What have you done to your car today?

Fitted a replacement piece of piping... 21 years and this one was hot with holes in it etc etc... so, new 76mmm piping now on :-)

Then degreased the engine bay... problem I have now is removing some of this LPG install now and working what goes to what as it no longer is employed in the engine. Christ it's like spegetti.

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Washed it (badly) and admired the lacquer / paint peel on the bonnet and bumper. :rolleyes:

Seems a common problem with this colour of Mini.

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FlapR said:
Washed it (badly) and admired the lacquer / paint peel on the bonnet and bumper. :rolleyes:

Seems a common problem with this colour of Mini.
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It's just red in general unless you keep on top of it and I mean keep on top, red just loses pigments...however to be losing laquer like that you sure thats' not been sprayed previously as that is quite bad!
 
pugheaven said:
It's just red in general unless you keep on top of it and I mean keep on top, red just loses pigments...however to be losing laquer like that you sure thats' not been sprayed previously as that is quite bad!
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watercooledman said:
I think that colour red on any car does exactly that weird
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Didn't realise it was more of a red car problem, I just assumed it was specific to Chilli Red on minis.

Never been resprayed as far as I know, it had the original bonnet stripes on, which I took off recently as they were looking tatty after 11 years.

It's obviously got worse over time but I only average 5k miles a year so was a bit shocked really. The plan at some point later in the year is to get the bonnet and bumper fully resprayed (along with a few other bits of paint that need touching up) and get some new bonnet stripes. Pretty sure that's the only proper way to do it.
 
Neither of my two Seat ibiza had that issue and they were similar sort of colour. Z4 was fine but it wasn't as bright and touch would the new car is also fine but it is newer, so not sure if it's every red car or just a number of particular shades belonging to a number of different makes.
 
Just seen this from an Audi TT forum:

"It's very common with red paint because it has a high oxide content that is very good for resisting rust but over time, with the effects of weathering, most notably from the Sun, the paint surface chemically alters and lacquer loses it's adhesion. This is why the horizontal surfaces suffer more."

Could be complete and utter rubbish but :confused:. Whatever car I buy next won't be red anyway :D.
 
FlapR said:
Just seen this from an Audi TT forum:

"It's very common with red paint because it has a high oxide content that is very good for resisting rust but over time, with the effects of weathering, most notably from the Sun, the paint surface chemically alters and lacquer loses it's adhesion. This is why the horizontal surfaces suffer more."

Could be complete and utter rubbish but :confused:. Whatever car I buy next won't be red anyway :D.
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yeah I spoke to a spray guy years ago on reds and he said something similar. Also, he said every Citreon in red will just happen to them unless kept in garages and waxed etc all the time... mad isn't it... but whenever you see this it does seem red is a bad one!
 
pugheaven said:
What is that mate to ask a stupid question?
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HVAC system's final stage resistor. It controls the fans/vets etc. When the fans spaz out or AC blows oddly through vents etc it's usually the thing that's gone. They have a life of about 9 years before needing replacing typically if still original. BMW went through a number of designs from various OEMs over the years too lol.
 
mrk said:
HVAC system's final stage resistor. It controls the fans/vets etc. When the fans spaz out or AC blows oddly through vents etc it's usually the thing that's gone. They have a life of about 9 years before needing replacing typically if still original. BMW went through a number of designs from various OEMs over the years too lol.
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Right ok, cheers for that, seriously I'm thinking what the hell is it. Cool!!!
 
I've been plagued by a occasional metallic rattle from my manifold/overpipe since having it installed. Nothing major, but noticeable when pulling away sharply, as the engine twisted and allowed it to contact the metal undertray. Installed stand off spacers on the undertray bolts which lessened the noise but it could still be heard sometimes.
Spoke to another owner with the same manifold who suggested I try installing uprated STI engine mounts - he'd had the same issue, and stiffer mounts cured it.

Was a bit dubious about doing it myself at first. Don't mind having a crack at anything mechanical, but this would mean jacking the engine slightly whilst lying under the car. But, tonight I decided to have a go at it. It was easier than anticipated - only took an hour and a half including jacking the car up, and the old mounts were fairly easy to slide out and replace. The only sketchy bit was gently lowering the engine and ensuring the mounting bolts slid back into the subframe.

It's early days, but it seems to have cured the main issue. No more metallic rattle when pulling away sharply. And it's had the added benefit of making the car feel a little tighter; there's definitely less of a lurch when loading or unloading the throttle quickly, feels like there's a more direct connection between throttle pedal and wheels, if that makes sense. I was worried about extra NVH, so I purposefully kept the old mounts - however, there's none that I can sense. I made sure to sit in the car after coming back from a drive, so the engine was warm and idling at it's lowest, and I could feel no extra vibration or rattles. Most pleased :)
 
Filled up the Caterham for the second time. 32MPG isn’t bad for a weekend toy! I haven’t been taking it particularly easy; running it in by driving it relatively hard. Not taking it above 6,000 or taking the **** when it’s cold (it’s a pig when cold anyway).

Will see if it uses oil later in its life. Manual says drive sedately and keep it below whatever revs for the first 1000 miles but that’s impossible in a Caterham!
 
Does anybody who owns a mk4 Mondeo want a free replacement bonnet release cable? I bought it a few years ago with the intention of preventatively changing it as apparently it's quite common for them to snap as they age, but I never got around to it.
 
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