what have you done to your car today ?

[iammooks]

Still putting off my boost gauge install. Will probably do it Friday and Saturday and already have my lower dash off, but wanted to ask if anyone has any experience running their gauge in the air vent to the right of the steering wheel? I've got the vent out but I can't see a way of getting the gauge wires out from there.

I'm fully prepared to drill a hole in the vent conduit, but realise I could also try running the wires through some tubing so they're not damaged by rubbing and it saves me putting holes in my HVAC system.

I'm guessing someone's done a gauge this way before, so thought I'd throw it out there before I do something irreversible...!


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[Alexis27]

Fixed an oil leak in the PCV system. Changed it all to silicone in the summer but one of the clamps was misshapen and letting oil escape. Also changed the vacuum pump for a new one and the plastic valve for a metal one, so basically did the whole job again from start to finish.
And is it just me who has to clean all the blood off the engine when they've finished?

 

[iammooks]

And is it just me who has to clean all the blood off the engine when they've finished?

You're supposed to leave that as an offering.

 

[MoToJoJo]

To the red PD150? Nothing, busy sorting out the project drivetrain

 

[Rich.T]

Anyone know what size spanner/socket is needed to remove the front brembo callipers from my car?
Since not having a workshop to use, the squeeks, knocks and bangs have built up and the car deserves better.
So going to replace the front discs n pads over Christmas.

Rich

 

[Thai-wronghorse]

18mm socket on a breaker bar to remove the main carrier bolts.

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[Rich.T]

Brill! Cheers ?

 

[Thai-wronghorse]

A six sided socket is best here and might need a short extension bar as well as they're usually pretty damn tight so need to get a decent purchase and angle of leverage on them.

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[Rich.T]

Thanks for the info. Ill have a rummage in my toolbox.
Anything else i may need other than a hammer n punch for the pads and chunky screw driver for the discs?

It all came apart a couple of years ago to paint the callipers so will have been copper greased.

 

[Thai-wronghorse]

Na that's about it really, it's an easy job on these cars.

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[iammooks]

I AM AN ELECTRICAL WIZARD.

It looks really nice and it's even got needle sweep when you turn the ignition on.

Still need to test it, but with the lower dash not back together, I haven't got any lights at the moment.

Annoyed that I managed to lose one of the windscreen wiper caps in the engine bay though. It might fall out, but I'm not taking off the undertray to get to that.


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[MoToJoJo]

Who needs an engine crane when you can use ingenuity (and f*@#loads of luck)

So yeah... won't be trying that again ?

 

[iammooks]

Who needs an engine crane when you can use ingenuity (and f*@#loads of luck)

View attachment 28829View attachment 28830

So yeah... won't be trying that again ?

Yeah, I keep looking at the photos but I still can't work out how you did that.

 

[MoToJoJo]

Yeah, I keep looking at the photos but I still can't work out how you did that.

Ok, so here's how not to do it:

Strap the engine down to the pallet
Use a suicide jack to lift it up high enough to get some wood under the pallet
Keep going until there's enough room for a trolley jack
Use the trolley jack to lift the pallet enough to get ratchet stands under
Lift each corner of the pallet and raise the stands
Repeat until it's almost high enough
Cut out part of the pallet to give room for the stand
Bolt the bit you need to bolt to the engine
Raise up the pallet as necessary
Kick s#*$ out of the stand till it goes on to the bit that's bolted to the engine
Lock it together
Undo the strap
Kick out the jack stands
And hey presto, done

 

[iammooks]

I'm just glad I don't have any engine out jobs to do, reading that...

Spent the morning routing hose through my engine bay. Decided to follow the bonnet release cable to keep it out of the way as much as possible.

And plumbed it into the adapter at the MAP sensor.

It doesn't foul on the engine cover either, which is nice.

I'm supposed to be driving to my parents today so I wanted to go for a test drive before risking a 100 mile journey.

Not enough battery charge to turn the engine over.

My own fault - I haven't driven the car in about three weeks now and in that time I've been running VCDS scans and sitting in the car with the interior lights on. It was bound to happen.

Just waiting now for Halfords to tell me I can collect a battery charger.

Arse.


