Grogee's spannering (Maestro , Corsa & Avensis). PIMP MY PARTNER

[2flags]

Good luck. Hope it all works for you and this time the bloody thing seals!

[plasticvandan]

I stand by it from my own experience,pretty sure you will find a lot of retorquing needed when it's cold again.

[grogee]

Well. It appears that the head gasket might have sealed, at least as much as it's going to. 

No mayo pouring out onto the gearbox. 

When I started it up, there were a couple of dribs of coolant from the front on the head/block joint. But once warmed up that went away. 

Ran it up until the heater got hot and the cooling fan came on, then let it cool and did a re-torque. 

Topped up coolant then did a test with my coolant pressure tester. It was pretty good, but maybe lost 1 psi after 20 minutes. 

Shortly afterwards I found out why. A small puddle had gathered under the radiator. 

Believe it or not, I'm counting this as Good News. I pounced on a NOS rad when one came up last year, so there's one waiting in Stores which I'll fit tomorrow. 

That does mean draining the coolant again but hey, I'm nothing if not practiced at doing that now. I even filtered it through an old pair of pants last time - like a pro. 

[grogee]

Well I dug out the spare radiator from Stores but it's totally different. Well nearly totally different. 

Same width across the car. Maybe 2-3mm less depth. 

More importantly the mounting bosses for the cooling fan are on the wrong side, and the mounting bosses are in the wrong place. 

I decided that bodging it on was the way forwards. This involves:

1) Drilling some new mounting holes in the slam panel assembly and lower front panel. I don't really want to go butchering these but they're quite rusty anyway and you can't see the holes once it's in position. 

2) Mounting the fan on the back of the rad instead of the front. I've also turned it around 120° so the connector sits more favourably. 

3) Reversing polarity of the radiator electrical feed. Obviously with it on the other side I don't want it pushing against the incoming air, so my GCSE physics says swap the connections to swap the direction. 

4) Clean up the mounting threads for the slam panel and the mounting screws. 

5) A general spritz of Lanoguard in the areas exposed by the removed radiator. The area by the rad bottom hose is pretty crusty, I'm not poking around there yet as I'll only find holes. One for another day I feel. 

A break for rain (and lunch) before I button it all back together again. 

[grogee]

As if by magic, here it is. Undecided whether it's permanent or not. I think I'll keep it there assuming it cools sufficiently, and keep an eye out for (another) NOS unit. Or investigate the MGF option - apparently it's a similar size and can be made to fit. 

Not shown in the pics but I wrapped some foam tape around the rad hose where it fouls on the motor. 

[grogee]

Well that answers that, it's not permanent. It's not even temporary. 

I'm cursed

[grogee]

This morning @Cluffy ably assisted me in swapping my scrapyard bonnet onto the Avensis. I got it for £30, it's a bit battered and scratched but looks better from 10 ft than the peeling lacquer original. Pretty straightforward once we'd found the windscreen washer hose connection.

Then I moved back to Project Maestro. 

The boring owners forum recommended an MGF rad that can be 'modified' to fit. Turns out the 'modification' is to aluminium weld the support posts in a different position. Yeah, fuck that. 

I'm confident I'll be able to come up with a solution that doesn't involve aluminium welding, but we'll see after I collect it from Birmingham tomorrow. 

While the Maestro is stricken and stationary I decided to remove the sump for some rust treatment and a new coat of paint. Kind of wish I hadn't now as it's turned into a big job what with cleaning it all up then removing the old paint and rust. Then there are the crankcase faces to clean, blah blah blah. 

Anyway the third of four coats is on now so the end is in sight. I've got a new gasket and jointing compound so fingers crossed it'll seal and behave itself while doing sumpy things. 

Hoping to get the decks clear for Saturday when the Puma makes a return from storage in Sister Grogee's garage. 

[grogee]

Mini collection thread. It's one of my fleet but involves a railway journey to get to it. 

