project Maestro, please.

[vulgalour]

You can apparently use pu sealant to fill in the cracks and then recolour with vinyl dye or paint.  I was intending to do it on mine but I couldn't find a matching dye off the shelf so it just kept getting pushed down the list.  There's a few American channels on Youtube that cover various options for repairing dash cracks, it's just a case of figuring out the UK equivalent for materials.

[vulgalour]

Today I learned the reason the glovebox light wasn't working is I hadn't turned the headlights on.  I'm going to go ahead and assume that's normal, even though it seems a little odd that the light wouldn't just work the same as the door courtesy light.

[JMotor]

Totally normal.

Found out from being CBA'd putting the glovebox back in mine. Then switching the headlights on while driving back home one evening.

Another Maestro quirk I didn't know about. That heat only came out of the windscreen and foot vents. Dash ones were just fresh air ones. Still can't figure why they did that. 

[vulgalour]

Pleased to know They All Do That Sir at least.  I never really thought about the fresh air/heater thing in the Maestro until you mentioned it, I've always quite liked the heat/fresh air set up it has.

[vulgalour]

Video time again.  We're going back to last July for this one.  Surprising nobody, we're repairing more rust.

 

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, vulgalour said:

Today I learned the reason the glovebox light wasn't working is I hadn't turned the headlights on.  I'm going to go ahead and assume that's normal, even though it seems a little odd that the light wouldn't just work the same as the door courtesy light.

Should come on with sidelights.

1 hour ago, JMotor said:

Totally normal.

Found out from being CBA'd putting the glovebox back in mine. Then switching the headlights on while driving back home one evening.

Another Maestro quirk I didn't know about. That heat only came out of the windscreen and foot vents. Dash ones were just fresh air ones. Still can't figure why they did that. 

Hijets / Porters and others are the same. It's to keep the driver awake (well, attempting to)

[vulgalour]

Got someone coming to view in a few.  I hope the car will disappoint rather less than the M25 has managed to today for them.

[vulgalour]

SOLD

Gone to a forum lurker (their words).  Lovely people to deal with, entirely hasslefree transaction, may have talked about cars a bit too much, or just the right amount.  I feel a tiny bit of sadness at it leaving but am also really glad it's gone to the right sort of person who will hopefully get lots of enjoyment from it.

[grogee]

12 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

SOLD

Gone to a forum lurker (their words).  Lovely people to deal with, entirely hasslefree transaction, may have talked about cars a bit too much, or just the right amount.  I feel a tiny bit of sadness at it leaving but am also really glad it's gone to the right sort of person who will hopefully get lots of enjoyment from it.

Congratulations and commiserations in equal measure. If its a forum lurker I hope they start a thread for their stewardship of this absolute survivor. 

[vulgalour]

This thread will continue for a bit longer even though I've sold the car because I've still got content recorded on work done.  Very pleased that the car behaved itself normally and didn't do any car-for-sale things today like cars do sometimes, it was just its usual self on the test drive and the inspection.

Now I'm without personal transport again until I've done a couple of small jobs on the Princess so I better crack on with that.

[inconsistant]

Sorry to see this move on from your ownership but glad it’s going in what sounds like a good direction. Was great meeting it (and you, obvs!) at Flower Farm earlier in the year. 

[2110]

On 25/10/2023 at 17:25, vulgalour said:

SOLD

Gone to a forum lurker (their words).  Lovely people to deal with, entirely hasslefree transaction, may have talked about cars a bit too much, or just the right amount.  I feel a tiny bit of sadness at it leaving but am also really glad it's gone to the right sort of person who will hopefully get lots of enjoyment from it.

It's settled into it's new home and is spending the night next to the brown Samara, most likely market rivals back then and now "bunk buddies"! No such thing as too much car talk, it was lovely to just talk and talk some more about cars and thank you so much for your amazing hospitality, we all had the most wonderful time after what had until arriving been the very description of a terrible day (and night before that)! I suspect it will be put straight into use tomorrow, it was still a bit smokey today clouding the air all around it but hopefully as we said it will stop as more oil leaks out the bottom 😅 I also now see what you mean about the noise on cold start, it does sound rather unhealthy but luckily I know it gets better with more warmth!

It was a pleasure to meet you and it even wasn't painful giving up the money for a change! Hopefully there will be another time to meet in the future, and I look forward to more updates here  

On 25/10/2023 at 17:39, grogee said:

Congratulations and commiserations in equal measure. If its a forum lurker I hope they start a thread for their stewardship of this absolute survivor. 

I've toned down my posting and taken to lurking in the shadows, I get less grief 😄

[vulgalour]

Like you said @2110, it's got character.  Does seem to be better the more its used, and grumpier the more its sat about doing nowt.  A few longer runs should help I'm sure, it was loads happier after I took it to the Flower Farm meet but hasn't done much more than pootling since then.  A few more oil changes, a de-sludge of the sump (I never looked so I can only guess at the contents), new valve stem seals and that sort of thing and it'll be fine probably.  I hope it behaves well for you at least, certainly served me well for a lot longer than I intended.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, 2110 said:

It's settled into it's new home and is spending the night next to the brown Samara, most likely market rivals back then and now "bunk buddies"! No such thing as too much car talk, it was lovely to just talk and talk some more about cars and thank you so much for your amazing hospitality, we all had the most wonderful time after what had until arriving been the very description of a terrible day (and night before that)! I suspect it will be put straight into use tomorrow, it was still a bit smokey today clouding the air all around it but hopefully as we said it will stop as more oil leaks out the bottom 😅 I also now see what you mean about the noise on cold start, it does sound rather unhealthy but luckily I know it gets better with more warmth!

