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Vorsprung Durch Ticket (MOT) - Ohdearme’s turn of the century emporium


Ohdearme

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First the good news, alternator faffed up on the Mazda whilst I was working away so my local garage very kindly tightened the belts properly for the missus in exchange for a tenner.

Garage said two belts were loose so I’m guessing the other was the air con belt and the scorch I was hearing could have been the air con clutch.

Regarldess, it is now running tickety boo and awaits an mot poking on Tuesday.

Which brings me to the Volvo...

It’s been Engine light free for about two months and apart from a drop of oil has been fine.

Driving back in to crawling traffic through Edinburgh things began to smell a bit oily and the EML popped on.

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Popped bonnet to investigate EML and found the engine bay was sporting a 'wet look' with oil belched everywhere.

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First thought was that driving over the knackered cobbles of Edinburgh had dislodged the dipstick and it had spurtled about a bit.

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But then I had another thought as the oil was all over and I had gloves handy, thought I'd just check the PCV and see if there was a vacuum or not.

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Inflated glove suggest there is no vacuum and the PCV is clogged up somewhere.

Kit is about £75 but I won't have the time to do it so I'll speak to garage next week when I drop the Mazda in for a view of costs.

It would explain the recent oil leak as either the pressure is being relieved by spitting oil out the dipstick pipe (I hope) or it could have breached an oil seal somewhere around the engine and the drips I found were the first sign of trouble.

Wouldn't mind a roffle win about now to take some pressure off while I decide on how to progress, bugger.

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Whilst the Volvo is about to be moved on...see riddle thread and buy tix,

Also, just nipped to put petrol in the 323 and this happened.

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I’ve also just realising as I type this I’ve stuck £50 of petrol in and the MOT is Tuesday...to be fair the wife loves this car so I’ll be funding whatever it needs to get through for her.

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Seeing the Glove-o-Matic pressurisation facility, make sure your garage cleans or replaces all the pipework for the system. From memory this may involve removing a manifold or two as a bundel of it is hidden undernearth. It's not the quickest nor cheapest of jobs if you pay someone else to do it, but it will make all the difference and won't need doing again for a long time.

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Ah, the glove test of truth.

Words cannot express the relief when mine checked out ok on the current £350 V70 shed, the vacuum was actually so vicious I almost lost the glove (That would have been entertaining) I'm pinning my hopes on regular 5k oil changes and good synthetic keeping things that way, but tbh experiencing pcv/breather woes seems to just be one of the fundamental laws of Ovlov ownership. Annoyingly on the older 'red block' engines sorting the breather system is a half hour job, I haven't had to go there yet on newer 'white block' ones but it looks like hours of manifold off fun. Progress eh?

 

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Got up this morning to a frosty windscreen and going round the passenger side to chuck briefcase in car, I spotted the spare wheel laid there on the drive where I’d forgotten to change it yesterday.

As much as I didn’t want to be changing the wheel in my suit and brogues, 3 degrees and chilly versus 17mm tread is pushing sense so I knuckled down to swap it.

Yep, that’s right kids, two trolley jacks as the first one decided to not lift (quick fix as the pin has dropped out but not when I’m late and my fingers are frozen).

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Doesn't look too bad in there and the brakes have plenty of life on them.

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 Ture whacked on (locating needle on wheel is quite handy and inflated with the Audi compressor that I forgot* to return with the company car.

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Safe to say I’ve extracted maximum value from the tyre.

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I find nothing gives confidence to a tester that he is MOTing a cherished motor than the words “I’ve parked it outside, but I’ve disconnected the battery as the car’s making funny noises”.

Got up this morning to run the Mazda round the corner, jumped in, turned key, nothing. Battery dead :(

Needing to get to the MOT station early, I whipped the battery off the Volvo and shoehorned it into the 323 bay (a tight fit) to be greeted with a pumping/mechanical pulse-y noise the second I connected the terminals.

No warning lights on the dash, I’ve cycled all the usual suspects like wiper motors and stuff, I think it might be the abs pump ?

Wife was oblivious to my exploits until I told her I’d had an issue this morning....”Oh, it was making a funny noise last week like that but went away so I didn’t mention it”

Lets see what it takes to get a ticket and then decide what to do with the little blighter.

 

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Could be worse, I don’t drive it enough to notice the brakes were a bit squiffy and I was getting two new tyres if it got a ticket anyway (but I didn’t notice any slit in them).

Bulb is unforgivable, slap my hand.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, NorthernMonkey said:

Alternatively the binding brakes could be due to a faulty ABS pump

Good point,

Garage has a quick fiddle with the pump but it keeps coming on so he's got his auto electrician out tomorrow to do some tracing and hopefully just find a shagged relay or crusty connection.

Once that's figured out and costed up, they're going to pop the spare on and get it a ticket.

Then I'll get another pair of cross climates from Costco for the front and hand it back to Mrs ODM for a year.

 

 

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Auto electrical man has said wiring is all fine so main suspect is a duff abs unit itself, ordered what I think is the right one via eBay roulette for £50.

Plan to get the mot done using spare tyre we’re foiled because space saver and now wife needs a car as the Volvo has roffled.

So we’re a bit stuck as I need to shell out for a new tyre to get it through the mot and it’s not guaranteed the abs pump is right, plus getting to the pump is a right twat...battery out, tray out, etc.

I have a solution but it will involve seeking forgiveness rather than permission, etc.

More to follow... 

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12 hours ago, Ohdearme said:

 

I have a solution but it will involve seeking forgiveness rather than permission, etc.

 

Is the correct answer .... remember cars = N+1 (for emergencies) 

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Innovative solution has failed, namely I got the wife to agree to me buying a ‘spare’ Mazda 323 Auto (she hates driving Spanish waiters) so I could swap a wheel over to mot the silver  one and then fix the abs at my leisure, not pay the garage to while she tootled around in the ‘spare’ Mazda.

Said mazda on enquiry was sold :(

 

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5 minutes ago, snagglepuss said:

Is the correct answer .... remember cars = N+1 (for emergencies) 

Indeed, I should have had a collection thread for something else running today but my travel plans got cancelled so I’m down to the ailing Volvo.

Trying to steal the old man’s Mazda 3 to run around it to but it’s a manual and has a 5 bolt pattern so I’ve still got to get a tyre for the MOT but we’ll wait and see if the abs pump fixes the issue now I guess.

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Temporary solution at hand.

I’ve punched the Father ODMs Mazda 3, a fine little bus it is.

it is essentially a 323 inside but modernised so that nothing retrofits across 5 stud pattern not 4 for example...still I have two vehicles with motive power.

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What will hopefully prove to be the right abs part will turn up on Saturday, I’ve got the garage whacking a budget tyre on and sorting the brakes so I can get a ticket on it and then fit the abs pump at my leisure*

Collection incoming next week anyhow to ease things a bit.

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1 hour ago, mrbenn said:

I don't entirely understand the above video.

Is it modern art? Car must therefore be worth more.

it looked more dramatic and slightly sinister in slo-mo on my iphone.

Basically it's a bit knackered, the back of the engine bay looks the a khazi after a rugby club vindaloo curry challange

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That’s better...

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£341 lighter but seeing as though some of that is the MOT and a tyre I knew was coming, I’m not too fussed.

its coming home now for me to swap the abs pump if it ever stops raining.

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Quick rain sodden inspection of the mazda and the pump is still noisy.

I did have a 10mm handy but thought I’d pull the fuse for now to shut it up but keep the car mobile. It’s seen better days anyway...

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Curiously it seems this particular  Mazda doesn’t consider this somewhat substantial intervention in the workings of the abs system worthy enough of keeping the abs light on :)

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In the rush to get the 323 from the garage before shooting off for collection fun, I forgot to eat.

I’ve availed myself of a meal deal* for only £5.50 on the train and I’m pulling into Leamington Spa in al of 15 minutes time...prepare for more underwhelmedness.

 

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As if anyone could cope with the added drama, my train is hovering just the right side of 30 minutes late to get 50% of my ticket price back...bastards better not make up time on the last leg.

 

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What do you get the woman that loves her 1.8 GSi 323f auto so much she won’t drive anything else while I fix the abs sensor?

...

...

Pez

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Yep!

Another 1.8 GSi 323f Auto...we now have two of the buggers.

This one is a 71,000 but in better Nick than the other pretty good nick one.

Leamington to Trowell confirms that all 1.8 323’s have a shit off a shovel throttle response and this one feels tighter than the other.

Evan has front fogs, handy as headlamps have cataracts but I’ll forgive a 20 year old car that.

Scuff on wing needs a chips away job doing to it but otherwise it’s pretty sound.

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Worst thing is the hateful giant screen audio thing and the fact the right drivers speaker doesn’t work.

Previous owner also mentioned sunroof may not be fully working...maybe I’ll investigate in summer.

 

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