Project Moogs Motahs - sinking the seat

[The Moog]

Wheels update. The lacquer said to rub the wheels down first with 1200 grit paper with plenty of water.

I did so but revealed white spots


I did it to three of them (including the one with runs) and then gave them a dusting of paint again, left them to dry. The fourth looked pretty good so I just decided apply lacquer to that wheel. Gave it two coats and left it to dry


Doesn't look too bad. Definitely not perfect and I think spraying them in summer would definitely make it easier.

Then set about fixing Micra thermostat. I tried last night but for foiled by massive sausage fingers and the fact that PO had used sealant rather than a gasket.

It's sort of tucked away


The clips were proper rusty and one broke.


Took off top coolant hose and some other little clips


Changed the original hose clips for more modern ones


The reason the PO had used sealant was that none of the supplied gaskets fitted. So out with the goo and all water tight again.


Nice and dry, plus car gets up to temp really quickly. It could do with a flush through and new antifreeze putting in.

[The Moog]

So the wheels started like this


And ended like this


Not bad overall. My rainsport 5 were delivered so have been dropped off to get the tyres fitted.

The Micra wasnt left out. The battery was insecure so a quick garage rummage found a universal clamp, which of course didn't fit due to small battery size.

Test fitted the hooks
it sort of works but the clamp is a bit manky

Whipped off



Little sand then covered in chassis paint


Come up ok


All bolted back together... And looks secure

[The Moog]

What do you do on Christmas day if you don't worship the big fella upstairs and aren't in a warm country diving.

Correct, you service the Micra.

First up a coolant change. These flipping wire clips are rusted solid


Had to break them to get them off.

Pulled the bottom hose off and let the coolant* out


Yum ... Rusty ISH. There was crap inside the thermostat housing - going to run it on plain water and dishwasher tablet for a bit to clean it up


Whilst I was under there I had a good look at cross member. Ohhh lightweight


Undertray of broken dreams


Next up oil change


Lovely straight forward job. Filter ways to get at.

Fixed the loose battery terminal


Then moved on to intermittent wipers. These don't work along with washer pump.

The washer pump is inside the wheel arch and CBF to take wheels off so had a poke at the relay.

Little bit corroded inside but not too shabby

Popped it out to look for obvious dry solder or similar but couldn't see anything


Will leave it for another day.

Nothing exciting but it is a useful way for me to record when I have done work.

Anyone know what antifreeze a K11 takes?
Is it OAT?

[Broadsword]

That coolant* looks grim. So the crossmember is still in one piece, but the bit the crossmember bolts to is vanishing? Worth the effort, cool car, cool car.

[The Moog]

It's the front cross member that goes on these ( the bit it bolts to). Already got one ready to fit.

It may make a special AS appearance later on today....

[bezzabsa]

what sort of stereo is that you fitted???

 

[Andyrew]

That corroless paint? 

What's your opinion on it? 

[Spurious]

2 hours ago, snagglepuss said:

Anyone know what antifreeze a K11 takes?
Is it OAT?

Probably, I'd imagine it's like some jap engines that like a silicate free, phosphated coolant. OAT is as close as you can manage to get without buying Nissan coolant off eBay. 

 

 

 

[The Moog]

what sort of stereo is that you fitted???
 

Cheapy eBay Bluetooth one. The front flips down to hold phone. Sound quality isn't bad but best thing is that you can choose the stereo colour as otherwise they can blind you.

That corroless paint? 
What's your opinion on it? 

Seems to be pretty good. Did suspension arms for my mx5 in it and feels quite a tough coating. Pretty easy to apply.

Probably, I'd imagine it's like some jap engines that like a silicate free, phosphated coolant. OAT is as close as you can manage to get without buying Nissan coolant off eBay. 
 
 
 

Cool cheers. Will have a look online.

[hairnet]

so are the wheels ready to go on the smart now

 

[clayts450]

What was the fix for the loose battery terminal, m8 ? I haven't got my reading glasses with me, the photo is just a fuzzy blur. The 214 has this affliction.

[The Moog]

so are the wheels ready to go on the smart now
 

The wheels are bigger than the SMART

What was the fix for the loose battery terminal, m8 ? I haven't got my reading glasses with me, the photo is just a fuzzy blur. The 214 has this affliction.

A small nail is put next to the terminal and then tightened

Zoomed in for your weak eyes

[Zelandeth]

Was always OAT we put in these back when we had them through the garage.

Good little motors, never had one give the slightest bit of trouble.  Those hose clips were fine on ours because we used to give them a blast of WD40 (GT85 actually) every year.  We usually expected to look after most of our cars for the long term so we're happy to take an extra few seconds for things like that.

[The Moog]

Cheers Zel.

