SiC

That airbag light.

Programming the module was a massive pain. The steps aren't clear on what to do to actually flash it, not helped being in German. So ended up thinking it was flashed so carried on but got coding errors.
Anyway ignored the guide and used instinct on the GUI. Ended up flashing okay. As a firmware engineer by trade, these progress bars especially make me nervous as I see them fail all the time when developing but I have other ways of fixing it when my own stuff. This stuff is bricked if it fails.

 
Once that was sorted I realised that I was missing the expert profile in NCSExpert. Found a package with that and got the coding reset to default.
But then the light didn't clear. INPA error code gave an error of unterbrechung sbe1. Not sure what that was I googled it. Which helpfully gave all results for German websites too. 😬
Plugged in my Foxwell and it gave something more intelligible.

Ah! Okay a proper error. Quick Google of seat occupancy detectors find loads of emulator modules to make the car think it's okay with aftermarket seats. 
So with a failed sensor, it possibly means replacement seats are needed. Either the box is at fault or the mat. The error is coming back as open circuit so I presume it's the mat at fault. I'd rather not buy replacement seats if I can just make it think it's all okay.
Checking the coding of the drivers side I found it was disabled. Unsurprisingly as it assumes someone is there all the time. Anyway I reckoned that it would be safe to disable the left occupancy sensor and it'll just fire the airbags as if someone is there. So coded it out with NCS Dummy and sent the code in with NCSExpert.
VAG coding with VCDS is a million times easier and simpler than this shit.
Taken all bloody night but I've managed to get the airbag system sorted and the light is now out. Success!

 
Now just need to figure a solution for the fan resistor. Pretty sure I'll just chop the connector and solder it directly on. But first connect it all up on the terminals to make sure the resistor pack is indeed good. 

Why is it some people have zero problem with some brands and others always have issues?
I have never had anything ever problematic with Hondas. Just get in and drive. VAG mostly the same - despite others always having issues with them. 
For me it's BMWs. Whether hire car or ownership, they always seem to want to try my patience.
Last night I filled up the tank with petrol in expectation of using it today. On getting back the right hand indicator started flashing rapidly. But the front/side/back were all lit?

Well it turns out these have two indicator bulbs in the front headlights. I'm sure there is a BMW indicator joke in there somewhere.

Annoyingly they use a weird bulb that very little else uses. H21W. Ended up picking one up for a fiver in Halfords. 
Fitting is through the wheel arch with a flap you can just about remove on full lock. Then a Philips to unlock the bulb holder.

Today I set off and went to the in-laws. As a way to persuade me to go, we took the Z4 and planned to go to Avebury. While taking the scenic route along the A4, I decided to push my luck and detoured at Atwell Wilson Museum instead. It happened to be drive it day today, so they had plenty of visitors. I'll do a separate post of that in a moment with photos I took.
Anyway back to the Zed which got to the in-laws fine.

The way back we went down the A34, along the A303, past larkhill and through Wiltshire/BANES back home. Along the A34 I had the Emissions light ping up. 
Also noticed that left corners gave a worbling brake noise. Pull up the handbrake would stop this for a bit. So I'm pretty sure something in the handbrake shoe/cable mechanism is sticking. Tbh the handbrake always has been a bit mushy and doesn't hold the car great. 
I hate dealing with shoe handbrakes on the driveway, so probably throw it at a garage to be sorted. Probably needs a clean up, adjustment and maybe a few parts replacing.
We got home fine and covered 187 miles. All in I've probably covered nearly 500 miles since I've owned it. Not bad considering its spent a week on axle stands. 😅 
Still, I came back to Engine light, bulb out light and dodgy brakes. BMWs seem to hate me.

In better news, it's indicating 36mpg. Which if true then is stonkingly good for a 6cyl. That's a mix of motorway, fast a-road and some b-roads.
Also the blower fan has been well behaved the whole time. So far it's just had cleaned up contacts and all put back together. I don't expect it to last as is. I plan to remove it again and hard wire it by soldering directly to the contacts on the hedgehog resistor pack. But I know that resistor pack is good and I can do it in confidence that it's very unlikely to need removing again.
 
