nta16

This is often used and recommended by MG owners who are even older with even older cars from the 1940s and 1950s despite it being synthetic but because it is a GL4 and also suited to even older vehicles (GL 1, 3 and 4). MT-90 (manual transmission - 90 weight (75W90)). And because of this I know the Redline leaflet shows the weight numbers (e.g. 75) are a range so their (MTL) "... is a low 75W, almost a 70W, at very low temperatures and a high 80W, nearly an 85W ...". And that even after only 5,000 miles the (manual) gearbox oils, including theirs, are not the same as good as when fresh new. - "... petroleum multigrade motor oils and ATFs have very poor shear stability. The shearing action by a manual transmission on thickeners is much worse than in an engine or automatic transmission. Within 5,000 miles the thickeners can be rendered ineffective and the transmission will be operating on a much reduced level of protection, as shown in the graph below." Where appropriate I have been trying to debunk this "you cannot use GL5" for a while but like many beliefs it is each to their own. redline-mtl-redline-mt90.pdf

Is that normal use or serve use, how many years? No other way round, GL5 covers GL4, the fright for many was that old formulas of GL5 whilst considered OK for rear axles as they are lower temperatures the gearboxes would have the yellow metals stripped as they are at higher temperatures. For many years some GL5s have been OK with yellow metals but car manufacturers are very careful about specification because many had commercials deals or when their products were new they may have need newer oils at that time but that time could now be many decades back and oils have changed since and what was new then is now decades old. I know a little on this subject as I own the same "classic" car as many old people that can remember the oils of the 50s and 60s but not understand how oils have progressed since then. https://www.oilspecifications.org/api_gos.php

Number one rule - if there's a separate fill/level plug check that it fully comes out before trying to remove the drain plug (unlike in the video). If you can borrow a hex head that will be better than an Allen key as you can get bigger and longer socket handle or spanner on for more leverage and extend the handle length with over sleeving. Always first clean the plug area before starting, spray and brush. Personally I never worry about what others say about threads I spray something like GT85 as a cleaning and penetrating/releasing fluid and lubricant. Normally personally, ignoring what others might say about threads, I try to slightly tighten before loosening - but in your case I wouldn't as it depends on how tight or not, or over-tight the last person went. Don't overtighten when you put the plugs back in. I'd always fully warm the oil before draining, easiest way is spirited driving, and I leave to drain as long as possible, that way more existing oil and containments are drained leaving less residue in the box and more fresh new oil going in so less diluting the effects of the new fresh new oil. Refill slowly with the car level, I got more out of my wife's 2015 Mk3 than I could get back in so they must have used a different method of (over) filling for that I also had oil coming out when I checked I could remove the fill plug with the car cold.

Come the warmer weather, unless you have a heated garage, you could perhaps try straightening out the rubber strip by applying reasonable heat and clamping, perhaps to some planed wood.

[ ETA: as a possibly more accurate alternative to marking up for hinge and bonnet alignment before removal, and not as hinge replacements ] - Another method of keeping hinge alignment, if possible, is to drill little alignment hole(s) in hinge plate(s) where you can use a small diameter self-taping screw to align and hold the hinges whilst bolts are put back. Also the use of clean cloths of sufficient thickness to protect paintwork or even gap or support bonnet rear corners on some cars.

Could this be residue from previous coolant fills and drains lifting to the surface now? Many drains are done cold and quick, leaving a lot of existing coolant and contaminants still left in the system, often draining the engine block (and heater matrix) are forgotten or ignored leaving even more residue in the system. Have you fitted anything new recently with rubber, for many years with classic car parts we had/have ****-poor rubbish rubber in many parts and components that would craze or split within months and weeks (and even days) of being fitted. I had a clutch concentric slave cylinder that was manufactured with the wrong type of rubber seals and it broke down and caused a leaked and ever since then despite having the seals replaced by the manufacturer, the clutch system as a whole holding very little fluid and flushing through on various occasions about 2 litres of fluid whilst at the same time cleaning the inside of the reservoir, the reservoir is black coated inside within days of use again. This is despite also last time replacing the master cylinder - but this might cause more black if it seals also give off black, but I do not know. When the clutch concentric slave cylinder seals broke down (which is an engine out to replace seals) I could clearly see with even my poor eyesight fibrous particles floating in the fluid so I knew it was the seal. I have no idea what they do to make these cheap rubber parts but I had a fanbelt (drivebelt) from a reputable specialist classic car parts supplier that looked like the black colour and smell to it had ben added or leached through, it marked my hand and stunk the shed out, I threw it away and replaced it with a Gates belt. If you have no freezing temperatures I would do as TheFeleciahacker has put and then go further with cycles of draining and refilling with just water for a day or numbers of days car use and repeat until you are sure it is clean. Do not add any anti-freeze, coolant or coolant additives just water to cycle flush clean any anti-freeze, coolant or coolant additives that were stuck inside. Repeat the clean water flushes a few times before the final refill of antifreeze (and additive). I have simple but thorough method(s) of cleaning the cooling/heating system but it is best done in warmer weather and you need access to a running water hose of suitable mains or gravity pressure (not too low or too high). Scooping some of the coloured lather and froth and putting it on a white paper towel may how you more, same with the black residue in the reservoir and on the end of the reservoir attached tubes. You may be able to tell if there is more than one thing in the black stuff or just perhaps a chemical reaction of anti-freeze, coolant or coolant additives.

