What have you done to your car today?

I've had wet rear footwells in the ZT for quite some time but didn't really have the space nor the time to start stripping the car. I knew for certain I'd have to investigate further when I encountered some starting issues a few months ago which ended up being caused by a very wet immobiliser module located directly underneath a dislodged sunroof drain.

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I had a new immobiliser unit coded and secured it well out of the way of the now refitted drain but always knew I'd have to pull the carpet to give it chance to dry out completely. I had some time tonight to do just that, and I certainly wasn't prepared for what I found.

Peeling back the carpet gave an insight into what I was about to discover...

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Front and rear footwells on both sides of the car flooded by about 1/2" of water! I've never seen anything like it! The carpet was that wet that it actually tore in 2 as I pulled it out of the car!

I grabbed the wetvac and did what I could. Thankfully, no rot has taken hold.

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These cars have quite well documented issues of problems with sunroof drains and rear light seals letting water in but I never expected to find so much water sitting there! I'll be running without a carpet for the next few months until I'm sure I've covered every possible point of water ingress.

On the plus side, it's quite a bit quicker without any interior fitted.
 
Wow never seen anything that bad before :eek:. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just put the carpet back at the first sign of water and just list the car up for sale on eBay to cut your losses rather than strip it bare and throw money at it? How are you going to re carpet all the floor?
 
When I first saw the water I went to the local car wash and used their vac to suck it up and have been keeping an eye on it ever since, with the intention to investigate further. It was only when I had to remove the old immobiliser and found the sunroof drain just hanging there that I figured this could be a bigger problem than first imagined. Like I said, I've not had the time nor space to start stripping cars otherwise I would have had the carpets out months ago.

This is just a cheap car to use as a daily driver to keep the miles off my Impreza so I wasn't particularly concerned about (what I thought was) a bit of water in the back. Water leaks are pretty common on the ZT and it's normally the sunroof drains or rear light seals that let the water in, pretty simple to fix. Pointless selling a car of such little value on eBay to only buy another cheap car which will no doubt come with even more niggles.

A new carpet won't cost much so not even worth worrying about.
 
Picked it up after having the TCU in the 7G Tronic replaced - drives completely different which isn't surprising. So much smoother and my flappy paddles work again without getting stuck in 3rd/4th. Huzzah.

Needs some other bits (castor/camber bushes, control arm) doing so I'll probably use Pro-tech again for that, but stick with MB for the A/B services to maintain the FMBSH and Mobilo cover. For anyone needing a MB specialist in the Newbury area, they're great. Should've taken some pics as they had an SL55 AMG parked out front next to an R107 300 SL.
 
Finglonga said:
Got it recovered after the DSG decided to dump all it's fluid..........
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Just an update now I know more. It basically has catastrophically failed taking 1st, 3rd, reverse and clutch pack one with it. Not a clue why as it wasn't being driven hard and is never thrashed. Just one of those things I suppose and looking online it isn't a common failure at all. Only option is a new gearbox.......worse things happen at sea so they say.
 
Diagro said:
Go to Tesco. Exact same fuel
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Can of worms!

As far as I believe, the base fuel is indeed the same, but every company will have their own "additives pack" that gets mixed in with it.

I do however feel V Power is a rip off compared to others, usually fill up with Costco Premium myself, which is supposedly exactly the same as Tesco Momentum, wagons and all.
 
Took it to the draaaags!

Beat some stuff.

Best was 14.91 @ 95MPH. I think I could have got a 14.8 or even a 14.79 if I had a few more runs though, was still figuring out the best way to launch etc etc.

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Also got papped by a motorway gantry on the way home, so probably have 3 or 4 points and an SP50 incoming to ruin my squeaky clean record... Checked and it will only put my insurance up by about £30~ if so, but still, annoyed!! :(
 
Fingers firmly crossed!

It was on the M1, went through a gantry lit up "40" at an indicated 65... Was concentrating on passing a couple of cars so I could move over to make my exit, and a momentary lapse of thought as to the speed I was doing later, bam. Flashed.
 
Don't want to put a downer but i was done on the M1 @48mph (irc) when they were lit up for 40.
If you do, hang back paying a week or so, they sent me a letter to say i might be able to go on a course after i'd already received the prosecution letter, unfortunately i'd already paid up.

added £0 to my insurance so cant complain to much.
 
The speed I was going is well outside the boundaries of a speed awareness course. I'd get points or possibly even a 1/2 week ban, if the latter I could probably appeal it and get points instead.

But basically if I get the letter it aint gonna be good news!
 
More forward planning required if you have to speed up to 65 in a 40 to get clear of cars to make your exit...! ;) Unfortunately, as far as Im aware most of the M1 does have active cameras at the minute...noticed it about 1 month ago now, and now see regular flashes on my daily commute up 6 Junctions of it, and 19 junctions of it on two trips to the airport within that time.
 
Spotted @Housey near Bicester heritage today :) I was just leaving in my blue MK1 mx5.


Mx5 did 340km+ today without problems, guess I can call my coooling problems gone for now.

A single hose resulted in -;

New rad
New pcv valve- broke the old when removing
New thermostat
New hose

And good coolant flush.
 
Vita said:
M1 is bad for cameras now. No point breaking the limit.
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North of Leicester up to Derby etc is free of "SMART"/crap motorway but the potholes are ridiculous
South is smart all the way down to London now, bit of a shame as that's the motorway we use 90% of the time
 
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