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Smart Roadster - The poo brown go-kart.


SiC

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Looks like some good progress! can you not run a mains lead from your house into the car and leave an electric fan heater on to help dry it out?

 

What seal rejuvenater are you going to use?

I did contiplate using a fan heater. Problem is, it's at the back of the seats where it's most wet and the car is so small, it's a bit of a fire risk using one in there. Also the constant wet weather isn't useful when trying to run mains electricity outside.

 

I have tried using my wet vac, but the spongy bit of the carpet has absorbed so much, it can't pull it all out. Also it only seems to suck it out from spongy side too. Got about 100ml out of the bits I could get to. Alternatively I could take out the two seats and then remove the floor carpet entirely. That way it can dry inside properly and fully (and really annoy the wife).

 

I was going to get some proper Krytox that is recommended for VW EOS seals, but that is bloody price at ~£40 a bottle. The Smart enthusiasts websites recommend the catchy named GummiPflege. At a fiver a bottle, it's much more reasonable.

 

Incidentally, reading up about the EOS seals, it appears these require maintenance every 8 weeks during the winter months! :o

 

I think the roof seals may not have been correctly seated when I previously opened up the roof, which where some of the leakage was coming from. That and the stuff leaking through the driver's window + wing mirror area.

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I've been looking at them, but the cheap ones are still £50 and crappy petiler modules. Decent ones seem to start around £100. However with 8 tyres to fit this month, plus other expenses on this one still to go, I can't justify buying one this month. My plan is to drive it more and just have the heater on full!

 

Hopefully now we're in spring we'll start having a few hot* days again.

Try keeping an eye on ebay for dehumidifier as local pickup ones as some can weight abit. My gfs parents smart car needs the carpet removed as it leaks from the back side windows but dehumidifier helped alot need to do it again really 

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When I had mine I managed to get about 20 giant silica gel sacks from some crated printing presses which had been imported from Japan.

I gave 18 away to roadster owners and kept two for my roadster and just kept them behind the seats to trap any moisture.

 

Another good thing to use are those dehumidifier boxes you can get from pound land and I normally bung about 3 in a car if it's in storage over a damp winter and these also work a treat. Also if you have a leaky roadster (not just smart) it's know for people to use that stuff you buy for cat litter trays and put it in the foot wells of damp cars to dry them out.

 

I think there is about 3 or 4 revisions on the internal mirror fixings to cure the leak, my car had the latest revision which was basically a tray under the mirror to catch the water then it diverted the water into the door panel though a small hole I think.

 

But the best (Cheapest) cure really is to use a smidge of silicone grease around the area to stop any water entering and it's just a case of trying to keep on top of the leaks as they occur with a roadster apart of course from the wiper tray leak as that really needs sorting properly for obvious reasons.

 

I was always quite lucky with mine as it was never that bad but very occasionally I would see the odd drip on the speaker cover but I did get every leak upgrade done with new rubbers and mirrors etc under warranty just to be on the safe side and it rarely saw a drop of rain as I garaged it.

 

I think it cost smart on average in the region of a few grand per roadster to sort out the issues under warranty but there's cheap alternative fixes out there I'm sure on the roadster net that should see you ok.

 

But try to look on the bright side as it's the normal thing with most roadsters to chase leaks even my Z3 was full of water in the boot when I lifted the carpet which had to be cured by removing the brake light and installing a new seal.

Also on my Z3 when I bought it there was a split in the rear window (which is one leak you won't get on a smart roadster) which when I took the seats out the do some repairs I found the foam and floor was waterlogged because of the split and I just couldn't get the foam to dry out so in the end I cut a section of the backing foam out and bought some new sound deadening from eBay then dried and waxoyled the floor pans and attached the new foam direct to the floor.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Bit of an update. Going to try and keep it short this time!

 

Car has being having very unnerving banging/jolting when driving >60mph. Last owner said it misfired a bit. Didn't really feel like a misfire but the spark plugs were due a change. So bought this lot:

post-20071-0-31232900-1490049608_thumb.jpg

 

I splashed out and paid £35 for this spark plug lead removal tool. Kind of painful to spend so much on a tool for one job but bloody glad I did.

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Cheaper tools apparently bend and struggle to grip the base of the lead. Pliers bugger up the leads and can end up leaving bits stuck on that are a nightmare to remove.

 

Plug removal on the Smart requires the rear bumper removing.

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First car I've ever had that has required such a thing.

