Grogee's spannering (Maestro , Corsa & Avensis). AN ISOLATED INCIDENT

[Sunny Jim]

All the best for Monday.

[Cookiesouwest]

Best of luck in the new role

[grogee]

Most kind @Sunny Jim and @Cookiesouwest. I appreciate it. 

[grogee]

Swapped the fleet round this evening as I want to drive the Partner to work tomorrow. We've got one of those drives where one car blocks the other. 

Anyway while maoeuvering the Avensis I noticed Partner brake lights were on, even though it was parked with handbrake on. 

When doing the clutch pedal bushes I dislodged the brake light switch but I didn't think anything of it and just replaced it. I must have bent the bracket though as a quick tweak set it back in the right position. 

Have to say the Avensis was brilliant today on my long commute. Quiet, comfortable and efficient. But since the Partner is here I'd like to do a 'back to back' and see which one feels best for that route, which is a mix of A-roads and motorway. 

Here's a picture of our local sweet shop, for no reason at all. 

[Cookiesouwest]

Hows the new job going?

[grogee]

Day 1 was pleasant enough. Got sorted out with a pass card, laptop, desk and a site map within an hour of arrival. For context, that lot took me over two weeks to obtain at Ford and JLR. 

Straight into a working meeting, a barrage of acronyms but I'm used to that, it's the auto industry. 

Later on a sit in a new Kia EV3 that I will be driving once its number plates arrive. I'm slightly blown away by the modern tech but that's the job - find out what is cutting edge in ADAS, record and document it. 

As an aside the Kia is £36k (ish) and has a 375 mile range and shitloads of tech. I'm out of touch but I don't think £36k is considered expensive these days. Particularly next to a Qashqai/Leaf.

Nice bunch of guys I'm working with and a site that isn't too massive (Gaydon takes 30 min to walk from one side to the other). 

[grogee]

I've just received notice that the Maestro tailgate is ready for pickup, after welding

and spraying. 

Not ready for fitment though as I need to fit rear wiper gubbins, rear latch, and drill holes for spoiler 😬 which I've also got to remove from old tailgate. So a spring project I think. 

But the guy (Tim, who did my Puma a few years ago) wants it out of his workshop so I'll go and pick it up Monday and shove it in storage or garage until it's needed. 

£500 for cash. That's a lot for just a tailgate but you could argue I'll have the world's best Maestro tailgate. 

I've got one of the red stickers to go on it, I think I need the octagon and the actual 'Maestro' badge as well. 

Might demote my AS badge to the bumper... 

[grogee]

This is what it should look like. As I say, I think the red octagon to left of number plate may be hard to come by. 

I'd also like to carefully remove the dealer sticker from my rusty original to put on the new one - any tips? 

[auntiemaryscanary]

32 minutes ago, grogee said:

This is what it should look like. As I say, I think the red octagon to left of number plate may be hard to come by. 

I'd also like to carefully remove the dealer sticker from my rusty original to put on the new one - any tips? 

If you get stuck I reckon @AnnoyingPentium would be able to direct you to somewhere who can make you a new sticker.

[grogee]

3 minutes ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

If you get stuck I reckon @AnnoyingPentium would be able to direct you to somewhere who can make you a new sticker.

Thanks, after 30 sec of "research" I found a reproduction one on the bay that may do the job. 

[grogee]

Tailgate collectified. 

Went to the bank this morning to get £500 cash for Tim the body wizard. The clerk helpfully informed me I could get up to £800 via the cashpoint which I wasn't aware of. In my head there was a limit of £250 but that might be a memory from before the End Times. 

At first glance the colour match looks OK, difficult to tell in current circumstances but hopefully it'll scrub up nice once the trim is on. 

Next job will be to remove existing tailgate and break down all the trim bits and wiper. Would be much easier if it was a City trim! 

[Noel Tidybeard]

when i had mine i lost the maestro script but kept MG & EFi

[grogee]

No spannering news but a absolute disaster* on the Toyota's reliability record. 

I'm sad to announce that the boot light doesn't work. 

I've tried everything* including putting the switch in both positions. 

Actually it's been faultless really. The drive down to Devon was horrible for traffic reasons but the car didn't miss a beat. 

I'm now commuting 80 miles a day in it (well, I will be after Xmas break) and apart from tedious motorway snarl-ups where I'd prefer an automatic, it's been great. 