Those clamps I think are a great idea but just rusted to buggery - probably sums the car up. But will be pampered now

[Zelandeth]

Look on the plus side...at least they're not the bloody nonsense that Skoda used on the Estelle and Lada used on the Riva.

Hateful bloody things...

Apparently Citroen used them on occasion too.

[The Moog]

I have been avoiding doing the inlet gasket as I thought it would be a fiddly job. I sort of had run out of excuses so got on with it today

Starting



The spring clips on the hoses were a pig, they basically were two parts. I will replace them all


More bolts undone and throttle body off


Some of the coolant hoses are a bit past it, so will swap them all out I think

TPS has a black cover that seems to loosely be on it. Will have to find a way to make it a bit more secure


Throttle body off




Then pulled the inlet off


The old gasket is a paper one and looks past its best

The OEM replacement is a more rubberised version


I have left it like this for now as I have to order some bits for the car


The injector seals aren't the greatest so may replace them


The slight dilemma is that new seals will be about £30. Or alternatively I can get uprated Rx8 refurbed injectors (with new seals) for £80.

I helpfully asked some knowledgeable shiters and I will be ordering new injectors on payday I think!

[Broadsword]

I’m surprised the injectors aren’t leaking around those perished seals!

[The Moog]

Flushed the Micras cooling system again today. The expansion bottle is tucked away and was quite manky.

Out with battery and off with the bottle


Rinsed the bottle out with clean water and this was at the bottom



That can't have been good. Another flush through and lobbed in some coolant for now. Will clean it out again in a week or so ago.



A certain dog whisperer had encouraged me to remove the cold air intake as it would definitely* make it louder and therefore faster.

Makes no difference!

The intermittent wipers started working for a bit... .and how have stopped again (hmmm maybe that is what they are supposed to be doing).

I think relay is a bit dodgy. I did wonder if I could swap it out for a normal 99 relay but they have 6 pins rather than the normal four.

[The Moog]

A totally unexciting update really.


Micra drivers side mirror was useless. You couldnt adjust it upwards enough to actually see out of it. So another bought on eBay and fitted. Not a colour match but it miles better


Plugs changed... I think they were due


Centre caps for wheels came


Most excitingly I got a new uprated set of injectors for the mx5. Currently it has supra 320cc, these are RX8 420cc versions which should mean that once I get it tuned properly it can be tweaked beyond 200bhp.


Just waiting on coolant hose to then refit the inlet manifold and get the turbo started. Will need to update megasquirt as well with new injector size.

[hairnet]

can have go in smart pls?

 

[The Moog]

can have go in smart pls?
 

Absolutely. Might even have cake available ...

[hairnet]

1 minute ago, snagglepuss said:

Absolutely. Might even have cake available ...
 

not had go in one for at least 15 years

id provide cake (obvs)

[The Moog]

Two weeks later and inlet plus injectors are sitting in the garage.

Got a large dose of CBA plus been pissing it down.

I need to just get it refitted and then make boosty noises.

[NorthernMonkey]

4 minutes ago, snagglepuss said:

Two weeks later and inlet plus injectors are sitting in the garage.

Got a large dose of CBA plus been pissing it down.

I need to just get it refitted and then make boosty noises.
 

No rain excuses...the wagon is mobile again so we can always bring it over here and you can fettle undercover!

[The Moog]

Smoll steps today - not on mx5 either

 

 

Micra has been lacking some squirty action which up until now hasn't been a massive issue. Now there is salting on road the screen is filthier than a teenagers mind with nothing to wash away the grime.

 

I bought a new jack to fix my patio door with so put it into action on the little white box

 

Benefits are that it has a stable big base and because you arent winding it up, it feels a lot more stable.

 

Wheel nuts are 3 X 17 and 1 X 19 - that's an interesting choice. Into the wheel well

 

Take out the plastic arch liner

 

There is half a field behind them, so no wonder they rot away.

 

A less spotted washer bottle

 

The plug was a right bastard to get off so pulled the whole pump out

 

The terminals were released and tested. they seemed to be fine and when I stuck a new good pump on it spun nicely.

 

My only other pump had holes in wrong places so I have had to order one from eBay.

 

 

On the mx5 I fiddled with the injectors

 

The old ones look massive compared to new ones

 

Googling the part numbers they are definitely uprated versions. These are 420cc from RX8 ather than 320cc from a supra.

 

Man maths means that they were only double the cost of the seal set on the old ones and if I can get any money back from them that is a bonus.

 

[mitsisigma01]

Thanks for reminding me... I bought a Micra at the end of November.... Best do something with it..... one day ?

[The Moog]

Sun was out and rain seems to have stayed away, so after rummaging down the side of my sofa I found some car mojo.

