Sics Consolidated Faded Moderns Thread - 2006 Golf Mk5 GTI & 2004 BMW Z4 2.2

[SiC]

I'm keeping the spend low on this until I can get it through an MOT. That expires on the 10th Jan so I'll try getting it booked in next month if I can get a slot. Thermostat I want to do as it should pay for itself in fuel savings quite quickly and is cheap. Likewise the rear view mirror is an irritating distraction and again cheap (£20 or so).

I dare not look underneath too much. The rusty brake pipes are possibly the thing that may need attention for the MOT. Hopefully won't be a pain getting it done with the SBC system needing to be told to bleed.

[SiC]

Mercedes are still doing SBC pump safety recalls FOC.

Before you get too keen, go underneath and pull the plastic floor under trays back - someone showed me a pic of a 280 Estate that was so spectacularly rotten it was weighed in. It’s on the FB W211 group.

This one?

[Jazoli]

Mercedes are still doing SBC pump safety recalls FOC.

In the USA, definitely not in the UK.

[SiC]

While waiting for a build to finish compiling, I went out to put the bins away. Looking back at the car, I thought "sod it, let's get this job started"

As I'm not confident that it'll not snap the fasteners with the first turn, I decided it would make sense to turn it around. Mostly for better access if I need to weld nuts and also if it becomes a driveway ornament for a bit, the driveway is still usable. 

Two E-torx 11mm bolts are all that need to come undone.

Long ratchet to give plenty of easy leverage while allowing to push the torx socket hard onto the bolt. My experience of these fixings is they're great unless you cam-out and then they round off in a blink of an eye. Did that when doing the Clio 172 water pump/cambelt job and I don't want to be doing that again. At least this time the access is phenomenal.

Left one was really easy. Right was stiff. Did a bit of back and forth motion on that right one to try loosening it a bit more. I really should invest in a MAP torch so I can heat this sort of stuff up and give them an easier life. 
Anyway they have broke free now, so next thing I need is to pick the thermostat up and wait for my new hose clamp pliers to arrive. I'm going to try snatching this without draining the whole system down. If I clamp the main hoses, I hope to minimise coolant loss. Just Amazon have said my clamp pliers won't be arriving till late this evening now. Ho hum. 
Might just give it a go without them and try to be quicker.

[Hooli]

rusty brake pipe.

That reminds me, I've got one to paint. Only about 1" of it is rusty.

[paulplom]

I have a spare mapp torch if you'd like me to send you it.

[SiC]

The SBC module on these is the complete master braking system. It looks a bit like an ABS module except it's function is more than that. Basically a fully fly by wire brake system that has a pump, reservoir and actuators. A Bosch idea that they no doubt spent a small fortune developing. Problem is, it has a defined life and will throw an error once enough brake actuations have been performed. A bigger problem for city taxi drivers that used the brake a lot. Replacing this module is expensive and require dealer level tools to bleed + code.

In the 2006 facelift, the whole system was ditched and went back to a normal electro-mechanic hydraulic system. It cost Bosch and Mercedes a fortune to rectify. Obviously America got far more warranty cover than in Europe.

Thus puts a lot of fear in for people who own these cars and makes the post facelift more desirable. Shame as apart from the liability factor, it's a really nice system to use with a few nice features (brake hold/brake stop/etc). 

The biggest question for me is how much life is left on the unit in this car?

Turns out you can date these units. 

On top of the pump there is a date code. It's the first three numbers on B

This corresponds to these dates:

So what is mine?

I struggled to get a good picture but essentially the first three numbers is 005.

This means the unit was built in May 2010. So it's 13 years old and definitely not original. Not sure when it was fitted as I don't have the paperwork. But safe to assume it would have been a few months from manufacturing to fitting.

Looking at the MOT history the car was at 79k to 90k during that likely period. The car is on 146k. So I'm looking at a module that's only done 60k or so mile.

Fantastic! No longer something I have to really worry about as it massively reduces the liability level of it being relatively new.

[Eddie Honda]

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[SiC]

C_A_T.jpg

The Eddie Hammer is next on the list. If not me, the MOT tester!

[SiC]

Picked up the thermostat from the local car part shop earlier. Quality is okay. Not fabulous but not terrible.


Spotted this fire hazard in the car park. Bit of a heap if I'm honest. Fair play driving that in this mixed weather though.

Upon arriving home and parking up, I realised that the TT and E-class are nearly the same colour. I'm bit bored of blue cars but I seem to keep buying them!

Hose clamp pliers delivered by one of Bezos finest.

Set to work. First off clamping the pipes to minimise loss.

Top hose came off without loosing too much. Pushed it out of the way and kept it high to stop the rad draining.

The stiff thermostat bolt was pretty filthy. Also had a weird chunk out of the thread. I cleaned this up with a wire brush.

Thermostat came off okay. There is a handy flat section on the housing to allow easy prying without risking damaging any machined mating surfaces.

Wire brushed the crud off and fitted the new stat + bolts.

Hose on

Remove clamps and refill

Old stat was a bit cruddy but didn't look too bad as they usually do. 


Mega, mega easy job. Possibly the easiest 'stat change I've ever done.