Bought a 2003 fl black 2, 6 weeks ago. 90k good history but needs a bit of tlc.
Red leather.
Tte exhaust and style bar.
Bought it in the rain, turns out more scratches than I thought.
Looks solid underneath no rot.
So far
Removed pre cats which were intact
Replaced alloys with a set of pfl alloys for now rain sports all round.
Fixed damaged bolster on drivers seat.
Custom chrome gear knob
Replaced stereo with Bluetooth kenwood
New mats
Led side lights and interior lights
Fitted brd gear linkage bushes
Rising sun decal and new 6 speed mr-s interior plaque thing
Rust proofed x member,sills etc
Hammerited x member
3 stage cut polish and wax. Needs a machine cut really
Attempted to fix exhaust rattle
Greased uj
Replaced all broken frunk clips
Super guarded carpet
Clean and colour restored seats
Painted seat rails which were a bit rusty
Replaced spark plugs old ones looked ok
Removed nappy as missing bolts, might keep it off.
It drives well, bit floaty maybe at 70. Handbrake of course doesn't work very well.
Plans ?
Oil and filter service
Upgraded panel filter
Roof has some tears might replace next year
Machine cut and scratch removal
Replace shocks and springs, teins and Japanparts shocks
New droplinks maybe updated ones
Upgrade anti roll bar bushes front and rear
Front strut brace, having one made up
Belly brace
Upgrade door speakers with components and active sub
Replace gearbox oil
That's it for now i think, more suspension components might be needed I guess. Too soon to know if it's an oil burner, hopefully not!
image.jpg
Need to handbrake fixed, replace brake fluid and see if discs and pads are all ok too.
So far
Attempted to fix exhaust rattle - often a spacer that comes loose in side the the clam shell heat shield. The flatter one.
Removed nappy as missing bolts, might keep it off. - Good call.
It drives well, bit floaty maybe at 70. Unless done. (unlikely) a suspension refresh and quality geo set up after will likely cure the floaty feeling. A geo alone goes along way to sorting that out.
Plans ?
Upgraded panel filter - on a stock engine no need.
Too soon to know if it's an oil burner, hopefully not! - "if" your pre cats were in good condition before you removed them. Would suggest not an oil burner that and plugs looking ok.
But def monitor while new to you.
Nice to see another Leicester based member.
I am off Humberstone Lane.
Thanks for the tips! I have sable envy very nice 2 you have there. I just want to get mine to drive properly I'm not too fussed about it being cosmetically perfect. Suspension refresh should sort it! Rowley fields here live off Humberstone road long time ago.
Fresh kyb shocks and a set of teins if want a little lower.
There was an ebay offer last week posted by
@Topdownman might still be running.
Hi and welcome,
There are lots of sellers of kyb shocks on ebay, the offer I posted has ended I think but keep your eyes open (unless you are in a hurry!) for similar ones as there was a better one after I posted!
I got some teins second hand in decent nick, and have some rear new Japanparts shocks which come recommended from tcb. Waiting for fronts to come into stock.
The current shocks n springs have done 90k but look in decent condition. Wondering if I need new top mounts all round.
Regards top mounts, you will not know until you remove them, but in general they are usually found to be in good condition.
Hello and welcome from one black 03 owner to another. Enjoy your 2
After heavy rain last week my passsenger rear bin was full of water and was wet behind the seat. I checked the drain plugs on the side vent and there was some debris. Poured a load of soapy water and was coming through fine. Then I checked under the bins and found them full of water. There are two drain plugs which have tiny holes. Both were silted up. I removed these drain plugs and gave it all a good clean and rust proof. Hopefully thats fixed the issue !
(http://<a%20href="https://ibb.co/4MJGN8Z"><img%20src="https://i.ibb.co/ZKNPTB6/IMG-3736.jpg"%20alt="IMG-3736"%20border="0"></a>)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZKNPTB6/IMG-3736.jpg)
Is that full of water?
Drains checked?
Roof no leaks?
Yep was full of water. The drains were checked and seemed ok, the roof does have a few tears so could be that I guess but that black drain plug was completely silted up so just removed it from both sides, seemed a bit pointless !
Welcome to the club!
Re 'floaty' - I remember my car being like that at motorway speeds before I changed the tyres (which I did almost immediately). Mine were a mismatch of 3 different brands. So also something to consider. Needs decent or at least semi-decent rubber and also check that they are the correct profile. First things first though as there's always something to spend money on :)
Add changing the chain tensioner and upgrade the O ring to a Viton one.
In last few weeks.
Fitted led side lights, interior light and led numberplate lights.
Got a cheap pipercross panel filter, fitted yesterday and sounds bit loader on induction.
Rustproofed and painted rear anti roll bar.
Fitted new 6.5 component mids (Juice) in door and sound much better. Also used flashing tape to help stop vibrations in door.
Oil and filter change this weekend.
For oil change. I have found a couple of those plastic caravan leveling ramps give more than enough clearance to get to filter.