 

The mx5 is awaiting an it gasket fitting. I had stripped it down but need to fit it and lob it back together. The old gasket was a card one which seemed to have been glued to the metal with old Weetabix

 

About an hour with a razor blade got it to this state

 

Out comes the gasket I ordered before Christmas.

 

 

Bugger it isn't the right one. Will have to see if I can sort that out. Edit: just checked and ordered one for a 1.8 rather than 1.6

 

Turned my attention to the Volvo. It has got this really annoying habit of the wing mirrors slowly folding in when driving on the motorway.

 

Northern Monkey grabbed me some of his V70 before it got squished l. Door stripped

 

Mirrors off.

 

The colours of the trim are different.

 

I had a look and the passenger side was floppy due to wearing around this spring.

 

I thought I would swap trim over on the passenger one ( the drivers side is an aftermarket and to be honest had thought about changing the colour till after I had it back together.)

 

Pull the glass off

 

Then it is a case of unclipping the rear portion

 

This is the loose spring

 

Put it back together and the new one was still a bit loose. I have fixed* it by using some clear plastic in between the housing

 

Stiffer than a teenagers duvet now.

 

Jobs left on the volvo is to change rear abs sensors, adjust rear handbrake, buy and fit disc + pads for the front then stick it up for sale.

 

 

 

 

 

[The Moog]

Volvo fiddling today.

First I had to navigate the lake that had appeared out the front of my garden


I trundled over to Northern Monkey Motors where I could have a fiddle on a lift.... A wee bit of flooding had happened there


On to the ramps ( a new four poster)


Start by stripping out of the rear

I love Volvo's. No rounded bolts or trim clips that had broken.

The abs sensors feed up into the body by the top of the petrol tank


The job is to fit these


Up in the air and the old sensors out, required a bit of NM percussive persuasive powers


This then got harder requiring petrol tank to be dropped to get access to the sensor harness clips on the top of the tank itself.

After much NM fettling we got them fitted.
New ones fitted


Next up was adjust rear handbrake on drivers side


I took the disc off to check the shoes and they looked alright. Was a bit of rubbing by a quick whizz with grinding wheel by NM got them running true


All buttoned up and handbrake working ont hat side again.

Oil change time


Finally a drop link to be changed



Finally wheels back on ..

Only then did I take the car for a spin to find out that abs light hadn't gone away.

NM whipped out his diagnostic to check and it was still flagging up rear left sensor.

Next up was his multimeter which showed good continuity for both sensors. This means the issue was elsewhere. After a quick poke, he cleaned out the ABS module with some contact cleaner whoch cured all the maladies.

Reset of service light means we now have no orange lights!

[The Moog]

So this weekend is going to be a weekend of change.

 

Currently my house driveway feels empty ... Only the 3 cars. Makes me roffle itchy even though it is a conscious choice.

 

Only sensible thing is to swap a working car I adore for a very broken one that may not make it home.

 

Plan this weekend

 

Take one race car (track proven)

 

Turn it into mini mpv and drop one dog off at her new home

 

 

When I have finished crying then I shall proceed south in a easterly direction to another car which is currently incontinent, no magical dancing pixies, will make your ears bleed and is due to be fitted with a dancing pixies maker from another red car

 

 

Then theoretically I will

 

A) drive the noisy car home to a pre-booked MOT

 

B ) like A but with many water stops

 

C) Like A and B but end journey on the big yellow truck

 

D) other - well come home in the micra.

 

Then if A B or C has occurred then the red noisy car will be swapped for a black french fancy for a few days. The white Micra will be trusted to @Mr Fluffyballs Logistics ( apparently the service has gone downhill with less amusing updates) to delivered to an other shiter.

 

Black french fancy will be then swapped for a Swedish moose (once tested) that has been winking at me today wearing these wheels

 

If D happens then plan F will have to kick in which is

 

Simples right...

 

Or is it a case of a famous quote from Mr Fluffyballs Logistics employee of the month - You're definitely too old for that shit!

 

Keep glued to your screens....

Or not.....

Well the masked singer has finished...

But is the love island final still on

 

Remind me again why we don't do a lease option?

 

At least I am not a mad bastard gone to swap an Alfa for a Vel satis in a service station, in storm Doreen, and drive home in a car with clutch issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Moog]

Day one done

Doggy dropped off with new home


Many years were shed but she will be happier there


Jumped in Micra and down to Baldock services for a quick catch up with a friend before heading south.

There is a car here I am interested in

Time to see if we can coax it back into life


It had no electricity. This was traced to the battery disconnect being a bit corroded.

Next up was the lack of electricity making. @Bucketeer was allowed five minutes off from delivering cars by Mr Fluffyballs to have a fettle.

Old alternator was removed with minor swearing


Bearing was proper grumbly.

All back together



Turn the key

Lovely old job. So tomorrow is swapping with Micra then chuff back to Accy.