R267PGF 2.0TCT - MOT Pass!

[CitroJim]

That's not mayonaise in that coolant system, just rust.

I tell you Will, my eyes are going

[beko1987]

Well, the xm is sat a local tyre shop for front tracking and balancing, they are going to call me to let me know in half an hour. Hopefully that will nip the wheel shake in the bud before it ruins the good tyres on there.

Had a scare in it yesterday, I'd put it right down low to show off, then forgotten to raise it. Went to move her a few feet and the steering was very heavy, and I got a pressure warning flash up. Back up to normal ride height and all was well again!

I need to read the instructions, there's so much I don't know! No idea what the guague to the far right is that light up on startup. Mines always been at the bottom!

[messerschmitt owner]

that's the oil level gauge! It doesn't work very well, as you can see when you check the levels.

Oh, she's spending her time pumping fluid round the suspension when at low to raise the suspension up so the steering (first to go in a major leak event) goes hard - nothing to worry about there.

The tyre on the left was a replacement for the punctured one in the spare well, and the right is an original tyre from when I got the car. Are you getting the spare sorted while it's getting the tracking done?

[beko1987]

Buggar I forgot the spare! Will pop that in during the week, I work around the corner.

Just been to get a bacon sandwich and it hasn't moved. Hope they hurry up!

[messerschmitt owner]

Have your box packed up and it should go to you tomorrow - there are two good spare wheel trims plus the speaker and grille and light, and a few screws that obviously hold the speaker in the hole.

They're 60W Phillips as per standard and are quite good speakers.

Oh, and the V5 is in the post back to DVLA - it's too late to make me get those speeding fines now!

[beko1987]

Wicked, cheers Campbell. I'll stop doing 90 in a 30 now!

Well, the tyre shop diagnosed 2 rear tyres that are due to be changed. Not a massive shock tbh, I knew that from the off. They said the best bet would be to put the fronts onto the rear, 2 new fronts then a good track and balance all round. I'll get the tyres from elsewhere, and get them to fit them. They are not the cheapest for rubber but are for labor!

2 hours wasted doing that I went to Euro Car Parts and got some coolant, but not enough as I found out upon reading the haynes manual and it saying 10 to 11 litres, and I had 6. Couldnt be bothered to go back into town, so the system has a low antifreeze combo (6 litres of ready-mixed and the rest water. It'll be a blessing tbh, it needs a good cleanout internally, so I'll run this for a few months and change and refill with all antifreeze.

Anyhoo, pictures!

The engine was pretty hot by the time I got back, so I whipped the air filter out to check it out.



Under the air box lid was like new!



Filter was fine.I gave the filter and housing a good vac and put them back together

I then remembered that the washer jets don't work, so took the scuttle panel off.



I've never had heated jets before, how well do they work, and what do I have to turn on to make them work?





The 'missing' cap for the passenger reservoir was sitting under there!

Then it got interesting!





To the rescue!



Much better!



I then dismantled the washer jets from the loom and feed pipe. Quick test with the feed pipe confirmed that the washers do work, so I found a thin but stiff bit of wire, some wd-40 and isopropoyl alcohol and got them cleaned out in about 15 minutes.

Random shot of some of the rubbish that dribbled out of one single jet



All cleaned out I re-connected everything, put the scuttle and under-trim back on. I then spent 45 minutes adjusting the jets, which is a job I hate! I may remove and clean the resevoirs in the future, it looks like there's some dead leaves in there that blocked the jets. I have to remove the arch liners for that don't I?

Before I put the scuttle trim back on, I gave the paint underneath a quick polish whilst it was getable









The engine was nice and cold by this point, so I undid a load of crap to get to the thermostat more easily.



Header tank got removed. Took ages to rinse all the crap out of it!



That's better



Old thermostat



Cleaned the housing up a bit



New thermostat



Reconnected everything, and got to this, which I presume is the coolant temperature sensor?





Refilled the coolant up, using a cut-down squash bottle for a header tank. Sat there on a 2k idle until it suddenly went blooooop and the coolant disappeared. Topped it up and the fans kicked in nicely. Sits bang on 90 now on the gague, rather than wisping lazily between 80-90.

I attempted to fit my headunit, but could not get the speakers to work. Do I need a lead just to get the speakers going? I got power to it though. Refitted the tape player and drove home.

This plastic tray is hanging down under the front passenger footwell, looks like a load of LHM pipes run round there. Any ideas on how to fix it back up? Special clips or lots of cable ties?





As she looks now!



Need to sit down and read the instructions tonight! Want to learn how the trip computer works etc and how to reset it all to zero for my data, rather than the previous owners! Did my first excellent overtake earlier too, saw a chance I could take and boom, was lovely!

[messerschmitt owner]

Sam

trip computer is simple - press the button in for a while and it will clear the settings and then away you go - press the button quickly to toggle through the different results. Don't, and I mean don't set the one that shows real time fuel consumption as the main display! (especially when you are booting it!).

That flap underneath with the pipes is a f****ing nightmare. They get knocked like that when you go through standing cold water in the winter and the plastic gives!

I had all three cars with that - and was going to make up some metal covers that I can use instead of the plastic, which is obviously fragile after two decades.

Oh and TCT engines are burny hot! Unlike the rather more thermally efficient diesels!

[beko1987]

It does always smell hot. Doesn't smell as bad now though. I'll get that little flap bodged go out of the way, as long as its not critical ill leave it for now. Not going offroading anytime soon!

[beko1987]

Also re the trip computer, mine says 40-50mpg instant, is this normal? Average is 24.9 ATM which sounds more realistic. Any sensors I could clean up to get it as accurate as it can be? Hence why I want to reset it, so it has fresh data.

[messerschmitt owner]

Sam

I had the battery disconnected to do the seats. I don't know if that would have reset it - 25mpg is pretty much it for mixed driving with 30-35 on a run.