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I modified the spoiler   All this from a stupid ice scraper handle that was sticking out from the trunk... Still don't get how it got cracks all the way back there. Not sure its worth repairing but I can't find a replacement here in Finland.
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Apr 6, 2011 09:46
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Wet sanded and clear coated the headlights to my '07 Yaris, the factory coating was at the end of it's life. Used 2K clear coat to recoat them, looking a lot better now at least than before. Tomorrow I plan to color sand them and polish and it should look decent.
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Jul 6, 2022 19:52
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Don't judge my welding too harshly. New metal I made the replacements from was quite a lot thicker, 1.2mm vs probabl, guesstimate around .7mm original. I think this situation would have been easier with .6mm wire instead of .8mm, but it's what I got. 
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Jul 26, 2022 06:33
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Note the log
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Jul 26, 2022 14:22
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It's a 2006 Mazda, low mileage but so rusty in these areas. I kept finding more and I am realizing I should've bought these replacement panels and just cut everything out. Oh well I got sheet metal, time to fab.
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Jul 26, 2022 15:34
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Spent the last few days removing rust and making new parts. The whole underside of the sill plate got replaced in the end. Insides got painted with weld-thru primer before attaching them. Once it cures I'll be doing some body work, I will use Dinitrol ML (penetrating rust proofer) from the inside and outside, then cover that in underbody sealer, Iwas recommended by the guy who failed my car in inspections to use Dinitrol ML before applying sealer. Higher up I'll use the type of sealer you can paint over though.  I need to buy some putty/body filler, thinking I should go with the epoxy stuff and not polyester.
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Jul 29, 2022 07:28
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Olympic Mathlete posted:^ That's the one thing I should probably check on considering I'm doing the same poo poo. I've got my various anti-rust potions but at some point I'm going to need to fill and I honestly don't know which order I should be doing stuff in. My brain says coat the bare steel with your potions and THEN fill, sand, paint... But I genuinely don't know if that's the wrong way to do it. I think it makes sense to use the penetrating thin stuff first, to drive out any moisture and get to any possible rust particles missed from nooks and crannies, since the ML stuff can stop and neutralize small bits of rust. Using just the sealer might seal in water and miss rust issues. I am sure I did not get all the rust despite spending two days on it. So it feels like extra insurance.
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Jul 29, 2022 13:15
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EvilBeard posted:With rust, you have two options: converters or encapsulaters. Converters are acidic and turn the rust into a coating (from oxide to phosphate). Encapsulaters are like Por15 or Chassis Saver paints that keep the rust from having any more oxygen. I did brush down everything bare metal with phosphoric acid, which is basically what the converters are. I buy 85% and dillute myself.
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Jul 29, 2022 15:51
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Olympic Mathlete posted:My question above was mainly about filler though. At what point should you use it? Is filler on bare steel then coated with all the above goodies going to make things less effective? I think it depends on the filler, epoxy filler is water proof, so it should be as good as a primer. I prefer to start with the primer though, then the penetrating stuff applied from inside and on the underside, let that dry a day or two before applying the undersealer. That's my plan anyway. I just put the epoxy putty over the epoxy primer to mask the weld area.
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Jul 29, 2022 17:17
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Finally, this was stressfull, working on a time limit. SO needs the car tomorrow, it's not optimal and I had to ignore imperfections I found. But eh, it's a car for use, not looks. Once the clear coat has hardened enough I'll do some color sanding and polish up the car itself though, should blend the panels better I think too.
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Aug 1, 2022 20:33
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I wish I had painted the car cat colored instead, metallics such a PITA
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Aug 2, 2022 12:10
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Really? I like drum brakes, they seem to last forever compared to disks. Changed them once in 15 years on my current car. Of course I had a shop do that for me, worth a few hundred.Nidhg00670000 posted:
It's pretty normal here for people to take their new cars to shops which spray the undersides with undercarriage protection against rust, as well as all the cavities. They skipped that on my Mazda whoever owned it first. But it's highly recommended. I have a friend who drove a 1984 opel kadet until last year, he was the 2nd owner and he had treated it religiously. Opels from that time are known as rust buckets but it had no rust, and it had achieved veteran car status, managed to sell it for a few hundred less than he bought it for. Insane, apparently it was in good enough shape for a collector be interested in it.
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Aug 8, 2022 07:46
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It was a pretty weird car, it had an earlier 1.2 liter engine dating back to the 60s, instead of the regular 1.4 engines that the normal kadets would've had. Apparently it was an extra cheapo option for the finnish and other markets, the engine used push rods instead of a belt, a fact he said he highly priced for it's increased reliability. I think he gave up on keeping it going when the fuel tank imploded from a stuck tank vent. Did find one in Norway, a new tank but it was getting too much since he used the car as a daily driver.
