General Adding to my collection

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General Adding to my collection

steve20vt

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Joined
Apr 1, 2014
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224
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Location
North East Lincolnshire
Well it's happened.......
Another Marea addition coming at the weekend :)
So I just need a bravo to complete the set lol. It's a Marea weekend, I was feeling left out suffering with boot access.
My marea saloon has a good sized boot, it's just the opening that ruins it. Plus I only bought that car to do a 20vt conversion but it's surplus to requirement now with its gutless 1.6 engine :(

So, I wanted a weekend, I wanted something that has a bit of poke, something that can tow and something comfy.
Bring on the marea weekend hlx td130 :)
It's not mint but it's one I want to keep and make nice. Pics when I get it on sat.
 
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It's bloody miles lol, I'm leaving barnetby train station (just up the road from me) at 07.28 and arriving in Ipswich at 11.30
Then got a three hour drive back up on a bank holiday weekend on some of East anglia / South lincolnshires most congested roads :(
And in a car I don't know the reliability of, there's only so much gear you can take with you in first class.


I plan on taking the minimum amount of tools, fluids and so on. I do like the thrill of an unknown car, it always feels like a top gear special.
Will i make the train?
Will I get complimentary food and drink?
Will the oily smoker get me home again, I hope so the Mrs is planning a trip to ikea in it on Sunday.

I'm excited to see what I've been missing out on, having only sx models to go on. So the HLX should be fun.
 
Well I've survived two train journeys so far. Not impressed with first class :(
Still it's a day out. Had a text from the seller and everything's going well so far. Stuck in Peterborough waiting for the last train to Ipswich.
Bad news is Ikea is closed tomorrow so the Mrs wants to go on bank holiday Monday, joy.
 
Hi from the north I bid on the marea on eBay, Glad it went to someone who will not break it good luck!
 
Well......
Let's look at the ebay description.

Rare V reg Marea 2.4 HLX. This is the second marea I have had over the last 16 years and I can't believe how reliable they have been.This one needed a new clutch when I got it at 86k six years ago.
I have given it a battery,tyres,brake discs and lots of oil changes. I had the cambelt done at 123k.
It has a current MOT till Feb 2016, It did need a little bit of welding this time on the subframe. It has an airbag light that won't go out and ABS light that comes on when you go over a bump.
At some point during its life it was lifted by a strap through the front doors,probably when the clutch went. This has caused them to misfit slightly. It only gives a problem in the heaviest thunderstorms.
It does have a slight oil leak and always has had. Just local use you hardly notice but after a long run and get it really warm then it does drip a bit more. The aircon does not work but then I have never tried to get it serviced. The paintwork is generally OK however the bumpers have been resprayed at some stage and it's now starting to come off. The remote locking did work until the button on the key broke. I have at least two keys including the red one. Although it is a 2.4 it is very economical,it's a great drive!
If you have any questions I will only be to pleased to answer them.
Collection only when funds are cleared or cash on collection


Consider the fact It went through a test only a few weeks ago and there are no advisories.

The description says it had welding on the subframe, turns out it was the floor. The airbag light is on, the abs light is on constantly, as is the brake warning light.
The oil leak, hmm, that's been happening a while, some coolant hoses are very soft due to this. Worse than the oil leak is the fuel leak, it's severe.
The test drive revealed some horrendous knocking from the front end, maybe bottom arms.
The windscreen has a large chip, in a fail able place.
The clutch pedal sinks a little, I'm guessing slave cylinder leaking and the reason the brake warming light is on.
The electric window on the near side rear does not work.
The tailgate handle sticks in the open position so doesn't let the tailgate shut unless you repeatedly slam it to release the handle.
The bonnet has large dents in it
The code system has been bypassed at some point
The engine is pretty flat and lacking power, it sounds like it may have a boost leak.
It sounds like the auxiliary belt tensioner is getting weak from the occasional squeal from the belt at low revs and full lock.


