Stanky's Car Fixing Thread - MOT Success 31/05

[Stanky]

Having had a small bit of time over the Christmas period I've been looking at a few jobs on the cars. Today I pumped up the tyres on all of them as they were all a bit low - presumably due to cold weather - and priced up new front calipers for the daihatsu which I'll get ordered in January.

I also finally got round to cleaning the mess of oil down the leading edge of the cylinder head on the mercedes. I'd started to notice hot oily smells through the cabin vents at idle once it had all warmed up and I think this is where it's originating.

The car has had the wiring adapter fitted so oil isn't wicking up the harness, but I think the sealant round the cam magnet (circular thing on the right) is failing and allowing hot oil to leak out.

Does anyone know if I'm likely to get away with removing, cleaning, resealing and refitting the existing magnet, or if I need a new magnet? The magnets don't have an o-ring seal, I'd need to use blue hylomar I think?

Any of the mercedes lickers on here know? It's an M111 2.0 NASP engine for reference.

Closeup of the cleaned area

[mercedade]

@RichardK seemed to know a fair amount about this

[Schaefft]

On 31/12/2023 at 14:13, Stanky said:

Having had a small bit of time over the Christmas period I've been looking at a few jobs on the cars. Today I pumped up the tyres on all of them as they were all a bit low - presumably due to cold weather - and priced up new front calipers for the daihatsu which I'll get ordered in January.

I also finally got round to cleaning the mess of oil down the leading edge of the cylinder head on the mercedes. I'd started to notice hot oily smells through the cabin vents at idle once it had all warmed up and I think this is where it's originating.

The car has had the wiring adapter fitted so oil isn't wicking up the harness, but I think the sealant round the cam magnet (circular thing on the right) is failing and allowing hot oil to leak out.

Does anyone know if I'm likely to get away with removing, cleaning, resealing and refitting the existing magnet, or if I need a new magnet? The magnets don't have an o-ring seal, I'd need to use blue hylomar I think?

Any of the mercedes lickers on here know? It's an M111 2.0 NASP engine for reference.

Closeup of the cleaned area

I've done both on my 500SEL with the recommended factory sealant and it seems to have worked, just make sure the mating surfaces are perfectly clean before. I haven't done enough miles to have a final verdict though, they can leak through the assembly itself.

[Stanky]

6 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

I've done both on my 500SEL with the recommended factory sealant and it seems to have worked, just make sure the mating surfaces are perfectly clean before. I haven't done enough miles to have a final verdict though, they can leak through the assembly itself.

Replaced them and sealed, or just removed, cleaned the existing one up and resealed? 

[Schaefft]

Just now, Stanky said:

Replaced them and sealed, or just removed, cleaned the existing one up and resealed? 

Old cam magnets, clean and fresh sealant specified for the job. Ive posted the details in my thread maybe 2 years ago.

[wesacosa]

do they not have O rings on yours? The M271 does.  Check where its leaking from, apparently they do leak from the joint but they can also leak where the two pressings of the cam magnet housing joins together. If they are same as M271 you can get Pierburg one for less than £30 at Autodoc 

[Stanky]

Thanks both. The m271 parts look identical, and come with o-rings, but have a different part number. The ones for the m111 are also more expensive, at ~£50. 

I might get a tube of blue hylomar and try just a clean and re-seal first, then if it still leaks I'll replace the part. Tbh it doesn't leak much, and my cleaning efforts with aerosol brake cleaner and a toothbrush have removed 5 years of muck from the front of the cylinder head easily

[wesacosa]

37 minutes ago, Stanky said:

Thanks both. The m271 parts look identical, and come with o-rings, but have a different part number. The ones for the m111 are also more expensive, at ~£50. 

I might get a tube of blue hylomar and try just a clean and re-seal first, then if it still leaks I'll replace the part. Tbh it doesn't leak much, and my cleaning efforts with aerosol brake cleaner and a toothbrush have removed 5 years of muck from the front of the cylinder head easily

if its not wicking up the harnesses and its only a minor leak I guess it's not critical to replace the part 

[RichardK]

19 hours ago, mercedade said:

@RichardK seemed to know a fair amount about this

If you've got oil in the plug/wiring even with the extra loom, it's only a matter of time before the solenoid fails - but if it's running properly and not throwing up codes then clean and reseal should be fine! Gotta make sure that seal is good, there's a shallow groove in the mating surface for the bead to squish into.