Yes so that makes it a GL5! Given your present use, depending on how much hassle it is to do, I would change it about 3-5 years after the last time as generally there is a lot of residue old oil (and contaminants) left in the box particularly from cold quick drains than most expect and this dilutes the effectiveness of the oil change.

ETA: 10.55 Liters per 100 km = 26.78 British MPG You need to find out what the black sludge is, rubber o-ring or oil or what. If you have not done full flushes before it could be just sh 1 t from before. @Thefeliciahackerobviously has a lot of knowledge but he also believes only GL4 works in the gearbox and so far you have proved that is wrong IF yours is GL5. I have nothing against @Thefeliciahacker and he knows more about cars and the Felicia than I would ever know but even experts can occasionally be wrong. So you need to know what this black stuff is and where it comes from and when.

Sorry seeing it again I see it is two different hoses.

All good stuff. Is the hose that branches off to the PCV valve silicone?

What! You do realise that is a GL5 !! Well at least it is now if it was not before. I thought it was you would not trust a GL5, even if it has - "Suitable for any type of seal and yellow material used in gearboxes design" - and you stick with GL4. - https://www.motul.com/gb/en/products/motylgear-75w90 Got to be a poor quality and lazy mechanic that does not even bother to check fluid levels, primary basic check, but there are a lot about, unfortunately. MOTYLGEAR_75W-90_en_FR_motul_45000_20210712.pdf

Yes I think I would too, if there is no difference there will be nothing for them to alter, unless you have been bumping kerbs or potholes, and they just put your car on the machine and do a print-off for your model of car. If they are honest (some in the car trade can be) they will give you a print-off without fiddling the machine or claiming you've taken your car on an assault course since they last looked at it. Let us know how you get on.

Great to hear things are improving, a bit early yet to say how well the plugs are for overall use but from the last set they were a change of manufacturer, manufacture, type and 4k-km used to new. It does not matter that you do not have records from up to 20 years ago as since that time your cars has had up to 20 years of use and you are concerned about how it operates with your reprogrammed car now and it is possible with modern materials, parts and oils to improve on 20 years ago but then it also depends if you ran E10 petrol back then and now. A topic for another thread is for serve driving conditions hastening the change of gearbox oil and the opportunity to not only change but improve the oil as engine and gearbox are so close and in the same compartment the heat transfer is more. You have already changed your gear wotsit to tighten lever movement so subject to your clutch being in reasonable condition, and gearbox oil level already topped up, then you should notice any small improvement with the change of gearbox oil, and possibly improved oil, makes. Same as with your power steering fluid change many will tell you the improvement is only placebo, especially many 'mechanics' and 'engineers'.

This is for my wife's 2015 Mk3 as a comparison. -

The drawing of the air box is not the best when compared to the actual item. I would leave the airbox as it was designed, noise is one of the design considerations but also its real purpose of getting sufficient filtered air to where it is needed and that could include hose shapes and their position. Obviously there might have been design and manufacture compromises for many reasons but often going away from factory standard, and especially without purposeful tuning after, can often reduce rather than increase performance. Removing that valve was done so long ago that you forgot (which I totally understand) it was a modification when I asked if, other than the reprogramming, your car was modified and I now wonder if it will make a pleasing difference to your second cold start idling fuel consumption and time. On such a short journey of its type small differences might give more noticeable results rather than you previous overall usage. And this also brings in perhaps more regular air filter changes to keep the volume, and cleaned, air getting into your engine. With my old cars with paper filters I used to change the filters every 6 months as it was so cheap and easy to do even though the cars were not used in serve driving conditions, the carbs and engines seemed to appreciate it. Also when I was using standard (reasonable quality) oil I changed the engine oil and filter every 6 months regardless of mileage and again the engines seemed to like that. I went to annual engine oil and filter changes when I went to better quality oils and despite the higher prices it worked out less cost annually. As you saw in the video I do not race my cars but I do expect them to go well when spirited driving is available.

