Today I did something to my car (volume 2)

Cass

Having spent so much time on the Passat i decided it was time to turn back to the Vectra.

All the talk above about trim got me thinking about my own so i decided to tackle it. The trim around the wing mirrors, the pillars, grille, etc. was all clean but starting to fade.

I've seen videos on using heat guns to bring out a great finish, but for me it seems counter productive. Heating the trim to bring out the oils will do just that, but i believe (and i've no proof of this) that it'll eventually lead to the trim being dry and brittle. So i looked for alternatives that did not use Back to Black or other "wetting" substances as these are only temporary.

I found a video about a method of oiling the trim (you've all probably tried or heard of this, but i'm behind the times) and decided to try it out. I mixed Johnson's baby oil and a generic mineral oil in a 50-50 ratio. I cleaned the trim, well, with rubbing alcohol and dried with a MF towel. I then applied the oil mix to the trim, fairly heavily, and liberally with a cotton patch. I dabbed it on and faced the car towards the sun. I then left it it in the direct sunlight for over two hours.

After the two hours i wiped all the excess oil off. The trim has gone back to its original dark tone, it's hydrophobic and does not simply wipe off.

The trick to this method is a warm/hot day and let the oils "soak/bake in". Fairly happy with the results, but now the car needs a good wash to remove the baby oil streaking down the bodywork (it's harmless, but messy looking).










Then i decided to "scratch an itch". For the longest time i've wanted a centre console armrest. Was looking at various aftermarket ones and the only one i found that i liked is no longer available so i gave up on it.

In the scrap yard today getting parts for my Sister's car, and i see a 2007 Vectra. Only arrived in. Front end damage that has it written off but the interior is spotless. Low and behold the full armrest console, in perfect condition (albeit without air vents, but mine is not set up for them). Took about 15 minutes to strip it out (three screws, four bolts and some patience not to crack the plastic clips) and out she came. Took about the same to install, but it changes the feel and look of the interior of my own.

Here is how she was (not great picture)




Here she is now:




So a fairly productive day. Funny how the smallest things can be the best.

MetzgerMeister

That will eventually come off with washing and the elements. Best option with black trim is either Gtechniq C4 or CarPro DLUX applied with a cotton pad every 2 years.

Cass

I know it'll eventually come of, but not as quick as the "detailing" stuff i've seen. and used previously. They didn't last a week.

I'll check out the stuff you mentioned.

punisher5112

Cass wrote: »

I know it'll eventually come of, but not as quick as the "detailing" stuff i've seen. and used previously. They didn't last a week.

I'll check out the stuff you mentioned.

Car pro dlux is amazing.

Makes the job look easy.

Do the prep work right and it lasts even longer.

I done the heat gun but eventually the plastic is destroyed and loses all colour, black to black as soon as it rained it destroyed the lovely job done on the paint so a ceramic coating is the way to go.

JJJJNR

3rd timing belt went in the altea 2.0tdi yesterday, maybe it's in my head but it definitely sounds better, I unintentionally went over by 10k. I also seperately did the gearbox oil myself and again between 1000 and 2500 rpm car seems to be eager, possibly the feel good factor of not having to put a new engine in her. All good @410,000 km

P.s. Would replacing the gearbox oil regularly increase the life of the clutch. I've done three drain and replace oil changes on mine and the clutch seems fine. It feels like I should have had some huge bill at this point (touch wood) but everything seems to be fine.

rex-x

JJJJNR wrote: »

Would replacing the gearbox oil regularly increase the life of the clutch. I've done three drain and replace oil changes on mine and the clutch seems fine. It feels like I should have had some huge bill at this point (touch wood) but everything seems to be fine.

It would have zero effect but the gearbox will love it

newmember2

Bought an A8 with damaged driver's door and mirror. Went at replacing them yesterday after I found both in my colour on €bay.



Came together today...

Cee-Jay-Cee

I bought an Impreza 2.0R for winter use. It’s an 06 car with less than 90k miles on it.

There were a few known issues when I was buying it which helped lower the price.

First of all the rear drivers side door wouldn’t open from Inside or outside. I managed to remove the door card with the door closed and figured out the problem and had it all sorted and back together within 30 minutes. The door now opens and closes and I can lock it by flipping the button on the inner door handle but it won’t lock with the key/central locking for some reason. I do t really care TBH so long as I can open and close the door, it’ll do.

