lovely day -

so I took the t-bars off and went for a drive to Inverary. Fabby.

Also bought some bolts for the licence plate holder but alas the wrong ones. Ho hum

number plate removal -

indeed I have removed the rubbish UK spec number plate and all the gunk that was left. Left to do are

• fix the marked paintwork - looks like left over from another plate holder


• get some mounting screws for the JDM spec plate I have
• er fit the plate and holder onto the car

The plate was stuck on with sticky pads and I pondered for a while how to remove the blighter. Couldn't really lever it off as that would wreak the paintwork. Couldn't pull the plate off cause, well I just couldn't. Then John had a brilliant almost offhand idea. Use Dental floss!

Indeed 3 or 4 metres of dental floss later I had cheesewired the old plate off. Took about 15 minutes. Just wrap the ends round a pair of screwdrivers (saved cutting my fingers off lol) and saw at the plate. Came off in one piece very quickly. Bumper started like



ended up like this after plate removal



and after some cleaning with white spirit ended up with this (note bag and my feet lol)



Now just to get the new plate and holder fitted and hey presto, nice front end .

OEM Lambda (O2) Sensor fitted -

indeed, plugged it in and went for a wee jaunt. Boring cruising along the motor way cause that's when the Lambda does its thing. Well it survived the first journey ok. No error codes created. Woo hoo

new boost pipes fitted -

always had a wee nick in the turbo to intercooler pipe but never bothered changing the pipes. Even bought some pipes through a group buy and never did anything about fitting them. Well the ever increasing whistling from the engine bay under boost was enough to convice me it was time for a change.

so from this



to this



No more whistling and boost seems stronger too. Doesn't take as long to come on song and holds the boost better too. Lovely

sensor ordered -

hopefully arrive Monday, get it fitted and hassle ends. Next on list, ignition leads and maybe cap / rota arm. Need that lottery win soon.

sigh O2 sensor no worky -

will need to buy an OEM unit as the generic units are not being liked by the ecu. Will also post up some pics of the droplink change, the boost hose change and maybe even some pics of the new wheels.

Also I picked up some front undertrays last night, for once somebody selling stuff that actually has the items ready for collection. Good bloke, didn't even take amrket value on them.

shock horror -

saw a 1 series BMW driver using their indicators AND in the correct fashion. Not to worry, it would have been a new beemer driver and the weekend BMW Advanced Driving Course will sort out that madness.

Take it easy out there.

new O2 sensor fitted -

indeed I have fitted the replacement O2 sensor which of course was a replacement itself for the original Toyota unit. I had a bit of a nightmare with one of the nuts falling into the engine bay which took about 45 minutes to locate. This was after removing the undertrays and checking everywhere. Only when I was putting things back together again did I find the nut. Lucky thing cause no nut = no driving.

Anyhow the new O2 sensor survived without producing an error code on the first drive but I'll check again before and after each drive and make sure its still keeping the ECU happy.

Also I have collected the droplinks for the front so hopefully they will get fitted along with the wheel studs this coming weekend.

I have also sourced some replacement front undertrays so its all coming together. All I need now is a lottery win and an Air Con radiator (condensor)

99k miles

indeed the tubby has hit 99,000 miles.


Big numbers so I'm expecting some maintenance bills shortly, starting with the front drop links. Ho hum.

Other news, I have finally managed to get the Oz wheels from the Evo 6 sorted so now I know they actually do fit. With all the messing around I've had to do they have not turned out to be such a bargin but at least now I know they do fit the car properly. Just need to get a few things tidied up and the car will be right as rain. I'll do a write up on me website for future reference for anybody who stumbles apon the site

Also, the replacement O2 sensor is a dud so another one has been purchased and its getting fitted soon so I can get a refund on the original replacement. Ho hum

there I was driving along -

in the lovely sunshine with the t-bars off and just mellowing when some fugging muppet in a 1 series beemer decides to not only nearly run into the back of me but then give me the finger and a dirty look and all because i never indicated I was turning right. A few responses to this incident

it was a right only lane and therefore I did not have to indicate I was turning right

the road signs 100 yards previous to my right turn informed road users the third lane was only for turning right

there are painted signs on the road that indicate the lane is for turning right only


So in response to your antics Mr 1 Series Driver I say this

Get a fugging life you sad flucker and read the fugging highway code you dense fcukwit and stop being a funking kn0bjockey.


On another note, my car was making funny popping noises from the exhaust tonight between gearchanges. Lovely

The newly installed O2 sensor does not appear to be working so another is on order for a swap out.

Some new wheel nuts will be ordered tomorrow to go with the newly bought wheel studs. Going to order some 2nd hand front undertrays and get that lot fixed.

You'd think I'd had a pay rise. Sadly far from it.

A

mr2oc april 06 highland drive -

well what a week. Been on an awesome weekend drive up in the Highlands of Scotland and had a fantastic time. Awesome roads, awesome company and the weather even played ball for most of it.

