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Jun 15, 2016 22:31:27 GMT
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The small metal pipe that comes from the thermostat housing commonly fractures at the right angle and leaks,may well be the problem. Yes, that is most likely the cause - the T piece is just mild steel and it corrodes right at the edge of the thermostat housing. I did an insitu permanent fix on mine - it decided to spill it's guts right after I had rebuilt the engine,: Pt1: retrorides.proboards.com/post/1960149Pt2: retrorides.proboards.com/post/1960150Easy fix, well, I should say cheap fix but 100 times better than replacing it with another housing or push in t piece Nice fix that,if a bit hard on the pinkies ! Did you ever put a kit together,definitely a demand for one. Much better than brazing up up or worse bodged with chemical metal. Heres another method which is decent enough too. www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=153090
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anils
Part of things
Posts: 184
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Jun 15, 2016 22:48:05 GMT
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Nice car ChasR. Love the exhausts.
I've just bought one too!
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jonk
Part of things
Posts: 154
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Jun 17, 2016 19:38:50 GMT
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What a load of mx5 fanboys! TO answer the question above my car was on 15s with rainsports and the grip was huge.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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What can I say, they are a car that in many ways are many things to many men: Not a bad looker Swift enough, but not enough to get you into trouble Relatively inexpensive to keep Great handling Generally very well built for the age if you take rust out of the equation... In other news, it seems like I *may* have fixed the sluggish hunting issue at idle. The car never cut out but it seemed like it may. Today, I grabbed my feeler gauges, an 8mm spanner in addition to a rag and some carb cleaner. The process went as follows. I reset the throttle position sensor as according to the Haynes Book of Lies. It was tricky to get the clearances right but I managed . The TPS itself seems to be in good order, but I do have a spare one if needby. As a precautionary measure I cleaned out the throttle body briefly with some carb cleaner and wiped away the excess.I got the car up to full operating temperature and it certainly seems better here. The hunting has gone for now I am glad to say . However, I do think the idle speed has now picked itself up, so I may need to reset this in addition to resetting the base idle again. Maybe I should leave it ; it is idling at around 950RPM. As for the rich running issue I noticed that the car has an aftermarket Lambda sensor fitted with the old connector kept ; this car is running the single wire sensor. The wire is joined up by one of those hateful crimp connectors which join two wires together. As always, there is a little movement in the connector. My plan is to get the sensor wiring soldered up properly . However, I fear it may end up being another sensor, but I shall check the rest of the car out before I commit to that. It does smell "less" rich than before but we shall see if it is enough to pass an MOT .
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jun 19, 2016 18:11:42 GMT
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I was thinking this weekend would be a weekend of me lying idle. Far from it. It was time to get cracking on the Mazda. Now that the idling issue was fixed it was time to fix a smaller niggle ; the sound, or to those who know the term In Car Entertainment. At the moment the ICe left little to be desired. Although I put in my Alpine HU with a few bells and whistles about it the sound itself was pretty poor and distorted with the bass sounding more like a distorted rattle, a little like some of Rhianna's lyrics. Some may recall my dabbling with ICE from a previous threadUpon taking the speaker panels off I was expecting to see knackered speakers. However, I was in for a bit of a surprise: Yup, it already had new speakers, of a JBL variety! However, the mounting of them left little to be desired, only one of the screws was actually holding the speaker in and not that well either! Was the previous owner really this lazy when it came to audio? Not quite. Mazda in their infinite wisdom fitted MX-5s with 3 hole mounted speakers as you can see in this shameless stolen image (no, it's not my car): This leaves you with a choice or either, going for stock speekers or "Custom Fit" 6.5" speakers as shown below: Your other choice is to drill holes into the door so that it will accept the new speakers. Seeing as MX-5s appear to dissolve before your eyes I was not massively keen on drilling into what seemed to be decent metal. So I went with another option ; make my speakers custom fit speakers . However, not so fast! I was going to sort out another small matter first. Sound deadening . By my standards it was a bit of a half arsed job