 

Bottom plugs weren't too bad. They're in between the crash beam and the main body Access was reasonable and the tool made it a doddle to remove the leads. Leads simple as the bottom of the coil packs was right there. There are 3 coil packs, each drive 2 plugs. 6 plugs in total for 3 cylinders.

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Top plugs were easy to get to, however replacing the leads was an absolute nightmare. Ended up having to remove the intake manifold and fuel rail to get decent access. Again I was super happy I splashed out and got a decent tool that didn't bend and flex.

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Made this useful tool up to hoover out all the crud down the plug wells. The top ones especially had a large amount of detritus fallen down there. Really didn't want it getting into the combustion chamber, as it's so small!

post-20071-0-55607800-1490050404_thumb.jpg

 

Glad I changed the leads too. The tops had burn marks around the rubber boots, while the bottom ones had split marks in. I suspect due to previous people using pliers to remove them.

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Also took the time to clean the throttle body. Actually pretty hard to do as it's tiny! Toothbrush head for comparison:

post-20071-0-77683800-1490050330_thumb.jpg

 

Total time for all 6 plugs and leads was 4 hours. Also one annoyed wife because I ended up turning up late to her friends house who was cooking dinner for us...

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Unfortunately after all that the banging didn't go away. One thing I had noticed is the ABS kicked in at low speeds and the engine mounts were shot to pieces. When accelerating onto boost you could hear the engine smacking the mounts. :?

 

As per News 24 thread earlier, I took it into my local garage with 3 replacement engine mounts and 2 cheapo reluctor rings. Apparently a nightmare of a job replacing the mounts. Very glad I did not attempt it on my driveway. Rings were extremely tight too. Ended up paying £160 which tbh isn't too bad considering the agro saved for me.

 

Verdict? Well I went for a proper blast earlier at different speeds and no more banging. :D

 

I suspect some of it was the ABS ring expanding and the traction control kicking in. No wonder it didn't feel good at all when it did it.

 

Not had any more leaks since I Gummifledged it. It's throwing it down out there again do don't want to say for sure that I've fixed it completely just yet...

 

It's an utter hoot to blast around in too. I do think it needs a few more bhp though!

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I know it won't stop the leaks but when I had mine and every other convertible with a fabric roof I paint them with fabsil as it stops the water penetrating the fabric and protects the roof from UV damage and stops bird shite getting Ingrained in the material

 

It's only £11 a litre and on a roadster you will have enough for a good couple of applications,

I've just done the new roof on my fathers E36 and it beads up treat and I did the roof on my Z3 a couple of years back and it's still beading nicely but you want the brush on one to really penetrate the material.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182476604777

 

Also another tip is don't ever put your roadster net sticker in the inside of your rear window as it will pull the heated window element off the inside of the window as its not Sandwiched inbetween the glass as I found out lol

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Thanks. I've got something in the garage from when we had the MX5. I think its Renovo stuff if I remember correctly. The top (and the whole car really) is in dire need of a good scrub to remove all the green crap off it and so it actually beads water off properly. Just waiting for a weekend that I'm both free and it's not chucking it down.

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Gah! ABS light came on, on the way back from work. Cycling the ignition cleared it but I really need to go see what code is stored. I'm going to guess that it's the new rear reluctor rings. Hopefully they're just slipping or something simple and need a bit of glue. :?

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Came back from Cornwall today and thanks to the longer days, gave me more fiddling time. Decided to strip out the floor carpet as it's absolutely sodden wet and a bit off smelling.

 

After 40 minutes, managed to get it out. Pretty easy job to do.

post-20071-0-90652700-1490560948_thumb.jpg

 

The carpet is currently sitting in the conservatory to dry out. Hopefully we'll have a few hot days to properly allow it to bake dry. At the very least, with it sitting on the airer it'll drop dry.

 

Unfortunately the back carpet is just as soaking wet on the back but that'll be a big job to remove (roof mech and loads of trim). At least it'll have more of a chance with it out though.

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On the plus side the floor pan still looks as good as new.. I know there's not much metal on a smart but I've never seen a rusty tridion yet even on my old 20 year city coupe which when I bought it resembled a pond and had been standing for 6 months but it was still rust free, so there must be some good quality metal in them.

 

I love that orange interior, I always found though the drivers door card was easy to scratch just under the speaker so I bought some plastic scratch remover stuff and once I got the scratches out I made up a bit of plastic sheeting to just cover that area up so it never marked again.

 

I also found the same stuff was brilliant for bringing convertible roof rear plastic Windows back to life but not that you have to worry about that with the roadster.

