OV9

16vCento wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 2:41 pm 20200108_144056.jpg

New wheel day!

Ooh! I like those.

DeskJockey wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 7:28 pm

Matty wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:59 pm

integrale_evo wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:07 pm

Surely a warranty wouldn't cover and engine grandad if because it ran out of oil anyway?

I know I'm getting on a bit, but....

It was a salesman, so who knows. But if a sensor fails, doesn't warn of low oil until too late...you'd like to think they'd warranty it?

The aftermarket warranty I was offered when I bought the Galaxy would have covered the sensor, but no further damage caused by the sensor failing. There were a couple of horror stories about situations very much like that, so I declined.

Aftermarket warranties are known to be dodgy though. To be fair to Merc, I've been told they're very, very good with their T1 warranty....I mean, as it should be, they wanted almost £1.5k/year for my SLK55, god knows what the bigger C/E class AMG's would cost.

I've never bothered with warranties on any of my cars. Danger is my middle name.

Broccers wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:50 am Ive got to say the digital oil level thing in the boxster is utterly fucking shite. I've no idea how much or little is in it - all depends how long its been left to settle for and the flatness where you parked up.

It's in for a service next week anyway.

So exactly the same as a dipstick then....

In positive news, can you not buy a service dipstick, you can for the ML I believe ?

Dave!

Start work on the MX5 on Sunday so have had loads of parcels turning up this week, which has pleased Mrs McSwede no end . It's amazing how cheap it is for bits on the Mazda. Even bought a brake bleed kit and an oil pump for about a tenner a piece.

Bought 2 pairs of 2T axle stand from Aldi online in their sale for £7.99 a pair. Happy days.

Very much looking forward to doing some spannering as it's been many years since I have.

F01 740d - The First 800 Miles

Well, nothing's fallen off or burst into flames so I'm taking this as a win so far.


The good:

Great engine. It's only three litres and essentially the same as the 530, but it has two turbots instead of one, and the "little & large" turbot configuration makes it so much more flexible. Peak torque from 1500rpm and almost instant. 302 bhp & 443 lbs/ft.

Great seats. The Comfort seats have loads more adjustment and these ones are nappa leather too. The "dakota" leather in the 530 always felt a bit stiff and fake.

Extended instrument panel. Not the full digital display that came in with the LCI, but the digital part goes right across the bottom of the panel rather than the lopsided poverty spec I had in the 530. I like symmetry.

Dynamic drive. Active rollbars are very clever and make the car stay eerily flat through corners.

Fuel consumption. I've failed to do a proper brim-to-brim because the pay at pump machine cuts you off at £99 ( & ) but the car has reported ~42mpg for this week's commuting which is only a couple of mpg less than the 530 would do on a similar journey at this time of year. The 530's OBC was pretty accurate so I'm hoping this is similar. Once we're into the summer I'm expecting to see 45mpg.

It's more luxurious all round. I was expecting it to be like a 5 but bigger; I was underestimating. There's lots of real leather in place of plastic, and metal in place of real plastic. The whole dash top is trimmed in lovely smooth leather that hasn't shrunk & come loose around the edges - I'm looking at you, Aston Martin. It's quieter. The wood trim on the dash & doors has a subtle inlaid strip. I'm even convinced the windows go up & down more smoothly than the 5. Everything is just that bit nicer.

Falken FK510 tyres. Very happy with them so far. Quiet & smooth despite being fairly huge 245/40/20 & 275/35/20.

The "professional" audio isn't audiophile but it's good enough that I don't feel like upgrading it like I did almost immediately with the "business" system in the 5.

Soft close doors are a nice novelty.

Twin exhausts. I like symmetry.


The minor:

It doesn't have adaptive lighting (where the headlights swivel left & right) like I had on the 530 and I am missing it already.

For some reason the 740d didn't get the 8sp gearbox until the LCI models.

