The "Today I did something to my car" thread

Brenireland

Hi,Today I had to top up the oil of my lovely blue 98 colt as it was nearing empty/over the last few weeks car seems to be burning a fair amount of oil,and I've had to top it up every 3 weeks or less...

Its been serviced recently,new plugs/break pads/oil change/filter,so its driving perfect..

I've been told because my car is burning i'll need a new engine?:eek:

How much would I have to pay for a new engine...bit of a shock considering car is flying..:(

colm_mcm

Can't see it being economically viable to put a new engine in a 98 colt.

Brenireland

colm_mcm wrote: »

Can't see it being economically viable to put a new engine in a 98 colt.

oh no

If it were less 600 i'd love to make the effort in getting it back healthy body of it is immaculate...:(

JerCotter7

colm_mcm wrote: »

Can't see it being economically viable to put a new engine in a 98 colt.

Maybe it has sentimental value.

I put a lot more into my car than it's worth. Could have had a tattered M3 for less money. But once I'm done the car will be mine. And I will know pretty much everything about the car so it should be an easy fix should any problems arise. I'll never sell it.

Anyway OT: Got my cruise control working today but it still has the same problem it had with the E36 cruise module. It goes WOT then off again. It's like the cog inside slips so it has to open the throttle full again until it slips. It started working for about 10 seconds today and it was nice I'll have to open it up next weekend and have and have a peek inside. Wonder how I'll fix the cog though.

Like this. (not my picture)

Brenireland

if any of you know what I can do to go about addressing this problem it would be appreciated!

How/where i'd get a replacement engine and maybe even a guesstimate to how much....

Topped the oil up today,just to keep on top of it,because as I say the car has really been running 100%

but i'm guessing it won't for much longer..

colm_mcm

try IVI engines.

Brenireland

colm_mcm wrote: »

try IVI engines.

Will do,I appreciate that thanks!,Sorry If i'm taking things of topic,if i can get an engine i will bring it back on topic when the new engine goes in someday soon...:)

Would love to get it sorted great car love it tbh..

Brenireland

Brenireland wrote: »

if any of you know what I can do to go about addressing this problem it would be appreciated!..............

Keep topping it up, I saw CarLube 10w40 for €20/gallon a few days ago in an auto care shop, weekly check and keep the oil topped up

L-M

colm_mcm wrote: »

try IVI engines.

Spotted a 00 Dark Blue S type going up onto the "Cars for cash" truck today in the Parkway in Lim. You missed out :pac:

MetzgerMeister

Limerick man wrote: »

Spotted a 00 Dark Blue S type going up onto the "Cars for cash" truck today in the Parkway in Lim. You missed out :pac:

Any chance of a proper pic of your golf with its lovely new paint job??

L-M

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Any chance of a proper pic of your golf with its lovely new paint job??

i posted them somewhere already!



New rubstrips are 160 poxy euro so they old ones are in the shed flatting them selves out.

MetzgerMeister

Wow that's nice! What is the colour called?

colm_mcm

Limerick man wrote: »

Spotted a 00 Dark Blue S type going up onto the "Cars for cash" truck today in the Parkway in Lim. You missed out :pac:

Wonder what they gave for it

EPM

Will you ever stick on those bloody rubbing strips!

L-M

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Wow that's nice! What is the colour called?

it's actually KSO Grey off an Old Nissan but i dunno what happened to make it that class browny colour. Could be the blue undercoat.

Gonna be selling it soon i'd say.

colm_mcm wrote: »

Wonder what they gave for it

Must of been well under 1k, didn't get a chance to see if it was taxed/tested as it was on the truck when i came back out, joined by a 03 Disco and a 00 206.

My brother went over with his 03 Euro r and they offered him four grand. He did a deal on an S2000 today, though.

L-M

EPM wrote: »

Will you ever stick on those bloody rubbing strips!

You give me the 160 poxy euro so!

Compton

lower the front LM.

L-M

shblob wrote: »

lower the front LM.

Would you believe they're 40mm lowering springs! Soon to be about 60mm *cough*

EPM

Limerick man wrote: »

You give me the 160 poxy euro so!

What did you do with the ones that were on it?

L-M

EPM wrote: »

What did you do with the ones that were on it?

Have them in the shed, one of which i primered so i have to de-primer that and flatten them out some how.