What gave that light?

Hmm. Google suggests its often an intake pipe splitting. I pulled it out and it looked fine. 2017 date code.


What this does have is the pipe that goes to the firewall to parse on engine noise. It makes the 6cyl roar louder. While quite nice, it gets bloody painful at 5k+ rpm. This usually is only fitted to the 2.5 and 3.0. Almost certain it's been retrofitted on this. The clamp to the intake hose is Pearl which is definitely not OE BMW!
You can see the box just under the brace bar.


 
This has a diaphragm in it so it's not a direct connection between the interior and intake. Otherwise unmetered air would get in. 
This isn't completely air sealed when sucking. Some air can get in. You do really have to suck though.

I'm wondering if this might be causing the code. I am tempted to remove this as it's a bit too annoying. Probably better on the bigger engines as you'd rev through it much quicker than this.
While I was there, I removed the throttle body and gave it a clean. I've seen much worse but it was dirty enough to make it worthwhile. Bit of a PIA to remove. Not TFSI awkward but still fiddly. Took me a good 20mins to remove and similar to put back in. An annoying bracket is in the way that was a fight to get past.

After

 
I've cleared the codes for now and I'll have to see if they come back. The front lambda I can see and it doesn't look that old. I need to check the paperwork and see if a decent brand was fitted. If it comes back, I'll do some more investigation. My suspicion is a vac leak somewhere.
 
 
 

Yeah. 
I took these in 2019 and I think it's the same car.

Yeah. 
I took these in 2019 and I think it's the same car.

Slapped the new nearside caliper on. Quality is definitely not as good but it fits and seems to work fine. Drag feels the same on both sides.
Bled the rear brakes on both sides for good luck. Fluid seemed pretty clean - I think because the rear lines have been replaced at some point recently. Fluid in the brake fluid chamber is a bit manky so I might bleed the front brakes in time. 




 
Noticed someone attempted to stop a heat shield rattling with hot melt glue. Nice choice of glue on an area that gets hot 🤣

 
Air con panel arrived too, so fitted that to see if that sorted the fan issue. Reasonably easy to get to.


Stereo doesn't fit properly, looks like someone broke the screw holder that goes into the plastic. Crazy thing this plastic considering its supposed to be holding the radio in. I think someone forced this plastic piece in the wrong way around and broke it. I can't say the design of this car doesn't have the feel of durability as a priority.

Discovered that someone has fitted a Aux port for the stereo which is neat.


Also a whole load of extra wires and connectors hidden behind there. I think it might have had an ancient car phone mount at some point in it's past. The mic looks like a 2000-era Nokia hands free mic.


 
Test fitted the new panel. Fan still doesn't work properly. Damn, parts darts fail.

 
So dug into the glove box to see if I could find the hedgehog resistor pack.

Connector wiring doesn't look very promising. Screw was loose so someone has been in here before.

Single screw and connector it was out. 2014 date code suggests it's been replaced. These are NLA new and don't seem to have any aftermarket options available either.

Connectors definitely had too much heat through them.




 
So what caused that?
I think two things.
Firstly, despite being a genuine part, that terminal doesn't look like it was soldered properly. I don't think overheating has melted it as the solder hasn't flown elsewhere. 

Compounding the issue is the pollen filter is filthy and full of leaves. This will cause resistance to the airflow and make the fan work harder. (I don't know what that random yellow wire goes to yet!)

 
So what next? 
Second hand units can be had for £80 or so. More than I want to pay really. Plus I need to sort that connector. There is one with a loom snipped at the resistor which could be an option.
First thing I'll try is cleaning all the contacts up. However cleaning crimp terminals isn't easy and often doesn't really work as you can't get any mechanical cleansing tool in there. As this is a high current connection, if it's not clean then it'll just happen again.
Another option could be to drill a hole through the case and put a fly lead from that terminal directly into that dodgy melted terminal. Either soldered directly or with a bullet terminal/similar. However that said the other terminals aren't in great shape either.
So the next thing could be snipping the connector and soldering directly to the terminals. While bodge tastic, it'll work. Given that if this every needs replacing again will need a new loom connection anyway, perhaps isn't so bad thing to do? Plus lets face it, this isn't a low mileage minter. It's a scruffy high miler that is unlikely to be around for another decade. 
Or of course pay out for a second hand resistor pack and a loom connection. But that's something that could be done if the above doesn't work.  

