Tangerine Machine - MK2 Leon Cupra project

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
Boot latch mechanism fitted and is all good again, I decided to fit a new fuel pump too. Took the car for an MOT last week and it passed after fitting a number plate light bulb and realigning a headlight bulb so it seems the vacuum leak is well and truly sorted. I’m hoping to get a dyno done sometime soon to see how the car is running and make sure there’s no clutch slippage before doing a bit more research on upgrading to stage one.
 

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
not much to report with progress with any mods, I managed to get a dyno reading which showed the car is running at 239.4 bhp and at the time showed no issues, that didn’t last for long though.

while the weather has been mega I noticed an overheating problem when the car is standing in traffic, the fans weren’t coming on until much later than they should have been doing, and on one occasion didn’t come on until the engine was turned off. Before I’d had chance to remedy the problem, on what would normally be a straight drive to work I run into traffic caused by a slow moving, steam powered tractor and true to form the needle rose almost into the danger zone before I had chance to stop.

I stopped as soon as I was able to do so to let the engine cool and all seemed fine until a few days later. I noticed once or twice the car seemed to misfire, finally on the third misfire I got an engine management light indicating P0016 and P0171 faults. It assume the heat from the engine has damaged the casing of the crankshaft position sensor in some way so tomorrow I’ll be hunting for the part to get it replaced and then on to checking the fans.
 

Yellow fr

Gone to new owner so seat less for now
Sep 6, 2018
1,547
1,062
Sandbeds West Yorkshire
not much to report with progress with any mods, I managed to get a dyno reading which showed the car is running at 239.4 bhp and at the time showed no issues, that didn’t last for long though.

while the weather has been mega I noticed an overheating problem when the car is standing in traffic, the fans weren’t coming on until much later than they should have been doing, and on one occasion didn’t come on until the engine was turned off. Before I’d had chance to remedy the problem, on what would normally be a straight drive to work I run into traffic caused by a slow moving, steam powered tractor and true to form the needle rose almost into the danger zone before I had chance to stop.

I stopped as soon as I was able to do so to let the engine cool and all seemed fine until a few days later. I noticed once or twice the car seemed to misfire, finally on the third misfire I got an engine management light indicating P0016 and P0171 faults. It assume the heat from the engine has damaged the casing of the crankshaft position sensor in some way so tomorrow I’ll be hunting for the part to get it replaced and then on to checking the fans.

If your sat in traffic again I know it’s good to turn your heater onto full warm but it will help to bring the temp down but it does get hot saves sitting and waiting for the engine temp to drop I had todo this in a punto gt till I got a new fan switch for the rad


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Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
If your sat in traffic again I know it’s good to turn your heater onto full warm but it will help to bring the temp down but it does get hot saves sitting and waiting for the engine temp to drop I had todo this in a punto gt till I got a new fan switch for the rad


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Thanks for the tip! I’m learning a lot from the forum. I’ve ordered a new crankshaft position sensor this morning so I’ll be fitting it Monday when it arrives, just hope it holds out till then then. I’ve only got small journeys to work and back so hopefully all will be ok.

I’ll have a look at changing the thermostat too, just need to do a bit of research and read through some posts first!
 
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Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
After 2 hours fiddling around the new crank shaft position sensor is in. The car feels immediately better, since I’d fixed the air leak and the car was running “smooth” I hadn’t realised just how rough the car still was. The power picks up quicker, the turbo spools up seamlessly and the engine as a whole is quieter, even the exhaust note sounds nicer.

I’ve got 2 more issues to address, the fan not working and a rattle/knock when on full lock at low speed and then I can hopefully carry on with the upgrades, I still haven’t got round to ordering an induction kit so that’ll be the first thing followed by a remap🤞🏼
 

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated but no major power upgrades to report.

I have however fixed the rattling when turning, it was simply a CV joint that needed replacing, however while it was up on the ramps, there was a huge bang and a nice piece of spring dropped out from the wheel arch. A quick inspection and it looked like both springs needed replacing. A few days later I replaced both front springs and top mounts.

I’ve yet to address the problem with the fan but a new issue has popped up this evening where the car lost all electrical power briefly including stereo resetting, no power steering and no headlights, I’ve posted more details in a new thread and am hoping to get to the bottom of the problem tomorrow.
 
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Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
I managed to fix the electrical problem myself, after a good clean up of the battery terminals and relay and a thorough inspection of all of the fuses I replaced the positive battery cable. I was finally able to get the car running again.

Unfortunately last week another problem has “cropped up” courtesy of storm Eunice, a man replacing his fence panels and some very bad timing.

A gust of wind blew one of the fence panels into the road directly in front of me and…

6768DDD8-1DF7-474B-854D-58D241475A12.jpeg


The damage is luckily only cosmetic but according to the insurance company is a complete write off, to make matters worse I’ve temporarily lost my no claims bonus while they wait to see if the fence panel owner makes a claim for his damaged fence!
 

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
The last thing I want is to write the car off
Oh no that a shame hope you get it all sorted


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Cheers! I hope so too! I’ve sent plenty of info over to my insurance company including the dash cam footage so I’m currently awaiting a reply, the last thing I want is for the car to be written off. I’m going to try and get some quotes from some local body shops this week.
 