with me only deadening the half of the door that I could access via the speaker aperture. So I proceeded to clean up the surfaces which I would be deadening: Almost clean enough to eat your dinner off, not that you would want to : Enter Stage Left. This is awesome stuff and IME is more effective and WAY easier to work with than flashing tape ; I didn't even need a hairdryer for today's application. Part of the way through: Finally with the speaker put back on, with their new mounting points drilled into the speaker: And the results? A mixed bag. Overall the sound has dramatically improved and has become 'cleaned up'. As another bonus the doors shut with more of a thud and no longer sound tinny. However, I wonder if the speakers previously playing free air and resting against the speaker grill has harmed them : they sound a little distorted at some frequencies, but for a drop top they are actually fine . I may change them but I suspect for many people out there they would be more than happy with the sound of the speakers ; it is an improvement from before after all . So, I think it is time to attempt to check out other sensors in the engine bay in addition to swapping out the thermostat and gasket, where I figured I may as well check the T-Piece. It looks OK around there, but it's hard to tell with the thermostat gasket leaking as well. I also found that the Lamdba sensor has been changed in the past for a pattern one with it having one of those hateful blue wire join crimps to join it back onto the old Mazda wiring loom connector; mine like many seems to have a little movement in it, and knowing the quality of the connectors the wiring has probably oxidised inside ; disconnecting the wire did not make the car run worse at idle either and with a few revs. For now I shall solder the wire join and see if that fixes it. One thing to note is that the emissions have gradually got worse over the past 2 years, although it does seem to smell less now ; OTOH maybe I have got used to the smell of rich running! That said, I better sort the small niggles out on the M3...
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Last Edit: Jun 27, 2016 21:50:56 GMT by ChasR
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andyborris
Posted a lot
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Posts: 2,161
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Jun 25, 2016 16:52:48 GMT
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What sound deadening did you use, need to put some into the Triumph on the bulkhead and floor.
Thanks
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Jun 27, 2016 22:04:18 GMT
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What sound deadening did you use, need to put some into the Triumph on the bulkhead and floor. Thanks I used a product that is now quite pricey to get hold with the £/$ exchange rate and tricky too. I used SecondSkin Damplifier Pro. I was meant to put a shot of the box in but I forgot. In comparison to other products it is an absolute doddle to apple and even 1 layer of the stuff is very effect. In the Mazda, I doubled up behind the speakers for good measure. If you can get it I'd buy it. It IMO is that great a product to use. Skinz however is not too bad and Dynamat Xtreme comes pretty close as well. The above however, while cutting road noise are designed to work to reduce rattles and resonance. To reduce road, tyre and engine noise you need this in your boot, and possibly even your bulkhead (maybe in unison with small amounts of something like Damplifier Pro. www.amazon.co.uk/Dodo-Mat-Sound-Stopper-Proofing/dp/B00LNBDTWQ
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Last Edit: Jun 27, 2016 22:04:56 GMT by ChasR
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andyborris
Posted a lot
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Posts: 2,161
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Jun 29, 2016 18:31:41 GMT
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Thanks, I was going to use both types, Dyna mat type on flat surfaces and the foil stuff as underlay!
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Well, since the last update I have basically been driving the car around quite a bit! The MPG seems to be around 31-34MPG but I am not exactly hanging around either . With the few warm and dry spells we have been having it is a joy to drive about in it. Anyway, I decided to tackle a few more things on the car, given that I am using the car more and more. However, pictures are sparse as I was working in between the rain showers on Saturday! Oh, the joys of a doing some mechanics on the driveway. First thing to sort was the weeping thermostat gasket. It was curse word out, but it was enough to make the coolant level drop and to appear damp around the gasket. When the cambelt was done it had also had the thermostat and gasket changed. I decided to in some people's opinion waste a bit of cash and get the following: -Genuine Mazda Thermostat gasket -Genuine Mazda Therostat -Genuine Mazda Cam Cover gasket -CAS O-Ring - It looked damp behind it so I figured it was best to check. -A New Lambda sensor after this debacle. Buying the parts was interesting. When I owned my 