Why is it some people have zero problem with some brands and others always have issues?
I have never had anything ever problematic with Hondas. Just get in and drive. VAG mostly the same - despite others always having issues with them. 
For me it's BMWs. Whether hire car or ownership, they always seem to want to try my patience.
Last night I filled up the tank with petrol in expectation of using it today. On getting back the right hand indicator started flashing rapidly. But the front/side/back were all lit?

Well it turns out these have two indicator bulbs in the front headlights. I'm sure there is a BMW indicator joke in there somewhere.

Annoyingly they use a weird bulb that very little else uses. H21W. Ended up picking one up for a fiver in Halfords. 
Fitting is through the wheel arch with a flap you can just about remove on full lock. Then a Philips to unlock the bulb holder.

Today I set off and went to the in-laws. As a way to persuade me to go, we took the Z4 and planned to go to Avebury. While taking the scenic route along the A4, I decided to push my luck and detoured at Atwell Wilson Museum instead. It happened to be drive it day today, so they had plenty of visitors. I'll do a separate post of that in a moment with photos I took.
Anyway back to the Zed which got to the in-laws fine.

The way back we went down the A34, along the A303, past larkhill and through Wiltshire/BANES back home. Along the A34 I had the Emissions light ping up. 
Also noticed that left corners gave a worbling brake noise. Pull up the handbrake would stop this for a bit. So I'm pretty sure something in the handbrake shoe/cable mechanism is sticking. Tbh the handbrake always has been a bit mushy and doesn't hold the car great. 
I hate dealing with shoe handbrakes on the driveway, so probably throw it at a garage to be sorted. Probably needs a clean up, adjustment and maybe a few parts replacing.
We got home fine and covered 187 miles. All in I've probably covered nearly 500 miles since I've owned it. Not bad considering its spent a week on axle stands. 😅 
Still, I came back to Engine light, bulb out light and dodgy brakes. BMWs seem to hate me.

In better news, it's indicating 36mpg. Which if true then is stonkingly good for a 6cyl. That's a mix of motorway, fast a-road and some b-roads.
Also the blower fan has been well behaved the whole time. So far it's just had cleaned up contacts and all put back together. I don't expect it to last as is. I plan to remove it again and hard wire it by soldering directly to the contacts on the hedgehog resistor pack. But I know that resistor pack is good and I can do it in confidence that it's very unlikely to need removing again.
 
What gave that light?

Hmm. Google suggests its often an intake pipe splitting. I pulled it out and it looked fine. 2017 date code.


What this does have is the pipe that goes to the firewall to parse on engine noise. It makes the 6cyl roar louder. While quite nice, it gets bloody painful at 5k+ rpm. This usually is only fitted to the 2.5 and 3.0. Almost certain it's been retrofitted on this. The clamp to the intake hose is Pearl which is definitely not OE BMW!
You can see the box just under the brace bar.


 
This has a diaphragm in it so it's not a direct connection between the interior and intake. Otherwise unmetered air would get in. 
This isn't completely air sealed when sucking. Some air can get in. You do really have to suck though.

I'm wondering if this might be causing the code. I am tempted to remove this as it's a bit too annoying. Probably better on the bigger engines as you'd rev through it much quicker than this.
While I was there, I removed the throttle body and gave it a clean. I've seen much worse but it was dirty enough to make it worthwhile. Bit of a PIA to remove. Not TFSI awkward but still fiddly. Took me a good 20mins to remove and similar to put back in. An annoying bracket is in the way that was a fight to get past.

