project Maestro, please.

[grogee]

  On 07/10/2023 at 14:33, vulgalour said:

Had a bit of a rest, got my second wind, decided to do the oil change.  Access is really good on the Maestro for drain plug and oil filter and I've got a big box of oil filters someone gave me and a pack of crush washers so we're good to go.  Filter needed the old screwdriver trick because I can't find my oil filter strap (I actually think I might have broken it and that's why I can't find it, because I got rid of it) but that's okay, I've got a big box of oil filters.  Sump plug was a little tight but not overly so and came undone nicely.  Oil was warm enough that it drained well into the pan but didn't scald me and I didn't get any down my arm.  Amazing!

Let the oil drain, got an oil filter out the box and it was the wrong thread.  Not to worry, maybe it's just this one?  Pulled out another... same thing.  Umm... Tried a third, same again.  Now, these were all in different brand boxes, the rest are all AC delco filters and have the models suitable listed on them.  They do all fit a Maestro, just not a 1.3 Maestro.  The only filter I have that fits I put a screwdriver through.  The crush washers are the wrong size for the sump plug.

I guess that's why it was going so well then.  Ah well, car can wait for new filter and washers to arrive so I can fill it up.  At least I've got the correct oil for it and more than I need of that too.  I also found the exhaust blow is one of the joints so a clamp has probably just worked loose over the last year or so since it was done and just needs tightening up.

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Argh that's annoying. I wonder if that's what happened to @JMotor's one - someone tried to bodge the wrong one on. And I also wonder if they do fit my MG one.

Hope you feel better soon. Is it flu or the  'rona? 

[JMotor]

  On 07/10/2023 at 19:52, grogee said:

Argh that's annoying. I wonder if that's what happened to @JMotor's one - someone tried to bodge the wrong one on. And I also wonder if they do fit my MG one.

Hope you feel better soon. Is it flu or the  'rona? 

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Forgot to update that.

The threaded insert into the block was slack. The filter was spot on. However not knowing this, I tried to tighten it. This just caused the insert to get stuck in the filter. 

Got it out. Screwed it back in and used the new filter.

I wrongly assumed it was wrong. But there is two filters listed. One for a car without an oil cooler and one with.

Also hope you get better soon Vug. It's a struggle at the best of times, being ill isn't a help. But best to get better first and pick it up again later. 

[vulgalour]

Thanks for the well wishes

The filters I've got are for Maestro 1.6, Montego 1.3 (with oil cooler), Princess 1.7 and 2.0, Ambassador, and a few others I can't remember right now.  Happy to part with some of them for the cost of postage, there's plenty for me to keep back for using on the Princess, it's not like oil filters go off is it?

It's definitely flu rather than Covid, Pat and I both have been testing negative for Covid so that's some small comfort and it's nowhere near as severe as when I did get Covid.  I do usually get flu every year, and I get told every year that I'm too young to get the flu jab which seems a bit daft if I'm susceptible to it.  I'll just wait until I'm whatever age you have to be for the jab, can't be long now, and at least this year I didn't get bronchitis or pnuemonia afterwards as I have some years.

[MorrisItalSLX]

  On 07/10/2023 at 20:30, vulgalour said:

I do usually get flu every year, and I get told every year that I'm too young to get the flu jab which seems a bit daft if I'm susceptible to it.  I'll just wait until I'm whatever age you have to be for the jab, can't be long now, and at least this year I didn't get bronchitis or pnuemonia afterwards as I have some years.

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I’ve never heard of someone being to young for the flu jab, I’ve had it every year since I was 20.

 

[vulgalour]

I have had a succession of really appalling GPs and pharmacies over the years so it's probably just that.  Mostly I just give up with healthcare in the UK and hope I don't get anything serious enough to kill me since I can't afford to go private.

[jonathan_dyane]

Mind if you 'go private' and pay a pharmacist for the flu jab I think it's about £12

[egg]

  On 07/10/2023 at 22:13, jonathan_dyane said:

Mind if you 'go private' and pay a pharmacist for the flu jab I think it's about £12

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Yep, got mine in Boots for years until I now get for free due to health reasons. Also you can now get a lateral flow style test for 'flu

https://www.boots.com/flowflex-influenza-ab-rapid-test-10326322

[vulgalour]

I guess I'll have to reinvestigate though one wonders if there's much point getting a flu jab now I've actually had flu?