Compton

Limerick man wrote: »

Would you believe they're 40mm lowering springs! Soon to be about 60mm *cough*

the rear is sitting perfect, does that have 40mm springs too and full of something in the boot or are they 60/80mm ?

L-M

shblob wrote: »

the rear is sitting perfect, does that have 40mm springs too and full of something in the boot or are they 60/80mm ?

Coilovers in the back. One of the front ones is fooked and i was too cheap to buy new ones, so i put standard shocks up front will lowering springs.

Nissan doctor

Brenireland wrote: »

Will do,I appreciate that thanks!,Sorry If i'm taking things of topic,if i can get an engine i will bring it back on topic when the new engine goes in someday soon...:)

Would love to get it sorted great car love it tbh..

Christ you don't need a new engine just because its burning oil. It presumably wasn't a mechanic who told you that.

If the car is running as good as you say and has no starting problems etc then the likely cause is valve stem seals. A leakdown test will confirm that the engine(pistons/cylinders/rings/valves etc) is OK, then the stem seals can be changed without even removing the cylinder head.

Compton

Limerick man wrote: »

Coilovers in the back. One of the front ones is fooked and i was too cheap to buy new ones, so i put standard shocks up front will lowering springs.

Ah fair enough, sure you'd get secondhand coilovers cheap for VAGs on donedeal!

Brenireland

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Christ you don't need a new engine just because its burning oil. It presumably wasn't a mechanic who told you that.

If the car is running as good as you say and has no starting problems etc then the likely cause is valve stem seals. A leakdown test will confirm that the engine(pistons/cylinders/rings/valves etc) is OK, then the stem seals can be changed without even removing the cylinder head.

Really?,great thanks for that,your right I ain't an expert & was presuming that the next best option was to replace the engine...

now all going well and it is only the stem seals,how much roughly will I need to fork out...thanks,really appreciate it!

Senna

"Today I did something to my car thread"

yeah i did, i put it up for sale today:(

Compton

Senna wrote: »

yeah i did, i put it up for sale today:(

same!!

Paddy@CIRL

I've been researching my options lately for a better way to integrate an iPod into the standard head unit. There is an aux-in under the driver's arm rest but needing to have the iPod tethered to it at all times was becoming a bit of a PITA especially when trying to change songs as the lead was too short (too long and it just got in the way of everything). The obvious solutions were a Dynavin head unit or a Dension gateway, both of which are quite expensive considering I just wanted to listen to the iPod with a little less clutter.



Someone suggested I should try and pick up a Bluetooth Aux-In adapter which I never heard of before. After some research on various owner clubs and reading reviews on Amazon, I bit the bullet and picked up a Blackberry Bluetooth Stereo Gateway, a Sony Bluetooth adapter for my iPod, a mini USB cable and a short male-to-male 3.5mm audio lead.



With everything neatly installed under the arm rest, I plugged the Blackberry into the USB charging port (it's just a Kensington 12V USB adapter) and primed the car (The E90 doesn't supply power to the 12V outputs until the car had the key in the ignition and the Start button has been pressed once).



Next step was inserting the Bluetooth adapter into the iPod (this particular adapter uses a negligible amount of the iPod's battery and doesn't need to be recharged), turning it on and it automatically paired with the Blackberry device almost instantly.



I'm certainly no audiophile but the sound, to me at least, is the same as when the iPod was connected directly to the Aux-In. The only downside is that the iPod can't be charged when the BT adapter is connected but the iPod Classic I'm using has a 36 hour playback life so it's just a simple case of keeping an eye on the battery life and charging when required. If I was using the iPod function of my iPhone, I wouldn't need the BT adapter plus I could charge the phone as normal through the in-car cradle.

The result is a perfect (and comparatively cheap) solution for those who want a wireless iPod integration in their car. I paid £39 for the Blackberry Gateway and £35 for the Sony Bluetooth adapter plus a couple of quid for the cables, so around €100 maximum for everything required. It's all reversible and has the added bonus of if I sell the car, I can take these with me to the next car.

vectra

LIGHTNING wrote: »

In a moment of rare clarity I decided to clean the mould off the seats/carpets using hot water and dettol. Turns out it was really good at neutralising odours so now the Alfa smells like a new car.

:eek:

I would have thought APC would smell nicer than Dettol

vectra

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Well I wanted to kill any bacteria/fungus so Dettol was my choice. Worked like a treat too!