After

 
I've cleared the codes for now and I'll have to see if they come back. The front lambda I can see and it doesn't look that old. I need to check the paperwork and see if a decent brand was fitted. If it comes back, I'll do some more investigation. My suspicion is a vac leak somewhere.
 
 
 

Inside shots of the museum. It's been extended since I last went and now has a small coffee shop area. There is an extra barn to the side that extends to display area.
Tbh it actually felt smaller and less exhibits than when I went last time. That said, some of the exhibits were outside on show for drive it day. 
Mini was Paddy Hopkins and used for races. F1 car is a Williams. 
Again not in order, just how they uploaded. There aren't photos of all the museum, just as I wandered around. Elsewhere on here are better photos from when I went last time.



 

Inside shots of the museum. It's been extended since I last went and now has a small coffee shop area. There is an extra barn to the side that extends to display area.
Tbh it actually felt smaller and less exhibits than when I went last time. That said, some of the exhibits were outside on show for drive it day. 
Mini was Paddy Hopkins and used for races. F1 car is a Williams. 
Again not in order, just how they uploaded. There aren't photos of all the museum, just as I wandered around. Elsewhere on here are better photos from when I went last time.



 

Mix of Atwell Wilson photos. No particular order except roughly the order they uploaded in. Maybe some repeats as I walked around and took them again.
Good mix of cars outside. As I was leaving the classic USA contingent was arriving. Presumably late from all their fill up stops on the way.
While the Z4 is not a car I'd usually put on show for somewhere like this, it was the only one and adds to the mix of cars. Better than arriving in my wife's Honda Civic Estate.
 

Why is it some people have zero problem with some brands and others always have issues?
I have never had anything ever problematic with Hondas. Just get in and drive. VAG mostly the same - despite others always having issues with them. 
For me it's BMWs. Whether hire car or ownership, they always seem to want to try my patience.
Last night I filled up the tank with petrol in expectation of using it today. On getting back the right hand indicator started flashing rapidly. But the front/side/back were all lit?

Well it turns out these have two indicator bulbs in the front headlights. I'm sure there is a BMW indicator joke in there somewhere.

Annoyingly they use a weird bulb that very little else uses. H21W. Ended up picking one up for a fiver in Halfords. 
Fitting is through the wheel arch with a flap you can just about remove on full lock. Then a Philips to unlock the bulb holder.

Today I set off and went to the in-laws. As a way to persuade me to go, we took the Z4 and planned to go to Avebury. While taking the scenic route along the A4, I decided to push my luck and detoured at Atwell Wilson Museum instead. It happened to be drive it day today, so they had plenty of visitors. I'll do a separate post of that in a moment with photos I took.
Anyway back to the Zed which got to the in-laws fine.

The way back we went down the A34, along the A303, past larkhill and through Wiltshire/BANES back home. Along the A34 I had the Emissions light ping up. 
Also noticed that left corners gave a worbling brake noise. Pull up the handbrake would stop this for a bit. So I'm pretty sure something in the handbrake shoe/cable mechanism is sticking. Tbh the handbrake always has been a bit mushy and doesn't hold the car great. 
I hate dealing with shoe handbrakes on the driveway, so probably throw it at a garage to be sorted. Probably needs a clean up, adjustment and maybe a few parts replacing.
We got home fine and covered 187 miles. All in I've probably covered nearly 500 miles since I've owned it. Not bad considering its spent a week on axle stands. 😅 
Still, I came back to Engine light, bulb out light and dodgy brakes. BMWs seem to hate me.

In better news, it's indicating 36mpg. Which if true then is stonkingly good for a 6cyl. That's a mix of motorway, fast a-road and some b-roads.
Also the blower fan has been well behaved the whole time. So far it's just had cleaned up contacts and all put back together. I don't expect it to last as is. I plan to remove it again and hard wire it by soldering directly to the contacts on the hedgehog resistor pack. But I know that resistor pack is good and I can do it in confidence that it's very unlikely to need removing again.
 
What gave that light?

Hmm. Google suggests its often an intake pipe splitting. I pulled it out and it looked fine. 2017 date code.


