seanl82

Love the description! "Tastefully Modified" WTF, that thing is seriously FUGLY!

Can't believe what you've done to the poor thing! It looks like little puppy dog wanting to be loved in there! lol

I had them a couple of years back, the Rainbow Shark I had was fine, it was the Angel Fish that killed all my Tetras! I had a couple of Siamese Fighters as well, those were my favourites!

I had a good rapport with my old tester and went to him for years. He was exactly as you say, very thorough, but made me aware of any problems that may arise whether I was aware of them or not. I only moved here in October though, and this is the first time I've taken a car for anything at the local place. I'm trying to look after it, but unfortunately it had been rather unloved and abused by the previous couple of owners. I'm gonna wait whilst its being done, hopefully the customer waiting area isn't a room off of the workshop, so I can have a chat with the tester whilst he's doing it. (I used to help my old tester by doing everything in the cabin whilst he was checking underneath).

I know Tom! There's so much more I want to do though, I just hope its enough! Its only £25 though, so its not the end of the world if it fails, it'll just be off the road a bit longer. As of Monday, I'm SERIOUSLY busy at work/on course. Its the beginning of full time training for an Engineering Degree (8-5), and the first Module is three weeks of maths - which I'm utter pants at! and three exams in that time. It'll be a ton of revision in the evenings, and if I fail any of them, the resits are on Saturdays. The only problems I can think that might cause problems, are the ABS illumination - it does actually work, but the lamp has been butchered in the past. IIRC, in March/April there was a change to the VOSA regs on ABS, so I might get away with that. The only other thing that might slip me up, (excuse the pun) are the oil leaks. Again I've looked into it, and IIRC its 1 sq inch of oil over a 5 minute period max. I don't think its that bad, but its from two or three different places. Sump plug has ground away on the bottom half where it was dickhead low and has grounded out, so its leaking slightly there, sump gasket looks to have been sealed with white bathroom sealant and is seeping all around it, and finally its either the crank seal, or the chain covers that are leaking. I thought it was crank seal to begin with, but I noticed when I changed the stat the other week that a couple of the bolts for the top cover were pretty loose, so had to tighten them up. I degreased and pressure washed the bay earlier in the week, but noticed yesterday that its still seeping slightly, and its probably the same for the bottom cover too. Either way its a GB off job which is a PITA! That's what happens when previous owners get the chains done by non-specialist garages! The clutch was replaced about 15k ago, and I hope it doesn't get contaminated as I'd rather not have to replace that as well! It's just a weight off by having the MOT, it means I can get out in it every now and again after I do the odd job!

Your more than welcome mate! To add to this, Chris is also an excellent buyer! I sent this on the proviso that payment for postage would be made after I'd actually posted them, and he didn't disappoint. With a low number of posts, and so many scammers around I was a little unsure, but used my better judgement as he seemed very genuine (and it was only a fiver anyway), but that's exactly what he is! All the best mate, and hope they help sort your issue! :thumbleft:

They look like poor quality items tbh, and as Tempest has said, quality approved items will give you more peace of mind.

You won't know until you get it all off tbh, but obviously the tensioner is the big one as you've mentioned, but the first things to go seem to be the guides. Problem you face is that if you need to change the tensioner and guides anyway, you may as well change the chain as it won't be much/if any difference in price from buying a whole kit.

Thanks again guys! MOT booked for next Saturday @ 10AM. :eek:

Wow the wife telling you to hold out for a decent set! :shocked!: My Wife tells me either not to buy anything at all, or if its a must, make sure its not too expensive!

Cheers Clumpy, fingers crossed its OK and I can get started on some bodywork! JC, trust me mate, its a longgggggggggg way from being a silk purse! Hopefully with a few little bits to the bodywork and interior, I won't be too embarrassed to be seen out in it! lol. If I were to go full body respray (which there's no way on earth I can afford yet!) I'd take all glass out as a matter of course. You never know what's lurking behind on a car of this age, and the last thing you want is to fork out for a not so thorough respray, only to have rust start coming through 6 months - a year - whatever down the line! The thing is, there are so many chips, scuffs, lacquer peel, dents, that a few touch ups just won't cut it in the long run. It will happen, just not for a while yet. Like I said, I just want to get it presentable, then start moving forward slowly. Its a weekend toy, so there's no need to rush into things, as I get as much enjoyment out of working on it as I do driving it anyway..........................well, almost as much then! :nuts: Re; headlining, it was pretty easy tbh. Take out all the surrounding trim and pillars, remove the grab handles, visors, and sunroof switch and surround, then just slide it all back through the boot. I didn't remove the trim at the windscreen though as its bonded on when the screen has obviously been refitted! Trouble is, I've upset something as the sunroof won't slide now, Doh! Not a major problem atm though and its low down on the list to fix.

