Your fleet running reports

[Beany]

Rear light cluster did the TADTS thing of corroding it's earth pin, so have spent lunchtime running a bodge wire with a bodged clip to a free part of the earth frame in the light fixture - now much happier.

Hopefully that'll last till next weekend, there is a proper OEM repair kit for these the correct size of crimpy thing in it, rather than the one I molded to shape that is being held on with a big gob of solder

My terrible earth bodge has lasted coventry and back, so I'm pleased with that. I'll get a properly sized spade terminal at the weekend.

@tim you were asking about auto-spark stuff for the Mondeo on FaceyB, did you get that sorted out in the end? Happy to trawl through my own ebay records and recommend some 'near-dealer-level' tools for the bits on the MS-CANbus if I can find my records of 'em

[tim]

I've got an OBDII reader anyway so thanks, but yes I am sorted now - it had popped the 10amp fuse to the coils.

I've ordered a pair of rear ARB drop-links, rear brake discs and pads and a handbrake cable. These were the advisories from the last MOT and all pretty simple to DIY (well maybe not the handbrake cable, but we'll see).

[IanF]

F430 - picked it up 10 days ago from having the service. £6k for timing chain and battery.. oh, plus a clean. I asked for a full review of items to bring it to perfection - just over £30k! But as they want to charge £1200 to replace the TPMS modules, I think I will look elsewhere. And a lot was items not needed yet, but “it will need it doing soon”, probably possibly potentially.. Guy I picked it up from was very informative; one of the big items was the exhaust manifolds which he said weren’t “blowing or anything”, but the originals are made out of a particularly weak Italian chocolate, so they recommend replacement as routine.

We then chatted about the FF, as a chap is selling one on collecting cars but I spoke to him before when he was doing the photo shoot outside my parents. Lovely car, but leather lined boot isn’t very practical.. anyway, my search for a 4 seater continues - spec’d up a Panamera GTS ST (24 wheel options! ) with the 4 seat option and it’s very nice, but quite a big car.. rear wheel steering tho.

Since then, irrespective of the weather, I’ve been out driving the Ferrari quite hard. I’d forgotten how quick it is, the noise is addictive and NA ftw! Been to Sandbanks to see my parents. Up to Quince and Clover, then Daylesford farm, Diddly Squat (was closed) and then back via some fun roads. Over 500 miles in 10 days, and I’ve loved them all. I was excited to see the unheard of over 300 miles from one tank, until I realised that amounted to 18mpg!

Having driven the F430 more, I’m probably going more towards a more practical (ie bigger) other car; shortlist currently - Pan, FFRR, RS6. Not going elec this time. Gf wants to move to the Cotswolds, which will mean less car money, but also different requirements..

[mik]

1. they want to charge £1200 to replace the TPMS modules, I think I will look elsewhere.

2. one of the big items was the exhaust manifolds which he said weren’t “blowing or anything”, but the originals are made out of a particularly weak Italian chocolate, so they recommend replacement as routine.

1. I got Evora sensors from these guy for about £170 for all four. Got them fitted for £0 whilst wheels were being refurbed. As you can see - they also do Fezza. (edit - this is for sensors - if its the control module you need then you can ignore).

2. Ooh - Sounds like a great upgrade triggger - something like AgencyPower? I put 2bular fannymoulds on the Evora - a little louder, but definitely added more urgency too (particularly at the top end of the rev range - to be expected as this is when flow through them is maximised).

[Swervin_Mervin]

Don't think I updated about the 330i, but it went in a few weeks back for a few items:

NSR caliper was binding so I got two TWE refurb ones from Autodoc and new pads from BMW
Steering rack has been weeping for years but started to get noisy, so got a 2nd hand one off ebay for £25 (over 1500 from BMW for a refurb exchange unit!)
Oil sump gasket needed doing - no big leak but whilst the subframe was dropped to do the rack it made sense to sort this as well
Cam cover gasket. Had been weeping overnight and was burning off the following day. Again, no big leak but whilst it's in there...