We counted them all out and we counted them all back in. Various levels of damage to cars, usual stone chips odd cracked windscreen and one puncture but we reckon 2 busted rims. Also of note were a couple of sticking brake callipers. They were slightly overworked. Other casualties included a couple of blowing exhausts and mine does sound a little different.I reckon thats down to a good de-coking. We'll see soon enough.

Anyhow, drove up to the Aultguish Inn on the friday afternoon. This hotel is on the A835 halfway bewteen Inverness and Ullapool which oddly enough are the 2 nearest petrol stations up there, Saturday was the run for the Applecross Road.
This is simply an awesome road which is a single track (with passing places) up the side of a mountain. 2000ft rise from sea level in barely 5 miles then it drops back down to sea level again. Some alpine style hairpins that required 1st gear to get out of which certainly tested the ole LSD on the diff. It worked for sure, left some twin strips of rubber on the way up.

We had started by heading to Achnasheen along the A832 which is the road to Gairloch then entering Achnasheen we headed for Lochcarron along the A980 and then turn left for the Applecross road. You know it's a scary road cause the sign at the bottom of the road says its not suitable for learner drivers! Certainly gets your attention.



And of course it started to rain just as I was about to head off. Perfect really, there were no dramas but the brakes were certainly working hard on the way down the other side as you never get off them long enough to cool them down.

The applecross is just amazing, like a stage from Corsica in Colin McRae rally except get it wrong it will hurt a lot and cost even more. Wonderful just bliss.

After a bite to eat in the Applecross Inn a wee blatt along the coast road then onto the A986 to head for Kinlochewe then the A832 for inverness then back onto the A835 to the hotel. A days worth of great driving, the weather wasn't the best but to be honest none of us cared that much cause we were driving some fantastic roads through some of the worlds most amazing scenery. Fabby dabby.

Saturday night was a run to Ullapool so we could get the required top up of petrol and while we were there top ourselves up with some food too. The run back to the hotel in the dark was interesting, the local wildlife made a suicide bid with the car in front of me. It looked really close from where I was sitting and I was on the brakes hard cause if they had hit that deer, the car would have literally stopped dead in its tracks. Lucky they never hit it but the looks on their faces back at the hotel was enough to confirm it was a real close miss. But it was a miss so thats what counts.

Sunday, well that could have been a short day but where's the fun in that.

We started off heading to Ullapool then took the Gairloch A832 and followed the coast round along some simply breathtaking scenery. It was stunning and even a cove / beach of golden sand that wouldn't have looked out of place in the med. Except even though the sun was out the windchill factor made it seem like -10degC lol. Followed the A832 through Poolewe (been along this whole road with the works' van two weeks previous) through Gairloch and onto Achnasheen. Turn onto the A890 heading to Strathcarron and some lovely roads. Had a plate of amzing mince and tatties in the Strathcarron Inn for lunch, would definitely recommend this place for food / staying. At 2pm on a sunday afternoon they had some folk playing music in the bar, real good atmosphere the food was great and the service was spot on too.
Heartily recommended.

After lunch in the Strathcarron we were still 80 odd miles from Fort William which is itself 105 miles from Glasgow and it was like 3pm in the afternoon. Clearly was going to be a long day of driving. Lucky we had such great roads / scenery to make it worthwhile. Oh yes indeedy.After lunch we headed along the A87 for Inverness then headed for Fort William.

Quick run through Glen Coe then a slight detour along the A84 to drop my passenger off at Stirling Services so his lift could run him back to Edinburgh while I continued onto Glasgow.

680 miles of fantastic driving. Simply the best weekend in a long time and the best driving weekend ever. Fantastic roads, stunning scenery great company and everybody made it home without any real dramas.

When pipex get their webspace sorted I'll post up a link and some pics but rest assured it was just amazing.

pah toyo 15" rubbish -

had a chance to try out the new toyo 1r's and what a huge disappointment. Exactly the same as the 1s's. Feels like the sidewall is flexing under load and the car is just unstable with direction changes / line changes / tightening lines etc.

It feels like the tyres just dont grip until you give them abuse then I have to wind off some lock to keep the same line. But when I arrive at the next corner, they have cooled down again and the same thing happens again. boo hoo.

Have managed to get a set of evo 6 rims which were advertised as 17 x 8inch rims but turned out to be 17 x 7.5inch which means I'm squashing tyres to fit for the rear 235 x 40 and I'd guess rules out any chance of 245 x 35. Just waiting on some spigots and shorter wheel nuts to arrive then I can fit the wheels to the car. In time for the spirited april drive next weekend. On new wheels( for me ) and brand new tyres. Perfect timing no............ Defo not even good timing

Should be interesting though

not a lot happening -

so nothing to really report. New tyres Toyo Proxy T-1R's seem ok but again its just not warm enough or dry enough to even try hard cornering. They do feel ok though whereas the 1S's I had before were just outright rubbish. Got a drive planned in april so we'll see soon enough.

o2 sensor fitted and working -

indeed I had a fellow mr2oc'er who is a qualified electrican fit a new o2 sensor for me on thursday just gone.