To fit late VR6 (Brake hose may fit others) Rear brake flexi (non-sided (caliper to hard line)) - PN# 893611775A - £10.11 Late Rocker Gasket - PN# 021103483D - £15.38

Was there one for the accelerator pedal?...................:shrug:

There are authorised places that can match your current mileage (I believe you have to send them current MOT) if you send them a second hand set of clocks. I think that the garage is guessing though tbh, although there aren't many more steps you can take from what they've already done. At least a used set won't cost you too much, and it really is a 5 minute job. All you need is a posi screwdriver! I had intermittent pressure alarms on my old valver, turned out to be the plastic baffle in the sump that clips to the oil pump pickup. One of the clips had snapped, causing the baffle to tilt slightly and occasionally starve the pickup slightly and set off the warning. Mine was happening in every situation though, (cold/warm/cornering/straight etc), whereas usually the situation it happens in points to a specific problem.

Cheers Tom! It helps it was a sunny day too! lol. Finishing bits today. Wheels arrived yesterday, so set about getting them cleaned up and on the car. Before Faces were reasonably clean, so didn't get a pic of them before. A quick pre-wash with APC then Bilberry wheel cleaner resulted in this. Then two hits with Iron-X. For those that don't know, Iron-X is a clear liquid (that absolutely bloody stinks!) and turns purple/red when it reacts with the iron fallout. Could have done with one more hit, but as they're just on temporarily and I'm out of Tar remover anyway, I thought it would do! Rinsed off, dried, and given two coats of CG Jetseal 109. Tyres done with Megs Endurance Tyre Gel. Most of the spots you can see in the pics are corrosion. After pics. Took the opportunity to give the car a quick wash before fitting them too! I've got to admit, I really like them on! A subtle drop really makes them stand out imo. If only they were slightly bigger though! (............Opens a new internet window to look for some Compomotive MO's............) Thought I'd better check out the battery tray too after seeing the thread. Looks worse than it is, and I'm pretty happy thats its completely solid. I applied to Kurust to it to halt any further spread, and just need to paint and seal it now. I've now done everything I "think" will need doing to pass the MOT, although I may have overlooked something known me! I'll give the MOT station a bell tomorrow and get it booked in for next Saturday hopefully. Next update fingers crossed will be to declare it roadworthy!

Ahhh thats what its for! :bonk: Its sat in the glove box anyway! lol. Will get it fitted back now, cheers!

Classic Green mate.

Never knew there was such a thing! Got any pics? Also, whats this glove box strip you speak of???? I've got a couple of small plastic parts left over from when I stripped the interior! :lol:

It would cost less to swap it out for a 24v including a remap, than it would cost you attempting to gain as much from a standard VR tbh. The inlet is just a piece of metal, by going larger you will only peak at slightly more than standard, before it tails off. By going larger you will also move the power band higher up the rev range anyway, defeating what you want to achieve. I don't really know anything about the schrick tbh, but its vvt so I'm guessing its mechanical/electrical, so trying to replicate that yourself will probably cost you just as much in time and meterials. If it was a viable option to highly tune a standard engine for reasonable money, it would have been done by someone in the last 20 or so years the 2.9 vr6 has been in existance tbh mate.

Pretty sure its for the crank sensor mate. Trace the cable to the bottom front of the block, and its a small cylindrical sensor that the cable sits at a right angle to. The sensor where it joins the cable are notorious for breaking down and shorting causing non running. It generally happens when the engine gets hot, but its not uncommon to happen with the symptoms you describe.

I so need a set of those mats in my life! Well Jel! :grin:

Went to visit family in Bristol at the weekend so nothing done. Don't have a great deal to do for now apart from little bits, as I want it on the road for a bit before tackling the larger non-safety remedial work. Did a compression test and just cleaed the bay up quickly. I'll re-visit it at a later date and start stripping a few things temporarily to get to chassis legs and strut towers etc, to do it properly. This is the only before I have. And after. Here are the results of the compression test. Bearing in mind I took all the plugs out before remembering I should have got it up to temp first. :bonk: I couldn't be bothered to put them all back in and get up to temp, its an absolute nightmare removing the leads even with the tool, and I was just after a rough estimate to ensure all was relatively well within the block for emission purposes. This was with all plugs removed, WOT, with fuel pump relay removed. Cranked over 6-8 times on each cylinder. All within tolerance, although I'm a little worried about cylinder 5. Will have to re-visit this at a later time too. Just trying to think up jobs until funds permit something larger and more worthwhile now!

Immobiliser control module is next to the spoiler control module behind the light switch area. There are two cables going to it, one goes to the sensor ring on the ignition barrel, and one goes off somewhere else.....................

Big discussions on Detailing World with lots of reviews, depends what your after really, but Nilfisk ones seem to be all the rage.

Unfortunately not mate, sorry!