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PrinceRupert's Cars - MG4 and TVR Tuscan


PrinceRupert

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3 minutes ago, wesacosa said:

You would expect it to drop a couple of times as the air bleeds out but usually stabalises, although I guess it depends how prone a certain engine is to air locks and how well they self bleed.  Did you bleed the system when you put it back together?

Accordingly to Google the KV6 is a pain to bleed. I did bleed it by lifting the expansion tank above the engine and running it until hot, which was what I read the procedure was. 

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if it keeps dropping could try squeezing all of the rubber hoses with the cap off (when cold of course!) to try and burp some more air out, or perhaps take cap off and run it up to temperature?  Although i'm sure someone who knows the engine better than me may have other suggestions 

If you run up to temp with no cap you might need to remove some coolant from the header tank so it doesn't spurt out when it gets hot

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My better half's birthday today, so what a gent I am and let her spend a decent chunk of the afternoon in a lay-by off the A31, in the blazing heat, waiting to be recovered 

Oil light came on under acceleration and pressure was apparently 0 PSI. Almost certain it's just a sensor as oil levels look fine and it was driving and sounding fine, which it surely wouldn't be with 0 psi on a hot engine, but decided not worth the risk given these engines do have a bit of a reputation so called for recovery and can get a local specialist to take a look at it later this week.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • PrinceRupert changed the title to PrinceRupert's Cars

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Whoops ... a metal pole in a supermarket car park managed to connect with the Golf's wing mirror today.  Stupid place to have a metal pole, imho.  Luckily, it was the wing mirror that was already broken, and because Golf's are so ubiquitous it is super cheap to fix - twenty quid for a wing mirror casing in the right colour and a heated mirror glass.  

The 75's coolant levels are staying level which is great, must have been a bit of air stuck.  

It also looks like the 75 is going to get treated to the welding it needs and a gearbox oil change - courtesy of my mobile TVR specialist, who said he'd be happy to do it and is in fact cheaper than my local garage! He might get more of my work in the future ...

The TVR managed to misbehave the first journey I took it out after having the sender replaced.  Lost power entirely at 4000 rpm and 70mph or so on a dual carriageway with nowhere to stop, which was fun.  EFI fault message and oil pressure warning light.   Cue hazard lights, a big queue and just about being able to limp it into a garage forecourt.   Let it cool down for thirty minutes or so and nursed it home at low revs, and it behaved fine.  Specialist came back out, plugged it into his laptop, reset the codes and we went out for a drive with it all plugged in. Behaved admirably, didn't throw any more codes, and obviously he cannot fix what is not broken. Bloody TVRs.  Inevitably it will break down the next time I take it out ...

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  • 2 months later...

So the Golf is gone and the fleet is down to two.  The Rover is in a state of 'managed decline' - not sure I will be spending the money to get it through its next MOT, in light of its need for welding and poor cosmetic condition.  I thought over the last few weeks that it might be very close to the end, as the gearbox had gotten extremely clunky and jerky - particularly moving from drive to neutral.  However, closer inspection suggests it is probably a burst hydra engine mount - as you can see, it appears to be leaking oil where it shouldn't be. Who knew it even had such a thing, thought they would just be rubber. 

Anyway, a replacement is on its way - 55 quid and hopefully easy enough to replace myself.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Fleet update:

75 is still clunking away despite having received two engine mounts, and I have powerwashed a hole in the front wing and the o/s sill is looking rather grotty.  Will be scrapped when Saab arrives if not sold.  Will be missed, we love that car.

Split_pin's Saab 9-3 vert is at my parents in Aberdeen, and will make the long trip South at the start of April.  They seemed to quite enjoy it on the trip home, though it has some sort of fault with the roof that needs attended too - apparently it is sitting a bit high on one side, such that it prevents the boot closing properly after it has been used without a bit of fiddling, and is letting water in on the passenger side.  Attending to a minor oil leak and front arb bushes is also on the to do list.

MG4 is on order, to arrive in June.

TVR is in for its bi-annual major service, and the damage is a rather punchy £1716, plus a note that tyres will likely need done within the year (another £800). The rears are apparently approaching 3mm - they only went on 2k or so miles ago!  Nothing major, just little things that add up - boot solenoid, exhaust hanger, two engine mounts (got one of those last year too ...), an oil pipe, handbrake cable... my better half struggles to understand how it can cost the same to service the TVR as to buy both the Saab and the Rover!

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Are they definitely waiting until it beeps when closing the roof? My wife and I never had any issues with the roof operation or closing the boot in the year I had it nor any water ingress in that area.

