It had crumbs and all sorts in it, along with coffee spillages apparently everywhere. But I would clean it out. My dad would then use it.
Eventually, I would get it back in 2018. A year prior to me getting it back, my dad would throw another clutch into it. This was not a cheap exercise at a bill of £1.2k. At the time, I offered to pay the bill, and have the car back. I would get the car back for less cash!
In the meantime, I would then proceed to drive it and remember why I enjoyed it so much. It was a great car to take to Wolverhampton and back every week. But, as always, these cars can begin to accrue a bill within a short amount of time.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Between 2019 and 2021 I would plough in around £1k into the car. I'd also push the car to 190,000 miles. Where did the money go? -Aux belts ; given that if these snap, it's game over for the engine, I changed both, including the awkward AC belt. Tensioner was also changed for the main belt. £70 all in. Changing this was fun as This Post outlines. It did take two belts however for me to figure this out -Cambelt kit for the car ; This was another expense. Around £150 for the belt, tensioners, coolant and water pump -Themostat : £30 : I wished I went genuine here, as the Mahle one was always a little off the temperature. Especially since these are a nightmare to change. But a Ford one even with discount was over £100! -Dampers all round, including top mounts up front ; Around £170 for the lot -2 New Goodyear Eagle F1s on the rear : £200 -Bleed off Hose broken : £50 Besides maintenance, I'd put something good in however. A factory derived bluetooth kit. This involved me getting some -Futuba connectors, so I could go into the factory wiring with the pins -Wiring -A loop connector which I'd modify to work -A Microphone : My car never had one, as it never came with a phone kit fitted ; as I said, it was an odd specification of car. It did however have a Bury kit fitted, something which I noticed police cars all tend to have fitted. -An AT suffixed bluetooth module, complete with USB stick wiring ; an AN or later module would have been fine as well. -A CD containing SP5.3 firmware, as well another DVD having the latest maps. It took some trial and error, but I'd eventually have a full Bluetooth kit. Oh, and I tried to detail the car as well:
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A lot of this is interesting stuff to me. I currently have two 9-3s, a saloon and a soft top, both 1.8ts that Saabnoob has fettled. Prior to that I had a 1.8t estate that had a Hirsch remap when it was new. Karl's remap offers slightly more power.
Oddly, my soft top has a big ding in the quarter panel that still needs fixing too.
The difference the bigger wheels make to the looks is incredible. My saloon is still on the 16s because I have 8 of the things with decent tyres.
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Jaguar S-Type 3.0 SE
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,212
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jul 19, 2024 12:27:23 GMT
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A while went on, and it came to MOT time. The underside needed some checking, so I went under and gave it a bit of a going over on a mate's ramp. Soon enough, it had a ticket. I even treated it to a clean. It's fair to say the car was beginning to grow on me a little. Sure enough however, things would not be as they seemed. It looks alright mind you! It had some major issues however, on the horizon: -A balooned intercooler -The PAS pipe which needed changing for the 3rd time in the car's life -The clutch It doesn't sound like much but it was alot to do! The intercooler wasn't too bad. Awkward to change from what I've told but nothing to get in a twist over. The PAS pipe was a nightmare. It can apparently be done in situ but it's a pain as the pipe basically runs around the engine bay by the subframe, so ideally, the subframe needs taking off. Which it needed to anyway, to remove the clutch. The clutch was a nightmare! Firstly, Saab out of madness or idiocy, use two clutches in the 9-3 5 speeds -A sprung clutch with an SMF -A solid centred clutch with a DMF There is no rhyme or reason, but some came with the SMF, and others the DMF. Furthermore, you can't now buy the SMF clutches anymore, so a DMF is your only option. SMF clutches do pop up now and again, but most vendors gave up on these, due to returns. Fine we thought. Get a DMF. This is where things got bad. There is not a part no. listed for the DMF bolts on 5 speed 2.0s. A clutch, yes, and a DMF, but not the bolts. The SMF bolts won't fit as they can't pass through the DMF. I had a pretty curse word off mechanic at this stage, and truth be told, I was curse word off, as the car was doing what it did best; being disruptive. We took a chance on some Vauxhall 1.9 CDTi DMF bolts, which apparently were one of 3 sets at the time in the country, and we fitted them. That was lucky! It did however keep the car on the ramp for 2 days longer than it should have done. Obviously, the above was not a cheap bill. I think the clutch parts and pipe were about £600 alone ; an SMF clutch when they were available were £240 from Neo Bros, and the pipe I could not find cheaper than £150. Thankfully, a Nissens intercooler wasn't crazy money, but it does all add up. The upshot however was that the car now had a spot on clutch, and was running again. It had been off the road for 2 months due to the PAS pipe leaking.
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Last Edit: Jul 19, 2024 12:41:27 GMT by ChasR
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