Mk2 mg zs 180 xpg
 

Hi All,

Here is my recently purchased 180 in X Power Grey. Some of you may probably recognise her as she's been on the forum for a good while now. The two previous owners are forum members I believe, KevG & Maxfly.

I'd been looking for a good year or so for a nice one so as soon as this came up on gumtree I knew it was the one I'd be buying. She's already had some really nice modifications done and has most of the desirable bits and pieces, full leather seats, TF wheel, lowered, Janspeed Manis etc... She also has a cracking service history with plenty of receipts for work carried out which is always a good thing !

So, a killer 12 hour coach journey later and I found myself in Inverness, slightly dazed and confused, numb legs and in dire need of a nicotine fix :nugget:.

I was greeted by Maxfly, who I must say was an absolute pleasure to deal with and a real nice guy, at the coach station who then took me back to his home where the ZS was waiting. A good chat later, money handed over and I was now the official owner of this -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps9tskzvee.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psjgliszow.jpg

Another 12 hour journey and I was back in sunny Birmingham, all went smoothly apart from me losing a rear wind deflector somewhere along the M74.

Here she is, now extremely dirty and in dire need of a wash, taking a well deserved rest on my drive after the long journey home -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pswlhc53qq.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4oi85b8h.jpg

Now, Gary had mentioned that on the previous day when he got back from taking her for a last spin, a plasticky rattling noise had developed from the ancillary side of the engine. I thought it may have been coming from the power steering pump so I took the Aux belt off and started her up but the noise was still there with the belt removed.

This ment that the noise was coming from somewhere deeper in the engine bay so a bit more digging and a few tea breaks later and i had the cam belt exposed -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps89blidtr.jpg

Tea break :cool1: -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psekynj31i.jpg

Straight away I noticed the belt was quite slack so that obviously means that the hydraulic tensioner has failed and is no longer doing its job. A quick test using a plastic spoon to tension the belt and the noise had disappeared meaning the noise was the cambelt slapping on the plastic cam covers.

I'll be popping out tomorrow to hopefully pick up a new tensioner and its makes sense to change the belt, pulleys and water pump while I'm there too.

I'll post an update tomorrow evening if all goes to plan :).

Jay.

Excellent car. I do like to read about nice stories like this.

One question: how you managed to loose rear wind deflector? Did you open the window, or deflector was not properly sitting, so it was loose?

That's one sorted zed that enjoy it mate

Cheers bud,

Nope, snapped clean off ! Was extremely windy on the way home.

Hey Jay, looking forward to your progress on her and stuck right in already. Are you planning on doing the belts yourself, do you have the belt tool kit to do it or are you using home brew methods?
Aye that wind was fairly extreme, shows how much if it ripped off the poor wind deflector eh.
Was a pleasure to deal with yourself and she has gone to a great home :)

You have got yourself a cracker there one of the best ones around.good to see my cars twin has went to a good home.have fun with it.

Lovely looking car. Bet you are glad the belt didn't slip on the way home, that would have taken the shine off it! Sounds like you've been quite lucky there, great to see you getting the grease under the fingernails straight away too. Getting the belts done is a good job out the way :)

Great car you have and well worth the trip I'm sure. Things on there after years of improvements so not a lot left for you to do really. Enjoy !

Nice to see her again, Hope you enjoy her mate, she is still sadly missed by me, and I had her a long time.

I'll PM you later.

24 hours, that's dedication.

so only 3 to go ;)

welcome aboard

James

If that zed wasn't so far from me and I had the time to relay it down south I would have had it. Enjoy it, it's a cracker.

I certainly will !

Cheers bud.

Hi Gary,

Yes bud I'll be doing the belts myself, I've done a fair few belt changes in the past so I'm comfortable with it. I don't have the belt tool kit no, home brew all the way !

I'll be following this thread as a guide aswell -
http://forums.xpowerforums.com/showthread.php?t=60892

Was very windy from Inverness to Perth, pitch black too, was interesting to say the least haha !