The only thing was the boot is a bit stiff to open as it does foul the deck lid a little but it never stopped it actually opening or closing

Also, if the boot wasn't shut right or the roof, you'd get a message on the SiD. 

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55 minutes ago, PrinceRupert said:

Fleet update:

75 is still clunking away despite having received two engine mounts, and I have powerwashed a hole in the front wing and the o/s sill is looking rather grotty.  Will be scrapped when Saab arrives if not sold.  Will be missed, we love that car.

Split_pin's Saab 9-3 vert is at my parents in Aberdeen, and will make the long trip South at the start of April.  They seemed to quite enjoy it on the trip home, though it has some sort of fault with the roof that needs attended too - apparently it is sitting a bit high on one side, such that it prevents the boot closing properly after it has been used without a bit of fiddling, and is letting water in on the passenger side.  Attending to a minor oil leak and front arb bushes is also on the to do list.

MG4 is on order, to arrive in June.

TVR is in for its bi-annual major service, and the damage is a rather punchy £1716, plus a note that tyres will likely need done within the year (another £800). The rears are apparently approaching 3mm - they only went on 2k or so miles ago!  Nothing major, just little things that add up - boot solenoid, exhaust hanger, two engine mounts (got one of those last year too ...), an oil pipe, handbrake cable... my better half struggles to understand how it can cost the same to service the TVR as to buy both the Saab and the Rover!

Definitely feel your pain. Is that for a 12k service or just 6? My Trev is going to need tyres soon as well, probably a clutch, front end respray, the list is endless. The cost per mile is incredible 

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6 minutes ago, straightSix said:

Definitely feel your pain. Is that for a 12k service or just 6? My Trev is going to need tyres soon as well, probably a clutch, front end respray, the list is endless. The cost per mile is incredible 

12k - so 974 quid incl vat for the service alone

Str8Six just put their prices up - 85 an hour + VAT now

It just adds up e.g. the boot solenoid was 150 quid, the engine mounts 276 quid despite one only being a year old, etc. etc.

I also got it detailed and ceramic coated last month, wasn't cheap, and within a week a fox had climbed over the top of it and scratched it 🤣

44 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Are they definitely waiting until it beeps when closing the roof? My wife and I never had any issues with the roof operation or closing the boot in the year I had it nor any water ingress in that area.

The only thing was the boot is a bit stiff to open as it does foul the deck lid a little but it never stopped it actually opening or closing

Also, if the boot wasn't shut right or the roof, you'd get a message on the SiD. 

I'll check with them - the leak is into the passenger footwell I believe, where the roof isn't sealing (which was spotted when my uncle viewed the car, so was expected). They haven't complained of any error messages! 

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5 minutes ago, PrinceRupert said:

12k - so 974 quid incl vat for the service alone

Str8Six just put their prices up - 85 an hour + VAT now

It just adds up e.g. the boot solenoid was 150 quid, the engine mounts 276 quid despite one only being a year old, etc. etc.

I also got it detailed and ceramic coated last month, wasn't cheap, and within a week a fox had climbed over the top of it and scratched it 🤣

I'll check with them - the leak is into the passenger footwell I believe, where the roof isn't sealing (which was spotted when my uncle viewed the car, so was expected). They haven't complained of any error messages! 

Ah right I explained this one to your uncle, they all do that I think. So did my old Audi 80 Cabriolet. My solution for the red one is to throw a rag against the edge of the footwell when it rains to catch the drips. Admittedly I hadn't been keeping an eye on the black one as it was my wife that used it. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, jut an old convertible thing.

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4 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Ah right I explained this one to your uncle, they all do that I think. So did my old Audi 80 Cabriolet. My solution for the red one is to throw a rag against the edge of the footwell when it rains to catch the drips. Admittedly I hadn't been keeping an eye on the black one as it was my wife that used it. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, jut an old convertible thing.

Ah thanks, my assumption was it is an old seal or something that might need replaced or perhaps massaged with rubber grease or something.  Perhaps whatever my parents are complaining about regarding the boot / roof interaction is unrelated to the water ingress, and may or may not be user error ... will have a look when I get it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

So the Saab was meant to be making its way South on Friday.  Plan was my dad and brother would drive Aberdeen to Falkirk, pick up my uncle, and continue down to York where my stag do is being held.  Weekend of merriment and then me and two friends would drive to London on Sunday.

Except disaster has struck.  My dad took it for a quick shakedown today and one of the rear brakes seized on. Not a huge problem,  he could strip and clean and grease and should be back on road in no time.  Then a few miles later the aux belt melted and fell off. Oh dear. Presumably a seized pulley.

