2009 CashCow - Glowplug code gone!

[beko1987]

Yup, Renner tensioner too. Either this car got fucking pampered in a previous life before hitting wherever shredded it's paperwork or it only had stuff fixed after it exploded...

Old one was very dry and sounds awful 🤞

All went back together fairly easily until I managed to wedge my ratchet onto the tensioner...

Some levering with my bfo screwdriver had that removed and the belt was back on!

I attacked the rusty scabs on the bit of front subframe I can see

And finished the bit I poured on the strut and associated

Everything got reassembled and as usual I replaced 3 missing clips with new ones so that corner is rattle free now! I then went and fetched the rear lights @Dick Cheeseburger sent me a few months ago! A quick check revealed them not to be as faded as the ones the car wore (new on left, old on right. The right one never matched the car body cluster)

So I changed those too, cleaning up the bits behind as I went

My old lights are in the shed incase I ever need them again... The boot trim need replacement clips too but I couldn't be bothered to hunt them out. Their missing on the side with the screws so it's not as bad as the other side.

I turned the engine back on and it wasn't any quieter... I then noticed the aircon pipe clamp was loose and the pipes were rattling together. I must have not tightened it properly when I did the cambelt, oops! That sorted the tiny rattle I knew I could hear! I also found the lower cam cover wasn't properly fitted, luckily no belt had touched it so I clipped that back together behind the aux belt too 👌

I'll be clutching at straws for the next jobs to do now. I have new rear caliper sliders but can't find my ceratec atm so they can wait another day

[paulplom]

Success!

[beko1987]

45 minutes ago, paulplom said:

Success!

Nice! Mine is still cold too, which I'm happy about! Don't have a fancy temp gun to check though but yesterday on the way to tesco eva said she was warm so I put it on full blast cold and within 5 minutes they were both shivering 👌

Did the compressor kick in for the first time in ages? 

[paulplom]

14 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Nice! Mine is still cold too, which I'm happy about! Don't have a fancy temp gun to check though but yesterday on the way to tesco eva said she was warm so I put it on full blast cold and within 5 minutes they were both shivering 👌

Did the compressor kick in for the first time in ages? 

It's never worked all the time we've had it. I heard something kick in which I presume was the compressor. Those guns are only £6 or so off ebay. I've had that one for years.

[beko1987]

Just had an interesting chat with the ex. She met up with the people I bought the car from the other week (her aunt and uncle) and they asked how it was going. Amy said I had to do some work to it but not alot more.

Turns out the vw tiguan they had when I bought the qq went very very wrong somehow and now they just use Andy's work van. They regretted selling the qashqai. 

It would have had a massive fail sheet the other week if they had kept it, if it even survived that long 😂 I told her they could have it back for £3k...

Handy too as I've got some personal bits I found for them which the ex said she can pass on

[abir246]

5 hours ago, beko1987 said:

Just had an interesting chat with the ex. She met up with the people I bought the car from the other week (her aunt and uncle) and they asked how it was going. Amy said I had to do some work to it but not alot more.

Turns out the vw tiguan they had when I bought the qq went very very wrong somehow and now they just use Andy's work van. They regretted selling the qashqai. 

It would have had a massive fail sheet the other week if they had kept it, if it even survived that long 😂 I told her they could have it back for £3k...

Handy too as I've got some personal bits I found for them which the ex said she can pass on

I sold my corolla to one of my dad's mates when I got my Astra, he lived down the road so when I had the chance to have a word I'd ask how the car was holding up and he'd say very well (this was during the Astra's peak unreliability stage, (when it had eaten a whole new battery, snapped a coil spring and violently burst a coolant pipe among other things), which he found rather amusing.

Ironically he ran the corolla into the ground and scrapped just 8 months in ragging it about and only considering popping oil in when the pressure light came up on the dash 💀 engine seized and off it went to the bin

The Astra itself only lasted another 6 months after that before it was written off...

[Noel Tidybeard]

set the climate control to auto and leave it to do it's thing 

• if you're cold turn temp up
• if you're hot turn temp down
• press button to clear screen

that's it- modern cars really have been designed to leave a/c on

turning a/c off is what fucks it all up with seals going dry/shrinking- all because Dennis Expert reccons he'll save 1.75mpg

[beko1987]

2 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

set the climate control to auto and leave it to do it's thing 

• if you're cold turn temp up
• if you're hot turn temp down
• press button to clear screen

that's it- modern cars really have been designed to leave a/c on

turning a/c off is what fucks it all up with seals going dry/shrinking- all because Dennis Expert reccons he'll save 1.75mpg

Yes I need to train myself. I'm terrible for turning it back off then I don't need* it.

I can feel it in the engine though... This is probably the consequence of only having a 1.5 not a 2.0, but I'd not be able to work on a 2.0 as easily. I'll probably get used to it after a while, but it does add the load on.

Auto is never something I've really got on with. Mostly because as a smoker I usually drive with the window open a crack which the sensors hate. My Xantia was terrible for it, it got really angry and ramped the fans right up as the airflow from the window hit the dash sensor just right to make it notice 😅 Otherwise every car I've had with it has had inop a/c anyway. My 406 had lovely aircon but no auto mode.

It'll be a freezing morning in the next week or so I notice, when I hit the screen clear button and set it to full hot and let it do its thing 

[Noel Tidybeard]

10 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

Yes I need to train myself. I'm terrible for turning it back off then I don't need* it.

I can feel it in the engine though... This is probably the consequence of only having a 1.5 not a 2.0, but I'd not be able to work on a 2.0 as easily. I'll probably get used to it after a while, but it does add the load on.

Auto is never something I've really got on with. Mostly because as a smoker I usually drive with the window open a crack which the sensors hate. My Xantia was terrible for it, it got really angry and ramped the fans right up as the airflow from the window hit the dash sensor just right to make it notice 😅 Otherwise every car I've had with it has had inop a/c anyway. My 406 had lovely aircon but no auto mode.

It'll be a freezing morning in the next week or so I notice, when I hit the screen clear button and set it to full hot and let it do its thing 

my 2018 civic has pano roof which is tilted 80% of the time climate on 92.7% of time

[beko1987]

I did it!

Set it to 17 after a few miles and it kept the air con blowing gently! Does ramp the fans to half when I open the window but I just turned the whole climate off then back on again when it was closed.

Didn't notice it whilst driving, and the mpg didn't change on screen 

[Cheggers]

Yes I need to train myself. I'm terrible for turning it back off then I don't need* it.
I can feel it in the engine though... This is probably the consequence of only having a 1.5 not a 2.0, but I'd not be able to work on a 2.0 as easily. I'll probably get used to it after a while, but it does add the load on.
Auto is never something I've really got on with. Mostly because as a smoker I usually drive with the window open a crack which the sensors hate. My Xantia was terrible for it, it got really angry and ramped the fans right up as the airflow from the window hit the dash sensor just right to make it notice Otherwise every car I've had with it has had inop a/c anyway. My 406 had lovely aircon but no auto mode.
It'll be a freezing morning in the next week or so I notice, when I hit the screen clear button and set it to full hot and let it do its thing 

Wow, in all my years of driving and countless cars driven, I can't say I've ever felt a difference in a cars performance depending on whether the AC is on or off

[Noel Tidybeard]

try setting to 20 and take no notice

don't forget half on the fan is only 1.5/2 in old money

[beko1987]

14 hours ago, Cheggers said:

Wow, in all my years of driving and countless cars driven, I can't say I've ever felt a difference in a cars performance depending on whether the AC is on or off

That was sat at idle. I drove to work and back yesterday with it running and didn't notice anything at all once it was under load 👌

[Brigsy]

As above best off leaving climate on auto and let it do its thing. If you run it in eco, they never seem to work right, and screen demist is mega.

On side note my clio 1.5dci has manual a/c, and if you turn it on whilst at speed you can feel the engine buck when it kicks in due to extra load due to mighty 65hp. Still on all summer as mpg is negligible. Blast it every few weeks in winter to keep things moving.

[wuvvum]

16 hours ago, Cheggers said:

Wow, in all my years of driving and countless cars driven, I can't say I've ever felt a difference in a cars performance depending on whether the AC is on or off

My dad's old Volvo 240 estate had a very noticeable drop in performance when the A/C was on.  There was one particularly steep uphill motorway sliproad near my grandparents' house where he had to turn the A/C off in the summer or the car wouldn't get up to speed before reaching the motorway.

[beko1987]

My Ford Puma would near stall at idle if the air con was turned on. It never worked so I never turned it on, which was good, and the car probably had greater issues anyway 🤔

Still not sure how mechanically sympathetic having the car turn on from cold then blast the air con too all at once but I guess I just shouldn't give a fuck?

[Brigsy]

Wouldnt be concerned about ac on from cold start. Most cars with climate have done it for years. Wont bother the k9k they are pretty bulletproof

[beko1987]

It's been a nice few weeks. Air con is still cold, it De-mists nice and quickly and I've just been smoking about.

Even today's job was pointless. Back when I ordered my android auto headunit from China I spent under £4 for a pair of front door handles

They've been sat on the back of my desk all summer as their fitment was waaaaaay down the priority list but here we are, at that part of the priority list and I had a spare half hour.

Doorcards come off easily, pop the silver trim off

Then 2 10mm bolts and pull at the clips 

Eva stuck the sticker on not long after we bought it as the handles are a bit scratchy as the coating peels.

Removing the old one was 1 bolt and slide the assembly, then unclip the cable. Very easy!

New ones look much better although that wasn't the main aim, they did bite you occasionally if you slid your hand wrongly! I've peeled off most of the worst bits of the drivers side as I've been stuck in traffic over the months 😂

[beko1987]

Ha, that was short lived! Nipped out to drop something off a few towns over with Charlie. 

Was lovely and sunny when we left, eva was in town with her friend. As we left stokenchurch it was raining slightly, as we came down the hill it was smashing it down, and eva asked to be picked up.