[Stanky]

3 hours ago, RichardK said:

If you've got oil in the plug/wiring even with the extra loom, it's only a matter of time before the solenoid fails - but if it's running properly and not throwing up codes then clean and reseal should be fine! Gotta make sure that seal is good, there's a shallow groove in the mating surface for the bead to squish into.

Thanks, yes running fine, no codes - I'll just get some Hylomar then and clean & reseal and see how I get on. 

Thanks!

[Stanky]

With the MoT on the mercedes scheduled for the end of the month, a fly landed in the ointment last weekend.

I opened up the boot to hoover it out following a tip run and was greeted with the sound of something metallic falling off inside the bootlid. Nothing fell out, but something that was previously attached now wasn't. I finished hoovering and shut the boot as you do, then later on I needed something out the back so went to open it and was rewarded with an inoperative boot handle. You can press it, it moves, but doesn't engage the release. Not ideal.

After much head scratching, I found that putting the key in the lock, turning it clockwise and shaking/lifting the boot handle then it would release. Seizing the moment I had the foresight to take the inner boot trim off while the boot was open so that I could get at the lock gubbinz. It turned out the thing that had fallen off was a metal finger that presses on the boot release microswitch. with this snapped off, pressing the release handle made the whole mechanism move, but not actuate the microswitch so it wouldn't release.

pressing the microswitch from inside the boot with my grubby finger made it release fine, but the metal part is 100% broken and not repairable.

I took the rear numberplate off, took the surround thing off too and then unbolted the boot release handle so I could have a look for a part number. No such luck, which is annoying because there were several part revisions over the life of the W203, and I think the estate is different to the saloon, so its quite a narrow range I'm looking for.

On the plus side, I was able to adjust the mechanism so now it smoothly undoes on the handle with the key inserted and twisted left. Its not ideal, but it works for now, and should stay working for the MOT which is the important bit!

I'll keep looking for a replacement part - its only held in with 2x torx bolts and a bowden cable - for now, but I think the poor old girl might be up for sale soon, and a new Stanky-mobile procured. If anyone wants a 2001 W203 estate with FSH, a years MOT and a short list of foibles then step this way.

[dozeydustman]

30 minutes ago, Stanky said:

If anyone wants a 2001 W203 estate with FSH, a years MOT and a short list of foibles then step this way.

My brother is after something family and ULEZ friendly. What sort of moolah are you thinking?

[Stanky]

2 hours ago, dozeydustman said:

My brother is after something family and ULEZ friendly. What sort of moolah are you thinking?

PM inbound

[Stanky]

MOT day today for the Mercedes, so Forks & Preyers appreciated! I've checked over everything I could and it seems OK, I've left apologetic instructions about how to access the boot so now its in the lap of the MOT gods.

*oils f5 key in anticipation*

[Stanky]

After literally DoS'ing the MOT site to the point my IP got blocked

Its come back as

So a new lower suspension arm by the looks of it, pleasingly, the front wheel bearings have self-healed from last year, as has the play in the inner steering rack joints. I'll have the garage replace the arm I think. Hey-ho.

[Stanky]

EDIT - Job looks like a piece of piss, and the garage can't do it 'til next week anyway, so I'll have a crack at it myself I think. 

[dozeydustman]

5 hours ago, Stanky said:

EDIT - Job looks like a piece of piss, and the garage can't do it 'til next week anyway, so I'll have a crack at it myself I think. 

If you need to borrow a balljoint splitter I’m only up road.

[Stanky]

8 minutes ago, dozeydustman said:

If you need to borrow a balljoint splitter I’m only up road.