Now the race is on to see if he can get it seen to by his mechanic at the start of this week. Otherwise it will be trains to and from York and a flight north and very long drive home in the 9-3...

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13 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

This was completely reliable in the year I had it and I'm quite surprised it seems to have all gone to shit in a month. The car was in daily use so I can only assume it doesn't like sitting idle.

Hopefully you'll get the old tub sorted and it'll give you as good service as it gave my wife and I.

Don't worry about it chap these things happen with cars of this age. Will be sorted and back up and running in no time.

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Got the Saab recovered to the local garage today and have checked it out already.  Apparently the pulleys etc are all fine, suspicion is the belt degraded and failed due to the oil leak.  They're going to chuck a new belt on, plus replace the seized caliper - 271 quid. Then hopefully it will be on its way South come Friday, with no further problems ...

Oil leak will be first on my to do when it gets here, fixing myself if straight forward, otherwise into my local garage.

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Saab made its way from Aberdeen -> Falkirk -> York -> London this weekend.  Performed flawlessly (other than a couple of occasions where the driver's window didn't seem to want to stay rolled up).  Came from York to London with three us in it and we all quite liked it.  Surprisingly spacious tbh, my friend in the front passenger seat is 6ft5 and with me behind him (just shy of 6ft) we both still had just about enough space.  The exhaust does have a bit of a drone at around 75mph, wonder if it has a small hole somewhere.  I'm not sure what my dad was complaining about with the boot and the roof, it is heavy but seems fine to me.  The roof mechanism itself is quite impressive.  I didn't do much of the driving (far too hungover...) but did take it the last thirty minute stint.  It's my first turbo charged car and the driving characteristics are quite amusing - not very much and then quite a lot!  Steering and controls are quite light but predictable, believe there are some cheap modifications that can be made to tighten it up though. 

Sadly, that means it is time for the 75 to go.  For me and my fiancee, it feels like putting down a family pet and will be sad to see it go, so would prefer it not to get scrapped. Last chance to try finding someone that wants to save it!

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Glad it behaved. Forgot to mention the window, all my GM cars seem to do it. If it really starts being a tit just roll it up half way then budge it up with the switch.

I find these to be decent family cars. My red one has taken my wife, son and I on holidays and importantly at the time our scooters and skateboards all fitted in the boot easily.

I thought the exhaust sounded good. I think a previous owner has gutted the backbox as its a standard part number but is a lot louder than my red one.

Have you tried lowering the roof with the key yet?

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9 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Glad it behaved. Forgot to mention the window, all my GM cars seem to do it. If it really starts being a tit just roll it up half way then budge it up with the switch.

I find these to be decent family cars. My red one has taken my wife, son and I on holidays and importantly at the time our scooters and skateboards all fitted in the boot easily.

I thought the exhaust sounded good. I think a previous owner has gutted the backbox as its a standard part number but is a lot louder than my red one.

Have you tried lowering the roof with the key yet?

Thanks for the tip.  I haven't tried lowering the roof with the key, didn't even know you could?! Gonna go outside in a bit and try it haha. 

We (me and my two friends) all agree that the exhaust sounds good, though my dad and brother complained it was too loud. Different strokes haha.  It just seemed that at a certain rpm around 75mph there was a bit drone, possibly louder when sat in the back though.  

Got the bits to tackle the front crankshaft seal so might try and find the time to give that a go over the long weekend.  

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I tried to do the front crankshaft seal on the Saab today, but failed.

First, car in the air by front subframe and went to put the jack stands under the jacking points but seems one is missing. At first I was a bit baffled how a metal jacking point can get lost, but seems its a removeable rubber piece.  Bizarre design.  I've ordered a replacement (17.95) and in meantime switched the remaining one to the right side.

Second, wheel arch liner off. Only snapped one bolt.  Result!

This is where the problem arose. In the video I watched (linked below) you whip the aux belt off and then spin the crankshaft bolt off with an impact driver. Easy.  Except on my car, there's metal in the way that means I can't get a socket on the crankshaft bolt. Any ideas?

 

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  • PrinceRupert changed the title to PrinceRupert's Cars - trouble getting crankshaft bolt out on saab 9-3

Yep support engine, slowly undo engine mount, completely undo and remove it when you're sure the jack is holding the engine. Then gently lower the engine with the jack just enough to get the access you need. 

You can usually let the engine hang freely but check carefully for any pipes, hoses or wiring that could get stressed and damaged

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Thanks both. I don't really like disturbing engine mounts after having a nightmare relining them up on my 205 (and helped @wesacosaonce with a similar problem on his xm) but seems silly to put it into a garage for what should be relatively straight forward so will try and find some time next weekend to try again.

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