You can't direct the front DVD player to the rear screens, or the rear DVD player to the front screen, even though all the other iDrive stuff is accessible from both. I think I need to retrofit the 6-disc glovebox DVD changer. Or buy a newer LCI car which will play video from USB.

Lane Departure Warning is an interesting novelty that makes the steering wheel vibrate if you change lanes without indicating. Probably a good reminder that you didn't indicate but I turned it off one day and haven't felt the need to turn it back on again.


The to-do list:

It seems to wander a bit on the motorway and there's definitely something wobbly in the front suspension. I'll have a look at the weekend.

I think the gearbox could do with some fresh oil. It's on 119k miles and has probably never been changed. I did the gearbox oil in the Touareg last year at a similar mileage and it made a noticeable improvement.

The nearside camera in the front bumper doesn't work. Meh.


Overall I'm happy with it. I'm doing 55 miles each way to work now and I'm not getting the numb legs or upper back pain that I got in the 530. I need to run it for a year or two to justify the purchase but after that the next car will have to be a newer 7 or maybe a 6GC. The F10 is a good car but (possibly with rose tints) I preferred the E39. The F01 is currently stacking up well against the E38.

Also, with the G11 7-Series you could spec laser headlights. Frickin' lasers.

The bad:

The foot spa water is a bit cold.

Rich B wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:55 pm The bad:

The foot spa water is a bit cold.

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:42 pm It seems to wander a bit on the motorway and there's definitely something wobbly in the front suspension. I'll have a look at the weekend.

<snip>

The nearside camera in the front bumper doesn't work. Meh.

#1 - The lower front control arms on both sides are knackered. I can waggle them around quite easily by hand; I imagine they move quite a lot under two tonnes of car. New pair of Lemforder arms ordered, £155. Very common problem, I did the exact same job years ago on my X5.

#2 - It wasn't plugged in. So a simple fix, but it means someone has taken the front bumper apart and not put everything back properly. i bet there's some other nonsense in there somewhere.

#3 - I've also ordered a new thermostat. Thermostats always need replacing. £32.

#4 - And a pollen filter.

Rich B wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:55 pm The bad:

The foot spa water is a bit cold.

It's nearly dried out now. I've been driving around with the heater on max all week !

Sundayjumper wrote: Sat Jan 11, 2020 5:51 pm

Rich B wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:55 pm The bad:

The foot spa water is a bit cold.

It's nearly dried out now. I've been driving around with the heater on max all week !

So it’s now a sauna?

The motorhome (Fiat Ducato) is due a cam belt change, it's the first time I've owned a vehicle for a long enough time to need one. It looks a right pain to do so I shall let a garage have the pleasure.

Merc has been creaking a bit from the front left at high lock / low speed.

Took the wheel off and had a poke about, only thing I could see obviously wrong is the arb to body mount is cracked and looks like it's been binding so will change those. A couple of the other bushes are starting to look their age so will investigate an arm set.

Have also ordered a thermostat because it only sits at about 60c unless in traffic.

I got a chip on my windscreen on Friday night, booked online with autoglass yesterday and they fixed it this afternoon which was unexpectedly quick. The cool thing is that the local Autoglass guy has been the same chap for the last 10+ years so it’s always a good catch up.
I then proceeded to change the hydraulic oil on the auger, it’s about 25 litres so I had a series of old 5 litre windscreen washer fluid bottles lined up. One thing I didn’t realise is that it was still partially pressurised so the entire 25 litres came out before I had finished saying oh shit. Saves me going to the tip I guess

Haven’t driven this week, see moaning section.

Stone has hit the combo windscreen big style, needs a screen so when I’m back on my feet I’ll call the insurance and get it done.

Had a call from mum to say that her jazz won’t start, apparently turning over but not firing. Typical when I can’t go over and take a look and also because she was taking me to hospital tomorrow my my ultrasound (see mossing section). RAC on their way and hopefully just a battery issue but we’ll see.

