What have you done to your car today?

Associate
Joined
22 Sep 2011
Posts
1,857
Location
Staffordshire Somewhere
Got everything disconnected from my engine, without breaking anything plastic :D.

Time to pull it out tomorrow. Slight oil leaks on the rocker cover, front and rear crank seals, definitely seen better days but still makes the power as it did 2 years ago and doesn't use much oil.
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Still waiting for my new 3E Tercel flywheel to turn up for my new engine so I have got to wait till mid next week to put the new engine in :(.

Then got to get a minimum of 800 miles on stock ECU and injectors @ 0.7 bar which is going to feel rather slow before mapping, going to be doing a few trips to Wales and back to get the mileage up I think.

Cost me over £100 quid just for all the filters (5 of them) and the millers running in oil which has to be changed every 200 miles until 800.

Also got my WEPR downpipe, welding porn :eek: with lifetime guarantee.
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Associate
Joined
19 Sep 2010
Posts
2,338
Location
The North
First crack at polishing today, bearing in mind the car is 15 years old and on original paint all round there's a fair few stone chips, so honestly I wasn't looking for perfection.

Went for a single stage polish with Sonax 04-06, found it to be fantastic stuff with good cut and very good finish from a single stage, couple of passes per panel.

I know I could have done 2 stage and get better, but I'm pretty damn happy with the shine, the deep black slick colour and the swirls are all gone.

Also, my back now hurts... Low car life I guess? :p



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Soldato
Joined
6 May 2004
Posts
5,991
Location
Fareham
Drove it, and was pleasantly surprised to see the fuel economy over the last 5k miles.

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Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2012
Posts
10,803
I have changed the exhaust on my MPS.

Sold the Jetex, replaced it with a COBRA exhaust.

It's much louder yet nice and quiet when sitting at 3k on the motorway.

Heard a few pops too.

Just spent an hour polishing the tips.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Sep 2006
Posts
14,349
Had this intruder removed...

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ABS alert & tyre pressure monitor failure flashed up for two minutes on Friday around midday then disappeared. Was fine for around another 24 hours then a tyre pressure loss warning came on.

Checked at the nearest petrol station after a roadside check at 6PM~ and it was down to 32psi from 42psi. Had some issues with the bead on the inside edge back in February when new wheels were fitted and was dreading having to bin the tyre which was new in December.

8AM today and it was flat as a pancake :o Track pump to the rescue, held for a few hours whilst running an errand and getting myself to a garage.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Feb 2004
Posts
21,201
Location
Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
Seems worth asking in here rather than creating a new thread.

How safe are axle stands? I've bought stuff to change the oil/filters on my car and at my old house it was fairly safe as it was a quiet terraced street. Now, whilst the road outside my house is a lot quieter, it's a private lane which leads to a few industrial units. There is a speed bump around 50m from the house and sometimes lorries bounce over it causing the ground to rumble a bit.

Whilst it's rare for lorries to go down the lane out of business houses. I have visions of one turning up whilst i'm under the car and causing the car to fall down on top of me!
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Aug 2004
Posts
7,606
Seems worth asking in here rather than creating a new thread.

How safe are axle stands? I've bought stuff to change the oil/filters on my car and at my old house it was fairly safe as it was a quiet terraced street. Now, whilst the road outside my house is a lot quieter, it's a private lane which leads to a few industrial units. There is a speed bump around 50m from the house and sometimes lorries bounce over it causing the ground to rumble a bit.

Whilst it's rare for lorries to go down the lane out of business houses. I have visions of one turning up whilst i'm under the car and causing the car to fall down on top of me!

I don't think I'd fancy that. If they are V shaped ends, and they have a good hold on something, I reckon it would be ok, but pretty sporting. The flat ends with short lips on, I could see the car shifting. You can also put something under the wheels. I use a mix of axle stands, and chopped up scaffolding boards under the wheels, plus the jack if needed. (as an extra support)
 
Soldato
Joined
15 Aug 2011
Posts
4,935
Fitted a Carplay dongle onto my Android head unit. Worked right out of the box, car play is such a joy to use compared to any other head unit I have had. Everything just works the way is should do!
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Jul 2005
Posts
17,615
Location
Bristol
I'm not a fan of the V shaped ones as on my car there is nothing for them to safely hold onto, I prefer flatter ones due to the underside of my car.

I just did a quick streetview, looks like it's more a side track entrance/exit as the industrial area has a proper named road to it's North. It really is a road though and I'm not sure I'd be all that comfortable working on a car there personally.

As you're doing an oil change, I'd probably not even bother with stands unless I absolutely had to (car too low etc.). You could just drive the car onto some of the planks to raise the nose enough to get an oil drain pan under it, that's how I do mine (drive it onto some 2x4.
 
Caporegime
Joined
25 Nov 2004
Posts
25,812
Location
On the road....
I’ve driven over a speed bump in the truck fully loaded (44t) and the vibrations were enough to knock over a parked moped!

With that in mind,I certainly would not use axle stands on a public road never mind one that’s access to an industrial estate.
 
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