Project Collectioneering - Moogs Mootahs

[Bucketeer]

If you trust anything I've touched to get you home then you're more of an idiot than I am.

[hairnet]

bucket yer such a slut

did the big man get tea from you

 

[Bucketeer]

On 2/21/2020 at 9:38 PM, snagglepuss said:

 

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.

I'm not going to spoil the surprise but I can confirm that this afternoon none of the above happened. And that cars are rubbish.

[The Moog]

As eluded to by Bucketeer, a bright and sunny day full of hope dawned.

After leaving Ma Pusses house and wandering down to Bucketeer Palace, we did empty the Micra and fill up the mx5, with Mr B parking it up on the grass to make it easier.

All was good and all was joy, except when Bucketeer uttered the words "did your car make the metallic noise or mine?"

I dismissed it as the exhaust rubbing till Mr B found evidence. Like homemade sweater wearing member of Time Team, Bucketeer investigated the source.

After I had rubbished his hand drawn villa map based of geophis and the fact he had uncovered an ancient vikind burial mound, he proffered treasure.



Was it
A) a bronze aged earring from Paticus Butchericus

B ) an offering to the god Turkey Twizzler

C) part of a rusty coil spring from the drivers side of an Mx5

After being turned away from the British museum and The Bernard Mathew Heritage centre, he discovered it was C).

A quick drive up and down the road revealed funny noises from the front and interesting suspension characteristics.

Bugger.

Now the simple answer would be to take the Micra back, but in the meantime @Mr Fluffyballs (the knitted foreman) had arranged for AS premier delivery driver to be busy this week, with a crucial schedule to keep.


Instead thrust into my hands were the keys of wonder, to a black AX. According to lore (or maybe the man giving me the keys) - is the best car in the world ever - and it all works.


So mx5 unloaded into a more spacious Ax, before spending 4 hours getting back to the beloved bosom of Accrington .

The ungrateful Mx5 will be left for another day.

I am slightly converted with the AX. Due to M40 closures I had to head back across country, at 50 mph with softy compliant suspension it is definitely a B road weapon. On the motorway it holds it own and was mostly comfy.

Only downside is the brakes are vague to say the least. This feedback was shared with the owner, who mocked my need to brake.... And pointed to his Autotesting winners hoodie as proof.

Point conceeded.

Been an eventful weekend for many reasons, the current snagglepuss fleet of a Smart car and an Mx5 without fuel injectors fitted means that the AX will have be used to take other doggie to vets tomorrow morning.

[Broadsword]

That sounds like an eventful and fun weekend. I’m confused now as to the status of the fleet. You bought BAL back? Was the Micra sold/traded? How did you go from Micra to via broken MX-5 to AX?

[The Moog]

That sounds like an eventful and fun weekend. I’m confused now as to the status of the fleet. You bought BAL back? Was the Micra sold/traded? How did you go from Micra to via broken MX-5 to AX?

I don't know why

BAL was swapped for a Volvo with Bucketeer because I had bought the turbo mx5 from Fat Pirate

Volvo now has been sold to Northern Monkey

Northern Monkey bought a Saab 9-5 Aero off ohdearme which he didn't take to

I bought BAL back from Bucketeer to swap with Northern Monkeys Saab before Christmas

The micra was the roffle with from JCR.

That has now been sold to another shiter (who will reveal themselves in due course) so has been left with Mr Fluffyballs logistics to deliver

The AX belongs to Bucketeer and has lent it to me to get home and store at my house as he has too many cars due to having a broken BAL, a Micra and his big green van that he bought from Northern Monkey

My turbo mx5 is still on bits as I have been waiting for it to stop raining.

Plan is to get the Saab working and MOTd this week and it will effectively become the daily/ dog wagon. Then put mx5 back together.

[Broadsword]

Aaah, I see that all makes perfect sense and isn’t convoluted at all. Certainly in keeping with the spirit of this parish.  Will BAL be saved and go back on the road? I might keep an eye on a NA for the future. Gotta get me a car with popup headlights one day, seems reason enough to have one.

[The Moog]

I think Mr Monkeys current plan is to see which is the best one out of his two mx5s and then make sure it is in best nick - LSD, decent suspension, best hood, rollbar etc

What happens with the other one depends on how much is left - his other machine is a 1.6 auto so not massively desirable and has been slightly track stripped with rollbar fitted.

Likelihood is BAL will be the keeper as it has got brand new Rainsport 3s, LSD fitted, slightly polybushed, TR lane rollbar, new hood, 421 exhaust into decat pipe and 3 inch exhaust.

[Bucketeer]

10 hours ago, Broadsword said:

Aaah, I see that all makes perfect sense and isn’t convoluted at all.

I'm confused by it too, and I'm part of it.

 

I got a little video of the CUL8R BAL moment, but that's as far as he got before turning round and complaining of funny suspension noises and potential sharp broken spring to tyre interface worries. Wuss.

 

[Bucketeer]

This is the kerb the MX5 couldn't handle without snapping it's suspension.