Anyway, all sorted and it was feeling great, until I noticed the stink of burning oil. New CC gasket was leaking at the rear onto the exhaust manifold. Cue smoke wisping out of the bonnet at standstill

So it went back in for that to be re-done.

I noticed a "whum-whum-whum" type noise yesterday from the nsr, on the 330, at 20-30mph. After picking the boy up from school it stopped. It did this last week on the way to the garage to have the fixed cam cover gasket fixed again, but the guys couldn't find anything amiss.

I'm wondering now if the binding caliper, which I got hot enough to produce smoke and could hear crackling, has cooked the wheel bearing. I'll get it in the air this weekend and take a look.

I've also got a box of new bits to fit - new front fogs (plastic Magnetti Marelli vs OEM alu housings), new rear badge/roundel as the original is looking very scabby now, new tailgate strut brackets for when I sort the rust, and lots of new screws and clips for the arch liners to replace the rusty numbers.

[Delphi]

Wife scraped the back rear quarter of the XC40 reversing into the drive. Chips Away are coming to sort it out next Thursday for the princely sum of £300. Day after it's booked in for its major service.

Visited the bodyshop yesterday where the 928 is. Apparently they've had some major teething issues with the new spray booths and this has pushed everything back so it's doubtful it'll be ready in time for the Germany trip in May.

I've decided to source a 987 Boxster for the trip. I figure I'll use it for a couple of months and then move it on (although there's a chance I might just end up keeping it). Going to look at one next week and Dave at Strasse has 2 Boxsters and a Cayman coming in next week.

[Simon]

I've got an OBDII reader anyway so thanks, but yes I am sorted now - it had popped the 10amp fuse to the coils.

I've ordered a pair of rear ARB drop-links, rear brake discs and pads and a handbrake cable. These were the advisories from the last MOT and all pretty simple to DIY (well maybe not the handbrake cable, but we'll see).

I did the handbrake cable on my Mk4. It's fiddly, but not impossible. The main thing is getting the exhaust low enough to access it.

[IanF]

1. they want to charge £1200 to replace the TPMS modules, I think I will look elsewhere.

2. one of the big items was the exhaust manifolds which he said weren’t “blowing or anything”, but the originals are made out of a particularly weak Italian chocolate, so they recommend replacement as routine.

1. I got Evora sensors from these guy for about £170 for all four. Got them fitted for £0 whilst wheels were being refurbed. As you can see - they also do Fezza. (edit - this is for sensors - if its the control module you need then you can ignore).

2. Ooh - Sounds like a great upgrade triggger - something like AgencyPower? I put 2bular fannymoulds on the Evora - a little louder, but definitely added more urgency too (particularly at the top end of the rev range - to be expected as this is when flow through them is maximised).

Thanks for that, I’d already found them on that very website but good to hear positive feedback. It’s the battery that has gone on the module in my case unfortunately. No idea if it’s a full replacement or the battery can be swapped over.

I’ve looked at new exhausts before, Capristo ones sound good, but I don’t need it to be louder, as I cruise between 3-3.5k on motorways and, as it’s below the valve opening rpm, it’s quite subdued.

[mik]

@IanF I did manifolds, but kept std exhaust system. The former offers most gains, whilst avoiding a huge noise increase. 2bular manifolds plus cat-back is LOUD.

[Rich B]

source a 987 Boxster

make sure you pull the trigger on it big guy.

[Sundayjumper]

Not mine but my Dad has finally agreed the deal on the Maserati. It needed some gearbox work before he could test drive it properly, we finally did that today. Lovely condition, drives well, quieter than I was expecting from an Italian V8.

There’s still a couple of small niggles for them to sort out before delivery. Expected to be ready by the end of the week.

0C29F1EF-370D-4907-AD7E-D9045ECE0849.jpeg (127.25 KiB) Viewed 1226 times

Claim to Fame: previously owned by Claudia Winkleman's husband

[mik]

@Sundayjumper nice. They’ve always looked great to me.

I was always pleased they reverted to a cross-plane crank for the QP - I’m not a huge fan of flat-plane V8’s in general, but they do have a menacing bark - which works with a sports car, but doesn’t really work with a sports saloon. I’ve never been in one so can’t really comment with any authority, but I did have a windows-down comparison when following one in my VXR8 and it was disappointing quiet and comparatively un-rumbly.

