Bear's bangers: gathering thoughts and trying to plan... C-Class, RX-7 and Audi

[Bear]

11 minutes ago, GeorgeB said:

Discover this 2005 Mercedes Benz C Class C350 SE, a refined saloon offering a blend of performance and practicality.

Fuck off!

AI has a lot to answer for.

And would answer it wrong.

[Bear]

I think I have sussed out my sunroofs!

The black car - the rear blind is the issue. What happens is it starts to close, then sticks, and the front blind works fine. I think there must be a clutch or slip mechanism for the bowden cables that allows them to stop and disconnect if the blinds meet resistance, but when you open the blind the front one retracts, the back one stays where it is until you poke it, angling the guides back to flat and then it retracts on the spring.

This is why I don't want to leave it like this because if it did that while I was driving I'd probably shit myself and crash from the loud bang right over my ear.

It should not be able to do this, however. Detaching the sunroof blind from the mechanism is achieved by tilting the leading edge and unsnapping it from the guides which should be part of the bowden cable. The guides have snapped off the cable, and when the cable operates it pushes the blind so far, then wedges under it jamming the blind.

The solution? Fit new sunroof blind bowden cables at a cost of £50-102 depending on source. This MAY be possible by dropping the rear of the headlining, removing a couple of screws that seem to act as stops, and extracting the old cables/feeding new ones in.

Sounds tolerable, anyway.

The green car?

Sunroof's fucked and I need to rebuild the whole lot, motors, gears, everything. YEAY! But at least when I do it, it'll be done right and set up so it lasts. I've ordered a replacement for the broken speaker grille on the driver's door in the meantime.

[Bear]

A bit of interior cleaning

I'm missing a tyre compressor, but everything else is present and clean. Look at all that space!

Such a good interior for an old cheap car.

Eventually I'll clean the outside but it seems to be "drop dirt from the sky" season.

[Bear]

So, how are the £2700 AMG Evo and the £800 eBay no-show stacking up?

Here's the expensive one's roof:

Compare with the black one

Now, I did get the AMG roof to open on the gear, which is good. It means I can remove the glass panel which makes repairs much easier.

Because the shitehawk seller not only rambled about how great it was etc. distracting me from the fact it didn't work...

...he also said it didn't leak.

You reckon, aye?

Now, I will fix this - but if anyone takes an interest in any Mercedes being sold by "Billy" or "William" on Car & Classic or Gumtree, FFS, treat it like it's a bombsite dealer and not a fellow enthusiast.

It's fair enough as cars and prices go but he talked it up so much and was so pushy, I think it was guaranteed to disappoint anyone.

Fortunately the "selling my old car most things are probably not working" car looks very nice and mostly works. It does need front arms & bushes.

Finally got a picture that almost shows the different colours (they're both black on the V5).

Now the paperwork is sorted and everything is aligned I'm getting to enjoy it a bit and yeah. These really are awesome cars. Not as hard edged as a big engine 1-Series but enough torque to go from purring along to a high rev bark and a lot of speed. And almost invisible - I don't think anyone knows what they are unlike the automatic reactions you get from other road users if you have a sporty BMW/Audi/FWD 21st century hot hatch.

[yes oui si]

Aye, definitely a bit of a Q car.

[Bear]

Slowly getting bits to sort out the first car...

Shuffled this over so I can get to the fuel lines - then I'll be able to move it and get the Mercedes on the lift for more work...

No more headbanging from some heavy metal - Stabilus struts solve it, after Frankberg ones nearly shot the tailgate into space without the damped final bit of travel.

Did make one small step on the RX-7.

The old number plate would not pass an MOT, warped and delaminated, and screwed badly to the bumper. So I put a new plate carrier on (MX-5 fit fits perfectly) and will order some pre-2001 plates worthy of a 1994 car.

[Bear]

Right, my financial outlook remains bleak, and pain levels have been really unpleasant lately. It's mostly finances, of course.

Seriously considering selling the Audi before I've done the headlining or other things planned, to get money and have fewer things to work on.

1: RX-7 fuel pipes - ordered, fittings cleaned, rust-treating threads and floor areas where they attach. Once fitted, I hope it can be driven out of the garage and allowed to get warmed through.

2: C320 #1 - it needs the headlining out and a full R&R of the sunroof - and it's leaking which will harm trim so I want to get it done ASAP but...

3: C320 #2 - I actually use this and it needs suspension control arms. There's a tangible "thud" when you stop abruptly.

This one should be top priority but they're so expensive for good ones. Meyle seems to be the best option - genuine is out of the question, almost £800. I could replace the dampers, springs and top mounts in that budget with Sachs OEM dampers and genuine springs and pads.

It also needs the headlining out, annoyingly though the sunroof is fine the rear sunblind guides cannot be replaced without dropping the guide rails at the back.

Now you'd think undoing the one screw would help, but...

The bracket supporting the rails is also in the way so they do need to be lowered a bit  for the full length of the roof.

Both C320s need new 225/45 and 245/40 tyres - #2 has stretched ones on the back wheels hence the kerbed alloys. I really want to have those refurbished but that's a lot of money for a cosmetic.