He wanted £495 for it. Without seeing it I'd provisionally offered £400 going on the ebay description.
After the road test and a quick look round I wanted to walk away, but having got there on the train and a ticket home would be significantly more than I paid in advance.
I began the haggle and put the point across that he'd not mentioned lots of problems.
Anyway I ended up with it at a reasonable price for the issues, mostly so i could get home.

Despite all these problems once it was on the a14 up to a steady pace it was quiet and comfortable, the radio worked. And unbelievably it cost me £20 to do 190 miles, and that's with the fuel system dribbling down the back of the engine.

So I've got some work to do, on top of my other projects :rolleyes:
But hey they're getting on the rare side now so I think it's worth saving.

Wish me luck.
 
So I've got some work to do, on top of my other projects :rolleyes:
But hey they're getting on the rare side now so I think it's worth saving.

Wish me luck.

LUCK :)

do let me know on the front end KNOCK..not pinned mine down..,
and reluctant to do Wishbones 1st ,as there are a few other options..:eek:

gearbox to floor mount looks suspect..but seem to be @£50..!!:eek:

Charlie
 
The seller said some parts on the steering or suspension had been replaced, though had no receipts for any work or parts. The back street garage that did the work and the mot were a at the end of the sellers street.
My theory is they did him "a favour" getting a test on it and told him to get shut off it.

Looking underneath it looks to have had bushes fitted on the front lower arms recently. But my theory on that is if the bushes are worn on one part of the arm the rear one and the ball joint are never usually far behind.
I shall investigate more today.
 
Not had chance to do much as the Mrs said we were going out for the day. But I spent a quick hour this morning looking at why the upper and lower tailgates don't want to shut.

After taking the trim off the lower one it was clear that it was just a case of cleaning the years of crap out the the push button.
Cleaned and lubricated it all and it now shuts with little effort.

The upper tailgate release handle was getting stuck in the open position and required the tailgate to be slammed repeatedly till it shut.
Again stripping out the trim and removing the wiper motor and locking mechanisms allowed me to pull the outside panel off, clean it all out and lubricate it. Put it all back together and new it shuts beautifully.

I'll add some pics when I get back home.
 
Couple of pics

IMAG0185.jpg


IMAG0186.jpg


I've had a bit more of a look underneath and I'm a bit disappointed. For a car that was motd six weeks ago.
Opinions on these defects and whether the amount of wear can happen in six weeks and 900 miles.

IMAG0207.jpg

This anti roll bar drop link is shot and half the reason for the knocking.
The other side is the same.

Then there's this
IMAG0204.jpg

I thought I heard a cv joint clunk but dismissed it early on.

IMAG0209.jpg

The near side lower arm was obviously changed recently, along with both front tyres.

IMAG0191.jpg

Ball joint gator split and the joint dry and knocking.

IMAG0187.jpg

Off side lower arm, bushes shot and knocking.
 
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Only joking ;)

I've been speaking to the seller and the garage who "did the mot" the garage is going to "try and sort something out"

I dug out a spare coupe 20vt hub and driveshaft, thinking they looked the same. They're not.
I've got a new off side lower arm in the garage that will go on. And I've found a spare coupe 20vt front roll bar that may go on with all the brackets and drop links.
I'll just have to get a new cv joint to go on the near side.

I've also got a spare 20vt inter cooler that may fit as I think the diesel one is holed.
 
@charlie

Have you changed the anti roll bar drop links? They can be tricky to check, especially if you only jack up one side to check them, as when one side is lifted it creates tension in the roll bar that can then potentially hide the movement in the joint.

^^ this is what fixed the clunking on my car, very cheap fix too, a little tricky to get the old ones off as the allen key holes had rusted too much to get a decent grip, but worth the effort.

That MOT tester should be reported to the DVLA or whoever oversees the test centres, dispicable. :shakehead:

It looks like it's in good nick from the outside, i hope for you it's mostly easy stuff like the boot!
good luck. 2.4 HLX, no wonder you were tempted :)
 
I'll get on top of it, it needs tlc and a bit of money spent on it. I've got a feeling the fuel leak may be expensive to sort. I'm hoping it's not the fuel rail.
The wing supports are not rotten like my brava ones so that's a bonus.
 
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