Thank you! I've ordered a pickle-fork one since it was only a tenner and its a useful thing to have. When I inevitably b0rk it I'll be in touch! Parts are all ordered for collection tomorrow so I'm hopeful I'll be in possession of a new MOT next week sometime.

[Stanky]

Suspension arm sorted. I picked up the part this morning from GSF who were half the price of the other factors for a branded arm.

Picked up the pickle fork too on the way home, and a 21mm spanner.

Whole job went fine, the only slight disruption to proceedings was when the ball joint taper started spinning in the hub instead of the nut undoing, but jamming it with my trolley jack and the pickle fork sorted that out and it all undid fine.

New part went on fine and a test drive seems to show it working as intended. 

I'll get the retest booked in next week and it should be an easy pass. Saved probably £100 doing it myself too.

[Stanky]

The garage were able to fit me in for a retest at 4pm today so now in possession of a ticket to Feb 2025, I asked what the sitrep with the rear subframe was and the tested said it was just surface rust (on a 23 year old W203, quelle surprise!) and nothing to worry about, so I'll file that under things to do when I get a round to it.

I've been out to look at a Lexus IS250 which was a lovely car to drive, with all the toys and everything worked, it sold late that day to someone else but gives me a good yardstick to measure against. What it did show me though was that I need to save up a bit more money to get a really nice car, and that in the meantime I just need to sort a few jobs on the C-class. I'll see about getting a new boot handle mechanism from a scrapper and replace the coolant which is due on age. I'll also get some blue hylomar so I can re-seal the cam magnet thingy and it'll be all good.

The Daihatsu has a binding caliper so I've arranged for Bigg Red to refurb the spare set I have, they got sent off on Friday  so they should be with them tomorrow. It should be a fairly bread & butter job for them so fingers crossed they'll be back with me by early next week. I also got a set of Black Diamond pads for the new calipers because the current ones don't really inspire much confidence. It stops ok, but there is quite a bit of pedal travel before anything happens. The Rally 2 and 4 originally were fitted with Ferodo DS2500 pads which are supposed to be really good, but officially they're not certified for road use and are £160 (!) a set. The BD ones are certified for road use and were £15 a set so they won. They might be a bit dusty. Dunno.

 

[Stanky]

The Daihatsu has been confined to the garage for about 6 weeks due to a binding nearside caliper on the front, its just about pushable when stone cold, but after a mile or two of driving and its pretty bad. Since its road salt season I've not been particularly motivated to get it sorted since I'd not be driving it much anyway, but I finally extracted the digit and sent off my 'spare' set of calipers to Bigg Red last weekend for a refurb. I got this set as a bit of a bonus, having asked a guy breaking an M100 sirion for a pair of caliper carriers, and he posted me out both carriers and the calipers for £20. The downside is that they looked like they'd been stored in the sea since shortly after manufacture. I thought I had a 'before' picture but I can't find it so imagine a rusty cannonball and you're not far off.

I rang BR to explain they were a bit weathered and the guy at the end of the phone laughed and said most of them arrive like that and that they can sort the majority out, but that if they couldn't then they'd either dispose of them or post them back, and all I needed to do was pay a deposit of ten quid for inspection at this point. I duly paid my tenner and posted them off, and about 4 days later I got an email saying they were all sorted, good as new and could I please pay £160 and they'd post them back next day. As promised, they arrived here less than 24h later, looking well peng.

derusted, painted, new pistons, seals, bleed nipples - basically good as new. I'd also posted them the carriers, bolts and a few other bits, all of which came back good as new, along with new slider boots and copper washers. Very impressed. While they were away, I also got some new pads for the car too. The Rally 2 and Rally 4 originally came with Ferodo D2500 pads which are supposed to be really good and a big upgrade over the regular pads, however they are £160 a set (!) and also not actually certified for road use. This isn't a problem per se, but my pockets weren't deep enough for them and I could get some equally well-reviewed, and crucially road use certified 'predator' pads by Black Diamond for £25 delivered so I got them instead. They pitched up the next day.