Hi Grimmy,

Yeh she's a real beauty for sure !

Intrigued to know what you mean by twin, same model, close to each other on the production line or something along those lines ?

Lucky lad I reckon !

Better to get the lot changed while I'm down there, saves taking it all apart again later down the line.

Definitely worth the trip yeh. Got a few things i'm planning for her but like you say she's had a lot of nice bits done over the years !

She'll definitely be enjoyed, no worries concerning that. I can see between yourself and Gary that she's been well looked after and spoilt through the years !

Appreciate the PM bud, I'll have a nose though the photos later,

Jay.

Cheers mate, yeh was a long time, doesn't quite hit you how far away it is until you've been on the coach for 6 hours and you realise your barely even half way...

Lmao, not to your taste then I gather !

Yeh she was a good distance away, but it really was worth the traveling to get her !

I think they were quite close in build numbers but they are the same model and colour and stayed pretty close to each other so myself and kev used to call them the twins.although yours had a sex change when maxfly bought it.��

Well, I couldn't get hold of the hydraulic tensioner that I needed today unfortunatly. Seems nowhere in Birmingham has one on the shelf ready to go. Couple that with the fact it's been hammering it down all day and I never even had a chance really !

I have reserved a good quality cambelt kit from my local motor factors but I'll probably cancel that and order all the bits I need from eBay ready for next weekend. (She's not being used just yet anyway, in case anyone was wondering, so there's no risk of doing any damage in the meantime).

So instead of doing that, I had a rummage through the spares that came with the car and found some original A-post trims amongst it.

To be fair I was going to pop down the scrappy at some point in the near future and see if I could get some off a 45 as the A-post trims in there now with the pods for the gauges aren't really my cup of tea.

I had some black mirco-suede material left over from my current Classic Mini restoration so I decided to put it to good use and recover the trims -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psd9peuybm.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psrldi5n3r.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psz8wxogjy.jpg

I ordered another set off wind deflectors and they arrived today, would have just bought the rears but I couldn't find any separately on eBay -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pskugauyin.jpg

Anyway, I'll probably give her and my other ZED a good wash and detail tomorrow so will probably update again next weekend once the belt and what not is sorted.

For anyone interested in viewing my current mini restoration here's a link to the thread - http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums...first-rebuild/

It's a good 40-odd pages long so it's a bit of a jaunt to get through I'll warn you haha !

I'll leave a couple of pictures of where I'm at with the Mini here -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psbmjyyecm.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps5midx3u8.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps56zykrub.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps9016c366.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps606e5230.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps298695ba.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pslcdu7ql7.jpg

Jay.

Love the Mini, I've had and built a few over the years, from 850, 1000, 1100, 1275 and 1340. You've never lived unless you've had a real Mini ;)

That trims looks smart Jay, I think this is going to end up being an excellent build thread and enjoiy the belts, you certainly have the ability :)
I shall be perusing that mini thread, love the proper minis and that looks cracking!!!

Shame the tensioner has went as thinking about that would have been done at the last belt change yet others seem to manage to keep going on the originals. Could it possibly be the lack of use recently then her final spin which caused it?? Be interesting to see the bits once they are off to show what they are like

Ahh, that would explain it then. I've had a forage through the forum and seen a few threads on your car, very tidy by the way !

So she was once a he then ! I don't know what it is but I can't help myself from referring to my cars as 'she' !

A man with good taste I see ! ;)

There's nothing quite like driving a Mini in my opinion, a real unique experience !

Cheers Gary :)

Can't beat a proper Mini !

I've had a look through a few threads on different websites and it looks like a mixed bag really, some are still going fine with the originals and some have said they've had them fail a few miles after being replaced.

Hard to say what may have caused it really bud, may be down to the lack of use recently but who knows.

