Couple of little problems

PobodY

PobodY

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I've finally got my R back on the road, but there are a couple of little niggles...
  1. The clutch pedal doesn't spring back up imediately after I've pushed it. - There's no other problem with the operation, so is this likely to be old (and cheap) fluid that needs to be changed?
  2. It's feeling a bit "resistant" and I noticed a slight miss on the highway as I put my foot down to stop a Golf getting past. - I haven't done a fault code check yet, but is this likely to be something associated with it not having covered more than about 50 miles in the last year?
    I've given it a nice new tank of fuel (because there was bugger-all left after a year of my starting it periodically to let it warm and charge the battery) plus a new filter, but I haven't really touched anything else in at least 6 months.
  3. Is it normal for new pads to smoke when you're bedding them in? - I think it is because there's hardly anything today, but yesterday when I parked the car I was worried that something was on fire in the engine bay.
Other than that, it's the same old car; creaking, clicking, banging, and booming. - Actually the exhaust doesn't sound right either; yes it's noisier than I remember, but there's something about the sound that suggests the engine isn't running freely.

I'm not thrashing the crap out of it, but I am trying to give it a bit of an "Italian tune" to grey-out the exhaust etc.
 
stumo

stumo

Active Member
1st of all, have you rubbed your balls on it? If not, why not??????


1, possibly old fluid but i doubt it. Changing the fluid might make it feel better but i'd have a look at the pedal box. Does the pedal feel a bit squidgy, like pressing on cotton wool, if it doesn't feel solid no matter how hard it is to press then i'd deffo say the pedal box.

2,do a fault code check but it could be down to bad earths etc esp if it's been stood outside, have a look at the dizzy cap for corrosion etc

3,it depends on the bedding in process....some you heat up till they just start to go off, some you get smoking, unless you were giving the brakes some death to get them to heat up that much my guess would be sticky calipers or something like that which has freed off with use.
 
PobodY

PobodY

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It's been pretty cold the last couple of days, so ball rubbing has been hard; it's like trying to use half a wallnut.

The pedal feels pretty solid; there's maybe a bit more free play than I remember, so it's possible it's related to that. Thinking about it, it must be coming-up enough for the plate to grip; maybe it's just that last little bit of "free play". There's just a second or so before the pedal hits the stop.
I'll take a look at the pedal box, but I don't know if I'm going to be able to rub my balls on it. - There's a Nissan brace on my pedal box, so I'm hoping that's prevented a lot of the lateral force from doing damage to it.

I did keep it in the garage... but it's not an especially good garage. It has just occured to me that maybe I over-oiled that M's K&N filter I put in, and the issue could be I've coated the MAF. Definitely worth checking the sate of my cap and rotor though... and probably that the plugs are also clean.
I can definitely rub my balls on those things, so that's something at least.

Er... yeah sticky calipers are probably the most likely culpit. That's basically why it failed the MOT last year, so it makes sense that the fronts wouldn't be much better. I also probably gave them a liberal coating of brake cleaner to get rid of any greasy fingerprints.
The slider bolts aren't looking great. I was going to replace them, but Bigg Red say they don't sell them for Nissan calipers. - Maybe a ball rubbing will free them up.
 
stumo

stumo

Active Member
Just cos the pedal box has a bracket on it, they still crack n twist etc, change the fluid anyway, it always seems to help and give a nicer pedal feel. (if you can rub your balls on the pedal box in situ then fair play, you must have a double jointed back n ballz)

an over oiled filter will coat the MAF and give false readings. after you've reoiled the filter, check for any excess by rubbing your balls on it, they should remain oil free...if not then they're already oiled for a good session :lol:

rub the calipers with your spent and washed balls and all will be fine.
 
J

j0ff

Member
stumo said:
must be, i never knew that!!! :lol:


he probibly shaggs sheep near a cliff so that they push back more, Martyn told me that one....
Click to expand...
Absolutely. And if there's no cliff, then just pop their back legs in your wellies and they can get away :)
 
PobodY

PobodY

Moderators
Staff member
Well... the hesitation might be sensor related; it seems to run much better when it's cold like this. It's certainly running well enough to get sideways on the exit of a roundabout. :shock:
Left foot off the brake, power back on, the back came around... but so did the front so I was moving diagonally. Off the power and she's going straight again.

The only problem is that I've now got a *clunk* coming from the near-side of the car... and the last time I had a noise like that was when I'd stripped the thread off the wishbone mount. :doh:
It's still stopping in a straight line, but I'll take it easy until I can get the car back inside the garage and take a look. Hopefully there's nothing broken, and it's just a bolt that's come loose but hasn't come out. Either that or I'm being paranoid.
 
shroom

shroom

Active Member
I do think that sometimes if you havent been in the car for so long it all sounds and feels different i have just started using mine everyday and im getting more paranoid by the minute what car were u using for your daily? I have been so used to a quite drive its a shock to be back in an R
 
PobodY

PobodY

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Staff member
Mostly I've been catching the train to and from work. - When I did drive it was in the mighty Hyundai Amica; the R is certainly a lot noisier than that.

I was happy until I started noticing that suspension/drivetrain noise. Now I'm worried the wishbone is going to come off and I'll crash it... although nothing has gone wrong yet. :doh:

I'll just turn the stereo up and ignore it for now; what I can't hear, can't worry me.

EDIT: I think I might have found one problem; I might have blown the seals on one of the calipers. I noticed the wheel has a dribble mark down the outside and looks all wet on the inside. - The irony is that with new pads and braided lines the brake pedal has been feeling quite good... maybe I've got over-confident and pushed my luck.
 
PobodY

PobodY

Moderators
Staff member
...or maybe not. I don't seem to have lost any fluid from the resevoir, which suggests that it's not brake fluid after all (or at least not much).

Maybe a dog has been pissing on my wheels?
 
stumo

stumo

Active Member
PobodY said:
...or maybe not. I don't seem to have lost any fluid from the resevoir, which suggests that it's not brake fluid after all (or at least not much).

Maybe a dog has been pissing on my wheels?
Click to expand...
It's been rubbing it's balls on your wheel..........
 
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