Schaefft's Bargain Barge Extravaganza - Italian Money Furnace

[Schaefft]

Over 500 miles later and we successfully made it home. Aside from a pretty annoying vibration at lower speeds (probably because of the partially deflated rear air suspension, see below) the journey was trouble free! I dropped my better half off at Schiphol around 1:30pm and got to my parents around 9:30, so around 8h in total. Before people got nuts and lowered the speed limit on Dutch motorways to 62mph during the day I could make it home in 6.5h in decent weather and normal traffic.

Unfortunately it's been pouring down pretty much the entire way home, the new bridgestones certainly helped at high speeds. As mentioned, there is a vibration going on at speeds below 70mph. I originally bought the car with a faulty ride height sensor which I didnt have a chance to investigate yet. That meant that the suspension was sitting much lower than intended however, at least on one side. The less than ideal driveshaft/axle angle probably played a roll there, something I'll definitely have a look at on the weekend.

To be fair, with the car full of leftover stuff from the parts donor 750i how could you fault it. Fortunately the german border control decided to pull over a poor Corsa B driver before they got to me, so no explaining to do there.

And here we are. The poor 523i Touring has been gathering dust over the last two months. And yes, I hand drew my UK sticker. Since the UK government decided that GB as a country identifier wouldnt do it anymore these are now mandatory, and you can't buy one in Holland should you forget to buy one before...

Total MPGs throughout the whole journey, which was 90% 60-90mph Autobahn: 25.4! Thats acceptable.

I've already started ordering a bunch of parts for the various cars that need them. Everything automotive bought new is generally a little cheaper in Germany, even when bought through the same websites, probably partially thanks to no post-brexit trading tariffs so it always makes sense to make a list and bring it all back when the opportunity arises. Its vice versa for used parts so I should be able to cover the cost of the new stuff by selling what would otherwise be near worthless in the UK, its a win-win really if you got the ability to do so. I'll see if I can find a few panels for the 540i while Im here as well, as mentioned prices for something like a bonnet are a bit silly though.

[Schaefft]

Quick Christmas Eve update. The 540i received a wash and 523i was started for the first time since September, might take it for a quick drive to visit family later. I forgot it had a slight exhaust leak. It briefly snowed but has melted already, 10 degrees at the moment. I didn't expect to have two more E39s this year but here we are.

[JakeT]

Frohe Weinachten, Herr Schaefft.

Amsterdam is great for spotting, and I think I saw a few when we were last there in November. I took a friend to Berlin and we managed to spot a couple of good ones too, even one solemn DIN-plated car.

E39s look great, glad the trip was a success. I’ve got a load of magnetic UK and GB plates from when I inevitably forget to take one with me and have to buy one at the boat or train.

 

The Grepo and Zoll stopped me earlier in the year, near Flensburg and the border with Denmark. They were nice to be fair, but I had to laugh when they asked if I had over €15,000 in cash. I wish!

[Rightnider]

I have just caught up on the last nine months of your buying and spannering. Boy, you do a lot of both! Top work, and great to see that you’re getting deep into the mysteries most people would deem unsolvable and send the car off to the scrapyard.  

[Schaefft]

Thanks guys, always happy to see people getting some enjoyment out of this madness, and maybe even learn a thing or two.

Well, said madness continued today. As mentioned before, two of the biggest issues the car has right now are the air suspension and vibrations coming from at least one wheel. I decided to tackle both of them yesterday and today.

Lets have a look at the rear suspension first. Diagnosing it when I bought the car showed a rear right sensor error popping up immediately after clearing it.

Ah. The sensor wasn't unplugged but the writing on it clearly indicates that the new sensor is anything but new.

The fact that the casing around the mounting points is splitting probably doesn't help either.

The design of these is no different to most other height sensors, the control module sends 5V and moving the arm results in higher or lower resistance, the resulting output voltage indicates where the arm and therefore suspension is sitting. I tried to measure both resistance and voltage but couldn't really get any sensible readings out of it. Since I already ordered the sensor I just threw it in to see what happens.

Well, the error is still there, however I forgot my diagnostics cable adapter to clear the codes and run the suspension adaptation procedure. I've also forgot that the air suspension had two fuses in the back, one of which I didn't plug back in (I was worried after getting the car that the compressor would just pump the airbags up to crazy heights and pulled it). I only replaced one of the fuses before starting my trip, I probably could have had at least a little more ride height as even without sensors the compressor can still regulate somewhat. I'll see if I can get the suspension reset before I leave, the car is definitely better driving now.