For Christmas I got one of those 'wedge' cushions for the driver's seat. I've found that on long journeys my right arse/thigh gets achy so this is an attempt to improve my posture. 

It's a short step from there to full beaded seat covers. I turn 50 in 2025 so I'm guessing the government supplies this along with stringback driving gloves and a tin of barley sugars. 

Have a picture of Dartmoor in the rain. 

[tooSavvy]

I had a U shape 'posture' foam booster, in SuziQ, because the seat squab foam was sand 😕....

I have a bag of 'full sugar' boiled sweets in the glovebox (... SWMBO curses the slow/damped hinge 🤣) and I pop one occasionally when I feel drowsy... bumbling along aimlessly in the wilds of Northumberland 👀👍

Old Age.... Ahh 😉

🚙💨

[grogee]

Aaaand this is why I have not expended any energy in changing the timing belt on Master Grogee Sr's Seat. 

He passed his test maybe a month ago, then I get this. 

I don't know any details and I don't particularly care. The point is, this is his first car, they tend to get whacked about, there's no point getting them mechanically A1 because of the high probably of teenager destruction. 

Context: Master Grogee Sr is (soon to be ex) Mrs Grogee's son from her first marriage. He is 'challenging' (the PC way of saying awkward and belligerent). Given these circumstances I am not inclined to help him with his car at all. 

[Sunny Jim]

Teach a man to fish and all that. Send him this link https://gprivate.com/6f26k - promise it's safe and suitable!

[beko1987]

Awww his first crash! He's about to get a lesson in structural cable ties 😂

[grogee]

This happened today, without fanfare or fuss the 'Yota powered on through the 100k barrier. 

I still haven't fixed the boot light. 

[Cluffy]

Nicely run in 👌

[grogee]

Still no spanner action from me and my hands are getting soft, plus my fingernails are clean. 

Last week I went to the lockup mainly to make sure that the Maestro was still there (it was) and hadn't been stolen (it hadn't). I've left the battery disconnected since I parked up whenever it was (Oct?) so I removed it to put a charge in ready for Spring Turnover. 

Got it home, and I was curious to know just how much charge it still had left after sitting for 4-5 months. 

Answer: fuck all, it's dead - read about 1v when I measured. It is a Lion brand though so this may not be wholly surprising. I felt sorry for it though so hooked it up to three chargers and left it overnight. 

Then checked with my tester, which said "1% health - REPLACE". To be expected but out of curiosity I put my Chinese conditioner on it. The 'repair' function takes a couple of days and I think it pulse charges the battery. 

Result after that was "23% health - REPLACE". So still bad but maybe use able as a 12v source for garage tinkering. 

I have a different 12v Halfords battery which I can use on the Maestro, my tester says it has 63% health so still 'alive' and unlikely to leave me stranded. 

I've also hoarded some Maestro spares that someone was selling on the bay: an EFi fuel tank, a front subframe and a front headlight panel. The seller was in Whitby but was persuaded to deliver for a few beer tokens which was handy. 

My plan for the subframe is shot blast and powder coat, then swap over for the existing one. 

I may also shot blast the headlight panel but I don't think powder coating is the best idea for it, so I'll ask the coating guy what he recommends. My intention is to keep it as a spare and store it somewhere dry. 

[grogee]

Spring has sprung apparently, I'm sure this is the false spring we're all warned about but it was very pleasant today. Cool but sunny with no wind. 

I'd taxed the Maestro for six months so I went to retrieve it from its hibernation spot. 

First I had to manhandle the tailgate into my Toyota and out again, giving me enough space to reverse the Maestro out of the lockup. Easier said than done, it's heavy, awkward and I don't want to scratch the new paint. 

Then fitted freshly charged battery and turned it over... It fired up straight away! Hurray for EFI and Lucas electronics. No wonder manufacturers weren't keen to fit fuel injection in the eighties - it takes all the fun out of a cold start. 

Then did a little 30 mile trundle to check it's behaving. All seems fine really. 

I bought a Chinese sound level meter to see if I can get a 'before and after' sound level for zorst comparison purposes. Trouble is, I think I need more definition eg sound pressure level v frequency, which would highlight the boominess I'm currently experiencing. 

Anyway when going at about 70, flat road, no fan or radio: approx 69-70dB. Other readings shown in pics. 

UK HSE says protection is required beyond 85dB and workers shouldn't be exposed to higher than 80dB for extended periods. 

