Bear Posted June 7 Author Posted June 7 First, no more loose, unsealed offside headlight cover... Second, I found something I worried I'd lost! privatewire, yes oui si, UltraWomble and 4 others 7
Bear Posted June 11 Author Posted June 11 More Audi things while waiting for tools: The Blaupunkt now matches the manual in the handbook folder: So... Illumination! And autoreverse! Timing belt? Got it covered! Had to swap the rubber bit and clips though... yes oui si, IronStar, Popsicle and 8 others 11
Bear Posted June 11 Author Posted June 11 One more job done before the end of the day... yes oui si, Stinkwheel and privatewire 3
Bear Posted June 12 Author Posted June 12 From this: To this: Because this is not awesome: There's a lot of hidden damage under here - so I can see myself visiting a lot of Vauxhall breakers and GM dealer sites - nothing is too expensive if it weren't for fucking Brexit, of course, I may drive to Europe to get parts at some point. Replaced the bonnet stay guide as well. £2.something for a genuine part vs "a broken clip with a shitload of glue that failed, but has left crusty clear glue on the bonnet paint" - I have a spare one in case it's a design flaw! Wibble, Schaefft, Jim Bell and 3 others 6
wuvvum Posted June 12 Posted June 12 Did you manage to find a fog / reverse light unit for sensible money then? They were all £LOL when I was looking, hence the slightly* shonky repair on the original unit.
Bear Posted June 13 Author Posted June 13 8 hours ago, wuvvum said: Did you manage to find a fog / reverse light unit for sensible money then? They were all £LOL when I was looking, hence the slightly* shonky repair on the original unit. Not sensible - £125 - but cheaper than I was finding elsewhere. Mostly not sensible because I could get a used bumper with diffuser and all parts (including foglight) for £250-300 - though none of them are quite good enough to just swap onto the car! It still has the LED reversing light, since it didn't come with wiring, and I'd have kept it anyway! The undertray piece is the pisser - it's only -$66-99 most places but I can only find one at the moment, used, not well photographed, and £87. I will get one but car breakers seem to be smoking the wrong kind of crack when it comes to pricing of stuff that is clearly broken or damaged - my dad's Kia front bumper is amazing, the car bumper specialist asking £150-200+ for bumpers with cracks and splits all over the shop as bad as the damage to his car was. He was going to pay £1300+ for repairs and I plastic welded most of it, but a couple of brackets are essentially a mashed-potato mountain of tiger seal and optimism. And the outside I put paint protection film over the crack to stabilise it. Proper bodges, but there's a good two hours of work just removing and refitting the bumper and trimmings on it if you do it carefully and don't break anything. I might be able to stitch an Ampera bumper together but most I've seen are just battered and need paint more than cracks fixing 😕 Crash protection and pedestrian safety are the problem - every Ampera bumper I've considered has lost the perforated breakaway clip section at the wing/arch join so it'll never reattach flush. I do wonder how many are damaged when someone's tearing into the car at the breaker's yard vs already broken from the damage! privatewire, wuvvum and Jim Bell 3
Bear Posted June 13 Author Posted June 13 Fundamentally Vauxhall and GM were never awesome for spares and support anyway, but now Vauxhall is part of "planned obsolescence masters" Stellantis, little orphan Ampera is doomed when it comes to anything unique or trim 😕
Bear Posted June 13 Author Posted June 13 I am pretty convinced that it must be possible to upgrade to Navi950 radio and HMI 2.5 to get CarPlay - just "a lot of work" to figure out the magic combination to make the HMI understand the Ampera buttons and screen size etc. Looking forward to getting a DAB+ tuner and trying it out- that is supposed to just swap over, no coding needed. wuvvum, privatewire and Jim Bell 3
wuvvum Posted June 13 Posted June 13 The other issue with the undertray is that it's so flimsy (it seemed to be made of some kind of fibrous material) that I was skeptical about the ability of a used one to survive the trauma of Evri. I wasn't actually going to bother putting the damaged one back on but then it looked like leaving it off might bugger up the airflow under the car (turn the rear bumper into a massive air scoop). I know what you mean about bumper prices for "moderns" - breakers are still asking four figures for decent front bumpers for the Mk2 Nissan Leaf, and even then those aren't perfect. Headlights are silly too - 120 quid for a headlight with all the mounting lugs busted off, WTF is anyone supposed to do with that? Bear 1
Bear Posted June 13 Author Posted June 13 And yet that rear undertray... I found it for $31! But... $208 shipping...
