The Current Driveway... Audi Coupe MOT'd.

[TrabbieRonnie]

Bit more work done on the jeep.  

New thermostat fitted (tested in kitchen first!), and after a bit of faff bleeding the system, running lovely.  I'm going to run it for a week and then drop the coolant again.  Parts of the system were a bit crusty for my liking, so I'm treating this as a flush.

We then set to the re-oiling of the underside.  Not a nice job, but kind of vital in this neck of the woods.  My youngest and I spent the day blinking out/spitting out rust, but got the bottom wirebrushed nicely...

It was nowhere near as bad a job as the big de-rust a couple of years ago (documented on this very thread), but still took the two of us a good few hours.

Cooked up an oily brew this morning, and am just back in...

Much better.  It's a very oily mix this time, probably one litre of waxoyl to two of used engine and gearbox oil.  It stinks, but creeps well if applied hot, and never dries out.  I'll have to do it every summer from now on, not leave it too long.

Interior still looking good on its years too...

Just the sills/bumpers to paint up, then she can battle through another salty Moray winter.

 

[TrabbieRonnie]

Hi all, 

I have been lurking and not posting for a wee while (new job keeping me busy), but further work on the jeep has happened...

Once back on the road, some clicking from the rear wheels could be heard.  This quickly developed into a rumble at speed...  With all new rear brakes fitted recently, the wheel bearings were suspected, and yeah... our winter drifting shenanigans may have taken their toll...!

Pretty fubarred.  A mere 70 gbp's were required for a set of FAG's finest from Roughtrax, and this weekend saw the fitment commence.

Phase one is the removal of the four nuts that hold the hub into the axle end, the damper needed to be disconnected  at the bottom to allow access.  These four 14mm nuts were now identifying as 13.3mm thanks to 30 years of rusty time, and so much hammering and swearing was required to free them.  However, freed they were, and with the brake line and handbrake cable out the way, out comes the halfshaft/hub assembly...

Good times.

I do not have a press at home, and did not fancy the 'bush mechanic' method of swinging the whole thing around like Thor's hammer into a block of wood to shock the bearing out.  I therefore employed the method I use at work, grinding a slot into the inner race, splitting this with a cold cut, and breaking the bearing up somehow.  Not pretty, but it worked...

We were videoing/photographing all this for my youngest's benefit btw, he is on his first year of a mechanical engineering course at college and wants to document all these missions now.

Refitting was simply tapping in the new bearings and seals and putting it all back together.  The brake lines were buggered in the disconnecting (they never just undo, do they?!), and so I broke out the flaring kit and made up some new ones...

Included was a replacement Flexi and hard line to the bias valve at the top, VERY satisfying.  

To celebrate, we threw the bikes in the back and headed for the trails.

Job jobbed.  Hopefully we are now done for the winter (mot is in January), wanted all the underside work complete before the weather comes in.

 

Cheers all.

[TrabbieRonnie]

Hi all...

Hope all's well out in the shiteyverse, I haven't been on much, and there's not much to report from Trabi Towers either.

As I mentioned, I have changed jobs (back on the tools installing grain handling equipment (distillery and malting gear as befits the local industry)), which has left me with more time, less stress, but more physically knackered! 

As such, the cars have been neglected a wee bit.  A small coolant leak appeared from a porous radiator hose on the 323, now replaced with universal wire-wound stuff.  Apart from that, it's cruising along beautifully.

The jeep is also rolling along fine on its new wheel bearings.  We even found a wee abandoned quarry up in the woods to test on the old girl...

And yes, she now requires a new rear fog light... she did get up that hill though, in fact it was even easier the second time once I remembered I had low range to play with.  Ballpoint rubbers look past their best, so will get them done before the test methinks.

The RX8 is still in the 'thinking about it' category; after the initial bit of welding she now just gets run up every few weekends to annoy the neighbours check the engine still braaps...

It seems to be ok.

Junior is prepping the wheels for paint, going for gold again (I want to keep the gold stripe down the side too).  I'm in no rush with this one though, as long as I can hit the NC500 in it next summer I'll be happy!

The Coupe has been temporarily moved to my in-laws, the new job comes with a mahoosive van (very handily stacked with gear, and someone else pays for the motion lotion too), meaning I have officially run out of room.  It will be sold when I can get around to it, my hand is definitely being forced now!

 

That's it I think, cheers all!

 

[TrabbieRonnie]

I neglected to summarise the big Audi's condition, the A8 for sale thread reminded me though...

For a wee while now, it has been telling me that the battery level is low.  It communicates such things to you via the screen in the dash, and the binnacle.  If you ignore these warnings, it starts to turn things off, in my case the central locking.  Annoying, but not urgent as I've hardly used it anyway since starting the new job.

