XM V6 series 1.5 back on the road
Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 6:23 pm
Hi All, I feel it's time for an update on George's old black lhd XM V6 which I took on in August last year. The car managed to scrape through an MOT with attention to the washers and 4 new tyres, no one more surprised than me!
As posted previously some kind person smashed a rear 1/4 window whilst awaiting repairs to the exhaust manifold but that was sorted a couple of months ago thanks to Paul from the forum. Sadly I can't claim to have had the same success with the rear bank exhaust manifold, the original chap I had lined up (where the window was smashed) declined to do the job after wasting 8 weeks with excuses. I have had a couple of enormous quotes which I won't be pursuing but have another possibility to investigate locally, will update later in the month.
The really good news is that none of this has prevented me using and getting to really know the car, thanks to the wonders of modern materials technology and some bodgery my grandad would have been proud of the car is genuinely in daily use! I have never been a fan of these miracle sealers and the like but for £9 I decided to risk some JB Weld to try and plug the exhaust leak. By removing the RH front wheel and wing liner I was able to apply some of this epoxy putty after viewing the affected area with a mirror and torch then using "the force" to apply the bodgetastic putty! Imagine my surprise when after leaving it for 8 hours to cure the car fired up to reveal a smooth burbling PRV V6 with not a hint of the "chuffing" which previously alarmed pedestrians as I wafted by!
After 2 months and over 1000 miles the noise is returning albeit at a vastly reduced volume. Time to borrow the ramp again and apply more "miracle bodge" methinks! You could in theory drive indefinitely by using this method, however as the rest of the car is in such a good state I will be doing the job properly at some stage. There are numerous silly electrical issues which I will tackle over the next few months but nothing has caused an FTP yet (tempts fate gratuitously) and the car is enormously enjoyable to use on my daily commute.
I will post some pics soon, in the meantime I look forward to continuing to enjoy this unique and underrated car and getting inspiration from the forum, it's a great community!
And911
As posted previously some kind person smashed a rear 1/4 window whilst awaiting repairs to the exhaust manifold but that was sorted a couple of months ago thanks to Paul from the forum. Sadly I can't claim to have had the same success with the rear bank exhaust manifold, the original chap I had lined up (where the window was smashed) declined to do the job after wasting 8 weeks with excuses. I have had a couple of enormous quotes which I won't be pursuing but have another possibility to investigate locally, will update later in the month.
The really good news is that none of this has prevented me using and getting to really know the car, thanks to the wonders of modern materials technology and some bodgery my grandad would have been proud of the car is genuinely in daily use! I have never been a fan of these miracle sealers and the like but for £9 I decided to risk some JB Weld to try and plug the exhaust leak. By removing the RH front wheel and wing liner I was able to apply some of this epoxy putty after viewing the affected area with a mirror and torch then using "the force" to apply the bodgetastic putty! Imagine my surprise when after leaving it for 8 hours to cure the car fired up to reveal a smooth burbling PRV V6 with not a hint of the "chuffing" which previously alarmed pedestrians as I wafted by!
After 2 months and over 1000 miles the noise is returning albeit at a vastly reduced volume. Time to borrow the ramp again and apply more "miracle bodge" methinks! You could in theory drive indefinitely by using this method, however as the rest of the car is in such a good state I will be doing the job properly at some stage. There are numerous silly electrical issues which I will tackle over the next few months but nothing has caused an FTP yet (tempts fate gratuitously) and the car is enormously enjoyable to use on my daily commute.
I will post some pics soon, in the meantime I look forward to continuing to enjoy this unique and underrated car and getting inspiration from the forum, it's a great community!
And911