Right, I've got very behind on updates in the push to get the car finished, so this is quite a big one!
I checked everything with VCDS before startup and found that the ECU was reporting a MAF error. Changing the MAF didn't help, and it wasn't fuses, so that meant a wiring problem. Pulling back the boot on the connector soon revealed an air gap!
Luckily these terminals fit all sorts of things so I had a spare to hand
Soldered and heat-shrunk since there's no room in there for a crimp. Happy ECU and the engine runs sweetly
Both bumper support bolts were seized so I stripped the bumper down and put the brace bar in the vice then cut the heads off the bolts
Remove these two T25 screws and the 'nut' complete with the stump of the bolt can be removed and the supports are free
Normally I'd try and save the nut, but these will need a lot of work
So I cheated and nicked a pair from a spare bumper
I replaced the lower bumper with the one Strummagnet found for us, and also a parking sensor, and then put it back on the car
I had a slight coolant leak from the one hose I couldn't get new
It was just the hose clamp not quite seated properly which was simple to resolve because the SAI rubbish was gone. If that was all still in place this would have been a nightmare to get to!
The air intake on the front panel was broken with all but one of its fixing tabs missing so it just rattled around. Luckily these are still available from Tradition and I have a few sets in stock so this was replaced
The car needed a new windscreen which Mark arranged through insurance. I already had the wiper mech and scuttle panel out but I also removed the windscreen trim ready for the fitters and discovered one of the clips had disintegrated
This is entirely because the factory put some butyl rubber sealant in the bottom of the channel, causing water to pool up around the clip. Why would they do that?
I drilled the heads off the rivets and removed the remains of the clip
Then removed the sealant
Cleaned the rusty stains off the paint with fallout remover
I can't get the rivet gun on the rivets with the glass in place
So waited until the glass was out (a 1 hour ordeal for two fitters!) and then rivetted the clip in.
I also rebuilt the wiper linkage using bits from a couple of others (the usual drill) and now there are no good ones left so I am forced to get on with my plan to re-engineer / re-manufacture the mechanisms. I have a cunning plan for that so will provide updates on that separately.
All finished and a clean pass on the MoT
Wheel alignment tomorrow then its all done and ready to go home