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Imola S50 - long overdue journal!

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  • #31
    Cleaner everything up, and decided whilst I was there to clean up the MAF using Halfords electrical contact cleaner as recommended elsewhere. I forgot how tight it is to fit the Simota in place, especially with the less flexible new silicone elbow! Tip for anyone else in the future, build up the entire intake (intake, MAF, hump and elbow first, and fit the elbow to the manifold once everything is in place:

    Click image for larger version  Name:	intake.jpg Views:	0 Size:	46.8 KB ID:	299448

    Somewhat annoyingly, the car now does not idle at all and stalls. If I disconnect the MAF, it runs and idles sweetly and the misfire has gone.

    Looks like cleaning the MAF was a bad idea! New Bosch ones are nearly £500

    I've ordered an aftermarket one for £60 - I'd have to get through a few to make up the cost of an OEM one! May try to slot the actual sensor into the old housing when it arrives to avoid having to dismantle the whole lot again...
    Last edited by Knightrider; 10-05-2022, 07:46 PM.
    '99 Imola S50 | Simota | Front strut | Braided clutch cable | Bilstein B8 and H&R springs

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    • #32
      Originally posted by Knightrider View Post
      Cleaner everything up, and decided whilst I was there to clean up the MAF using Halfords electrical contact cleaner as recommended elsewhere. I forgot how tight it is to fit the Simota in place, especially with the less flexible new silicone elbow! Tip for anyone else in the future, build up the entire intake (intake, MAF, hump and elbow first, and fit the elbow to the manifold once everything is in place:

      Click image for larger version Name:	intake.jpg Views:	0 Size:	46.8 KB ID:	299448

      Somewhat annoyingly, the car now does not idle at all and stalls. If I disconnect the MAF, it runs and idles sweetly and the misfire has gone.

      Looks like cleaning the MAF was a bad idea! New Bosch ones are nearly £500

      I've ordered an aftermarket one for £60 - I'd have to get through a few to make up the cost of an OEM one! May try to slot the actual sensor into the old housing when it arrives to avoid having to dismantle the whole lot again...
      I cleaned mine years ago (2014) with a gentle spray of cleaner and it was fine but have read other horror stories of them not working after a clean. There was a company selling the original part on ebay with big discount so may be worth a search.

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      • #33
        Finally got this sorted. I ordered a new aftermarket MAF sensor from Autodoc in the end as it was about 15% the cheapest price of a new Bosch one! Sensor slots straight into the old housing.

        Initially when installed the car ran awfully - stalling at every junction and stuttering under acceleration. I took everything back out to check that I hadn't fit anything incorrectly causing a vacuum leak, and then disconnected the battery to reset the ECU. Then let the car sit and idle for 20 mins.

        After a couple of drives up the motorway, now running fine - stable smooth idle with good acceleration and no stutters.

        In future, I must remember if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it!
        '99 Imola S50 | Simota | Front strut | Braided clutch cable | Bilstein B8 and H&R springs

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        • #34
          As per my thread in the Technical discussion section - turns out the problem wasn't fixed and I needed a new ECU.

          One of the things that was bugging me is that the replacement ECU/EWS only came with a single key transponder chip, meaning that my spare and valet key wouldn't disable the immobiliser. I could have cloned the old ECU to the replacement, but the car was running so well and the ECU cost so much that I didn't want to risk it. Not much chance of getting a replacement key from a dealer given that the ECU/EWS VIN doesn't match the VIN on my V5...

          So - I bought a £25 AK90+ key programmer from EBay, and a couple of blank transponder chips for a few quid, and programmed the chips to my new EWS following this guide. Swapped out the transponder chips into the old keys, and hey presto - full set of working keys again for less than £30.

          Biggest faff was finding an old laptop still running windows 7!
          '99 Imola S50 | Simota | Front strut | Braided clutch cable | Bilstein B8 and H&R springs

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          • #35
            MOT passed today - no advisories!
            '99 Imola S50 | Simota | Front strut | Braided clutch cable | Bilstein B8 and H&R springs

            Comment


            • #36
              Originally posted by Knightrider View Post
              As per my thread in the Technical discussion section - turns out the problem wasn't fixed and I needed a new ECU.

