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[ClarCE]

Hello,

Well last night I was up until 4am under the flood lamps doing this:



(This is the drivers side, on the passenger side it was completely full of oil, you couldn't see the plug wells at all - needless to say I've changed all the plugs too.)



Both sides, I think they look in pretty good nick - is being gold and not black a good sign?

Fingers crossed its sorted now, you wouldn't believe the crap I removed from the breather system, it was choc solid.  My only worry was the sealant I applied, its the right stuff, just not sure I put enough on - time will tell!  At least I now know how to pull it all to bits again if need be.  Once again, only using the forum maintenance guide to get me through it - top job  

Chris

[jonny2112]

Well done pal, great job  

[tunnie]

Good job Chris  

[sounds2k]

the gold look seems unusual to me ... but good job, did the missus lock you out of the house then to be doing them at that time?  

yep the how-2 guide worked for me as well, I found the trick on the passenger side is to get the cover over the cam clamps (if that's the right name), it then just drops into place nicely

[ClarCE]

Cheers, the gold could be where I put castrol gtx in, and now i've changed it to the gm semi synth stuff I suppose... don't know really..

Yeah, she passed out at about 11 last night when she realised there was no way i was coming to bed anytime soon!  

[sounds2k]

... what time did you start work on it ??

[ClarCE]

... what time did you start work on it ??

7:30, took me a lot longer than I thought it would, spent at least an hour having ciggie breaks outside the garage (inside would have been lethal with all the carb cleaner in the air) and about another hour fixing broken bits I found - i.e one of the coolant pipes and one of the breather pipes.. All in 8.5 hours!!!

[JamesV6CDX]

... what time did you start work on it ??

7:30, took me a lot longer than I thought it would, spent at least an hour having ciggie breaks outside the garage (inside would have been lethal with all the carb cleaner in the air) and about another hour fixing broken bits I found - i.e one of the coolant pipes and one of the breather pipes.. All in 8.5 hours!!!

You'll get the time down the more often you do these things. No harm at all in taking your time and doing a good job.

Really pleased you're rolling up your sleeves and having a go!

Currently got this down to 2.5 hours without snags.. but speed isn't always good...

[ClarCE]

Well hopefully the time was worth it - I've got my fingers crossed, went on a good run earlier and only had a little smokey smell when at traffic lights, rather than all the time as it was before (as well as filling up the car with smoke) - I think its just burning off what I couldn't clean...

Just read your PM James - I would have loved for you to do it, but thought that I should start having a crack at these things... After mastering wishbones and drop links last week I felt a lot more confident to tackle the gaskets!  2.5 hours is good, but then after watching you do my cambelt at Brackley I would expect that, you're definitely a bit of demon mechanic thats for sure  

[Marks DTM Calib]

I have seen that gold tinge before.....its had an additive in it at some point.....

[Dave-C]

Regular good quality oil changes from now on, that'll keep it clear, I do mine "Oil n' Filter" every 6 months or 5k and mine showed no signs of gunk when I did my breathers /cam covers..

VX Semi Synth about £8, but you need a little more than one carton, so buy two and you've got a top up for future oil changes..

Dave C

[ClarCE]

Regular good quality oil changes from now on, that'll keep it clear, I do mine "Oil n' Filter" every 6 months or 5k and mine showed no signs of gunk when I did my breathers /cam covers..

VX Semi Synth about £8, but you need a little more than one carton, so buy two and you've got a top up for future oil changes..

Dave C

Yep, thats what I've been doing, but much more regularly seeing as I have no history at all with the car, so at the moment its been done, then again after 250 miles, and it'll be done again when its done 750 on Tuesday evening.

[Craig_R]

Well Done Mate For having a go, Your braver than me but there again i dont have a tool set lol

   Thumbs Up  

Craig

[ians]

VX Semi Synth about £8, but you need a little more than one carton, so buy two and you've got a top up for future oil changes..

Dave C

I asked for a price on 5L semisynth last time I was in parts (in Newbury ClarCE).  18 quid he said...  I said that's a bit on the high side you know.  'Oh well um I could probably do something for you..'  I'm sure.    The margin on oil must be enormous,  and that's nothing to what they charge for oil under parts alone when they do a service.

I guess the £8 is trade price?

Cheers,
Ian

[ClarCE]

VX Semi Synth about £8, but you need a little more than one carton, so buy two and you've got a top up for future oil changes..

Dave C

I asked for a price on 5L semisynth last time I was in parts (in Newbury ClarCE).  18 quid he said...  I said that's a bit on the high side you know.  'Oh well um I could probably do something for you..'  I'm sure.    The margin on oil must be enormous,  and that's nothing to what they charge for oil under parts alone when they do a service.

I guess the £8 is trade price?

Cheers,
Ian

I've joined autobahnstormers ian, so should have trade club access pretty shortly...