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The chassis itself never seem to rot - I think they maybe aluminium? A coin living on the bottom has gone very crusty mind. Doesn't seem to have affected underneath though.

 

However I have noticed some of the stuff strapped to the bottom is looking a bit crusty - most notably bits of the subframe and rear suspension beams. When the weather gets better I'm going to sand some of the bits down, spray and waxoyl.

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I love that orange interior, I always found though the drivers door card was easy to scratch just under the speaker so I bought some plastic scratch remover stuff and once I got the scratches out I made up a bit of plastic sheeting to just cover that area up so it never marked again.

 

Probably not a bad idea at all. I just resigned to the fact it was going to get scratched as you can't help catch it when trying to get in and out of the car. A job really not easy to do!

 

I also found the same stuff was brilliant for bringing convertible roof rear plastic Windows back to life but not that you have to worry about that with the roadster.

I wish I had that problem though. I really like the coupé and wish I had one instead. However they are still currently a good £1k-2k more. Also the non-coupe is actually easier to work on as less to remove to get to the engine bay. Plus the coupé back is another place of leaks. Pros and cons to each really.
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Gave this a bloody good scrub today. Certainly comes up very well! I'll try and get some pictures tomorrow.

 

Took it out for its first proper trip today. Was great fun and Mrs SiC generally* approved. Had a few little issues though...

 

First was that I forgot to put the gearstick into Neutral (I left it in drive, which locks the key in) before trying to remove the key. In my hamfisted panic attempt to remove the key I managed to extract the key barrel but minus the housing for it! Lost a tooth/blade or whatever it's called that defines a correct key or not. Managed to get the barrel back into the key slot and then I realised I hadn't put it into Neutral. Once I did that, the key turned into position zero and removed on its own.

I apologised to the car for my violent actions upon it...

 

Second thing was on the way back the ABS light came on again. :(

I'm putting it down to me hurting it earlier!

Not had a chance to read the code yet but I'm hoping it's just the brake light switch. Daft thing is, the brake switch has two contacts and if one fails the whole ABS system is deactivated.

 

Switch isn't available in ECP for the Roadster but Googling online it appears the ForTwo one is nearly identical apart from a waterproof removable rubber bellows on the end. £15 for that one after discount. Looks like one of the ECP branches that is open tomorrow has one in stock. Better check that the code is still showing for it though.

 

Replacement basically entails twisting the switch to release, twisting the new one in place and swapping connectors. Hopefully a nice quick job.

 

Finally I filled it up again today - worked out as 38.5MPG. Not too shabby considering I've been driving it in stop+start traffic. Same driving lead the the Laguna getting 17-19MPG. Quite a difference!

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Went off to ECP today and picked up a new brake switch. As per last post, they don't list one for the Roadster but the ForTwo switch they do and is completely compatible.

 

White one is off the car:

post-20071-0-62785000-1491166851_thumb.jpg

 

You need a 3.6mm shim to set the switch into the correct place. There is a ratchet inside the switch that sets up the positioning and actuating point. Handily folding the included instruction leaflet a couple of times made the perfect shim.

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Wife's parents came down today and the Father-in-law wanted a ride in it. I duly obliged.

 

On the way back we stopped off at the local garage that specialises in classics. We peered in and ogled at the cars inside. Features included e-types, tickford fords, Bentley arnage, Mustangs, loads of MGBs and other stuff. Then had a look around their outside storage area of broken old rotten cars. I'll have to take some pictures sometime.

 

On the road outside is this little beauty. I can only assume it's a customer car that is going to be fixed. I learnt today that the FiL really wants a Vaden-Pla version. When one comes up on here for-sale next on AS, I'll have to point him here.

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FiL advised me that the square steering wheel was from the pre-facelift versions and this one must be a very late one.

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Finally, best of all, today an achievement was unlocked:

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:)

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've been busy with this over the last week.

 

Started off by fixing the radio. Security Code was missing, so I grabbed my EEPROM programmer...

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Broke this seal on the radio...

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Pulled apart the stereo...

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And then forgot to take a picture of it all connected. Anyway I read the EEPROM off and used some code generator from a dodgy Hungarian site to input the data into it and out popped a code. The code it returned was 0001. Hmm. Not sure if I believe that. Entered it and lo-behold it worked.  8)

 

Sound was awful, so I decided to pop the speaker cover off to look at how good the speakers were.

Left Speaker

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Right Speaker

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Well that'll explain the crap sound! Water has a habit of running through the door seal, down the window and into the speaker.

 

Feeling like I was 13 years younger, when I passed my driving test, I took a trip down to Halfords and bought some banging* speakers.