Bear Posted June 13 Author Posted June 13 Some things are easy though. One part from a Vauxhall Mokka or somesuch... £20 I didn't even need to remove the whole floor but I wanted to clean a bit anyway. Whassat? Aha! Swapped... Hasn't broken it... Yeay! More stations (and stereo) - one DAB+ upgrade completed. I wonder how much of the £20 I'll get back for the old DAB box 😂 Schaefft, yes oui si, Stinkwheel and 5 others 8
Bear Posted June 18 Author Posted June 18 Under the arches - typical Audi of the 80s, just wants a wash 😂 yes oui si, privatewire and Schaefft 3
Bear Posted June 19 Author Posted June 19 At last! Someone already got annoyed with the "view from back of cover" timing mark I see... Need to shove engine mount rubber a bit to make it flush enough to get the crank bolt tool in - I think the VW tool has an offset for this reason... But when I've got time I can finish this and get back to driving the Audi! Jim Bell, Coprolalia, IronStar and 4 others 7
Bear Posted June 19 Author Posted June 19 Now waiting for a 1" square drive breaker bar... Remove this: And now the tools fit perfectly. UltraWomble, Schaefft, Coprolalia and 1 other 4
Bear Posted June 21 Author Posted June 21 this has been such a PITA and it's all about the tools. First the Audi tool is mentioned as using a 1" drive breaker bar. I order both a bar, and an adaptor. The adaptor shows this is bollocks. So I try a few things and also order 3/4" adaptor and breaker bar. A 19mm hex fits. In desperation I order a big 19mm hex key with a handle. 3/4 drive is also bollocks. Good thing I ordered the massive allen key. Success. 27mm socket and ratchet for the rest. A clear view! Technically I need to remove this plate to do the water pump. Not keen. Notice those pliers? This little bastard holds the air intake nozzles. It would not budge until I got those pliers with end-on grips. Then it came out easily. I will replace with stainless fittings. Harmonic balancer but no AC. Looks a bit degraded. Raining now so leave it - should order a crank and cam end seal gasket I think. Old belt was a Gates one and looked in good condition, but I need to remove it to change the water pump anyway. privatewire, Coprolalia, UltraWomble and 4 others 7
Bear Posted June 22 Author Posted June 22 Bastard Audi The thermostat housing does not wish to come off... Because of this: The remains of which are still in the block protruding enough to hold the housing from budging. And the idler pulley is resisting all attempts to remove it correctly. Fed up now. High Jetter, Wibble, yes oui si and 1 other 4
Bear Posted June 22 Author Posted June 22 Damaged the thermostat housing slightly but got the bugger off. Enough thread left to wind a nut on and lucky, not enough to wind two, but it undid anyway... New stat fitted, but the wind blew the bonnet and it hit me in the back so I'm ignoring the car for now. privatewire and Jim Bell 2
Bear Posted June 22 Author Posted June 22 Water pump: in Really want to clean up the tank a bit Tired of all the nuts and bolts I found in my garage being almost, but not quite, the right size The Audi originals were chewed to death. Someone employed a puppy as a mechanic. Enough for now, I need threadlock and replacement socket-headed screws for the timing belt cover when I get to fitting it. And some coolant. Enjoy one of my favourite little details on the Audi. Wibble, yes oui si, Coprolalia and 4 others 7
Bear Posted June 24 Author Posted June 24 Supplies arrived Improvised Belt and braces Covered up - not torqued up yet, ran out of time Can't wait to put the grille back on Popsicle, Christine, High Jetter and 4 others 7
Bear Posted June 25 Author Posted June 25 Done It is a marvellous shape privatewire, Jim Bell, Coprolalia and 11 others 14
