Grogee's spannering (Maestro , Corsa & Avensis). HOT AIR FOR THE COOL BREEZE

[grogee]

Balls deep in the Corsa. A few minutes faffing with the scuttle covers then I've got access to the strut top nuts. Luckily they whizzed off with the impact no bother. 

Swapped over the spring and gubbins. I did order a set of top mounts and bearings a week ago but they still haven't arrived - ebay/Yodel bollocks plus lazy seller. The top mount I've reused is OK, spins freely and no wear on rubber so I'll call that OK. 

Amazingly the drop link came away without needing the grinder - I'd say that happens about 2/10 times in my experience. 

Getting the bottom ball joint out was a bit of a fight but basically just involved driving a wedge (screwdriver) into the split of the knuckle then bashing the top with a drift. And a squirt of lucky juice (wd40). 

Onto the other side next, hopefully more of the same. 

[grogee]

Christ I'm knackered now. Not that two front shocks and lower arms is a big deal in motor trade terms, but I was doing other stuff as well then taking the boy Grogee to and from school etc. 

Anyway I just went for a drive to check it's all OK. It made a funny squeaking sound at first which I hope is just the top mounts bedding in. 

Just as I was about to set off Mrs Grogee phoned, she is using Master Grogee Sr's Seat Ibiza while I've been fixing her Corsa. "It's wobbling and I think I've got a flat tyre". Great. So I go and meet her at motorway junction, swap cars and drive the Seat back. 

It is wobbling a bit, possibly a wheel weight, I'll get it up on stands and see if I can spot anything amiss, if not I'll swap front wheels for rears and go out for another test drive. 

My fixing mojo is quite depleted now, and I've got work tomorrow anyway so it'll have to wait for the weekend - which was supposed to be for shed building. 

The fleet is throwing problems at me faster than I can fix them. Grr! 

[grogee]

Broken spring on the Ibiza. Not terminal, but the front shocks look past their best and the rears are falling apart too. 

New front springs and shocks all round is going to be £200 in parts (that aren't no name shit). No way am I only going to change the broken one (see above). 

17 yo Master Grogee isn't going to like this, being a teenager he's simultaneously perma-skint but also has a weekend job and no outgoings. 

Plus it'll be my fault for buying a 15 year old car that isn't completely perfect and also immortal. 

I guess we have time on our side. He passed his theory test yesterday but I know there's a huge backlog of people waiting for the practical test; a Covid hangover. 

I suppose in transport terms we're doing OK with four cars either working or close to working. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

3 minutes ago, grogee said:

 

Mine did the exact same thing due to age. IIRC they're not too hard to replace. Given the work you've done on the Maestrooooo this will be piss easy.

[grogee]

29 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Mine did the exact same thing due to age. IIRC they're not too hard to replace. Given the work you've done on the Maestrooooo this will be piss easy.

And a lot is familiar from doing the Corsa yesterday which is basically the same supermini layout. 

Fronts are a bit more involved but not too bad. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

And a lot is familiar from doing the Corsa yesterday which is basically the same supermini layout. 

Fronts are a bit more involved but not too bad. 

Not sure if the fronts are like my Fabia since this uses the newer platform IIRC. But they're not too bad to do in the grand scheme of things. If I can do them in the missing rain at the top of my street whilst the woman on the other street tells I'm a waste of space then you can too!

[grogee]

6 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Not sure if the fronts are like my Fabia since this uses the newer platform IIRC. But they're not too bad to do in the grand scheme of things. If I can do them in the missing rain at the top of my street whilst the woman on the other street tells I'm a waste of space then you can too!

Wow that's bleak. I'm sure the residents of my cul-de-sac are thinking that I'm a waste of space but they've been kind enough to keep it to themselves so far. 

I'm certainly a waste of parking spaces, there's 2 cars on our drive and another two on the street. But they're taxed and everything so fuck everyone else. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

10 minutes ago, grogee said:

Wow that's bleak. I'm sure the residents of my cul-de-sac are thinking that I'm a waste of space but they've been kind enough to keep it to themselves so far. 

I'm certainly a waste of parking spaces, there's 2 cars on our drive and another two on the street. But they're taxed and everything so fuck everyone else. 

I like your thinking.

[grogee]

With the Corsa now legally driveable, attention has turned to the Puma which also failed MoT but not really on anything serious.

Number one was the hazard switch not working (even though the indicators did). After a bit of head scratching with a multimeter and the fuses, I established the (aftermarket) stalk unit had shorted the hazard supply. Luckily I never throw anything away so I fitted the old OEM stalk unit, replaced fuse and we're back in business, except left turn indicator doesn't self cancel (TADTS). 

Numero deux was the CV boot, drivers side. The test said it was an advisory but the CV grease is leaking out so I'd have said that's a fail. Either way I've got the old one off and am waiting for a Yodel delivery (🙄) of a stretch boot. 