So Saturday rolled around and I had some time to roll around under the car. I got it up onto the lift and weighted the boot down with ballast to get the nose to rise up, then whipped the front wheels off. I've been in here quite a bit, so nothing is too bad

A couple of 14mm bolts undid the sliders, which looked a bit grim, despite having only been regreased about 6 months ago. I think the bores of the current carriers are a bit scuddy, anyway, won't be a problem soon

They wiped clean OK and were re-greased with silicone No 2 (HUR HUR HUR) grease and put on one side. I lifted the caliper up on top of the disc and undid the carrier. The 2x 17mm bolts were done up mega tight, I don't recall doing them up that tight but it must have been me. Maybe I'm getting weaker? 

I took the disc off too since it gives more room to play around with everything, leaving a bare hub

I then undid the banjo bolt on the back of the caliper to free it from the car, and poked a foam ear plug into the void to stop too much brake fluid dripping out while I fiddled around with things. With the caliper free of the car, the cause of the seizure became apparent

yeah, thats not going to help is it? I set the caliper and carrier to one side after removing the old pads and the anti-squeal shim. I think I'll get these sent off for refurb too in due course so I have a spare set that are good to go if needed. The ones I took off the car are in loads better condition than the ones which were refurbed, so should be eminently refurb-able.

Next up was assembly of the new stuff on the workbench. Refurbished caliper and carrier ready to go

I put one of the new pads into the caliper and swapped the shims from the old carrier onto the new one so I could fit the pad to the carrier side, and fitted the anti-squeal shim to the back of the carrier-side pad. I used a bit of copper grease to keep it all in place for good measure.

Then it was a case of reassembly. Carrier on, then disc on, then retrieve pad and shims which fell off and refit them.

Then remove the ear plug, fit the refurbed banjo bolt with new copper washers and locate the little peg in the back of the caliper, slide the caliper onto the disc and then bolt the sliders in. Easy peasy. With it all connected up, I had my eldest daughter come and help with bleeding the brakes, which went fine. I bled through quite a bit of the old fluid to make sure it was relatively clean. She's pretty good at the 'pedal up - pedal down' carry on now which is a useful life lesson. She knows either how to bleed brakes herself, or has learned not to follow in her father's footsteps and make better life choices so you don't have to roll around on the floor of a garage on a saturday in February fixing your own shit cars. Anyway, I then repeated the procedure on the other side and got her back out to do the pedals bit of the bleeding and all was sorted.

Pleased with myself, I cleared an escape route from the garage and took the car for a drive to see how it behaved.

Then drove back home very carefully, jacked it up again on both sides and did the banjo bolts up PROPERLY this time, cleaned the brake fluid off the wheels, arches and front door, topped up the reservoir again, swore a bit, then took it for another run.

I'm pleased to say the brakes are a lot better now, no binding and they engage and release fine. The pedal still has quite a bit of travel but is now firm and the car pulls up smartly. I think I need to re-bleed the brakes a bit now its all done up fluid-tight (ahem) to see if that improves things some more.

Overall, pretty good work though. I think I do need to use it some more though, and I need to take it on the motorway to see if this has fixed the 70mph wheel wobble I had before. If its not this, then I will just have to put it down to the poly bushes being stiffer than the rubber ones and transmitting more road feel through to the rack, but I hope it might be sorted now.

 

 

 

[Stanky]

Car change time!

I've been toying with the idea of replacing the Mercedes for a while, helped* along by work pointing out that its not ideal for client visits and my wife who isn't overly keen on the lacquer peel. My usual reply that either party was welcome to buy me a new car has failed to yield results so I've finally taken matters into my own hands.

I narrowed the list down to an executive saloon or estate newer than 2005 and went out visiting. There have been some good cars, some average cars and quite a bit of sewage but I finally found something just right for me on Saturday. I left a cash deposit and I'm going back tomorrow to collect. I've switched the insurance over from midday and will tax it when I'm there then drive back. Its only down the road in Chichester so hardly a collection thread epic, but should do me a good few years.

For now, I shall leave you with a review snippet, that declared it 'competent, but a bit soulless' - so a lot like me then!

