what have you done to your car today ?

Rich.T

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Feb 15, 2020
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I say the sunny was a water leak you didn't find in time. Them be bullet proof usually.

You did well to get 120k out of any citroen.

Corsa, yeh it happens.

MGZR. Well its an MGZR, what did you expect?
😁
 

Rich.T

Active Member
Feb 15, 2020
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Some good news. My punctured tyre is fixable.
Apparently been sorted this aftenoon and hope to pick it up tomorrow if i finnish work on time.
The barely legal 2003 pirelli spare feels "interesting".
But its kept the car on the road so no complaints from me.

Rich
 

Manic172

https://m.facebook.com/ManicMotorsport1
Dec 4, 2018
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Hemel hempstead
www.seatcupra.net
This guy's a bloody millionaire.


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Hahah no where near... I work up to 80 odd hours a week to pay for all this.. I need a work shop to do it in.. so I do more hours doing private jobs to pay for the workshop..... its mad.... but any one is welcome to come visit any time.. and help if you want too.. the gate is always open....
 
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Rich.T

Active Member
Feb 15, 2020
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Hahah no where near... I work up to 80 odd hours a week to pay for all this.. I need a work shop to do it in.. so I do more hours doing private jobs to pay for the workshop..... its mad.... but any one is welcome to come visit any time.. and help if you want too.. the gate is always open....
....but is the kettle always on?
 

iammooks

Active Member
Nov 27, 2018
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Stocked up on engine degreasers today but the only place I could get what I wanted was the Halfords in Shoreham, so had to drive there. Thought it would be a good chance to open her up on an a-road and didn't have any real trouble. You could tell the car was down on power, but it was still able to accelerate fairly swiftly. On the way back though, I went to overtake one of those horrible Peugeot or Citröen MPV things that look like a van - something that the Leon should be able to urinate all over from a great height - and it just gave up - it just didn't have the oomph.

Car is parked right outside the house now so will be easy to work on. Slightly handy too given it looks like my housemate has Covid.

Now all I need is a snapped bolt or two and that'll be pretty much the perfect week.
 

Rich.T

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Feb 15, 2020
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When i did mine, i dont think snapping bolts was the problem.

For their small size they can be FT.
Decent purchase with the allen key and not rounding the heads is what would concern me more.
Make sure the allen key is all the way in and has decent grip before you srart trying to undo em.

Rich
 

mty12345

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
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bristol
When i did mine, i dont think snapping bolts was the problem.

For their small size they can be FT.
Decent purchase with the allen key and not rounding the heads is what would concern me more.
Make sure the allen key is all the way in and has decent grip before you srart trying to undo em.

Rich
I agree 100%, brush out the heads with a wire brush and give the allen key a couple of gentle taps to ensure it's fully seated.
 
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iammooks

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Nov 27, 2018
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That's really good news - thank you.

I think everyone here knows I've got "the fear" when it comes to anything with a thread on my car.

Luckily I've ridden bikes for years, so I've got about four different types of allen keys, including ball-ended ones. Know a lot of their tricks too...

Wire brush and a check to make sure they're seated it is then.

Thanks again.


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Rich.T

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Feb 15, 2020
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Well that was a strange morning.
I left my job as a mechanic in November to follow my dream of becoming a lorry driver lol.
Anyway, the idea was for me to go into my old garage on the odd Saturday to do an MOT here n there to keep my licence running.
But the fitter who replaced me who now runs the workshop doesn't want me there as always made me feel very unwelcome but gone in occasionally to MOT.

Anyway, thismorning ive been driving around a few garages trying to find one that could do my front rollbar links.
Went to a garage round the corner from me (a small outfit). The boss lent me a ramp and tools to do the work myself (no charge) then offered me a job 😁.

So will be testing 1 or 2 Saturdays a month and can work on my own car.
And he gets to book in more MOTs as his usual testers only work Monday to Friday.
Win win!!!
 
