S2 #378 (Steve) - hopefully only light fixes

[MPx]

I agree a quiet ride is better most of the time but a gentle, fairly deep, exhaust note can bring a smile. I find my 2.25 piper system with just a sports cat and rear box is quiet enough for long trips without being emasculated - love it - whereas is the 2.5 system is way too much for me. Just saying that as I'm not at all sure about the idea of putting an extra box in - particularly not "underneath". I find ground clearance in the M100 is pretty poor, worse than the Esprit, and with the state of UK roads/speed humps, grounding out is a real possibility - and that's without a silencer hanging low. Maybe the roads in Oz are way better and its not an issue, but worth considering. Also, and again balanced against noise output, an extra box is bound to decrease flow which seems a shame. The S2 as std was 10 bhp down on the SE and that's all about the cats and exhaust flow.

[378S2]

I am at least three years late to the cam belt service because I just couldn't find the motivation to get started with it... but I have now passed the point of no return. I am very grateful for an Australia car with very little corrosion, it hasn't really been that difficult so far with everything coming loose easily enough. The alternator was a pig, but with the PAS bracket removed I could turn it 0.5 degrees at a time.

I got this far and stopped for the first session.

These made removing the engine mount bracket very easy. I picked them up locally after a tip off from another Aussie owner.

An impressive array of spanners etc. were needed to get to this point!

[dapinky]

Good work...... but you've just cost me a few quid, as I've never seen those sort of Allen keys with a hex head drive.......... not needed very often, but will be invaluable when they are required.

[378S2]

Hi Dave,

Lucky enough they’re not very expensive though, I paid about $30 from a local tool shop, they’re also on Amazon:

https://amzn.asia/d/08ho2Aun

I also bought these ~350mm long spanner which make it a lot simpler to reach in there:

https://ebay.io/m/WNBger

You can never have enough tools…

[Tuga2112]

ive done the job a few times with the offcut of the elan wrench on the 8mm spanner now and find that appraoch adequate. however the amount of torque being applied to a 8mm spanner seems likely to cause premature wear.

i may be in the market for that tool in future.. but on the topic of that job and tools. what i would really like is something suitable to undo the alternator bolts without the need to remove the PAS reservoir ideally.

last time i spend a long time trying to avoid removing it and having the pleasure of dealing with the fluid.. to eventually have to do it regarless. yet im pretty sure there must be something practical for that kind of situation.

[RonR]

I managed to undo the PAS reservoir strap / mounting bolts then carefully move it to one side just enough to get a hand past - dropped the spanner several times, but got there in the end.

[378S2]

Do you all change the idler / tensioner / pump when you do this job as a matter of course or only if they’re in poor condition?

[dapinky]

When they were very cheap, I changed them as a matter of course...... now that they are not, I take a view that if they have been changed "recently" - and that means since I have known the car - then I leave it alone, but if it is still on the Original units at nearly 40 years old, I'll change them.... and after that, it's every 80K miles...... which can be many years, and probably a lot of belt changes!