What this does have is the pipe that goes to the firewall to parse on engine noise. It makes the 6cyl roar louder. While quite nice, it gets bloody painful at 5k+ rpm. This usually is only fitted to the 2.5 and 3.0. Almost certain it's been retrofitted on this. The clamp to the intake hose is Pearl which is definitely not OE BMW!
You can see the box just under the brace bar.


 
This has a diaphragm in it so it's not a direct connection between the interior and intake. Otherwise unmetered air would get in. 
This isn't completely air sealed when sucking. Some air can get in. You do really have to suck though.

I'm wondering if this might be causing the code. I am tempted to remove this as it's a bit too annoying. Probably better on the bigger engines as you'd rev through it much quicker than this.
While I was there, I removed the throttle body and gave it a clean. I've seen much worse but it was dirty enough to make it worthwhile. Bit of a PIA to remove. Not TFSI awkward but still fiddly. Took me a good 20mins to remove and similar to put back in. An annoying bracket is in the way that was a fight to get past.

After

 
I've cleared the codes for now and I'll have to see if they come back. The front lambda I can see and it doesn't look that old. I need to check the paperwork and see if a decent brand was fitted. If it comes back, I'll do some more investigation. My suspicion is a vac leak somewhere.
 
 
 

Little to no creep in comfort mode is normal. I can't find the document to hand that I read but it's by design to reduce/remove aggressive creep in traffic by being in 2nd gear. 
Remember this is an old school slush box design. There will is a slushy torque converter slowing things down at lower revs. You'll need much more revs than say your dual clutch gearbox where the clutch pack is almost always engaged and providing a direct mechanical power transfer through the driveline. 
Once you get moving, the torque converter will start in its slip mode function which reduces that but doesn't eliminate it. Only at high speed does this box fully lock up that TC. Even when letting off when fully locked up, the revs start to drop as it reduces the amount of TC lockup. BTW Slipping TC lockup is a perfectly normal part of operation of an automatic gearbox and doesn't damage it (sounds bad from someone used to manual clutches). The fluid keeps the clutch pack cool and prevents wear.
This is from the service manual on the TC lockup function and when it's disengaged/slipping/fully engaged: (note the revs is the transmission output speed, not engine revs - so car speed dependant not revs dependent)

Modern boxes like to lock up the TC asap to reduce losses. People (especially American market) are used to that aggressive nature now. I.e. let off the accelerator and you get sudden engine braking. However this is of a different age where people weren't used to that and liked the slower reaction.
I tended to drive everywhere in Comfort. As it is a torquey engine, it didn't need to stay in 1st gear long in normal driving anyway so didn't seem to really need it. If you floor it stationary in comfort, it'll kick down to 1st and use all the revs anyway. Plus comfort changed gear sooner and kept the revs down - better for fuel economy 😅. My wife actually preferred driving in Standard (she couldn't believe a big comfy barge really would have a Sport mode) as it was a bit more responsive due to being in a lower gear.

Does it start to go in? Sometimes those rubber boots on connectors can snag
Small dab of silicone grease/spray of silicone lube can help them slide in better.

Walking past a near neighbours house yesterday and they were having a clear out with a hippo bag full or random crap on their drive. In front of the bag was this jack and a couple of bits of copper pipe.
Obviously I couldn't let what looked like a perfectly good 2 tonne jack go for scrap so asked if I could take it away. They said yeah no worries but beware as it creeps down after a few minutes.
So I carried it home (a bit of a faff with two fuck wit Beagles in tow) and gave it a once over/top up and last night lifted Boris the Morris up with it no problem.
In my old RAC days when you were taken off road for your vans annual safety inspection the H+S guy would test your service jack by lifting your van with it then having a fag break. If your van was still in the air after his break then it was deamed to be ok. So if you let your jack down while he wasn't looking it failed and you were told to scrap it and get a new one from Brown Brothers/Taskmaster (most patrols always had at least a couple of 'spare' jacks at home).
This morning the Minor is still in the air so it looks like I've acquired a nice dinky little jack that takes up hardly any boot space.