[Tommyboy12]

Did you get the filter sorted? I had a similar issue with my Montego 1.3. That was a non oil cooled engine so fitted a Borg & Beck BFO4073 in the end.

[Datsuncog]

  On 07/10/2023 at 12:49, vulgalour said:

Removed the Halfords spark leads - they are printed 12-20 which I assume is a date code and would suggest these were replaced by @Six-cylinder before I bought the car.

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You're probably right...

  On 07/10/2023 at 16:23, Six-cylinder said:

I can't remember changing the HT leads.

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...and you're probably right too.

 

My combined years of parts-desk jockeying for the Big Orange Store leads me to believe 12-20 is indeed a date code - but indicates a manufacture date of Week 20 in 2012, rather than Week 12 of 2020.

  Quote

Actually surprised the Halfords leads had failed after so short a time.

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If so, the leads are over 11 years from their date of manufacture - so maybe not that much of a surprise they've gone on the wonk.

Incidentally, the last time I went into a branch of Halfords looking for a set of HT leads (which must have been late 2017, as they were needed for my misfiring green Laguna) not only was I informed that they no longer stock HT leads, but no-one in the store even seemed to know what componentry I was referring to. I drew them out a diagram and they still looked totally baffled.

Man, I felt old.

Still, congrats on the MOT pass!

[SiC]

Channelling my inner LBF, its an interesting warning on TotalCarCheck:

https://totalcarcheck.co.uk/FreeCheck?regno=f733trp

 

Presumably the garage manually entered Rover. I thought it picked up the model automatically from the plate.

[Stinkwheel]

  On 10/10/2023 at 13:36, Datsuncog said:

 

Incidentally, the last time I went into a branch of Halfords looking for a set of HT leads (which must have been late 2017, as they were needed for my misfiring green Laguna) not only was I informed that they no longer stock HT leads, but no-one in the store even seemed to know what componentry I was referring to. I drew them out a diagram and they still looked totally baffled.

Man, I felt old.

Still, congrats on the MOT pass!

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They haven't been a  car parts store for years now. The days of some stores even having oil filters on the shelf seem to be over. And when i asked if they kept fan belts a few years back (just a regular one, nothing flash) they said no, no call for them.  Only thing i buy from halfords are emergency welding wire when everywhere else is closed and i've run out, and brake fluid occasionally. Shame as they used to be good. 

I even remember when they advertised in PC mag saying 'water pump for an MGB on sunday afternoon sir, no problem' (or words to that effect)

Fact is, no 'normal' folks work on their own cars anymore 

[Stinkwheel]

  On 10/10/2023 at 20:33, SiC said:

Channelling my inner LBF, its an interesting warning on TotalCarCheck:

https://totalcarcheck.co.uk/FreeCheck?regno=f733trp

 

Presumably the garage manually entered Rover. I thought it picked up the model automatically from the plate.

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Probably did pick up from the plate, most automated look up systems call Maestro's a Rover these days (as Rover existed more recently than Austin)

[Stinkwheel]

On the subject of Maestros, anyone know of a source, or even have a pair of the bits the wiper spindles go through? The D LX of doom has eaten its away, ive 'shimmed' - read bodged, them for now, but it'll only last so long, and wipers in welsh weather are useful

[vulgalour]

@Datsuncog your interpretation of the date code would make more sense given the state and apparent age of the plugs so I'm going to go with that one.

@Tommyboy12 I ordered a new filter, it's the wrong one, even though it's specifically listed for this car and engine.  Same issue, the thread of it is too big for the car.  EDIT: Might have found the correct one after all, found a couple of listings with the thread diameter and have gone for the smaller of the two.  Hopefully it works out okay.

 

I'm waiting on copper crush washers arriving so I can put the sump plug back in at the moment but I'm also trying to find the correct oil filter.  The radiator fan switch I order also looks to be the wrong sort with the short legs instead of the long legs but I won't know for definite until I pull the old switch out which I don't want to do yet.  What a palaver, all I'm trying to do is service the car.

[LightBulbFun]

  On 10/10/2023 at 20:33, SiC said:

Channelling my inner LBF, its an interesting warning on TotalCarCheck:

https://totalcarcheck.co.uk/FreeCheck?regno=f733trp

 

Presumably the garage manually entered Rover. I thought it picked up the model automatically from the plate.

