MR2 Roadster Owners Club

The Workshop => Maintenance, Problems & Troubleshooting => Topic started by: Anonymous on October 25, 2004, 23:04

Title: Fitting TRD Front strut brace and member braces...
Post by: Anonymous on October 25, 2004, 23:04
Hi all!

I know this has been done to death before on here - I've just spent 2 hours looking through 61 pages of threads from a search   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  , but I can't find the answer I'm looking for  s:( :( s:(  

Apologies if it is on here somewhere and I've missed it - but I started to get "thread-blindness" after a while, so may have missed it!   s:crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: s:crazyeyes:  

Any way - I took delivery of my TRD front strut brace and member braces today from the recent GB, and on inspection of what I was expecting to be naff instructions (from what other people had said) I found that I couldn't tell if they are naff or not, as they're in Japanese!  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

Not a problem, I thought - I've got some install "how to's" off SC and GSB's tip's on fitting the member braces from here.

However, I'm slightly puzzled by a couple of bits that came with the parts;

A 3x25x100mm piece of self-adhesive rubber with the member brace kit and a clear plastic wrap-round wire/cable shroud with the front strut brace.

So what are these for then??????????????????  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

Plus, if anyone has any fitting tips or can email me a copy of the TRD instructions in english it would be muchly appreciated!

Cheers,

Adrian  s8) 8) s8)
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Post by: markiii on October 25, 2004, 23:51
sticky pad with teh member brace;


teh drivers side floorpan is fractionally lower than the passenger side. the member brace will rub without the sticky stuff to protect bioth teh underseal and teh finish on teh member brace.
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Post by: GSB on October 26, 2004, 07:00
What he said...

Its to prevent metal to metal contact on the floorpan, although you may find you dont need it. I didn't, and ended up cutting it in half and cable tieing it around the rear braces where the handbrake cables rub instead.
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Post by: Tem on October 26, 2004, 07:27
IIRC, the instructions say you might need it...I didn't need it either.
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Post by: Anonymous on October 26, 2004, 09:25
Cheers boyo's!  s8) 8) s8)  

So does anyone konow what the cable wrap is for that came with the strut brace???
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Post by: Anonymous on October 26, 2004, 13:21
Is it to tie the windscreen washer pipe to something to stop it getting squashed between the bonnett/frunk and the brace? I have a CUSCO brace and have had to tape it down to stop this happening.
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Post by: Anonymous on October 26, 2004, 13:29
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Well that makes sense! - I was thinking it was to cover some wires with - but couldn't see any   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:   So using it to cover the washer pipe makes plenty of sense   s:D :D s:D  

Cheers big ears   s8) 8) s8)
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Post by: Anonymous on October 26, 2004, 13:31
whoops - looks like someone hit "submit" one to many times   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Could one of the admin guys (or gals  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  ) delete this please? Ta  s:D :D s:D
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Post by: Anonymous on October 26, 2004, 22:49
The new strut brace is on, well 5/6 on (see post "HELP! - Just snapped a fricking top mount stud!!!)  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

Here's some pics;

(http://www.spydermagazine.com/files/strut%20brace.jpg)

I'm pretty pleased with the results - particularly the edging strip, which IMHO makes it look almost standard!  s8) 8) s8)  (I hope no one notices the snapped stud...  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  )

(http://www.spydermagazine.com/files/strut%20brace%202.jpg)
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Post by: markiii on October 26, 2004, 23:17
what trim strip did you use, thats much better than mine
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Post by: Anonymous on October 27, 2004, 09:26
I went to my local coach trimmers and got it from them   s8) 8) s8)  

It was very cheap too - only £2 for 1.5 meters!

It's just rubber U-section edging strip, with steel banding in it.

I could post u a sample, or even buy you some if you want!   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
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Post by: markiii on October 27, 2004, 09:29
if you could buy me some I'd appreciate it, juyst let me know what I owe you.

my solution works, but looks liek a dogs breakfast compared to that
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Post by: Anonymous on October 27, 2004, 10:08
No problemo, If you PM me your address I'll buy some after work and shove it in the post! I could then PM you back with the cost and you could just post me a cheque - unless you have a better idea!?!
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Post by: GSB on October 27, 2004, 10:52
Ahem  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  ... While your there...  s:?: :?: s:?:
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Post by: kanujunkie on October 27, 2004, 11:33
eeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr is this a *cough* group buy *cough*  s:D :D s:D    s:D :D s:D
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Post by: markiii on October 27, 2004, 11:54
Quote from: "Mr 2"No problemo, If you PM me your address I'll buy some after work and shove it in the post! I could then PM you back with the cost and you could just post me a cheque - unless you have a better idea!?!

fine by me, I'#ll pm it over
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Post by: Anonymous on October 27, 2004, 13:50
 s:? :? s:?  Hmm...

Okay GSB and Kanujunkie, but this GB is now officially closed!  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

PM me your names and addresses and I'll see what I can do. I don't think the guy had much of the stuff left though - so you may be out of luck   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

I'll pop round after work and find out.

I take it that bog standard post is okay? that goes for you too Mark!?
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Post by: kanujunkie on October 27, 2004, 16:08
Many thanx  s:D :D s:D  , you have pm
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Post by: markiii on October 27, 2004, 19:47
bog standard post is fine
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Post by: Anonymous on October 27, 2004, 23:27
Well gentlemen they are in the post (1st class) and should be with you tommorrow - how's that for service!  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:    s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

I've included the price on a letter in with the package...

I've fixed my stud BTW - see the other thread!  s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:
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Post by: kanujunkie on October 28, 2004, 22:29
 s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  mega stunned  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

God that was quick, cheque will be in the post tommorrow  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

many thanx for this chap, much appreciated
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Post by: markiii on October 28, 2004, 23:38
mine arrived today as well.

I'll get a cheque oer to you ASAP

cheers.
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Post by: Anonymous on October 29, 2004, 00:06
No problemo chaps  s8) 8) s8)  

Grant - have you got yours yet?

I finished fitting the member braces about half an hour ago  s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  

I'm quite looking forward to the trip to stevenage on saturday now  s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

I'll write up my impressions when I get back...

...but now I'm shattered - so I'm off to bed!  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:
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Post by: GSB on October 29, 2004, 07:43
Yep, mine were in the security gatehouse when I left work. What service! Personally I struggle to get Royal mail to deliver anything next week, never mind next day! I'll post you payment today...

Cheers!
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Post by: Anonymous on October 30, 2004, 00:23
Excellent - I dropped the stuff of at the local postal depo/sorting office at about 6.30 ish on wednesday - the guy said it should be with you all the next day  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  Maybe the post office isn't that bad after all - and not too pricey either  s:D :D s:D  

Drove the car tonight (it was dry - won't dirty my lovely waxed car + I can "test" it closer to the limit  s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:  ) and I must say that the car defo felt tighter, quicker to turn in and a bit more stable / solid feeling too...

I'm quite impressed really!  s8) 8) s8)

Oh and the suspension geometry "seems" to be okay - it didn't pull to one side under acceleration/braking/normal driving and didn't behave oddly. I'll just keep my eye on the tyre's to make sure they're wearing evenly. Plus I'll check that all the nuts and bolts are still torqed up correctly when I get back from my mates on sunday (after about 150 miles of driving).

I'll no doubt get a full geometry check if / when I get the sportivo setup - but that won't be until next year  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
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Post by: Bongo on October 30, 2004, 00:42
Step 1: tell insurance company.

Step 2: balk at 25% increase in premium (with the explanation of "we'd have to cover the cost of it if anything happened"  s:!: :!: s:!:

Step 3: Moan to mates. This revealed that Direct Line apparantly have a "Mods Dept." that are friendly to mods etc   s:? :? s:?   (this comes from my friend who has an S3 - he reports an S3 owner increasing BHP by 30% and being charged £100 more)

Moral of story: Probably best to check with insurers first (although i'm too unhappy as i would still want one later, will just keep until i change insurer - most annoying is the games of chinese whispers you have to play to change anything on a Direct Line policy)

Has anyone else heard of this fabled "Mods Dept."?

At least i managed to get the brake lines for free once i'd told the guy how  to work his own system   s:roll: :roll: s:roll: