Car D.I.Y.

[Fastpedaller]

Internal combustion also going (legislated) out of fashion! After my initial reservations about them, I can see hybrid cars are maybe a better choice until fully electric is more established. Carrying around 4 charging cables and having to hunt down an available charging point would seem like a poor way of spending a holiday journey. Hybrids have smaller batteries and can be fuelled with petrol or electric, so at least there's a choice. I didn't think it true until I checked the .gov MOT website but....... hybrids aren't checked for emissions at MOT test. Maybe (for the short-term, next 20 years) they are the lowish running cost car?

 

[Electric_Andy]

I helped out a chap on Sunday who had a Mercedes hybrid with EML on, he was quoted £80 from the garage just to read the codes. So I let him use my £20 OBD scanner and luckily it worked. It detected 10 fault codes which he wrote down and is now off googling them!

 

[Drago]

Internal combustion also going (legislated) out of fashion! After my initial reservations about them, I can see hybrid cars are maybe a better choice until fully electric is more established. Carrying around 4 charging cables and having to hunt down an available charging point would seem like a poor way of spending a holiday journey. Hybrids have smaller batteries and can be fuelled with petrol or electric, so at least there's a choice. I didn't think it true until I checked the .gov MOT website but....... hybrids aren't checked for emissions at MOT test. Maybe (for the short-term, next 20 years) they are the lowish running cost car?

Why would you need to carry around 4 charge cables? I don't bother carrying one at all in my MINI, and even our humble MG could manage the Welsh coast to the coast of East anglia without stopping to fill the tank with electrons. And it you do stop you only need one cable.

And you don't need to hunt a charging point. An app tells you where they are, whether or not they are in use, and even their status as working/borked. We've hardly ever had to charge in the wild, but when we have it's utterly painless. Don't believe the bullsheet urban lore that circulates these days.

We were doing the hybrid thing 15 years ago, the game has moved on.

 

[Fastpedaller]

No, but it started then stopped, so the thought was that the elec wasn't getting to the coil. I fitted a new ignition switch and it started ok, then a few minutes later wouldn't. So there's an intermittent to the coil. It's a pita, and when checked with meter only 1.8V, but earlier it was 12.4V. Have to start (no pun intended) looking again tomorrow in daylight.

Crikey this fault took some searching! I replaced all the connectors on the wiring to the coil. Checking out the voltage to the coil and it was 8.4V, so seemed ok. I went out 30 mins later to drive to town and (you've guessed it) only 1.3V to coil. I spent all afternoon checking here there and (I thought) everywhere. I was just closing the bonnet as light faded and I saw a bulge in part of the wiring loom which looked suspect. When I wriggled that part of the loom the voltage to the coil changed! So this morning I unwrapped this part to find two wires twisted together. I've had the car 14 years, so I guess the bodge lasted well . With the connection tight the voltage was constant 8.4V. I attempted to solder the wires together, and it appeared that the wire going to (or from) the distributor had stainless steel strands. It seems a specific flux (not 'normal flux') is needed. Hence why they had been previously twisted together. So I used a 'chocolate block' to secure the wires together -with the stripped part long enough on each wire, both screws will secure both wires. Some heat shrink completed the job. Working ok (for now )

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Replaced the engine knock sensor on my Mazda 2 as it was throwing a code. Unfortunately its under the inlet manifold with no access from underneath, luckily the inlet manifold is on the front of the engine. Had to remove the inlet manifold, injector rail, throttle body, EGR to inlet manifold flange and host of clips and crap. Replaced everything else that needed the inlet manifold off, as don't want to be doing it again for a while. That was the crankcase PCV valve and the coolant thermostat.

Got most of the parts off Autodoc as tend to avoid Mazda like the plague, apart from the PCV valve which after a bit of cross-referencing figured out that a Mk2 MX5 one fits, as do the injector seals that were also replaced. Got these off ebay, genuine Mazda parts, the PCV valve was £14.99 delivered, versus £35.25 for same part from local main stealer. Injector seals were £10.99. Unfortunately had to buy 2 rubber O ring type seals from main stealer, for the EGR valve pipe flange to inlet manifold, which was £17.25 and about 4cm in diameter. The throttle body seal is around 5cm in diameter and was £27. I've got the old ones, going to measure them with a vernier if needed again, and get something similar off ebay or a local hydraulics company, for a fraction of the cost.

 

[Fastpedaller]

Replaced the engine knock sensor on my Mazda 2 as it was throwing a code. Unfortunately its under the inlet manifold with no access from underneath, luckily the inlet manifold is on the front of the engine. Had to remove the inlet manifold, injector rail, throttle body, EGR to inlet manifold flange and host of clips and crap. Replaced everything else that needed the inlet manifold off, as don't want to be doing it again for a while. That was the crankcase PCV valve and the coolant thermostat.

Got most of the parts off Autodoc as tend to avoid Mazda like the plague, apart from the PCV valve which after a bit of cross-referencing figured out that a Mk2 MX5 one fits, as do the injector seals that were also replaced. Got these off ebay, genuine Mazda parts, the PCV valve was £14.99 delivered, versus £35.25 for same part from local main stealer. Injector seals were £10.99. Unfortunately had to buy 2 rubber O ring type seals from main stealer, for the EGR valve pipe flange to inlet manifold, which was £17.25 and about 4cm in diameter. The throttle body seal is around 5cm in diameter and was £27. I've got the old ones, going to measure them with a vernier if needed again, and get something similar off ebay or a local hydraulics company, for a fraction of the cost.