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hah yeah  thats standard, its because the DVLA's back end data is all in coded form, and then decoded through a lookup table, and the DVSA seem to work directly with the coded data from the DVLA, and have then have their own lookup table with some peculiarities in it

and one of those is a lot of BMC/BLARG cars all just get decoded to ROVER rather than their proper make, its like someones taken all the make codes and said ok all of these=ROVER (maybe because Rover was the final incarnation of that whole group? I dunno!)

 

this is also why you get "UNKNOWN" for vehicles with no model code, well there is model code for no model, its simply 000, but the DVSA's lookup table interprets 000 as literally "UNKNOWN"

 

this is also why sometimes you will see discrepancies in what the model is reported as by the DVSA MOT site, vs what it says on the V5/DVLA,

often times the DVLA's lookup table will be more verbose contain the full trim level etc, while the DVSA's one wont, it will just say "Maxi" and thats it

 

and you can tell its a lookup table thing and not someone manually entering the wrong info at MOT time, because it happens to vehicles which never made it anywhere near a computerised DVSA MOT station, for example this Maxi which came off the road in 1993

 

 

[vulgalour]

The Princess can be a nightmare for this.  It's listed variously as Morris, Austin, Rover, Austin Morris, and even Princess for the manufacturer.  It's also commonly listed as a hatchback on computerised systems.  Mind you, BL weren't exactly great with any sort of cohesive naming policy when the thing was new so... you know... Because Beauracracy.

[vulgalour]

Second oil change finally completed - not sure why I didn't mention or record the first one - now that the parts all arrived.  Job went very smoothly, test drive of a handful of miles completed without drama, no fresh leaks, and running about the same as it was before if a smidge quieter.

The only issue I've gained is a bit of oil smoke out of the exhaust.  We're not talking James Bond smoke screen levels here, the car kicks out more visible condensation when its cold than it is oil smoke.  I'm hoping I've just slightly overfilled it since our drive isn't perfectly flat and I did guess right up to the Max line on the dipstick and it's just burning a little excess off.  I'll use it for a bit, see if it clears up of its own accord.  If I get really worried I'll do a compression test though since it otherwise drives and sounds like it always has I doubt that's going to be the issue, it's more likely that it's just a high mileage A+ Series that needs a few moments for everything to bed in.

Obviously the only reason new problems are appearing is because I'm a) selling it and 2) trying to be nice to the new owner by giving it a fresh service and iii) spiteful old car nonsense.

[vulgalour]

For the sake of curiosity, now I'm fed and watered and the car has cooled down a bit, I checked the oil level and yeah... I've overfilled it a bit since it's a bit above the max mark on the dipstick and very hard to read because the oil is nice and clean.

[vulgalour]

Here's the difference between the Maestro 1300 oil filters.  The one I needed is the one on the right.

[vulgalour]

You'll be pleased to hear I cured the oil smoke issue by simply draining the excess oil out.  Wasn't really very much at all.  The only thing is you wouldn't know looking at it that the oil was done so recently, it's already dirty!  I shan't be doing another oil change in my ownership, the new owner can do that and the car will come with a spare correct oil filter and a nice new copper crush washer for the sump plug.  I'm guessing this car went for a while without a regular service and the inside of the engine is just dirty as a result.  A few regular oil changes should solve this without causing other problems, I certainly wouldn't recommend an aggressive engine flush unless you were stripping and rebuilding the engine and given that it runs perfectly fine I wouldn't bother doing that either.  Let sleeping dogs lie.

[Noel Tidybeard]

did you use semi synthetic oil?

modern oils are prolly too good for an A-series🤣

[vulgalour]

Halfords finest own brand, whatever that is.

[MJK 24]

A diesel specific 15w40 or 10w40 next time should help shift some dirt.

Agreed on avoiding the engine flushes.  Can’t see that ending well on a 35 year old car!  Or anything else for that matter….

[vulgalour]

For sale thread is here:

Hasn't done many miles in my ownership as it's been sharing duties with my other car, but has had a lot of care given to it so it has the best fighting chance with its new owner.

[vulgalour]

Absolutely stunning day today, seemed a shame to waste it with desk work so I made use of it.