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iammooks

Active Member
Nov 27, 2018
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Well that was a strange morning.
I left my job as a mechanic in November to follow my dream of becoming a lorry driver lol.
Anyway, the idea was for me to go into my old garage on the odd Saturday to do an MOT here n there to keep my licence running.
But the fitter who replaced me who now runs the workshop doesn't want me there as always made me feel very unwelcome but gone in occasionally to MOT.

Anyway, thismorning ive been driving around a few garages trying to find one that could do my front rollbar links.
Went to a garage round the corner from me (a small outfit). The boss lent me a ramp and tools to do the work myself (no charge) then offered me a job 😁.

So will be testing 1 or Saturdays a month and can work on my own car.
And he gets to book in more MOTs as his usual testers only work Monday to Friday.
Win win!!!
That's awesome news - both for keeping your hand in with the MoTs and having a shop to work in when you need to.

Slowly working my way through the inlet manifold job. Have got the EGR off but the difficult part is how a lot of the videos and guides aren't for the ARL engine and there's the EGR cooler behind the manifold that needs to come off too. I've taken out the 5mm allen bolt that's in the middle of the cooler, but it looks like I have to take off both of the EGR cooler pipes - the one that's on the right and the one that goes to the exhaust manifold. The one to the exhaust manifold has 13mm bolts on it, but the other side looks like an allen bolt on the underside - I'm guessing a 6mm.

Once that's off, it'll hopefully be plain sailing, but I'm not going to rush it - will spray the EGR cooler pipe bolts with penetrating lube and have some lunch, then try to get them off after the lube has had a chance to sink in a bit.

If I don't actually have to do all this, let me know! To get the EGR cooler off, it seems like I'll have to undo some coolant hoses too, which seems like another layer of faff. Ah well...
 
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Rich.T

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Feb 15, 2020
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I didnt take any coolant pipes off when i did my ARL (twice). I think you just undo the cooler bolts and theres enough movement in it to get the bolts/manifold out.
 
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iammooks

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Nov 27, 2018
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I didnt take any coolant pipes off when i did my ARL (twice). I think you just undo the cooler bolts and theres enough movement in it to get the bolts/manifold out.
Stupid question, but where's the other one? There's a 5mm allen one on top in the middle, but I've felt around and can't feel anything else in there that feels like a bolt.

Looks like I'll be stopping at Halfords when I get lunch so I can grab an inspection mirror...
 

iammooks

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Nov 27, 2018
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EGR Cooler.jpg


Just found this on an eBay listing. Who needs mirrors with all this technology? Looks like the other two are just either side then on the underside...

Good news, as the plastic pipe for the penetrating lube just fired itself off the nozzle and into the engine bay when I tried to spray the EGR pipe bolts...
 
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iammooks

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Nov 27, 2018
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That's a 'nope' from me for today. The air intake pipe is just getting in the way too much, and I don't have a hose clamp tool to undo the clip at the bottom. Hopefully my local Machine Mart will have one in stock I can pick up tomorrow, but at the moment the pipe is just blocking all my access. While I can find the allen bolts on the EGR cooler, none of my allen keys or bits seems to be able to get in securely.

The worst thing is that looking at the manifold, there only seems to be a thin coating of soot on the EGR side, but I know it could be much, much worse nearer the ports. You know how it is though - all this effort and you want it to actually do something.

I'm going to unplug the MAP and give that a spray with contact cleaner, so at least I'll have achieved something today.
 

Rich.T

Active Member
Feb 15, 2020
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CUP HOLDERS!!!!!

As ive sead before, i want 2 cup holders in my car.
Just out clearing my car out of 18 months of random crap and had a look at the replacement cup holder i bought to replace the broken one i have fitted.
Finding a lhd one can be easier sead than done.
I found that the front panel just unclips and can be flipped round so will go in place of the heated rear window switch.
Just need to remove the white cup emblem from the front and bingo, 2 cup holders.
$_57.jpeg.jpg
 
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