Steve79 fleet - Welsh tat and Mondeo madness

[Steve79]

Small update.

The X3 has had almost 1k more miles under its belt and its not all rosy.

Haven't had the tyres changed yet because I'm waiting to see if anything anything else is going to go wrong.

so yeah not great.

Block dpf made sense in that the temp gauge rarely gets anywhere near halfway which means the car won't initiate a regeneration unless the engine temp is above 75°C.

I cleared all codes and did a throttle body recalibration which has restored some of the performance but air mass, egr and dpf codes have popped back up.

To further my woes, after driving around town for an hour or so I parked up to go shopping and upon returning to the car is refused to engage the starter. 

No dimming of lights or anything just one small click everytime the key was turned.

Wouldn't bump start and  didn't have tools on hand so called the RAC. I explained the issue and the guy said battery issue. Connected jump leads up to the van and the x3 fires straight up.

14.2v on the multimeter confirms alternator is providing enough charge. He disconnects the leads and turns the car off. I try to restart and it just does the one click thing again.

Jump leads back on and it fires up.

I drive the 5mins back home and turn it off. Try to start it again and one click. 

Bear with me

I left it a minute and tried again and it fired up first time 5 times on the trot with no hesitation.

It has done this before where you'll get in and turn the key and nothing. Take key out and try again and it fires up.

I'll look at the battery tomorrow but failing that I'm thinking dodgy ignition switch?

[Steve79]

Much belated X3 related update.

With the X3 being needed for the family trip to Disneyhell Paris, non-start roulette would be a surefire way to make the trip worse.

Battery was ruled out as that was good so thoughts turned to the various earth points. I dropped it off at the local garage with instructions to "just fucking sort it" as I couldn't be bothered/didn't have time/etc.

Got a phone call from them later that day to say earth straps are all good but your starter is fuckin fucked m9 as it was getting stuck when hot. With that replaced it now starting on the button hot or cold.

Spirited on by good weather today I though it would be a good opportunity to have a look at the egr valve as I was pretty sure it would be gunked  up. 

The top two bolts were easy but the bottom right had to be done by touch as it was impossible to see. Someone had obviously been here before as the bottom left bolt was missing!

On the face of it didn't look too bad. I forgot to take a pics of the valve end but the inlet manifold should give you a fair indication. Of what it looked like

REALLY NASTY. It was a good 4mm thick all round.

spent a good 20mins gradually scraping out what I could reach being careful to not leave any loose debris inside. 

I've current got the valve soaking in Mr Muscle oven cleaner as brake cleaner didn't really make a dent. The valve was totally seized with carbon.

In other news the Roadmaster is peforming daily duties without fault so I treated it to a bath

[Steve79]

After its overnight soak in Mr Muscle the egr and throttle body looked decidedly less shit

Feeling very pleased with myself, I popped it back on the car expecting a restoration of performance and fuel economy to be within easy grasp.

that'll be a no then!

Cleaning it out hasn't changed it in the slightest. New throttle bodies are around £250-£300 so I'll travel the used part route first and see what happens.

 

[sutty2006]

Road masters looking great! How’s the Mercury doing? 

[Steve79]

It's been hibernating for a year. Needs a new exhaust brakes and a service. All will be done in the next few months

[sutty2006]

5 hours ago, Steve79 said:

It's been hibernating for a year. Needs a new exhaust brakes and a service. All will be done in the next few months

It does like hibernation, ordering the H pipe for it? 

[omegod]

Always fancied one of these but am happy to watch you work your way through all the faults  I recall having to do drill a hole and insert a screw into my E36's ignition barrel to sort a dodgy cranking issue with the switch, can't remember the exact issue though 

[Steve79]

3 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

It does like hibernation, ordering the H pipe for it? 

Yep I ordered the h pipe from Rock auto which I was assured was the correct one. It arrived and it transpires its for the later 92 onwards 4.6 Crown Vic. Didn't realise until it was too late. 

I'm taking it to infinity Exhausts to have a custom made lifetime guarantee h Pipe knocked up.

[Steve79]

35 minutes ago, omegod said:

Always fancied one of these but am happy to watch you work your way through all the faults  I recall having to do drill a hole and insert a screw into my E36's ignition barrel to sort a dodgy cranking issue with the switch, can't remember the exact issue though 

All thats left to do after the throttle body is spaff £450 on new tyres as its currently sporting a relatively new set of budget Chinese death rings on the back and a continental and a dunlop str at the front which are both on the wear markers This mismatch creates a lot of diff ring gear lash as the rolling radius are all completely different.

The tyres on these need to be oem star rated so either pirelli scorpion str or dunlop sp01.

Evidence of non correct tyres on x-drive cars causing transfer case windup is rife.

[sutty2006]

56 minutes ago, Steve79 said:

Yep I ordered the h pipe from Rock auto which I was assured was the correct one. It arrived and it transpires its for the later 92 onwards 4.6 Crown Vic. Didn't realise until it was too late. 

I'm taking it to infinity Exhausts to have a custom made lifetime guarantee h Pipe knocked up.

Bummer. But a stainless will out live the rest of it so it’s a good choice. There’s a few newer crown vics in this country so you might be able to flog it on. 

[Steve79]

That's what I was thinking.

[Steve79]

With regards to the roadmaster, i'm struggling to gel with it. It's a nice ride and powerful but something is missing in comparison with the Mercury but I just can't pinpoint what.

 

[Steve79]

What doth my eyes see...

[Steve79]

And we go from this

To this

It looks soooo much better.

These are early 90's Chevy Astro alloys with almost brand new tyres fitted. 

[Steve79]

This was us earlier on the way to a purchasing Fred. Max is very excited

Just leaving the person's house now. Updates imminently 

[Steve79]

Had lovely customer the other day who I spent a long time with chatting about cars amongst other things. He gave up driving nine months ago as the car he kept in the garage rolled towards him and crushed him against the wall.

He said that said car was still in the garage. He said it had damage to the driver's side and that the mobility scooter he'd bought would need to go in the garage so he wanted shot of the car.

We went out to the garage to check storage space, admired the car and then he asked me if I wanted to buy it off him!!!

I said I'd think about it and that I'd come back on my day off, which was today. So what do we have. Pics tell a thousand words

It was completely covered in blankets and duvets and was very clearly loved. He's had it since 2007 with 24k on the clock and has fully stamped history till June this year. 

Cambelt, water pump and MLS head gasket were done 2years (300miles) ago.

Worst bit is the door

Best bit

 

[SiC]

Nice! I've always wanted one of these, right from when Rover was over. 

Is it the VVC lump?

[Steve79]

No, it's the 135bhp 18k4f engine but considering the mileage Im not that unhappy.

Giveaway is that VVC redline starts at 7250rpm and TBH whilst the VVC is nice, the higher rpm has it screaming it's head off and gets annoying quite quickly. 

I much prefer the TF to the VVC F that I had back in 2013 as the ride is better.

Yes, I know the F had hydrolastic suspension but these are now a pain to sort as Dunlop ditched the tooling and wouldn't remake the suspension units.

The issue is that it's fluid on one side and nitrogen on the other. When the nitrogen depletes it makes the suspension jarringly hard. Yes you can still in and weld a Schrader valve to the top of the unit and recharge the nitrogen but if the rubber membrane inside is rotted the you're fucked.

On the TF it's just springs and shocks so whilst a bit less comfortable compared with a perfectly working hydrolastic car, you can be safe in the knowledge that it won't be as much a MOFO to sort out in the long run

 

[SiC]

4 hours ago, Steve79 said:

No, it's the 135bhp 18k4f engine but considering the mileage Im not that unhappy.

Giveaway is that VVC redline starts at 7250rpm and TBH whilst the VVC is nice, the higher rpm has it screaming it's head off and gets annoying quite quickly. 

I much prefer the TF to the VVC F that I had back in 2013 as the ride is better.

Yes, I know the F had hydrolastic suspension but these are now a pain to sort as Dunlop ditched the tooling and wouldn't remake the suspension units.

The issue is that it's fluid on one side and nitrogen on the other. When the nitrogen depletes it makes the suspension jarringly hard. Yes you can still in and weld a Schrader valve to the top of the unit and recharge the nitrogen but if the rubber membrane inside is rotted the you're fucked.