[hairnet]

camry

or accord estate

[Stanky]

On 04/03/2024 at 20:06, hairnet said:

camry

or accord estate

both close guesses! I have decided to treat myself to a 'nice' car. I've never owned a car with more than 4 cylinders, and wanted something thats a bit special to look at and to drive. I wanted something that was reliable too. So behold

A 2010 Lexus IS250 SE-L. I test drove about half a dozen, and a GS300 for good measure but this one was the 'right' one. Bought from an old guy in Chichester, its got FSH, decent alloys, loads of toys (all working) and is lovely to drive. Its a 2.5L NASP v6 with a 6-speed automatic gearbox. I know its cliched but it feels incredibly well built and understressed. The ergonomics are spot on, everything is exactly where I'd expect it to be. I'm over the moon with it.

The only things on the 'to do' list are to get a set of 4 normal wheel nuts to replace the locking ones because they're just a liability at this point, and to get 4 new tyres. The current ones are all OK age and tread wise, but are a mismatched set of 'premium economy' brands - I'd like to make it perfect by fitting a new set of 4 matching midranges.

Shall I leave my AS memebership card on the side as I leave, or put it in the shredder when I get home?

[SiC]

2 minutes ago, Stanky said:

Shall I leave my AS memebership card on the side as I leave, or put it in the shredder when I get home?

Feels weird on here but the average age of scrapped car in the UK is 16years old. So while it feels modern and new to us, to most of the UK car market, it's at an age where it's nearly old enough for scrapping and hence a banger!

4 minutes ago, Stanky said:

The only things on the 'to do' list are to get a set of 4 normal wheel nuts to replace the locking ones because they're just a liability at this point

I honestly don't know what I do differently but I've never had problems with locking wheel nuts on older cars. Even like my Merc where they're 20+ years old and tyres not removed for a decade, they came off no problem. Many on here do seem to have problems and I don't understand how they go wrong?

The only ones I had problems with was on my 2year old Civic where a tyre garage smashed the locking wheel nut with an air impact!

[SiC]

Definitely a good buy too. Looks decent and about the right age where it's likely still been looked after for most of its life.

[Schaefft]

It's hard to go wrong with a Lexus as long as you avoid a hybrid with a tired battery. If fuel wasn't so expensive in the UK you'd see them just as frequently as in the states, they are allround excellent cars and absolute bargains now considering the longevity and creature comforts you get. Just avoid the crazy tax bracket.

[Stanky]

2 minutes ago, SiC said:

I honestly don't know what I do differently but I've never had problems with locking wheel nuts on older cars. Even like my Merc where they're 20+ years old and tyres not removed for a decade, they came off no problem. Many on here do seem to have problems and I don't understand how they go wrong?

My worry about them is trusting people to use them as intended, and no either undo them - or worse do them up - using air tools. I'd rather pay the £7 for 4 normal hex-head nuts to eliminate that as a possible cause of b0rkery. Alos, it means one less thing to think about if the car is in for work at a garage. "Umm, where is the locking wheelnut key, sir?" is a conversation I've had twice now, and can feel the pent up rage of the mechanic on the other end of the phoneline!

[Stanky]

1 minute ago, Schaefft said:

It's hard to go wrong with a Lexus as long as you avoid a hybrid with a tired battery. If fuel wasn't so expensive in the UK you'd see them just as frequently as in the states, they are allround excellent cars and absolute bargains now considering the longevity and creature comforts you get. Just avoid the crazy tax bracket.

Yes, this is the same tax as my Mercedes C180 was at £395 for the year. The manual version is the full-fat "I'm funding the NHS and Defence Budget singlehandedly" £675 rate, as was the GS300 I looked at.

[Schaefft]

9 minutes ago, Stanky said:

Yes, this is the same tax as my Mercedes C180 was at £395 for the year. The manual version is the full-fat "I'm funding the NHS and Defence Budget singlehandedly" £675 rate, as was the GS300 I looked at.

Yeah, I was wondering if there was a 2nd gen IS that wouldn't be in that 675 quid bracket. With the GS you can at least avoid it by getting a pre-April 2006 car or the 450h.