944 Porsche dealers were cheaper in a number of cases over the specialists and even GSF at times. I figured the same with the Mazda. Imagine my surprise when I found MX-5 Parts and a dealer in Coventry were cheaper than my local dealer in Warwick! The local people despite being told this even refused to come down even slightly in price! Ah well, MX-5 Parts ended up getting the business... Upon removing the thermostat I noticed the genuine item looked quite different: Firstly, the thermstat itself looked different. It looked as if it might open up more than the pattern one inside and looked to be a 2/3 stage thermostat as well as having the jiggle pin for bleeding. And people say they are identical? It also seemed to have higher opening ranges of 85 and 88 degrees as opposed to 82 degrees. It also seem to 'wiggle/move' alot less in the housing aperture. The gaskets were also different (both gaskets below are new, with the Mazda gasket having green sealing ring on it. With that in mind I carried on to fit the new bits after thoroughly cleaning everything. After warnings about the T Piece, I left that well alone and dirty! At the same time, I noticed that one of the housing bolts was smaller, than the other (presumably snapped off in the past), with both nuts appearing worn. With some spare Stainless bolts I fitted those in after cleaning out the threads. The bolts seem to be a better fit and with that the housing was done and clean even two days later! Anyway, the other thing to fix was the leaking cam cover gasket. Initially, I was just going to tighten up the bolts but I figured since I went to the trouble of buying a new gasket I may as well fix it. A number of the bolts were loose, but some were tight! However, after removing the gasket it was clear that it had distorted in a few places. At the same time I took the opportunity to change the CAS sensor O-Ring, which I am glad I did, since the old seal was beginning to go a little square on the edges. With both of the seals refitted I put both items on, but in the case of the cam cover gasket I progressively hand tightened the bolts in sequence as according to the HBOL. After a while I torqued them to spec at around 10Nm. A few days leter I now had a leak free engine it seems . There is not much to see here bar the head looking a little cleaner! One job that did not go to plan was changing the lambda sensor. Initially I could not get my 22mm spanner to go on well ; the sensor sits at the top of the pipe, and I did not fancy removing the exhaust manifold just to change a sensor! In the end I chopped the sensor wire off, and put the ring end of the spanner onto it. With this not being enough I then put a 19mm spanner onto the end of the 22mm. When I saw the 19mm spanner bending I figured I better get a larger spanner, a 32mm! With this, the sensor finally broke free and was removed. However, there were a couple of issues. The new sensor was wrong in terms of the wire length and connector. I shall see if a suitable replacement can be sourced tomorrow. I also gave the car its first wash under my ownership. Something else has been added, which some will feel is a wise precaution and others will think is silly. But can you spot it? : So, everything is rosy, right? Not quite. For a while I have heard a rubbing from the front when the car is on full lock. Today I decided to investigate. It seems that the wheels are rubbing on the braided brake hoses, and that they almost appear to be too short. Is this an issue with braided hoses, or when the car is lowered, or does it look like I have the wrong brake hoses?
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Last Edit: Jul 6, 2016 7:50:41 GMT by ChasR
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,961
Club RR Member Number: 29
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Interesting comparison of the thermostats, think might change mine after my radiator fun.
MX5-parts are great, also try Autolink (if you join the owners club there is 10% discount).
Mark
p.s.. front mud flaps/spats whatever.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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gt
Part of things
Posts: 136
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+1 for Autolink they also have a great range of used spares and the guy there really knows his stuff, and very helpful.
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Great stuff.
Another biased post here - we had 2 x NA V-Specs before our eldest arrived in 2006 and I had a 2.0 NC for 2 years until last year - well, after all, I was going to work by myself so I didn't need so many seats. ;-)
I never considered one until SWMBO suggested it but I grudgingly gave in and we bought one. Not too long into our tenure with the second NA, she almost wrapped herself around a lamppost as she took a sharp bend too quickly in the wet. That led to us swapping - our Alfa 156 became her daily driver instead and I never looked back. Proud to look like a hairdresser! :-p
Btw, you mentioned throwing the hood back OP. I did that once on a frosty November morning - the sun was shining! - and managed to tear the plastic screen. I appreciated the glass rear screen on my Mk3 as a result!