Not MoT related but still annoying was the heater valve. It's a bit of an annoying fiddly job to change but not too hard really. Out came the old Chinese one to be replaced with another Chinese one. Ford ones are getting scarce and at £10 a pop I may as well make it a service item. At least now I should have reliable hot/cold air control for this shitty Smarch (copyright @rob88h) weather. 

[rob88h]

[grogee]

The CV boot has been stretched over the Cone of Shame and fastened to the driveshaft. 

Note the high quality* parts used. They were straight outta China with the usual chintzy writing on the no-brand bag. However, it felt the same as any other stretch kit and I bet it came out of the same factory as Sealey etc. 

It's all back together now, I didn't take any pics as my hands were covered in grease. 

I managed to fuck up the only small clamp I had but luckily @Cluffy came to the rescue with one from his hoarded pile.

Tomorrow I'll drop it down to the MoT man for a retest. It was £25 for the Corsa which I didn't argue with, I did think retests were free but @RoverFolkUs put me right on that.

Absolutely shit day for working outside. Really cold wind and showers on and off all day. I hope we get a summer this year. 

[grogee]

I've finished the shed so it was all change at Grogee Towers while I moved my embarrassingly large bicycle collection into its new home.

In my defence, four of these bikes aren't mine. Still satisfying to have them fit across the width of the shed. 

I'm going to have to invest in a lock for the sliding doors, I've got a mini U-lock somewhere that might do it. 

[beko1987]

On 26/03/2024 at 17:45, grogee said:

Ford ones are getting scarce 

Wow, was loads around brand new from Ford when I changed mine! In 2010ish...

It lasted too, got fitted to the ex's nephew's fiesta as his handily went as I was breaking the puma for spares on mum's driveway, and he took it to a garage that quoted all sorts of bollocks at him. We had it changed before his mum made us a cup of tea 😂 then outlasted that fiesta but died with it (assuming it's dead, no idea tbh) 

[grogee]

1 hour ago, beko1987 said:

Wow, was loads around brand new from Ford when I changed mine! In 2010ish...

It lasted too, got fitted to the ex's nephew's fiesta as his handily went as I was breaking the puma for spares on mum's driveway, and he took it to a garage that quoted all sorts of bollocks at him. We had it changed before his mum made us a cup of tea 😂 then outlasted that fiesta but died with it (assuming it's dead, no idea tbh) 

Genuine ones are available but are now at the point where people who have them are taking the piss

[beko1987]

Fuck me mine was £30ish iirc! 

And I remember having to talk my friend out of changing my mind and getting a pattern one because it was the golden rule on the puma forum, so I spent £10/15 more for the ford one! 

[grogee]

Heading back to Grogee Towers after our jaunt in the rainy South West. I'm thinking I will get the bumper onto the Puma tonight (it's not just a bolt-on as I have to fit reversing sensors). Then at some point tomorrow I'll drop it back to MoT man. 

Once the Puma is ticketed I'll be taxing the Maestro and hopefully sorting out its misfire, and I'll start getting the Avensis apart to change the turbo. 

The Avensis turbo is at the back of the engine, pretty common I suppose but still a bit of a pain. I may take the bonnet off again for better access. It's four bolts and a lifting assistant so not a major ballache. 

Master Grogee and I are off to Lincs this weekend and he will be trying karting for the first time as his 10th birthday treat. I'm also hoping to pick up this damn Maestro tailgate (North Lincs) which I've been promised but collection arrangements  haven't worked out yet. 

[grogee]

Right, got down and dirty with the Puma bumper, determined to make the most of the new light evenings (stupid clocks). 

It was a bit of a journey of discovery opening the package containing the used rear bumper. I'd ordered it a few months ago knowing it was the right paint code but it felt like a steep price at £90+£40 postage. 

Gingerly opened the bubble wrap, and it's a 7/10 I reckon. Better than the creased one I'm taking off, but not perfect. I'll reserve judgement after I've been over the scratches with some magic paste. However it's decent enough apart from some weird reflective tape on one of the bottom corners. 

Got cracking on drilling the holes for the sensors. It's not straightforward because I had to cut out some of the 'inner' bumper structure to get access to the proper reversing sensor location. Yes, this is really how Ford dealers did it too. Bonkers really. 

I do tend to procrastinate critical stuff like this where it's possible to fuck everything up by drilling a hole in the wrong place. But sometimes you've just got to bite the bullet and get on with it. 

I'm now ready to refit the bumper having fitted the sensors. I also remembered to replace the boot lock motor while the bumper was off, and I gave some of the metal areas a spritz of lanoguard for good luck. 

