She passed her MOT

Congrats Team Pug, we passed the MOT!

Her MOT was Monday 4:30pm.
She is my first petrol car.
My sister bought her first car many years ago, she got a Peugeot 106 which was also petrol.
It failed on emissions and needed a catalytic converter. Back in those days a new cat would be several hundreds of pounds; thus - she scrapped the car.
So, one of main worries for this MOT was emissions.... After he'd done the emissions test which was better than excellent, I relaxed a little...

However, despite being otherwise in a fantastic state with all the work I have been doing (and with some help from a friend) she did fail the MOT on Monday.
The rear offside top suspension horizontal link bar had excessive play in the ball joint.
This link bar holds the wheel up straight if you will, with excessive play the wheel was able to move outwards and inwards - movement which is fairly unsafe, so of corse it failed on that.
That was the ONLY failure reason.
I went across the way to the motor factors, got the new link bar - £27 would you believe? Up North where my friend lives (the mobile mechanic) they are £9, I presume that's trade price but even still, I paid THREE TIMES that amount.
Wanting Miss Pug MOT'd asap I paid this price, got home and me and Dave fitted the new link bar together. It wasn't an easy job, like with anything the bolts were corroded to such a state it took will power and effort to remove the old one - and that's with the MOT tester being kind and ''lubing it up''.
I shall not tell you how weak I felt in my knees when a man checking over my car told me he was just going to lube her up for me........

Anyway, moving on.
Being a typical woman I wore a nice low cut top to impress.
As he failed the car, he said 'Hey, come here - you know what you're doing'
I went over, laid my chest onto the ramp to get a closer look at what was going on. I saw it alright.
Anyway, got back up from leaning said boobies on the ramp - only to see I had slight oil issues in a delicate area......

Anyway, as we were leaving the test station we asked about a re-test and booked her in for the next day (Tuesday).
Tuesday she went back for her re-test and she flew threw that with flying colours.

The ABS light hasn't been on for a few days now, so all appears well.

Go Team Pug! :)

The old suspension horizontal link bar.

Out with the old and in with the new!

It has been over a year since these were in my car......

And on other news: I want more stickers.... (I know, I know... )


I haven't fully decided yet which one I want but it's out of the following:

I would say these are almost a definite:

Please don't think because she's passed an MOT the jobs are done.
I still have LOADS to be doing.

* Oil and fuel filter change
* Auxiliary belt
* Timing belt and tensioners
* Cam belt
* LOOK at spark plugs, process of elimination with that job........

The importance of being a car owner is not that you drive it all the time, it's the importance of maintenance. Cars are like us, they need looking after. You look after them and they will look after us.
Even though I have put the oil and fuel filter change before the belts, I intend on doing the belts before the filters.
I do have a very annoying squeaking (auxiliary belt is slipping) and I do not have any previous service history so even I don't know when the last cam belt was done. That being said, because the car has been stood a while all belts will need doing to edge on the side of caution, as with any rubber they perish, crack etc - so definitely going to get those belts done soon........

When I finish the above list, I then have to go track down a donor car for some parts I need... Nothing major I grant you, just little niggles that I want sorted.

And on other news, My good friend Maria is on holiday and she's been told specifically Miss Pug wants a post card.
She's addressing it to; Miss Pug, the sexy thing on the drive...........
She best remember to do it and I shall post a picture when it arrives, Would love to see the post womans' face ;)

Over and out - for now. :)

Diagnostics - Thanks Richard!

Well, as you're all aware I have been fighting with the ABS Fault for some time.
Just after Christmas I had the lovely Paul and wife visit me to run diagnostics on it.
As a quick re-cap it found two faults:
1 - Air bags ECU was ''incorrect''
2 - Rear right abs sensor

Work so far has been done to these two culprits. Both would fail an mot.
The airbag ECU was NOT incorrect, yet it was a dodgy connection (gotta love the French eh?)
I massacred the electrics and sorted that.

The ABS sensor was changed.

Yet some-fucking-how the silly Pug-mobile still threw up an ABS fault.
It is VERY intermittent. I still don't know the route cause of it in fairness, I have a good idea though.
I asked on the 406 forum I visit (for anyone following my blog, it's 406oc.co.uk Forum) if anyone was local to me and had PP2000 (Peugeot Planet 2000, the Peugeot diagnostics).
After a wee while a kind gentleman from the forum asked if I still needed it done and said he would be in the area on business and could hook her up for me.
I accepted this young mans kind offer.

My drive has never looked better than when these two 406's were on the drive.
My estate; his saloon. Perfection, purified!

Anyway, we checked out each others under the bonnets then got to work. Plugged her in (by all means PP2000 seemed to respond a LOT faster to the car)
Still no ABS fault had beeped since I put it back together.
Anyway, in the menu for the ABS, he made Miss Pug go beep!
It was fine until we went into this menu... argh!

'Rear right ABS sensor' showed an intermittent fault.
We cleared the fault. Went for a short test drive and returned.
Hooked her back up and the fault has cleared - Woo hoo! :)

Maybe it just needed the fault clearing?





WRONG.
The day after diagnostics was done, it beeped up twice (Friday).
On Sunday it beeped up an astonishing EIGHT times - weather was wet.


A HUGE thank you to Richard who came to see us on Thursday!
Incredibly nice to meet the second person off this fantastic forum. :)

AB-Sorted

Well the last time I wrote a blog the ABS light was flashing up before the engine was even turned over.
Yesterday, I took the connector back apart to see if a spray of WD40 and pushing the connector back together again would help.

Work station set back up - Was short lived.

Car-side abs connector plug. (Sensor connector plug in background).

Car-side abs connector plug, a Citroen part!
Are there any Peugeot parts on the car I wonder?

The ABS connector plug.

The end result of today's putting her back together for diagnostics tomorrow:

What I did to get here:
Not an awful lot is the answer to that.
I took apart the connection box, sprayed some WD40 in both ends of the plug, put it back together.
ABS FAULT still flashed up, again, again and again.
I then disconnected two 15amp fuses in the engine bay fuse box (supposedly they control the ABS) however, neither affected the light on the dash lol. There has been talk of a 'second engine bay fuse box' IF there is one I can't find it.
I won't lie, yesterday I was in a foul mood, I was NOT a force to be reckoned with. I was weighing up my options and considering scrapping her. Anyone who saw my comment on yesterdays status will notice that I used to drive 405 estates.
I made this comment ''GOD damn I should of been driving that 405 estate and NOT pondering the thought at ever owning a 406 estate but instead of been thinking bet they can't make the 406 as nice as this'' 

I need to clear that ''service light'' which basically is the spanner symbol telling me a service is over-due on the car (HAS it not seen the work I've been doing????!!!!) LOL

I am keeping my fingers and toes tightly crossed that this ABS fault is sorted and has been put to bed once and for all.
I have rolled her back and for the drive for the sensor to sense the wheel moving and perhaps to flag the fault back up but - so far - so good.


Plan of action:
* Clean the car, inside and out. Remove tools from the boot.
* Run through a few more MOT checks
* MOT on Monday afternoon

Wish us luck!

[ Insert many swear words here ]

Right, as my readers are probably aware from my Facebook, I had hoped to have Miss Pug in a local MOT test station on Friday 26th of this month, April.

The bad news is that despite my best efforts and Daves' best efforts (my v-dubs friend with the mk4 golf) the hopes of the MOT being on Friday have been dashed, or should I say slashed?

As my readers will also be aware we chiseled the ABS sensor away from the retaining bolt and took the old sensor off that way.

STUCK

 I was going to get a mobile mechanic out at the cost of £30 and although that is MUCH cheaper than the local grease monkey, it is just simply money I'd rather spend on an MOT / Tax and getting her back on the road.

One my long-distance mobile mechanics advice I invited my mate Dave back over to DRILL the new metal sleeve from inside the sensor. I don't have a drill so I needed a man with more tools than I have. :)

Metal sleeve - the old sensor sleeve remains on the car (and as stuck as the bolt may I add).

This needs drilling out so it can slide over the old bolt.

All drilled out ~ Thanks Dave!

Now it can slide over the old bolt and sleeve.

ABS Rear right (off side) sensor in place.
When clipping it into the connector we noticed the were wires exposed that had come out of the casing, nothing a bit of electrical insulation tape couldn't fix.

With this work done we set about putting the caliper back on, putting the bolts under the correct torque and even put the wheel back on - Whoop whoop!
We then let Miss Pug's rear offside wheel meet the floor once again. It has been on A 'stilt' for a while now so setting her back down, removing the axle stand - she looks so low. I feel like I've slashed the springs to get her ''that low''
However, it's just the normal, I am used to it being MUCH higher on the axle stand obviously but I still can't get used to just how low she looks. (Photobucket is being gay, I shall re-post a picture when it stops being soooo gay).



