a wee update- some just copied from the ffoc...........
First, I got silicone piping straight to the turbo deleting the resonator. This sounds amazing- holds boost much better and you can hear the turbo spooling up and Tiiiiishing. Also cleaned out the MAF sensor as it was thick with gunge fron K&N oil.
Next- tidying the car up a wee bit and making it as mint as possible.........
my 55k miles TDCi's steering wheel was really letting the interior down- It was really shiny and the leather was starting to peel- Not too bad, but for a 4 year old car it was rediculous, and i want my car to be 100%.
Now, being tight i didnt want to have to Pay Mr Ford 160 quid for a brand new one and none of the ones I had found in scrappys/ ebay were very good- all worn etc really bad, or very expensive, so i bought a kit from the furniture clinic for 39quid and set to it................
http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/
I opted for the small kit black with a matt finish to the leather. Great kit and really easy to do surprisingly. This is supposed to last 5-7 yrs or daily use but i have loads of the kit left so if i still have the car, its easy enough to do again.
This is how i got on, and loads of piccies..............
First, I had to disengage the battery by taking of the negative terminal. I left it for a good couple of hours whilst i went out, so the airbag had time to discharge any energy left in it so it wouldnt go off in my face........
Make sure the steering wheel is straight. Then I set about removing the Airbag- there are 2 small bolts you have to undo at the back of the steering wheel. Carefully pull the airbag off the steering wheel by popping out the clips- there is a multiplug behind the airbag unit you have to take out.
Store the airbag somewhere safe- upright and out of heat.
There is a big bolt in the middle of the steering wheel you have to undo to get the steering wheel off.
You are then left with this.
As stated before My steering wheel wasnt too bad compared to soe i have seen but im picky...... (pics might be crap cos it was hard to pick up the wear)
First job was to apply the Leather Prep by soaking 2 cotton wool balls, and wrapping them in an abrasive pad- this is to get rid of all the factory leather sealer and lumps.........
Next I had to cean it with alcohol cleaner, get some colourant on a sponge and work it into the grain of the leather- It doesnt matter if you are messy at this point because when it is dry, You apply more with the cool wee spray gun and compressor you get with the kit to get a smooth finish- leaving this........
Once that is dry you need to apply the gloss sealer also by the gun, particularly to high use areas........
Leave this to dry and aly the chosen finish- I went for Matt, as i wanted the wheel to look brand new. This also gets put on with the gun...........
I made a mess with the dye- Oops
Wait for the wheel to dry fully and re- fit to the car.............
Hook up the battery and switch the electrics on for 30 seconds for the car to run through its procedures- pray the airbag light doesnt come on...........
Re- Set the clock and Radio and your away
Finished article..........
Well pleased with it :wink:
when i got my focus a couple of years ago, the wee curly bit of the exhaust at the end looked crap, so i chopped it off and put a chrome tailpipe on it.
This was fine but the other day it rusted off, so me and my dad made this stainless one...............
It just sounds exactly the same cos up to the hanger its original ford, but we welded the hanger onto a stainless trim. Took ages to get it to line u properly.
On the last pic the exhaust isnt pointing to the ground, its just the angle of the photo
Total cost- £25
and i think it looks bloody good for a home mader
Alloys...............
Been losing patience with my car recently and have nearly sold her, so i gave her some tlc to save me money buying a new car.
was re-painting my alloys over the last few days- Nightmare- next time they chip, im getting them powdercoated cos i'm not going through all that again.
They are not perfect, but presentable at least.
Anyway, the car was covered in muck and crap from sanding etc, so i gave her a wee wash and took some pics.
while the wheels were off, i scrubbed the arches, and managed to retrieve a part of my socket set which fell down into the underbody tray in the engine bay- couldnt get the wheels off until recently cos locking nut was knackered............. but have a shiny new set of lock nuts now.
Also added a clear led centre brake light on the spoiler, but camera batteries died before i got to take a pic.
Look at the colour of that sky btw....... its away to bucket down me thinks, so its away in the garage until the rain stops......
Also, it was in ford the other day getting its paint and body check done, and the guy commented on the condition of my car- he said its a minter, which makes me feel a bit better about it
Blue dash.........
Finally got my blue dash conversion finished, well, i say finished..............
you might notice orange dots?
Thats cos my Tdci didnt have rest pegs, and you cant get lockwood diesel dials without them. So they are only temporary- need to get to the scrappy.
Overall, think it looks miles better than the green.........
Not changing the LCD bit as its too complicated on the 03> clusters
De- Wipered its arse......