I'd imagine a seal has given way inside the tensioner but it did look quite corroded from what I could see of it, maybe the corrosion has got to it and seized it up but I won't know for sure until I have it off. I'll take a few pictures when I've done so and post them up on here !

Jay.

As an engineer I'm fully aware that anything mechanical should be a "she"

This is primarly due to all the head aches they give you like women do!

Welcome by the way! and what a cracking car!

Lol at Grimmy, she had a low level spoiler from a Rover 45, as the extreme one I didn't like and to be honest made her different from the rest of the "Sheep"

Sounds about right lmao,

Cheers bud.

The low level spoiler came with the car when I bought her, I may swap them over at some point in the future if I fancy a change !

Ok guys, spent yesterday outside on the drive doing the timing belts, pleased to say all went smoothly !

Heres the parts I bought, all genuine MG/Rover except for the auxiliary belt and water pump of which are still good quality aftermarket parts. There are cheaper kits on the market but I wouldn't entertain using 'budget' items for a job like this for obvious reasons -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4ughbkd9.jpg

Set the engine to 'Safe' and then removed the old belt, tensioner, pulleys and water pump -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psg1nhzmx9.jpg

Here's the hydraulic tensioner, quite corroded and was slightly damp around the piston when I removed it. Looks like it may have been leaking slightly to me -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxq6zn4cq.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pso2ka95ck.jpg

Coolant cleaned up and new water pump, tensioner and pulleys fitted -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc14p4x8u.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psv5shnhno.jpg

When I removed the old belt the cam wheels sprang back about an inch each. Was just a case of removing the two rear cam covers and then using two 19mm spanners on the front camshaft nuts until the timing marks aligned on the rear inlet and exhaust cam wheels and then slipping the new belt on. Here's the new belt fitted and the pin that holds the tensioner piston in place removed -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psyem3csjh.jpg

Ancillary's refitted and new auxiliary belt fitted -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psjuarfvvm.jpg

And all back together again, she's running beautifully now :) -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0l0ych2d.jpg

I haven't changed the two smaller belts yet as that was enough for one day. I'll do these at some point next weekend as well as a full service.

I also bought some new badges for the quarter panels so I changed those over too, here they are -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps7tugndd5.jpg

Used some masking tape to mark around the old badge so I could get the new ones where they need to be -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psuqi1ujzt.jpg

Badge removed -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psvhfbt8aw.jpg

New one fitted -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps9lc6jdz0.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps2wamyq0q.jpg

Just a case of rinse and repeat for the other side -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psagariwn9.jpg

That's it for this weekend, will update again when I've done the smaller belts and the service :).

Jay.

Nice work there, I like shiny engine parts!

Nice work there - the badge is probably more accurately located than in the factory.

Top work.don't fancy coming back up and doing the twins ones do you.

Great stuff, that's good progress jay.
That would be a good road trip for a twins reunion and belt change eh ;)

Ha Ha, I was thinking of asking the same (but coming down south!)

Fantastic read, thank you for posting. Great car, but seeing all these is a constant reminder that I need to pull my finger out and sort mine! (Its just time at the moment)

Great work and really good info, glad to see someone acutally do the belts without the tools.

going to be stripping my engine in the summer to trace a small water leak.

Will be doing the belts then as i suspect its the water pump

Thank you mate!

Decided to fit the A-Pillar trims I recovered today, was a nice straight forward job, just had a bit of wiring to trace and remove.

Here's all the bits I removed -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psv2b9x8vp.jpg

I'll keep hold of the podded A-Pillar trim as I may recover this in the future, then I'll fit some L.E.D gauges if I fancy a change. Who ever crafted the pods to the trim did a pretty good job to be fair.

Recovered trims in place -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps9wivdasc.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psm7rjxgx2.jpg

Quite pleased with them !

Should be finding out when I can get her booked in to the body shop to have the corrosion on the roof sorted out at some point this week, I want to get this sorted out sooner rather than later.

