Grogee's spannering (Maestro , Corsa & Avensis). MAESTRO NEWSFLASH

[grogee]

Family trip to Lincs today to see stepmum. All very pastoral with bluebells out. 

Cleared P1110 this morning, it hasn't come back after a 2 hr drive. But it usually waits until I think it's gone away permanently, then pops up when I least expect it. 

[grogee]

Filled up the Saab after our weekend jaunt, it was pretty much on fumes. I think Karl @ Noobtune said that Shell 95 was alright, so that's what it got, £110 worth. 

Working out the mileage it's come to 32.5mpg, which is helpfully what the trip computer thinks too. That's not bad for a big old bus but there are some caveats: a/c was off for most of the time as it's been pretty cool weather. Generally cruising 50-70 with only a couple of juicy overtakes. 

Still, I'm pleased with that, and even if I lose 10% with a/c that's still respectable. 

in other news, a friend has sent me this link to a (nice) Puma that's just sold at Mathewson's for £5k. 

2002 reg (so it sat on a dealer's forecourt for a while) and 70k miles. Presumably not crusty for that price. 

https://www.mathewsons.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-358---2002-ford-puma-17-16v/?lot=4266&so=0&st=Puma&sto=0&au=5&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=1&pp=48&pn=1&g=1

 

[Wgl2019]

19 hours ago, grogee said:

Shell 95

General consensus is that 98 is better especially with a remap and harder driving.

I found that with my old 9-3ss I got about 10% better mpgeees which nearly offset the cost. I've only ever used 98 in my 9-5.

However I fully accept that the price of fuel is upsetting enough without going premium!

[grogee]

Well the EML has stayed off after I re routed the vac pipes. Today I treated myself to 'Sport' mode, and it really is a lairy bugger. I would like a long piece of runway to see what it would get up to. 

Unfortunately the air has ceased to be conditioned. This is a pet hate of mine and now the weather is warm it's annoying me. I'm super busy with work at the moment so it's going to my tame mechanic next week, co-incidentally when I'm having my tooth out so that's going to be a fun* expensive day. 

Tonight my semi-employer phoned in a panic as he couldn't get his racing Porsche to start. I went over and diagnosed flooded engine, well I was half right. The plugs were fouled from burning oil I think. It seems to run OK when hot but it's collecting muck on the plugs. 

Of course for any sensible car it would be ten minutes to take out and clean the plugs. Not on his racing 911 which is twin-spark. We left the front plugs alone as they're almost impossible to get to; I managed to clean 9 of the 12 with a wire brush and some thinners but it took some ingenuity with extensions, fingers and guesswork. 

Luckily that was enough to get it going. Anyway he's happy enough for now so at least I'll be getting some wedge at the end of the month. 

[twosmoke300]

On 5/4/2022 at 2:47 PM, Wgl2019 said:

General consensus is that 98 is better especially with a remap and harder driving.

I found that with my old 9-3ss I got about 10% better mpgeees which nearly offset the cost. I've only ever used 98 in my 9-5.

However I fully accept that the price of fuel is upsetting enough without going premium!

If the Saab has been noob tuned then you can access live data on the SID and one line of it is the fuel quality reading based on max spark advance allowed by the knock sensing built into the DICk . 
The numbers shot up on mine when running optimax and thinners 😂

[grogee]

12 hours ago, twosmoke300 said:

If the Saab has been noob tuned then you can access live data on the SID and one line of it is the fuel quality reading based on max spark advance allowed by the knock sensing built into the DICk . 
The numbers shot up on mine when running optimax and thinners 😂

Yep it's Noob'd. I think the reading you're suggesting is IGN ADV or similar? Seems to run at about 300 on mine just ambling, drops to 80 when coasting. Does that sound right?

 

What thinners to optimax ratio would you recommend?

[twosmoke300]

IIRC ( was years ago) that there was one specific for fuel quality not just IGN ADV.

Think I used to put a litre or two of thinners to a tank.

[grogee]

Saab went to Shaun who is my 'go-to' for diagnosis, to find out where the magic refrigerant is disappearing to. To be honest for £20 I can't argue, he's found an a/c leak at the compressor. 

I think I'm going to change it for a new one. He's quoted £550 all in which I'm sure is reasonable but I'll have a go myself since a new pump is £170. Plus a bit more for going back to him for some R134a injection. 