Sorting the wheels today helped as well. Turns out that 2 of the 4 alloys are distorted, one (the one I felt the most) so severely that it boggles my mind that a new tire was put on it in the first place. Oddly enough I cannot remember it being this bad on my way back from purchasing the car and I cannot remember an occasion where it would have gotten damaged this badly.

Well, the 523i had the same alloys so why not make a good set out of the 8 I got? Because it turns out that 3 of the 4 alloys on that were distorted as well! BMWs really love to ruin alloy wheels it seems, low profile tires and relatively firm suspension doesn't help. We took the best of the wheels I brought and balanced a set to what I hope is a noticeable improvement. I haven't had the car on the autobahn yet but it definitely should be now, fingers crossed.

[Schaefft]

My diagnostics cable adapter arrived from Amazon today, one day before leaving for the UK tomorrow. Together with a 10 quid resistor I was able to clear the notorious passenger occupation mat error and therefore the airbag light on the 523i Touring. Similar to the E65 the passenger airbag would now deploy even when no passengers are onboard, what's more important is that this is one TÜV relevant issue less on the list though. I didn't have as much luck with the 540i's rear suspension height sensor, clearing the error it comes back immediately so I'll have to properly check the wiring to it next, a job for another day. It also donated it's cigarette lighter and backseat cubby to it's German sibling, chances are I can pick these up for free in the UK again.

Today was also the first longer trip in the 523i since I got it, Berlin and back to pick up some '64 Thunderbird parts for a mate in Norfolk, 450km total. I now know that the cargo area is exactly the size of one Tbird trunklid! Seller was a decent bloke, originally from Spain but living in Germany for most of his life, obsessed with Fords. He had a late '82 Sierra he converted to a Cosworth (visually), among the Tbird thats getting a nuts and bolts resto and an E23 7-Series.

With the worst of two sets of wheels on the 523i the ride was actually much better than on the 540i on my way here, all we did on that warped wheel was removing the weights. Still hardly amazing but certainly tolerable.

The journey back in the 540i starts tomorrow, this time it'll be Rotterdam-Hull which was almost 150 quid cheaper than DFDS. I might pick up some E65 parts in Hull while there. Nobody can tell me that I'm not making the most of my holiday trips.😂

[Schaefft]

Now on the ferry to Hull, another 500 miles done in the 540i. The car deck layout is a little different from what you'd see on a DFDS ferry. Instead of entering from one end and exiting through the other there's more of a U-shaped layout here.

Anyway , who would have thought that round wheels would make such a difference! Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to see if BMW's 250km/h speed limiter is actually having a purpose in this one, both traffic and later the weather and constant head-on winds prevented taking full advantage of the engine's power. It does drive lovely though, the 6-speed manual makes all the difference and it's great to see the car pulling in 6th even at higher speeds. The M5 has another 100hp on top of the 540i, I feel like the more I drive the Touring the more I want the M!

[Schaefft]

And we are back! Almost 2000km in total, largely issue free. Picked up some parts for the E65 while in Hull and popped over to the garage to see how the S8 is doing on my way up. Encountered a crash outside Hull that must have just happened as I arrived the same time the first petrol car did (already thought they wanted to pull me over), turns out a garbage truck coming from the opposite direction crashed through the center guard rails and landed in the ditch on our side.

All precious cargo has arrived safely as well, the border guards on the UK side didn't even bother checking.

What's next for the 540i then? Well, the wiring for the height sensor first, I'll also have a closer look at the suspension as the front strut top mounts might need doing soon. Aside from that lots of cosmetics which will involve replacing most of the front end (every panel is damaged or rusty) once I find parts in the right color, it doesn't seem to need all that much otherwise for now. Still planning to book it in with a specialist eventually to go over the engine but if this journey wasn't proof it's in good shape I don't know what else would!

