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PrinceRupert's Cars - MG4 and TVR Tuscan


PrinceRupert

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No it really isn't that bad, sure it is sortable,  really frustratingly I scraped it across the lamppost outside my house about twelve month back and it needs a rear arch and a door, coupled with the sill work and maybe brakes (and the lack of service history, and the inlet manifold being emptied and therefore the VIS motors not working)  I'm not sure its worth me saving (particularly as local garages don't seem to want to weld).   I also know it is pretty crusty elsewhere underneath - it got a new rear exhaust section recently, but the front exhaust section isn't looking too healthy and neither are some of the suspension components (i know the rear arms like to go). 
The judder is through the brake pedal.  
 
p.s. unrelated [mention=27972]GingerNuttz[/mention] - you're not the chap that makes awesome welded sculptures out of old cutlery, are you?!
If you're getting shut of it I'll take the rear exhaust section as mine has crumbled!

ETA - Jumping in the poor 75s grave fairly quickly there I grant you!
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11 minutes ago, PrinceRupert said:

No it really isn't that bad, sure it is sortable,  really frustratingly I scraped it across the lamppost outside my house about twelve month back and it needs a rear arch and a door, coupled with the sill work and maybe brakes (and the lack of service history, and the inlet manifold being emptied and therefore the VIS motors not working)  I'm not sure its worth me saving (particularly as local garages don't seem to want to weld).   I also know it is pretty crusty elsewhere underneath - it got a new rear exhaust section recently, but the front exhaust section isn't looking too healthy and neither are some of the suspension components (i know the rear arms like to go). 

The judder is through the brake pedal.  

 

p.s. unrelated @GingerNuttz - you're not the chap that makes awesome welded sculptures out of old cutlery, are you?!

Nah I just make old tat road legal again 😂

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Where else is it crusty underneath? I've owned 3 and none have been anything near terminal and I'm in Scotland where they salt the roads 11.5 months of the year.

You can get new rear arms from DMGRS now and they're sypposed to have the design flaws of the originals ironed out and are cheaper too.

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40 minutes ago, PrinceRupert said:

No it really isn't that bad, sure it is sortable,  really frustratingly I scraped it across the lamppost outside my house about twelve month back and it needs a rear arch and a door, coupled with the sill work and maybe brakes (and the lack of service history, and the inlet manifold being emptied and therefore the VIS motors not working)  I'm not sure its worth me saving (particularly as local garages don't seem to want to weld).   I also know it is pretty crusty elsewhere underneath - it got a new rear exhaust section recently, but the front exhaust section isn't looking too healthy and neither are some of the suspension components (i know the rear arms like to go). 

The judder is through the brake pedal.  

 

p.s. unrelated @GingerNuttz - you're not the chap that makes awesome welded sculptures out of old cutlery, are you?!

I suppose its just a case of having the inclination to do it. If you have no particular desire to keep it in the long term then I sympathize with you not wanting to get involved any further with it, as its a fair bit of work just nothing overly major or terminal. If you were to replace it with another 75 you'd come across the same hurdles sooner rather than later anyway, but if you're not bothered about having a 75 in particular I do understand. 

Judder through the pedal will likely be the discs, could be surface corrosion or maybe the pad(s) applying slightly unevenly due to some rust buildup on the disc. I'd strip the front brakes down, grease everything and replace anything if needed and go from there. There's a chance one of the calipers is sticking and heating everything up which could warp the discs. But I can't imagine its anything more sinister than discs/pads + a caliper in the very worst case scenario

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Brakes seemed fine on the run into work this morning, albeit without any emergency stops, perhaps it was something minor, will keep an eye on it.  

 

6 hours a side to weld the sills at my local garages rate of 70 quid an hour is a decent chunk of change ... plus probably another decent chunk of time to do the arch/door.

 

If I could find someone who would be willing to weld a patch for a few hundred quid might be worth getting it through an MOT and getting another year out of it, kitchen this summer and wedding next means not a great time to buy a new car 🤣 well unless i ever get the XJ6 back on the road and reliable ...

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • PrinceRupert changed the title to PrinceRupert's Cars - Roffle XJ6, Rover 75, TVR Tuscan
38 minutes ago, Scruffy Bodger said:

Tyre foam won't get you going again then? Tyre wall split?

