Recently changed my rear diff oil and on draining the old fluid noticed a build up of sludge on the drain plug magnet. This, combined with a worsening (but not 'serious) whine from, I believe, the rear differential has me perusing Ashcroft Transmissions in preparation for a possible replacement diff.
First thing are Ashcroft the 'go to' people for a P38 diff?
Secondly, I believe the diff on my 2001 4.6 Vogue is a 4 pin diff and 3.54 pinion/ring - is this correct (it hasn't been changed from new)?
Thirdly, Ashcoft offer a pegged diff - is there a significant advantage to this?
Finally, I've just been looking at RAVE - is replacing a rear diff on a P38 really that easy?
The ABS sensor came out by hand . . . mainly because I’ve replaced all of mine more than once and ensure they have more silicon grease used than you can shake an infeasibly large stick at!
One caliper carrier bolt would not come undone, its head seemed to be made of cheese. It only appeared to have slight corrosion but the correct sized socket just ripped the teeth of it, so did the half size down socket that was hammered on, and the Stilsons that got a good bite and finally an Irwin bolt remover which has never failed me before got a good bite but then proceeded to just chew the final teeth off the bolt head. Faced with a now almost cylindrical and very shiny bolt head the welder was broken out, an oversized nut welded securely on and the bolt waved the white flag and came undone. I have never seen a bolt head chew up so easily, I can only assume that bolt had not been hardened properly!
I have a proper sized ring spanner on order and will remove the mud/dust shield as the shield itself looks OK but the carrier bracket has pretty much rusted through. I can cut it off if necessary but am concerned about the bolts that screws into the hub itself although I can drill them out and re tap for bigger bolts if necessary!
Weeping NSR half shaft oil seal replaced. I couldn’t get a socket straight on the bolts holding the brake mud/dust shield in place without removing the hub, which I wasn’t keen to do, and I don’t have the correct size ring spanner to attack the very rusted little blighters. Nearly concede defeat whilst a suitable tool was obtained but then it dawned on me that I could take the whole half shaft and hub out with the shield still attached!
I’ve had a whine for some years now somewhere in the transmission which I suspected was the rear diff. I also replaced the axle oil whilst I was at replacing the oil seal and on draining the oil the drain plug magnet was covered in sludge. No significant metallic bits came out but it appears my suspicions are correct and a replacement rear diff is now on the cards!
If there is an iffy height sensor does it shut down the operation of the EAS completely - compressor not running, no attempt to achieve height. I always thought that once the system decided not to work it lit the EAS lights up like a Christmas tree and gave the slow 30mph (or some such) warning?
The ‘T’ (or cruciform) seals prevent leaks around rear main bearing cap and which bypass rear crankshaft seal. Indeed a lot of people mistake leaking ‘T’ seals for a leaking main crankshaft seal because the symptoms are similar but the leak is actually via the sump to block interface and wonder why, after the effort of replacing the main seal they still have a leak! Let’s face it, they are there for a reason.
If you are absolutely confident that it is the main seal leaking and not the T seals then you can get away without changing them, but you’d better be 100% sure or disappointment awaits. If you do replace the T seals then follow the instructions TO THE LETTER or the seals will distort when everything is buttoned up and they will leak.
Definitely, particularly as they are pretty much insignificant in the whole cost of the job! . . . even at OEM prices, probably another £5 because there are two!!
The small ‘plastic’ pieces are the infamous ‘T’ seals for the rear most main bearing cap and, yes, they should definitely be replaced as well because it might just be those leaking and not the main seal. Besides which, even if they weren’t leaking before, on reassembly, having been disturbed, they may well then start leaking requiring the whole kit and caboodle doing again!
At start up if the air tank is fully charged then the pressure switch will not call for the compressor to run and the suspension will rise to ‘standard’ ride height from the air pressure from the fully charged air tank alone. The compressor will not run. If the vehicle doesn’t rise then it cannot be all the air bag solenoids have failed and may well be that the inlet solenoid and/or NRV2 may be playing up and working only intermittently and after the vehicle has been driven the normal suspension bumps/vibration shake either or both into action.
I don’t believe that the solenoids have a tell back as to their actual position and, therefore, NanoCom just reports what is demanded! This may be causing confusion.