Secondly there was a constant belt squeal when the engine was idling or below 1500rpm. I bought a new alternator belt, fitted it and voila, no more noise.

There was anafternarket double din unit fitted in the car which suddenly stopped working yesterday so I removed it and luckily sourced an OE unit which I’ll hopefully have on Monday and get fitted.

I also replaced the 5w number plate light bulbs with LED bulbs as the originals were very dim and barely lit the plate at night.

Next week...timing belt. Not relishing that job but it needs to be done as there is no record of it having been replaced previously as so with 90k in the car I do t want to leave it too long.

Interslice

Spent over an hour looking for the resistor for the fan. It was only working on 4 when I replaced the fuse. After an hour getting at it from the engine bay where you cant even take it out, I found a google where its a 5 minute job if you just drop out the glove box. Apparently its aircon models where you need to access it throught the engine bay :rolleyes:

Thats the little fecker down there looking from the engine side

Alanstrainor

Out with the old in and in with the new, the youtube video I watched said this was a 30 minute job... it turned into a 3 and a half hour job in the end. Stuck torx bolts that I almost stripped stopped me in my tracks. A lot of cursing and wd-40 and I managed to break them free. But done now, and it looks well, the paint is a pretty good match. The car depsparatly needs a clean which should help things!

Before... it's been like this for a year and half or more!


During:


After:

corks finest

OSI wrote: »

Finally got around to painting the lip on the GTI. I think it looks much better.

Nice bud

corks finest

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Out with the old in and in with the new, the youtube video I watched said this was a 30 minute job... it turned into a 3 and a half hour job in the end. Stuck torx bolts that I almost stripped stopped me in my tracks. A lot of cursing and wd-40 and I managed to break them free. But done now, and it looks well, the paint is a pretty good match. The car depsparatly needs a clean which should help things!

Before... it's been like this for a year and half or more!

Want to fix the rust on the wheel arch

Interslice

Had a quiet weekend for the first time in ages and got a nice bit done. Main job was to flush the engine and chang the oil.











Nice bit of gunk removed.

Cleaned the windsreen washer bottle and some of the other bits around there.







The throttle body and all the glass got a good scrub. Car was a bit jumpy lifting off the throttle. Handbrake tighted up. Handy pair of 10mm nuts at the lever that no longer points at the roof. Thermomstat change and ordering a new fan speed resistor are next on the cards.

newmember2

My trusty always on the button Bora PD130 let me down the other day when I went out to it. Everything working except not a sausage turning the key to start. Had a cursory look at a few fuses and eventually after looking at a few yootoob videos decided to check if I had power going to the starter. Pulled out the battery and battery tray for access and immediately could see the cable coming out of the solenoid was broken down to maybe one copper strand and it broke completely as soon as I touched it. Was relieved it wasn't anything more, got a spade connector onto the cable and back on the solenoid and everything back together and it's back on the button again.:)

Going by one of the videos I'd watched it seems it's not an uncommon problem on these mark 4s.

James Bond Junior

Took my ramps out (dropping one on the wing if the E36 and taking a chunk out if it) and set to work on giving the S60 an oil service. Believe it or not it was too low to get underneath and drop the splashguard to get at the sump even on the ramps. I was met by a LOT of oil so I reckon it has developed a fairly serious oil leak. Looks like my mechanic will be servicing it and seeing where the oil is pissing from. Hopefully I don't have to spend much to sort it as I only want the car another 9 months at the most before I scrap it and with an impending wedding funds are not available for new cars sadly. FFS.

Interslice

First read I thought you had a V8 e36 you were getting rid of. I was thinking to myself you should scrap the missus

James Bond Junior

Nah to be fair it was her idea to get the 36 in the beginning so doubt I will scrap her to quickly. I am getting it resprayed for said wedding so it's not the end of the world.

fancy pigeon

Well, not my car, or car for that matter but nonetheless... Some small jobs carried out on the Santa Fe over the weekend.