So that's interesting, I'm way under limit but the perceived noise level is high/annoying. Which is why I'd be interested in a frequency analysis. I might hook up my laptop with an external mic and record into Audacity which can run a freq analysis. 

Anyway, charged with enthusiasm and joy at seeing the sun, I attacked the 8mm nuts retaining the three piece spoiler. Amazingly none were seized up and it came off without drama. I now need to drill those holes in exactly the same place on the 'new' tailgate. 

[Surface Rust]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

 

I bought a Chinese sound level meter to see if I can get a 'before and after' sound level for zorst comparison purposes. Trouble is, I think I need more definition eg sound pressure level v frequency, which would highlight the boominess I'm currently experiencing. 

Anyway when going at about 70, flat road, no fan or radio: approx 69-70dB. Other readings shown in pics. 

UK HSE says protection is required beyond 85dB and workers shouldn't be exposed to higher than 80dB for extended periods. 

So that's interesting, I'm way under limit but the perceived noise level is 

 

 

 

 

 

Those cheap SLMs are pretty crap from experience. You'd probably be better of downloading a SLM app on your phone. Even free ones come with a FFT analyser and they are surprisingly accurate. Phone microphones are pretty good provided they aren't packed with pocket fluff.

[grogee]

As documented in the 'Transposing trim holes' thread, the Maestro tailgate has been swapped thanks in no small part to @Cluffy's able assistance. 

This really is not a straightforward job. 

We battled with the logic puzzle of threading the electrical harness and washer tube from old to new, and just about managed to get everything where it needed to be. 

Tonight I spent half an hour trying to centre it on the body. There's four bolts retaining the hinges but of course it's a heavy bastard and just wants to settle where it wants. 

Unfortunately I also noticed an annoying consequence of asking a body repair man to weld up the rusty corners. 

He had no template to measure from so the left bottom corner is on the wonk relative to the left tail light. Probably only the sort of thing I'd notice but it's annoying. I guess one day I could ask another body shop to trim it, which is easier than replacing metal that isn't there. 

I've got the lock and latch mech back together but I'm saving the wiper because I think I bought a replacement. My current one does a comedy wipe-pause in wrong position - wipe etc cycle which is funny and annoying in equal measure. 

Then it'll be fit spoiler, swap number plate over, stick badges on, and try and coax the old dealer sticker off the old window. 

Glad we've had good weather. 

[High Jetter]

Still better than factory fit 🤣

[grogee]

Did a bit more tonight, fitted the spoiler and wiper motor. Also replaced the headliner and trim I'd moved to access the tailgate fixings. 

I went to my stores hoard and found the wiper motor I bought ages ago. Annoyingly it was completely different and wouldn't have fit, so I was sold a pup. It is in a nice BL box though. 

It's nearly there, maybe needs a tweak of the latch striker. Also the parcel shelf hooks need to be moved over and I need to try and remove the number plate from the old tailgate without butchering it. Any tips? I was going to dribble some alcohol on the 3M tape to try and soften it up. 

[Matty]

Hot air gun. Warm it from inside the panel if there's access so you don't warp the plate.

[Noel Tidybeard]

don't forget there were 2 types of wash wipe on an maestro- early ones have the wiper separate to the washer jet

[MorrisItalSLX]

Use some strong string or fine cable to cut through the double sided tape with a sawing motion.

[grogee]

Thanks @Matty and @MorrisItalSLX. 

In the end I used a combination of alcohol and heat gun from behind plus gently levering it away from panel. 

I started using a wire saw but that started to chew the actual number plate itself so I gave up with that. 

Got it off largely unharmed and it's stuck on the new one with 3M tape. 

Unfortunately there's no salvaging the lovely old dealer sticker. I tried gently heating it and peeling it but it's a sticky mess and just tears really easily. 

Just been for a drive. It's obviously transformed* by the new tailgate... 

But it's an old car so stuff goes wrong. Somehow I've managed to break the rear wiper. I turned it on to test, it moved an inch then refused to do anything else. Likewise no juice out of the washer. 

I'm running out of time now so I've left it alone and I'll investigate when I have more time. 

Also needs fixing is the hands free Parrot kit I put in, the screen is blank. I think I may have a spare though. 

I did some sound measurement using an app, and I've recorded a sound file that I can analyse using Audacity. 

Have a picture of the old tailgate which is rotted to fuck and full of wob. 

[Dave_Q]

@AnnoyingPentium did those radio station stickers, maybe he could knock up a replica of your dealer sticker?