When the suspension won’t rise I would switch off and then discharge the air tank by pulling the air line out of the valve block then reconnecting it. If the compressor then runs when the car is started then I would suspect the valve block NRV2 or inlet solenoid.
Mrs Garvin had a folding hard top MkIII MX-5. Initially thought we would keep it for 3 years but ended up keeping it for 8 years as a) it was a lot of fun; and b) it proved to be the most reliable car we have ever owned by a country mile. In those 8 years and £44k miles it only required, apart from annual servicing, a set of front brake pads (discs were still only slightly worn), tyres and a new battery with the latter only required cos Mrs E left the boot ajar with the boot light on when we were away for a couple of weeks. The 7 year battery never recovered from that deep discharge!
Other good points:
- Great handling with not too much grip so fun to be had at sensible speeds. Very adjustable via the throttle.
- Lovely steering feel, you know exactly what’s going on with the front wheels.
- Slick, rifle bolt gear change
- Good driving position with great relationship of steering wheel and gear shift and nicely positioned and weighted pedals but see item 1 below.
- Boot capacity not bad and not reduced when the roof is folded.
- The only drop top I have ever driven that didn’t leak even when it was chucking it down.
Not so good points:
- Tight fit for 6 footers. I’m 6’1” and it was OK to drive for up to 30 mins. Long journeys a no-no. The foot well in the passenger side is far too small and a lot smaller than the driver’s side. I thought this odd and on investigation found a removable plastic wedge under the carpet. Once removed the seating position for anyone over 5’10” became OK but still not great.
- Lack of power. Only had ~125bhp and needed just a bit more oomph.
- Engine revved well but was a bit noisy/coarse.
- Cost of spark plugs - when they were changed at service I initially thought they had made a mistake on the invoice but Googling them revealed the OEM ones were over £20 each, yes that’s right, over £80 for four of the damn things and that was back in 2012 or so.
- OEM ICE was pants. Was changed PDQ.
Would we have another one? Well, by coincidence we have a latest version on order that should be with us at end October. I tried one out for size and I fit in it a lot better than the MkIII and an extra 60 or so horses should make things more fun - after years of high powered cars that were just too fast for UK roads I fancied having something I could actually ring the neck of again and slide around.
The top corner is a weak spot, I’ve had a couple go there. There seems to some weird interaction with moisture and abrasion at that point, probably to do with airflow. The last one I had fitted I taped around that corner and then cut a piece of soft foam for the corner and then taped that on. Haven’t had any trouble since.
Additional exhaust hangers arrived so the very two rear most ones have been replaced as have the four bump stops. Rear axle pinion flange seal was weeping so replaced that as well. The back end had seemed a little bouncy of late, certainly some skipping when cornering on broken surfaces so the 22 year old dampers were replaced all round. Oil and filter change plus new spark plugs finished the latest round of maintenance.
Removing/replacing the battery cover is hardly a chore - it has just three quick release fasteners. However, having said that I have fitted one of these which does make battery charging a lot easier:
Whilst on this thread I have also been busy fixing an annoying leak from the front diff pinion flange - spangly new flange, seal and nuts/bolts fitted:
July is annual service time but before embarking on the usual oil and filter changes I have just fitted a new NSR mudflap (with bigger, meatier fasteners), replaced a very tired looking exhaust rubber mounting and had the slide pins out of all the brake calipers to be cleaned and regreased. Couple of other exhaust hangers to be replaced (when the replacements arrive) and all four bump stops (which I have) to be replaced.
I refurbished the subwoofer a couple of years ago - the cones had disintegrated, a common problem I put down to the speakers not being man enough to cope with the movement required of a subwoofer. I thought I'd try some more 'meatier' 6.5" speakers and went for Lanzar MaxP64 Max Pro - pretty cheap and looked robust. Probably not best matched to the amp but are performing pretty well and can take the bass being wound up a lot more than the OEMs.
The Lanzar speakers do not quite fit into the subwoofer box cut outs at the top as the substantial top rings are a bit too wide (a mm or so). Two options - remove the substantial rings or ease out the cut outs. I went for the latter as the former would leave the cones not that well fixed/supported so would probably disintegrate as per the OEMs. The trusty dremel made opening up the cut outs quite easy. The Lanzars also need longer screws as the OEM fasterners were a bit too short with the thicker top rings.
