redwine300

After finishing replacing my stereo and CD player, I thought I would go for a quick spin. After a couple of miles I noticed that my temperature was slightly up! (the cars that is, not mine. lol) so headed home. When I pulled up onto the drive I was horrified to find steam billowing out from under the bonnet. It was coming from the drivers side of the engine at the back and was coming up from below the brake fluid reservoir. Any ideas as for the likely cause??

Thanks guy's. I had one last attempt last night, (nearly running out of cable! lol) managed to get a good connection by doubling up the inner core by folding it over. seems to have done the trick for now. (fingers crossed) That said, I really do appreciate the offers of help and advise though guy's. Long term I will aim to replace the cable as I have cut too much back from the original. It's just a matter of getting hold of one now. Again, thanks all.

Welcome to the forum mate.

I think it is a large "O" ring you will need. Sounds like it may be damaged or even missing. Maybe worth seeing if will tighten up a little.

Hi SteveE, looks like I spoke too soon! The sky connectors seem to be too big, I had too wrap tape around outer cable just to get the threaded connector to bite. Worst still, the inner wire is so small in diameter that it does not touch the inner bore. If I jiggle it around it intermittently makes the odd connection. Any ideas mate?

Would just like to say a public thank you to Baz. I was lucky enough to purchase an original radio and CD player from him for a good price and in excellent condition, he was even kind enough to drop it of to me in person today at my place of work. Service or what! Cheers Baz. It was nice to meet you as well mate. Rep on it's way.

Hi SteveE, meant to say thanks for your offer of help with regards to helping me source the right connectors. Cheer mate. As luck would have it I had some spare ones left over from my satellite install. With a bit of luck I will be fitting the new stereo tomorrow.

Try not to loose hope, sometimes these bl**dy Z's can be a pain in the a*s. Just a thought, but have you measured the positions of front and back wheels with regards to the wheels being equal within the wheel arch? IE is the gap the same when measuring from the front of the rear tyre to the inner edge of the wheel arch for instance. Also, check that the height between the top of the wheel and the inner edge of the wheel arch, see if there is a major difference there. (maybe poor shocks or failing springs etc') Worth mentioning that you will need to be on level ground mind.

Well, what can I say Jeff that has not been said before. You are a star mate! Thanks once again for your exceptional advice. :thumbup1:

As above! Bilt hamber is very good stuff.

Great knowledge Jeff! Can I ask you to revisit my recent post please? " electrical short " Cheeky I know! But I am bl@@dy desperate mate! Lol

Decided to check and re set my TPS today as I have not long re build and fitted my plenum. Anyway, to cut a long story short I tried to move it so as to lower the voltage reading. It moved suddenly virtually to a dead stop with a reading of 0.15 volts. At this point I heard a rapid ticking sound, pretty sure it was some sort of electrical short coming from the passenger side of the engine. I tried this a couple of times, and sure enough the same thing happened. At the same time the RPM sat at 1850 rev's. Surely this can not be right? With that I set it back to 0.44 volts but no matter what I tried, the rev's would not change. Took her for a 8 mile drive but no difference! The only thing I did notice was that the boost gauge was very lazy and she felt down on power. Normally I only have to ease the throttle on and she shows boost almost immediately. This time I felt that I really had to push her to get into boost. Could I have accidentally damaged/shorted out the wast gate solenoid? Any help would be most welcome as she was running fine before this mishap! Just can't understand what has changed. Definitely sounded like an electrical short though.

Also might be worth checking the connector to the ECU, they can sometime sit incorrectly after being removed and give strange problems. May be just coincidence but worth a look. Scrub that. I have just re read post. Doh!

Have you checked the tps voltage recently?

Is it pulling at low speed as well as high? the reason I ask is that I think the HICAS system only kicks in above 50/55mph.

The cables in the picture are of the original cable fitted to a UK model. I think I will check my SKY cable tomorrow for a comparison. Cheer guy's I was rather hoping for a straight forward plug in plug out type of arrangement though as I am limited for space.

Cheers guys, but how do I determine the correct size? Do I measure the o/d of the cable or something?

Maybe worth checking the connectors to the vvt, sounds like you may have a dodgy connection. Try disconnecting the left hand bank to see if it makes any difference.

Something that I have been meaning to do for some time now, is remove a redundant pager that had been spliced into my alarm system. It had also been spiced into my audio antena. Can anyone advise me as to if there are male to female connectors available please? I do not want to splice back together as previously. Hope someone can help.

May be a bit off target here, but I seem to remember a similar situation a while back. Turned out to be the steering rack moving, something to do with worn clamp bushes. I think the tell-tail signs were a polished - shiny area either side of the bushes where the rack had been moving. Easy to check I think with the car up in the air.

N/A and TT gaps should be between 1mm to 1,1mm I believe.

I find Janitol to be very good. Brought mine up like new. Currently detailing my engine bay with it, coming along nicely. Just make sure you dilute it according to the instructions mind.

I think the repair limit for the front discs is 28mm minimum thickness and the rear is 16mm thickness. ( ref' uk tt lwb targa)

Looks a bit strange to me, the contact area of the pad looks to be only using 75% of the disc. Not sure if those callipers match the disc's in my opinion. As for the creaking noise, I would check for seized pistons myself. The last thing you want is under performing brakes mate.

If you mix vinegar and salt to form a solution. (an acid) (ie until the amount of vinegar will no longer dissolve any further salt. You should find that this will dissolve the green corrosion with a little brushing. Once you have cleaned them, wash them thoroughly with a solution of water and baking soda (an alkali) so as to neutralise the effect of the acid.