Any reason not to use Nissen A/C parts?

[Dyslexic Viking]

4 hours ago, grogee said:

Any reason not to use Nissen A/C parts?

They are a Danish company and I have used radiators and AC coolers from Nissen before and have never had any problems and will buy again. But I have no experience with their AC compressors.

[grogee]

2 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

They are a Danish company and I have used radiators and AC coolers from Nissen before and have never had any problems and will buy again. But I have no experience with their AC compressors.

Good enough for me. It's either that or no-name Chinese lottery parts for £10 less. Which are probably* from the same factory. 

To get at any of the aux belt stuff on the Saab you have to remove right-hand engine mount, something I was going to do anyway to change the belt so may as well swap out the compressor at same time. I'm sure it's a simple* case of a few bolts/unions and away she blows.

(I realise it'll be a complete PITA but not worth paying someone else £400 to do)

[wesacosa]

so as to not derail the other thread.   Regarding your crank pulley puller, I assume the two smaller bolts fasten into the pulley to pull it off.  Is the larger bolt the crank pulley bolt?  Whats the gold/copper colour around the centre bolt?

 

[grogee]

7 hours ago, wesacosa said:

so as to not derail the other thread.   Regarding your crank pulley puller, I assume the two smaller bolts fasten into the pulley to pull it off.  Is the larger bolt the crank pulley bolt?  Whats the gold/copper colour around the centre bolt?

 

Yes. The two outer silver bolts are standard metric, M6 or M8 I can't remember. The pulley on mine has threaded holes which these go into. 

The black centre bolt is actually An Bolt I had but note it's fine thread, M12 if I remember rightly. There's about 12 copper washers on there to space it out and provide room for the two outer bolts to pull. 

I think you may be able to use the existing crank bolt but it is quite recessed and may not be long enough. 

Note, I didn't have a three-claw puller which may well have been better anyway. It all depends how much access/room you have around the chassis leg. It's v tight on the Puma. 

Also note: I've seen different designs of crank pulley, some are 3 spoke which would mean my crap tool wouldn't work. 

There is a special Ford tool but I couldn't find one for sale anywhere. 

[wesacosa]

17 minutes ago, grogee said:

Yes. The two outer silver bolts are standard metric, M6 or M8 I can't remember. The pulley on mine has threaded holes which these go into. 

The black centre bolt is actually An Bolt I had but note it's fine thread, M12 if I remember rightly. There's about 12 copper washers on there to space it out and provide room for the two outer bolts to pull. 

I think you may be able to use the existing crank bolt but it is quite recessed and may not be long enough. 

Note, I didn't have a three-claw puller which may well have been better anyway. It all depends how much access/room you have around the chassis leg. It's v tight on the Puma. 

Also note: I've seen different designs of crank pulley, some are 3 spoke which would mean my crap tool wouldn't work. 

There is a special Ford tool but I couldn't find one for sale anywhere. 

thanks. I am still trying to convince dad to pay the garage to do it but will have something like this in mind if I end up doing it 

[grogee]

Phase 1 of A/C compressor change. A fair amount of gubbins has to come off to get to it and indeed the belt that drives it. I've got to this stage but I can't really see the in and out port connections. So I've retreated inside for a cup of tea and another read of the workshop manual of lies. (I have a Haynes but I mainly use it to swat flies).

Anyway looks like I have to disassemble more of the turbo plumbing to get at the connections I need, then hope it slips out of the gap in the subframe. 

Also, mucky sump gasket. Change or leave well alone? Think the leaky bit has got hot next to the catalyst and probably gone hard. I am tempted to leave it as an auto-rustproofing feature. 

[grogee]

It's oot. Plenty of plumbing has to come away to get at it including the wastegate and quite a few of the turbo hoses. But I've left the fan shroud untouched and the cooling system is still intact, although I think I'm going to do a coolant change as it was on my list of things to do. 

Got a bit of a shock when I released high pressure fitting. My garage man said he'd filled with nitrogen and then drained but there 'might be some residual pressure' - there was! Luckily just some new underwear required, no damage to car. 

[grogee]

New compressor has been in and out twice already, because I had to remove this 'pip' which didn't have a corresponding feature in the port attachment. 

