The car thread

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Joined 2017
Those would more than likely be illegal here in AU, even blow off valves are illegal here. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Nah, I'm thinking more upmarket, I can import some adjustable height/stiffness coilover springs from the US for about the same price as a factory strut package.

I bought some fog lamps for the front of the Camry, should make the car look a bit more sporty. Their usefulness would be questionable as we rarely get fog here unless its in the early morning but I do want to put some miles on it so who knows where I'll be, could end up being in the fog-laden hills of Gloucester.
 

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I've taken on the 'challenge' of fixing some issues on a 2005 VW Passat owned by my neighbour who is a single mom.
1: Drivers door wont open from outside - 1hr fix (including a cuppaT n bikkies) - a clip had deserted it's assigned post, was found hiding like a coward in the bottom of the door so....
2: Passenger side window reg (elec) cables farked - no 'fix' as it would be a Long job to get the entire reg mech out, change cables (EXPENSIVE) and set up, so am hunt for a complete door in black which should be £40 ish and no more than 1hr to fit.
3: Find coolant leak and replace hose...... cant do this cos the batteries dead and to take the battery out is a 1/2hr job as it's buried under the inner flitch, not that this matters as the friend I lent my charger to about a week ago thought I wouldn't mind if he lent it to his mate...... and we cant get hold of this guy :mad:
I can only see 2 hoses, the one that 'might' be holed and the heater matrix return - the others are buried in the front valance - ie take the front of the car apart - or hidden by the under-tray.
I spoke to a friend who's an ex-VAG engineer and guess what he said?
"I stopped working on them because they are so badly laid out."
Furgus also said other stuff about VAG thats too rude to print, mostly about this specific car.

I'll win.
 
Just another Moderator
Joined 2003
Paid Member
I think most modern cars are a PITA to work on. I suspect a lot of it is deliberate. In Australia at least there is very little profit made on selling the car, it is the servicing where the money is. Making things difficult (but maybe having a few dealer tricks to get around it) ensures a good revenue stream for after sales servicing.

One of the worst I ever heard was the 90's MG convertibles. Never verified if this was true, but was told that you have to pull the engine to change the spark plugs! I think it was evrery 60,000KM.

Tony.
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2017
Despite my 3VZ-FE engine having a 90 degree tilt towards the firewall which blocks off easy access to the spark plugs because the engine is so tall, it is not difficult to service it. The intake can be easily removed (provided you haven't stripped the T bolts) and spark plugs replaced with a small wrench.

Dare I say that it is quite easy to repair this car. Of course not all modern cars are like this.
 
One of the worst I ever heard was the 90's MG convertibles. Never verified if this was true, but was told that you have to pull the engine to change the spark plugs! I think it was evrery 60,000KM.

Tony.

Don't know anything about the '90s MG but mid-engined Ferraris required you to remove the engine to change the timing belt.

Never quite understood why they didn't use chains.
 
I think it was a kind of fashion thing. Belts are a little more efficient and dont stretch
over time (but of course break without much warning) compared to the roller chains
at the time. They are also cheaper but I dont think this was Ferrari's reason for using them!

Since then chain manufacture has improved considerably. My BMW E46 M3's timing chain is
known for lasting well over 200K miles. Mind you the N47 timing chain didnt last but that was
due to badly machined crankshaft sprockets

I seem to remember the first Honda F1 V10 used belts but was soon redesigned to use gears.
 
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The 90's MG TF (mid engine) had a microscopic aperture accessed through the boot, trying to do anything through that would tax ones patience.... about the only thing you could doo was check the oil level and top it up using a very small pouring jug or funnel.
The correct way to service the engine was to remove the soft-top then the cover that served as the 'parcel shelf'.
TF's were truly horrid, they came with so many faults (seizing brakes / incorrect bias, cooling / engine probs, suspension alignment probs) that almost all of them ended up being re-built and were not too bad in a 'taken with a pinch of salt' kinda way.
There was an MG 'B' copy, am not sure which engine it used. I know that Rover used a Ford all iron v8 in one of their saloons so if it was that unit, it would have been Tightas the engin bay was rather full with the ex-Buick all alloy unit.

Fezzers and such are what they are and you do what's needed to maintain them. I've worked on a Dino 246, 308gtb and gt4 'Dino' under restoration conditions..... I think people see them as being difficult because they don't understand their anatomy even though they say / think they do and lets face it, if you can afford to own one you're probably going to be able to afford a cam-belt change.

What gets me about this Passat is that it's just a 'car' and there's no need for it to be the way it is.....
I hauled the battery out today, it took me 15 mins to get to it and get it out.
I woke this morning with the realisation that I could use my solar panel as a charger*, a dumped trailer provided a set of running lights as a resistor string**. It was taking charge and managed to get it up from 2.73v to 6.90v.
So tomorrow I hope to see it at 10v ish and it can go on charge tomorrow night - Furgus is loaning me the special pliers to remove the pipes, a pump to charge said cooling system and bringing me a charger.

