Nimbus 2008 197

[Chris]

Not a clue mate - Is it the cabasse?

 

[Barney626]

Had a look around and looks like the antenna cable. I think I need an adapter to fit it onto the new radio... Off to halfords...

 

[Pav]

good progress..

 

[Barney626]

Finally got a spare moment to update this thread. Been really busy last few days.

So, managed to get a slot in national tyres on saturday morning. Unfortunately they didn't have the same tyre so I ended up getting the cheapest option there (Westlake SA70) until I could source a new set of tyres.

Now I have a different tyre on each wheel so would really like to get rid of those asap. Looking at the Michelin pilot sport 4 atm.

While the car was stationary to do the steeringwheel+HU I tried touching up some of the kurb marks on the wheels. Turned out pretty well actually and looks much much better in person compared to the pics:

Before:


After:



Next up was replacing the head unit. Bit of fiddling and two patch leads later managed to get it working with steering wheel controls. Sounds a lot better than the standard unit straight away. Still need to fiddle with the EQ to get it better.

Then the main event, the steering wheel.



Pretty happy with the quality of it. My only concern is a little bit of stitching behind the perforated leather which comes away from the wheel by about 2mm. Worried over time that will get pulled out further and end up being a point of failure... time will tell I suppose.

Apart from that the leather is really nice quality and it's such a massive improvement over my old wheel. Absolutely worth the money.

Old wheel was in pretty bad condition:





Installation was interesting due to the lack of good guides. The one suggested earlier in this thread is alright but didn't explain removing the airbag very well. Figured out you had to bend a metal ring directly upwards to release the airbag then just pull hard from the bottom (The black cover comes off with the airbag). Pictures below show the two clips, bottom one needs to be pushed up.




Pull all the cables off and the airbag is free.

Bit of a comparison between the old wheel and new:



After realising I didn't have a T50 bit to undo the center bolt, a trip to halfords and a bit of yanking the old wheel was off and new one on. The spline has nice centering ridges on it so it's easy to get it aligned.

By that time it was dark outside so wanted to wait till day light to get some photos.






So very happy with that.

Now sadly a few bits of bad news, looks like I may have an engine oil leak. Been keeping an eye on the electronic meter you get on startup. Has gone down, from totally full, to 3 bars. I know these are not always accurate but it's quite a big drop and it happened slowly which makes me think it is a leak. Haven't seen anything under the car so not sure where it's going to be honest.

Also, just over a week now since I did the gearbox oil change and just now got another crunch. Thought it had fixed it but looks like it hasn't. Also noticed reverse and 1st were really hard to get in this morning while cold. I think the synchos might be a bit too far gone for an oil change to make a huge difference. Car is still in the 3 month warranty provided by the place I bought it from so thinking I might ask them if they could do a gearbox rebuild or something. Any ideas on how much that kind of thing would be?

 

[sevenfourate]

WHEELS !

The steering one looks fantastic - as they always do; and it's a cracking effort on the kerb marks too i'd say !

Oil leak; all you can do is thoroughly clean it all down underneath; refill, drive some miles and re-check. Unless someone can tell by looking underneath etc. But usually with wind rushing through from driving; the oil ends up going over everything and it's hard to know where the leak originally started......

What g/box oil did you refill with ?

 

[Barney626]

WHEELS !

The steering one looks fantastic - as they always do; and it's a cracking effort on the kerb marks too i'd say !

Oil leak; all you can do is thoroughly clean it all down underneath; refill, drive some miles and re-check. Unless someone can tell by looking underneath etc. But usually with wind rushing through from driving; the oil ends up going over everything and it's hard to know where the leak originally started......

What g/box oil did you refill with ?

MT-90 which i've only heard good things about so I don't think that's the issue.

The main problems are:

• 1st and reverse hard to get into when cold
• 2>4 sometimes crunches but goes in ok
• 2nd and 3rd can be pretty notchy
• The main one is when giving it beans in 1st then trying to shift to second it doesn't go in and makes a terrible grinding sound. Have to wait a few seconds then it will go in.