The Bad News:
Despite the sensor being on properly, the caliper back in position and fixed and the wheel on I am **STILL** having Miss Pug throw up an ''ABS FAULT'' on the central console.
At the first start up after it was put back together (lol, makes it sound like an interesting puzzle doesn't it?) I put her into reverse and moved only about a foot backwards and it beeped up. Not too disheartened, knew it may take a bit of time to settle down.
Second time it came on was after about 10 minutes of tick over on the drive.
Third time it came on was after more tick over.
Fourth time it came on was a few hours later, before I even turned the engine over.
Now today, each time the key is put in and before I even try to turn the engine over it's going off.
Now, a few possibilities is that the connector isn't properly connected, or needs some WD40 (this is the best out come).
Another possibility is where the wires were ''sort of'' exposed, there needs to be some rewiring done under there, another is that the sensor wasn't up to the job (not a genuine part), another could be the abs teeth.

Incredibly pissed off that this work has been for NOTHING. I wanted her to go before the MOT inspector this Friday (26th). I now have ONE MONTHS notice on the house.
What do I do now?
Do I keep going in the hope with more expense I can get her through an MOT, or do I cut my loses, surcombe to hiring a trailer to move it and hire a van and basically slit my throat to spite my face?
It seems no matter how much money I am throwing into it, it isn't going to play ball. At the moment I've spent £200 on PARTS and TOOLS, £210 on insurance deposit, by the time she is on the road and working I will of spent in excess of £550 just to get her back on the road.

I am so fucking pissed off I am contemplating selling her as spares and repairs on flea-bay, I am THAT pissed off with the fucking thing.
I have tried my best, enrolled the help of complete strangers and a friend to help me but still it isn't enough.

This car is giving me more grief than BOTH of my 205s put together ever did.

Yes, I am a Woman, I am hormonal, it's my blog and I will rant my fucking head off if I want to.


On other news:
I drove Dave's mk4 ''V-dubs'' Golf yesterday, it's a 1.8 turbo GTi (red I makes all the difference apparently).
I had much fun driving that beast around, good brakes, good tyres = Sonia could throw this thing around the place and she did. It held up well, power steering is dead heavy and the seats not as comfortable as Miss Pug, the pedals seem too compact for my liking but I drove for the first time ever in my steelies (explains my heavy right foot eh?) I think I possibly gave Dave a heart attack at one point with one particular round a bout in mind....

It has made me realize this though.
The girl who was happy enough with her diesels has become a proper petrol head.
I will update this as and when I get more news about this stubborn ass bitch of mine.

I will just end this blog on the sad note that today is the 2nd Angel-versary of my Grampy Fred's passing. I took flowers over to his grave yesterday, I don't envision life ever being the same without him and I miss him like mad.

Game Over

Well, sadly I've had enough with this 5mm hex screw.
I have given it my all, I have had a hack saw, mole grips and other bits and pieces sent to me - in a bid for my victory.
I have stayed out under the car when I have been so cold I felt like I would freeze to the spot.
I have tried molegrips, I have tried plenty of WD40 and I have tried plenty of elbow grease but the darn thing is NOT moving.
I would love to introduce heat to the equation, but being just below the petrol tank; it's not something I wish to tempt fate with.
This screw has been on the car since it was made, nearly thirteen years ago. It has huffed and puffed and it has corroded the place down in there.

I have already spent around 5 hours labour on this one, tiny piece of metal and now is the time to give up and hand over to a local mechanic, I say 'local', the 'local' mechanic wanted to charge £65 which included a call out fee. The mechanic I have chosen comes from Swindon way and by all accounts seems a fairly decent lad - I can't wait for him to get stuck in.
I have told him exactly what's happened, he did ask how I got the sensor off without taking the bolt off... To which I told him, chiseled it off lol.
He recons it should take no more than an hour and cost no more than £28.

To me, £28 doesn't seem too bad at all. But when you think of the size of the screw holding this up it is a lot.
I know that £28 will get it sorted and it is perhaps a small price to pay to get the job finished but it's more than that to me.
I have failed.
One tiny bolt has beaten me.

I guess, on the flip side when people are getting their cars ready for an MOT and know it will fail on something, usually it's not as cheap as under £30 pounds.

You bleepety bleep bleep bleeper!

There's a local lad who always brings home a flat bed truck, a mechanic-type person.. anyway, I have never made contact before, I do however notice how his old flatbed was a Citroen and now he's driving a Peugeot one... (he instantly wins points for that!)
Anyway, I thought - what the hell, I have nothing to lose. So I went and asked if he was a mechanic.
He said 'kinda' and then I fluttered my eye lashes and asked if he wouldn't mind to come and have a look at a bolt for me... He then confirmed 'the peugeot?' I said yes.. He's clearly seen me out there all the time faffing about.... hard not to notice me eh?
He came (oh behave readers!), he saw, he didn't conquer lol. No one will. He asked for the mole grips and couldn't do it.. Bless him he had a go and I thanked him very much for trying.
So, that's 2 men that have now tried and can't, including my woman-hours on such a job, I resign!
I'll hand over to my tame, but brutal mechanic with his Cobalt ... Wink wink.