It was a pleasure to meet you and it even wasn't painful giving up the money for a change! Hopefully there will be another time to meet in the future, and I look forward to more updates here  

I've toned down my posting and taken to lurking in the shadows, I get less grief 😄

Well played, that man. Looking forward to updates

[ETCHY]

On 26/10/2023 at 19:43, 2110 said:

It's settled into it's new home and is spending the night next to the brown Samara, most likely market rivals back then and now "bunk buddies"! No such thing as too much car talk, it was lovely to just talk and talk some more about cars and thank you so much for your amazing hospitality, we all had the most wonderful time after what had until arriving been the very description of a terrible day (and night before that)! I suspect it will be put straight into use tomorrow, it was still a bit smokey today clouding the air all around it but hopefully as we said it will stop as more oil leaks out the bottom 😅 I also now see what you mean about the noise on cold start, it does sound rather unhealthy but luckily I know it gets better with more warmth!

It was a pleasure to meet you and it even wasn't painful giving up the money for a change! Hopefully there will be another time to meet in the future, and I look forward to more updates here  

I've toned down my posting and taken to lurking in the shadows, I get less grief 😄

They look sooo much better with steel bumpers imo.

[2110]

As you will know, I'm not much for posting lots here and I am very happy to keep you all updated on the life the car here if wanted, but if any of you have an instagram profile you are welcome to follow my new account I have just created as it seems an easy way to upload photos of any of the cars as and when I feel like it and I may even build up the courage to do a video one of these days... not sure how best to post the profile here but it's http://www.instagram.com/tomsworldoftat/ It's in no danger of becoming the next trending hit  but there will be cars there that I have not yet posted here  
I can still post this Maestro here and @vulgalour has kindly offered me to carry on using this thread since you all know it already and the car, which does ultimately make some sense...

In car news, the gear linkage popped off in traffic on Friday evening but fortunately it's a quick repair once I was told what the issue was likely to be and I have it moving again so let's see what comes next   nothing more to report yet!

[vulgalour]

Let's go back to 2022 when we were doing the first MoT in my ownership on the Maestro.

 

[vinyljunky]

On 30/10/2023 at 19:52, 2110 said:

As you will know, I'm not much for posting lots here and I am very happy to keep you all updated on the life the car here if wanted, but if any of you have an instagram profile you are welcome to follow my new account I have just created as it seems an easy way to upload photos of any of the cars as and when I feel like it and I may even build up the courage to do a video one of these days... not sure how best to post the profile here but it's http://www.instagram.com/tomsworldoftat/ It's in no danger of becoming the next trending hit  but there will be cars there that I have not yet posted here  
I can still post this Maestro here and @vulgalour has kindly offered me to carry on using this thread since you all know it already and the car, which does ultimately make some sense...

In car news, the gear linkage popped off in traffic on Friday evening but fortunately it's a quick repair once I was told what the issue was likely to be and I have it moving again so let's see what comes next   nothing more to report yet!

It will be cool to see what happens next Tom

[2110]

16 hours ago, vinyljunky said:

It will be cool to see what happens next Tom

So far so good..! I've been learning it's character which is quite different than my other cars, slowly compiling a list of what I need to be doing with it  

[2110]

Who would have thought something so small and spindly could cause so much trouble. As mentioned last week the gear linkage popped off and it was a 20 second fix, ran all week no issues and then on Thursday it popped off again, and again, and again, and again, and... well you get the idea, 2.3 miles took me just under 2 hours to nurse the car back stopping every few metres it seemed to either collect it from the road behind the car or prop it back up from the one side that still held onto it (always gearbox side) - oh and it was dark by the time I was back so that added to the "fun" factor every time I stopped to pop it back on 😅

I have been trying to find a new replacement which seems rather thin on the ground for the long one (short ones are all over the place, I guess they don't go as often) so for the time being it is parked up with the others and the Lada 111 has taken over weekend duties despite needing a bit of work to it, at least it's still driveable 😄 When I got the car from @vulgalour there was a whole setup to replace the existing ageing (loose, spongey, vague) gear selection but I'm hopeful to try find a new linkage in the mean time so it's not left parked up for long! 

At least the heater is up to Siberian standards on this thing, no AC but demists in moments 🙂

[Austin-Rover]

2 hours ago, 2110 said:

Who would have thought something so small and spindly could cause so much trouble. As mentioned last week the gear linkage popped off and it was a 20 second fix, ran all week no issues and then on Thursday it popped off again, and again, and again, and again, and... well you get the idea, 2.3 miles took me just under 2 hours to nurse the car back stopping every few metres it seemed to either collect it from the road behind the car or prop it back up from the one side that still held onto it (always gearbox side) - oh and it was dark by the time I was back so that added to the "fun" factor every time I stopped to pop it back on 😅

If you're shopping for a new one, be warned the 4spd and 5spd ones look the same, but they're not! 