 

hi there, thanks for having me.
This is my exploit yellow Punto 75elx that I have owned for 10 years, and have restored.
I love this car, enjoy the photos.
simon

That airbag light.

Programming the module was a massive pain. The steps aren't clear on what to do to actually flash it, not helped being in German. So ended up thinking it was flashed so carried on but got coding errors.
Anyway ignored the guide and used instinct on the GUI. Ended up flashing okay. As a firmware engineer by trade, these progress bars especially make me nervous as I see them fail all the time when developing but I have other ways of fixing it when my own stuff. This stuff is bricked if it fails.

 
Once that was sorted I realised that I was missing the expert profile in NCSExpert. Found a package with that and got the coding reset to default.
But then the light didn't clear. INPA error code gave an error of unterbrechung sbe1. Not sure what that was I googled it. Which helpfully gave all results for German websites too. 😬
Plugged in my Foxwell and it gave something more intelligible.

Ah! Okay a proper error. Quick Google of seat occupancy detectors find loads of emulator modules to make the car think it's okay with aftermarket seats. 
So with a failed sensor, it possibly means replacement seats are needed. Either the box is at fault or the mat. The error is coming back as open circuit so I presume it's the mat at fault. I'd rather not buy replacement seats if I can just make it think it's all okay.
Checking the coding of the drivers side I found it was disabled. Unsurprisingly as it assumes someone is there all the time. Anyway I reckoned that it would be safe to disable the left occupancy sensor and it'll just fire the airbags as if someone is there. So coded it out with NCS Dummy and sent the code in with NCSExpert.
VAG coding with VCDS is a million times easier and simpler than this shit.
Taken all bloody night but I've managed to get the airbag system sorted and the light is now out. Success!

 
Now just need to figure a solution for the fan resistor. Pretty sure I'll just chop the connector and solder it directly on. But first connect it all up on the terminals to make sure the resistor pack is indeed good. 

ATS Aircon regas offer:
https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/ats-euromaster-7
WELCOME discount code for a new account gets an additional 15% off Apparently 

It was at Farrington Gurney farm shop, just down from Midsomer Norton. There were a few drive it day landys there.

If you strip a Trabant of the Duroplast bits what you're left with looks remarkably like a miniature version of the base frame skeleton the Rover P6 is built around.  Front and rear panels are non structural steel, I'm guessing simply because the moulding would be excessively complex to make in Duroplast with the various cutouts and such.  
The inner structure is a (surprisingly rigid) framework including the sills, floorplans, roof frame, window surrounds, front and rear wheel tubs, door apertures, front bulkhead, and boot floor.  Everything else is then attached to that.
P6: 

Source: http://www.roverp6parts.com/history.html
Trabant: 

No idea where I originally found that one.  Here's a (crap) photograph of one stripped to the shell which original surfaced on Pinterest somewhere.

For such vastly different cars it's almost uncanny how similarly the very basics of the inner structure have been penned.  P6 is obviously vastly more substantial, but you get the idea of what I'm saying.

Given they do have a bit of a reputation in that regard I'm under no illusions of things staying all that clean, but I'd like to scrub at least the worst of it off just so I can see if any new leaks do appear.  The 'box just sweating a bit from seals and such that's deemed to be normal I don't have a problem with.  For all it looks a right state I don't think I've ever been aware of this car leaving a drip of anything where it's parked (aside from water dripping out the interior before I sorted the bulkhead seal anyway), so it obviously isn't losing much.
We did suffer a major technical failure today.

Okay, that might be slightly overselling a blown tail light bulb.  Needless to say this was a five minute fix.

Really do need to get some paint on that rear panel.
Also, aren't Nissan Qashqais huge?

This car is still very much making me smile every time I see it.

I feel your pain with the carb, I'm considering a service kit for mine.  I'm pretty sure my idle circuit isn't working, have it idling well, but reliant on the throttle cable adjustment (which is cheating!).  
I've never experienced bogging in the Trabbi, did once have hot start issues, which was crud in the float bowl.  A long cranking time followed by an explosive (read gunshot!) start up was quite fun... unless at a petrol station.

