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Supernaut's Cars - 323i / Megane


Supernaut

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8 hours ago, bear-in-the-air said:

Highlights how wonderfully shite that Rexton is, beautiful!

Oh aye!

It's shite, it's rough, and it's slow as fuck.

However, that OM 5-pot diesel makes a wonderful noise, it absorbs everything short of an actual crater, and it runs on waste veg oil like a champ.

 

It's not a long-term proposition, though. I'm looking at a potential job change and a potential move away from the area. If I can't get a supply of veg oil it makes no sense, as running a sub-30mpg vehicle on pump diesel would get very expensive very quickly!

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Advice from those with experience of OM diesel engines sought!

 

The Rexton has decided it doesn't like starting in the mornings.

The first start of any given day (regardless of ambient temperature) is harder than it used to be. Lots of cranking, like it's letting air into the system. It then starts and runs fine the rest of the day.

The injector leak off pipes are only a couple of months old, and I've just checked the banjo bolts on the injectors themselves.

However, it's also developed another interesting symptom. It doesn't always shut down cleanly.

If I turn the ignition key one click to the left, it should shut down the engine. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, it needs to be turned all the way off before the engine will shut down. It's a bit odd having it idling away while all the dials have already switched off and gone to zero!

 

Hmmmmm. It almost points to something in the fuel system that controls fuel returning to the tank, and also fuel shutting off, has gone awry.

 

Any common failure points on these OM lumps?

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21 minutes ago, Lacquer Peel said:

The stop solenoid is vacuum operated and the pipes get leaky. 

Indeed.

I pulled one of them off to reroute it better (it was going under the intake manifold) and it hissed when I took it off.
Not sure it's meant to do that.

 

EDIT: Admittedly I had just had the engine running shortly beforehand.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I will say, there's something up with the 323i.

 

At certain speeds and on certain road surfaces (mostly dual carriageways and motorways) it has a jiggle through the steering wheel.

I've already swapped the wheels front and rear to no avail. I guess the balancing on all of them could be dodgy?

It did about 99% of the 160 miles covered today silkily smoothly though.

 

At one point I thought a brake could be binding... Then I stopped in a car park I thought was level and rolled away without the handbrake, so I think that clears the brakes!

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11 hours ago, Low ontime said:

Front lower arm lollipop bushes? 
 

seem to remember getting caught out on a old e30 after changing the front lower arms  but not the lollipop bush at the back which is a separate part. 

Actually had those, plus the lower arms, droplinks and inner and outer track rods changed in October. All Meyle HD items.

 

I did just top up the power steering fluid this morning as it had an advisory for a weep from there at the MOT in October. It was low enough to not register on the wee dipstick attached to the cap...

I'm not sure low PS fluid would cause this sort of weirdness but it needed doing anyway.

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On 3/17/2023 at 11:21 AM, Supernaut said:

Advice from those with experience of OM diesel engines sought!

 

The Rexton has decided it doesn't like starting in the mornings.

The first start of any given day (regardless of ambient temperature) is harder than it used to be. Lots of cranking, like it's letting air into the system. It then starts and runs fine the rest of the day.

The injector leak off pipes are only a couple of months old, and I've just checked the banjo bolts on the injectors themselves.

However, it's also developed another interesting symptom. It doesn't always shut down cleanly.

If I turn the ignition key one click to the left, it should shut down the engine. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, it needs to be turned all the way off before the engine will shut down. It's a bit odd having it idling away while all the dials have already switched off and gone to zero!

 

Hmmmmm. It almost points to something in the fuel system that controls fuel returning to the tank, and also fuel shutting off, has gone awry.

 

Any common failure points on these OM lumps?

Difficult starting cold is affecting me too. I put it down to fuel but it's not starting cold as well on pump diesel as it used to on veg. Perhaps there's an air leak somewhere on mine too. 

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12 minutes ago, Jim Bell said:

Difficult starting cold is affecting me too. I put it down to fuel but it's not starting cold as well on pump diesel as it used to on veg. Perhaps there's an air leak somewhere on mine too. 

Further to this, I put 10L of pump diesel in with the latest tank.

It's improved things slightly.

Juular reckons the latest batch of veg is a bit on the thick side as his 205 is struggling more than normal in the mornings too.