Yeah totally split.  Annoyingly the recovery man basically refused to take me home so now im getting a 35 quid part worn (and he almost ripped the exhaust off getting it off his truck).  Started to rain too, gonna be a sketchy trip home...

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3 minutes ago, PrinceRupert said:

Yeah totally split.  Annoyingly the recovery man basically refused to take me home so now im getting a 35 quid part worn (and he almost ripped the exhaust off getting it off his truck).  Started to rain too, gonna be a sketchy trip home...

😐 Unlucky. Go steady and Granny it home :-)

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  • PrinceRupert changed the title to PrinceRupert's Cars - Roffle XJ6, Rover 75, TVR Tuscan - Jag finally getting looked at ...

So, the Jag is FINALLY getting looked at.  They reckon the vibration is caused by front discs and pads, which I am dubious of but have given them the thumbs up to crack on. They are also doing the track rod ends and what they have described as a rose joint (not a term I am familiar with).  They say the calipers are fine.  Estimate is 500 quid ish.  Let's see if it gets it back on the road ...

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blimey about time!

Rose joint is a rod end connector which doesn't have a rubber bushing. Usually used where precision is required more than compliance.  (like sports car suspension parts)

Wonder if its the other side rear tie rod he talking about? or did that have a conventional ball joint?

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1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

blimey about time!

Rose joint is a rod end connector which doesn't have a rubber bushing. Usually used where precision is required more than compliance.  (like sports car suspension parts)

Wonder if its the other side rear tie rod he talking about? or did that have a conventional ball joint?

 

We spoke about the tie rod separately (which has a conventional ball joint), so not sure entirely.  Perhaps they just mean the ball joint.  I've told them to crack on so let's hope it does in fact resolve the vibration.  

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So I have it back.  It seems the garage had it so long partly as they were trying to work out what the specialist thought was so wrong with it.  I am not sure yet exactly what was done as the receptionist wasn't there to take my money and give me the invoice, but not sure it was much more than discs, pads and track rod ends.  Only driven it a few miles around locally this morning and I think the vibration is gone (but will need a longer run to make sure).  I didn't notice the suspension creak over speed bumps either.  The ride does seem pretty fidgety at low speeds still, but not sure if that is simply what they're like? I am sure I read somewhere the air suspension is not necessarily great round town. 

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So I have it back.  It seems the garage had it so long partly as they were trying to work out what the specialist thought was so wrong with it.  I am not sure yet exactly what was done as the receptionist wasn't there to take my money and give me the invoice, but not sure it was much more than discs, pads and track rod ends.  Only driven it a few miles around locally this morning and I think the vibration is gone (but will need a longer run to make sure).  I didn't notice the suspension creak over speed bumps either.  The ride does seem pretty fidgety at low speeds still, but not sure if that is simply what they're like? I am sure I read somewhere the air suspension is not necessarily great round town. 


Air suspension over speed bumps isn't great but it shouldn't be fidgety. I had a problem with the ride being fidgety after I replaced a lot of the bushes which in turn knocked the alignment way out of whack. My bushes were so shagged (on both my cars) that when I replaced them the tracking was around 30 degrees out and when I went over a bump the rear end violently swayed from it. Time to check tracking?
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I would still love to see a picture of the rear lower wishbone bushes. I went to see 5 cars when I was looking to buy another one and ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL of them were completely and utterly fucking munted. Including the one i bought. If this is on the original ones they will be shagged. https://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/62821788d432d/20211002_151858.mp4

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Next time I have it in the air I'll take a look.  Just spoke to mechanic and he says it needs an alignment/tracking, and this should sort out the fidgety ride.  Fingers crossed.

Invoice - 583 quid, which seems pretty steep for front discs and pads and control arms (fit only)!   Works out at 217.26 for discs, 58.86 for pads, 1 hour (76.80) to fit pads and discs and 3 hours (!) labour (230.40) to fit control arms.  

Apparently they were a totally pig to undo and in fairness they were a nightmare for me on my back. Makes me feel a bit better about giving up doing them on my back on the driveway ...

He also told me he can sort the hole in the Rover's sill when it inevitably fails its MOT next month, despite previously telling me they don't do welding. Good guys. 