[grogee]

Bumper is on. Spent ages fecking about with the rear number plate lights. The supplied bumper had one missing, one loose. Turns out this is a shitty old Ford design that relies on the 'springiness' of plastic. Probably was fine in 1995 but in 2024 that plastic is now brittle so it snaps when you go to move the release tab. 

I had six light housings in total, only one successfully got fitted without snapping. I bodged the other one using a bit of cable tie and a glue gun. Luckily I found a genuine replacement for £not silly. 

I've taken it down to the MoT man who'll look at it tomorrow. I'm outside of my 2 week grace period now so I wonder if I'll get charged for a full retest? 

Note stupid reflective tape. After a certain amount of faffing I managed to peel it off whole. Unfortunately I completely neglected to do the other side and didn't notice until after I'd fitted the mud flap which partially obscures it. Ah well, job for another day. 

[grogee]

Well I've got a pass, but he didn't bother checking the CV gaiter which I've replaced so I've still got an advisory for that. Which is annoying. 

Normally I'd let stuff like this go but it's a bit slapdash not checking the things that were picked up in last test, so I will mention it. I'm not sure if it's possible to revise an issued MoT or whether it has to be 'fully tested' again - @RoverFolkUs do you know? Eg if there's a mistake in the issued cert, can it be changed or does the system need to 'retest' it?

[RoverFolkUs]

9 hours ago, grogee said:

Well I've got a pass, but he didn't bother checking the CV gaiter which I've replaced so I've still got an advisory for that. Which is annoying. 

Normally I'd let stuff like this go but it's a bit slapdash not checking the things that were picked up in last test, so I will mention it. I'm not sure if it's possible to revise an issued MoT or whether it has to be 'fully tested' again - @RoverFolkUs do you know? Eg if there's a mistake in the issued cert, can it be changed or does the system need to 'retest' it?

It's quite frustrating when that happens, I always make a point of putting ticks on the failure sheet next to everything that has been rectified before sending anything back for retest to ensure that doesn't happen. 

I'm not aware of anything that can be done aside from carrying out another complete test. They're certainly not going to want to own up to their own mistake by pleading to the DVSA to remove an advisory. 

The rules of a retest are that everything needs to be retested along with surrounding components that could have been affected during repairs, but that doesn't seem to always happen. I know one tester who would just take the failure out of my hands and come back a few minutes later with a pass. I'm sure he didn't always even check to see if I'd arrived in the same car 🤣

Unless by shit luck it's come a bit loose and seeped a bit of grease out on the way back to retest?

I must say I'm not a tester myself but as above is as far as I understand it. 

[grogee]

I've been driving the Avensis around Lincs all weekend and while it's been mostly fine the lack of turbo oomph has been fucking me off so after I'd unpacked I jacked off it up and commenced battle with the turbot. 

Access is pretty shit really, I'm sure modernz are worse but I was having to be creative with tools to undo the (15 year old) exhaust fixings. 

However we're now at the point where I can begin to try and unbolt the fecker from the manifold. It's released from the cat so that's a good step forward. 

Two of the turbo to manifold fixings are only accessible from underneath, and the gearbox and subframe obscure the line of sight to them so again I'll need some luck in getting it shifted. 

I think I'm going to jack it a bit higher, put it back on stands then I've got a bit of room to get an impact and selection of extensions on, hopefully they'll shift it. 

[grogee]

My plan worked, unbelievably. Propping the car up about 6" higher gave me room to get the big ugga dugga under the car, and with a couple of extensions I was able to undo the turbo to manifold nuts which are generally tighter than a council pothole budget. 

I can't help but think it's no coincidence that I was able to route the extensions through the only gap in the underbody between the subframe and gearbox. I get the feeling Toyota takes servicing pretty seriously. I mean this isn't an easy job (it's still not finished) but you can see where provision has been made for tool access. 

I've still got to undo some coolant hoses that pass over the top of the turbo. I think this is a bit of a bodge by Toyota, on some models the turbo is water cooled but not on mine, so a bypass is routed over the top of it. 

I think I'll lose a bit of coolant but it's quite high up so hopefully not loads. 

I would have done it this afternoon but the gusty wind was really pissing me off. 

[grogee]

Forgot to mention there is a second 'service position' for the bonnet which opens it wider for better access to the backside of the engine. 

Access is still dreadful though, and I've had to use all the tricks to move the fixings under the turbo. Also even if you can get your hand/arm onto a ratchet, I'm in such an awkward position that I can't get any purchase on it. 

Despite all this I have birthed a turbo. Just having a lunch break now but I did get pretty confused about one of the turbo oil drain pipe nuts, I was totally flummoxed about why it wouldn't thread onto the stud. See if you can guess why... 

[grogee]

I managed to bolt it all back together and then fired it up... Disaster. Oil was leaking out of the feed to the turbo bearing. Initially I thought I must have left a crush washer out from the banjo bolt, but on closer inspection it was there. I had torqued it to factory spec seeing as it was a semi-important fixing. 

