Crawling around the front bumper today, prior to taking it off for a lick of paint, I spotted this:
While it'll go part of the way to discovering why the Aircon doesn't, I'm fascinated to know how the condenser can sustain that level of damage when it's tucked away above the chassis crossmember.
On another note, anyone know whether the 2 bumper bolts are a standard Torx head size, or a non-standard one like the passenger airbag bolts?
The paint on the bumper looks a bit like its been a bit...squeezed? PO attempted to run something over maybe?
Impressive though!
I think I see what you mean- on the upright parts? Does look like the paint's had some stress flaking.
Hopefully I won't find any body parts that aren't P38 buried in there when I take it off.
I wonder if that condenser damage would restrict airflow through coolant rad? Might be a contributor to my hot running (ECM) problem. Doesn't look big enough to make much difference though.
Ho-hum, more spends on a condenser and receiver dryer to add to the list...
Or somebody has tried to jack it up on the front crossmember and missed.
Gilbertd wrote:
Or somebody has tried to jack it up on the front crossmember and missed.
Same theme, or it was parked with front end above something, then air suspension went down?.More than a few Citreons suffered snapped exhausts when parked on uneven ground lol.
Being jacked up / lowered onto seems more likely than my suggestion - unless there is evidence of it being pushed back too maybe.
And yes, the standard bolts to hold the bumper on are security 'E' bits. E12 or E14 rings a bell.
I replaced mine with standard M10 Hex head bolts.
Seems like an appropriate day to fight with the bumper etc- 29 degrees in the workshop at the moment.
Having driven around for the last few days I can confirm that black cars with no aircon and 25 degree plus temperatures are bloody uncomfortable!
Been soaking the bumper bolts (E14 as you said Marty) in penetrant for a few days and approached them with trepidation, stuck on impact gun and they flew out. Just have to find an able assistant to help lift the bumper off. 100 lbs of metal cased in fragile plastic doesn't sound like a 1 man job, although I'm sure it can be done.
Realised that the entire lower valance was missing, so the impact damage theory above looks sound. Blue car's going to donate the lower valance as I'm spraying the whole thing anyway.
Meanwhile these shiny bits are taunting me...
That looks cool in more than one way, dryer included!
You are spoiling that car of yours. Second thought, it's your own interest having a cool interior ha ha.
Just check the fitment of the fancradle to the rad, I had to adjust one and other.
I'll check that Tony- thanks.
The 100 lb weight of the bumper assembly was an internet myth- easily lifted and moved around.
I've found another broken air duct- ESR3304- that'll have to be replaced...
...as well as some superficial but irritating (to me) rust on crush cans and other hidden parts, which will need treating.
Waiting for parts (the duct) will delay me by a day so I should get it all resprayed and back together just in time for the weather to drop back to normal temperatures- typical!
Ferryman wrote:
Just check the fitment of the fancradle to the rad, I had to adjust one and other.
Spot on Tony, or rather not.
Fan cradle fittings are all over the place. I think they just drilled the mount holes at random, after a few beers at lunchtime.
You've saved me a fair bit of time there, as I would have just fitted and plumbed the condenser rad and then found I had to mess around getting the fan unit to fit. Much easier to do with it still on the bench. Thanks.
After a lot of faffing around with every fixing hole for the condenser rad, and replacing a defunct fan unit, the car's mostly got its smile back again. Just have to finish the dentistry on the bumper.
Moral of the story- if you buy cheap, prepare to spend a lot of time rectifying build issues
I reckon that once you factor in your time at 50p an hour you'll make out like a bandit on this beauty!
All credit for saving it though :)
If only it was a beauty. Still a long way to go, unfortunately.
Paint's still scabby, as, apart from the front bumper, which hopefully I'll spray tomorrow if humidity's right, it still needs love. Working my way through a bit at a time though...
The paint on mine is a bit scabby too... one day, when I'm done with all the niggly bits, I need to get a few things sorted.
One day.
Nuts!
Aircon guy came by today to recommission system. After faffing about with relays to get system electrics working as they should and flushing/ purging system/ pressurising with nitrogen/ hydrogen mix to test, sniffed out a pinhole on HP dryer line where it sits under a clip. Another thing to replace and no air until he comes back to finish the job early next week.
In theory, everything else checks out OK though. Hopefully will have air working before the trip to Summer Camp as there's bound to be a heatwave that weekend (!)
Lovely cold air now blasting from system. Puddle on ground under evaporator drains so they appear to be doing their job as well although I was a bit dubious about the concertina rubber bit and its fit when I refurbed the heater unit.
Bring on the heatwave for the Summer Camp trip!
Nice, I'm looking forward to seeing how many faults my HEVAC system has logged before I attempt to do the same...
This is the end of a long HEVAC journey, consisting of head unit repair (ribbon replacement part from Marty to eliminate duff pixels, all illumination, plus rotary switch contacts). Audi heater core conversion. Full stripdown of heater box to free flaps, ream shaft housings, replace foam, bench test/ repair blend motors. Seal all (well, most) air duct joints. Compressor clutch reface and bearing replacement. Condenser and Receiver Dryer replacement. Pinholed HP pipe replacement.
I suppose it's sort of HEVAC but I'm still waiting for a convenient time for the crack on my screen to lead to the screen being replaced as coincidentally most of the heating elements have failed ;)
Orangebean wrote:
I suppose it's sort of HEVAC but I'm still waiting for a convenient time for the crack on my screen to lead to the screen being replaced as coincidentally most of the heating elements have failed ;)
When you drive behind a lorry (preferrably foreign), note his licenceplate and tell your Insurance there was a rock coming from his tires...☺