Marm's Motors: Mid Engined Turbo RWD JDM Dad Wagon

[Marm Toastsmith]

Pleased to report that on the run to work and back it behaved perfectly. The oil looked clean when I checked it too, and no further sign of coolant loss. All seems well but I will keep a close eye on things to be safe.

 

9 hours ago, tom13 said:

I was always worried about the headgasket on mine but in the end it was fine. I would be surprised at the age of the car that it didn't already have a multilayer in there. I know what your going through. Their reputation makes you overly cautious.

On a side note, I can't remember where the marker is on that dipstick. Is the level supposed to be between the two dots? Is your level really high?

Thanks, and I think you're right on all counts, apart from the oil level which is fine - oil had just risen up the dipstick while I was holding it upside down.

It's a fab car.

 

 

 

[Marm Toastsmith]

Found out a little bit about the ground clearance of the car while driving home on some lanes this evening. Saw a large ish rock in the middle of the road and decided take it very slowly. Not slowly enough.

Made a right racket but no obvious damage. Fingers crossed.

Would be good to get it up on some ramps and also check the suspension height etc...

[djoptix]

Re HGF, it will be fine, stop worrying 😏

Re lowness... yes, it's definitely a little lower than it should be.

I miss it! Glad you're having fun with it though and the Alfa is keeping me busy anyway... 

 

[Marm Toastsmith]

It's way too low to get on my driveway. Need to get the suspension pumped up...

Trying not to let the wonky gearknob bother me. Searching on eBay tells me it's probably a mk2 knob and shouldn't fit.

 

[Marm Toastsmith]

Mainly been using the Caddy because rain etc. It's so practical and bright and breezy to run about in... I love it. But in a slightly odd twist I might actually have to sell... been in discussions with another member about its replacement. A quick heads up to anyone who's interested.

It'll be a bit more than I paid for it but not as much as I've spent on it... will get a proper ad, photos and price together at some point.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Drove the family to London (not back) in the CR-V. On the way across town I noticed it was running warmer than usual but put it down to the weather and awful traffic.

On the way back it started overheating on the M25, with the temperature gauge behaving erratically and yoyoing between very hot (just staying out of the red) and pretty cold.

I limped it to Slough with the heating on full (ouch). I let it cool down and topped up the water, which was a bit low. I let it idle and it all seemed OK, fan coming on and off and the gauge staying in the middle.

Hit the road with no apparent issues, keeping a watchful eye on the temperature needle and taking it easy.

Just outside Swindon the temperature gauge rocketed, only just staying out of the red. It yoyo'd once or twice but was very hot by the time I'd pulled off the M4 and stopped in a lay-by. I opened the bonnet, the level in expansion tank had risen, water was boiling.

Rang AutoAid. Guy came out pretty quick and diagnosed water pump as while revving the engine it failed to chuck water out of the top of the radiator with the cap off.

Absolute nightmare of a recovery. Following calling them at roughly 3pm I made it back home some time after 3am. Three separate trucks and endless delays...

On the plus side at least they quickly delivered the rest of the family (in a e-class taxi) as apparently covid restrictions meant we couldn't all travel in the recovery truck.

I thoroughly enjoyed the company of all 3 recovery drivers though.

[loserone]

9 minutes ago, marm said:

Absolute nightmare of a recovery. Following calling them at roughly 3pm I made it back home some time after 3am. Three separate trucks and endless delays...

That's not usual for AutoAid, how far was the recovery?

[Marm Toastsmith]

3 minutes ago, loserone said:

That's not usual for AutoAid, how far was the recovery?

130 miles.

They were apologetic on the phone. I ended up with one guy on my file "Daniel" who was very sympathetic, kept ringing me to check I was OK, tried his best and offered £20 compensation as well as later offering to pay for a hotel when the final relay failed to show up when estimated.

I think everything went a bit mad over the bank holiday, lots of people travelling to the South West, loads of breakdowns, hot weather, covid restrictions causing complications etc.

Still, not really good enough... I suspect a strongly worded letter might result in a bit more than the £20 compensation offered. Haven't had the energy to deal with it yet, was a fairly arduous journey.

[Cookiesouwest]

1 hour ago, marm said:

130 miles.

They were apologetic on the phone. I ended up with one guy on my file "Daniel" who was very sympathetic, kept ringing me to check I was OK, tried his best and offered £20 compensation as well as later offering to pay for a hotel when the final relay failed to show up when estimated.

I think everything went a bit mad over the bank holiday, lots of people travelling to the South West, loads of breakdowns, hot weather, covid restrictions causing complications etc.

Still, not really good enough... I suspect a strongly worded letter might result in a bit more than the £20 compensation offered. Haven't had the energy to deal with it yet, was a fairly arduous journey.

Its no consolation, but pumps are cheap (for a Honda) and not the worst job in the world on one of those.

[Marm Toastsmith]

On 6/4/2021 at 10:50 AM, Cookiesouwest said:

Its no consolation, but pumps are cheap (for a Honda) and not the worst job in the world on one of those.

Well... it's Mrs Marm's car and I don't have time for spannering at the moment so she took it to the local garage. They reckon they have fixed it but I'm not convinced. I just spoke to the receptionist on the phone, she wouldn't let me speak to the actual mechanic, rather suggested that I should take it and see how I get on.

Jobs apparently done:

1. Topped up engine oil.

2. Pressure tested the cooling system.

3. Replaced the anti freeze.

4. Found that one of fan connectors was disconnected and reconnected it.

5. Fixed leaking headlamp washer (I think one of the recovery drivers might have broken this, it confused me for a minute because it looked a bit like a coolant leak).

It's true that one of the fan connectors (there are 2 fans) was loose - I had a quick look and couldn't work out where it it was supposed to go but when I let it idle the other fan kicked in OK and cut out once it had done its job.

IMO the fan operation is neither here nor there as it suddenly overheated while doing 70mph after having cruised without issue for miles.

The oil is a bit of an odd one. It seemed to have plenty when we left but it was low when I checked it after the recovery. It does seem to burn a bit.

What about that bleeding pump?

 

 

[Cookiesouwest]

Agree re the fan issue. Cant see how that would cause the issue.

Take it back or ask to speak to mechanic.

Has she tried a 70 mph run?

 

[Barry Cade]

On 6/4/2021 at 9:26 AM, loserone said:

That's not usual for AutoAid, how far was the recovery?

Auto aid are the same as everyone else, and use independent breakdown companies, who were flat out.  Our trucks have been up and down the country as everyone has been let loose, and are swarming around like migrating birds in this good weather.. tacho rules and driver hours don't change but staffing levels have been all over the place in the past year or so. Crazy times for the industry, and made worse by everyone having their own policies for carrying passengers..

[Marm Toastsmith]

22 hours ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Take it back or ask to speak to mechanic.

Has she tried a 70 mph run?

Well, Mrs M picked it up and spoke to one of the mechanics (not the one who did the work) who was certain that the water pump is OK (and said that they either work or that they don't). He kind of admitted that the fan connector issue wouldn't have caused overheating at 70mph though. His best guess was an air lock or blockage, hopefully cured by draining the existing fluid.

They also flagged up a noisy "timing chain tensioner" at startup. I've been ignoring this for at least a year - assuming it to be the starter motor. I'm sure it's a belt, not a chain, but if the tensioner is knackered it's another potential issue. Probably really needs a cam belt and water pump, I'm not sure we're going to bother though... might be time to move it on as Mrs M would like something smaller anyway.

[Cookiesouwest]

Apologies but can't remember if its a mk2 crv.

If so, its a chain engine.

[Marm Toastsmith]

53 minutes ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Apologies but can't remember if its a mk2 crv.

If so, its a chain engine.

mk1

[Cookiesouwest]

45 minutes ago, marm said:

mk1

Thats a belt engine not chain, as you suspected.

Could be tensioner.

Could be valves maybe.

Below from an American CRV site, but applicable

 CR-V engine has a timing belt that needs to be replaced every 105,000 miles or 168,000 kilometers according to the 2001 Honda CR-V owner's manual. A timing belt replacement could cost from $350 to $500 in a repair shop ($650-870 with the water pump).
The CR-V's engine needs periodic valve adjustment. If not adjusted in time, the valves can get too tight causing misfire. If the vehicle continues to be driven with the valves being too tight, you can end up with burnt valves.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Thanks. Valve clearances were adjusted fairly recently. The noise sounds very much like a noisy starter motor, and the more I think about it the more I think that's probably what it is. At some point I might stick my head under the bonnet and see where it's coming from.