[Schaefft]

Update time, and there is some great news to share. As many of you may know the Celsior has been in my possession for quite a few years now. In fact I only got it a few months after joining the forum, purchased for 500 quid here in Newcastle almost 6 years ago now, just about dodging the breakers yard. Well, after replacing what felt like half the car in those 6 years and just having paid an eye watering amount for getting the long overdue welding work done it finally has an MOT again!🥳

And somewhat surprisingly, there wasn't much to advise on at all (as the other half of the car, which is basically everything underneath aside from the new coilovers) hasn't been touched by me at all. I'm having flashbacks to testing the 2005 GS300 last year, which, despite almost 20 years of age and 114k hard miles, almost looked like new still. Having been abondoned by its previous owner for years hasn't helped preserving the Celsior (everything underneath is covered in surface rust) but hoses and bushes have held up remarkably well considering they are 32 years old soon.

In the end it was a taillight bulb (now replaced), a bodged exhaust patch and some minor corrosion on two brake pipe fittings, just to fill up the MOT sheet of a car that has been off the road for 11 years. Now the bodge of the previous owner will need to get sorted as it got much worse on my way back. There's also now a leak of ATF coming from a pipe  we somehow missed, typically the bracket that holds it has trapped dirt inside and thats now caused a leak that hasn't been there before. However if thats all that needs immediate attention at this point I'm happy!

Naturally that doesn't mean that these are the only problems left, there's still a long list of minor electrical and cosmetic issues I will have to work through after sorting the above. For now I can legally drive the car and start tidying things up step by step however, considering the car looked like this before I got it things are definitely moving in the right direction though.

Bonus photo with the SL, another project waiting to return to the road after 10+ years. Ballin' like its 1995...

I'll see if I can get the pipe sorted as soon as I got time and then have it booked in for the exhaust work.

However, as all of this was too easy and I clearly still dont have enough cars around here yet we will hopefully have a completely new arrival tomorrow. May god have mercy...

[TrabbieRonnie]

Brilliant work 👍

[hairnet]

27 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

 

I clearly still dont have enough cars 

bought something else

you are @Six-cylinder and i claim my bockwurst

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, hairnet said:

you are @Six-cylinder and i claim my bockwurst

I am claiming exemption from buying any more car this year as I finished 2023 4 cars up!

[hairnet]

@Mrs6C - cage now

[Schaefft]

As announced, a new member of the fleet arrived yesterday, you can follow the pretty much trouble free collection here. Plenty of other information available about it from some of its previous owners on it here as well of course. Its a late 2005 A8 Sport Quattro with the 3.0TDI.

As mentioned in the collection thread first impressions are very good despite 215k miles, and theres a good reason for that. More about that below. Believe it or not this is actually my first diesel I have ever owned or driven much outside of the A-Class I learned to drive in. The engine is so smooth and well insulated that you wouldn't notice at motorway speeds though, it could be a petrol V6, at least until you are back in town again. Plenty of torque to get you up to speed as well, its only above very illegal motorway speeds (I have heard) where the engine is eventually running out of steam a bit. Also seeing a range of over 600 miles is completely alien to me, especially after a quarter of the tank already gone!

It's very well equipped as well, with the optional 20 inch 9-spoke alloys (which as they sit right now are worth a good chunk of the purchase price), Nordlicht Blau/Aurora Blue Pearl paint, the tan interior with heated sport seats front and back, the Bose Audio system (there was an even better Bang & Olufsen with fancy speakers as well), keyless entry and start (really missed that after selling the GS300), power bootlid, Xenon Plus and everything else you'd expect to see in a flagship like this. The original owner even upgraded the SatNav software at the dealership (looks more up to date). Overall its a very nice spec that looks great in person.

Luckily the car did come with the bookpack which contained at least some service history and a stack of receipts. Most of them were from @Kiltox and the original owner's father who recommissioned the car in 2018 after his son's death. Thats when the car received some serious love with brakes and control arms plus a few other random bits and pieced getting an overhaul, hence it driving so well now. However, what I love to see even more is the original bill of sale, which reveals that the first owner was Audi of Wolverhampton themselves!

It's not rare that dealers register cars to meet sales targets and offer some decent discounts to customers that way, I didnt necessarily expect that on the sales leader 3.0TDI, especially on the then brand new facelift though. As you can tell, the car was £44.250 at a months old, I'm not sure what the regular list price was back then but its probably a few grand below. And what do I spot was traded in for it? A Toledo blue E65 745i, just like mine! Actually one of the very first ones ever sold interestingly enough. Not planning to repeat that anytime soon though.