In the meantime, you can effect a repair with a couple of tight-ish tiewraps fastened across the top of the socket and looped around the arm that supports the ball. Get it right and you'll still be able to select gears and stop it from falling off! 😀

[2110]

3 hours ago, Austin-Rover said:

If you're shopping for a new one, be warned the 4spd and 5spd ones look the same, but they're not! 

In the meantime, you can effect a repair with a couple of tight-ish tiewraps fastened across the top of the socket and looped around the arm that supports the ball. Get it right and you'll still be able to select gears and stop it from falling off! 😀

Well that's delightfully helpful for finding the right 4 speed linkage 😅 I bought one that the seller says is from his old 4-speed years ago but never fitted, the size is the same but it has no adjuster in the middle so I don't know if it will do the job or not but it was cheap so had to try! Will see when it comes and I can try it..!

I did wonder about cable ties or similar but was concerned that the movement may be too much for it and would lead to them being pushed beyond their tolerances and breaking off, but it's good to know thank you, I will definitely try this if the above doesn't fix it (not got too high hopes..!)

[andy18s]

Same thing used to happen with my Vivaro,used an empty crisp packet over the ball before popping the socket back on.

A couple of these may help until a new part can be sourced

[vulgalour]

On 11/11/2023 at 18:13, 2110 said:

Who would have thought something so small and spindly could cause so much trouble. As mentioned last week the gear linkage popped off and it was a 20 second fix, ran all week no issues and then on Thursday it popped off again, and again, and again, and again, and... well you get the idea, 2.3 miles took me just under 2 hours

 

What a little tinker!  If you look in the big box of spares there should be some envelopes, some are non-descript and some are NOS Rover ones.  In there should be the correct linkage to replace that one, I meant to do it and never got that far because it only popped off once when I was using it and then never again so I kind of forgot and did other things on the car instead, like welding.  I did hear you can put some PU sealant in the ball sockets to take up the slack on PSA stuff that uses a similar system, I can't vouch for the longevity of such a fix but it might help?

[vulgalour]

Also that Samara is well lush.

[warch]

On 12/11/2023 at 08:11, andy18s said:

Same thing used to happen with my Vivaro,used an empty crisp packet over the ball before popping the socket back on.

A couple of these may help until a new part can be sourced

O/T My Qashqai was plagued with shift cable linkage failures, and these Vivaro ones were perfect for the job (The wiper linkage has a similar arrangement). 

Regarding the original design, looks suspiciously similar to the throttle linkages on my old Land Rover, although they have a mechanism for tightening the head up to stop it separating from the ball.

[Remspoor]

Maestro boxes were never that great. I had a very early MG. The change was never that slick. I went to a VW dealer to ask about them and to have a play with a Golf (because they are VW boxes).  It would seem the linkage was BLs own work.

[JMotor]

The shift feel on Maestros with the VAG box are weird!

Four back to third feels it's bending or follows a curve. 

Trust BL to make it just work and no more 😆.

[2110]

4 hours ago, vulgalour said:

What a little tinker!  If you look in the big box of spares there should be some envelopes, some are non-descript and some are NOS Rover ones.  In there should be the correct linkage to replace that one, I meant to do it and never got that far because it only popped off once when I was using it and then never again so I kind of forgot and did other things on the car instead, like welding.  I did hear you can put some PU sealant in the ball sockets to take up the slack on PSA stuff that uses a similar system, I can't vouch for the longevity of such a fix but it might help?

Excellent thank you! I don't know why I didn't think to raid the parts boxes, that would have been the logical and normal thing to do - clearly beyond me 😄 Perhaps I should try to replace the whole gear change you sent with the car but I'm not sure my limited mechanical capabilities are up to that just yet, was hoping to get a bit more practice in before tackling that - but sometimes being thrown in the deep end is the most effective way of learning..! 🫣

4 hours ago, vulgalour said:

Also that Samara is well lush.

I guess we could throw in a sneaky Samara shot from the other morning!

4 hours ago, warch said:

O/T My Qashqai was plagued with shift cable linkage failures, and these Vivaro ones were perfect for the job (The wiper linkage has a similar arrangement). 

Regarding the original design, looks suspiciously similar to the throttle linkages on my old Land Rover, although they have a mechanism for tightening the head up to stop it separating from the ball.

Our (2008) Qashqai seems to have suffered something similar, funny you mentioned that as I hadn't connected the dots - it's made it to 181,000 miles without an issue so didn't even think it might be that simple 😑

11 minutes ago, JMotor said:

The shift feel on Maestros with the VAG box are weird!

Four back to third feels it's bending or follows a curve. 

Trust BL to make it just work and no more 😆.

I fear I'm going to be using this term a lot more for this car than my others... "character" 😅

[Noel Tidybeard]

i don't recall my 1.3 bASe having a threaded link