Master Grogee as co-pilot; he finds trens much excitement. 

[grogee]

Good old trains. Just as useless as they always were. 

[grogee]

I have seventeen million hours to change at Bristol Parkway. But, not enough time to get my train at Didcot Parkway. 

[grogee]

I collected the MGF radiator from Oldbury this morning, about a 2 hr round trip. Bloke wasn't in so he left it in his porch. 

There was a suspicious MGF-shaped object under a cat piss tarpaulin on his drive. 

When I got home, I had a quick look at how to mount it in the slam panel and lower front panel, there seems to be room to fit it further forwards than the original (I have to drill new holes to suit the mounting posts on the MGF rad). Because the fan is now mounted on the rear (like my ill-fated previous attempt) I could do with a bit more room to clear the big rad hose at the front of the engine bay. 

I can't see any major downside of this other than it would be slightly more vulnerable in a crash but that's probably the least of my worries in a Maestro. 

[grogee]

This is the delayed tren. It appears to be spearmint flavour

 

[grogee]

Hello old friend. 

(it's only been six months) 

Fired up straight away although I did have the battery on charge overnight and it's been disconnected while stored. 

There may be some fun and games waiting for me with it having been stored for a while, it's going to get a good run today so I'll find out. 

[grogee]

Stowaway. He's called Ken. 

[grogee]

Back at base, had my tea, I'm pleased to report the Puma performed perfectly* (well as perfect as it was when I stored it six months ago).

When I first set off I convinced myself the wipers were broken but then I remembered that the bottom stalk position is 'intermittent', next one up is 'off'. Twat. 

I was a bit worried about flat spots on the tyres but they seem fine, no vibration. I checked and set the pressures before setting off. There are some old-ish Pirellis on the front which are cracking, that'll probably earn me an advisory. But no money in kitty for a new pair and 2 birthdays coming up too. 

The other faults I knew about including:

Exhaust blow around manifold 

A few (aftermarket) radio issues

Rear washer n/s

Boot lock motor lazy (TADTS) 

I've got fixes and cures for all these bits so it's just a case of finding some time to do it. 

Unfortunately the self-inflicted creased rear bumper didn't fix itself. I bought a s/h bumper of the right colour to put on. 

I'm hoping to get a few hours tinkering in tomorrow to get the Maestro mobile again then I'll move onto Avensis turbo swap. 

[grogee]

Radiator mod time. 

Instead of glueing it into position I decided to do things semi-properly. The ideal way to reposition the support posts would be a TIG welder but Grogee Towers does not have one. 

Next best was some DIY posts using aluminium U-section and a selection of bolts. 

The good news is that I can revert to 'rad fan in front' configuration by using the original mounting holes. I can also fit the 2nd fan for maximum RACECAR points. I'm hoping the two fans run in parallel won't blow the fuse. I need to get a bit creative with the wiring but that's all doable with soldering iron and patience. 

Bad news is I've got to take a brave pill and drill a 22mm hole in the plastic moulding for the fan temp switch. Amazingly I do happen to have a 22mm drill bit, but I'll be stepping up gradually and hoovering out the swarf as I go. 

The 'seal' for the rad fan temp switch is a bit BL, just a rubber bung and a sort of cap that sits over it. Just hope it seals OK after my attempt to replicate the hole. 

[Jenson Velcro]

Does the switch come with a clip to help hold it in place? Is that what you mean by cap?

[grogee]

15 minutes ago, Jenson Velcro said:

Does the switch come with a clip to help hold it in place? Is that what you mean by cap?

Kinda. It's a plastic collar that wedges under the plastic flats and pushes the sensor into the rubber bung. 

[grogee]

Mrs Grogee's Corsa failed its MoT today, a bit unexpected but such are the joys of old cars. Yes I know many of you would consider it a 'modern' but it's twelve years old. 

The rap sheet includes leaking front and rear shocks, bit annoying because it's only on one side but I can't bear the asymmetry so it'll be all four. 