Very happy with it so far then. It'll do its first longer trip end of this weeks with my gf's sister visiting from the states, it's certainly a nice car to be shuffled around in. Knowing the car's history, many rather prominent people have been sitting in the backseat of it before. And knowing the previous (and often quite interesting) life of a car is half the fun to me. Lets see if I can keep improving this one then.

[Kiltox]

If the parking brake warning light is for the NS motor, it is probably fucked again.  I fitted a very cheap pattern part, badly. 

[83C]

5 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

If the parking brake warning light is for the NS motor, it is probably fucked again.  I fitted a very cheap pattern part, badly. 

May be more an adjustment issue. Both sides motor on and off, it only threw the warning for me if I hadn’t used it for a while. 

[dome]

1 hour ago, Kiltox said:

If the parking brake warning light is for the NS motor, it is probably fucked again.  I fitted a very cheap pattern part, badly. 

Bugger, it'll need the front bumper off to fix that 

[Schaefft]

1 hour ago, Kiltox said:

If the parking brake warning light is for the NS motor, it is probably fucked again.  I fitted a very cheap pattern part, badly. 

Yeah, I'll have to see what it'll do after using it a few times. Shouldn't be too hard to sort if I ever can be bothered as the parking brake seems to work just fine.

2 minutes ago, dome said:

Bugger, it'll need the front bumper off to fix that 

The bumper will probably go into the bin (eBay) once I find one in the same color that's in better shape.

[TrabbieRonnie]

Nice one, they're really great cars.  Mine is off for a much delayed visit with the MOT man tomorrow...

Looks to be a very similar colour, mines called Aqua Blue Pearl.  The parking brake light was on as part of my ABS module woes, but as you've nothing else lit up I'm sure it's actually just the parking brake itself 🤞.  

Have you got VCDS?  Makes working on them so much easier, even required for back pad change, you have to tell the car how thick the pads are for it to re-calibrate?!  About £250 I think for the genuine RossTech cable.

I see you also have a mix of post and pre facelift tail-lights, they're getting hard to come by, but there is a fella on the FB page supplying them reconditioned (if you're bothered).

Anyway, what a great addition to your fleet, good luck with it,  I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy 👍

 

[Schaefft]

55 minutes ago, TrabbieRonnie said:

Nice one, they're really great cars.  Mine is off for a much delayed visit with the MOT man tomorrow...

Looks to be a very similar colour, mines called Aqua Blue Pearl.  The parking brake light was on as part of my ABS module woes, but as you've nothing else lit up I'm sure it's actually just the parking brake itself 🤞.  

Have you got VCDS?  Makes working on them so much easier, even required for back pad change, you have to tell the car how thick the pads are for it to re-calibrate?!  About £250 I think for the genuine RossTech cable.

I see you also have a mix of post and pre facelift tail-lights, they're getting hard to come by, but there is a fella on the FB page supplying them reconditioned (if you're bothered).

Anyway, what a great addition to your fleet, good luck with it,  I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy 👍

 

I'm hoping it's just lack of use that's preventing it from functioning properly. I still got a free version of VCDS and a decent cable from doing work on the D2 S8, maybe this will finally be enough of a reason to invest into a better setup (descriptions of only the first code in the list displayed right now for example). And yes, it already has the much appreciated outer 2nd facelift taillights, not cheap at all either so a big bonus as that was on the to do list anyway. I definitely will need to get a pair of inners to complete the look (which really helps making it look a lot fresher), hopefully I'll find a breaker that has a reasonably priced pair. Since I'm thinking about replacing the whole bootlid with that of a later Sport/S8 (has a subtle integrated spoiler lip that improves the looks massively imo) I might get lucky and get it all for reasonable money in one go, chances are low I can find one in the right color though.

[Kiltox]

It had a single facelift outer light for a while 😂 the originals were completely knackered through water ingress. Was always on the lookout for inners to match but as you say, they’re not cheap.  I got lucky with the outers, they were reduced for some unknown reason at ECP

[Schaefft]

30 minutes ago, Kiltox said:

It had a single facelift outer light for a while 😂 the originals were completely knackered through water ingress. Was always on the lookout for inners to match but as you say, they’re not cheap.  I got lucky with the outers, they were reduced for some unknown reason at ECP

Yeah, I did read that in your thread. ECP would have been the last place for me to look for replacement taillights but they do indeed still sell them. Looks like they have them under the ULO brand, never heard of them before but looks like they are the aftermarket branch of the OEM which is useful to know for the future. I'll most likely end up getting a set from a breaker though if I can find a pair for cheap.

