Panda (Classic) Charmanda(er) - mania continued......

[Didge3]

i would never throw wheels away, worry not

Hell if they suited the Punto at all (which IMO they really wouldn't) I'd have them off you!

 

[AndyPanda4x4]

Chris - I know someone who has a set of 131 Mirafiori steels that he might be persuaded to sell, if you're in the market

 

[blu73]

Don't even know what they look like tbh.

 

[blu73]

OK so its been about a week since last update - had some free time earlier in the week so did an oil change and have been driving about in Char quite a bit and i can report that even from cold it starts pretty much on the button, its almost as if its got injection lol - it runs smoother, idles smoother when hot or cold so pretty happy with that

Looking to the future I think I am gonna start working through replacing random rubber parts, alot of bushes although not knocking and prob not at mot failure condition are looking more cracked and brittle than i would like. Gonna start at the front and work backwards i think... Ordered the bushes for the front stabilser thingys and will soon order new control arms (so cheap i cannot be bothered to replace the bushes in existing ones, to much effort to save a couple of quid lol). After that either front suspension top mounts and new shocks or new engine and gearbox mounts.

So pleased Char' finally getting some love, got really neglected in my last ~5 months of ownership , never really left me stranded anywhere except that time the throttle cable snapped on the A3 :doh:

I must say I feel the accelerator pedal really shouldn't be as firm as it is, i mean the spring that closes the butterfly at carb end is not that strong, no stronger than say a cento throttle body one, but the pedal is so so heavy. I guess if you snapped a cable the one on there should be pretty new and so its prob not that, maybe the pedal itself needs looking at, greasing or something - i swear the pedal should not be that heavy - want to look into that too soon. Would be nice to try another panda with same setup to see how it feels but i just cannot believe this is right, its pretty much as heavy as the clutch!

 

[Didge3]

I must say I feel the accelerator pedal really shouldn't be as firm as it is, i mean the spring that closes the butterfly at carb end is not that strong, no stronger than say a cento throttle body one, but the pedal is so so heavy. I guess if you snapped a cable the one on there should be pretty new and so its prob not that, maybe the pedal itself needs looking at, greasing or something - i swear the pedal should not be that heavy - want to look into that too soon. Would be nice to try another panda with same setup to see how it feels but i just cannot believe this is right, its pretty much as heavy as the clutch!

I didn't notice the weight of the pedal change after the cable was swapped, although I certainly wouldn't have described it as being similar to the clutch pedal
The butterfly spring is not the only thing you're working against however, the cable itself has some sort of spring mechanism to it as well, just as it hooks onto the throttle on the carb theres a rubber boot thing on the cable, I presume it has a spring in it of sorts...

EDIT: This is my spare which I have precisely because of the A3 incident and didn't want to be left stranded again The carb end is the end with the boot, if I hold it by the plastic bit just below that and pull the pedal end of the cable there is quite a bit of resistance...

 

[blu73]

Perhaps I am exaggerating a little lol. But to me it just can't be supposed to be as heavy as it is and it would go some way to explaining why the cable snapped before. Certainly to me feels like it's more resistance than a couple of little springs but we shall see.

 

[Didge3]

Perhaps I am exaggerating a little lol. But to me it just can't be supposed to be as heavy as it is and it would go some way to explaining why the cable snapped before. Certainly to me feels like it's more resistance than a couple of little springs but we shall see.

The old cable failed because it was a different type that is almost impossible to source and IMO poorly designed, VmanC swapped the entire bracket on the carb for me to accept the other style of throttle cable.
The one the was on there before went past the carb, did a full 180° and then operated the throttle, stupid design :bang:

 

[blu73]

Ah good to know, good to know. That does sound like a random setup, guess I can find a pic in my Haynes of both types.

 

[VmanC]

The throttle pedal is designed to be that heavy deliberately to stop you unleashing all that power too suddenly.

 

[Dragon Man]

i know the throttle cable style you mean.. Talon had the same kind. it always snaps where the cable turns full metal.. now swapped for the better kind.. and greased..

 

[blu73]

The throttle pedal is designed to be that heavy deliberately to stop you unleashing all that power too suddenly.

Lol. Like literally lol'd, almost spat tea everywhere

 

[blu73]

Blimey, only ordered these yesterday and was free postage but postie just handed me them ?

 

[Didge3]

i know the throttle cable style you mean.. Talon had the same kind. it always snaps where the cable turns full metal.. now swapped for the better kind.. and greased..

