Today I did something to my car (volume 2)

Tea drinker

The Real B-man wrote: »

Sorry i may not made myself clear #Grammar, it was the fuel filter that was gunked up i don't think it had being changed in quite a while the housing was filthy and loads of black sediment when i drained the diesel out of it.
It is a BXE nearing 300k! it hasn't fired a conrod out of the block yet! besides two timing belts shocks and regular service items, it's being trouble free does a minimum of 100km a day mostly motorway.

All good so, keep on trucking, always a nice moment when you realise your car is costing you feck all..... having had enough misery in my youth with "cheap" expensive cars I really appreciate mine just using petrol and the odd oil change.
Car trouble is worse than women trouble.

antodeco

All work on the Z3.M50 manifold swap from standard M52, with modified throttle body plate and fuel rail. Swapped out stock intake for a custom built CAI and then added a front strut for the hell of it. The car was only back from welders to strengthen the rear subframe, so it can handle the BHP increase without ripping it's own arse off! I also had to clean. Out the battery terminals as the car wouldn't start and thought it was from the above work!

cletus

Per the thread I started s couple of days ago, I changed the cranckshaft position sensor on the wifes Grand Scenic. Threw me a bit, because its not located where the interwebs said it would be . Not sure if its got to do with the mark or what, but managed to locate it anyway.

French design and engineering again meant that I had to remove the battery and scuttle panel, move the air intake pipe, and tie the coolant pipes out of the way just to reach it. Then, I had enough space to either look at it, or put my hand in, but not both. Cue the dropping of 10mm spanners and much cursing.

All sorted now though, and for €37 from the motor factor, nice and cheap too

cruiser178

advertsfox

Interslice wrote: »

your discs could be fine. You will usually get through at least 2 sets of pads before needing discs. As alanstrainor said, check them for a lip.

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-need-know-when-disk-brakes-need-replacement

Yup the lip is on both - got the discs and pads changed at the rear only (front are at 50%) when the tyres were done - €600 all in not too bad really.

Black_Knight

Added reversing sensors to my wifes car.

Bumper off



Sensors wired up and in position


Masking tape to hopefully reduce chipping the paint


1 sensor in. Pretty happy. In hindsight i'd love to have had a white rattle can to paint the inner diameter of the cut hole white also. I might retouch with some paint and a toothpick at a later date


Bumper back on!


Sensors: GreenYi sensors from AliExpress - 2-3 week delivery - $18

Tommyboy40

Ordered 4 new tyres

Image 07-11-2018 at 21.25.jpg

antodeco

Installed a dashcam (front and rear). As the car is 40 years old, (and no cigarette lighter), I had to be slightly engineering with a voltage booster off a spare positive and negative that I took off the back of the radio. Also needed 4 new sparks as car wouldn't start. They were quite fouled, suspect my valve guides are on the way out.

Tea drinker

antodeco wrote: »

Installed a dashcam (front and rear). As the car is 40 years old, (and no cigarette lighter), I had to be slightly engineering with a voltage booster off a spare positive and negative that I took off the back of the radio. Also needed 4 new sparks as car wouldn't start. They were quite fouled, suspect my valve guides are on the way out.

Make sure your PCV is all clean and good.... might be just crankcase pressure allowing more oil in. Any spurt of blue smoke when you start after letting rest for a little while? That's a classic valve stem oil seal sign.

CianRyan

If the PCV was blocked you’d have issues on the otherwise, oil leaks because of the build up of pressure.
A PCV on a 40y/o car probably just vents to athmosmere anyway, they only started cracking down on that and making it mandatory to have it feed into the inlet in the early 90’s.

More than likely valve stem oil seals if it’s manky after being sitting.

antodeco

Thanks guys. Yup, if it's left sitting for a while, lots of smoke. I normally need to do a spark plug change if it's left sitting up for 2 or 3 months. Runs rough as hell as well until it's all burnt off. Once the engine is nice and hot it runs grand for a few days!

CianRyan

Shouldn't need to change them, just give them a clean and make sure the gap is correct and they should be fine. Definitely have a look at getting those seals done though.

antodeco

CianRyan wrote: »

Shouldn't need to change them, just give them a clean and make sure the gap is correct and they should be fine. Definitely have a look at getting those seals done though.

I've tried cleaning them! They are dropping wet with oil. Might try the burn it off clean that seems to be doing the rounds. I don't mind changing sparks. €13 and 10 minutes of my time!

Alanstrainor

Today it was my dad's car rather than my own. It's a 2006 BMW 523i N52, having terrible trouble of late. Idling trouble and misfires. Sometimes at idle it sill completely die, engine just stops dead. And other times the car will misfire on startup. What's weird is that it has died when at in drive at traffic lights.

His mechanic seems to be at a complete loss as to the cause and even went down the route of an engine flush for some bizzare reason! Anyway, I've had lots of thoughts on this, but thought I'd pop out the DISA valve which is a valve in the intake manifold. It's a common failure for them to cease up, or become loose. This is a valve right on the intake manifold, wasn't too bad to remove. Popped it out and there was oil everywhere, not just a small coating, it was dripping everywhere. I'm wondering if the CCV is done for, need to google more I suppose.

Leonard Hofstadter

That's a slightly odd place to find oil alright! Could it be leaking oil through the rocker cover gasket as well? A blocked CCV would surely put the exhaust emissions light on (it does when it's blocked up enough in the older engines).

scannerd

CCV system on those does fail, if its never been change then I would start there given its age , could give you the excess oil in the intake, parts are not to expensive they are a bugger to get at unless you take the intake out, very fiddly. Definitely buy the whole kit as the hoses will be brittle by now and 90% break taking off.

fancy pigeon

Did somebody say French cars and wonky electrics...?

I have a 607 that every so often wouldn't start or when started presented a rake of strange intermittent issues (gearbox errors, bizarre speedometer and all sort of other small weird things). It damn nearly stranded me once, I said I need to fix this once and for all!

So after pondering it for a while, I decided to investigate the battery terminals, as this was a problem with the 406 in the past (easily fixed by adding in an extra earth/replacing the terminals)

Seems the engine positive was in need of replacing!


I had to modify one of the cables to fit, otherwise it's a nice snug fit.

Now, to the boot battery


Oh goody. This looks like a quality install :rolleyes:

Now, lets remove this battery:


How this was working was beyond me! :rolleyes:

Seeing as the main earth cable was left, I got a bolt out of an Avensis to thread in, one that was just the right length. Next, I got this tractor negative terminal and made the bolt and washer fit


Put the whole lot back in (a new battery that fitted, naturally) and tested the car

No more issues starting, no strange errors with the gearbox or ones I hadn't accounted for

Bliss :cool:

Alanstrainor

scannerd wrote: »

CCV system on those does fail, if its never been change then I would start there given its age , could give you the excess oil in the intake, parts are not to expensive they are a bugger to get at unless you take the intake out, very fiddly. Definitely buy the whole kit as the hoses will be brittle by now and 90% break taking off.

Cheers, yes that's my suspicion to be honest, although there isn't the other tell tale signs such as blue smoke out the exhaust or burning excessive oil. It's a job I've avoided doing on mine for the last 5 years (I don't have much symptoms of it having failed tbf). But I have a feeling I'm going to have to do it on my dad's. I've watched tonnes of videos on this job on my own over the years, and the general conclusion I've found is that taking the intake off is the way to go, and replace as much as you can along the way. Exciting!

Leonard Hofstadter

With the M54s its recommended to buy genuine BMW breathers and change all the hoses as well. I'd assume it's the same for the N52 as well.

eringobragh

Been a while since I had a issue - roll in the Mrs Civic and a soaked spare wheel compartment (boot itself was bone dry)

Stripped back the panels out of the boot and left beside rad as it would take a month of Sundays to dry it out in car



Initial civic forums point the issue to a number of issue - a blocked fuel drain seems a common one



Borrowed from the local heroin addict flushed 2 cups of hot water through the drain hole after poking all the silt out




Im not convinced this is the end to this issue but as there was no smell of damp in car I think its only recent - Mrs fessed up to leaving the cap open last Thursday so the 48hrs of constant rain and a blocked drain and capillary action to boot

I hope its resolved but will be taking the hose to the car later while all the panels and carpets are stripped out.

antodeco

Sat at the side of the road as my heater valve decided to sh1t itself everywhere (nice coolant covered engine bay). Cable tied it back together and got me home. Took it all apart and flushed it. Replacing it tomorrow with a solid cap (means the heater valve will.always be open), but just means won't have any failing heater caps.

eringobragh

...revisit from the leaky civic boot...and I was right I sat in the boot while it was raining and watched the water run into the boot from the roof - fix below

eringobragh wrote: »

Yep and I fixed mine only today after some advice on civinfo

Red arrows are the flow of leak





"the seam sealer at the rear of the roof rain channels fails and let’s water in at a surprising rate. "

To check I took the fittings off the end of my hose so I could squash the hose right up against the seam sealer and had someone turn the hose on slowly, hey presto instant in car waterfall!

Clean re-seam seal and reseal with silicone, etc

blade1

Ordered 4 tyres last week.
Was hoping they all turn together but only 2 arrived today.
The other 2 are still in Belgium.:o
Hankook Ventus.
The front ones were €91 and the rears were €124 so overall not too bad at all.

colliemcc

blade1 wrote: »

Ordered 4 tyres last week.
Was hoping they all turn together but only 2 arrived today.
The other 2 are still in Belgium.:o
Hankook Ventus.
The front ones were €91 and the rears were €124 so overall not too bad at all.

Who did you order them from

blade1

colliemcc wrote: »

Who did you order them from

Oponeo.ie
And the fronts are 225x40x18
The rears 255x35x18

Black_Knight

blade1 wrote: »

Oponeo.ie
And the fronts are 225x40x18
The rears 255x35x18

It's certainly been asked before, but where do you get them fitted, and what does a fitting of 4 tires + disposal of 4 tires cost (assuming your location of Cork is still correct)?

blade1

Black_Knight wrote: »

It's certainly been asked before, but where do you get them fitted, and what does a fitting of 4 tires + disposal of 4 tires cost (assuming your location of Cork is still correct)?

I get mates rates so I'm not sure what my fella would usually charge.
He charged me a tenner the last time to fit 2 tyres.

Tommyboy40

blade1 wrote: »

I get mates rates so I'm not sure what my fella would usually charge.
He charged me a tenner the last time to fit 2 tyres.

For 19's it's normally €30 per tyre

Alanstrainor

Just finished the annual oil change. Nice and handy, had bought one of those electric oil extractors in lidl during the year which made the whole process super easy and quick. Done and dusted in 45 minutes, most of that time spent just waiting around. Happy days. The wifes car will be next, but it needs some bigger bits too.

joujoujou

Must be an Oil Change Weekend - done the same yesterday, traditional way though, and not annual thing - I change it every 8 000 km, so approx. 3 times a year.

Awaiting last drops of oil to go to the tray, decided to sort out my OCD thing - something what pi$$ed me off since very beginning, even though that's just visual thing and only while you looked at the inner side of the bonnet:





Couldn't be washed/cleaned/brushed, so plan B - matt black spray from lidl. :cool:





Now better.