No smell of Dettol now?
If so use a solution of Mr.Proper APC to wipe everything down and dry off with a towel, Lovely lemon smell.;)

vectra

Well, After giving the vRS a buff with the DA recently I never got the chance to seal it up, so today I gave it a wash, Dry, Wipedown with IPA including windows.
Sealed the paintwork with Wolfschemicals Body Wrap
Treated the windscreen with a coat of RainX
Treated the tyres to some Chemical Guys New look trim &tyre gel

Gave the engine bay a rinse and dry. finished plastics with a squirt of Chemical Guys Silk Shine

Not looking too bad now. :cool:

Hard to get decent shots of white shining

Marty McFly

Nurburgring and TDI on the same engine bay cover someone at Skodas a bit confused :pac:.

Looking well though. Nice job.

Big Nasty

Excellent job Vectra!;)

vectra

luvbulmers01 wrote: »

Nurburgring and TDI on the same engine bay cover someone at Skodas a bit confused :pac:.

Looking well though. Nice job.

Well
If Sabine can do it in a Transit..!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KiC03_wVjc

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Excellent job Vectra!;)

Thanks guys :cool:

Well worth the bit of effort to look after your moneypit's :P

no1beemerfan

mrs crilly wrote: »

Very nice E30. 320i or 325i?

I have a 318i original Irish one. Totally stock but it needs bigger wheels and a bit more low. What size alloys are yours?

Fiona

vectra wrote: »

Well
If Sabine can do it in a Transit..!!

I taught her well!

no1beemerfan wrote: »

Very nice E30. 320i or 325i?

I have a 318i original Irish one. Totally stock but it needs bigger wheels and a bit more low. What size alloys are yours?

Its a Japanese import 320i automatic with a full manual 325 conversion and lsd. The wheels and 16' and it has vmaxx coilovers.

vectra

vectra wrote: »

Well, After giving the vRS a buff ...........

Looks well :cool:
Didn't you get the Hankook tyres yet?

no1beemerfan

I take it you didn't have it at the E30 owners meet in Athlone last June? Don't remember seeing it if you did!

vectra

RoverJames wrote: »

Looks well :cool:
Didn't you get the Hankook tyres yet?

Thanks.

Yes, Two of them on the front

Fiona

no1beemerfan wrote: »

I take it you didn't have it at the E30 owners meet in Athlone last June? Don't remember seeing it if you did!

No never made it to the Big meet i was still recovering from Blarney

L-M

Today i serviced TT's S2k, left the sump nut loose so the oil will drip out slowly :pac:

Hal1

I changed my brake fluide today. The fluid was like very old fryer oil lots of contamination in it. Now the pedal if firm and a lot more responsive.

Tragedy

Today I had yet more coolant come out of the expansion tank after a long drive.

Air lock? Potentially (though there's still underlying issues)
Headgasket? Maybe, but unlikely.
Failed water pump? Mebbe!
Cracked cylinder liner? Most likely culprit though even the great Nissan Doctor was fairly stumped.
Thermostat stuck? Again, maybe.

Solution? Disassemble everything soon!

Johntegr

Limerick man wrote: »

Today i serviced TT's S2k, left the sump nut loose so the oil will drip out slowly :pac:

Serves him right for not doing it himself!

TestTransmission

Johntegr wrote: »

Serves him right for not doing it himself!

Delegation fella

Anyhows, I'm too awkward to get under my yoke . I'd end up smashing me head off something.

L-M

TestTransmission wrote: »

Delegation fella

Anyhows, I'm too awkward to get under my yoke . I'd end up smashing me head off something.

i'm at least a foot taller than yeah and your arms are definitely longer :P

Marty McFly

Today I took my car for the nct and she passed with flying colours , thought she would but yeh just never know when there going at her.




She was also the cleanest looking one there looked gleaming gleaming under the lights, shame I havent got a proper camera .

MuppetCheck

Nice Accord! Looks like someone I knows Euro R but I see the reg so a 2 litre?

Marty McFly

MuppetCheck wrote: »

Nice Accord! Looks like someone I knows Euro R but I see the reg so a 2 litre?

Yeh its a 2 Litre do like the Euro R but wanted my comforts of leather etc more so in the interior .

MuppetCheck

It looks low like the euro r. At least there isn't a stupid spoiler on the back:)