Suspect either the XJ or the 75 will be up for roffle at some point in the next few months, really don't need both of them.  

In terms of next steps for the XJ, the current niggles are: 

  • Air con doesn't work.  Replacement condensor and o-rings are in the shed. Bloody warm today and could do with it, but with kitchen renovations underway getting time and space to attempt it ain't easy. Could end up back in garage for it.  
  • Heating is a bit weak. As per last mechanic, probably needs matrix flushed. I know Richard did this before and it didn't fully fix it so not sure I want to try it again, might leave it for now. 
  • Key isn't working, not sure how to fix this. 
  • 6 CD Changer doesn't work. Not important, the cabin cd player works fine. 
  • I should give it an oil change, got stuff in the shed.
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Key isn't working?!

The 6 CD changer was working perfectly, so, not sure why that would fail now - heater I did but we have low water pressure, it needs a proper backflush.

Fitting condenser for the AC shouldn't be too hard - the grille and radiator bolts have been out recently.

To be fair everything on this is pretty much exactly where I figured it was when I roffled it; I wasn't budgeting for control arms but had figured I needed to spend £600-800 on tyres and brakes but it would pass an MOT as was. Frustrated on your behalf for the shyster garage and now you have your solution and feedback from your regulars, you know what to do with Google reviews and trustpilot...

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6 minutes ago, RichardK said:

Key isn't working?!

The 6 CD changer was working perfectly, so, not sure why that would fail now - heater I did but we have low water pressure, it needs a proper backflush.

Fitting condenser for the AC shouldn't be too hard - the grille and radiator bolts have been out recently.

To be fair everything on this is pretty much exactly where I figured it was when I roffled it; I wasn't budgeting for control arms but had figured I needed to spend £600-800 on tyres and brakes but it would pass an MOT as was. Frustrated on your behalf for the shyster garage and now you have your solution and feedback from your regulars, you know what to do with Google reviews and trustpilot...

Thanks - to be clear, no complaints from me about the condition, knew it wasn't going to be perfect! 

The key stopped working (it was working when it was first delivered, then it stopped working), tried replacing the battery and reprogramming it, but didn't fix it.  So not sure what the problem is.

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  • Heating is a bit weak. As per last mechanic, probably needs matrix flushed. I know Richard did this before and it didn't fully fix it so not sure I want to try it again, might leave it for now. 
  • Key isn't working, not sure how to fix this. 


  • Heater matrix I believe isn't too bad a job as they made an access hatch so you don't have to take the dashboard off. Apparently they fill with silt causing it to do it. Might get away with a hose pipe connected to the inlet of the heater matrix from the engine bay though to try and blast the rubbish out. If you're thinking of ditching then I'd probably try that first.

    Key not working will be the drivers door module or it needs coding. I tried coding mine which didn't work so was about to buy a second hand one. When doing all the bushes however I put the ignition on to knock the electric handbrake off (caliper carrier needs budging out the way of one of the bolts) and I left the ignition on for a few hours which killed the battery. Jumped it and the keys have worked perfectly ever since *frantically touches all visible wood*. Perhaps a disconnect of the battery might fix yours. Worth a shot. Radio and Windows will need sorting out afterwards. Windows is just hold it down for 5 seconds and up for 5 seconds or something like that I'm sure Google will tell you and there is a way to bypass the code for the radio by pushing a few buttons at one time.

    If it does go to roffle count me in!
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    Keep in mind these don't use the engine water pump to circulate coolant through the heater matrix.  There's a separate electric pump (nearside towards the back of the engine bay) which can both get weak and fail with little warning.

    I've helped change too sodding many.  Especially on the R plate XJ8 which was the most recent where it's about 3mm away from the nearside exhaust manifold leaving you nanometres to work in.

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    It does circulate through - I'm pretty certain it's not had enough changes of coolant and the matrix is clogged on one side. My attempt at backflushing was lazy and used rubbish water pressure; I believe the right way is to punt a dishwasher tablet down the pipe and give it some time to have a fizz first.

    The radio code is in the paperwork - the key, I have had this and it was basically me trying locking/unlocking too many times when wondering what was up with that NSR lock. It resolved itself as in "the next time I used the key it worked", but TBH my worry was "key=immobiliser?!" - locks misbehaving on remote, it's got form.

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