On the TF it's just springs and shocks so whilst a bit less comfortable compared with a perfectly working hydrolastic car, you can be safe in the knowledge that it won't be as much a MOFO to sort out in the long run

 

The F will be hydrogas (Allegro, Metro, etc) not hydrolastic (Austin 1100/Mini MK1/Landcrab/etc). I know guys up in Telford can fix the hydrogas cylinders now and even put gas in them iirc. Plus have spares on the shelf. They turn up on your drive and replace them then and there.

VVC in the TF is the same as the Trophy F. 160bhp on that versus the 145bhp on the F. 

The 160 VVC is an engine that the Elise boys are always after. Drop in replacement for the standard Elise and a chunk more power. So the engines in them are worth a fair bit. 

[Cookiesouwest]

4 hours ago, Steve79 said:

Had lovely customer the other day who I spent a long time with chatting about cars amongst other things. He gave up driving nine months ago as the car he kept in the garage rolled towards him and crushed him against the wall.

He said that said car was still in the garage. He said it had damage to the driver's side and that the mobility scooter he'd bought would need to go in the garage so he wanted shot of the car.

We went out to the garage to check storage space, admired the car and then he asked me if I wanted to buy it off him!!!

I said I'd think about it and that I'd come back on my day off, which was today. So what do we have. Pics tell a thousand words

It was completely covered in blankets and duvets and was very clearly loved. He's had it since 2007 with 24k on the clock and has fully stamped history till June this year. 

Cambelt, water pump and MLS head gasket were done 2years (300miles) ago.

Worst bit is the door

Best bit

 

Regardless of the door, you have done well.

 

[brownnova]

Looks a good buy that! TFs are good fun things to have! 

[Steve79]

Yep i'm pretty happy with the outcome.

Got it insured today with Peter S Taylor, adding it onto the policy with the Mercury and Buick for £47 until the policy renews.

Policy renews in Feb 2023 so will be £89 per year, agreed value of £4k, fully comp 3k miles per year limit.

[sutty2006]

Looks a good purchase that does! How’s the Mercury doing. Still miss her. 

[Steve79]

Mercury still waiting her turn. Been trying to get a passenger wing from the states as it currently rotten to fuck. Will have to temp patch it for the most soon but it'll need doing relatively sharpish.

[sutty2006]

10 hours ago, Steve79 said:

Mercury still waiting her turn. Been trying to get a passenger wing from the states as it currently rotten to fuck. Will have to temp patch it for the most soon but it'll need doing relatively sharpish.

Maybe it’s worth getting it repaired. I’ve currently got the wings off the Carlton for repair as they’re rotten too. 
 

 

[Steve79]

Very local Collecshun Fred underway. Not sure if I'm going to keep or punt straight on. 

Updates in a bit

[sutty2006]

Where do you keep them all? 🤣

[Steve79]

 

Just now, sutty2006 said:

Where do you keep them all? 🤣

DON'T EVEN GO THERE.

Ive not even picked up the mgtf yet 😬

[sutty2006]

6 minutes ago, Steve79 said:

 

DON'T EVEN GO THERE.

Ive not even picked up the mgtf yet 😬

That’s the way it should be. Chodspeed then! 

[Steve79]

So, this was a completely unexpected purchase.

A customer i paid a visit to today wanted a mobility scooter as she was giving up driving as she felt she was no longer safe to drive on the road. I'd been with her for over an hour having a laugh and a chat and getting her sorted.

I asked her whether her garage was clear for the scooter to be delivered into and yep it was as her car was parked around the corner. She said she was sad to be getting rid of it and that the scrappers were collecting it tomorrow for free

I asked her if it was the silver 4x4 and she said yes. I said she was mad and that I'd have it off her and pay her decent money for it. 

She was happy and so I'm now an owner of a 

2.2 diesel crv sport.

Milez iz high fam but she has owned it from a year old and everything and I mean EVERYTHING, has been carried out at Honda main stealers. 

It was only MOT'D middle of August.

Barely a mark on it and all of the miles were done visiting her sister in Glasgow once a week from Bristol!

Not sure if I'll be hanging onto it as I've still got the X3 but whatever happens one or other will be up on here for sale within a month.