Yeah I remember you commented on mine when it first snapped agreeing the other design is inherently stupid and is inevitable it will snap.

 

[blu73]

right, sun came out... so been investigating this clicking noise and its 100% not wheel weights on the caliper as i previously guessed. One top mount is making a moaning noise and thats the only thing i can find - its probably a cv joint is my new guess as its miles worse whilst turning but there is a slim chance its the top mount. Needless to say this requires further investigation.

Also, whilst doing the oil change i noticed a load of crud round the passenger side driveshaft, round the boot at gearbox - cleaned that off so i can see if its actually leaking now or just was at one point and topped up gearbox oil, needed a little but not much, 100-150ml at a guess went in before it was dribbling out the fill hole; so far (150miles or so) it looks nice and clean still so with bit of luck thats actually ok, will keep an eye on it though.

In middle of a quick clean up now so might be some pics later, if not defo be some 2moro at the monmouth meet (which really we should start calling the forest of dean meet, we are yet to go into monmouth despite this being the 4th i have attended lol.

 

[Didge3]

right, sun came out... so been investigating this clicking noise and its 100% not wheel weights on the caliper as i previously guessed. One top mount is making a moaning noise and thats the only thing i can find - its probably a cv joint is my new guess as its miles worse whilst turning but there is a slim chance its the top mount. Needless to say this requires further investigation.

Clicking noise? Must've missed that, when did it start clicking? It used to do this horrible scrapping noise when turning right because an idiot tyre fitter put wheel weights on the inside of the wheel which fouled the caliper but removed them and the problem was resolved.

Also, whilst doing the oil change i noticed a load of crud round the passenger side driveshaft, round the boot at gearbox - cleaned that off so i can see if its actually leaking now or just was at one point and topped up gearbox oil, needed a little but not much, 100-150ml at a guess went in before it was dribbling out the fill hole; so far (150miles or so) it looks nice and clean still so with bit of luck thats actually ok, will keep an eye on it though.

Vern did the drivers side CV boot for me around a year ago, potential that the passenger side has now let go also, think they're pretty cheap

 

[blu73]

It's done it since I picked it up. I really thought it was a wheel weight but hadn't looked till today.
Boots look ok but doesn't mean the cv itself is still good. I'll update once I looked into it properly ? was just real quick look today as wanted to clean the car for the meet 2moro - damn weather has been pants though, managed to get as far as paint restorer on bonnet and down passenger side which look miles better but couldn't do the roof or drivers side, or polish and wax at all. Still it's coming up pretty well so far, you can see in the pic how flat the roof is compared to side and bonnet ?

 

[Didge3]

It's done it since I picked it up. I really thought it was a wheel weight but hadn't looked till today.
Boots look ok but doesn't mean the cv itself is still good. I'll update once I looked into it properly ? was just real quick look today as wanted to clean the car for the meet 2moro - damn weather has been pants though, managed to get as far as paint restorer on bonnet and down passenger side which look miles better but couldn't do the roof or drivers side, or polish and wax at all. Still it's coming up pretty well so far, you can see in the pic how flat the roof is compared to side and bonnet ?

Weird, considering I was using it until about 2 weeks before you picked it up I hadn't noticed any strange noises at all for months

Paint looks miles better although roof is certainly not flat, it has a big dent in it where some friends sat on it one Halloween

 

[blu73]

its not that noticeable unless you are going along at 50+ and then not that noticeable unless you are turning but its there. no matter, it will be found an fixed

yes that dent in the roof is quite annoying - i so would have been dismembering people if that was while i owned it lol... nevermind, if i can't get over it then perhaps a webasto roof could be an answer lol

 

[varesecrazy]

In middle of a quick clean up now so might be some pics later, if not defo be some 2moro at the monmouth meet (which really we should start calling the forest of dean meet, we are yet to go into monmouth despite this being the 4th i have attended lol.

on our 1st visit, we got there well early
H and I parked by the RR memorial, and saw Pan ___E, and Adrian drive past..

so we virtually have

Charlie - see you in a couple of hours

 

[Didge3]

yes that dent in the roof is quite annoying - i so would have been dismembering people if that was while i owned it lol... nevermind, if i can't get over it then perhaps a webasto roof could be an answer lol

Unfortunately my judgement was amiss caused by my friend whiskey at the time and didn't really discourage it :shakehead: