Frayz’s Inferno orange 182 - Back in the old flame

[frayz]

Not much happening on WZD lately.

However something I’ve had for a while has been a freshly powdercoated front ARB I’ve been meaning to fit. The ARB bushes are literally the very last bush on the car to replace. I had been putting them off as they have a reputation for being a royal pain in the arse to fit.
Well after today’s experience I can say with 100% certainty, this isn’t exactly accurate.

I dropped the old bar and refitted the new bar and then proceeded to spend a solid 2 hours fighting with getting one clamp bolt in. Now I’m no stranger to working on cars but even I thought this was excessive. I was so deluded that I was bound to have a fight on my hands, that I made a schoolboy error. I was totally focussed on getting the clamp done up that once done up I knew it still wasn’t right. I text a friend (Alex @ AW Motorworks) with my troubles to which he promptly called me back to tell me what a t**t I was.

I had the bush fitted 90 degrees out and the radius part pointing up. I literally wanted to kick myself at such a stupid error.

I removed the clamp and had both sides fitted up in about 6 minutes. They really are simple when you fit them correctly. Needless to say it was all boxed up with new clamps and stainless fasteners and back in the deck in no time.

So the great ARB bushes debate, they’re easy when you’re not a total berk doing it. Thanks to Alex.

So now these have been changed, that’s every single bush, bearing, mount, joint and linkage renewed and upgraded within the last 12 months. It drives as tight as a drum and feels better than new.

 

[frayz]

Even washed it today ?

 

[frayz]

Couple of little “tinker” jobs on WZD today.
First up was a nice new bonnet release latch. I had planned to buy one and. Luckily found a new part on eBay for £10.50 delivered so couldn’t pass that up.
Because new bits.

Second was replacing all the trim clips on the tailgate trim. I hate rattles and I’ve tried various tactics to shut the boot trim up, inc foam strips etc, however never replaced the clips completely. The old ones were obviously 15 years old and quite hard and brittle. The new ones are lovely fresh soft plastic, and it certainly feels more solid already.
Fingers crossed this helps.

Also ordered some general service items ready for the Christmas break and as I’ve got a feint smell of coolant inside, I’m expecting a heater matrix change on the cards soon too.

Other than that, she’s clicked over 131k miles and doing the daily grind better than ever.

 

[frayz]

So, the Christmas works in lovely Tier 4 Essex.

First up was just a straight forward oil service, no issues and the oil removed was still pretty clean.
Secondly was a job I had been putting off, investigating a very very slight coolant leak (approx 1cm drop in the expansion tank in approx 3 months) and the occasional slight smell of coolant in the cabin. I have so far been unable to find a leak in the engine bay so put it done to a weep on the matrix.

So I set about removing the dash and heater box. Not such a difficult job, but quite time consuming if you take care not to break anything. Unfortunately my efforts were somewhat wasted when I removed a prefect condition matrix. I confirmed this with a pressure test and it was holding a solid 18PSI with zero leaks. Somewhat frustrated I decided to at least give all the wiring a tidy up with some fresh fabric loom tape and added some foam in areas to cut down on squeaks & rattles. I also cleaned and renewed the foam seals on the heater box with some new high density foam strips. Since fitting my Recaros the rear HVAC tubes were removed so the heater box was venting into the centre console. As this is less than ideal I blanked off these apertures with some foil backed kevlar heat sheet. The foil sheet was also useful for sealing the ducting better to hopefully make the whole system more efficient.

It was nice to be able to clean all the dash pieces properly before refitting, I even polished the scratches from the ignition barrel.

Refitted and filled with fresh Type D coolant I bled the system, however I have since found one small issue. The stepper motor for the temperature control is not recieving either power or signal from the climate control unit. The stepper motor I have tested and functions perfectly so this could well be a broken or damaged wire I will have to investigate.
So frustratingly it was a lot of work with an unexpected outcome and now a new fault to find and fix. However a small road test has proven my work on refitting the dash is now resulting in zero squeaks or rattles, so that’s an improvement at least.

To be continued...

 

[Hughie]

Can’t wait for Tier 4 round us if that’s the result. Amazing job! That took time, knowledge and dedication. A rattle free dash - something we all could do with??. Well done!

 

[frayz]

I did the following to try and help with making it as secure as possible.

Wrapped any key harness areas in foam and fabric tape. There is a lot of exposed harness as standard which is unprotected from abrasion, so worthwhile imo.

Wrapped foam and fabric tape where the harness passes the crash beam.

Zip tied the harness in fixed areas to make more secure with foam in between.

Sealed all heater ducting joins with kevlar/foil tape, again, stops any movement or buzzing.

Added fabric tape to the aperture edges where other components clip in. The biggest culprit I found was the TCS panel. I found this used to buzz from time to time in my car.