[Schaefft]

The A8 is now in daily duty and naturally proves to be an excellent grocery getter (just dont think about the DPF eventually clogging up from short distances). I need to figure out whether the power trunk lift needing some help can be an easy fix, its a great feature to have and just makes the car feel fancy and modern. Right now its not able to build up enough pressure to lift the lid the first 20cm or so, automatically closes just fine though! The towbar probably wont stick around for long either, I won't have space for a trailer anytime soon.

I refilled the washerfluid and noticed that the hood struts aren't doing their best anymore either so I'll probably order a new set before not too long. Here's the current taillight situation discussed above. I've contacted a few people breaking A8s and naturally all of the last facelift taillights were already gone or damaged. Fortunately something that doesnt need rectifying immediately, its purely cosmetic. Unlike when doing this kind of retrofit on a car like the BMW E39 (Celis angeleyes or taillights from the facelift) this year A8 already used LED tech properly for the rear lights, so should be a simple plug&play once I find a set.

Speaking of E39s, I ordered everything needed to rebuild a set of pre-facelift amber headlights the 540i Touring was originally coming with when new, pretty much the opposite of what people would normally do. I found a set of almost brand new Hella headlight lenses on FB marketplace for an absolute steal, had I known that a lot of the trim comes with the new lenses I could have saved myself spending quite a bit of money on a rebuild kit. Fortunately stuff like this is easy to sell for the same money again.

Since I wanna stick with having Xenon like I have on the Touring right now (despite the car not coming with it originally it still has headlamp washers and the rear ride height control, should be safe to use) I probably will need to replace the dipped beam lenses with whatever used Xenon headlight set I end up working with. All of this stuff is still easily rebuildable/replaceable, naturally things got a lot harder with the facelifted E39 later. If all goes to plan I'll end up with a like-new set of headlights for a fraction of the price you'd pay for a pair of Hella headlights now.

[Schaefft]

Weekend away with the in-laws survived. For a moment I thought the driver front wheel must be losing air the way it looked, one wheel needed welding half a year ago and it wouldn't have surprised me if the rough country roads caused another hairline crack. It must be a very slow leak though as the tyre pressure was still fine after checking back home again. Will keep an eye on.

Other than that all good , definitely can feel the 3.0TDI struggling a bit with the car full of people and luggage. I also backed it into the pole right in the middle of the drive I forgot about, no harm done fortunately...

Back home the Ms' Fiat received some attention, the passenger door handle hinge must have been snapped for well over a year. Fortunately an easy fix once the door card is off, only held on by 3 bolts and the usual clips. One 10mm holds one side of the handle on, a torx bolt the other end. That gives you enough slack in the assembly to remove the snapped hinge from the handle. Looks much better now.

[Schaefft]

Weather forecast looks grim for the weekend but I'm hoping to get a chance to fix the leaky transmission cooler line on the Celsior, to then be able to get it booked in to have the exhaust sorted. I have to admit that I have no idea whether that line is pressurized enough that a section of hose and a few clamps wouldn't do to sort it, it probably isn't as the gearbox would be empty by now. Rockauto delivered a gearbox filter in record time (2.5 days or so despite the order coming from opposite ends of the US), I think I paid 15 quid for it. Toyota wanted an absolutely mental 132 quid!? for the filter, I don't know how they justify this when I can personally buy the same original part in Japan and get it for about half that shipped over. Naturally I didn't call them back. I'll change it while the line is draining, some fresh ATF surely cannot hurt.

Going through the paperwork I noticed that I still have the original UK owner's address. He owned the car since it was imported in 2003 and drove it for 9 years before it was laid up in his frontyard. Well, here it is in 2008, still on the road!

And in 2009. It would later be stuck under the tree in the back for 5 years, where it deteriorated pretty badly unfortunately. Address details removed for the sake of privacy, loving the Landcruiser he must have owned for a while as well.

More updates on the Celsior hopefully on the weekend.