I must get into another one. *heads off to eBay*
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@pistonbroker on Twitter
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Interesting comparison of the thermostats, think might change mine after my radiator fun. MX5-parts are great, also try Autolink (if you join the owners club there is 10% discount). Mark p.s.. front mud flaps/spats whatever. Thanks. I thought I'd put a comparison up for interest, but also for people saying "they're all the same, save your cash". If I am honest, I wonder if the car runs cooler with the new unit, but then the radiator is more than man enough for the job! Please don't mention turbocharging to me... And yes, I do have the Spats . I figured they would help protect the wings and sills better. As a precautionary measure I waxed the wings and spats to hopefully release the dirt a little better. However, I am still undecided on the looks with them on! It looks better yet it doesn't! But it give a nod more to the factory look I reckon. MX-5 Parts do seem to be great . However, it does annoy me that they are reluctant to mention what aftermarket brands they use on their pattern parts. Maybe I shouldn't be picky but I am one who hates to waste car. I don't mind spending it, but I hate to be spending it again if you catch my drift! +1 for Autolink they also have a great range of used spares and the guy there really knows his stuff, and very helpful. Autolink do seem to be great. The car has plenty of receipts from them. I didn't initially go with them over MX-5 parts as: a) I've not needed anything secondhand yet b) They seem to charge more than MX-5 Parts for the bits I need However, that could be a game changer. I am meeting up potentially tomorrow with some MX-5 Nutz peeps . Great stuff. Another biased post here - we had 2 x NA V-Specs before our eldest arrived in 2006 and I had a 2.0 NC for 2 years until last year - well, after all, I was going to work by myself so I didn't need so many seats. ;-) I never considered one until SWMBO suggested it but I grudgingly gave in and we bought one. Not too long into our tenure with the second NA, she almost wrapped herself around a lamppost as she took a sharp bend too quickly in the wet. That led to us swapping - our Alfa 156 became her daily driver instead and I never looked back. Proud to look like a hairdresser! :-p Btw, you mentioned throwing the hood back OP. I did that once on a frosty November morning - the sun was shining! - and managed to tear the plastic screen. I appreciated the glass rear screen on my Mk3 as a result! I must get into another one. *heads off to eBay* It sounds you were in a similar boat to me almost. For years I considered one since they represented many things: Reliable RWD Stylish Cheap(ish) to run A good steer and a rewarding one at that When driving it intially with the roof down I did feel quite awkward but simultaneously I couldn't care! They're a joy to drive and not a bad place to be either! Now the feeling of awkwardness is ebbing away. I guess some people are a sucker for stereotypes! As for throwing back the roof I may have told a lie, a little like a certain MP who just left his party! Anyway, I do unzip the rear window prior to throwing the roof back. On the Stag which had a new roof I was told by the fitter that I should -unzip the window and let it hang in the stowage compartment -ensure that it folds with no creases if I can't be bothered to unzip it. If I am honest, this car would get a Mohair roof with a glass rear window if it was a keeper. Since it is a bit of weekend fun (and to possibly stay in the family) that is far down the list ; I do have the hardtop for winter and trackdays though . I was mainly after a solid car after all .
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Last Edit: Jul 6, 2016 7:53:15 GMT by ChasR
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,867
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Interesting that you had issues with the dealer in Warwick! I was tempted to try them for some bits for the RX-7 but stuck with the Coventy dealer in the end, though they ended up getting me the wrong gasket for my turbo anyway ¬¬ Moral of the story was it was much quicker and cheaper to go online
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Interesting that you had issues with the dealer in Warwick! I was tempted to try them for some bits for the RX-7 but stuck with the Coventry dealer in the end, though they ended up getting me the wrong gasket for my turbo anyway ¬¬ Moral of the story was it was much quicker and cheaper to go online To say I was surprised with Warwick's attitude is an understatement. I guess they don't really care much for parts but rather selling new cars. I say this with me going to BMW and Ford and generally getting 'something' off and even a bit of help with what goes where . But on some bits I do like going genuine as I hate repeating jobs, as it seems to be in this case (the gasket and rocker cover are 4,000 miles old...). Having two decent specialists catering for that however does make life easier. OTOH, I was told elsewhere ; well, at a barbecue after a few beers on Saturday that Mazda Coventry's organisation sometimes makes Bernard Black look like he can run a bookshop well! Who said something about getting people drunk and a brewery again? But yes, your logic in this case does seem right. It's a damn shame the lambda sensor was wrong. I have returned the old one mind you and am waiting for a new one. You don't need to guess how I ordered that considering Mazda want £105 for one...