Now, having tangled the cable (but not crushed it luckily) it's now got to come off AGAIN so I can free the cable. 

It's only three bolts BUT one of them is only fingertip-accessible so it's not as quick as you might think. 

Once more unto the breach, after coffee & toast. 

[grogee]

More bits in. Those V-band clips around turbo hoses are great fun*. Anyway I'm saving the bit where I fit the new aux belt until after lunch. Just had to check the HBoL for the belt routing. 

Once the belt's on (not trivial, there's 20mm between pulleys and body) it'll be a case of plonking the engine mount back on and then refitting throttle body thing. Then fire it up and check it's still working. 

Tomorrow I'll give 'Shaun' the tame mechanic a call to get a flying visit for re-gas.

Was thinking about his £550 quote this morning. I've spent £170 on the compressor and quite a bit of time faffing about but in my book it's still not worth £400 to get someone else to do it. Sure it's been fiddly but most jobs are these days. 

[Wgl2019]

If you are finding it difficult to get the belt on..... The tensioner will allow a bit more movement from its 'slack' position (where it is with the Allen key stopping it tensioning the belt). Personally I cheated and bought one 10mm longer than standard 😉.

Other than that I found it one of the few jobs that was easier than expected!

[grogee]

You're right, the belt was quite easy. I never did find the 'ole to put the 3mm Allen key in so I stuffed a bit of wood in front of the master cylinder to push the 1/2" extension forwards to the 'slack' position. Interestingly* the previous belt was shorter and it bypassed the idler under the cylinder head, I don't know why as the tensioner is there and not knackered. I think the one I got was 2660mm but couldn't swear to it. 

@Wgl2019+10mm is a good tip for all of these belts because they usually don't give you enough wriggle room. 

While it was a bit of an awkward job, hats off to Saab for having the best exhaust/turbo heatshield retention system. One big stud/nut on the turbo housing, and two springy stainless steel clips over two exhaust manifold fixings. The nut and stud are meaty enough that they don't disintegrate and the springy clips don't rust, even where they're riveted to the heatshield. 

Anyway I fired it up and it's behaving, complete with some victory* smoke to signal to the neighbours that the job is complete. (I think a bit of residual WD40 on the exhaust is burning off).

[grogee]

Next up is a couple of jobs on the Puma. I'm taking Master Grogee to Lincs this weekend for a charity car rally (I will bump thread for those who want to join in).

The Puma is still rattling like a good'un. It's a suspension/steering rattle that I just can't trace. I've looked three times, pulled and pushed everything in sight and can't locate what the hell is moving about. 

Doesn't feel loose, there's no play anywhere and most of the suspension is less than a year old. 

Annoying, but I've done a few hundred miles and it hasn't got worse and nothing's fallen off. 

I do want to run an air con bomb through the system as I have that horrible musty smell in there. 

[grogee]

Shaun the tame mechanic has plugged in my car to his R2D2 unit. The unit pulls a vacuum for a good while to check for leaks, then refills with fresh R134a to a specified amount, 850g or so I think. 

R2 unit then bleeps to say all's well and spits out a report. 

£50 for cash, pricey but still cheaper than a tank of fuel so got to be happy with that. 

Mrs Grogee and her perimenopausal temperature swings will be delighted. 

[grogee]

On Friday I investigated the persistent rattle I was getting from the front of the car. I've been over everything more than once before but this time I detected some play as I grabbed the road wheel at 3 & 9 o clock. 

I know the track rod ends are new (well less than 1 year old) so I then thought, 'Eureka! Inner track rod'.

Ordered a pair because symmetry OCD, along with new boots.

Went to fit them today and then realised the play was actually the rack not tightly clamped in its mount from when I changed the subframe last winter. In my defence, the access is atrocious. 

Ironically to get at the rack mount fixings it was necessary to remove the inner track rods anyway, so I took them off and tightened up both sides, then replaced the track rods and boots. 

As usual no access, fiddly, but luckily I'd invested in one of those offset gripper things to get the old rods off, which worked a treat. 

Just been for a test drive and hey presto, no rattle so that's one less thing to worry about. So I treated it to a fill-up with Tesco's finest* 95 cooking petrol. 