[Gavster]

Not mine but my Dad has finally agreed the deal on the Maserati. It needed some gearbox work before he could test drive it properly, we finally did that today. Lovely condition, drives well, quieter than I was expecting from an Italian V8.

There’s still a couple of small niggles for them to sort out before delivery. Expected to be ready by the end of the week.


0C29F1EF-370D-4907-AD7E-D9045ECE0849.jpeg


Claim to Fame: previously owned by Claudia Winkleman's husband

It's a very nice looking car, need to see if I can find a way to get a little drive in it at some point!

[Mito Man]

The Elonmobile has clicked over 70,000 miles and consumed as much electricity as a village in that time

The good points are it’s never broken down, it’s still got no rattles, the cheap entirely plastic interior still looks new as there’s nothing to wear. Tyres last 25-30k miles, still on original brakes, never needed servicing.
The bad points are all on the exterior. The front sills are completely unprotected and have been chipped away and sandblasted with some corrosion starting

The rear bumper wheel area looking quite tatty too

The carbon fibre wing has had all its lacquer peel from the leading edge

Also the front bumper looks like it’s fading a bit to a more pinkish hue, but you can’t see that in a photo.
Overall not bad, not great, but it’s a dependable taxi.

[Simon]

Crikey that's not great. How old is it?

[Rich B]

Crikey that's not great. How old is it?

Got to be less than 4 years old if it's a U.K. RHD.

[Mito Man]

3.5 years old. All those issues were also there when it was half the age and half the miles as they were brought up when it went in for a squeaky balljoint to be changed under warranty. Apparently the wing problem is due to harsh chemicals when washing the car
They offered to fit mudflaps for free to hide the stone chip damage
Look at used higher mileage Model 3s for sale, many have mudflats especially on the front hiding the same damage. I imagine they’ll be rotting quite badly in a few years as it will trap all the moisture from the drain even more.

[McSwede]

While Harry and SJ might have a go at a cambelt change themselves, I think I'd probably take the risk of continuing to use one which isn't obviously falling apart over replacing it myself and it failing due to me putting the idler pulley on backwards or something.

I did the cambelt and water pump on the MX5 and it was straightforward enough having never done it before. YouTube is your friend

[tim]

This morning I went to Euro Car Parts and picked up the haul of parts needed to deal with the previous MOT advisories on the Mondeo.

Rear Brake Disks
Rear Brake Pads
Rear ARB drop links
Nearside handbrake cable

Typically just as I got it up on stands...



I thought I'd tackle the brake disks first as that's usually a simple job. And it would have been, perhaps, on a newer car. I got the caliper off easily enough, but one of the bolts through the carrier would not shift, despite having been soaked in WD-40 while I was waiting for the rain to go away. It's started to round off, no doubt not helped by numerous previous attempts over the years.

I need some better tools to deal with things like this. Anyway I backed out of that for now, until I can equip myself suitably.

The ARB drop links couldn't be more accessible, which was nice.



Bit crusty, but neither of the nuts were stuck fast. The only weird issue being the lower one has nothing on the other side. In order to stop it spinning you have to insert a tiny allen key into the front of the thread, which was fine until the nut was almost off, but then jammed up and started spinning on the allen key. In the end i had to destroy the bush on the other side enough that I could get some grips on it firmly to stop it spinning, then getting it off was pretty simple.

Refitting piece of piddle.



The rain came back so I'll do the other side tomorrow, and have a look at whether I want to try the handbrake cable.

[integrale_evo]

Adjusted the x5 handbrake last week. Felt ok at the handle but still had basically no power.

Decided to slacken the cable at the handle and clean everything up in the drum, then adjust them properly ( no one ever adjusts them at the drum they just tighten the cables )

Took the disk off and the surface of the drum is basically a layer of rust. Don’t think I’m going to have time to source and fit new bits before weds mornings mot, will just clean them up as well as I can and hope for the best.