Nurturing

-
Behold this MASSIVE car.  SEE how much longer and lower it is than the 75.  WONDER at how it can have so little interior space.  SMIRK at the rear legroom.
What's that, the wing is a different shade of red?  That'll be your eyes.  This is the last great car to be made in Britain, that coachwork will last 100 years.
Big fat wheels are lovely.  They ruin the ride but I forgive them.
Sporty interior - yes, it's wood, but ahhh... it's BLACK wood.  That's the sporty wood.  

There's hardly anything wrong with it.  The clock doesn't work; that's a common fault.  The radio display is buggered; also common.  All the air vents have fallen apart; again, common.  The cupholder is broken; another regular failure.  The drivers seat bolster is worn; this is pretty much mandatory.  However, the headlining is not falling down!  But only 'cos it's had a new one.

I discovered the tyres were all around 20psi yesterday.  Today I serviced it and found the oil filter was starting to rust - always a good sign.  Air filter was pretty bad too.  Changed the plugs (lovely cheap plugs, and unlike the 75 replacing them didn't involve removing the wiper arms).  ATF looks clean. Took up 10mm of slack off the accelerator cable.  Worked out how to use the trip computer, kind of wishing I hadn't now (it clearly loves it's dinner).  

It's very pleasant to work on, everything is accessible and with it being nothing more than a lightly refreshed late-80s XJ40, it's no more complex than a Ford Sierra.


Popular posts from this blog

Adding bluetooth to a Mini with Harman Kardon audio

-
Image
My R53 Cooper S has the unexpected bonus of the Harman Kardon premium audio system.  While it has impressive power and sound quality (once you discover the hidden settings ), it's firmly stuck in the past with just CD and analogue radio.  You can't change the head unit as the speakers are all wired to the 10-channel amp that lives in the boot, so new cables would need to be run from the head unit to each speaker, which would be an almighty faff. I wanted to add bluetooth so I could play my cheesy '80s music from Spotify, so bought a Grom BT3  which is a small module that plugs into the CD-changer port on the rear of the standard-fit Boost head unit.  It allows you to stream music from your mobile, and make/receive calls via the supplied microphone.  You can also buy another module that plugs into the Grom to provide DAB radio, USB, or iPod wired connections, I didn't bother with any of those, I just wanted Bananarama, loud. There are 2 versions of the Grom...
Read more

BMW E39 diesel pump replacement

-
Image
I replaced the fuel pump in the tank of the 530D yesterday.  It was quite fiddly and I couldn't find any useful guide on the internet, so I thought I'd create a quick outline of the procedure: Symptoms of failure : poor starting/cutting out when the fuel level falls to around a quarter of a tank. Cost : £42 from GSF , plus 2x 9mm petrol hose clips (the originals are not reusable). Procedure :  remove the rear seat base by pulling up sharply on it's front edge (there are a pair of spring clips holding it in place).  Beneath are 2 access panels to the tank, the pump is under the right-hand side one (behind the driver on a UK right-hand drive car).  Remove the cover and disconnect the 2 hose connections and the electrical plug (removed by pushing the locking clip sideways).  Unscrew the locking ring by gently rotating it with a hammer and chisel. Now slowly remove the fuel sender unit, noting it's orientation and how it slots into the pump assembly below ...
Read more

MINI tailgate hinge replacement

-
Image
I replaced the snapped tailgate hinge on t'old MINI today, and it wasn't too bad a job.  The design is a bit crap and they tend to seize, and then break and attempt to bonk you on the head with the tailgate.  Didn't like that. The hinge is held on by a single nut but you need to partially drop the headlining to reach it.  To do this you need to: remove the tailgate seal remove the rear seats remove the rear side panel trim on the affected side This is all covered by some helpful folks in this YouTube video.  After this, you need to remove the white C-pillar trim; it's held in by 4 plastic tabs (2 top, 2 bottom), which fit into metal clips in the body.  It needs a sharp tug but there is a fair risk of breaking the tabs, but I got away with it. Now you should be able to gently pull down the headlining, to release the clip in the centre: That should give just enough clearance to get a 13mm socket onto the nut securing the hinge.  There is...
Read more