I also moved the amp to the bottom of the subwoofer box but did not employ such an elegant solution as Chasman. The amp was bolted directly to the bottom of the OEM speakers so I figured vibration couldn't be that much of a problem. I fashioned an off cut of wood to fit around the rib and screwed this to the bottom of the box and then screwed the amp directly to its new wooden support. The wires twixt amp and speaker had to be extended to reach between the two.
All pretty simple/easy modifications. Piccy:
I also bought a couple of new cones for the OEM speakers and refurbished them - they are now sat in my growing stash of 'ready use' spares!
Yes, I was looking at the Transmax - I also notice on that site that a single 5 litre bottle is more expensive than 5 x 1 litre bottles!!!
Time to refresh the fluids in the automatic gearbox, transfer box and power steering. As Dexron III is the specified ATF for all these does anyone have a recommendation for a suitable product (or ones to avoid)?
Over speed warning. Rarely am I given to RTFM but I did . . . and there it is, a spectacularly useless option I never knew I needed or even existed . . . and I’ve had this P38 for nearly 19 years! Now I’m tempted to see if mine works, but not if the annoying thing can’t be switched off!
Today I completed the refurbishment of the errant starter motor. A few piccies:
First stage of disassembly - note the orange shroud around the solenoid piston. Not seen one of these before but I assume it’s there to keep the solenoid inner workings as clean as possible:
Second stage of disassembly - the main motor components:
Third sage of disassembly - the solenoid. I feared this may be the problem child but couldn’t find any clear problem. The piston seemed pretty clean and moved freely. All the contacts conned out OK but were thoroughly cleaned as were its inner workings:
Items after a run in the wash tank and the blast cabinet to remove paint and generally clean them up ready for painting:
Main motor bits cleaned up, commutator and bush/bearing surfaces polished. All gears were cleaned out and re-greased. The new brush cage assembly is also in shot:
Parts masked up and then painted in primer ready for top coat:
Once the top coat had dried all items were then inspected, thoroughly cleaned (again) ready for reassembly. I did not find any real problem, even the carbon brushes and cage assembly looked to have plenty of life left - it was renewed anyway. The whole unit was then reassembled. The biggest problem experienced during this exercise was disassembly and getting the fixings out. The main through bolts were OK but the three bolts holding the solenoid in place and the two small screws locating the brush cage in place were a right pain. The heads seemed to be made of chocolate and chewed up rather quickly and easily rather than just unscrew. Perseverance beat them into submission and new Allen head stainless steel bolts replaced them.
The acid test was a few test runs on the bench. Here’s a video of one:
It’s now packaged up and on the shelf joining my other ready use spares!
The motor turns quite easily and the 'big end' bearing is not seized or tight - rotates quite easily. The cylinder bore has some wear but nothing more than one would expect for 3 years running (when it was last refurbished). The piston and seal are both undamaged and, again, no abnormal wear on either of them. I can only put this down to a weak con rod and one refurbishment too many - although the break looks very clean with no obvious sign of fatigue! I don't suppose the design life for the compressor was for 20 years+!
New starter motor installed and working fine. Old starter motor currently undergoing refurbishment. Whilst waiting for the paint to dry on the casing bits and pieces before final reassembly I thought I would see if the EAS Compressor that appeared to overheat and seize could be resurrected and refurbished so I started disassembly and discovered the reason for the 'seizure' - can anybody spot what could possibly be the problem?
Removing the front bumper is quicker and easier than removing the fog light - the upper two locating screws on the fog light take some getting at and, if rusted, will prove difficult and time consuming. Two bolts, two clips (reach up inside the wheel arch liner and flick them up), two fog light connectors and vent tubes and off she slides which gives full access to the pumps, the washer tubes and the wiring/connectors.. No need to drain the reservoir, just a swift dexterous swap of the pump (push fit) and tube with minimal fluid loss but you will get your sleeves wet so roll ‘em up. You can also catch most of the ‘leaked’ fluid for reuse with a handily placed bowl of some sort. Connector swap is then also simple. Liberally grease the bumper clips and their plastic locating pads inside the bumper, plenty of anti seize on the bumper bolts when refitting and you’re well prepared for the next time.
The whole process takes less than 15 minutes.