Lastly, add a very small spot of RTV sealant to the screws upon refitting. This dries as black rubber that can easily be removed if needed, but stops the hardware loosening over time

 

[Big Dave]

Top man... I applaud your dedication, and commitment.....
I have had a slight knock/rattle behind the passenger side air bag area of the dash for some time, but never got the guts to tear the dash out to find/fix it...
Its not coming from the glove box area, but above it, sort of the air bag area....
Do you have any pics of this area.. Or have any idea whats behind / in this area that could be causing my rattle.??
Ta...

 

[frayz]

To be honest Dave, the dash top comes off so easy, it would take you 10 minutes to have a look yourself in that area.
I could talk you through it.
To be honest, other than the passenger airbag theres not really much above that area. The airbag bolts to the dash bar with 4 torx screws. It could be as simple as one of those loose causing the bag to rattle.

 

[Big Dave]

FABULOUS, thanks for the pic. I might take you up the offer of help,,,, sometime.....
Im guessing you have to remove the door pillar trims aswell,,,??

 

[frayz]

FABULOUS, thanks for the pic. I might take you up the offer of help,,,, sometime.....
Im guessing you have to remove the door pillar trims aswell,,,??

Dave. If you use WhatsApp you can always drop me your number.
This fella is obviously a breaker and little care is taken, but all you need to know is in this video, it really is that simple.

 

[frayz]

Okay so ive taken a look to investigate the non functioning stepper motor for the HVAC temp.

I’ve checked the wiring to both the stepper motor plugs and to the HVAC control unit for damage. I can’t find anything.
I know the suspect stepper motor is functioning correctly as when I connect it to the air diversion plug it operates in both directions.
However when I connect it to its correct plug (HVAC temp) it does nothing.

When I connect or reconnect either of the 2 HVAC multi plugs. The suspect stepper motor rotates clockwise approx 30 degrees and stops. It will then not responded to the HVAC commands.
If I then disconnect and re connect either of the HVAC plugs, it’s repeats its clockwise 30 degree movement and stops. Never once does it go anti-clockwise. It’s acting as there is no feedback to tell the HVAC unit of its position. Yet if I connect the stepper motor to the air diversion plug, it operates in both directions perfectly.

I have a spare HVAC unit so tried that too and still get the same symptoms.

The next thing to check was the cabin temperature sensor as if that was faulty I figured it would just try and achieve the max temp possible. I checked the temp sensor wiring but again, couldn’t find fault.
I went through the wiring and connections as far as I could without stripping the dash back to start checking individual wiring runs etc.

Then the most annoying thing of all happened.
It randomly started working again and I’ve absolutely no idea why. I did then disassemble the stepper motor to zero the gearing as it had lost its home position.

Thinking about it though, I believe this error signal is the main culprit behind the broken star drives on the heater box. I’m now thinking they’re a result of another issue. The motor loses its park position and gets lost. Then exceeds its usual range of motion and breaks the drive in the heater box.

For now it’s working perfectly, but frustrating it’s through luck rather than me finding and fixing the fault. ?

 

[frayz]

Managed to give the old nail a mid winter “wheels off” clean today. Mainly I wanted to give the underside a wash and dampers a good look over. They have been on the car for 10k miles now and I haven’t revisited them since fitting back in April.

It’s no secret my car is my daily driver and gets used in all weathers and conditions. When they were fitted they were liberally coated in ACF50 and then covered with Motamec damper socks. I was very pleased to see my precautions had protected my investment superbly, socks removed, they looked as good as the day they were fitted.

The socks and dampers were washed down, re coated in ACF50 and socks refitted.

Hopefully well protected for another 10k miles.

 

[glenn]

I need to find somebody with your attention to detail to start my car.

 

[frayz]

I need to find somebody with your attention to detail to start my car.

Ha, what’s up Glenn?
How can I help at all?

 

[glenn]

Nothing just need to start underside of car and would love to get it to where yours is.

 

[frayz]

Nothing just need to start underside of car and would love to get it to where yours is.

Lol, unless you’re is a daily driver like mine, I’m sure you shouldn’t have too much trouble. There really isn’t a lot to them. I’d concentrate on cleaning areas back that have any corrosion on them. Stop all that in its tracks first and get them protected.
I also always make a point of rinsing the underside of the car and arches every time it gets washed. It’s a million miles from concours, it would need a full nut and bolt resto for that, but I just try and maintain it so it lives as long as possible. ?

 

[glenn]

Mine has only done about 3k in a year and a half as I have a work van but want to do what you have done to preserve it hopefully for another 15 years. I don't plan on putting it in a garage and leaving it.

 

[frayz]

Mine does about 12k a year, so the fact you have use of another vehicle should hopefully allow you do tackle it a little at a time.

 

[glenn]

I'm waiting for the warmer weather then will start at the rear with axle out for a refurb. Will use this thread as inspiration.

 

[frayz]

I'm waiting for the warmer weather then will start at the rear with axle out for a refurb. Will use this thread as inspiration.

Sounds like a plan. Look forward to seeing how you get on. Best of luck. ???