What have you done to your car today?

Made some replacement door card panels for the mazda.

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Last night, but I finally got around to fitting the new door carrier. The whole job would have taken about an hour if it wasn't for the bolt that holds the lock in to place. It would not line up (non BMW febi part).

Once again the door can now be opened from outside, plus auto-up and the auto lock on the drivers door works again!
 
I have fitted late model tail lights & front & rear valance to mine today, the front one was a nightmare to remove.

Also replaced the rear bumper which got damaged when I was rear ended in January & got rid of the tow bar as it is no longer required.

Before-





After-



 
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Took this lump of **** out of it, going to break it open and replace the input shaft bearing and see what other carnage is inside. Couldn't get the diff off because the stupid 3/8 ratchet wrench snapped.
 
Could just be sagged bumper brackets making it look worse

Tbh I'd be surprised if you can't just loosen the top mounts, bend it down then re tighten
 
Kudos. Always wanted to get into gearboxes but always saw it as more of a specialist realm due to tolerances, measuring lash, shimming etc. A lot of hassle just to realise when you've put it back together and fitted it that it isn't right!

True enough I guess, you need good equipment for pulling/installing the gears and bearings, the ability to not lose any of the little steel balls and springs. It isn't that technical though, snap ring clearances are the only things that need to be checked, there are a range of rings available in 0.05mm increments.
I'm not getting that far into it anyway, just replacing the main drive bearing and shoving it back together.
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That is the issue I had, it was making a pretty wild noise in 4th (runs directly off the input shaft). If this doesn't fix it, I'll just have to get another box.
 
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Bit of DIY stuff on the MX5 this morning :)

Replaced aux belt tensioner, idler pulley and the belt, as mine had started to rattle slightly, wasn't sure which part it was but figured on a 7 year old car might as well replace all items whilst its apart.

Eurocarparts wanted over £220 for all the bits (lol), MX5parts £205, where as there is a Gates kit that contains all of the parts together that can be had for under £90 online. Gates belts and pulleys are good quality parts, they are the OEM for many companies, so it made no sense to spend more. I followed a guide on Miata.net, haven't done this before but only took 45 minutes or so. Battery out and you get access...spot the shiny new bits...

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New belt on...gonna buy myself a 3/8 breaker bar, my 1/2 one wouldn't fit on the tensioner due to the depth (it needed socket adaptor which meant it wouldn't fit on), slackening off the tensioner with a short spanner and trying to put the belt on is a bit trickier...

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Also bit of preventative maintenance, the wiring to the coil-on-plugs is subject to heat and vibration and can crack, causing misfires and necessitating replacement of part of the engine loom. Some DEI heatshielding wrap may help prevent this happening on my car...once the engine cover is on its totally invisible.

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Been for a drive, the slight rattle is gone, checking the old parts and the idler pulley's bearings were on its way out and a bit rough.
 
Did the brake fluid in the 350Z - can't tell if it feels more spongy although still could get the ABS to kick in fairly easily at ~40mph so may need to have another go at it or might just be me paying too much attention. Regardless its chucking it down now so will see how it goes for a couple of days!
 
Quick clean. Next warm day I will clay, polish and wax it. Was going to go for a drive, but noticed that it is going to rain heavily before too long...although you wouldn't think so looking at all the sunshine at the moment.
 
Wax on. Wax.... off?

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Figured because it was such a nice warm and sunny day and the weather saying 6% precipitation, that I'd apply some 476s after a wash.

Started applying the wax to bonnet, front wings and boot + front and back bumpers and was just finishing buffing off the bumpers when it started raining :(

Managed to buff off the remaining wax before the rain got too bad:

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Will have to do the sides of the car next weekend I guess :/

On top of that my Nilfisk started smoking. I smelt some electrical burning then looked back to see smoke coming out of the power button area and the pressure dropped and spluttered like a car with coil pack problems :(

I'm going to see if I can get a free washer out of Nilfisk out of this incident, such a good piece of kit and gave over 5 years of reliable service.
 
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