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Last Edit: Jul 6, 2016 7:55:21 GMT by ChasR
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,961
Club RR Member Number: 29
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Anyway, I do unzip the rear window prior to throwing the roof back. On the Stag which had a new roof I was told by the fitter that I should -unzip the window and let it hang in the stowage compartment -ensure that it folds with no creases if I can't be bothered to unzip it. I was told this when I had a new hood fitted (by MX5-Parts as it happens) but with the roll bar I've got I can't so I don't... I do take care to fold it nicely. When I used to rent these in the US I remember being able to put the hood down or up from the drivers seat. Can't seem to do that now, either I'm getting old (I am) or it's the roll bar.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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gt
Part of things
Posts: 136
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i did feel a bit awkward driving with the roof down when i first got mine, couldn't care less now, ive got a hard top for mine but it's not been on since April and i have the hood down whenever i can now. i don't like the look of the front spats, i removed mine in the end it didn't stop any of the rubbish going in behind the wings, well worth removing the wings and cleaning out at the bottom where the wing bends around the sill, mine was that bad it's rotted a hole in the sill, you can even clean out behind just by undoing the bottom wing bolts and just ease the wing out a bit.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Anyway, I do unzip the rear window prior to throwing the roof back. On the Stag which had a new roof I was told by the fitter that I should -unzip the window and let it hang in the stowage compartment -ensure that it folds with no creases if I can't be bothered to unzip it. I was told this when I had a new hood fitted (by MX5-Parts as it happens) but with the roll bar I've got I can't so I don't... I do take care to fold it nicely. When I used to rent these in the US I remember being able to put the hood down or up from the drivers seat. Can't seem to do that now, either I'm getting old (I am) or it's the roll bar. I will be honest, mine is easy to put down once I have unzipped the rear window. Putting it back up is a pain but I wonder if that is down to the car having a MK2 rear wind deflector. i did feel a bit awkward driving with the roof down when i first got mine, couldn't care less now, ive got a hard top for mine but it's not been on since April and i have the hood down whenever i can now. i don't like the look of the front spats, i removed mine in the end it didn't stop any of the rubbish going in behind the wings, well worth removing the wings and cleaning out at the bottom where the wing bends around the sill, mine was that bad it's rotted a hole in the sill, you can even clean out behind just by undoing the bottom wing bolts and just ease the wing out a bit. I felt exactly the same with mine. My hardtop is now stored away but it will not be going back on until things start getting quite cold. It is surprising the difference the hard top makes to the refinement of the car but also its rigidity! I can appreciate there are many pros and cons of the spats. I put them on to protect the sills but also the bottom corners of my wings were beginning to show a little primer through when the stones had been hitting them. With the spats that will no longer be an issue. Swings and roundabouts I guess . Thankfully, mine was quite clean behind the wings .
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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I've been at the car again fixing things! Since I bought the car a cracked centre console has been bothering me, so I decided to fix it. It seems someone has had a go at glueing it previously as well. When a replacement came up cheaply I simply left it in the garage, until this weekend. It was time to get removing things. It was surprising to not have the wiring hacked about for a change. What was also nice was to see that the gear gaitor had been attended to at some point : As always, some of the screws were not budging. To save slipping on the screws I took slightly drastic action! Those are the tools I used: The only wire to leave the building were the Alpine iPod lead. I only removed it as my replacement Alpine HU has a USB lead which replaced it. The comparison shot! Yup, the only thing holding that facia together with all of its broken fixings was the storage bin beneath the HU: The new one is in slightly better condition: At the same time I thought I would put on the steering wheel that was in better condition, which the pictures cannot quite make out. The steering wheel came with the car when I bought it. Finally, it was time to have a beer and admire what I had done ; I will point out that I did not tighten the fixings with the impact driver, but the screwdrivers instead!: Now for the closeup of what I had been replacing: It is surprising the difference such a piece can make to the car.
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Last Edit: Jul 26, 2016 6:21:19 GMT by ChasR
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Llewelyn_
Posted a lot
Hi everyone :)
Posts: 1,975
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Jul 29, 2016 21:12:46 GMT
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ChasR Really enjoyed reading your thread, I love a MK1 mx5 I've got a 1.8 uk car I'm doing a mild spruce up on myself! Do you fancy selling me your old steering wheel?
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"Back off man, I'm a Scientist" - Dr. Peter Venkman
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