After yesterday's marathon 310 mile drive to, in and from a charity rally I measured the mpg and it's worked out at 41.2 which is healthy. There were a few full-throttle bursts and I wasn't hanging around on the motorway. Weirdly it seemed quieter at 80mph than 70, there's some sort of resonance going on I think. 

[grogee]

No news on either Saab or Ford, except I drove the Ford today to help Fatha Grogee with his shed roof. Blimey that felt stuff gets HOT in the sun. 

The Puma ticked over 80,000 today, I didn't take a pic as I was driving but Master Grogee will vouch for me. 

I've been parking the Saab on some wobbly slabs we have temporarily* on our driveway. I can hear them moving about as I drive over them and today Mrs Grogee was weeding and found a bit of silver plastic, presumably off the Saab's front bumper. Fortunately my next task is to take the front bumper off and fill/spray the gashes, so I might be able to professionally repair it glue it back on. 

Clek'shun this Tuesday, watch this space, it's a long way away, a hot day and it's 34 years old. WCPGW?

[Jenson Velcro]

15 hours ago, grogee said:

Clek'shun this Tuesday, watch this space, it's a long way away, a hot day and it's 34 years old. WCPGW?

Metro Turbo?

[grogee]

22 minutes ago, Jenson Velcro said:

Metro Turbo?

Good guess but no.

[twosmoke300]

Ref the 9-5 aux belt . There was a modified belt that bypassed one idler because iirc you have to take the engine mount off etc to change it when it fails . The modified route can cause some belt resonance noise apparently tho .

[grogee]

1 hour ago, twosmoke300 said:

Ref the 9-5 aux belt . There was a modified belt that bypassed one idler because iirc you have to take the engine mount off etc to change it when it fails . The modified route can cause some belt resonance noise apparently tho .

Aaaahhh that makes sense. I did try changing the tensioner but I couldn't undo the bolt far enough before it hit the side rail of the chassis. Which would back up what you've just said. 

[grogee]

The shitely 9000 is now on stands, having a pre-MoT going over. It's not bad, body is tatty and I'm considering replacement doors and a wing sprayed up (by a pro) in the correct mushroom grey colour. Unfortunately MK1 wings are now expensive as supply has dried up, I'm looking at £175 before any paint. 

Apparently MK2 doors will fit although the trim holes are in the wrong place, mind you I have a drill and could be creative with lantern fixings if required. 

Thought I'd make a start with the NSF wheel bearing, but fell at the first hurdle as I don't possess a deep 32mm socket. Fortunately, @Cluffy does so I'll be raiding his toolbox this afternoon. 

Thought I'd hit the jackpot with a pair of front Brembo discs on GSF's "sale" at £44, but I think the site is down as nothing is showing in stock. 

May well invest in a pair of rear springs too, as the ones on there are quite crusty. Again, only if I can find some cheap ones. 

[grogee]

Well that escalated quickly. I went out to the garage intending to WD40 some bolts to aid with disassembly, and ended up taking the knuckle off. Given the state of the bolts, it was all remarkably fuss-free. 

Having a heavy duty impact gun for these jobs is not essential but it helps so much and takes the sweat out of the job.  

Once the knuckle is off there's four bolts holding the bearing/hub and backplate on, undo these and it came out with an encouraging tap*.

Unfortunately the new part appears to have a marginally bigger OD where it nestles into the knuckle, and the bolts are just too short to be able to pull it in with brute force - plus they're a weird thread (M9?) so I can't use an alternative. 

I've cleaned up the surfaces as best I could but I may need to get more brutal with the stone wheel grinder thing to open it out a bit. 

My solution* so far is to stick the bearing in the freezer to shrink it as much as possible and have another go tomorrow. 

@filthyjohn - pretty sure it is the bearing making that racket, it feels pretty crunchy although there's no play. Probably just got dry then got noisy. 

[grogee]

Well that didn't work. I'm sure this bearing is either made wrong or simply the wrong part. It has a 'step' in the seating surface that the old one didn't have. 

Anyway, no chance I'm opening out the bore in the knuckle from 81 to 83mm using a stone wheel. 

Part has been returned to sender, which is a shame because it was £25 and the next cheapest I can find is £50.

To console myself I decided to change the gear link bush, tucked up above the diff (end of screwdriver in pic). Gettable, but needed mechanics yoga pose to achieve.