Bargain Basement Motoring

[mickthemaverick]

I'm sure you've done a fair bit of digging around this Neil but I had a dig and picked this particular article as being both informative and helpful!!:

https://garagewire.co.uk/news/everythin ... a-sensors/

[Gibbo2286]

"damage to the heater element of the sensor is the most frequent fault associated with this part." ............unless Neil drops it.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Thanks for the info and the interest Mick and Gibbo, and yes don't drop an O2 sensor is a valuable lesson to learn.

Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

The Anti-Roll Bar Bush residing on the Falcon Sideboard featured here...

viewtopic.php?p=791679#p791679

...is normally resident in the square hole here and supports the BB Clio exhaust back box as a temporary fix.

Old Bracket with failed rubber mounting
ARB Bush temporary fix removed

I have a new intact mounting, but the old one is a bit difficult to get off with a couple of rusted in nuts and bolts in difficult to get at to cut off positions so the temporary fix may just have to remain for now.

Brand new bracket with intact rubber mounting

Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Thats better, old back box bracket still on, but a much better rubber insert.

You will have come across the roadside debris of chunky hunks of rubber, some kind of bump stop I presume from HGV's, but maybe some other vehicle. Bit of DIY hacksawed the end off to make a tight fit in the square hole of the bracket and drilled a hole through it. Far better rear hanger than the Renault spec.

In Pics

As was

Now

The sawn off bit of the "bump stop"

Neil

[mickthemaverick]

A nice bit of improvisation engineering there Neil, well done. Hopefully it will outlast the exhaust now!!

[CitroJim]

Recycling at its best Neil!

[NewcastleFalcon]

A couple of hours window in the morning consumed wandering about the countryside taking pics, by the afternoon when I went out to finish off the Clio Exhaust job, it turned into one of those working in a muddy puddle days under the 6 bottles of wine Clio putting the 2 new O2 sensors in.

Thoroughly unpleasant, soaked to the skin. The upstream sensor is in a particularly awkward position, and i purposely chose not to put the sensors on while the downpipe/flex/cat combo was off the vehicle for the fear of damaging them while manipulating the pipe in the right position for connecting up to the manifold.

For an electrical connection subject to both physical stresses and potential water ingress, the 4 thin wires (Sensor, ground and two heater wires) just insecurely poke out of the sleeving into the top of the sensor.

Neil

[myglaren]

I need to fix my upstream sensor too, and I will, one day.

[CitroJim]

Good work Neil

For an electrical connection subject to both physical stresses and potential water ingress, the 4 thin wires (Sensor, ground and two heater wires) just insecurely poke out of the sleeving into the top of the sensor.

That's how they are and it seems to be generally OK. I know it looks a bit cheap and frail...

I need to fix my upstream sensor too, and I will, one day.

Before the next MoT I trust Steve

[myglaren]

Yes, won't be too long, just need a visit to the rubbish dealers, need a wheel arch liner too.
MOT was a month before I bought the car so plenty of time for that.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Always a joy to get one of these, by no means straightforward this year, with these stumbling blocks to overcome.

1. The misfire and rough running subject of many a long running saga often without resolution on car forums of whatever make.

2. The investigation and resolution of the "Air bag Light On" problem yet another car forum favourite for a long saga.

3. Getting it through the emissions test, with OTT replacements of exhaust/cat/O2 sensors, probably strictly not that necessary but such stuff isn't going to go down in price or be any more easily available

Should the conclusion be reached that Bargain Basement Motoring does need a chunk of decent spending from time to time?

Here's the Rechnung (The German is so much more dramatic than "bill")
Coil Pack £44
Two Side Impact Crash Sensors £60
Exhaust System incl new Cat £220
Two O2 Sensors £86
MOT Test £40


Total ish £450

Neil

[CitroJim]

Excellent Congrats on the pass Neil, still very economical motoring and fingers crossed, it won't need that much spent again for a few years...

Interesting advisory for wheeltrims Why?

Track rod ends won't be too costly, either in time or money I trust...

[mickthemaverick]

Yes I'll second that. Well done Neil, I hope your track rod ends go easier than my drop link did today but tomorrow will be much quicker as I'll not waste time trying other methods if it doesn't come undone easily!!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Thanks Jim and Mick.

Somewhere, probably on this thread, I added in a technique for getting the lock nut on track rod ends "loosened" from surprisingly stubborn "corrosion welding". Two hammers, either side of the flats few sharp coordinated simultaneous both sides taps and the nut with a bit of luck deforms slightly going round from pairs of opposite flats, and breaks what I term "the corrosion weld".

It did work on the Micra when all else failed.

I have come to the same conclusion as you on drop links Mick, spend the minimum time attempting the undoing by conventional means, and get the angle grinder out, although one slip could slice into the mounting on the strut/arb or whatever.

Interesting advisory for wheeltrims Why?

No idea Jim unless they were regarded as being not aesthetically pleasing enough on the testers eye Never seen it before, possibly because they aren't allowed to remove stuff for the test and the wheel trims somehow hampered their inspection.

Neil