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Which helpfully matched the colour of the interior.

 

But speakers look garish, so popped the cover back on to hide their garishness.

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Next job is an incredibly essential one. Smart decided to put the body computer right under a water catch tub. Unfortantly this has a habit of leaking, leading to giving the body computer a soaking and a £750 repair bill from Mercedes. The fix is to seal it up properly

 

So I started by pulling the bonnet off.

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Actually pretty easy to remove and lightweight.

 

This is the tub moved to one side, showing where the body computer is.

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The problem part. It pretty much broke into pieces in my hand.

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After getting Tigerseal absolutely everywhere on me, I ended up with this.

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Decided to remove the duct tape round covers that cover holes into the body and seal these up with Tigerseal too.

post-20071-0-03967700-1493327386_thumb.jpg

 

Pretty much an hour and 10 mins in, I was done!

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I forgot to mention this yesterday/this morning, but today it achieved this:

post-20071-0-16390000-1493328660_thumb.png

 

:)

 

Only thing was the track-rod gaiter had split, which I knew about as they told me when I got the garage to have a look over when I last took it in. So they got it done before doing the MOT.

 

£105 all-in for MOT, track-rod end, labour and VAT. Not bad going imo!

 

Mechanically its nearly where I want it to be. I have a brand-new genuine Smart thermostat to go on, aircon to be regassed and wheel alignment to be done.

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Quick update on my previous to do list.

  • Clutch actuator clean
  • Clutch actuator realign and recalibrate using diagnostics tool - Massively improved the clutch/pull off from stationary
  • Oil+filter change
  • Full error code scan - Some errors, none major and probably been there for ages. Main one was brake switch. Switch replaced
  • SAM (body computer) inspection checking for wetness/corrosion - No damage at all (see pictures earlier in this thread).
  • Wiper scuttle tub re-seal (prevents water getting into SAM) - Done. Not as bad a job as I thought. 
  • Check for/find wheel lock key - Doesn't appear to have locking nuts!
  • Remove and fully charge battery - Just drove it more. :)
  • Spark plugs + leads
  • Radio code obtain (disassemble and read from EEPROM)
  • Fix Hood not opening fully - rails cleaning and greasing - Regreasing the rails and using the hood more appears to have fully fixed this.
  • Find + fix leak under drivers seat - Appeared to be the catch seals at the top of the door seal. Added a bead of Tigerseal to prevent it dribbling down. A known fault that is easily fixed.
  • Interior drying and cleaning - Removed the floor interior. Left over a weekend in the conservatory to dry. Warmer weather has helped removed the rest of the wetness on the other bits of harder to remove interior.
  • Hood deep clean with convertible hood cleaner - Still to do. Given a good scrub, but needs properly cleaning and re-waterproofing
  • 4 new tyres - 4 nice Goodyear F1s fitted
  • Fuel filter change - Still to do.
  • Brake fluid change - Still to do.
  • Thermostat check/change - Still to do. Genuine thermostat found.
  • Compression check - Not done, but no oil consumed so unlikely to have any issues.
  • Aux belt tighten/replace to fix squeal when cold - Still to do. Replacement needed really
  • Aircon regas - Regas booked. Hopefully no leaks, but system appears to have a bit of pressure in it still. (Remarkably for a roadster)
  • Get new spare key/chase last owner for it - Bought a £20 eBay special key. Programmed in using my diag tool and paid £15 for a local key shop to cut the blank.
  • Sort missing arm rest padding - Going to replace the handbrake cover with one without an armrest. Armrest almost always gets broken/fallen off on these, as they are in a very awkward place and guaranteed to be knocked when getting in/falling in the car.
  • Left indicator hesitant (replace stalk?) - Appears fine now, probably just needed using.
  • Heater fan switch not working on position 4 (clean contacts) - Need to remove switch and clean up
  • Retrofit cruise control (check for wiring first) - No wiring there, so bigger job than first thought. Also need to find someone with a Mercedes STAR diagnostic system to enable.
  • Grease/clean seat runners (stiff moving drivers seat) - Done when removing the interior.
  • Sort surface rust on removable hood sides (you take these bits off to go full hoodless)
  • Get tracking realigned.
Almost there now. Only thing added is tracking realignment.

 

Haven't done a complete cost-up but total cost spent is around £800. Add that in with the £686 purchase price of the car, £1500 for a 100k example of a Smart Roadster is pretty reasonable/about right. However I know pretty much everything is sorted mechanically and electrically though on this one.

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