It's hardly the bloody north face of the Eiger. Just further proof that this bastard car absolutely detests me.

[The Moog]

This is the kerb the MX5 couldn't handle without snapping it's suspension.

It's hardly the bloody north face of the Eiger. Just further proof that this bastard car absolutely detests me.

Tbf better to go before setting off than halfway home.

[hairnet]

Move ya handbag a bit Alex them tll be fine 

[mitsisigma01]

Good to see my old BAL still being a bitch, but she keeps on going.. sometimes ??

[mitsisigma01]

That doesn't sound right... I meant good to see her still running, even though she can be a bitch, sometimes. Hopefully you are still enjoying her ??

[stripped fred]

I was woken this morning by my wife shouting up the stairs to tell me there was a car key in the hallway. I was not fully awake and my tired brain took a while to work out out. Oh yes, I have a car being delivered!

Now safely stored in my council garage nearby. Thanks for the parts. Myself and my son, whose car it is (age 12), will be making a list of areas to fix over the coming week. I gave it a thorough one mile road test and I can confirm that the engine is willing, it rolls a lot compared with my other cars and I have been spoilef with power steering for far too long. It seems an eager old thing and I'm sure we will have some fun with it. I'm actually thinking of maybe running it myself for a bit, if my son agrees of course ?

[The Moog]

Glad it is going to a good home. I will definitely miss it - it has such a basic charm.

It also is pretty good at Autotesting for when you want to try that

[The Moog]

Some remote Bucketeer heckling for my arse in gear today and I finally out the mx5 back together.

When I last left it, I had just got a set of uprated fuel injectors as the man maths said that why pay £20 for a seal kit when you can get a fully refurbed set of bigger injectors for £45. It takes them from 320cc green tops to 450cc yellow tops. In theory pushing up the max power available (injector wise) from 210bhp to over 300.

It also had an air leak from inlet gasket. The first one was for a 1.8 due to being a knob and not reading the listing first.

New 1.6 gasket fitted


There was a little bit of hose that had crumbled that needed to be removed


Starting to get there


I then dropped one of the bolts under the car. Due to it sitting the brakes were a bit bindy

AX power employed


Bolt found and injectors wapped on (I think that is the technical term)

So head scratch as to where some of the hoses connected then with a jump pack it roared into life. I had left things loose as I expected fuel to spurt and turn into a fire ball. Strangely it didn't and everything seemed to be working well!

Stunk of fuel and the afr read 10:1 - which is because I havent reprogrammed the ECU yet. That is for tomorrow. As it stands I am very chuffed.

Shock absorbers arrived for the SMART as I am a bit fed up for the bouncing.

I currently have an AX from Bucketeer that needs a new windscreen and loan Laguna from Northern Monkey which will be swapped for a Saab estate in a bit.

Car mojo is definitely back.

[hairnet]

madness

 

[hairnet]

hang on - loan lagoona ???

mojo gone already??

 

[The Moog]

hang on - loan lagoona ???
mojo gone already??
 

It's so Mr Monkey can fix this on the aero



Another day another fiddling session.

Everything went back together ok but the car was idling at 3000 rpm. Some pondering and look back through photos showed I had miss placed a pipe.

I had left a blank pipe of the red circle as I had stuck it on the blue circle hence sucking in loads of air!

Rectified I got it started ok and it settled down. The hunting issue still persisted until the car warmed up, so took it round the block.

I had forgotten what an ace car it is to drive. Cleaned all the rust off the brakes and gave it a wee bit of boost.

Back home and at idle the car was fluctuating. Before it was incredibly lean with afr almost at 16. Now it was down to 13. Adjusting the dead time on the injectors helped that after looking it up online.

Now the idle still fluctuates but around Stoich. It is proper ruff idle as well.

Checking the settings, the TPS calibration shows zero at WOT and a higher setting at closed throttle. Tunerstudio didn't like this, so will need to check it tomorrow for resistance.

I have ordered a set of hoses for the car (always on my list to do) as this should eliminate any air leaks.

Beyond that it would be looking at the O2 sensor and doing a bit more reading around.

[The Moog]

Today a bag of goodies arrived - lovely and blue goodness. 

It is replacement coolant and vacuum hoses for the Mx5 

 

The eBay listing had a layout of where they go 

Which was quite useful. 

 

Before I started it already had some upgraded hoses so I wouldnt need all of them, but I was hoping it would replace some of the crispy ones and cure the leak 

It's quick and easy to whip the rad out to get a bit more access

 

Dismantled all the engine bits and bobs 

 

It all went back together ok, and with fingers crossed I started it up, only for it to still slightly have an issue. It is better but still there. 

Going to have a long hard stare at it tomorrow.  I think I might whip off the inlet manifold again and see if there are any pipes split or missing. 

I had a look at intercooler pipes but until the air goes past the IAT sensor just before the throttle body it isn't counted, so a leak there wouldn't matter. 

 

[The Moog]

Finished painting the decking so thoughts turned back to the little Mazda. 