Local neighbour who tried to help.......

Now, bolt aside.

I decided to clean this sexy bitch.

Insured *insert HUGE smile face here*

It has caused one big stressed headache since yesterday but I can safely say Miss Pug is insured, as of an hour ago.

Long story short, the pillocks who I was last with fed me with lies, telling me my no claims couldn't be transfered and 'recovered' if I went elsewhere.
Problem is, even without no claims and fully comp, it was £300 cheaper than they could do me for.
I got through to customer service today, asked if they had proof of my no claims, they do - and have sent them. So I went on with my way getting quotes from the likes of Money Supermarket and Compare The Market websites.
(For those who are interested, Money Supermarket returned much cheaper options).

The first cheapest company on fully comp, with my no claims was ''Sheilas wheels, model driver'' who wanted to play Big Brother with Miss Pug and me.
There's a tele-wotsit me-jig box they ''screw'' into the dash, which monitors your driving standards, you're braking distance and even the time of day you drive.
Should you speed, you apparently get fines from them (even if the police are not aware), should you be out past 9pm it can affect the policy prices.

I'm sorry, I don't do DRILLING HOLES IN MY DASH, nor this big brother bollocks, so made my way through the list.
Second cheapest (Motor quote direct) were incredibly helpful.

It turned out my previous insurance (last year) only had the car down as a 5 seater estate so I asked MQD if it came up as a 7 seater on their database, yes was the answer. We then got into a bit of conversation, he said 'I am sure Peugeot were the first to bring in a 7 seater estate weren't they?' I said I didn't know but Volvo came close I think.

Anyway, with that out the way I asked the question.
I couldn't remember the proper name: ''telematic box'' so I said 'Oh, do you install those telephone-wotsit, mejigs' his reply was 'Well I've never heard of those before, oh yes those - no we don't' I was like 'Ok, good I will go with you, no way is someone drilling holes in my dash'


So, in long and short, the car is finally insured. Costing an arm and leg but that's what you get for such a big engined car, a posh one at that lol.

Next thing is to conquer the abs screw, fit new sensor and to get her through her MOT (in Swindon, if you see us on our way, blown your horn, raise your hand) and then to go to Oxford DVLA to tax her. (Or I could ring DVLA and see how much a replacement V5 costs, and how long it would take to come).



Either way, one very happy girlie right here

Miss Pug is being a difficult customer with her ABS sensor

Well further to ''you tart ass karma sutra queen'' blog I write with some good and bad news.


Let's start with the good news.
Jobs were delegated yesterday to a friend who did the work yesterday, all I did was hold a torch.
He tried the 5mm allen key then the 6mm, and true to form it felt ''somewhere in between the two''
He also tried his torx bits, he tried T30 and T40 and said it was between them, I jumped up saying I had a Torx 35 (remember front seat rails) and again - it wouldn't work.
We then jumped to the conclusion it was rounded. Perhaps I had tried so bloody hard a few days ago that no amount of strength could move this very clearly stuck screw. If the screw is as stuck as it is, then surely the head was going to get mashed up anyway...
We are talking about a 13 year old screw, I doubt this job has been done before.
Anyway, my mechanic friend said to chisel through the side of the sensor, chisel off the screw.
Much elbow grease later and a piece of plastic went flying. He'd done it. He's broken the sensor away from the retaining screw.
I did say a couple of days ago this bolt isn't going to make it out in one piece and it became clear yesterday that the original sensor wasn't going to either, lol.
Anyway, with the sensor now free from the retaining screw we thought it would be easy enough to prize out the hole... WRONG. She put up a fight again. We tried everything to try and prize it out.
Was then advised to take the disk off and adopt the 'punch it through' idea...
It didn't take long and it was punched through (yippee!)

The bad news.
Although the sensor is out of it's place, the fact remains that bastard screw is locked into position with a knackered head. This is going to be an absolute pig of a job to do. My friend is a very strong man and if he couldn't do it - I stand absolutely no chance.
With work ground to a halt again I have no choice but to delay the MOT. Was hoping to have it done by the weekend (and drive over to Grampy's next weekend to lay flowers on his 2 year anniversary of passing) but I am sure he will understand my dilemma.
At the end of the day, he knows better than anyone what it's like to work on a stubborn machine..... :)

Ready for pics?

Plastic piece that went flying....... :)

One retaining screw-less abs speed sensor.

On a side note: I burnt 2 disks for my friend who helped me with this yesterday. I tested both in Miss Pug, both worked perfectly.
However, in his German crapola car - neither would play.
Nawww, see - Pugs are the best... just a teeny tiny bit too stubborn at times. :)