Used some ramps, lots of room to change the oil and filter. Snapped one undertray bolt, resecured with cable tie. Used bg109 engine flush, the oil that came out was very very black. Engine seemed a bit smoother.
all costs and time.
But if oil was that bad. Maybe consider only running this oil for a short while to act as a secondary flush.
The bg109 did its stuff hence the oil being so black. Was just thinking about whether I should run for a short while and change the oil again good call.
Quote from: marculos on July 19, 2020, 08:14The bg109 did its stuff hence the oil being so black. Was just thinking about whether I should run for a short while and change the oil again good call.
It would be great to do that and try to drain the oil thoroughly.
Engine flush products, are a double edge sword. Especially, in cars whose background and maintenance scheme are unknown/uncertain. Checking (even better changing) spark plugs and the oil control valve might also be a good sanity check.
Service history is good, I have already changed plugs, I will google oil control valve thanks . I'm very wary of oil flush's but have heard very good things about bg109, we shall see if it makes any difference !
Quote from: marculos on July 19, 2020, 10:02Service history is good, I have already changed plugs, I will google oil control valve thanks . I'm very wary of oil flush's but have heard very good things about bg109, we shall see if it makes any difference !
If the engine is running well, I wouldn't worry about the oil control valve. They are very reliable and it's quite a fiddle to get it out!
Air filter and MAF clean are always good things to do/check.
Been making most of the Indian summer, amazing drive on some back roads around Stamford and Oakham. Considering it's still on original suspension still drives very well. 70 and above front end is light might get a front brace to see if that helps. Next year assuming I keep the car full suspension refresh is in order. New stereo sounds great, going to get a small sub for it at some point.
Car still has little jerkiness under 2k revs. Changed Pcv valve yesterday very easy job and took for a quick spin and seems a bit smoother. The one was ok as still rattled I think but read the spring gets weak over time and less effective.
Got a car cover for a tenner from Lidl. One weather gets pants will hibernate her until spring I think with odd bimble to stop things from seizing up !
The light feeling can often be attributed to
A. Requires suspension refresh.
B. Requires a proper high quality geo. Not just, its in spec guv.
C. Both.
Spend the money on those first before a brace.
Quote from: Ardent on September 26, 2020, 11:33The light feeling can often be attributed to
A. Requires suspension refresh.
B. Requires a proper high quality geo. Not just, its in spec guv.
C. Both.
Spend the money on those first before a brace.
The above is often correct.
Also does it have the wind deflector stripes under the front bumper and are all the front plastics in place. Doesn't always make a difference but some people swear buy it.
Also never noticed a front brace helping in this situation unless adding a couple of kilos high up front helps.
Saying that both front and mid braces really improve this car.
Quote from: 1979scotte on September 26, 2020, 11:45Quote from: Ardent on September 26, 2020, 11:33The light feeling can often be attributed to
A. Requires suspension refresh.
B. Requires a proper high quality geo. Not just, its in spec guv.
C. Both.
The above is often correct.
Also does it have the wind deflector stripes under the front bumper and are all the front plastics in place. Doesn't always make a difference but some people swear buy it.
Also never noticed a front brace helping in this situation unless adding a couple of kilos high up front helps.
Saying that both front and mid braces really improve this car.
No idea on the wind deflector stripes will take a llook thanks
Not much to update. MOT has run out so will be testing it soon. Have taken out the rear lights to get rid of condensation as heard could be MOT failure. Going to polish the front lights too.
Will the handbrake pass and the emissions be ok. There are the two things I worry it will fail on.
Quote from: marculos on January 22, 2021, 12:48Not much to update. MOT has run out so will be testing it soon. Have taken out the rear lights to get rid of condensation as heard could be MOT failure. Going to polish the front lights too.
Will the handbrake pass and the emissions be ok. There are the two things I worry it will fail on.
Condensation? Really? Well I've never had a problem with that. As in plenty of condensation but never a comment on the mot.
Also emissions never had an issue even with 200 cel cats. Maybe because they were new and I always got them hot.
Handbrake.
Plenty of times it's been close or failed really is a pain.
Update on scratchy. Passed MOT with just one advisory for smoke. She needed new rear brake calipers and new cables to get handbrake through test. Replaced brake fluid with ATE Dot 4, brakes are great now. Hardly driven it due to lockdown and working from home most days. Sold my VRS and bought a 330i N52 for the family motor and very nice it is to. Another project :)
Someone tried to steal the two from my driveway but I had isolating switch on the battery. I have also bought a cheap steering wheel lock and have a another alarm on the dashboard now.
I sourced a nice set of pre fl refurbed alloys which I need to get some decent tyres for. For my birthday treat soon I'm getting new front and rear shocks replaced (Japanparts), new dust covers and a set of lightly used Tein springs fitted. I also have front and rear super pro antiroll bar bushes to fit.
An Oil and filter change shortly to come with another BG109 Flush to try and help with the oil burning.
Petrol flap seems a bit sticky and doesn't always open, probably due to lack of use.