Now I was pretty sure all the hoses were ok, so the next thing to look at was gaskets. The inlet manifold one has been changed as it was definitely leaking - this improved things but didn't fix it. The other gasket in the system is the throttle body to inlet - that was next up for review

 

Due to the wind and weak bonnet strut a new bonnet prop was sourced

 

One of the most useful things I have is adapters for my impact driver. Means undoing hoses clamps are a real breeze

It's deja vu removing hoses

Whizzed off the throttle body and I can see the gasket is not great

 

It has gone hard and stuck to the inlet. Throttle body facing is relatively clean

 

Scraping off the old gasket took ages. It was solidly stuck to the inlet. 

 

New gasket has been ordered for the princely sum of £5.  If this doesn't work I am going to strip it all off and start again.  

[320touring]

Just make one out of cereal box and fit it to see if it sorts it..

 

No need to wait:)

[The Moog]

22 hours ago, 320touring said:

Just make one out of cereal box and fit it to see if it sorts it..

 

No need to wait:)

This was a top to but I decided to use a new modern medium - Amazon packaging 

Light skin of grease the pushed on cardboard to get the outline

 

 

Quick whizz with the sharpy stabby thing

 

Not perfect but it will do for a proof of concept. 

And back together

 

Idle is miles better although still showing a bit lean. 

[The Moog]

Fast forward to this morning and as I started the car I noticed a puff of smoke from the turbo area

Closer squint revealed a sooty mark

 

Nothing for it but to whip off the turbo 

A bit fiddly but not too bad to do. Turbo off and first glance it looks ok

 

AHH that will be the badger.  Gases have been exiting out either side.  This would also explain why I thought the engine was cutting out.  It must have been hitting the AFR threshold due to being lean which then cuts the fuel. 

The engine isnt running lean, the wideband just thinks it is, hence massive fluctuating idle.

 

Put nuts back on for now so I don't lose them 

 

There has been a bit of a oil leak from the return from turbo 

Exhaust output is a bit black but nowt too bad

 

Marking

 

i could get a set of gaskets delivered from Taiwan but instead have found them in two different kits. 

 

Question - is this a crack or just a weld on top runner? 

 

 

And of course Mr F Pirate suggested i fit Inconel studs for the turbo ... Which seeing as it is off is perhaps something I should do now.. but is more £££ .... Hmm 

[The Moog]

The Snagglepuss fleet is now totally boosted*. 

Final piece of the puzzle dropped into place today thanks to Northern Monkey. 

It's the ex Oh Dear me car - 9-5 Aero estate auto.  Aside from the auto bit it is one of my dream cars.  The auto bit is useful as Missus Puss can drive it.  

Bumbling around normally is ok but select sport, push the fast pedal and off you pop. 

Totally different car to the mx5 and smart, but is a keeper. Lpg thoughts have crossed my mind as this will be a keeper. 

Bits Todo are

Sub frame bushes

Needs paint on arches after the welding

Needs rear tints to be more gangsta

Front Flexi is blowing slightly so obvious answe is bigger downpipe

Sid pixels come and go 

AC probably needs regas mate

Noobtune? 

Pair of front discs

Underneath needs wire brushing and Vatican

 

I am over the moon. Such a happy pussycat. 

One step closer to a working mx5 occured today with throttle body gasket 

 

Finest OEM from Malaysia

My improvised one is almost OEM 

 

Waiting for the turbo gaskets before I can stick it all back together. 

 

 

 

[mitsisigma01]

Is that Rac man following you because Saab?

[The Moog]

Nah he is a orange dressed man with taste and class....

 

 

[mitsisigma01]

He probably is, I'm just so gutted that I bridged a mighty fine 9000 on a j plate just before I found this mighty fine forum ??

[The Moog]

Lockdown fun*

 

* Or not

 

I ordered some td04 gaskets for the turbo, in my half arse state I just looked at scooby ones and ordered those.

 

Warm

 

No

 

The manifold to turbo one from a Saab 9000 fits

 

I consulted the Scottish oracles.... After answers that included Moah Cardboard, a fast van owner suggested some exhaust paste might make current gaskets work.

 

Clean it up first

 

Wee smidge of sticky stuff

 

Gasket on

 

At this point I realise I was avoiding all PPE. Call was put in to Safety Dog v.2

 

He was busy

 

Hmmm

 

The oil return had also been leaking so gasket swapped

This was very crunchy

 

New gasket

 

The air filter was missing it ls filter so a new one was stuffed in

 

All filtered up

 

New gasket on manifold

 

Slapped the turbo on

 

After this it went a little matrix. I plugged in Tunerstudio and started fiddling. I couldnt get the car to run right.

 

Idle was ok but beyond that it sucked. I tried autotune, that made the car run pig rich. I could see visible black smoke out the back.

 

Pulled plugs

 

Hmmm.

 

All cleaned up. I then did some reading and it needed the whole fuel table adjusting.

 

A few other things got it ticking over, will see how it goes tomorrow