I've also visited the local Audi dealer for the first time in a long time again, I picked up one of the bits needed to help the electric bootlid open. I don't think it will fix the issue of it not lifting enough straight away but it'll be a piece of the puzzle. I'll probably end up replacing the motor with a later stronger unit, fortunately a very straight forward job.

Long car is long. Being a diesel it cranks a bit longer in these freezing temperatures to start the engine, I think it was mentioned previously that the glow plugs could do with replacing. Nothing that needs urgent attention but something I might consider when the opportunity arises. The washer fluid warning came on again as well despite filling it recently. I wouldn't be surpised if the tank is leaking somewhere just above the level it would come on for. Other than that no issues to report so far, the Quattro, heated seats and aluminium body make this the perfect car for winter.

[Schaefft]

The weather was good enough this weekend to actually get something done and make some progress on the Celsior. As previously mentioned the transmission cooler line was the most important thing to tackle now that its back on the road. As you can tell, it's been leaking right where the bracket was holding it in place:

Fortunately this is indeed a pretty low pressure line so some quick sawzall action later we cut the offending section of hardline out:

Lucky for me it was close enough to the oil cooler that I just needed to replace the existing hose with a longer section. Toyota added the S-shape to clear the swaybar, I cannot see a reason why a long enough hose wouldn't do exactly the same without ever rubbing through.

As mentioned before, it made sense to do a quick gearbox service while the atf was low. Toyota actually isn't using a gasket to seal the transmission pan but a sealant (ThreeBond 1281 to be exact) instead. I could see that it was weeping in some areas around the pan so now would be the best time to tackle it.

Naturally things had to come as expected and the inevitable total mess unfolded in due time, despite the pan actually having a drain plug. Normally removing a transmission pan isn't a particularly hard thing to do. Doing this on the drive with hardly any room to maneuver underneath the car is just one of those moments that make a garage with a lift that one thing I will not compromise on in the future. Toyota attaching half of the dipstick tube directly to the oilpan didn't help either, just another proof that all manufacturers have idiotic engineering moments. Fishing it back in while not disturbing the fresh sealant was NOT fun.

For those who wonder what the inside of an LS400 tranmission looks like. The filter is just held on by 3 10mm bolts, the seals were rock hard so probably still the original one.

The inside of the pan. The ATF that came out of it didn't look bad at all. Some sludge as to be expected at this age, the magnets didn't really catch any metal debris either.

Pan properly cleaned, removing the old gasket naturally took a little while. Now with new sealant applied:

Pan back on. I've let the sealant cure over night as I wasn't sure how quickly you could fill the transmission after applying it. Apparently its supposed to be perfectly fine after 10 minutes but I cannot quite believe that.

It better not leak again in the next 20 years or so... I've tried filling it using my patented paper funnel technique this morning, naturally this immediately failed and made even more of a mess. I then found a better funnel which also left a mess as for some reason it takes absolute ages to fill the gearbox via the dipstick tube.

I've replaced the PCV valve and grommet while in there. The old one was still alright, I can't remember whether I cleaned it at some point. Considering the grommet was rock hard nothing probably ever got replaced there before.

The hole. Naturally half of the brittle grommet disappeared into it when I pulled it out. Fortunately there's a baffle right underneath it so I was able to fish it all out with surgical precision.

Finito. Getting the new grommet in required a socket and a big hammer.

Since this weekend was the big Celsior weekend I decided to tackle a few more things, the misaligned fuel door was next. I cannot remember it looking this way, not sure if the bodyshop tried to force it open to fill the tank (it read empty) or something.

Because this is Toyota's billion dollar flagship the inside of the fuel door was hidden behind a plastic cover. I could tell that the cover didn't quite perfectly fit the door hinge though. Lets take a closer look with the cover removed:

It looks like the sheet metal holding the pin was bent back slightly. I would have expect the mounting bolts on the vehicle side to have come lose but I'm pretty sure this was the issue. Nothing a bit of force can't fix though. Much better:

Everything reassembled (sans 3 unobtanium clips). Love the service stickers, everything that reminds me of its previous life in Japan is worth preserving.

I've had another look at the fuses to see if there might be an indicator of why the radio doesn't output any audio. It'll most likely be an amp (also unobtanium as this is a Japan only audio system) but it was worth a try. I've also cleaned the driver seat belt and applied some silicon spray, its actually retracting a bit better now.

That concludes this weekend's improvements on the Celsior. I'll call Powerflow tomorrow to see if they want to fix the exhaust leak. There's a coin sized hole in the side of it now, straightpipes m8.

Quick update on the 540i Touring. Took half a year's worth of scrap to EMR in it which netted me 37 quid. The Alfa 166 Twinspark cat was completely unidentifiable so it went straight on the scrap heap, it was breaking apart internally anyway. Nobody wanted the front bumper either. If anything breaking the Twinspark 166 proved that absolutely nobody in the UK is willing to fix one of these up. It'll be one of most other Italian cars that will be completely wiped from the face of the earth in a few years time (in this country anyway).

It had to be done. Scrapyard action shot!

It also got a wash! I was finally having some time to quickly clean the engine bay. Its not coming across 100% in the photos but it was utterly filthy before. I might actually be able to spot some leaks now.

 

Until next time!

[Kiltox]

On 17/01/2024 at 19:40, Schaefft said:

Weather forecast looks grim for the weekend but I'm hoping to get a chance to fix the leaky transmission cooler line on the Celsior, to then be able to get it booked in to have the exhaust sorted. I have to admit that I have no idea whether that line is pressurized enough that a section of hose and a few clamps wouldn't do to sort it, it probably isn't as the gearbox would be empty by now. Rockauto delivered a gearbox filter in record time (2.5 days or so despite the order coming from opposite ends of the US), I think I paid 15 quid for it. Toyota wanted an absolutely mental 132 quid!? for the filter, I don't know how they justify this when I can personally buy the same original part in Japan and get it for about half that shipped over. Naturally I didn't call them back. I'll change it while the line is draining, some fresh ATF surely cannot hurt.

Going through the paperwork I noticed that I still have the original UK owner's address. He owned the car since it was imported in 2003 and drove it for 9 years before it was laid up in his frontyard. Well, here it is in 2008, still on the road!

And in 2009. It would later be stuck under the tree in the back for 5 years, where it deteriorated pretty badly unfortunately. Address details removed for the sake of privacy, loving the Landcruiser he must have owned for a while as well.

More updates on the Celsior hopefully on the weekend.

I've also visited the local Audi dealer for the first time in a long time again, I picked up one of the bits needed to help the electric bootlid open. I don't think it will fix the issue of it not lifting enough straight away but it'll be a piece of the puzzle. I'll probably end up replacing the motor with a later stronger unit, fortunately a very straight forward job.

Long car is long. Being a diesel it cranks a bit longer in these freezing temperatures to start the engine, I think it was mentioned previously that the glow plugs could do with replacing. Nothing that needs urgent attention but something I might consider when the opportunity arises. The washer fluid warning came on again as well despite filling it recently. I wouldn't be surpised if the tank is leaking somewhere just above the level it would come on for. Other than that no issues to report so far, the Quattro, heated seats and aluminium body make this the perfect car for winter.

The hose will have popped off one or both of the headlight washers - you can get to them by taking the fog grilles off.  Probably the NS.  When it comes off, it'll spew out enough washer liquid to put the light on and then the headlight washers stop working (and the leak stops), screen wash still works until the tank is empty. 

The washer system is a bit of a lash up, I'd recommend adding a jubilee clip or two. 

[Schaefft]

1 minute ago, Kiltox said:

The hose will have popped off one or both of the headlight washers - you can get to them by taking the fog grilles off.  Probably the NS.

The washer system is a bit of a lash up, I'd recommend adding a jubilee clip or two. 

I did remember you having to reconnect it a few times, is it draining the washer bottle though?

[Kiltox]

5 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

I did remember you having to reconnect it a few times, is it draining the washer bottle though?

Yeah, if the pipework isn't connected to the headlight washers it drains down to a certain level (where the sensor is for the level) and then stops - I guess the outlet for the headlight washers sits higher, but I can't remember. 

[83C]

3 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

I did remember you having to reconnect it a few times, is it draining the washer bottle though?

It will. N/S washer pipe, comes off where the washer jet motors up out of the front bumper. Remove the lower grille and the pipe is accessible from there. I did cable-tie the pipe back in place the last time it came off just after I bought it, I'd guess with regular use in the grim weather we've had it's slipped off again. If I remember correctly the headlamp wash operates every 5th time the screen wash is activated.