Today's MR2 fun

[Dr. Z]

So, I have been having intermittent charging issues. Today was the day I set aside to sort them out. Basically when its dry, all is good but when it has been raining my alternator circuitry packs in and stops working. Today was a dry day so I had to just do what I could hoping to spot anything obvious. The first obvious thing was that the belt had rather too much play in it. I tightened it up a bit and the whining from that area stopped. Whoop! Hopefully it was the belt just slipping round the pulley. I will find out next time it rains I suppose!

I then thought it might be a good idea to just do a general bit of engine cleaning. My leads are disgraceful so I went to remove one... the plug wells (which are covered by a metal plate) were about an inch deep in oil - you could just about see the tips of the plugs. Not good! It mustn't get that hot under there because there hasn't been any smoke or any hint of burning oil and obviously as it has been covered over I didn't spot it until now. I will probably need to replace the leads/plugs as soon as funds allow but for now I will make do.

Next up was the blowing exhaust. I had inspected the back/mid box areas a few weeks ago expecting it to look like swiss cheese but it wasn't. All shiny and new! My thoughts turned to the possibility of a cracked/holed exhaust manifold but I couldn't inspect it until today. Turns out that the previous owner really really didnt like putting things back together that he had taken apart - there are so many little things missing from the car its stupid. This is another one of those things - 3 bolts connect the flanges together. One was completely missing, one was barely tight and the 3rd could be spun by hand. The 3rd bolt appears to be missing because the stud is blocked by these two metal plates that have been welded onto the end of the pipe. No idea why they are there but they are in the way. I will need to drop the exhaust pipe, cut the plates off and put it back together with a new gasket. For now the two bolts have been tightened and its blowing an awful lot less.

Finally, when looking around in the garage for some paint to paint the cam covers (might as well do it whilst they are off!) I found an ebay special cone filter that Leon gave me with the Mondeo. I felt it was my duty to fit it, so I did. Pictures and maybe some audio to follow

All in all, not a bad day's spannering!

[kaiowas]

Those manifold bolts are always a pain. Whenever I fit an exhaust I end up having to retighten the bolts within a few days.