[Cookiesouwest]

2 minutes ago, marm said:

Thanks. Valve clearances were adjusted fairly recently. The noise sounds very much like a noisy starter motor, and the more I think about it the more I think that's probably what it is. At some point I might stick my head under the bonnet and see where it's coming from.

Bit of a worry that a mechanic can't tell the difference between a chain tensioner that the car doesn't have ! and a starter motor

 

[Marm Toastsmith]

1 minute ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Bit of a worry that a mechanic can't tell the difference between a chain tensioner that the car doesn't have ! and a starter motor

 

Yeah, he also insisted that neither fan would work with one connector loose... wrong again.

I might be wrong about the starter though.

[jonathan_dyane]

It could be that the water pump impeller slips when it gets proper hot. Worth replacing the water pump before you break down again.

PS we were stuck for about 4 hours after the Saab burst a hose, I feel better about it reading your debacle 

[Marm Toastsmith]

In other news the rev counter went bonkers on the caddy today. And the TV broke last week. Hopefully that's the trilogy.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Right... Mrs M wants a new motor. Going to see these:

https://www.gumtree.com/p/mazda/mazda-3-saloon-2006-semi-auto-1598-cc-4-doors/1407377351

https://www.gumtree.com/p/hyundai/hyundai-matrix-petrol-1.6-gsi-automatic-2007-5-doors/1407404528

 

[Marm Toastsmith]

May have done a buy.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Mrs M has been running the CR-V around without issue but the urge for something slightly smaller and newer kicked in, the result being: 

Seems well looked after (4 matching Goodyear tyres, Bosch battery, etc.) and low mileage (78k) but there are a couple of faults already apparent - most annoying is the passenger window has a mind of its own. Seller was up front about the engine light (diagnosed by Halfords as a knock sensor) and it seems to run well and drive pretty well. Starter is a bit noisy, too.

Still, it's quite a nice looking thing and definitely the least rusty car in the fleet. Mrs M hasn't driven it yet, hope she likes it.

At the £750 paid hopefully it's worth the bit of TLC it needs.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Wasn't keen on the wonky alloy gear knob so fitted a wood one from Rimmers. It didn't fit out of the packet but easy enough to adapt following this:

https://www.mgfregister.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17169

Looks and feels much better to me, way more suited to the vibe of the car, and makes it feel more like my idea of a proper British classic. Wouldn't mind a Mountney steering wheel to match.

Replaced a side repeater lens which kept falling out. The new one looks much nicer, too.

Also replaced the meh-sounding, dangerously fiddly to operate JVC CD player with a nice bluespot courtesy of @ruffgeezer. It's a "St. Tropez", which seems 100% appropriate, especially with the top down. It sounds great, and I now have a line in with the tape adapter. Currently playing Kyuss from my Nokia's MP3 player... Will be good to get the tapes out and it's nice to be able to put the glovebox cassette storage to good use.

I'd also noticed the speakers were wired wrong (front and rears out of phase) so sorted that. Front speaker wires had been replaced and wired with chocolate blocks so easily remedied. Previous owner was a sound engineer so to be expected  @djoptix.

While I was in there I also reglued some loose trim and found the cause of the inoperative clock backlight. I'll have a fiddle with that later.

A few nice small wins without even getting my hands too dirty.  

 

 

 

[ruffgeezer]

Glad the blaupunkt found a good home! 

[djoptix]

28 minutes ago, marm said:

Previous owner was a sound engineer so to be expected

Cheeky bugger. I never used the radio/cd, I prefer the sound of the exhaust 😉

[Marm Toastsmith]

[Marm Toastsmith]

Mazda sailed its maiden voyage. 323 miles (in homage to its predecessor?) of pleasant, uneventful motoring - better than that the run seems to have "fixed" the main fault it came with as for the time being the EML light is out.

I'm fairly impressed, actually. Very good balance of ride vs handling, comfortable seats and easy to drive if not particularly exciting. Seems good on fuel too, only used 3/4 of a tank.

Upshot is that the CR-V can now be listed for sale. Possibly the Caddy too... I fancy a bigger van to replace it.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Pretty happy with 36.5mpg out of a petrol automatic motor.

10 days in to SORNing the Caddy. As much as I'm enjoying the MGF as a daily driver I'm seriously missing the huge boot and not sure whether I've even got it in me to save a months road tax, let alone sell it...