• Replacement gearbox + transfer box
• New turbo
• Timing belt + wp
• New crank pulley
• Fluids/aux belt/oil + filter etc etc etc

Very easy to remove the engine, just make sure you can tilt it on the way out to leave more room to manouver. Transfer box also wants to snag on the subframe

I also have utilized some old trickery on the turbo + manifold (no fancy software, no pictures!), it pulls harder low down for longer now. Fueling next when I get a chance. Whomever replaced the belt before had it a tooth out at the cam, essentially leaving the engine advanced slightly. Not that we were complaining, it explains why it's far more powerful than a lot of other Santa Fe's... Only the belts were ever changed it seems, the idler pulley was heavily pitted and was a hoor to remove! There were also missing bolts/incorrect bolts and cobbling (gear cable end held on with a piece of wire for example) that were also rectified

I have piss all pics as this had to be juggled along with normal tasks, but you get the idea. In the garage on the Friday evening, drove out on the Sunday. Immediate next: modify the clutch slave cylinder...!

wotzgoingon

Did you leave it with advanced timing or change it back to stock?

fancy pigeon

wotzgoingon wrote: »

Did you leave it with advanced timing or change it back to stock?

I left it advanced, I would have advanced it myself if it wasn't!

Eric Cartman

Repaired a damaged connection that had been previously repaired on one of my variable damping shocks.







No more intermittent 'adaptive dynamics fault' and the rough handling that comes with it.

Also went to put in these illuminated cills I got


In true land rover / bmw fashion they don't include the power connectors for them in the loom, does anyone have any idea what these connectors are used for (somebody suggested side repeaters on a bmw ) , probably on a bmw of the 2005-2010 era is most likely so I can go get some in a scrap yard, need the plug part that goes in to this)

Interslice

Maybe they dont fit but that looks very like those universal fittings.
https://www.amazon.fr/TING-Étanche-Electrical-Connector-Marine/dp/B00BYNKUSE

Eric Cartman

Interslice wrote: »

Maybe they dont fit but that looks very like those universal fittings.
https://www.amazon.fr/TING-Étanche-Electrical-Connector-Marine/dp/B00BYNKUSE

tried one of those, sadly too big and too much of a 'waterproof' seal on those.

Interslice

Eric Cartman wrote: »

tried one of those, sadly too big and too much of a 'waterproof' seal on those.

Would have been too easy :P

Eric Cartman

Interslice wrote: »

Would have been too easy :P

So far

side indicator / repeater for an L322 Range Rover
connector for a third brake light for an e65 7 Series

is what I know they're on , are any of those in a scrapyard - are they f*ck.

CJhaughey

They look like AMP Econoseal connectors, do you have any dimensions?
Kojaycat, Polevolt, Easternbeaver all have these but with proper dims you have a better chance of finding what you need.

fancy pigeon

fancy pigeon wrote: »

Immediate next: modify the clutch slave cylinder...!

This was done on Saturday. What was happening was the clutch would slip in 4th and 5th, from 2500rpm to 3k rpm. Naturally unacceptable...

We discovered there was a restriction piece in the slave, to help with smooth clutch operation. A load of horse excrement if you ask me. It's a simple collar on a spring (see diagram below)

Duly placed in the bin

Slave on, clutch as normal once again

CJhaughey

fancy pigeon wrote: »

This was done on Saturday. What was happening was the clutch would slip in 4th and 5th, from 2500rpm to 3k rpm. Naturally unacceptable...

We discovered there was a restriction piece in the slave, to help with smooth clutch operation. A load of horse excrement if you ask me. It's a simple collar on a spring (see diagram below)

Duly placed in the bin

Slave on, clutch as normal once again

Its funny that manufacturers are fitting these restrictors in the slave cylinders, Honda have done the same to improve clutch feel with the same problems.

vintagevrs

I have a 320ci parked outside and it is throwing a code that the MAF is faulty. p0102 Mass Airflow (MAF) Circuit Low Voltage Input. I picked up another MAF from a breakers and still same problem. If the MAF is unplugged the car starts and drives fine. If the MAF is reconnected the engine stops striaght away. If I start the car with the MAF hooked up it starts and then dies straight away. I checked the MAF is getting 12v no problem with a meter and car has a new battery too.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

tcawley29

vintagevrs wrote: »

I have a 320ci parked outside and it is throwing a code that the MAF is faulty. p0102 Mass Airflow (MAF) Circuit Low Voltage Input. I picked up another MAF from a breakers and still same problem. If the MAF is unplugged the car starts and drives fine. If the MAF is reconnected the engine stops striaght away. If I start the car with the MAF hooked up it starts and then dies straight away. I checked the MAF is getting 12v no problem with a meter and car has a new battery too.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

Any corrosion on the connector?