My clutch had a screw loose!

[Cubits]

Well, not so much loose as flying around inside the bell housing! Adding to insult, this mystery screw (origins unknown), got jammed against the pressure plate, span around in the housing a bit, then jarred the clutch and put a hole in the bell housing. Luckily the hole was tiny and placed just right to save me from major expense. Still, a new clutch was required (as well as a lot of expense on labour!)

That being said, my recent visit to the mechanic to have the clutch cable inspected ran up a tidy $1700 bill!

My mechanic told me that the clutch fork had been rewelded previously, but at an odd angle. That was fixed, but raises the question of why it was rewelded in the first place! Are they susceptible to shearing, or was it a "performance enhancement"?

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The list of oddities continues. A screw that mounted the oil cooler had snapped off in the mounting hole (too much torque?!), which then had an attempt to drill it out fail too (see: my gearbox has half a screw and a drill bit stuck in it!). The resulting mounting operation was dodgy at best, with the oil cooler rubbing on the gearbox (causing severe wear on both parts). My oil cooler is now suspended by several zip ties which are secure, but under frequent monitoring until i figure out what to do as a permanent solution.

At least now a bunch of issues with my car are resolved. I got a big power/torque/economy gain when i had the manifold flange gasket replaced. It was leaking something chronic due to wear and tear from worn engine mounts (and that missing buffer that french car care said i didnt need!). I also have new gear linkages which means i dont get the blocking into gears that i started to suffer recently. Machined flywheel, new timing belt and tensioner, every oil seal known to peugeot kind replaced... etc etc.

So when my bits of rear plastic come in from france (rear ender!) my car should be all pretty again, and have the go to match the show.

BTW, i'd forgotten how brilliant the engine sounds when in proper operating condition. Smooth, double cream coated slab of torque.

Having not been able to drive my car for nearly two months (since that rear ender), it's like rediscovering sex (or chocolate, or both)! Wheeeeeeeee...

[Cubits]

Oh, another thing noted. When he was refitting the exhaust after doing the flange gasket, he noticed the downpipe was bent forward at the bottom, and actually was dented from hitting the lower strut brace! I put this to having a BA crawl up the arse end of my car (it left a black paint stripe up the exhaust tip and all!). I'm going to complain like hell to the people that "fixed" my car after the crash under insurance. Luckily, it has to go back to them anyway to have the imported parts fitted.

Now, a bent downpipe is an expensive item, yes? It has the splitter internally between the cat and the manifold? If they refuse to fix this, what would the damage be for a new one (i'm due a new cat soon anyway)?

I am so angry at Domroy's (note the name, Brisbanites!). I left notes on where the damage was, and all they fixed were the aesthetics. Actually... they didn't even rehang the rear hatch properly, it's off to the left a few mm!