Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

How'd you do the PS? Just lock to lock about 30 times?

I had to do mine, since we were pushing the car around between workshops.

Attesa Plug under the dash. 2 person job- why 3 Iain - dont need to stay in the boot!

I did PS when I did the cooler.

Drain fluid, hook up cooler, top up fluid, done. I didn't dick around with any bleeding procedures, and it works fine.

I did PS when I did the cooler.

Drain fluid, hook up cooler, top up fluid, done. I didn't dick around with any bleeding procedures, and it works fine.

You didn't drain the rack though, that's where the issue was. It takes hours to get all the air bubbles out of it.

  • 2 weeks later...

Serviced 'our' non Stagea: a 1.4 SOHC XC Barina.

What a shit job. Sump plus is some POS that needs torx to remove it. Comes off pretty easy with a hammer and chisel though!

And some genius hung the cat in front of the engine, next to the oil filter...

Now that I've had it up on the hoist though, I can see... New exhaust and manifold should do wonders, and I'm sure someone does an induction kit and chip for the Opel and Vauxhall versions. And some sway bars... Oh dear...

Dailys suck teh balls.

I'm fighting a cold idle problem on mine atm. Basically even if the car is hot, the cold idle valve still allows some air flow and I get a high idle. Doesn't help that coolant changes were negleted prior to me, and little things have corroded. Oh, and then I had to do a radiator top hose on it, and its due for a cam belt, clutch, maybe water pump, and dizzy oil seal soon too!

i got a full set of torx bits for the pair of euros i have now. its bit of a PITA that i have a full set of metric sockets and ring/open spanners that i mostly cant use on the cars

It's not the Torx that pisses me off the most, it's the cheap shit sump plug. It was already knocked about when I looked at it, and it was seized and f**ked. Torx just seems completely unnecessary to me. Allan keys ftw!

Dailys suck teh balls.

I'm fighting a cold idle problem on mine atm. Basically even if the car is hot, the cold idle valve still allows some air flow and I get a high idle. Doesn't help that coolant changes were negleted prior to me, and little things have corroded. Oh, and then I had to do a radiator top hose on it, and its due for a cam belt, clutch, maybe water pump, and dizzy oil seal soon too!

What have you got?

I'm lucky by comparison! It'll need brakes and tyres in 10,000, but other than that it's pretty good. Thinking I should replace the air filter, no one knows when it was last changed.

Hey Ryan did you wrap your roof this weekend?

Our daily is a little 1998 excel the missus bought new for 12k on road. Still going mechanically strong at 210,000km with only a clutch master, alternator and map sensor being replaced. Still runs the original clutch, brake pads and rotors that that have never needed to be machined. Pads even have 6mm thickness left. I agree not the best cars around but this one has certainly been great value with only the paint letting it down now that it's fading.

Edited by slippylotion

What have you got?

I'm lucky by comparison! It'll need brakes and tyres in 10,000, but other than that it's pretty good. Thinking I should replace the air filter, no one knows when it was last changed.

91 Mazda 323. Its a little trooper. still going great, just about to clock over 200k. One family car. Big spends have really only been a set of shocks, and a timing belt/clutch waterpump service, and reco'd shafts in 110,000kms of use. Other than that, done a rad top tank, and pipe, 2 fuel filters, 2 air filters, Gearbox fluid x1, a $14 water temp sensor, some tyres (still going great after 55,000kms! pirelli FTW!) some random relays, a coil pack/leads that weren't needed because we were trouble shooting... and oil and filter every 7000kms. Oh, and some strut top bushes- they were a bit pricey for what they were. Thats off teh top of my head.

I've taken to writing down when I last did stuff to each of them on the beer fridge now for convenience in whiteboard pen. works a treat.

I've taken to writing down when I last did stuff to each of them on the beer fridge now for convenience in whiteboard pen. works a treat.

I had a similar reminder system for my Cressida, but it was on the Rad support in permanent marker, White spirits would get most of it off when stuff needed an update.

Hey Ryan did you wrap your roof this weekend?

Our daily is a little 1998 excel the missus bought new for 12k on road. Still going mechanically strong at 210,000km with only a clutch master, alternator and map sensor being replaced. Still runs the original clutch, brake pads and rotors that that have never needed to be machined. Pads even have 6mm thickness left. I agree not the best cars around but this one has certainly been great value with only the paint letting it down now that it's fading.

Nah mate, didn't get to pick it up. Buggered up and got the night for the SAUSA dinner wrong... Will make a new time to pick it up and go again.

I've always heard good things about Excels being good value and bullet proof, not my thing though. Guess that's why the missus bought it and not you!

The XC is my woman's, if I had to buy one myself I would have got a manual at least, preferably a 1.8.

91 Mazda 323. Its a little trooper. still going great, just about to clock over 200k. One family car. Big spends have really only been a set of shocks, and a timing belt/clutch waterpump service, and reco'd shafts in 110,000kms of use. Other than that, done a rad top tank, and pipe, 2 fuel filters, 2 air filters, Gearbox fluid x1, a $14 water temp sensor, some tyres (still going great after 55,000kms! pirelli FTW!) some random relays, a coil pack/leads that weren't needed because we were trouble shooting... and oil and filter every 7000kms. Oh, and some strut top bushes- they were a bit pricey for what they were. Thats off teh top of my head.

I've taken to writing down when I last did stuff to each of them on the beer fridge now for convenience in whiteboard pen. works a treat.

That's a long time to own a car! Sounds like its been good. We had a Laser TX3 rally car at one point, which shared a lot of common parts with a 323/Familia. Good car except the gearbox...

We've got a record of what's been done in the glove box - complete service history since new. Impressive really.

  • 1 month later...

I always thought bbennys car looked great. Wonder why it keeps going up for sale though?

I'm pretty sure Ben moved it on to free up some capital for his business; I don't believe he really wanted to get rid of it. Who knows with the current owner?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Have a look at that (shitty) pic I posted. You can see AN -4 braided line coming to a -4 to 1/8 BSPT adapter, into a 1/8 BSPT T piece. The Haltech pressure sender is screwed into the long arm of the sender and factory sender (pre your pic) into the T side. You can also see the cable tie holding the whole contraption in place. Is it better than mounting the sender direct to your engine fitting......yes because it removes that vibration as the engine revs out 50 times every lap and that factory sender is pretty big. Is it necessary for you......well I've got no idea, I just don't like something important failing twice so over-engineer it to the moon!
    • Yup. You can get creative and make a sort of "bracket" with cable ties. Put 2 around the sender with a third passing underneath them strapped down against the sender. Then that third one is able to be passed through some hole at right angles to the orientation of the sender. Or some variation on the theme. Yes.... ummm, with caveats? I mean, the sender is BSP and you would likely have AN stuff on the hose, so yes, there would be the adapter you mention. But the block end will either be 1/8 NPT if that thread is still OK in there, or you can drill and tap it out to 1/4 BSP or NPT and use appropriate adapter there. As it stands, your mention of 1/8 BSPT male seems... wrong for the 1/8 NPT female it has to go into. The hose will be better, because even with the bush, the mass of the sender will be "hanging" off a hard threaded connection and will add some stress/strain to that. It might fail in the future. The hose eliminates almost all such risk - but adds in several more threaded connections to leak from! It really should be tapered, but it looks very long in that photo with no taper visible. If you have it in hand you should be able to see if it tapered or not. There technically is no possibility of a mechanical seal with a parallel male in a parallel female, so it is hard to believe that it is parallel male, but weirder things have happened. Maybe it's meant to seat on some surface when screwed in on the original installation? Anyway, at that thread size, parallel in parallel, with tape and goop, will seal just fine.
    • How do you propose I cable tie this: To something securely? Is it really just a case of finding a couple of holes and ziptying it there so it never goes flying or starts dangling around, more or less? Then run a 1/8 BSP Female to [hose adapter of choice?/AN?] and then the opposing fitting at the bush-into-oil-block end? being the hose-into-realistically likely a 1/8 BSPT male) Is this going to provide any real benefit over using a stainless/steel 1/4 to 1/8 BSPT reducing bush? I am making the assumption the OEM sender is BSPT not BSPP/BSP
    • I fashioned a ramp out of a couple of pieces of 140x35 lumber, to get the bumper up slightly, and then one of these is what I use
    • I wouldn't worry about dissimilar metal corrosion, should you just buy/make a steel replacement. There will be thread tape and sealant compound between the metals. The few little spots where they touch each other will be deep inside the joint, unable to get wet. And the alloy block is much much larger than a small steel fitting, so there is plenty of "sacrificial" capacity there. Any bush you put in there will be dissimilar anyway. Either steel or brass. Maybe stainless. All of them are different to the other parts in the chain. But what I said above still applies.
×
×
  • Create New...