A long time ago in a Galaxie far, far away (and other shit)

[hairnet]

insight oof

galaxy (!) oof

 

[sdkrc]

This week: trim.

The Lexus is starting to grow on me, didn't like it originally because there's so much hype but it's distinctly average and doesn't over deliver in any way: it's not fast, it's kinda comfy, it's not that roomy etc etc.

Then you take it on a long trip and you start to appreciate it: very quiet, excellent sound system, rock steady. The thing that pushed me over the edge was getting stuck in traffic during an orange march in Glasgow. Aggressive drivers, my son needed a pee, shopping in the boot starting to defrost but it was incredibly stress free in the Lexus, you're really well insulated from everyone else and I like that a lot. Even more so than an Audi S8 with double glazing.

It had some remedial work, suspension bits, brakes, fluids and some leaks addressed. Still needs more but it feels better. After I treated it, it decided to reward me by spinning out with the entire family on board at 15mph with no warning. I reckon it's a combination of heat, fresh rain and an old tyre. 

I had some crossclimates due to be fitted today but Costco didn't bother contacting me. The guy at Costco I called hasn't seen 225/60 16 tyres in a million years apparently.

[Lacquer Peel]

What a lineup. 

[captain_70s]

22 hours ago, sdkrc said:

 

How does it feel to own a BRAND NEW CAR?

[sdkrc]

I feel INSIGHTFUL and DYNAMIC

I can't emphasise enough just how much of a pain in the arse this driver's door card has been in the Insight. This is the first time in about a year it's been on. 

The drivers window motor burnt out in Tesco whilst fully down. I took the door card off, took the window out and spent countless hours fucking around trying to put it back on. This lead to a very significant leak, mould and other problems when it was parked up. I even duct taped the window up for ages. Massively demoralising being defeated by simple trim.

 

BAKED ON LIKE A BASTARD

 

Used WD-40 and a scraper, came off a treat.

 

Touched up the bumper trim a bit. Photos don't do it much justice but take my word, it's marginally better.

 

And speaker hooked up, doorcard attached. Thank fuck for that.

 

Mary on a donkey painting to celebrate 

[Lacquer Peel]

On 7/4/2022 at 10:33 PM, sdkrc said:

This week: trim.

https://youtu.be/5awcF-TTFQo

 

[sdkrc]

[sdkrc]

Doing a spot clean. Did some floor mats last night and was impressed. Much more difficult doing the car from 4 stories and 15m away. The horrible damp smell appears to have abdicated, replaced by Aldi lavender fabric conditioner. Hoping that stays. Some stains still left because I ran out of time.

Next on the list is getting this 12v battery charged and then the IMA batteries could do with a shedload of rejuvenating cycles which I need to borrow someone else's house for

[sdkrc]

All of the good colours. 

[666jjp]

is it wrong that this was my first thought?

[sdkrc]

Right. I've made a conscious decision that I'm gonna piss money invest into the Lexus but also I'm gonna stop being a whiny bastard. 

I span the car at 15mph in fresh rain with the entire family onboard including my father in law. I promised there and then that I'd get brand name tyres asap. I managed to last another month with my thumb up my arse before a wheelspin in town at traffic lights freaked the missus out "this isn't safe blah blah"

The sledgehammers to crack nuts solution? Crossclimates all round. They look and feel great. Only needed the back 2 really but wanted to experience a full set.

Also bought a new boot seal to tackle the mystery boot leak and some fancy Bosch wipers

 

On the Insight I took a look at the egr bits. There's an EGR plate and valve, if they clog up they can lead to some kangarooing/jerky acceleration at low speeds (which I've noticed recently) and lower mpg. 

First anomaly is that this is the wrong egr valve, this is off a civic 1.8 and the channel is slimmer (notice the carbon in a rectangular shape). I don't think in theory this is an issue but makes me even more curious to see the plate...

I made a prison lighter to try activate the valve. This worked on some videos I watched but didn't work for me. Not sure what conclusion to draw from that since it's not 12v.

On the egr plate, I got defeated by these 2 hard to access bolts. They are not fat hand friendly. I managed to finally get a socket and UJ attached but couldn't get enough purchase as it was seized solid. I soaked them in WD-40 and had another shot but absolutely no movement. Heads on the bolts are perilously close to being rounded too

I've also bought a further share in the communal Mi16 bringing me up to a 66% share in a fucked Peugeot.