*I'm putting together a small solar system together to run LED lighting and my high efficiency hifi system in my man-cave flat.
** A DeLight charger!
 
I think it was a kind of fashion thing. Belts are a little more efficient and dont stretch
over time (but of course break without much warning) compared to the roller chains
at the time. They are also cheaper but I dont think this was Ferrari's reason for using them!

Since then chain manufacture has improved considerably. My BMW E46 M3's timing chain is
known for lasting well over 200K miles. Mind you the N47 timing chain didnt last but that was
due to badly machined crankshaft sprockets

I seem to remember the first Honda F1 V10 used belts but was soon redesigned to use gears.

My old '84 Merc W123 had a timing chain and frankly I've never even heard of chain failure. That despite two of my family members supporting themselves through Uni (and beyond) by driving taxis which were all W123s at the time and 500k of city traffic normal.

I was wondering how BMW managed to screw up the N47 because the M47 was very, very reliable and now I know. Thanks!
 
Disabled Account
Joined 2017
What gets me about this Passat is that it's just a 'car' and there's no need for it to be the way it is.....
I hauled the battery out today, it took me 15 mins to get to it and get it out.
I woke this morning with the realisation that I could use my solar panel as a charger*, a dumped trailer provided a set of running lights as a resistor string**. It was taking charge and managed to get it up from 2.73v to 6.90v.
So tomorrow I hope to see it at 10v ish and it can go on charge tomorrow night - Furgus is loaning me the special pliers to remove the pipes, a pump to charge said cooling system and bringing me a charger.

*I'm putting together a small solar system together to run LED lighting and my high efficiency hifi system in my man-cave flat.
** A DeLight charger!

Sounds to me like you could do with a battery relocation kit? Anyway..

I've actually done this on my toyota camry vienta. this is the charger that I used with a 10 watt solar panel put onto my dash.

I chose PWM because I didn't want inherent noise that MPPT controllers produce on my power network.

You didn't hear it from me but its to power a GPS tracking system. (shh) More to protect the thousands of dollars of audio equipment than the car.

5A 12V Solar Controller Waterproof Load On In the Night Battery Charge Regulator | eBay
 

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I’ve been spending some time with a 2012 civic si this summer . It is a surprisingly capable little car. Consistently faster then most of the cars it’s on track with. Running slicks it pulls 1.3 g’s on the turns. I’ll have it out Sunday for the last time this season. Then back to inside hobbies for the winter.
 

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The only thing that wears out faster then the tires is the brakes. Pads are good for one track day. Tires seem to last 4 or 5 days of abuse.

I discovered that on Nürburgring. I used to go there once a year in an 88 bmw e30 with 2.7l Hartge engine. With stock calipers, drilled rotors and ebc brake pads I would have brake fading in the end of a lap having to cool down before next lap. There was no significant pad wear.
Then I bought the latest and greatest 6 pot willwood calipers and larger rotors and came back to the ring. After 12 laps the pads were gone. Metal against metal. Since the calipers was a new model, there was no replacement pads available in Europe, so I had to drive 1500km home to Norway using the brakes as little as possible to save the rotors.

I braked twice in Germany, once in denmark and twice in Norway. :p
 
Do you have an oil pressure guage?

Much over 1G will usually starve the engine in my experience.

Had an old Tercel I found for $50, rebuilt the engine, ported the head, dialed it in...
Put some 195/50-15, R rated tires on it, spring snubbers, was great fun in the corners, but would eat rear wheel bearings when pushed.
 
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Joined 2017


That will teach me for not measuring first. Got the wrong switch size.

This is the correct part:
Black Plastic Shell 5 Pin Push Button Car Fog Light Switch for Toyota Camry | eBay

43mm x 24mm wide is the correct size for XV10 chassis.

This switch is for turning the fog lamps on and off, nothing special.

I suppose I could add another switch on the center console for opening and closing the ACIS valve, might give me a little more power around town.

Toyota MR2 Wiki and FAQ - MKII: 3vzfetune

I am thinking of port and polishing the head so. 230hp would be nice to have.

I've got a bit of a miss at idle right now though so its dizzy/wires next week when I get paid again. The spark plugs have already been replaced with NGK.
 
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Disabled Account
Joined 2017
Just added some new windscreen nozzles to my car. They shoot a bit low but put out a lot of water..

Pair Window Windshield Washer Nozzle Hood Sprayer JET For Toyota Camry 1992-1996 | eBay

They fit the XV10 chassis perfectly. I might have to prick them with a sewing needle, some of the old broken plastic might be still stuck in there. I did a good job of removing it all with a pair of needle nose pliers and a screwdriver but you never know.
 
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