CAE's Daily Jim

Service finished. Ended up doing the coolant too which I have been meaning to do since I bought the car as it looked in a sorry state, the first flush confirmed this

5 flushes later its totally clear and full of my chosen red stuff.

Oil again, was in a sorry state. I really question the validity of the claim from the dealer I bought the car off of that they serviced it themselves when it came in to them. The oil was in an awfully sludgy state, I believe it is much more likely it was last changed when the last stamp in the book was at, about 25k miles ago. That being said, new fully synth has done it a world of good, the pronounced VVT lift at 3500rpm appears to be back, and a small amount of top end tappet ticking has all but entirely disappeared.

Still on the to do list is my kingpin bearings, diff, tcase and gearbox oils and a very late aircon system refill.

Mobil one did the same when I serviced mine. The VVT became much more pronounced (as much of a surge as 86bhp can muster), its lost to memory now, I've got used to it.......

I think it's a great little engine and it rewards good maintenance. If you ain't scared to push it to 5k + and keep busy with the gearstick, it can match most hatchbacks on B roads. Love getting the odd look from drivers as they catch me up going into a 30, where I always behave.

Your car looks to be very pampered, it will pay dividends with long term ownership.....

sniper

Depends on your definition of pampered. If washed ~4 times per year, and thrashed within an inch of it's life on my commute home is your definition of pampering. :laugh: That being said, good quality servicing and components make all the difference, I wanted to use Mobil 1, but couldn't find anything other than the ESP type in Xw30 weight. I would have gone for another top shelf oil like Shell Helix Ultra, but Halfords has a good deal on on Mobil 3k at the moment (£27 for 5L of branded fully synth is good).

Ditto the Jimny really is OK on b-roads, you get a good level of feedback for a 4x4 and its fairly chuckable once you get used to it. That being said for me it 'feels' a lot faster than it is, which is good. Thrashing it along at 70mph is great fun, I would need to be doing 90-100 in my MX5 or a hot hatch to return the same feeling, well north of a ton on the bike. Also with the roads where I am having something you can just sling into the ditch on single track roads rather than hunting for a passing place is great.

Eurocarparts for Mobil one, -35% discount.

I meant pampered as in well serviced, not as in polished...... no slant intended sir.....

sniper

Opi oil is good place, but if you want there free delivery you have to be prepared to wait

Right, I might be going a bit mad.

My Jimny has air con. Or at least there is a button on the dash that says A/C. It has never worked, it also never had made any noise or change in revs when the button is pressed. I had the system pressure tested and there is zero pressure.

Now this is the bit that is getting me, WHERE is the Jimny air con compressor? Conventional wisdom says its a clutched mechanical system (its old and Japanese, i doubt it'd be electric). Normally they sit on the aux belt below the power steering pump. I can't see mine, where I would expect an air compressor to be there is nothing but a blank bracket.


Am I looking in the wrong place, or has someone taken the AC pump off of this motor at some point and not put it back on?

Edit: Just looked again, yup, someones pikey'd my AC pump, traced the pipe down from the test valve and it leads down to absolutely nothing.