Bear Posted June 25 Author Posted June 25 Quick run out to get some 99 octane fuel was not so quick because Tesco ran out and local Bee Pee doesn't have it. Esso so the car with a shark in the window has a tiger in the tank. Home again with temp gauge reaching the middle, fans cutting in (they always did), no sign of air locks or further contamination of the new coolant beyond rinsing out what water couldn't shift when I flushed it. Not convinced the timing is right overall - it sounds the same, feels the same, but with the car taking so long to warm up and a distinct lack of urge on steep hills in low gear, I wonder if it's been messed with or an advance system isn't advancing. Of course it could just be that 115hp and a three-speed auto isn't very sprightly anyway. It's bloody handsome. And very comfortable and pleasant with the sunroof and window open and Dire Straits playing on that four-speaker autoreverse Blaupunkt. So posh. I'm also kinda happy to have got the AA badge on the side my brain says it belongs and properly secured. Schaefft, inconsistant, drewd and 8 others 11
Bear Posted June 25 Author Posted June 25 Forgot this very important picture: Went for takeaway listening to Deacon Blue's 1989 album with Fergus Sings the Blues. I'm a Runrig sticker away from FREEEDOM! Still light innit. Time for a quickie for the gf. Only three of the old plugs were loose. So I guess that's an improvement over what I'm used to finding. Are these some sort of alien device to people? Gave it a little clean as well. Wait for the verdict tomorrow but I thought it sounded smooth as anything and fired up right away. yes oui si, Popsicle, S2000 and 4 others 7
Bear Posted June 26 Author Posted June 26 OEM my arse, Febi 🙄 The picture on the advert looked like the original. It works though! Just did a nice drive to Alfreton and back and the temperature warmed up after two miles and stayed mostly in the middle. I think the radiator needs changing since I flushed it with a hose, but when warming up it has a pretty chunky cold patch for longer than I like. Guess which other light stayed off until I got aggressive with the revs... Now I need a contact in Germany who will forward some stuff from Audi to me, as they won't ship it here with any common sense 😕 privatewire and Jim Bell 2
yes oui si Posted June 27 Posted June 27 @Bear - I have a period-correct Radio Nae Ladge (or Radio Borders if you're posh) sticker somewhere but most of my life is in boxes atm due to house sale/moving. Bear 1
Bear Posted June 28 Author Posted June 28 Of course the subframe is in the way... This is the route of the fuel pipes under the boot floor for the RX-7 Wibble, yes oui si, Jim Bell and 1 other 1 3
Bear Posted July 9 Author Posted July 9 What's what, almost two weeks without updates? Ampera: ABS light/Stabilitrak warning for OSF wheel circuit - i.e. the ABS sensor is being a pain. CBA prodding it, I'm sort of hacked off with the car now because between wanting it, and actually getting it, the bottom fell out of ropey Ampera values and it seems there are loads for £2K with smallish faults and a few miles, but without the cosmetic challenges. It's also got a slow puncture, oddly enough on the same wheel that's giving me hassle over the ABS. That said it's just plodding about with me inflating the tyre and ignoring the warning light, so I don't care. I'll fix it when I have mental space. Audi 100: I am fairly sure that the last timing belt change, they got it one tooth out. I am feeling this because I put my new belt on without moving anything and relying on their scribed marks rather than the factory marking on the cam pulley, it's running rich and seems a bit low on power on hills sometimes. However, it's driving fine, and I'm using it. I'm also fairly sure the oil pressure warning is voltage related - I'm going to do some work on that soon, but I've had plenty of drives where it doesn't give me a peep. Girlfriend doesn't like how the car smells, but I've always got the sunroof and window open anyway. I've bought a hubcap on eBay that hasn't appeared yet, it now has a 1980s Garfield in the back window and Now 16, Enigma, and Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior tapes from 1989/90 in the glovebox, and I kinda love that car. Tempted to put my private plate on it but resisting for now, since I like the original Merrylees one. I do need some help from a European resident getting bits