Right, so a few updates. Rad went on fine and has been absolutely perfect! No problems there at all.
Now onto the next big(ish) problem.
I've got the following problems:
- Codes P0171 + P0174 (too much air on both banks)
- Impossible to remove oil cap while engine running
- Rough idle
- Loss of performance
- Oil smelling smoke on start up
- Occasional lifter sound
Which, thankfully, all point to one thing - the air oil separator. It started with a vacuum leak, then onto rough idle, then power loss, then smokey start up, etc. I've bought a new one so I'll be replacing that in the week or on the weekend, depending on what time I have.
That last one, the lifter sound, is interesting. About a year ago I had a ticking on the engine which worried me - went in time with the engine revs. Sounded like a seized lifter, but it went after 10 minutes and never heard it again. Today I just had the same sound, and again after 10 minutes of driving, it went. Whilst roaming on YouTube, a guy posted a video with the identical sound. Turns out he said it was a 'lazy lifter from low oil pressure due to a faulty AOS'.
So there we are, hopefully I'll replace it and all will be well. After that, I'll be replacing the rear subframe (still haven't) so that the alignment can be perfect once again. The car should be mechanically spot on after that.
In the meantime though, DRL's have been fixed, ordered new ones but turns out it was a loose wire - at least I have spares.
Along with that, my new projector lamps came! The black ones. They're gorgeous! I split the headlights again, removed the old projectors and put the new ones in. The old ones were slightly oxidised on the inside of the bowl, which dimmed the light output. As well as this, I buffed the inside of the headlights and what a difference it's made!
Here's a difference in the headlights. Old left, new right. Notice the old silver projector vs the new black one, and also note how faded the lens is on the left to how clear the right one is! All of that was on the inside - no wonder I couldn't ever buff it out!
And two of the light output (yes I took one whilst driving 20mph on a quiet road, shush)
Here's some photos in the day:
Just have to fix the AOS and subframe, and the car will be back to mint condition