Got cracking on the MX5 today which was interesting

Spent a while getting it up as high as possible on the axle stands and the realised we'd forgot to crack the wheel nuts beforehand

Wheels off and calipers off but would the carrier's come off? Would they fuck! Can't shift the nuts on either side and a couple are getting rounded so some of those sockets Rev got for his Gixxer will be getting ordered. Made a start on the rear pads/discs, got so far and found another couple of reluctant parts so ground to a halt there. Dropped the coolant and the oil but couldn't shift the oil filter and it's proper fiddly to get at so that's still there.

Made a start on clearing the front of the engine for the cambelt and water pump swap and we're beaten again by a bolt on the alternator that wouldn't budge and is fiddly to get at. That was the end of it today.

We'll return during the week with some extra tools and some heat and finish what we started (I hope!)

McSwede wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2020 5:41 pm Got cracking on the MX5 today which was interesting

Spent a while getting it up as high as possible on the axle stands and the realised we'd forgot to crack the wheel nuts beforehand

Wheels off and calipers off but would the carrier's come off? Would they fuck! Can't shift the nuts on either side and a couple are getting rounded so some of those sockets Rev got for his Gixxer will be getting ordered. Made a start on the rear pads/discs, got so far and found another couple of reluctant parts so ground to a halt there. Dropped the coolant and the oil but couldn't shift the oil filter and it's proper fiddly to get at so that's still there.

Made a start on clearing the front of the engine for the cambelt and water pump swap and we're beaten again by a bolt on the alternator that wouldn't budge and is fiddly to get at. That was the end of it today.

We'll return during the week with some extra tools and some heat and finish what we started (I hope!)

Do you have 6 or 12 point sockets? I find a good set of 6 point stops rounding 99% of the time. Plus try and tighten them first.

Dave!

V8Granite wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2020 5:55 pm

McSwede wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2020 5:41 pm Got cracking on the MX5 today which was interesting

Spent a while getting it up as high as possible on the axle stands and the realised we'd forgot to crack the wheel nuts beforehand

Wheels off and calipers off but would the carrier's come off? Would they fuck! Can't shift the nuts on either side and a couple are getting rounded so some of those sockets Rev got for his Gixxer will be getting ordered. Made a start on the rear pads/discs, got so far and found another couple of reluctant parts so ground to a halt there. Dropped the coolant and the oil but couldn't shift the oil filter and it's proper fiddly to get at so that's still there.

Made a start on clearing the front of the engine for the cambelt and water pump swap and we're beaten again by a bolt on the alternator that wouldn't budge and is fiddly to get at. That was the end of it today.

We'll return during the week with some extra tools and some heat and finish what we started (I hope!)

Do you have 6 or 12 point sockets? I find a good set of 6 point stops rounding 99% of the time. Plus try and tighten them first.

Dave!

Thanks. I can't remember about the sockets/ring spanners. I think I've a mix.

You need to douse it with lube of the penetrating variety the night before then bust your nut out the morning after.

V8Granite wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2020 5:55 pm Do you have 6 or 12 point sockets? I find a good set of 6 point stops rounding 99% of the time.

I was going to say exactly the same thing.

Some impact usually helps too. If it's somewhere you can get a bit of a swing at it, I've often had success hitting a ring spanner with a bit of wood. Useful in spots you can't get a socket onto. I have a nice piece of 2x4 teak about a foot long that's perfect for this. It's got a bit of weight to it, but not as damaging as whacking it with a hammer. Which is not a great idea generally.

And Plus Gas is better than WD40. And wire brush everything first. And if it looks particularly nasty, soak it in Plus Gas a couple of times a day for a few days to it can really soak in.

The Aston is in for its annual (ish) service tomorrow so I've just been out for a quick spin to check it's working. It's still very nice to drive and passes the "do you look over your shoulder at the car as you walk away after parking it" test with flying colours. I should really drive it more often. It's only done 1100 miles since the last service in Sep 2018.

I think there used to be someone else on here with a sporty silver V8-powered coupe ? Called Rick, or Rach, or something like that ? What ever happened to them ?