from Audi Tradition though :(. Mazda RX-7: I have fuel lines, but fitting them does look like an absolute pain in the arse without a lot of car lifting tech, Went to fit the new coolant sensor and the old one just broke off, so I need to remove the thermostat housing again and extract the stub. Porsche: MOT is either expired or about to expire and I've no money for tyres, so it's still sitting in the garage. I really should just sell it for whatever I can get for it and put the energy into the RX-7. Work patterns and pay mean the rollercoaster of 'work/panic/stress/fix/try to relax/time passes/panic' is not over yet. My brain has decided to give me short stories, my body, a dizziness--inducing sinus infection, so I made myself rest for a couple of days and wrote the stories. Stories do not earn money. And fuck me, the machine of late-stage capitalism is insatiable. This is literally going to kill me, I have no idea how the fuck I can survive like this, but the Audi does mean I'm at least stressing about fewer things. Jim Bell and yes oui si 1 1
UltraWomble Posted July 9 Posted July 9 49 minutes ago, Bear said: Jesus - I remember selling that album in Woolies. What an utter flop it was. I think almost all our stock got returned to E-UK who then drip fed it out to branches at 99p for each and every record sale thereafter for bloody years. scooobydont, privatewire and Bear 1 2
Bear Posted July 17 Author Posted July 17 I hate being so desperate to bring money in all the time, but when I try a "this will solve a problem long enough to try for more stability" cheap price on something for a week and it doesn't shift, I just want to give up. Beccause after a week, the bills have bounced, eBay's screwed me on a sale because a buyer redirected a parcel, so what the fuck... may as well let everything burn. And by burn, I mean "sod it, use the last whisker of credit card and get the tyres and MOT done". But first... That hose doesn't look very secure. Declamped and pushed up to the correct location. Bit of dusting: I forgot, or never realised - it DOES have two cupholders! Last time I wanted to rest a coffee in it I only used the first one. Couple of days and I'll enjoy this view for a moment or two before reality kicks in again. Fluorescent, daylight, night, the interior colour changes mood all the time. Fluorescent is not flattering. Hopefully I can give it a wash before any hosepipe bans. Meanwhile after this experiment wasn't satisfactory... Audi now has four trims again. Still need another one to replace the mismatched front one though. yes oui si, AnnoyingPentium, Wibble and 4 others 7
AnnoyingPentium Posted July 17 Posted July 17 1 hour ago, Bear said: I hate being so desperate to bring money in all the time, but when I try a "this will solve a problem long enough to try for more stability" cheap price on something for a week and it doesn't shift, I just want to give up. Beccause after a week, the bills have bounced, eBay's screwed me on a sale because a buyer redirected a parcel, so what the fuck... may as well let everything burn. And by burn, I mean "sod it, use the last whisker of credit card and get the tyres and MOT done". But first... That hose doesn't look very secure. Declamped and pushed up to the correct location. Bit of dusting: I forgot, or never realised - it DOES have two cupholders! Last time I wanted to rest a coffee in it I only used the first one. Couple of days and I'll enjoy this view for a moment or two before reality kicks in again. Fluorescent, daylight, night, the interior colour changes mood all the time. Fluorescent is not flattering. Hopefully I can give it a wash before any hosepipe bans. Meanwhile after this experiment wasn't satisfactory... Audi now has four trims again. Still need another one to replace the mismatched front one though. I spy some of my stickers! Bear 1
bangernomics Posted July 17 Posted July 17 If you can get it to me before next Tuesday and its not huge Mrs B is off to the UK to pick the grandkids up and could then do onwards post.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now