Got 7 miles from home and the wipers packed up 😂😭 Always knew they would but I was hoping not now. I drove the fast road OK as the speed swept the rain off enough that I could make out the road markings but when we hit town it was awful. 

They started sporadically coming back to life and seemed to work fine on max  so we pressed on, picked eva and her friend up and headed home, with wipers about 45% of the time.

They started sweeping really slowly and I guess that's the cheap new motor no2 fucked/wet and fucked.

It almost was avoided too if evri just delivered the scrappy but genuine motor and linkage I bought earlier last week

As said I've had TEH fear for a while.So was planning to hopefully solve the problem at leisure. Now I have to hope it comes Monday and I can fit it all Monday (want to crack the new used motor open and seal it up but I might not bother now and just throw the fucker on)

Door handles work grand though 👌

[Snipes]

How's the aircon holding up?

I was delighted when my old Vectra passed the vacuum leak test and was regassed, only for it to slowly fade away over the course of about 3 weeks.

[beko1987]

15 hours ago, Snipes said:

How's the aircon holding up?

I was delighted when my old Vectra passed the vacuum leak test and was regassed, only for it to slowly fade away over the course of about 3 weeks.

Its still as cold as it was (had it on earlier as Charlie said he was hot)

Part of me wonders if it's as cold as it should be all round hut I've never tried another qq air con to compare 😂 It still feels 'cold' vs the xsara that faded away during my drive home after it's regas. Will be next year now I'll fully know if it can keep up and cool the car

[hairnet]

 

[beko1987]

Please fucking work you bastard 😂

It looks far less crusty than the original motor from my car did when it first died so 🤞

I'd have liked the time to strip it apart a bit and throw some sealant about but I don't have time now, I'm just going to throw it on the car at lunchtime and hope it works! Might order another next month and rebuilt that and have it sat for WHEN not IF this one dies

[beko1987]

Done!

Old one had the same rusty shitty water as the first cheap motor, only this one lasted longer thanks to my mods.

New mech and motor went in and worked fine off the bat. Smashed it all back together then went onto the 2nd bit I'd bought, new wiper blades

I did wonder if the ones on the car were old and dragging a ton, plus they were starting to smear so £22 later I fitted them to the arms before replacing them which was way easier

Works fine! Faster wipe than the shitty motors too, and on the stupid fucking wipe it does 15 seconds after finishing wiping it doesn't stall mid wipe like the prior one did. Time will tell how long this one works for. Still plan to buy a 2nd used one to have incase, but I can drive to work tomorrow at least🤞🌧️

Do need a new washer jet on the passenger side, its stopped being a spray and more of a direct jet. I've poked at it but made it no better, although it points at the screen enough for now 

[beko1987]

Yes that's much better! 

Saw something cool on marketplace so went to Bicester in the drizzle and the gen motor is far better, swipes faster and with more purpose. New wiper blades are 14/10 too and I didn't think the old ones were too bad.

I bought this USA 120v imported Hoover Convertible! It's pretty good too, runs really well and is lighter to use than our Seniors and I do think it bites down more too on the pile.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, beko1987 said:

I bought this USA 120v imported Hoover Convertible! 

It appears to have been fitted with a hard top.

[hairnet]

 

[beko1987]

Was a rainy commute both ways today and they wipe fine. I'm back to hating the intermittent settings again.

It has an intermittent setting and 5 clicks of choices. Under 45/50mph it mostly follows that choice and all is OK. However above that speed the auto part kicks in and over rides the chosen setting on the stalk 😡 So I was bombing down the m40 in light rain wanting a wipe every 4 seconds or so but it would do that for 3 wipes then go mad and wipe really fast for a few minutes before going back to the intermittent depending on how heavy the spray was. No wonder they fuck their motors up for fun.

I miss the adjuster on my old XM 😢 Physical slider on the stalk with near infinite settings (no clicks) and I could just move that a mm or 2 either way depending on how heavy or light the rain was at my given point and all was grand. 

I do need to tweak the drivers arm, it's too low. Was talking to a neighbor as I did it so didn't notice but I'm left with a massive unswept a pillar area and it then taps the bottom seal when parked. Will tweak that on the weekend

[djoptix]

Haven't read the whole thread but I'm assuming this is the same system as I had on our Grand Scenic 1.5dci, and I can confirm it's endlessly frustrating. The rain detection was never very good, and it's not much better on the Zafira we have now. I'm profoundly grateful that my 2016 van doesn't have it, and just has five choices of intermittent speeds but no rain detection. 

Thinking about it, the only car I've ever had which had almost perfect auto wipers was my MK1 Citroen C5. I just left the wipers on fully auto all the time and never thought about them, and it would always choose perfectly. How come Citroen got that right in 2002, but it's still not right on cars 20 years later?!

[Cheggers]

The auto wipers on the Jeep are also pretty odd...Absolutely perfect in light spray, wiping every 10 seconds or so but the first sign of actual rain and they go into full on turbo panic mode, wiping fast enough to set off an epileptic 🤯

I'd much rather have an old-fashioned dumb intermittent wipe setting tbh