Your fleet running reports

[Jobbo]

Nice MX5 @Jobbo, I havent seen this mentioned before. I had an M reg about 16 years ago and yours looks less rusty now than mine did then.

I sold it a couple of years ago - just never really used it by that point, sadly. Had it from 2012ish. It came with the roll bar and Flewy of this parish tidied it up nicely, fitted Meister R suspension to it and corner weighted it for me. I miss it because they're such fun. Really fancy an ND to keep indefinitely; might actually drive that to the office on sunny says since it would have Carplay, so it would get used.

And yeah, sorry for going down the rabbit hole a bit on reg plates I wanted to know what the current law was myself anyway...

[nuttinnew]

I’ve never had a supercharged car.

I never thought I'd be able to a box you haven't

Ever had a silver car?

Have pondered, have answer; yes, mk1 XR2 cabrio (how could I forget that? ). There may have been others I cannae remember atm.

[Jobbo]

mk1 XR2 cabrio

Really? Aftermarket chop?

[Sundayjumper]

I was wondering similar, "cars I never knew existed" !

I remember lusting for an XR2 as an early teen.

[John]

I remember the XR2 Fly which was a convertible.

[integrale_evo]

I’m starting to think my x5 is a lemon.

I still like it, it’s a spec I wanted, and the body is very good compared to a lot I’ve seen, however it’s definitely got its gremlins.

Sunroof water leak is all fixed and the stereo / nav etc now all works perfectly.

Unfortunately it’s triggering the 4x4 light which also trips the abs and dsc. As I wanted something with wasn’t terrible in winter, a 2.2t rwd auto on 315 tyres is not going to be ideal.

Changed the transfer box plastic gear last night as it’s a very common fault and a £10 / 30min fix. Unfortunately the one in there was worn, but not totally shredded like a lot I’ve seen. So now it’s either the actual actuator (£80), or the transfer box £?

It’s strange, as from the state of the gear it doesn’t look like the 4x4 system has had much of a workout, and the transfer boxes are the same on all facelift cars. The 4.8 quotes the same torque figure as the 3.0d so shouldn’t be under huge stress.

I don’t really want to be swapping transfer boxes, but I’m in too deep to dump it now, I guess ideally I want one from a low mileage 3.0i which has probably had the easiest life. More research needed.

It actually drives fine, I fact a lot of people just take out the front prop shaft and run them in rwd all the while, so it’s not completely out of action.

[V8Granite]

So are these in some way switchable or does it vary the torque split via this gear ?

Dave!

[Sundayjumper]

I thought they were a planetary gear with a fixed torque split. I'm sure it's not a locking diff in the traditional sense.

Edit - OK, this is the xDrive, wet clutch, normally split 40:60 front/rear but can send anything up to 100% to front or rear on demand.

[integrale_evo]

Nah, facelifts have variable split with an actuator controlled clutch afaik.

The actuator gear is by far the most common failure point, you can get them for £10 on Amazon prime

Stripping the splines on the transfer box end of the front prop shaft is fairly common too so will be the next thing I check.

[integrale_evo]

Input from the gearbox at 1, flange for rear prop shaft is 5, output to the front prop is 16,

12 is the actuator, 19 is the gear repair kit ( or just the two gears themselves if you go aftermarket )

EDFC2AE1-2B43-47C4-AE49-AE8018EB7F92.jpeg (136.43 KiB) Viewed 940 times

[integrale_evo]

I believe the actuator self calibrates at start up, I guess I could unbolt it and get someone to start the car to see if it moves. Shame it’s so cold and dark all the time. I wouldn’t mind doing this sort of thing in the summer.

[Sundayjumper]

A brief Google has recommended fresh oil & reset the adaptations. Relatively easy and worth a try.

[integrale_evo]

Unfortunately inpa won’t do it so I need to find something else. Given that it’s lived most of its life around London, and how unworn the gear was compared to so many I’ve seen, I’m struggling to believe the box itself could be that worn, which is why I’m still tempted to try a whole new actuator.

[drcarlos]

Unfortunately inpa won’t do it so I need to find something else. Given that it’s lived most of its life around London, and how unworn the gear was compared to so many I’ve seen, I’m struggling to believe the box itself could be that worn, which is why I’m still tempted to try a whole new actuator.

Lots of L200's that never get put in 4WD cease their transfer box actuators, they are right in the firing line for road debris and usually the first sign is when a new owner put's it in 4WD and is greeted with perpetual drivetrain flashing lights as the system won't engage. An actuator test sounds sensible as your's is probably just as exposed as the L200's.

[Sundayjumper]

Unfortunately inpa won’t do it so I need to find something else.

Surprising that INPA won't do it. I use a Delphi clone for most stuff, no idea if it covers this but it's pretty comprehensive. Much more user-friendly than INPA too.

[nuttinnew]

mk1 XR2 cabrio

Really? Aftermarket chop?

Aye, but it wasn't a Fly (unlike my S and Supersport). The closest I can find so far is;

[Gavster]

I can already see those rear side windows wobbling at speeds above 21mph

[DeskJockey]

It's a 1.1, can it go that fast?

[Gavster]

It's a 1.1, can it go that fast?

Oh, yeah, easily...

[DeskJockey]

It's a 1.1, can it go that fast?

Oh, yeah, easily...

Fair point. Although if that's the circumstances I'd probably not worry too much about whether the side windows wobbled about a bit.