Will give that a try.  I definitely wouldn't be throwing the original one out anyway given I know a lot of people are very particular about originality on these cars, so it would always have been kept in a box in case someone wanted to use it for something later.  
 
Actually had a bit of a hiccup in the Trabant couple of days back.  Was about a mile from home, came to a stop at a junction and found it bogged down when I applied throttle.  Was able to coax things back into motion by adding choke, suggesting to me a fuelling issue.  I immediately headed for home (which thankfully was mostly downhill so little engine power was needed) keeping the revs kept as low as possible.  Knowing how quickly a lean condition can become catastrophic in an air cooled two stroke, this wasn't something I was taking chances with.  Car was parked up and I grabbed the Partner to continue the tasks I was heading out for.  I was working around other appointments at the time so didn't have time to immediately investigate.
Later on I checked the screen in the fuel outlet at the tank (pretty clean), and confirmed there was good fuel flow to the carb.  Next step was to pull the cover off the float bowl (which you can *just* do in situ), to confirm the needle and seat were working properly and to see if there was any crud in there.  
There was a little bit of sediment in the bottom of the bowl but nothing particularly major.  What I don't know (and this does make me kind of wish I'd pulled the carb) was whether there was possibly a bit of water in there as that could definitely have explained it prior to me cleaning it out.
With everything put back together normal service appears to have been resumed.  I do need to actually look up a proper diagram for this carb anyway as I'd really like to turn the idle speed up a touch, it  has always felt like it's a little on the slow side.  Especially if you've got the lights on.
Today I had another crack at changing the gearbox oil.  I jacked the car up a bit this time to give me better access to the drain plug, and was successful in getting it removed this time.
What came out both looked and smelled like absolutely ancient EP90.  Which given that the correct HLP68 fluid is a light golden colour isn't great.  Definitely well overdue a change either way.  A little bit of swarf on the drain plug magnet, but nothing I'd not expect and certainly no chunks.


Area around the filler was cleaned up to ensure no chunks of anything fell in during refilling.

I really do need to go to town on this thing with the degreaser and pressure washer one day as the entire power plant of this car is a greasy slime ball at the moment.  This is pretty common for these cars, but I'd like to get it all clean at least once so I've got half a chance to see where any new leaks are coming from in case they do need attention.
Getting to the gearbox filler required me to remove both the hot and cold air ducts for the heater to make access easy as it's otherwise a bit buried.

Have only been fora brief run out today, but it definitely feels like the gear change is cleaner, changing down into second in particular it feels like the sycro is having an easier time of things.  Is it any quieter?  Maybe?  Still sounds like a tumble drier full of marbles at idle, but I get the impression that's not exactly unexpected.

Hello together,
this is the state of work regarding my Invacar...HEV109H...it is not a long way to the goal now.

On Facebook I have also shared a Video with running engine...

Best regrads from Germany
Stefan

The caliper came today, it was dry outside and I had a few free hours in the afternoon and evening so I cracked on.
Horrible job tbh. I've done a few calipers but this one was very awkward. For a start, the only spanner size I don't have is an 18 and guess what the caliper carriers are held on by? A quick dash to Halfords netted an offset ring 18 and a combination 18 as well. Although almost everything bar the carrier is aluminium, all the bolts were incredibly tight and hard to access. I had to use a scissor jack under the spanner to get some leverage as my breaker bar would not get near the carrier bolts.
Got there eventually though:

You can see that the rear seal of the piston has been pissing out fluid.
Cheerio

New one on:

Comes with a new handbrake motor

Theres a bit of a procedure surrounding all of this. First, you need to put the car in 'jacking mode' so the air suspension stays level when one corner is raised. Next, you need to wind back the handbrake motors via the scanner. Before fitting the new caliper, you need to remove the handbrake motor to access the torx fitting which allows you to wind the piston in with the pads fitted until they just touch the disc in no more. Next, after bleeding the caliper, you need to reset the parking brake with the scanner,  before finally turning off jacking mode via the MMI menu.
The brakes on this car aren't very good and the pedal has never been that sharp. The car rewarded my toil by throwing up a brake pad warning. There was at least 6 or 7 mm left on them so they were reused but obviously that's not good enough😅 I think it needs new pads all round but fuck that for today. At least I can drive it again when I come back from my holiday.
 