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[iammooks]

I should have said in the other post, a huge thank you to @Yellow fr for all his help on installing the boost gauge. Super patient and I wouldn't have been able to do it without him. I now know how to use Scotchloks, bullet connectors and how to use my multimeter.

Picked up the battery charger only to find that when I got the battery replaced a few years back (before I started working on the car myself), the garage I used shagged the battery retention bracket thing. The captive nut on the other side just spins freely. I'd managed to get the bolt out just enough to be able to brute force the battery out. As I was there, I decided to take the battery tray out, as the bolts that connect the tray to the chassis were quite manky, and I wanted to give them a clean and smother them in copper slip. Also, I decided to hacksaw off the bolt as I wasn't going to be able to get the battery back in.

Am I going to need a whole new battery tray now, or is there a way of getting the bracket in place with some new bolts?

EDIT: The bolt was totally seized in the captive nut thing in the battery tray, which was also worn and so wasn't engaging when I got a socket on it, and that's part of the tray, so it looks like a new tray it is. I got one for £9 off eBay though, so it's not a huge loss. I'll try to clean up the clamp a bit and maybe give it a coat of Hammerite or something and put it all back in the car.

Looking around, it's an M8x30mm bolt I need as well. Let's see if I can't get it all sorted before the MoT.

 

[MoToJoJo]

Picked up the battery charger only to find that when I got the battery replaced a few years back (before I started working on the car myself), the garage I used shagged the battery retention bracket thing. The captive nut on the other side just spins freely. I'd managed to get the bolt out just enough to be able to brute force the battery out. As I was there, I decided to take the battery tray out, as the bolts that connect the tray to the chassis were quite manky, and I wanted to give them a clean and smother them in copper slip. Also, I decided to hacksaw off the bolt as I wasn't going to be able to get the battery back in.

Am I going to need a whole new battery tray now, or is there a way of getting the bracket in place with some new bolts?

EDIT: The bolt was totally seized in the captive nut thing in the battery tray, which was also worn and so wasn't engaging when I got a socket on it, and that's part of the tray, so it looks like a new tray it is.

Just finished sorting mine out, totally rusted so the whole thing just span, it's gone through MoTs okay but just wanted it sorted.

Ended up drilling/smashing the captive nut out, went to put a rivnut in but that didn't go to plan so for now it's an M8 with a nyloc nut on the clamp then a normal nut n washer. Bit of a faff but it works

The offending rusty hardware:

 

[MoToJoJo]

So today was relatively easy, swapped the gearbox mount for Vibratechnics, modified the battery tray so it can hold the race battery, reverted to the OEM airbox but with plastics it'd been missing

 

[iammooks]

Just finished sorting mine out, totally rusted so the whole thing just span, it's gone through MoTs okay but just wanted it sorted.

Ended up drilling/smashing the captive nut out, went to put a rivnut in but that didn't go to plan so for now it's an M8 with a nyloc nut on the clamp then a normal nut n washer. Bit of a faff but it works

The offending rusty hardware:

View attachment 28874

Yep - I recognise that twisted bit of metal. I realised after I ordered a new battery tray and the relevant bolt that I could have just done what it sounds like you did - put the bolt and maybe a washer on the underside, and tighten a nut from the top. I've even got some M12 allthread and some nuts that I could fashion something out of. Like you, everything is secure even without the retaining clamp, but if I can get the parts I may as well do it properly.

That's the second time I've had a bolt get stuck partially undone - the other time was when my offside rear lower shock bolt seized. It only got jammed when I'd undone it about a centimetre, so I'm more annoyed at myself for not wire brushing the thread and putting some penetrating fluid on it and going straight for the hacksaw. That's always the worst thing about jobs like these - I make stupid decisions when I'm tired and normally a bit emotional that in hindsight if I'd just taken a bit more time over it I wouldn't be in this situation...

 

[Connor H]

I AM AN ELECTRICAL WIZARD.

It looks really nice and it's even got needle sweep when you turn the ignition on.

Still need to test it, but with the lower dash not back together, I haven't got any lights at the moment.

Annoyed that I managed to lose one of the windscreen wiper caps in the engine bay though. It might fall out, but I'm not taking off the undertray to get to that.


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Tidy gauge that, where you get that ? Im looking for a cheap one for my GF's mk1 TT