Ben's second-car thread - MR2s and Westfields inside...

[Magic Beans]

I much prefer the clear look to the stock lenses

[Ben]

Yep, me too. Been out for a drive this evening after setting the beam alignment (god, what a fiddly job!), and there is a marked improvement over the standard units. Really pleased with them

[Magic Beans]

Stock bulbs or did you go for something like the Nightbreakers etc?

[Ben]

They came with a set of Bosch bulbs. Not entirely sure what they are but they definitely do the trick. I actually have a set of night-breakers on my e39 so may get a set for these at some point as well...

[ashley]

After:

Spot on- huge improvement

[Ben]

Well I've been without the old girl for over three weeks now - she's been up at Rogue having what is effectively the last 3-4 years of servicing done all in one go, plus lots of other little (and not so little) bits in preparation for Le Mans.

Current list of stuff I’ve done so far is:

2 x Yoko C-Drive 185/60/14 (front)
Full four-wheel alignment
T-Bar seal treatment
Thermostat (OEM) and Toyota coolant
Magnecor Leads
New front numberplate
Raybrig Headlights

Rogue have been busy with the following:

Plugs
Dizzy
Fuel Filter
Cambelt
Cambelt Tensioner
Waterpump
Poly Engine Mounts (from Twos-R-Us)
Clutch Fluid
Braided brake lines
EBC Yellow-stuff pads all round
Oil and filter
Gearbox oil
Rear wheel-bearing
Front ARB Bushes
K&N drop-in panel filter
…and I have a new rear numberplate to go on to match the front.

Can’t wait til tomorrow afternoon when I can go and pick her up!

All I need now before Le Mans is a new set of rear tyres to match the fronts, and I’m going to get the dodgy rear window tint removed so that I can actually see through it! There’s a few other things I want to do in the fullness of time (big pulley kit, all-round polybush, plus a couple of bits that need tidying here and there) but that will probably wait until later this year/early next year depending on funds. I just want to get some decent miles under the wheels before we go blatting round the mountains for four days

[craig]

Lights, massive improvement sir. Much cleaner!

[Magic Beans]

It'll feel like a new car after all that work's completed

[Ben]

That's the plan! Got a 50-mile drive home tomorrow to find out

[pistol pete]

looking forward to the report

[Ben]

So, picked the car up today...

At first I was like because it's running fantastically well. The poly engine mounts feel fantastic without transmitting too much vibration to the cabin, and the brakes feel awesome with the braided lines and yellow-stuff pads.

Half an hour later, though, I was all . That noise which has been plaguing me for the last few weeks is still there :wall: and on top of that, the clutch is slipping. At 60 mph on the motorway, if I bury my foot in 5th the revs rise about 500-1000rpm before dropping back down again.

At this point I have to say I was pretty narked off. Thinking my ham-fisted approach to car-DIY couldn't make things worse, I thought 'sod it' and popped the alternator belt off. The noise stopped. Hmmm.... Popped it back on, and there is was again. OK, so that's a start!

At this point I did what I always did in this sort of situation, which is to call Pete and wail down the phone at him about how Toyota can't nail a car together for toffee, etc. The usual stuff
I was assuming the noise meant the alternator was to blame, as that seemed the most likely suspect, but Pete then pointed out that the air-con runs on an electro-magnetic clutch. So, with the engine running I push the magic button and - voila! The noise is gone! Looks like there's some dirt or grit or something in the A/C clutch that's causing the noise.

So, a couple of questions:

1) Given that Rogue replaced the clutch fluid for me, and that the bite-point seems higher than it was, I assume it's worth getting the clutch re-bled before assuming the worst?
2) Rather than fanny around with the air-con, is it possible to just buy a shorter alternator belt and by-pass the air-con pulley? I''d rather not have to remove the aircon completely given that Le Mans is just over 3 weeks away. Any idea what size belt I'd need?

And finally, managed to get the new Euro rear numberplate fitted

[pistol pete]

Plates look good buddy

Hopefully the bleeding clutch will solve it as was not a problem before

[Magic Beans]

Check you out with your Le Mans ready plate

Hope the clutch woes are sorted easily enough

[Ben]

Cheers, yeah me too. I've spoken to Rogue and Matt's going to talk me through adjusting the pedal this evening, see if that does the trick...

[craig]

OOOOOH, I might get a "lemans" plate

[Magic Beans]

Hope it goes well

Fitting my plates at the moment

[craig]

I have a GB plate for the rear, but it's a Disco size plate.

[Ben]

Adjusted the clutch pedal, took it for a blat and all seems ok. I'm going to drive it to work tomorrow (18 miles each way) to make sure though!

Big thanks to Matt for talking me through it on the phone though, nice to see there is still such a thing as after-sales care

[Magic Beans]

Craig - Whack a fugly sticker on it

[pistol pete]

Craig - Whack a fugly sticker on it

nooooooo

illl have GB on the plate cheers