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Aug 8, 2022 16:31
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I'm just sitting here wondering how I can make an 80s toyota truck run in the 35mpg range (engine size, gear box, right diff gear ratio, right tire size, diesel or gas engine) or if I should just give up the idea of even starting up such a project. Because I don't think I could accept a car that does worse than that. I'm used to 55mpg and paying 7.60$/gal here for diesel, gas is 8.20$. Locally produced biogas is equivalent to 3.8$/gal though, which is why I am interested in doing a conversion. His Divine Shadow fucked around with this message at 04:42 on Aug 22, 2022 |
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Aug 22, 2022 04:38
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I'm the opposite personality. To me money is a scarce resource, I am not well paid and I have a family to consider. I can't spend shitloads of money on fun stuff for myself without justification and I don't think I could enjoy a gas guzzler even if I had the money. I mean the enivronmental consequences for one, and the inefficiency, that bothers me. The appeal to me of such a project is the idea of learning more indepth about cars, engines, transmissions, etc... The idea of ending up a car that's reliable, efficent and able to be serviced by myself in the smallest detail, and I like the idea of the simpler 1980s tech where it's possible for me to do almost everything... Self reliance in a way is what's always motivated my hobbies, to be able to make and fix as much stuff as possible and buy as little as possible. And on top of that the idea of converting to biogas means I could run on a carbon neutral, locally produced fuel that's half the price of gas. That would be wonderful. I am not sure this is a hobby for me, as much as a series of long term lifestyle choices.
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Aug 22, 2022 05:14
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Motronic posted:Considering the things you post this sounds like a story you are telling yourself. You may even believe it. Or maybe "justification" is the load bearing part of that sentence. I'm not sure how to take your comment really, but I don't think you know me or my life from my posts on SA well enough to say that with enough certainty. But I am competely willing to admit that justification gets to do some heavy lifting for me. Like I need to justify what I do to myself somehow as being in the end somewhat practical and not just a waste of time and money that will leave in the end no better off, even if it's in the end a very flimsy justfication that won't pan out. But as I see it, at least working and rebuilding a car to this degree will give me usable skills if nothing else about my self-justifications hold true and I will end up a more capable person who can do more things on my own at home. At least I get more out of it than a sore rear end from sitting in a chair gaming my life away. The day I stop learning is the day I'm dead. And you are most likely 100% correct about the EV thing, that's probably what I should do instead.
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Aug 23, 2022 06:33
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Darchangel posted:The real question, as always, is whether or not the conversion EV, or otherwise, will cost less than the $$ you will save in gas, same with a car payment for a newer more efficient car. It's difficult math, fuel prices now and in the future will determine a lot of this. The motor I think is the least issue, the biggest issue are the batteries. Also depends on how one goes about acquiring those. For now I am still thinking of getting that pickup, but running the original engine a while first and try and slowly scrounge up parts over time. I still need to talk to the car inspections people, to know if it's legally doable in Finland. I think it is but I don't know for sure. At any rate start of car project minimum 1 year, more likely two years. P.S. And yes for sure, definitely an element of fun in it His Divine Shadow fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Aug 26, 2022 |
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Aug 26, 2022 13:59
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Cleaned out the throttle body on the Mazda 6. Now the gas pedal works smooth and nice again.
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Apr 9, 2023 15:48
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Does taking it to the shop count? New windshield! Been running a cracked windshield for 3 years. I finally swapped it out this year because the cracks started expanding from the passenger side towards my direct field of view. So nice to have a fresh windshield.... Put windshield insurance on my car now too, didn't have it last time.
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Jun 8, 2023 06:05
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After bothering to put the money into this car for a new windshield I also decided to fix some rust spots on the sills, I do intend to drive this to 600,000 km or until the engine breaks down before getting rid of it. This car has always had one bad spot under the drivers side front door. I had previously welded one area before I remember but it was looking shabby so I ground it down and put on epoxy putty. I figure that's good, epoxy putty should be pretty durable and form a better seal. Maybe not as good as proper epoxy primer but better than the usual bondo. It's funny how useful blacksmithing tools are for sheet metal work, though the brake and vise are the most useful, but it's real good for minor corrections and adjustments.  After making the patch panel from I have to remove this strip that's under the sill in order to cut out the old and weld in the new. I don't understand what purpose these serve? They seem to capture crap and water and make corrosion issues worse? I think in theory they are a shield and allow for drainage if stuff gets into the sill. In practice I dunno if it's a success.  So what's things like underneath that strip after 16 years on salted roads and 417,000 km...  Guess I'm making more patch panels... Good thing I got the stock. The rear side however isn't too bad! Only minor rust.  I'm taking a break now to process this new information, and it's lunch and we finally got some nice weather. 
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Jun 10, 2023 10:22
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I've forgotten how frustrating it can be to weld on old cars. Few pin holes left to fill, but after lying on the concrete (at least I got a rug) all day everything hurts. Still got another 15 cm to fit new material for.
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Jun 11, 2023 19:42
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Yeah I got some lovely sheet metal ramps (well they feel sturdy) but because of reasons of location I guess they hit my bumper before the wheels so I wasn't able to drive up on them. Because of wind I also had to reverse into place so I could create a wind protected area. I really thought ramps would be easy but turns out they are finnicky and I need to make my own "pre-ramps" from wood to reduce the incline. Oh I'm out of mix gas too, feels lovely to waste 82% argon mix on this, getting a co2 bottle.
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Jun 12, 2023 04:39
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SEKCobra posted:Welding on a rug is an extreme fire hazard, especially when the rug gets impregnated with oil, fuel and metal dust. Please don't burn yourself. I went out and took my small propane burner and aimed it at the rug and it just melted, didn't catch fire. I get I could get it to if I kept at it, but this carpet has taken a lot of sparks and is free from oil spills.
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Jun 13, 2023 15:05
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Not me but my dad had a problem with his 1998 Mazda 626 (450,000km on the odometer), the washer fluid tank level sensor (floating device) had fallen out the bottom. So he bought a rubber plug meant for a row boat bottom and put it in the tank. Works but now he no longer has a washer fluid indicator. Hella car this Mazda. Gets 50 mpg on regular gas.
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Jun 20, 2023 13:55
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Noticed a poo poo load of rust on the bottom of the rear passenger door on the Mazda 6, ended up stripping the rust off using angle grinder steel brushes, point sandblaster thingy and citric acid. At least it looked not so bad when the rust was off, no need to weld yet anyway. Now applied epoxy primer as a sealer and waiting for it to cure.
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Jun 24, 2023 11:35
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Cross post from the saab thread, bought today
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Jun 26, 2023 18:45
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New air filter, this is the old one so it was time:
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Jul 18, 2023 18:12
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Today I took out the intercooler and all the connections on my saab, I cleaned them inside and outside. There was a film of oil inside the pipes and the most oil was to be found near the turbo, I fear the turbo might have it's better days behind it. I dunno if new turbos are easy to get, or if you try and have them refurbished or what have you. Everything back in and cleaned up  I found a 9/32nds socket fits perfectly on the clamps, way nicer than using a flat head screwdriver 
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Jul 23, 2023 19:29
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Tomarse posted:A 7mm socket will fit even better as that is what size the head is! I do have a 7mm socket and tried it first, but I had to fight to get it on every time. I think with age and use they become buggered and small dings makes it hard to fit, so the extra slop of the inch socket really made it easier for me to use that one.
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Jul 24, 2023 04:21
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I fixed a vacuum leak from the turbo bypass valve! *proud*
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Jul 28, 2023 10:28
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Broke the tail light on my car trying to remove it, spent a day trying to fix it. Grooving out the cuts, filling with epoxy, sanding    Clear coating   Back on the car, not perfect but intact and cracks sealed. But I got a spare coming I found for 10€. 
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Aug 7, 2023 07:23
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My old headlights looked like that, I went over them with sandpaper from 240 to 800 grit, then clear coated, then they looked like the lower picture.
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Aug 12, 2023 06:49
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Captain Kosmos posted:This is did yesterday so no need to talk about it. Oh no  As for myself...   
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Aug 12, 2023 19:50
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My lovely welds (I am using co2 as well), I should go over them again and grind more, but I don't want to. I think they are sound though. Still need to cover it all, but I am leaving that for tomorrow, need to put some rust converter and primer on the inside while I have easier access. The bottom is also welded on btw.
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Aug 13, 2023 19:30
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Welded up the drive tunnel side walls. Pretty big welds, but I went over it more than once and pretty high current, figured better it's strong than good looking. Was getting dark, gbut the car's rolling again. And yes I noticed the plywood piece, thanks to this photo I realized to go back out and remove it.
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Aug 16, 2023 06:09
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Washing, used fly rust remover, some color sanding with 3000 grit and polishing of the hood as well. Getting it ready for tomorrow, Saab meet in Nykarleby on the finnish west coast as well as Finland largest boot fair. Also installed a new fuel pump yesterday.
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Aug 18, 2023 20:05
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I removed the left front indicator light housing, so I could get at a wrench extension I dropped into the front wheel wheel... a week ago. Been rattling around in there.
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Aug 25, 2023 07:38
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What failed it, exhaust test, something else?
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Aug 31, 2023 11:51
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I used two wooden planks last time that happened to me... Worked just fine.
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Sep 1, 2023 06:08
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New rotor and cap put in. Then I found the turbo bypass valve I put in a month ago is broke again. Worthless aftermarket crap. Old rotor didn't look too bad and based on what I had read removal is destructive, but I got it off rather easily.   And what it looks like under the cover:  New stereo that looks more at home in this car, still a tad too modern looking: 
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Sep 18, 2023 06:44
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