Got the welder out to finish the doors, only intended to do the passenger door but there was so little to realistically do that I did the driver's door as well.  That means all four doors have had the filler, rust, and cardboard removed and fresh steel let in, sealed up, and some paint put on.  I haven't put any filler on the front doors, it's something the next owner can do if they wish.  I've done the shitwork, doing the filler and rattlecan work after is easy, especially since you don't have to make a perfect job of it on this car.

That leaves me with the speakers to replace, the door bins to fit, the centre console to fit, and the better dashboard to fit as the only outstanding jobs on the Maestro that I'm going to tackle before sale.  If I have time.  My attention will now be turning to the welding work and brakes on the Princess because I need that ready to replace the Maestro ideally before the the Maestro goes.

[vulgalour]

 

Spent today dodging rain and building the best dashboard out of the car's original and the spare that Peter gave me.  New dash is not perfect, it does have some cracks, but it's a huge improvement over the original.  What's more, because the wiring was present for it in the new dash, there is also now a cigar lighter fitted for the first time in the car's entire existence so it's positively modern and decadent.

The refurbished centre console was fitted to replace the smashed original, and the refurbished door bins were fitted to also replace the smashed originals.

All I need to do now is drive it, clean it, and organise the spares and what little paperwork is with it.  Attention now shifts fully to the Princess who is all set up for work just as soon as the weather allows.

[grogee]

  On 21/10/2023 at 16:31, vulgalour said:

 

Spent today dodging rain and building the best dashboard out of the car's original and the spare that Peter gave me.  New dash is not perfect, it does have some cracks, but it's a huge improvement over the original.  What's more, because the wiring was present for it in the new dash, there is also now a cigar lighter fitted for the first time in the car's entire existence so it's positively modern and decadent.

The refurbished centre console was fitted to replace the smashed original, and the refurbished door bins were fitted to also replace the smashed originals.

All I need to do now is drive it, clean it, and organise the spares and what little paperwork is with it.  Attention now shifts fully to the Princess who is all set up for work just as soon as the weather allows.

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Nice one. How hard are they to swap, mine's cracked behind the instrument cluster. 

Not sure I'll ever find a non-cracked one, mind you. 

[vulgalour]

I did make sure to record as much of the process as I could and honestly, it's definitely not the worst dashboard I've ever removed from a car.

You've got two star-head bolts on each side with plastic caps that hold the dash to a couple of brackets, and another regular bolt in the centre behind the cubby that holds it to another bracket.  Then the whole thing lifts slightly up with some effort, and tilts towards the seats to get it out.  That is, once you've disconnected everything.  Most of the switches are on panels that just pry out, no bother.  The two exceptions is the heater control panel that has a screw hiding under the fan control switch trim, and two small screws holding the rear wiper and coin tray trim panel to the right of the steering column.  You also need to remove the steering wheel and column stalks for clearance.  Then there's the wiring for the radio, which if it's original is actually pretty easy to do.  The wiper control module that's bolted to the top of the glove box inside the dashboard, near to which is the dashboard-to-main-harness connectors and the plugs for the glovebox light.

Also bear in mind that the design of the dash changes and so do the location of some of the fixings, so what works on mine might not work on the MG.  The column stalks, for instance, slide out sideways on mine but the Haynes manual makes it look like they're on a bolt through clamp on earlier cars.

Air vents aren't an issue, they seem to line up and detach very easily.  Don't forget to disconnect the manual choke at the carb if you have those too.

Refitting the dash I found a lot easier than removing, possibly because I knew better what I was doing.  Does take a bit of force to cram the main shell into location, the rubber seal that goes against the windscreen can make the whole lot sort of stick and not quite line up with the side bolts.  As usual with this sort of job, only loosely bolt the four side bolts to get them aligned, and then tighten them all down once you've got them all started, that then pulls the dashboard in quite nicely.  Bottom in the middle might need a bit of a shove to get it home because there's an anti-squeak foam pad in there which does a good job and also makes it harder to line everything up.

[grogee]

Thanks a lot. Useful info. Yes they did dick about with the design so there is a surprising amount of variation through time. I think the earliest ones had a two or three piece dash that was a squeak fest. 

Looking at yours it seems to be pretty much the same as mine in terms of switch and heater location, although I know my stalks use that clamp design you talk about. 

I'll keep an eye out for a dash but I'm hoping against hope there is some clever filler bodge that might be acceptable.