[sdkrc]

Insight mpgs to shitefest and back.

And temporary fleet shot. The abandoned Avensis isn't mine but I wish it was

And less exciting fresh plates on the insight 

[GMcD]

Y THO?

[Asimo]

1 hour ago, sdkrc said:

ade a prison lighter to try activate the valve. This worked on some videos I watched but didn't work for me. Not sure what conclusion to draw from that since it's not 12v.

I used an 18v drill battery to check the egr solenoid. It does need a fair bit of current to drive it so the pp3 duracell may be out of it’s depth. The valve I took off definitely had a worn-out potentiometer - the same problem as when the volume control of your gran’s radio gets crackly - Try some contact cleaner spray, I drilled a little hole in the top of the egr valve to spray contact cleaner in. (Don’t use solvent or WD40, just an electrical contact spray). Doing this did improve things with the old egr valve, but only for a time. I did look at removing the egr plate, but never did so, but I can’t remember why!

[Supernaut]

U wot.

[sdkrc]

That SLK was just resting in my account before I moved it on

[sdkrc]

I used the Bissel pro on the Lexus floormats after giving it a scrub down.

Before:

 

After:

The new boot seal strip is fitted too. Some minor rust around the entire boot lip which I've scrubbed but will need to treat at some point. 

 

Tomorrow brings a significant road trip with the potential of playing a non-starring role in a triple collection mission. 

[sdkrc]

440 miles in the Lexus was comfortable but I think I spent £140 on fuel and there are many things to fix. It pulls to the left, the EML is on and it's way down on power, the brakes squealed for most of the journey. The aerial also got stuck half way up when I parked up as well which is a pita. I went out on my lunch break and took it apart only to uncover this

Fingers went right through it.

You crusty boy! This is quite a common area for them to go as detailed in the LS currently for sale here. 

I've been making a list of things I need to do to get this thing minty and it's quite extensive. I don't think any single piece of work is scary on its own though. I need to save up and prioritise them with the MOT up in January, this is the current priority order

[sdkrc]

Worth noting that I absolutely ruined the armrest trying to clean it. I used a saddle soap on the seats - didn't have any problems. I got too confident and used it on the armrest and it's killed the dye. 

[Split_Pin]

Gliptone liquid leather cleaner and conditioner (separate bottles) are the go to leather restoration products. About £12 for a bottle and the stuff goes a long way. They also make dye kits.

[sdkrc]

Better photos. I reckon this is a combination of boot seal and aerial leak. Boot seal sorted. Aerial drain cleared.

I think this patch can be sorted quite easily but I will need to find a designated adult to sort it out as I'm still in an Airbnb and don't want to take the piss.

 

[somewhatfoolish]

Crispy.

[sdkrc]

lol

For some context we were putting the new dizzy in Galaxie and were having problems. It should just be a 5min slap-it-in job but the new dizzy would just not fit. Every single dimension was the same as the old one though. We gave up and put the old one back in, tried to get it running and BOOM.

Can't explain just how loud this backfire was.

Some lads playing drums with loud music a block away stopped everything and shouted "what the fuck was that"

[Rocket88]

Smoll red van ….. for sale?

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, sdkrc said:

lol

For some context we were putting the new dizzy in Galaxie and were having problems. It should just be a 5min slap-it-in job but the new dizzy would just not fit. Every single dimension was the same as the old one though. We gave up and put the old one back in, tried to get it running and BOOM.

Can't explain just how loud this backfire was.

Some lads playing drums with loud music a block away stopped everything and shouted "what the fuck was that"

A certain Lancia Trevi caused precisely the same reaction from our neighbours a month or so back...Also when I was hunting ignition issues!  My ears were ringing for bloody hours afterwards.

[loserone]

45 minutes ago, Rocket88 said:

Smoll red van ….. for sale?

Get to the back of the queue

[GingerNuttz]

Galaxie backfired in the garage and my dad shit himself, he ran like fuck 😂

[SiC]

4 hours ago, sdkrc said:

Can't explain just how loud this backfire was

[Insert_Uncle_Buck_video_here]

[somewhatfoolish]

 

[sdkrc]

I've been having some dirty thoughts about the Lexus...thoughts I struggled to express using free image editors.

You get the idea anyway

 

My Lexus is out for welding. The Insight is on loan and I've borrowed a different, aubergine flavoured LS400