They also both need gearbox services - for my own peace of mind - and diff fluid changes for same reason.

Audi - headlining. Waiting for money and better weather.

If I found a petrol V6/V8 E-Class or C-Class estate with pano roof I'd definitely trade one C320 and the Audi for it though. Or an ML V8 with pano top.

[Bear]

First... I've felt better...

No, wait... I've better felt!

But the twins need attention...

And the bloody RX-7 is hogging the garage...

But wait!

This looks promising, I'll just push the fuel feel hose on and...

Bugger.

Very... bugger.

Not sure I'm up for waiting another two weeks for a solution I now realise I could have made myself but wanted professional quality.

It's a good thing that the cheap spares car is resilient and not complaining too much about the worn out bushes...

[Bear]

With the Discovery visiting the driveway is kinda crowded. And I've two Mercs to feed and bring up to spec.

Someone's getting pushed down the queue!

All very impressive, but...

Sticky plastic...

Unwelcome face mask for rear passengers

Does need doing - I already cut some away because it caught on something I was moving.

And the sunroof got in on the action

Finally got around to putting a Ctek header on the battery though!

[Westbay]

'Forgotten' this one ! ... Lovely ...👍

[Bear]

It's a tooth out, isn't it...

The line should be in the middle

The dizzy should meet the line in the casting...

The crankshaft is where it should be...

Never follow the scratchy marks and existing stuff the previous person left, I think...

I'll slacken off the water pump and move the camshaft one tooth clockwise, which I suspect will also move the distributor, and see how things land...

[Bear]

Timing is now correct - didn't need to remove the water pump as the belt is a very precise fit, just slid it off the camshaft, held everything in place while moving the cam one tooth over, and reinstalled by aligning the run from crank past idler to cam then turning over by hand. Adjust distributor accordingly, all timing marks aligned, put the covers back and fire it up, much better starting and revving.

Still a fair amount of soot out of the back on start, I suspect if it's been driving around running that rich everything is full of soot so I'm going to run some cataclean through it, which of course is an interesting proposition when it's not MOTd.

And the cheap new bonnet struts have failed in less than two months. So very tired of the quality of available parts/difficulty getting good stuff now.

[yes oui si]

Congratulations for the running, not the struts.

[Bear]

It was always running, hopefully this is running better. Seems to be happier to rev, if a little bogged down before kickdown - probably need to set the distributor more carefully and check the vacuum things. It's now on the driveway so if I get time I can find out if it needs anything for the MOT.

[Bear]

Waiting for new bonnet struts...

A delivery...

I should, really, have these refurbished...

Bargains on eBay

To fix this

But of course the expensive Merc is hiding more bloody bodgery.

The plastic cover piece from the inside is broken - and seems to be only available as part of a mirror frame 😕

So back together bodges remaining, for now.

[Bear]

Spot the difference?

Here. I always wondered about these as I'm always driving with windows down.

I did not realise they fit inside the rubber glass channel. I thought they went inside the door frame and then the rubber held them in.

Feels like a bodge but official accessories often fit the same way if they don't glue to the door frame.

The fit is good though, and it even has a slight channel for the window rubber to engage with when installed. Can't say I like the look of the metal clips much though.

Naturally it's raining so I'll wait and see if they're nice to use.

[mat777]

7 hours ago, Bear said:

Spot the difference?

Here. I always wondered about these as I'm always driving with windows down.

I did not realise they fit inside the rubber glass channel. I thought they went inside the door frame and then the rubber held them in.

Feels like a bodge but official accessories often fit the same way if they don't glue to the door frame.

The fit is good though, and it even has a slight channel for the window rubber to engage with when installed. Can't say I like the look of the metal clips much though.

Naturally it's raining so I'll wait and see if they're nice to use.

They do make a huge difference to the buffeting with the window open when on the move, hence why they're on the Disco! The other advantage is being able to leave the window cracked open  a) on a hot day without it being noticeable,  and b) (probably of less use to you for this car!) for ventilation when "car camping" especially as rain can't get in overnight.

The design does vary, mine are stick-on to the window frame rather than clip-in, which can distort the rubbers on some designs of car. 

The only disadvantage I've found with them, which probably will annoy you on a detailing level, is that an aerodynamic eddy pattern of low pressure forms between the vertical front edge and the mirror - which causes any rainwater or screen wash to swirl endlessly until it dries into a big dirty splodge obscuring the view of the mirror, rather than streaming off rearwards like normal .....

 

[Bear]

I failed at changing the Audi air filter

Because it didn't have one.

So, I have fitted an Audi air filter.

I wonder what interesting effect that had on how it's been behaving...

One of the new struts from eBay had gone wrong like the valve is reversed. It actively pulls the strut in - hence it startling me with how suddenly the struts had failed!

Replacements fitted now and I can go back to adjusting the tune, servicing and generally tweaking things.

The big holdup is having decided to fork out £200 on Rocket Dog racing fuel lines for the RX-7 they took ages to send, the manufacturer didn't secure the olives properly, asked for them to be returned to redo it and I've heard nothing for a week because the admin people sent them back to the boss instead of the factory - making it three weeks since I chose to buy "professionally made ready to fit" parts for convenience rather than DIYing with tools that would have cost less.