Jay.

Cheers bud,

Can't beat a few new shiny bits !

Thanks mate,

Wouldn't surprise me ;)

Cheers mate,

Nope ! Still trying to catch up on sleep from the first trip lmao !

Cheers Gary, yeh it's all going fairly well atm.

Would be a road trip and a half that haha !

Cheers bud,

You'll have to join the queue apparently ;).

Yeh I know what you mean, making time can be difficult sometimes !

Cheers mate,

It can look a bit daunting at first, but if you take your time and keep organised it's really not too hard at all. The tools aren't a necessity to do the job at all in my opinion !

I've read that the water pumps are quite prone to leaking apparently.

Nice work there pal I do love that zed it just looks awesome

Ok guys,

Gave her a good service today. Here's the service items I bought -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psadjoeeoa.jpg

So first job was to warm her up a bit and then drain the old oil and remove the filter -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psgid7vtha.jpg

Now when I was doing the timing belts I had to remove the dipstick tube which was heavily corroded in place, in the process I destroyed the plastic clip that sits in the hole the dipstick goes into. I popped down to my local scrappy yesterday and removed a replacement from a ZT KV6 amongst a few other things, this is the clip (don't actually know the correct name for it) -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pswwgg5xgs.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxixwhbn4.jpg

And fitted in place -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psp6s1jg5j.jpg

Happy with that it was time to fill her up with some fresh oil. I pre filled the oil filter first and spread a slick of oil on the rubber ring to aid removal on the next oil change -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psksrwnqxf.jpg

Then added the oil -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psgmnmo6gh.jpg

Fuel filter replaced and ready to be refitted -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psneqixcij.jpg

And Ive also done a coolant change too. She's running really nice now, just the plugs and the other fluids to change, (clutch, brake, power steering) plus the rear timing belts and that should keep her happy for a few thousand miles !

I've also removed the middle section of the exhaust today as there was an horrendous rattle due to the hangers being broken. Here it is -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pskifzmzbg.jpg

Problem area -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...pslmerqnb3.jpg

I'll have a look to see what metal tubing I've got lying around in the garage tomorrow and see if I can weld a new bracket on.

The exhaust shield's seen better days too so I'll look at sourcing a replacement -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psv0mubm3l.jpg

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psnshme4fc.jpg

Jay.

Cheers bud,

Yeh she's a real looker !

More great progress jay, brilliant seeing the care and attention you giving her. Empty garage here :(, i have even resorted to putting the works corsavan in it lol (apparently Claire's Astra is scared of spiders& mice, although I suspect that's just her:). )

I thought that was to help it seal?

I've been up to the garage today and repaired the exhaust hanger. I found some steel rod amongst our scrap metal pile and cut it roughly to size and bent it into shape. It's a bit thinner then the original rod that was used before but should do the job perfectly -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxuddnymb.jpg

I ground off what was left of the hold hanger and clamped the new one into place -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psmazcy4nz.jpg

Then welded it, cut it down to the correct lengths either side and applied a bit of zinc -

http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/a...psdwkq26rz.jpg

I've refitted the heat shield until I can find a better replacement but It's all back together again now and rattle free I'm happy to say !

Jay.

Cheers Gary :).

You need something to fill the void the ZS has left but I definitely don't think it's corsa shaped haha !

Applying oil to the rubber gasket does nothing in terms of sealing it no, it allows the rubber gasket to slide easier on the housing without 'grabbing' it which in turn makes it easier to do up and tighten by hand which then allows it to be removed easier in the future.

Jay.

Cheers Jay - you learn something new everyday.

Nice Zed, keep up the good work. :D

Cracking car you have there, what a interesting read, glad to see such good pics and all you have done so far!!

:smile1::smile1::smile1:

looking to get a service done on my 180 sometime this month, but wondering to see what spark plugs you get first and how easy they are to remove old sparks and replace as ive heard its quite a delicate procedure in a 180