I think I'll probably look at getting new seats sometime if any cheap ones come up. I don't have any doubt that disabling the passenger detection mat will still make all the airbags fire (my wife or me will be sitting there after all). But the passenger side is missing it's back board which annoys the heck out of me.
I actually really like the rental car spec fabric seats in convertibles as they wick away sweat rather than sitting on the surface. However I've never seen fabric seats on any Z4 before. Must be incredibly rare.

 
As the weather is so stonking nice today, I made an effort to put the car back together. So I popped the resistor pack in to test that the fan now works properly. Then put the case on. 
The crimp contacts I cleaned the insides of with contact cleaner and a set of carb jet cleaner wire. 
It all works fine but I'm not convinced the contacts will not fail again. However it does prove the resistor pack does work before permanently soldering it in. 

 
I hoovered the pollen filter area out as much as I could. I have a new filter coming but it's not arrived yet. So hoovered the old one out and stuffed it back in as a short term measure. I don't want leaves and other crap to jam that fan up. 

Gave the interior a good hoover out and wipe down with interior cleaner.
Then took it for a spin.

Don't be fooled by the photo making it look tidy. Definitely a 10 footer car and stuff like this is noticeable closer up.

 
Anyway gave it a quick blast then probed the discs for their temperature.
Rear left (new caliper)

Rear right

 
Fronts were both 62c.
 
Hmm. That rear left is still much hotter than I'd like with quite a temperature difference. Could either be it's braking better than the other side or the flex pipe is causing a flow restriction.
I did jack each side up and they still both spin freely and about the same.
I think I need to put some more miles on it first and let the pads bed in a bit before doing much more. I do suspect the pipe might be causing a bit of restriction too and compounding the issue it had. 
Right now though as the wheel still spins when in the air with not a lot of drag, I think I'll just put some more miles on before going further. 

I think I'll probably look at getting new seats sometime if any cheap ones come up. I don't have any doubt that disabling the passenger detection mat will still make all the airbags fire (my wife or me will be sitting there after all). But the passenger side is missing it's back board which annoys the heck out of me.
I actually really like the rental car spec fabric seats in convertibles as they wick away sweat rather than sitting on the surface. However I've never seen fabric seats on any Z4 before. Must be incredibly rare.

 
As the weather is so stonking nice today, I made an effort to put the car back together. So I popped the resistor pack in to test that the fan now works properly. Then put the case on. 
The crimp contacts I cleaned the insides of with contact cleaner and a set of carb jet cleaner wire. 
It all works fine but I'm not convinced the contacts will not fail again. However it does prove the resistor pack does work before permanently soldering it in. 

 
I hoovered the pollen filter area out as much as I could. I have a new filter coming but it's not arrived yet. So hoovered the old one out and stuffed it back in as a short term measure. I don't want leaves and other crap to jam that fan up. 

Gave the interior a good hoover out and wipe down with interior cleaner.
Then took it for a spin.

Don't be fooled by the photo making it look tidy. Definitely a 10 footer car and stuff like this is noticeable closer up.

 
Anyway gave it a quick blast then probed the discs for their temperature.
Rear left (new caliper)

Rear right

 
Fronts were both 62c.
 
Hmm. That rear left is still much hotter than I'd like with quite a temperature difference. Could either be it's braking better than the other side or the flex pipe is causing a flow restriction.
I did jack each side up and they still both spin freely and about the same.
I think I need to put some more miles on it first and let the pads bed in a bit before doing much more. I do suspect the pipe might be causing a bit of restriction too and compounding the issue it had. 
Right now though as the wheel still spins when in the air with not a lot of drag, I think I'll just put some more miles on before going further.