So, a trip to Halfords ensued this weekend past to purchase the biggest battery I ever have, a 900 CCA monster!  Sticker price of £142 came down to £115 with the old Trade Card, but still ouched.

I intend to fit it this weekend.  It of course requires VCDS-ing, to tell the car exactly what type and size has been installed, and a slave battery must be connected first, so that it is never without at least some amps.  Fun.

Second job (been bugging me for a while), was the serpentine belt.  The old one...

Yeah, not good. 

And yes, I should have splurged on new tensioners/idlers I know, but didn't ok?!  I have just fitted the new gates jobbie tonight...

Tensioners felt fine 🤞

My arms are scraped raw, my patience has left the building, but it is on.  They will tell you the front of the car needs to come off for this one, but no, it can be done without.  The belt is, 2.5 metres long, and truly serpent-like, 'orrible.

[TrabbieRonnie]

Hi all...

Seasonal greetings etc.

 

Surf plodding through the weather beautifully, here's me and it attending to a neighbour's stricken XC70, the gearbox of which has decided to lose the plot exactly when it's AWD qualities would have been handy...

She should have bought a Toyota, I know...

 

Been out for a run in the Trabi today, as for some reason I keep forgetting to SORN it.  Thought I may as well enjoy this month's £21, so went to the beach for a refreshing stroll.  Mazda came too...

Both are running well, Mazda is faster on the straights but not through the bends! 

We replaced the dizzy cap/rotor arm/leads on the 323 a few weeks back, after the slight 2500 rpm flat spot she'd always had when cold became permanent, and accompanied by longer start times.  Both problems have vanished, and the new-to-us motor is silky smooth once more.

Rosie the Trabi just buzzes along like always to be honest.  So little to go wrong.  Washer jets (manually operated) were a wee bit pathetic, so that's something to tweak I guess...  'Big Car' has just done a Trabant history on the 'tube, which was nice.

 

Big Audi has borked, losing a suspension level sensor to corrosion in the connector plug.  This after having just passed the mot lovely as well. 

At first I only suspected the sensor itself, and so bought a set off eBay.  However, on removal half the rotten pins remained in the car's half of the plug... bugger.  Someone had replaced this before, the wiring has been spliced (nicely, tbf), using a plug off another model with different wire colours. 

Anyway, I have ordered a repair kit consisting of new plugs and the wee pins, enough for both sides.  Despatched apparently, see if they get here while I'm still off work...  On their arrival, I'll fix that and service the big lump, as it has started shouting about that also.

It seems happier with the plug disconnected altogether, the air suspension was NOT happy with the weird readings it was recieving when the sensor failed.  Of course, it happened when my wife was driving home, at night, in a blizzard.  The front end was bouncing up and down "like one of those Mexican cars" apparently, with the fancy xenons doing their best to alternately blind all oncoming traffic, or illuminate a patch of road about six feet off the front bumper. 

Vorsprung Durch Technic indeed.

 

Had Christmas up at the outlaw's place, so spent the meal looking longingly out the window at the Audi Coupe currently stashed there. 

Must sell it or something else back here at the ranch to make room. 

New year's resolution maybe...?

 

[TrabbieRonnie]

Hi all.

Well, Big Audi refuses to speak to the new level sensor I fitted... not sure if it's because it's a non-genuine part, or I have buggered up the wiring of the fiddly wee pins in the multiplug.  Further investigation required, however, the car is behaving a lot better.  All suspension heights are selectable, it's just that the headlights stay set too low.

It has also developed an exhaust leak at the flexi I damaged a while back (gave that job to the garage to sort, will have a look myself this time).  It sounds amazing (think American V8 burble), but is a bit anti-social.  It's all stainless, so hopefully the flexi bit has just come loose or something.  Would have had a look today, but it snowed overnight...

 

Mazda 323 has had more stickerage applied, and therefore an extra 5hp at least...

We're thinking of getting a wee boot spoiler for it too, like the GTR version. The wheels and sunstrip are giving it quite a sporty vibe, which I think suits it...

Had a wee taz round the local area this morning, below was a refuel stop for the Trabi, hence the bonnet up...  (Trabants, as we know, never FTP).

I fill my jerry can (in the boot) at the petrol station, and then mix in the 2 stroke oil in that before filling the car's tank.  This ensures a good mix of the right proportions.  Also saves funny looks on the forecourt as you lift the bonnet to fill her up!

Really looking forward to the summer now, should be fun with the RX8 if I can get it sorted too.

Cheers now.

 

 

 

 

[AnnoyingPentium]

You've been spotted! Sticker anaw!

[TrabbieRonnie]

8 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

You've been spotted! Sticker anaw!

Ha!  I'll show my eldest, he'll be chuffed!