What have you done to your car today?

mattyprice4004 · 24 Dec 2012 at 16:39

After the locking of the 'This instant and moment' thread, I thought it'd be nice to have a place where the home mechanics / modifiers of cars on OcUK could post up what they've fixed or added to their pride and joy.

Today I've given my car a good check over regarding suspension bushes and related parts, and have ordered new rear discs and pads, a pair of front springs and a new tyre.

I plan to spend part of tomorrow cleaning the filthy thing out - it's a total tip at the moment.

So, OcUK - what have you done to your car today?

mattyprice4004 · 26 Dec 2012 at 09:53

Nearly at the end of the tunnel with the 75!
It needs 2 front tyres, but that's just wear and tear so I don't count that.

Things that aren't 'normal' but need sorting:
- Front suspension springs due to losing half a coil on the driver's side
- Drop links need doing due to rubber boots being damaged
- Rear brakes very corroded, they work OK and passed the MOT but I'd rather have them sorted
- Heater matrix blocked so passenger side runs cold
- FBH not working - fires for 2 mins and then powers off. PCB fault (£30 to have it fixed)

Only minor stuff, and apart from little bits the car has been amazing so far.
Also all 4 injectors passed a leakback test, so that's something good I guess.

Ordered the springs this morning.

mattyprice4004 · 26 Dec 2012 at 10:30

sigma said:
Tyres, suspension, brakes, tracking, heater matrix - what do you class as major stuff? :\

Major stuff on this and most other cars is clutch, DMF, gearbox, cylinder head removal / work etc.

The stuff listed is cheap, DIY-able (apart from tracking but that's £20) and parts are readily available.

God help you when your car chucks a big bill if you think tracking is a major fault

mattyprice4004 · 26 Dec 2012 at 10:31

iaind said:
Is your suspension being completely knackered considered minor these days?

A front spring is pretty normal on these cars, the bottom coil is covered with an anti-vibration damper which keeps water in contact, causing corrosion.

At least they're cheap - £70 a pair delivered.

mattyprice4004 · 26 Dec 2012 at 10:40

sigma said:
Well the tracking has ruined your tyres hasn't it? That's pretty major IMO.

Suspension et al are still major components of a car. God help you if you ever buy a car that costs more than £20 to fix

It's caused a bit of wear on the nearside - there wasn't that much tread left so it's not a massive loss.

This is a pretty middling car to repair in parts terms - I do miss the cheap-and-cheerful everything is 99p approach I could take to my old 45.

mattyprice4004 · 27 Dec 2012 at 12:02

Today I blew the fuse for the interior lights! \o/

Rear interior light has a broken clip and decided to dangle by it's wires, so attempted to slot it back into the roofspace.

Failed to notice copper tracks on back of light unit are unprotected, a quick spark and then darkness. Oops

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 16:09

Just been offered a new car at a silly low price, hmmm!

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 16:42

iaind said:
Is it another rover with a list of "minor" faults as long as your arm?

Yes, well maybe

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 17:08

If it goes ahead I'll be making a massive profit on the 75, and getting a much newer car in return.

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 17:14

No, I've bored you all to tears before. I'm keeping this one quiet

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 17:23

iaind said:
Oh god, that means its terrible...

Quite willing to admit it's not brilliant, however they're worth a bit still and combined with the good offer for the 75 it's hard to say no.

I'll probably end up selling it when I've sorted it out, making a bit of cash in the process. Gives me something to do

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 17:23

ca9phoenix said:
It's not this is it?

Haha, I remember that. It's erm, interesting

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 17:33

A Mk2 ZS, with the 180 kit fitted.

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 17:37

An awesome price, that's it really. It's costing me nothing to move from the 75 to it - and the ZS has much lower maintenance costs as I have the kit to do any work myself.

Tax is also less, going to have a look at it sometime soon.

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 17:41

Bah, mucking about with old crap cars from a defunct brand gives me something to do, and I'm going to come out of this relatively well off.

Each to their own.

mattyprice4004 · 28 Dec 2012 at 17:51

Not quite that bad!

mattyprice4004 · 30 Dec 2012 at 10:57

Time to fit new fuel pump and suspension strut / hub to the 75.

Then time for tidying the damn thing!

mattyprice4004 · 30 Dec 2012 at 22:53

Ooops. Didn't buy the Mk2 ZS.

Did buy something else though, damn. So close to actually having money in the bank

mattyprice4004 · 30 Dec 2012 at 23:11

Rybo89 said:
Is it awful?

Amazingly so.

mattyprice4004 · 30 Dec 2012 at 23:23

Sounds spot on to me.