I could have bought a flare tool and bending set, 8mm fuel lines, and made my own exact replica lines in less time. Why the fuck is it so hard to spend money, get quality/professionalism in the motor industry here?!

So that bloody Mazda is still taking up the ramp.

HEL brake lines also lazy AF shite - packed so badly the washers escaped and no clue where the clutch line is.

[Bear]

Turns out Rocketdog has changed supplier and it looks like their old one was taking the piss - hadn't even crimped the olives...

New hoses rushed out to me.

They're a bit long, but the hoses fit and I suspect the extra is for serious people bypassing the subframe filter bollocks. I may do that but right now just untangling two fuel lines has wiped me out 😂

[Bear]

I viscerally, rabidly hate whoever at Mazda put the FD fuel filter and bracket here and I don't care if they're an octogenarian in a wheelchair, I will inflict a much pain on them as this utterly batshit piece of engineering for /a consumable service item/ has on me.

[Bear]

I can only assume that like clothes, when you buy bespoke racing fuel lines to directly replace the car's hard lines, the car is going to grow into them.

 

[Bear]

I think they sent me RX-8 lines instead.

They said pipes should be 3.06m

I measured and got 3.3m the first time.

But then I tried comparing the string against a hardline and it was 80cm too long.

Which make me doubt everything so I marked the string every 60cm, having tied a knot at the start and end of measuring a pipe.

I got 2.27m

Put the pipe next to the car and they'd need to make a four-door RX-7 to need 3m of hardline.

So I think my first measuring was off, but I also think they sent me RX-8 lines - an RX-8 wheelbase is 2.7m and probably more complex fuel line routing.

[Bear]

I have been working on Audi diagnostics, and ascertained...

The oil pressure is FINE.

0.3 bar opens as it should and stays at infinite resistance,  0 resistance when engine off.

1.4 bar is infinite resistance engine off, but "some" engine on.

Connecting the wire to earth is also "some"

So there's some resistance in the loom or the relay thing. 

I appear to have a rev counter signal varying voltage with engine speed, so I've got the dashboard out and am checking the ITT rev counter driver chip - but my feeling is, it's going to be a capacitor on that signal that has failed.

So hopefully I'll have a fully-working dashboard soon!

It really does seem to start with more enthusiasm and run well since correcting the timing belt, too.

[DirtyDaily]

Cant believe i missed an RX7 on the forum! One of the cars of all time.
That audi is lush also.
Cant wait to see progress on this Mazda, looks fairly clean for a jap car of this vintage!

[Bear]

It's been here nearly two years!

So this evening, frustrated by the fuel pipe bollocks, I made some repairs.

So we're at one brake flexi a year levels of progress on average.

(Actually took a couple of hour, most of which was swearing at the bastard HEL lines brackets that are slightly too snug for the mounts on the car - I had to file the back one out slightly).

[Bear]

Freeze spray, wire brush, WD40, being careful. I did them all. But the bolt stuck to the pipe and the pipe was weak.

Recommendations for a 45 degree double flaring tool, stainless M10 Japan bolts, and pipe, appreciated. I should do the whole car and be done with it really as I am sure the untouched for 16 years, 32 year old steel pipes have plenty of surprises to offer... but I need this car mobile. It's causing too much stress after the planned "fit new fuel hoses and move it" didn't go to plan and pushed everything back two weeks+

[Bear]

Houston, we have a solution...

Finding specifics for these cars is so hard online now, just because of video results (seriously why, why is YouTube full of results for fuseboxes?) and the particular Audi engine being not well known against... oh, almost anything Google decides I must have meant.

So a musician with a load of PDFs hidden on their website proves helpful!

Lessee, what have we got. I removed a big relay above, it's not related.

214 is the cooling fan 40A relay.

292 is the lights/radio on buzzer.

239 is the rear window wiper/washer.

Position 18 (above 214) has relay 297 which is the automatic shift lock.

I have a spare relay 263 which appears to be a fuel pump relay for cars with a speed limiter (this might be correct, as it has a catalyst - or should have I think). It is connected to the rev counter signal I think (maybe a fuel pump cut for high RPM) so I put it back in place of the non-limited one in case it causes issues with the rev counter.

So what is the relay without a number?

Well, it's in the right spot. But it's definitely not the right relay... Seat belt warning?

I wonder how that got there. Or when! Or why...

I need one with 240 stamped on it.

Check under the bonnet...

Nope!

1 - Battery relay?
2 - cooling fan or maybe related to rear foglights
3 - cooling fan overrun - 272
4 - not used (headlight washers)
5 - contact relay
6 - not used
7 - horn relay
8 - gearbox relay
9  - intermittent wash wipe relay
10 - fuel pump relay (63 - now replaced with the 263 I found)
11 - not used

So, one 240 relay ordered - hopefully that will restore the oil pressure warning system!

Totally hilarious, I ordered one of those relays last year - the same one, from the same seller - and cancelled it because all the conflicting bogus information online had me convinced that the autocheck panel made the sensor relay redundant.

Google does seem to have reduced the number of JustAsk spammy responses.