Service (and repairs) time ...
 

Service is due so I'm hoping to get it booked into the garage next week ...

I've got a few faults/issues that I'm looking to get fixed while it's in too. Has anyone got any advice or technical info on any of these faults/symptoms that I can pass on to the garage?


Firstly, I'm getting a creaking when pressing the brake pedal (whether moving or stationary) that seems to be coming from the o/s/f calliper. Is this common and likely to be a calliper fault?



Secondly, I have an intermittent ABS/ESP issue that is recording the following fault code:

Is this likely to be a faulty G200 sensor and does anyone have any info such as part numbers and location? (I can't find it in any of the 'tech dump' documents).


Thirdly, I've had a whirring noise for a while that's engine-speed related (starts about 2000rpm and gets higher pitched with increasing rpm). The garage had a brief look at it when it first occurred but suggested that I "let it develop". They suspected the bearings in the alternator and/or the PS pump. The noise hasn't got any louder in the past few months but I'd like to get it fixed now. Is there any simple way to determine where the noise is coming from?


Lastly, I seem to have a bit of front bumper droop. I noticed a while ago that it didn't seem to look quite right. Studying the recent Carding Shed photos (see attached), using Jim's car for comparison, there's clearly a gap that shouldn't be there. Has it been refitted incorrectly or is there some way to adjust it?

The pads are probably stuck in the caliper. Pull them out, clean up & grease the sliding surfaces and see what happens.


Possibly although its worth checking if the carpet is damp. Its under the carpet under the passenger seat. I'll try and find a number later.

If its the P/S pump the sound will change as you rock the steering. If the noise doesn't change with steering its more likely to be one of the rollers on the front end rather than the alternator. There's an idler, the main tensioner and the viscous fan which can all get noisy. I'd pop the belt off (put the front end in service position) and spin them all by hand and see if any are rough or noisy.

The two main bumper supports have threaded inserts in them to adjust the height of the bumper, but their position relative to the car is lost whenever you pull the front end off so they usually need adjusting every time it comes apart. If you're putting it in service position to look at the accessory drive then it can all be adjusted when it goes back together. Its designed to be highly adjustable so the factory can get the front end perfect, but its a right pain to get it back in the right place again every time it has any major work done!

Brilliant!

Thanks very much MJ! :)

My breaks creak a bit too, I suspect the front calipers, even though they were re-conditioned a couple of years ago. No ill effect so far. Although I will try re-greasing them too as MJ suggests.

The S8 I have in at the moment came in to the workshop with the brakes almost on fire. Turns out the inner pads were jammed solid in the calipers and only the outer pad was moving, caused by rust on the edge of the pad backing plate, plus dirt and brake dust building up on the caliper. The calipers on this one were reconditioned a couple of years ago, but the Brembos are a flawed design in that regard as the clearances are so tight. I pull the pads and clean everything up every oil change which stops them getting stuck +++

(I also pull and re-grease the front strut pinch bolt every oil change too ;) )

MJ is always spot on with advice. +++ The front caliper creakiness is (was, in my case) associated with the pads jamming in the stainless steel pad guides held in place on the aluminium caliper block by torx headed screw which is impossible(?) to remove without splitting the block. The corrosion between the s/steel and aluminium forces the guide outer edges which then clamp on the pads. You can do a certain amount of cleaning out the corrosion with the calipers removed using emery paper etc but its difficult to get the guides to resume their former shape. You can, of course, file down the edges of the pads so that they can fit but its not really a solution. Thats the point at which I got mine refurbished.
I suggest you test the temperature of the discs after a run to see if there is any overheating but its a certainty that wthout some work, it will develop into overheating pads/discs at some point in the near future.

Thanks, definitely need to look into it then. I often check the disc temperature after a drive after one of the rears jammed on my previous S8. On this one so far no excess heat, just creaking. I guess the ultimate solution is a front brake upgrade lol.

The carpets are bone dry now (and have been for a long time) but, like most D2 owners, I have had one or two incidences of blocked drains and water ingress over the years, so it's probably worth opening it up and giving it a clean-up and check over. That is if I can find it ...

I've just had a quick look under the seat. There seems to be something under the carpet near where the wiring loom enters. I assume that the seat and numerous bits of trim need to be removed to get to it (without resorting to slashing the carpet open)?

Thanks David +++

I'll ask the garage to take a look at them and see what they think. Who refurbished your callipers and what's the general consensus for the best place(s) now? I seem to remember there was some mixed experiences/reviews with some of the refurbishers. Is there one particular refurbisher who does a consistently good job?

And is there a substantial difference in price between refurbished and new (OEM)?

I used Bigg Red for my rear caliper refurb (£190 inc paint and VAT) but when i spoke to them about the front, they said that they havent the tools/expertise to split the Bembos but passed me on to Addiction Motorsport in East Ham, London who did a very good job. They split the caliper, remove and clean the pad guides and will re-use the steel pad guides if they are OK or re-manufacture new ones if too bent. They use Brembo seals as well as replacing bleed nipples with the proper coated thead OEM ones to avoid steel/alu corrosion. Not cheap at £390 but I feel that they have done a good job.+++

if the side bumper brackets arent loose / havent moved the it may be that at some point you have caught the bottom lip on a surface which has caused one of the small plastic sliders that the bumper slides on to to break off, partly or completely - this would result in the same issue. New brackets from memory will be between £10 and £20 each so not too expensive if they are damaged

Thanks guys +++

Hope it all goes smoothly Mark, you've reminded me that I probably need to book mine in soon too...:rolleyes:

Correct. If memory serves, you can get to it with just the seat and sill trim removed. It sits in a little recess in the sound deadening foam under the carpet. Its a sealed unit so if the connector is free of corrosion it just needs replacing. I suspect A8parts have plenty of them these days. The one I replaced was about 6 months before A8parts opened!

It's going into the garage tomorrow so I've picked up a spare lateral acceleration sensor (from our forum sponsors), part number 4D0907651. Do I have the right one (for a 2002 S8)?:

Attachment 16988

I figured it would be better to have a spare one ready to swap in case it turns out not to be a connection issue.

I've been trying to find some information to give to the garage but all I've found so far is page 156 of the attached pdf, which appears to describe different (earlier?) sensors.

Does anyone have any info related to accessing/replacing the sensor I have?

There is a simple upgrade solution for S8's that is bolt on from what I've read and replaces the Bembos with an OEM 4 pot caliper - D3 360mm discs and calipers.
Min wheel size is 18", not that that's a problem for S8's...

That only works on the non-Brembo setup as the D3 calipers are axial mount. The D2 Brembos are radial mount so have different uprights to suit. You could of course swap the S8 radial uprights for A8 axial ones, then it would work :)

Don't forget mark, if ll else fails i am always waiting for a good donor car:p

The only rev related noise I ever suffered on my D2 was the a/c compressor.....

Really easy to test, just put it in Eco or switch off the climate control and see if it goes away.....

I had 2 brand new compressors on the same car for that fault...... The new one failed again after about 12 months and got swapped under parts warranty...

Tried that. It made no difference. In fact I tend to drive in Eco mode most of the time, to save a few extra horses. I usually only run the a/c compressor occasionally, except in very warm weather.








To give an update: It's actually turned into yet another big expensive job. If I add up the bills in my ownership of this car, I bet it's not far off the price of a brand new S8 now.

The garage ended up stripping the front end right back to the timing belt again, which was replaced just last year. They noticed it was loose for some reason, so stripped back to investigate. So It's having another new timing belt, and all the associated tensioners, pulleys, etc again. And while they're in there, they're pretty much replacing anything that hasn't yet been replaced, with brand new genuine (ie 'bloody expensive') parts, including the alternator and PS pump.

Still waiting for the PS pump, which has been on back-order for over a week, so that may have to be replaced separately later. I've asked them to get the car ready for me for early next week because I'm driving up to Glasgow next week because I'm booked in for my annual transmission service (to preserve the warranty on the rebuild they did on it last year). Speaking of which, I'm slightly disappointed in Mackies. I booked the car in months ago and asked them to reserve the courtesy car for me because we were booking a couple of nights in Troon (to make the trip into a mini-break) and would need a vehicle to get there. When I phoned them this week to make sure everything was still on I was told the courtesy car "might" be available. :rolleyes: Can anyone recommend a good car hire place in Glasgow if it's not?



Oh, and the brake calipers ..... despite the garage's best attempts at reviving them, they needed to be replaced or refurbished. Since I needed the car back urgently, I decided to replace them with genuine new calipers (a whopping £500 per side, inc labour). I'll probably send the old ones away for refurbishing and either sell them, to recover some of the cost, or keep them as spares.

Oh, yeah, and turns out the rad had some damage too .... that was another £500 (genuine).

I'm just glad this is car is my 'company vehicle' and that this is all tax deductible. On numerous occasions I've considered getting a second vehicle for work purposes. Lucky I didn't get around to it yet ...


Haha! Not a chance.

I've spent so much on this damn car now that it's going to have to be buried along side me!

:ROFL:

I have noticed that once the belt and most importantly the hydraulic tensioner have some miles on them they will often stop 'loose' but if you wind the engine round by hand it'll all tighten up nicely. I think that sometimes when engine stops the cylinder compression can rotate the crank back a little (like an air spring in one or more cylinders) which loosens the belt, but as soon as it turns back in the right direction all is well, and the tension is ok.

Got now but
 

All joking aside mark, I am away from Glasgow right now but will be back around the 14th or so and my car Is sitting on the drive. Could always lend you a working 8 if that would help whilst you are in mackie. brianG would (I am sure) help show where my keys are. sorry to hear about the present troubles. It does seem a hell of a lot of work you are having done.

Thanks David. That's an incredibly kind and generous offer. I couldn't possibly borrow your car though. I'd be absolutely terrified of something happening to it (even more so than with my own car!). Thanks so much for the offer though :)

I'm hoping that Mackies manage to reserve the courtesy car for me now that I've spoken to them and explained I need it. He tells me they're short of courtesy cars at the moment due to a few "ongoing issues" with customer's vehicles but that they'll "try" to make one available for me. I'm going to phone them again on Wednesday. If they're still unsure whether they'll have a car available for me I'll organise a hire car.

When my car was with them for a gearbox rebuild last year they had no problem loaning me a courtesy car for 2 weeks. Now that I'm returning for a service they don't have a car to lend me for one day. Can't help wondering if the real reason is that I'm not spending 3K with them this time. It's completely understandable that they should give priority to customers who are paying for an expensive rebuild, but if that is the case I'd prefer they were honest. I'd rather pay more to secure a courtesy car than be unsure if I'll have any transport. I wouldn't mind if they were local and I could just get a taxi back, but they know I'm travelling over 200 miles.

Curious - do Mackies open the gearbox up and change the filter for the service, or is it just a fluid exchange with the magic machine?

That's a good question. I don't know.

Their service prices are pretty cheap though (around £150 I think) so it's probably unlikely there's much disassembly involved.

The main reason I'm going back to Mackies is to preserve the 3 year warranty.

Well Mackies have redeemed themselves. Spoke to John this morning and he's managed to reserve a courtesy car for me +++


Admittedly, I had already started looking at hire car options. With decent (but boring) cars starting in the £100/day region, my man-maths was beginning to justify this:
http://www.dreamcarhire.com/car/audi-r8

Got my car back on Monday, with all jobs done except the PS pump (which is still on back-order), so will be driving up to Glasgow tomorrow morning.


Any recommendations for places to visit in and around Troon? :)

Ignore the post I have just deleted.

Ooow interesting. Knocking shop was it?

I think the term you're looking for is 'panel beater'.

;)

Thanks Dezzy for bringing your usual level of humour to the thread. :rolleyes:
I was going to suggest that mark might like to spend an hour or two absorbing the art in the Kelvingrove museum in particular the Salvador Dali painting Christ of St. John of the Cross. ......
:ROFL:

Oh OK that's what you call it.

Oh right, yes of course. With free entry too, you could just slip in there Mark especially if it's wet, doesn't matter how long it takes you :snigger:

:lol:


Thanks David. Might give the museum a try.

I do like a bit of culture and edumacation +++

Well Mackies did a good job as usual. Box running perfectly and serviced for another year.

The museum was interesting (though the Salvador Dali painting is no longer there). Thanks for the recomendation David +++
Attachment 17209

We also had a long walk around the city. Lyn wanted to visit some candle factory south of the Clyde, so we found ourselves walking through a rough looking part of Govan too, which was .... interesting. I half expected to see Rab C. Nesbitt walk past us.

Troon was nice. We stayed in a seafront apartment here:

Attachment 17210 Attachment 17208

I think you've started a trend now, all D2 servicing "events" are turned into a mini-break.

I wonder if MJ will open a B&B? :ROFL:

:ROFL:

Now that would be a great idea!!

Hey! don't make me swear ffs, I'm doing the accommodation side of things here. Link to previous thread, where DEZZY'S sorting the accomadation

:ROFL:

Perfect. +++

Does it come with a sea view?

Classic +++

It can come with a seagull? 4' Cornish one that'll pinch your chips

MJ, could this be causing the brake smell and heat I described?

That was top suspect, but they aren't binding - I checked that.