Beware! You need to ensure the part you get from 'another source' is the correct material to withstand what's thrown at it (eg heat, fuel vapour or oil). A neighbour with a Range Rover knocked on my door a couple of years ago (knowing my garage is full of useful stuff/junk as my Wife says). He wanted an O ring for the injector on his RR, so did I have one? I pointed out it needed to be fuel proof - although the 'real' one is stupidly expensive it's cheaper than having a burn-out car . Ironically he works for a well-known vehicle manufacturer in Norfolk, so he should know better.

 

[Fastpedaller]

More repairs on my old kit car..... Whilst sorting the recent issues I noticed the steering rack gaiter on the driver's side needed replacement.
I recall previously fitting steering rack gaiters which were listed as fitting this steering rack (Ford Escort mk2) branded First Line. Only one fitted and the other never going to fit. I searched my spares (I'd bought various ones at a car show a couple of years ago) but nothing would fit, so I went to the local car/cycle parts store. This place doesn't look as though it would be as good as the local factors, but the guys who work there have better knowledge and are helpful. The local factors just want a reg number and if they can't find it easily they give up - they also have no knowledge of ethanol resistant fuel pipe. Anyway I digress. I didn't hold out much hope of getting rack gaiters for a 48 year old car, and they said my only 'choice' was their universal fit gaiters at £6.39 a pair. I thought at this bargain price they were worth a go (I tend to avoid 'universal fit' as being something that fits nothing well). Surprisingly (after trimming off one small diameter) the fit was as good as any 'exact' part. So I also have a spare! This vehicle is evolving like trigger's broom

 

[gbb]

Internal combustion also going (legislated) out of fashion! After my initial reservations about them, I can see hybrid cars are maybe a better choice until fully electric is more established. Carrying around 4 charging cables and having to hunt down an available charging point would seem like a poor way of spending a holiday journey. Hybrids have smaller batteries and can be fuelled with petrol or electric, so at least there's a choice. I didn't think it true until I checked the .gov MOT website but....... hybrids aren't checked for emissions at MOT test. Maybe (for the short-term, next 20 years) they are the lowish running cost car?

Is it still the case that hybrids are probably better for town use but their small battery limits what mileage you can reasonably achieve,
Half considered buying a new (second hand ) car this weekend, a hybrid wouldn't really give me any benefit if the above holds true, I avoid city driving at all costs, most of my driving is motorway or dual carriageway.

 

[BoldonLad]

Is it still the case that hybrids are probably better for town use but their small battery limits what mileage you can reasonably achieve,
Half considered buying a new (second hand ) car this weekend, a hybrid wouldn't really give me any benefit if the above holds true, I avoid city driving at all costs, most of my driving is motorway or dual carriageway.

Cannot speak for ALL hybrids, since I have only owned one (Toyota Yaris Excel, self charging Hybrid 2023 model).

Had it since November 2023 (new)

I am impressed.

Typically, it is used in urban environment.

Runs on battery about 35% of the time.

Overall mpg today is 61.5mpg.

On a recent 50 mile journey, mix of fast dual carriageway and country roads it recorded 72.1mpg

 

[Jameshow]

Is it still the case that hybrids are probably better for town use but their small battery limits what mileage you can reasonably achieve,
Half considered buying a new (second hand ) car this weekend, a hybrid wouldn't really give me any benefit if the above holds true, I avoid city driving at all costs, most of my driving is motorway or dual carriageway.

Yes and most are petrol where as diesels are most economical for long journeys.

Volvo v60 hybrid was a diesel.

 

[Drago]

Cannot speak for ALL hybrids, since I have only owned one (Toyota Yaris Excel, self charging Hybrid 2023 model).

Had it since November 2023 (new)

I am impressed.

Typically, it is used in urban environment.

Runs on battery about 35% of the time.

Overall mpg today is 61.5mpg.

On a recent 50 mile journey, mix of fast dual carriageway and country roads it recorded 72.1mpg

So less than my regular diesel Peugeot would return, and slower to boot.

 

[Fastpedaller]

Cannot speak for ALL hybrids, since I have only owned one (Toyota Yaris Excel, self charging Hybrid 2023 model).

Had it since November 2023 (new)

I am impressed.

Typically, it is used in urban environment.

Runs on battery about 35% of the time.

Overall mpg today is 61.5mpg.

On a recent 50 mile journey, mix of fast dual carriageway and country roads it recorded 72.1mpg

I just looked at the Toyota website and their plan view of the car isn't very accurate (or the engine is under the driver's seat )
Some questions if I may.... 1) Is it petrol or diesel 2) can it be plugged in to charge, or is all charging on the move 3)Is the economy you've quoted off the car's data. A friend of our days his diesel car returns 80mpg, but this isn't from the car's data (he's too wary of pressing any 'computer buttons' but is from the manufacturer's figures . His wife is just as bad, saying her car is good on fuel because she doesn't fill it very often.

 

[Fastpedaller]

So less than my regular diesel Peugeot would return, and slower to boot.

Drago..... Is that based on the manufacturer's claims or actual data from your car's readout?
Our Ford (petrol) gives us 49.6 average all year (which I consider good as most is rural lanes and town), but I'm of the opinion that's nearer 45mpg given the built-in speedo/milometer tolerance.

 

[Drago]

Drago..... Is that based on the manufacturer's claims or actual data from your car's readout?

From my own very anal fill up and calculator numbers. I could occasionally better the makers numbers, but most of the time it ran at close-but-no-banana. It certainly used less fuel than my non plug in Pious used to.

 

[BoldonLad]

So less than my regular diesel Peugeot would return, and slower to boot.

Yes, possibly. It replaced a diesel.

It will do 70mph quite comfortably, which, when I last looked was the legal limit.

In terms of acceleration is out performs my previous diesel comfortably, since, petrol and electric are combined to give quite a “poke”.