Ghostface

Active Member
Feb 26, 2020
87
29
That's really unlucky fella, I don't understand why the insurance would call it a write off if its cosmetic... From the pic it looks like might of got the intercooler, is this not the case? Also i heard if you've gone through the claims but not proceeded with the insurance claim you still get shafted with a claim on your file which is crap. I doubt the guy would claim for a fence panel cheaper to buy for for what 30 quid?
 

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
That's really unlucky fella, I don't understand why the insurance would call it a write off if its cosmetic... From the pic it looks like might of got the intercooler, is this not the case? Also i heard if you've gone through the claims but not proceeded with the insurance claim you still get shafted with a claim on your file which is crap. I doubt the guy would claim for a fence panel cheaper to buy for for what 30 quid?
I was pretty lucky where it hit, It missed the inter cooler by a few inches, the only other damage was a punctured tyre and a small dent in the wheel arch. I tried to explain to my insurance company that I’d have just bought him another fence panel if that was a problem but it’s all about procedures unfortunately.

Luckily I’ve got a friend who owns an insurance brokers and he’s been able to give me a few pointers, because the dash cam footage captures the owner of the property working on the fence (he’s in the picture picking up the debris from the road) it shouldn’t be classed as “an act of god” and depending on whether he’s got house insurance it could be a straight forward claim from him. If not he could still be prosecuted but I’d still lose my no claims until all of the costs were retrieved. With regards to the fence panel claim, as it currently stands if he doesn’t make a claim in the next six months I’ll get them reinstated but hopefully once they’ve reviewed the footage I’ve sent them they’ll see that it was completely his fault.

This is a screenshot from the dash cam

BDB11DC8-CAC0-4E6A-B781-02F6766ACF32.jpeg
 

Ghostface

Active Member
Feb 26, 2020
87
29
If he doesn't have insurance or doesn't claim but says the wind damaged his fence and he was trying to secure it etc basically saying its not his fault, it would still affect your insurance as an "at fault" because they can't get him/his side to pay for your damage.
Not saying this is fact or anything I'm just speculating. Also them bumpers are expensive. That will be about 1k job.
 

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
Yeah, that’s my only worry, I’ll know a little bit more when my insurance company get back to me but I’ll be chasing it up if I haven’t heard anything in the next few days. On a plus side at least the damage is only cosmetic so worse case scenario I’ll get the work done myself. At least the bumper is only cracked and not smashed, might even get some side skirts sorted while it’s in the body shop 😁
 

Ghostface

Active Member
Feb 26, 2020
87
29
And come your renewal if you can protect your no claims it's worth the extra 15/30 quid it saved my ass when I had to claim when my bumper was stolen.
 

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
I meant to protect them this year, only renewed in January too but bought through a comparison site so overlooked it. The first quote I had from the site had submitted my no claims wrong and put I’d got 4 years extra, if I hadn’t have checked I’d have been hit with a much higher price when I couldn't provide the proof. It’s defo worth it for the extra 15-30 quid!
 

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
Finally last week I got round to ordering myself a Ramair oversized induction kit and as soon as it arrived set to work installing it.

A5983ADB-00D2-4EF5-9A76-F17312D83994.jpeg


After around 2 hours and several cups of coffee later the kit was bolted on and ready for a test drive. From all of the reviews I’ve read about the awesome sound the oversized induction kit produces I was expecting some good results, but nothing could have prepared me for the actual noise that this beast creates.

For anyone wondering whether to fit one my recommendation would be a definite yes, the throttle response seems to have improved and I’m hoping that I’ll have got some small power gains too although I’ll know more when I go for a remap.

First things first it’s time to get cleaning the engine bay and hopefully replace some old pipes and I’ve still got a crack in the front bumper to address!
 

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
Nice, how did you get on with the whole insurance thing?
After sending them the footage and pictures of the damage it’s finally been agreed that it wasn’t my fault and the car isn’t a write off so my no claims haven’t been affected.

In terms of the damage it’s probably going to be cheaper to repair than the excess would cost so I’m not going through the insurance at all. After some gentle manipulating on the bumper I was able to pretty much get it fully aligned back up and there’s no smashed pieces, so it’s just a bit of an unsightly split at the moment but some body work TLC is next on my list.
 

Ghostface

Active Member
Feb 26, 2020
87
29
That's good new atleast, yeah should be cheaper to repair yourself although a complete replacement would be nice.... Just not the cost.
 

Digital Punk

Active Member
Aug 29, 2020
40
19
Midlands
Well, nothing much to report in terms of upgrades, being self employed in retail at the moment means I’ve had to cut back a little. It does mean however I’ve been able to spend a little time cleaning and polishing.

46DCCE78-C19B-488F-A363-9018CC361E1E.jpeg

In other news I have an oil leak again and like before it seems to be coming from the oil filter housing that I only replaced 2 years ago. It’ll hopefully manage until the new year when I’ll have a bit more time (and money hopefully!).
 
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