In the end I just did it up tighter which has sealed it thank God. 

Went for a drive which confirmed it now GLF, however... 

Previously I'd fitted one of those Chinese fuel pressure sensor things that fools the ECU into thinking the fuel pressure is lower than it really is = cheap performance upgrade. 

On my test drive I booted it out of a junction then felt the dreaded jolt as it decided to engage limp mode... It actually cut out completely but I managed to turn into a side road and I had my diagnostic reader with me. 

Read the code which was something like 'Major fuel leak detected' so I thought I might have chafed a hose when I moved the fuel filter to one side for access. But no leaks and no diesel smell. 

I think what happened is the fuel flow rate and/or pressure difference was outside of the set limits thanks to the Chinese cheater device. I reset the code and it ran fine to get me home, so I removed the Chinese kit and have reverted back to standard. 

I really thought I'd broken something serious but it was the nannying ECU detecting Fun Outside Specified Limits. 

Last night I drove to Reading and back to go into London and watch a gig, the car performed faultlessly and averaged 53 mpg so I'm pleased with the fix. 

If spending money allows I'll be looking to get a proper remap as there is more performance to be had for sure. 

[grogee]

OMG this Maestro saga never ends. 

I previously reported a misfire, and assumed I had ignition troubles. But after changing plugs and leads the lumpy running was still apparent. 

No. 2 cyl looked suspect with a noticeably sootier plug than the rest. 

Anyway I went round in circles for a bit including checking the injectors, and reached the conclusion it was getting fuel and a spark. 

Luckily @Cluffy has a compression tester in his Stores so I rigged that up, cable tied the throttle open, pulled the fuel pump relay and gave it a few cranks on the starter.

Compression ranges from poor to pathetic. Something isn't right. With the original head I was getting 130psi pretty consistently. 

I'm going to revert back to the original head just so I've got a functioning car, then I can explore the causes a bit further. All quite frustrating, what with all my careful valve grinding and valve shim faffing. 

It could be that the valves aren't properly lapped. Rightly or wrongly I used the drill method - sucker stick in drill, move the valve up occasionally, then reverse direction and repeat. I ended up with a semi-decent matt grey valve face which I thought was OK, but perhaps it isn't. 

[grogee]

OK so I'm halfway through removing the Maestro head (for what is possibly the fifth time). 

As others have commented on this thread:

It could be warped head (even though it was freshly skimmed), bad valve sealing or yet another bad gasket. Either way the cylinder compressions are all sub-par so I'm going to revert back to old head for the sake of having a running car. 

I contacted Rimmer Bros about my genuine Rover gasket ordered in Feb, got a less than helpful reply. Twats. 

Anyway once it's off it may be more apparent what's wrong, I'll go back to SC Porting and ask for their advice. 

Curiouser and curiouser. And fucking annoying. 

[mercedade]

 

On 15/04/2024 at 10:09, grogee said:

It could be warped head (even though it was freshly skimmed), bad valve sealing or yet another bad gasket. Either way the cylinder compressions are all sub-par so I'm going to revert back to old head for the sake of having a running car. 

When I banana-ed my T-series head due to water pump fail, the face was skimmed flat, but the valve guides were as crossed eyed as a wheezing pug.

Didn't know this until I refitted it post-skim and had shite compression on the middle two cylinders

[grogee]

@mercedade the head that was misbehaving was NOS, but I got it skimmed and ported. To no avail it seems as it's running like a bag of shite with no compression.

Today I've been building the old head back up, yesterday was grinding in the valve seats which took some effort because the exhaust ones were quite pitted.

Also yesterday I plugged a stud hole that I'd accidentally drilled into the coolant channel. It was a bit of a head scratcher how to plug it, because there was no access to the inside of the coolant channel. 

In the end I did this: found a bolt of the right depth. Mixed up JB weld and smeared it into the hole. Screwed bolt into head, pushing the JB weld back to where it needed to be to seal the hole. Then tipped head sideways so the JB weld was drawn down by gravity to sit on the bolt. 

Bit of a brave moment this morning when I came to undo it but it's worked really well. 

I could have used the new valves from the new head but I've still got hope that I can get it running right somehow, so I'd like the new valves to stay with it. 

I'm now at a point where I'm ready to check the Clarences again, so that'll be tomorrow's job. 

[Tommyboy12]

The other thing to check when you take the head off is the flatness of the block. It's fairly rare but not uncommon to have an uneven block face.

[grogee]

13 hours ago, Tommyboy12 said:

The other thing to check when you take the head off is the flatness of the block. It's fairly rare but not uncommon to have an uneven block face.

I get this, but it's nearly impossible to get my eyes level with the block to see if there's daylight under a straight edge. 

Also, if the block isn't flat, I won't like that answer.