It's got an advisory for front tyres too but they can wait for another month. 

Had the 'difficult conversation' about spending money etc etc but she doesn't really know she's born. Particularly as its free tax and does 70mpg. 

Out of interest I asked the garage for an estimate, they came in at £550 Inc VAT 

BUT

that's only changing the F&R shocks on one side which makes my teeth itch. (Plus the exhaust). 

So I've just ordered £300 of bits from the usual scumbags, NAPA and Meyle bits so not the shittest but certainly not the best. 

I'll take a day off next week and nail it all together, I don't think I'll need any special tools that I don't already have. Hoping my spring compressors will be up to the job. 

Maestro news: radiator is fitted, fluids are filled and we're ready for a test fire tomorrow morning. 

[grogee]

I finally got round to getting the Maestro mobile today, in a rare window of Dry. 

I decided to test its water tightness. I found a drop of coolant by one of the head bolts and was worried it was leaking out through the bolt holes, but I've concluded it must have been a splash from when I was filling up because I can't see any more coming out. 

I put on my pressure tester and pumped it up to 13psi, it dropped to 12 then held fast with no leaks so I think that's a pass. 

However once I fired it up it was obvious there is a misfire. I'm kind of sick of looking at it now so I drove it to my lockup and swapped for my Puma which is due MoT on Tuesday. 

Actually though, doing that allowed my 'back brain' to think about possible causes. I couldn't do the HT lead test because it won't idle... But in the course of the head swap I'd left the distributor and HT leads connected and loosely strapped up while I moved it about. It's possible that I've crushed one of the HT leads while doing this. 

I'll engage @Cluffy to sit in the driver's seat and keep the engine running while I find out which cylinder is misbehaving.

I do have the original set of HT leads that I changed last year just so I've got spares if needed. 

[grogee]

Did a bit to the Puma, had a few radio issues including my (DIY) Focus steering column control. 

Fitting this involves a bit of butchery to get it to fit into the Puma steering column surround (Puma and this era of Fiesta never had it). 

Then it gets fed into a Focus steering wheel control adaptor, only 2 wires for the remote so not hard to suss out how to make it work. 

I've also made a sub and amp combo. I've got one already but it's in the Toyota and I can't be bothered to heft it in and out each time I change cars. 

Next up is an experiment to see if I can route two DAB antennas into the head unit. I've cobbled together a Y-cable and I'm interested to see if it improves or deteriorates reception. 

I bloody hate DAB sometimes. I mean, I like the additional channels but it's such a shit system prone to drop outs. Totally unsuited to cars, actually. Stupid government. We should have gone with a satellite system like USA. Which I'm told is pretty much redundant these days but hey ho. 

[grogee]

Changed the oil in the Puma, it's really not done a lot of miles since the last service (perhaps 2000?) but I do it every year thanks to Big Motor Oil propaganda. As a little bonus I treated it to an OEM oil filter although the Bosch one I took off was probably just as good or better. 

It's got a Pipercross panel filter which I should probably get around to cleaning at some point. I really don't want to buy their snake oil so can someone tell what to use instead, eg could I clean with brake cleaner then re-oil with normal motor oil? 

It had smelly air con so I gave it a squirt of foamy AC cleaner which works for a while until it doesn't. To cure it I presume I have to pull the heater box out and scrub the evaporator so that's not happening. 

I checked the tyre pressures which seemed to have gone up from when I last checked which is weird. I can only think it's because of warmer weather. Being a thorough* mechanic I even checked the spare which involves rolling around on the floor. 

After tomorrow's MoT I'll be bleeding the brakes with some fresh DOT4, polishing the lights and changing the rear bumper. I do need to try and fix the rear washer but I tend to keep the car clean enough that I never use it. 

Other than that a small amount of beautification eg rusty washers on the bumper rubber. Like I say, it's largely fine, I'm just trying to keep it 100%.