 

My stop solenoid is behaving itself again too. I did absolutely nothing to it. Free fix!

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5 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Further to this, I put 10L of pump diesel in with the latest tank.

It's improved things slightly.

Juular reckons the latest batch of veg is a bit on the thick side as his 205 is struggling more than normal in the mornings too.

 

My stop solenoid is behaving itself again too. I did absolutely nothing to it. Free fix!

Magic free fixes are the best free fixes. 

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IMG_20230410_165141.thumb.jpg.22f8a17d74a8f1ef582da0b5aafd073b.jpg

That is sub optimal.

Staying overnight in Aberdeen, hopefully I can source some pads in a local factors. Otherwise I'm jumping on a train tomorrow, then another one back here at the weekend!

 

I thought the front offside brake was getting warm... Stopped past my brothers' house to investigate, took the caliper off and the outer pad fell off like that.

 

I was wondering how in the fuck the brakes were binding because I stripped them down and serviced them in late March!

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IMG_20230411_154250.jpg?width=1040&heigh

Back where it belongs. Got home about an hour ago.

 

It did the journey from Aberdeen to Stirling faultlessly with some new pads that weren't trying to eat themselves. The brakes are all stone cold even after that many miles.

Time to order some discs too, as they're well past their best.

 

I was sitting on the A90 southbound gently patting the steering wheel, apologising to the car for deferring replacing the front discs and pads. It definitely decided for me!

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I will be collecting a pair of Bosch brake discs on Saturday.

 

All I did today was fit new pads on the front driver's side and very gently use them to get home. I'll fit the new pads on the passenger side on Saturday, along with both discs. Should be fine...

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On 12/03/2023 at 18:13, Supernaut said:

Instead of paying through the nose for two 501 bulbs at Halfords, I ordered 10 of them to be delivered to my door in the next few days for under £4.

They'll be useful to have in stock as the Rexton alone uses them for the number plate lights, the front side lights, and now the reverse lights too. The 323i also has them in the front sidelights, and possibly elsewhere.

 

 

I'll shut up about light bulbs now, though. That ain't my thing!

i think sir is mistaken about the ssingssong using 501s for reverse lights- 5w will be too dim

what sir probably needs are 955/w16w which use the same size base as 501 but are 16w

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5 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

i think sir is mistaken about the ssingssong using 501s for reverse lights- 5w will be too dim

what sir probably needs are 955/w16w which use the same size base as 501 but are 16w

They did seem a bit dim!

 

Ah well. They light up to show I'm reversing... 🤣

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  • Supernaut changed the title to Supernaut's Cars - 323i / Incoming!

Anybody want a Rexton? I'll put a for sale thread up tomorrow.

I never intended to keep it long, and my intention was always to replace it with something small with a small petrol engine.

 

So... I've agreed to buy something that weighs under a ton but has 110hp. The seller is just fitting a new gearbox mount and a windscreen washer pump before I collect it in a few days.

It is also the lowest mileage and nicest condition car I've ever owned.

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6 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Anybody want a Rexton? I'll put a for sale thread up tomorrow.

I never intended to keep it long, and my intention was always to replace it with something small with a small petrol engine.

 

So... I've agreed to buy something that weighs under a ton but has 110hp. The seller is just fitting a new gearbox mount and a windscreen washer pump before I collect it in a few days.

It is also the lowest mileage and nicest condition car I've ever owned.

I hope it’s not a fiat panda 

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11 hours ago, cort16 said:

I hope it’s not a fiat panda 

It's definitely not a Panda.

I'm so confident nobody will guess it, that I'll say it qualifies for a post in the Forgotten Cars thread.

 

One of these ones where the particular model was made for a couple of years before a much faster model was released and overshadowed it. Now everybody remembers the full-fat model (and charge accordingly for them). However this thing is still an eager wee car going by the test drive I had.

My logic was that I had accepted I'd need to spend about £2k for a small petrol runabout in any kind of condition worth bothering with - but I've seen people asking significantly more than £2k for rough high mileage 107/C1s/Aygos - but this is a genuinely interesting wee car that can still do runabout duties while being a lot more fun, still for £2k. It's also definitely not rough nor high mileage. It's had every option thrown at it by the manufacturer too. Electric windows, electric mirrors, an electric sunroof, chunky sports seats, and it even has air con that still works!

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