Thought about selling and getting a MX5 but then unthought that thought :)
Quote from: marculos on June 22, 2021, 19:55Update on scratchy
Thought about selling and getting a MX5 but then unthought that thought :)
@Chilli Girl Permaban surely
He unthought the thought. If he had merely reconsidered, we would have to revoke his membership as it would mean the thought was still lying dormant in his mind.
Unthinking we can allow
[quote
Petrol flap seems a bit sticky and doesn't always open, probably due to lack of use.
[/quote]
Remove the side vent & spray wd40 or similar. The hinge gets sticky.
2022 Update
Not done many miles sadly. Had new shocks and springs fitted for my bday last year. The japanparts shocks were a pita to fit. Teins lowered it 30mm. Rear standard droplinks didnt fit ..
So cable tied the droplink gap whilst sourced adjustable droplinks. Black friday deal brought me some front and rear whiteline bars.
Had these fitted and one of mounting bolts snapped so had to get that drilled out. All sorted now and finally got wheel alignment done. Drives really well now.
Fully serviced few weeks ago, new oil, oil filter, air filter, new plugs. BG108 Flush.
Failed MOT last week of course on handbrake, no other advisories. Emissions fine which is great for my oil burner. I tried the handbrake dance and still wont hold so off to mechanic tomorrow. Had calipers and cables replaced last year, not sure whats wrong.
Making it lighter by removing stuff, so removed spare tyre, toolkit, alarm so far. Plan to replace the battery with a lighter one.
Got new wheels to fit and will get the roof replaced later this year. Might add some additional bracing. Thats it for now.
:) the dreaded handbrake and callipers are a problem on our 2s but it can be done.
i did mine all new in lockdown then again last year on warranty with another spend yet this i got to start afresh again hopeing to get sorted now so i don't have to keep spending each year on rear breaks.
lets hope you get it sorted noting worse than a MOT fail.
I have new discs and pads to fit too, noticed the rear pads bit low, maybe that will help a littlen.
Does anyone have link to guide I can give to my mechanic for setting handbrake ?
Thanks
:) have a look at the how to do on the forum is there and you can print it off 8)
New discs and pads, handbrake adjusted and now works a treat ! No advisories
Quote from: marculos on March 22, 2022, 18:44New discs and pads, handbrake adjusted and now works a treat ! No advisories
Did you adjust it at the brake end or up front near the lever ?
Congrats on the pass :)
Mechanic sorted it out, think it was at the calliper end.
New tyres being gutted on refurbed pre-fl alloys on Monday.Not much choice to get same tyre all round so going with Toyo TR1s, £263 fitted for 4 which is decent.The Yokohamas which are awesome as I understand are much more expensive. The Toyos are bit softer too so hopefully will bring a bit of comfort.
Handles so much better now on new Toyos in dry and wet.
Had a ding man come and remove a load of dings, great value and very professional.
What else.. I've fitted a lightweight PC680 battery to help remove a few kg. Fitted a cheap DAB aerial which works a treat. Also fitted a new barbarian front strut brace which has sharped up the handling a little.
I fitted a maf mod kit which had been sitting around for ages. It did work, but think the 2ZZ injectors need servicing or replacing. Was hard to start cold, and there were CELs for running rich and poor MPG too.
So put it back to standard and all back to normal; actually feels smoother.
My roof has seen better days so booked in with Raymundo in November.
Handbrake worked for about a week, will prob leave it now until before next MOT and get it sorted then.
Might have a go at correcting the paint as best I can, been looking at DA polishers.
Quick update on scratchy
Did some rustproofing with Krown T40 on subframe, sills etc
Replaced MAF
Bought some OEM Mats
Just got back from Swansea, had new roof fitted from Raymond and had the drain bags replaced, the old ones were a bit knackered. Great value roof !
Was a 350 mile round trip, I took it steady and still got quarter tank of petrol so not too shabby MPG !
Serviced motor (oil, air filter, oil filter) and did a Wynns flush,
Flushed Power steering fluid and replaced clutch fluid, both looked proper grim
New front discs and pads
Replaced wiper blades
Failed MOT on handbrake, Mechanic fixed it and now have new MOT with no advisories:)
Well played.
Handbrake now dodgy again ;D
Quiet year, just been enjoying the car though summer was pants so not much use! Recently one of TTE tips fell off so need to get that properly sorted with new gasket.
Lights when driving in dark are pretty bad so have upgraded dipped and main beam to Osram Nightbreakers and will try and clean up the headlights with a restoration kit. Hopefully will be some improvement. LED sidelights started to flicker so replaced them. The passenger side dipped H7 bulb was a PITA to change as really hard to see where to clip the metal thing which holds the bulb in place, almost gave up then used a torch and a compact mirror to luckily get the clip back in place. Took me two hours lol.
In spring will service the 2, then try and get the handbrake working again sufficiently to pass the MOT.
Had the motor nearly 4 years now and if the bonus comes in I might upgrade to a Boxster ! Oil burning issues aside has been the most cheap to run reliable motor I have ever had and might just keep her even if a get a porker.