 

[sevenfourate]

MT-90 which i've only heard good things about so I don't think that's the issue.

The main problems are:

• 1st and reverse hard to get into when cold
• 2>4 sometimes crunches but goes in ok
• 2nd and 3rd can be pretty notchy
• The main one is when giving it beans in 1st then trying to shift to second it doesn't go in and makes a terrible grinding sound. Have to wait a few seconds then it will go in.

Oh dear. Agreed the oil you've got is about as good as gets. At least you gave it a fair go.

It doesn't sound like any oil would sort those issues unfortunately....... :-(

Don't ask if it's under warranty. TELL THEM. Its their responsibility and duty as a dealer. You've paid for the privilege - now make use of it.

 

[Barney626]

Oh dear. Agreed the oil you've got is about as good as gets. At least you gave it a fair go.

It doesn't sound like any oil would sort those issues unfortunately....... :-(

Don't ask if it's under warranty. TELL THEM. Its their responsibility and duty as a dealer. You've paid for the privilege - now make use of it.

Am I being a bit picky or are the issues I've described legitimate reasons to want a gearbox rebuild/replacement?

 

[Pav]

overall this update is great..the wheel is top quality..think i need to pull my finger out and have my done too..

 

[Chris]

Fantastic looking wheel mate! Spot on!

Highly recommend the ps4s

 

[sevenfourate]

Am I being a bit picky or are the issues I've described legitimate reasons to want a gearbox rebuild/replacement?

Not about 'want'......

Sound like it NEEDS !

I'd be all over them like a rash ASAP.

 

[Big Ben]

Steering wheel looks awesome!
They’re such a great upgrade.
Sorry to hear you’ve got box issues. Definitely chase down that warranty. If no luck drop me a PM I’ve got a decent gearbox just come out!

 

[Pav]

i'd be doing my best to get 4 decent tyres asap..not recommended/safe to have 4 diff tires on..

 

[Barney626]

Will be emailing the garage tomorrow morning about the warranty...

Gonna try and get them to agree to take it to four ashes as I was impressed with them last time.

 

[Benno]

I'll PM the Facebook details of the guy I used for my AD08r's, £360 (plus PayPal fees) delivered. Can't see why he couldn't get you a deal for other tyres!

 

[Barney626]

Just been looking around to find more information on my gearbox issues and saw someone suggest testing the clutch cylinder by putting the car in 1st, depressing the clutch and revving to see if the car moved.

Just tried it and at about 5k the car starts to move forward... Is this normal or could it be the cause of my 1st to 2nd issues?

 

[tombate911]

Steering wheel is great! Really is something I need to sort out on mine. Keep putting it on the back burner.

 

[Barney626]

So been onto the garage through email for the past few days. They say they want the car back to their workshop to diagnose and possibly fix.

After having alarm issues when I bought the car only for the mechanic to say he fixed it and didnt, I don't want them anywhere near it.

I suggested I take it to four ashes and they just pay the bills and they say they will only pay what it would cost them in house to repair, no idea how much that is. So a bit stuck really.

I think tomorrow I'm going to ring four ashes to ask if they could have a look at it and see if they know what's up with the gearbox and aircon. If the garage pay for it great, if not oh well but atleast I'll know what's up.

Depending on what four ashes say I'll try to get the dealer to play ball and let me use four ashes.

Regarding the engine oil leak:
(random pic just to show what I mean)


Dipped it on wednesday and level was just below the 3. Filled it up to around the 4 and drove it a bit. Just dipped it again today and it's back down to below 3. Will be dipping it again tomorrow to see if it goes further or if it will stop. Wondering if it's considering anything more than the 3 level excess and burning it off?

 

[Barney626]

Always love it when this happens (Yes that is a RS badge in the red box):



So car is off to Four ashes tomorrow morning for them to have a look at the aircon and gearbox. Fingers crossed they say the gearbox is fine and I'm just being overly cautious...

 

[Pav]

haha..what a picture..gotta love some peoples dedication!!

good luck with your repairs..