Obviously, to have been through an MOT there's a couple of bits that haven't been mentioned
The number plates (as awful as they are) have been re-used, but also I had to permenantly steal a set of front lights (meant for me) to use. They're certainly not the best, but obviously better than the ones on the car!
So.... The fail sheet
Parking brake: Rule#1. Never trust anyones else's work....
This should have been the give away:
So, pair of handbrake cables, and a big clean up and reset called for! Break out the hot spanner to remove the caliper brackets!
and break out the rust convertor
Clean up and lube the sliders
And repeat.....
throw away the handbrake cables....
before fitting shiny new ones...
And clean the exhaust heatshield before refitting because your sad...
then reset everything. I've done a how to, as well as covering it in my Turbo thread, but essentially, you wind the caliper back using a tool to push the piston whilst winding the adjuster back. Slacken the handbrake cable completely off.
Then, jump on the brake pedal repeatedly. Then start the engine and jump on the pedal some more. Then, and
ONLY then, wind the adjuster screw in until the brake is grabbing very slightly. Then adjust the handbrake cable.
For good measure I rechecked the front brakes and swapped out the sliders for new ones....
before bleeding the entire system with fresh fluid
Next up: Emisions. If you look at the results:
the bit that grabbed my attention was that the lambda reading iteself was high. That's a sure sign of extra air being pulled in. There was a small leak at the rear pipe join, however, on sealing that up, it became more apparent that there was a hole in the back box, possibly underneath the heatshield on the box, as I could hear the leak, but not see it.
Now whilst exhaust gas is being blown OUT of a hole, air is also being sucked in through holes, so you get get an artificial result, that has MORE air than CO/HC, throwing your lambda value out.
So.... New exhaust section!
Its terrible important to align the exhaust - they don't "just" fit. On a ramp you'd have a nice jacking pole to support the pipe so you can hang it properly. On the ground, you improvise!
and a pair of new hangers as the old ones were passed their best....
So, now we're gas tight, some standard service items (filters and plugs) were thrown into the mix.
Seat Belts: This had me perplexed..
When all the interior was out, I'd pulled both belts out to give them a clean. And yet now, both belts were absolutely locked solid in place.
Thankfully, I mentioned it to Sylvia who replied back
"I bet they've used the wrong screws in the roller blind fixings"
Apparently Al had done something similar on her car!
Headlamp aim was as simple as waiting for darkness and align using the NS as reference. Top tip; ALWAYS make sure your adjuster screws are free, because as long as they are, your MOT station would probably adjust the headlamps if they were out.
Position lamp? Clean up the bulb holders, and light shall return!
