Today I did something to my car (volume 2)

i57dwun4yb1pt8

audi a3 petrol 1.6 2002

Just replaced disks and pads all round , and the hazard warning switch as it goes bad and freezes the indicators

i will say pressing rear brake calipers back is a superb pain in the hole .

first time ,and im an amateur , so its a good feeling

must say this car fixing stuff is very addictive

Bpmull

toastedpickles wrote: »

Just to carry on from yesterday, today i got to cleaning the sump out, not too shabby for half an hour!
That's all the sludge that was in it, and even at that a good bit of it was just gasket sealer, so tomorrow I'll finish it and that'l be ready to go on monday

Some acetone would do a serious job on cleaning that sump. It would just dissolve up all the sludge and deposits. IN case you don't know acetone is one of the most commonly used solvents it's extremely useful for cleaning and removing a whole variety of things. Not sure how easy it is to get though we use it a lot in college labs. You'd find a dillited form of it in nail varnish remover that's what removes the nail varnish/ paint.

toastedpickles

Bpmull wrote: »

Some acetone would do a serious job on cleaning that sump. It would just dissolve up all the sludge and deposits. IN case you don't know acetone is one of the most commonly used solvents it's extremely useful for cleaning and removing a whole variety of things. Not sure how easy it is to get though we use it a lot in college labs. You'd find a dillited form of it in nail varnish remover that's what removes the nail varnish/ paint.

I was just thinking that it was the nail polish stuff, where would i even get that though? I've no idea myself

Bpmull

toastedpickles wrote: »

I was just thinking that it was the nail polish stuff, where would i even get that though? I've no idea myself

I thought it would be hard to get it but turns out you can get it on adverts. This stuff is supposedly 100% pure although you can't believe much you see on adverts. Just if you do use it use gloves as although a bit on your skin won't do any harm I wouldn't be putting my hands in a bath of it not good for certain organs in the body.

http://www.adverts.ie/6432336

toastedpickles

Bpmull wrote: »

I thought it would be hard to get it but turns out you can get it on adverts. This stuff is supposedly 100% pure although you can't believe much you see on adverts. Just if you do use it use gloves as although a bit on your skin won't do any harm I wouldn't be putting my hands in a bath of it not good for certain organs in the body.

http://www.adverts.ie/6432336

May get some of this! cheers for that!

Bpmull

toastedpickles wrote: »

May get some of this! cheers for that!

I'm sure if you look around online you could get a better deal on it. But it is really good for a huge variety of things down to removing glue or permanent markers from a white board it does it all.

toastedpickles

Bpmull wrote: »

I'm sure if you look around online you could get a better deal on it. But it is really good for a huge variety of things down to removing glue or permanent markers from a white board it does it all.

ah sure 12 quid isn't going to break me, it'l do the job rightly!

Also this

Powerful De-greaser.
Mixed 1:1 with automatic transmission fluid acetone is very effective at loosening rusted joints and bolts.

Bpmull

toastedpickles wrote: »

ah sure 12 quid isn't going to break me, it'l do the job rightly!

Also this

Powerful De-greaser.
Mixed 1:1 with automatic transmission fluid acetone is very effective at loosening rusted joints and bolts.

It's very handy stuff alright not really that well known about by the General public but ask any Chemist or similar about it and they will sing its praises.

toastedpickles

Bpmull wrote: »

It's very handy stuff alright not really that well known about by the General public but ask any Chemist or similar about it and they will sing its praises.

Well thanks for that!

georgefalls

toastedpickles wrote: »

May get some of this! cheers for that!

Even cheaper here

http://store.evansartsupplies.ie/store/product/15736/Acetone-1L/

Interslice

Hal1 wrote: »

Probably the easiest rear wheel bearing to change. But the stresses it would be under being part of the braking system, would reduce the lifespan of the bearing I would think.

Very handy job alright. The pads siezed on and burned out about 2 months ago so maybe affected the bearings. One of the lads was saying the abs sensor contacts the ring somtimes when the bearing goes and throws a light on the dash.

Changing my altenator belt the other day has fixed the air bag light on the primera. Bonus repair!

Titzon Toast

Oil, filter and a good scrub.
Not bad for a cold day on the driveway!

Voodoomelon

I've a real pain in the ass at the moment, it's loosing about a litre of coolant per week through a small leak somewhere but it only does it on the move and not when idling or sitting up.

I've cleaned the entire front end of the engine and after driving for a bit over the last few days, I still can't say for certain where it's leaking from.
I know it's definitely not the front end of the engine bay, all radiator inlets/hoses are bone dry.

The only thing that is constantly wet after a drive is the center stabiliser bar here:


I think it's the water pump as a secondary hose entering it is damp and it also has a weep hole, but it's so hard to tell.

The center weep hole on the block looks like it might have been trickling at some stage, but it's not fresh (just to the left of the central nut in the photo):


...so I don't think it's the dreaded central coolant pipe.

The hole itself is dry:


Just every time I take it for a drive, there's coolant on the bottom of the oil pan for sure, as well as the stabiliser bar.

Wobbling hoses and connections produces no leaks.





Maybe a pressure test will show the cause.

Hal1

Maybe it's only a factor when the engines at running temperature? as everything expands when hot fluids, hoses etc. I had a coolant leak a while back and couldn't pin point it after checking around for ages, I found the expansion tank had a hairline crack underneath it.

Voodoomelon

I've been thinking the same, the last two times i've had the car in the air it was after work and sitting up for 8 hours, evening idling for 15 minutes wouldn't get the engine hot enough. I need to take it for a half hour drive I think and then come back and idle it.

Special Circumstances

Rad all metal or does it have a plastic top section? Plastic bit gave out in the last two cars I had. Plastic cracked ahead of where the top hose met the rad in one case. In the other it was at the join between plastic and the metal,worst nearest the top hose. Both only noticeable under pressure/heat first but got worse.

Zcott

Changed two headlight bulbs in the Civic. The engine 2.2 derv block is so big that anyone who has done this knows that it's a real pain to do. Remove the expansion tank from the holder and take out the pipes so that it moves upwards, then hope you have small hands to manoeuvre the bulb cover off and out. I gave up on this job on Sunday it was that bad (or I'm really bad at this kind of thing).

Passenger side is a little bit easier, for easy access remove the battery and cover, but smart here dropped the bulb and it's somewhere on the oil pan now...

advertsfox

Zcott wrote: »

Changed two headlight bulbs in the Civic. The engine 2.2 derv block is so big that anyone who has done this knows that it's a real pain to do. Remove the expansion tank from the holder and take out the pipes so that it moves upwards, then hope you have small hands to manoeuvre the bulb cover off and out. I gave up on this job on Sunday it was that bad (or I'm really bad at this kind of thing).

Passenger side is a little bit easier, for easy access remove the battery and cover, but smart here dropped the bulb and it's somewhere on the oil pan now...

Ah, another car build around the fecking headlights.

Slicemeister

advertsfox wrote: »

Ah, another car build around the fecking headlights.

Had the bumper off on my own Accord yesterday changing a dim. What a pain in the hole.

Put 2 Michelin Supersports 225 18 45 on the front today, what came off I'm embarrassed to say were shocking.

Slicemeister

Zcott wrote: »

Changed two headlight bulbs in the Civic. The engine 2.2 derv block is so big that anyone who has done this knows that it's a real pain to do. Remove the expansion tank from the holder and take out the pipes so that it moves upwards, then hope you have small hands to manoeuvre the bulb cover off and out. I gave up on this job on Sunday it was that bad (or I'm really bad at this kind of thing).

Passenger side is a little bit easier, for easy access remove the battery and cover, but smart here dropped the bulb and it's somewhere on the oil pan now...

I did this the exact same way as you until I figured out how to drop the front grill and bumper on an O9 Accord and take the whole headlight out.Far easier job, dunno if the Civics the same.

Voodoomelon

Special Circumstances wrote: »

Rad all metal or does it have a plastic top section? Plastic bit gave out in the last two cars I had. Plastic cracked ahead of where the top hose met the rad in one case. In the other it was at the join between plastic and the metal,worst nearest the top hose. Both only noticeable under pressure/heat first but got worse.

It's all metal. Just gave it it a rip around for 25 minutes, put it up in the air again and sat under the engine for 15 minutes, nothing leaking at all now! This is wrecking my head, gonna take it for a pressure test tomorrow.

Stallingrad

Voodoomelon wrote: »

It's all metal. Just gave it it a rip around for 25 minutes, put it up in the air again and sat under the engine for 15 minutes, nothing leaking at all now! This is wrecking my head, gonna take it for a pressure test tomorrow.

In fairness you knew when you bought that bus that cooling woes were just a matter of time. Bless BMW.

Good luck tracking it down.

Voodoomelon

^^ No worse than any other BMW (apart from the centre transfer pipe), cooling isn't their strong point. Then again how many 9 year old cars have rock solid cooling?

Had it pressure tested today and not a drop of coolant came out, it's holding pressure perfectly now. But is still leaking when driving.

Have a new OEM water pump, thermostat and housing on order, will see if that fixes it.

Interslice

Voodoomelon wrote: »

^^ No worse than any other BMW (apart from the centre transfer pipe), cooling isn't their strong point. Then again how many 9 year old cars have rock solid cooling?


Have a new OEM water pump, thermostat and housing on order, will see if that fixes it.

I found the leaks in my van by letting it warm up and pressurise from cold while lying beneath with a torch. I could see a salty residue from the red type d antifreeze so could look roughly in the right place.

You could try taping a few bits of newspaper here snd there and around that wp connection to help source it.

Voodoomelon

Interslice wrote: »

I found the leaks in my van by letting it warm up and pressurise from cold while lying beneath with a torch. I could see a salty residue from the red type d antifreeze so could look roughly in the right place.

Exactly what I've been doing with no joy. No where on the block or hoses is actually getting wet, just the center torsion bar. I'll tackle the water pump over the weekend and go from there.

Foxhole Norman

Picked up new 5W LED Marker's for my Angel Eyes

Before:


After:


Ignore the grill, they're just stickers that I'm just testing to see if I like it or not

YbFocus

Like the lights, not the grille thing

You may upgrade the fogs to led now to suit!

Foxhole Norman

YbFocus wrote: »

Like the lights, not the grille thing

You may upgrade the fogs to led now to suit!

Yeah that's the plan. The grill I'm unsure about, I think it looks good but it's a bit tacky.

YbFocus

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Yeah that's the plan. The grill I'm unsure about, I think it looks good but it's a bit tacky.

They are a very vibrant colour, maybe if they were more subtle

Your choice of course, but to me they are screaming off the front of the car

Hal1

Just don't yellow the fogs, tis all I have to say on the matter .