              One of the things that was bugging me is that the replacement ECU/EWS only came with a single key transponder chip, meaning that my spare and valet key wouldn't disable the immobiliser. I could have cloned the old ECU to the replacement, but the car was running so well and the ECU cost so much that I didn't want to risk it. Not much chance of getting a replacement key from a dealer given that the ECU/EWS VIN doesn't match the VIN on my V5...

              So - I bought a £25 AK90+ key programmer from EBay, and a couple of blank transponder chips for a few quid, and programmed the chips to my new EWS following this guide. Swapped out the transponder chips into the old keys, and hey presto - full set of working keys again for less than £30.

              Biggest faff was finding an old laptop still running windows 7!
              Good info

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              • #37
                My sills are pretty much as bad as these ones were earlier on in this journal. Again, my car has "done time" in Scotland in the past. I enquired with bmw for the sills but they are nla. So I've manged to find a breaker who's prepared to cut out the sill sections that I need which will then get grafted onto mine. The welder who is going to repair mine said this would be the simplest way to ensure the factory finish due to the contours around the jacking points and drains.
                Did the full video ever get onto youtube? I've only found a short intro video pre repair on the redish channel. Did they repair via a similar route or fabricate the sections by hand?
                Car looks great btw

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                • #38
                  They fabricated the sections by hand - looked almost OEM by the end. I managed to download the videos but I am not sure Reddish ever put it all together. All the contours and holes were perfectly created an aligned.

                  I'll see if I can find a way to upload the full videos.
                  '99 Imola S50 | Simota | Front strut | Braided clutch cable | Bilstein B8 and H&R springs

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                  • #39
                    Video of the Sill repair uploaded to youtube - hope James doesn't mind!

                    https://youtu.be/A_PXGLp3rPI
                    '99 Imola S50 | Simota | Front strut | Braided clutch cable | Bilstein B8 and H&R springs

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                    • #40
                      Massive thanks to you Simon for posting this video. Cant wait to get mine sorted

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                      • #41
                        Finally gotten round to booking the car in for a full respray - off to Hanson's tomorrow

                        New rear wings x2, front wings x2 and boot handle (old one is quite pitted) ready to go:



                        Old panels were probably salvageable but as I am going to the trouble I went for new panels to reduce the chance of any rust coming back. I've decided to delete the factory mudguards - the front wings were rusting underneath where they hold water.

                        Once done, PPF to the front end to protect from stone chips. It's going to be an expensive month...



                        '99 Imola S50 | Simota | Front strut | Braided clutch cable | Bilstein B8 and H&R springs

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                        • #42
                          Ooh where did you get the boot handle? Are they still delaer available? And how much did you pay?
                          Mine is also pitted and I thought rechroming was the only way to improve it...
                          ----------------
                          David
                          1999 M Coupe (S50)
                          >>Read my journal here<<
                          2005 Smart Roadster-Coupe Brabus
                          2022 Range Rover Evoque PHEV

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                          • #43
                            eBay. Not cheap - £160! I didn't check dealer prices as I needed it in time to get to the paint shop...
                            '99 Imola S50 | Simota | Front strut | Braided clutch cable | Bilstein B8 and H&R springs

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                            • #44
                              Thanks they're all £200+ on ebay now - dealer price is £168 so that sounds like you got a bargain!
                              Good to know they're still available though - Germany stock only mind!
                              ----------------
                              David
                              1999 M Coupe (S50)
                              >>Read my journal here<<
                              2005 Smart Roadster-Coupe Brabus
                              2022 Range Rover Evoque PHEV

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Back from the paint shop looking very shiny. Unfortunately hasn't stopped raining since I picked it up, so can't get it out of the garage! Not driving it anywhere until the PPF is on...


                                Only slight niggle is that the airbag light is stuck on with a seatbelt pre-tensioner warning. Need to pull the seat out at the weekend and check the cables/connections.
                                '99 Imola S50 | Simota | Front strut | Braided clutch cable | Bilstein B8 and H&R springs

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