I headed off to this site Lamda Sensors and got the universal 4 wire sensor plus the flange kit which actually came with the gasket too.

Fitted in 30 minutes and the jobs a good un. Error code cleared and car runs a lot smoother now. See post below for why I haven't done much boost testing on this lol.

snow everywhere -

indeed woke up to 6 inches of snow everywhere today!! Thats the most snow I've seen fall in Glasgow in a good few years now.

Of course my car was parked halfway down a dead end road on a fairly steep slope. The only good news about that was the new tyres I had had fitted yesterday, otherwise the car would have been left where it was. Had to get it out today so loads of digging and pushing to get the car up the hill. Now I've complained bitterly recently about the damage to the car that has been caused by muppets well today I saw the other side of the coin off human nature.

While I was digging the snow away from the car then getting my passenger to drive the car while I pushed from behind I noticed several people watching me. I expected to see a video of my efforts of the net quite soon but no to my amazement those people came over to help.

With four of us digging / pushing like mad for just under an hour we got the car up the hill to the junction and off we went.

Guys and girl, I salute your kindness and wish you all the best.

In light of the above, on my journey back I helped another 2 motorists out of the snow grip that was all around. A very physically demanding day but was really a good laugh.

Take it very easy out there

loads of miles -

yup, being doing a lot of miles recently and I'd noticed the car was in need of the old fuse reset. This time however I decided to check the diagnostic's first. Oh boy, error code 21, the oxygen sensor. This kinda explains the smoke I could sometimes see in my mirrors when pulling away from lights and stuff. Not heavy smoke more like the car was running on a fast idle which gives that trail in the cold dry weather.

Haven't done the full sensor test, happening this week but it does look increasingly unlikely the sensor is actually working. Now Mr T (Toyota dealerships) will want in the region of 140GBP for this but there are other options for sure. Several places sell the sensors without wiring but I've found one that actually does the complete kit including the end plug. So no wiring adjustments and no soldering to be done either.

Update - looks like the part info is
PNC: 89465
Part Nuumber: 89465-29805
Part Name : Sensor, oxygen (oxygen sensor)

Now this should be the part number for the oxygen sensor for the rev3+ motors no matter turbo or non turbo but do check first rather than just order it.

Will update later on this, likely edit this post too.

Other news, due to the number of miles run I have actually washed the car an amazing 4 times in the last 7 days!! John mentioned a refurbished jetwash that has been set up in a garage not far from here(1 mile tops). Now this one allows you just to put coins straight into the machine and then follow whatever program you like. I like very much. You can spent as much or as little as you like, plus at the mo its not used very often so no queuing ;-))

its a funny world -

there I was driving along with some muppet in an Orion in front of me driving up the middle of the two lanes, wheels either side of the lane markers. Now being me I beeped the horn and amazingly he chose one of the lanes to stay in. Then proceeds to start giving me the V sign.

Now while I admit I can be wrong I think in this case I was completely right. I mean the whole point of lane markings is to spilt the road evenly and allow the safe passage of more than one line of traffic. Why this muppet took offense that I beeped him as he straddled the lanes I don't know but one this is certain.

I was right and you were wrong and no amount of cursing or sign language will change those facts. Deal with it ya dozy!

A

i actually do love my car -

Some car news. I've had the wing replaced and while getting that wing sprayed I also had the bonnet repaired and also resprayed. So the front of the car is looking really good and in fact the whole car looks fantastic.

I recently had the front brakes replaced and my goodness what a difference. Full write up on the website to follow

I was required through work to make a trip to Aberdeen and the car performed without putting a foot wrong. Left here at 530am and the car just punched its way through the darkness to hit Aberdeen by just before 8am. On the way back down that night again the car was perfect. Really easy to drive and such comfort. Slowing down for the reduced limit stretches it then punched back into the darkness without the need to change gear. Awesome car.

I wonder if I can actually afford to keep it..............

A

ffs

some muppet drove into my drivers side front wing and has completely stoved it in. Never even left a note, just drove off and with the size of the dent they knew they had hit me. Typical nobody saw / heard anything. I aint too happy about that cause its going to cost a fair bit to fix it.

How the hell can you hit a parked car?

Thats 3 times the car has been picked on by persons unknown. I'm thinking time to buy a gun and wait up til someone tries it again. Would be worth it to see the expression on their face.

what the fcuk is going on?

first my car gets bits taken off of it and now some muppet decides to leave footprints on the engine cover and the bonnet!!!! If I catch you I will mess up your life big style. Expect some broken bones and maybe limb loss.

I wouldn't kick an old banger on the street out of respect as that might be someones start in motoring, I wouldn't scratch someones porsche just because they have a better car than me so why some folk think its ok to mark a car I don't know. Makes me think its students having a laugh on the way home from the pub climing over cars.

If I catch you no amount of alcohol will dull the pain I will inflict on you. No witnesses either.

You have been warned