[Noel Tidybeard]

no to motor oil in the filter you need proper filter oil

frousty air con may be down to lack of use & bio-hazard filter

[grogee]

15 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

no to motor oil in the filter you need proper filter oil

frousty air con may be down to lack of use & bio-hazard filter

The filter is fine but you're right about lack of use, the car has sat unused for six months. 

It's currently at my friendly* MoT test station awaiting its fate. I have a feeling he might call out the slightly fusty headlamp covers but that's 'just needs a polish m9'. 

I suspect I'll get charged for headlamp alignment, because when he 'adjusted' it last time he left the beam adjuster on setting 2, so setting 0 is pointing at the sky 🙄

Meanwhile I have the Corsa in levitation mode to start work changing the dampers. There's nothing too unconventional by the looks of things and the threads don't look too fucked so hopefully it won't be a twat. The only slight annoyance is the need to remove wipers and scuttle cover to get to strut tops but that's modern superminis for you. 

Apparently these tyres are 'worn on inside edge' but it's pretty slight, I wonder if it's just catching on the plastic wheel arch liner? Anyway I've bought lower wishbones as a precaution/'while you're in there' type deal. It does need these tyres changed but they're advisory so it can wait for another month. 

[grogee]

And we have a fail! 

My fault for fiddling with the steering column surround and not checking the hazard switch afterwards. 

The CV gaiter is no great surprise given that I had to change the other side a couple of years back. I've ordered a stretch boot kit and luckily I greased the driveshaft splines last time I was in there so it shouldn't get stuck when I come to get it off. 

And the headlights... Told you so! I'm not going to argue the toss for the sake of £10, I'd rather just keep him sweet if possible. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

try using the a/c on fully hot when you get a chance as that helps dry out any dampmess in the system

[grogee]

Corsa is up on stands so I commenced works at 5pm at the work whistle. 

I started off thinking I'll just change the indicator bulbs which aren't orange enough for the tester (he's funny about that). Unfortunately the one I fitted behind the stupid flat tyre pump kit jigsaw isn't orange enough so it's off to Halfords for some not-shit orange bulbs. 

The exhaust isn't terrible but I can't be bothered peeling off all the skin and I've got a new one anyway. So I attacked the cat to flexi joint with the ugga dugga and to my surprise it came right off. 

There then followed 20 minutes bashing but the hammer of truth prevailed and it's apart. Surprisingly un-crusty for 13 years old. 

I need to find some zorst clamps but that particular element should be ticked off soon, onto the shocks tomorrow. 

[grogee]

21 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

try using the a/c on fully hot when you get a chance as that helps dry out any dampmess in the system

Interestingly the car might have decided to do that on its own because the stupid heater valve is failing again. I'm on the third one now, the first two were genuine Ford and then I got pissed off and bought a Chinese one. They're all as shit as each other. 

[grogee]

Commenced battle with Mrs Grogee's Corsa today. And I have to say that so far (touch wood) everything has been well behaved. No seized fixings, no rusty crap. 

It's not without its problems but they are of my own making. 

I ordered the wrong tailpipe type - apparently on this Corsa you can choose between a downturned exhaust tip or the chromed type. But I think the bumper has to be shaped to suit. Unfortunately I've ended up with the wrong combination. I'm hoping it will just melt itself a new hole.

I imagine it'll be a source of noise, but it's not particularly quiet anyway so I'm hoping it'll get drowned out. 

If all else fails I'll take the hacksaw to the bumper. 

Interestingly* the silencer wouldn't fit over the rear beam when I came to fit it. Luckily I had to do the rear dampers anyway so I whipped these off and dropped the beam a few inches and that allowed the silencer to fit through the gap. 

[grogee]

And for a finale @Cluffy called round on his way to SC Porting - they've been busy sorting out his Corrado short engine, and he's consequently skint. Anyway I brought the original Maestro cylinder head for a skim and they did it there and then! Good lads.