I am surprised at that, any other changes to the air filter or air filter box.

D.FYLAKTOS many apologises I somehow totally missed that you had already put that part was brand new. As such I would imagine it at least has a 1 year warranty on it but would expect it to last many years. How many years did the original part last for owners of other Felicias, perhaps you could put up another thread asking this. I did not realise that both your present driving and parking was only for the last two years I thought it just related to a Covid situation. Yes the car will be clogged with this type of driving and very few longer runs, this would be 'Severe' driving conditions which would require working to the 'Severe Servicing Schedule' which may be listed in your Driver's Handbook, basically more frequent regular servicing, for the engine changing the air filter, *engine oil & filter, keeping things clear and clean, clean crankcase or oil emissions. Personally I think using a tankful of petrol with additional cleaning additives already in the petrol leading up to the service and just after the service is a good idea as well as occasionally in between services. 14.7 ltr/100 Km (19.2 mpg) to 10.7 ltr /100 (26.4 mpg) is a big percentage increase already, well done. (* again the better the type of oil the better protection it will give and that protection last for longer) for longer)

Game keeper turned poacher - I couldn't let this blatant drop in standards go unreprimanded. 😁

I understand all you have put I did not word my question well, I meant - how old is the valve you now have? how long do these valves normally continue to work reliably? If this valve is newly made then you have, possibly, the expected life of a new valve but if it is second hand or not newly made then how old is it to subtract off the life of a newly made valve. I am sure if you are really worried you could fit and wire microswitch to show a warning light for when the flap is closed off from fresh air inlet or perhaps a system to show the position of the flap in case it gets stuck midway, air temperature gauge for inside the air filter but then how are you to know if those monitoring systems are fully functioning or accurate. You would also need to built in test or checks, light on with ignition perhaps as a basic but where does this all end how far do you want to go how sophisticated or not, air temperature gauge inside the air filter housing. You have not complained about the second cold starts or the fuel consumption for the vast majority of the 18 years this valve was not fitted.

How long do they usually last, how old is that one, new or second hand. You have proved that it at least works now. If it is fully open at 30c then it may well begin to open well before this which is why I was thinking to have it somewhere well below 30c to test it to your satisfaction that it fully opens and fully closes. If you are that worried about it failing in the hot position then do not fit it that way you are no worse off than you have been for the last 20 years, IIRC your cold start issues were not there for the first 18 years of this so it is very unlikely to be a major contributing factor. As it is working you could as an experiment fit it for a numbers of days and see if it has any effect at all on your second cold start issue, then remove it for a few days to confirm any difference and refit for a few days, normally you would do three lots or more of it fitted and not fitted to check findings are not just a coincidence. When you removed that valve did you also remove hose 19 fitted and block off the hot inlet tube opening?

That is the bit I did not see. I sometimes wonder if you are joking - no, either check the flap works and fit that air filter or keep the air filter you have fitted without the flap. The flap is about temperature control which could be required when the car is static or above or below 40kph. Stop worrying, if the air filter thermostat stops working you already know you can fit it so that the exhaust side is blocked off and fresh air side open (is that not what you have now?)

Think of it like a coolant thermostat, so it opens and closes itself based on temperature. You do not need any air pressure just the surroundings cold enough so that the air filter flap is position is at the cold setting and then when heat is applied it moves over to the warm setting. I just thought if you were outside in the cold it would better replicate how it will be when fitted to the car - but I do not want your leaning out of a 3rd floor window with the air filter in one hand and hair dryer in the other, in case you drop either or fall out the window yourself. 😄 If inside your home the flap is at its cold setting then you can do it there just it will warm quicker as presumably your home is warmer than outside. I do not know and can not see from the photos what sort of mechanism there is for controlling the flap other than the thermostat and spring but if it is like the coolant thermostat then it will not suddenly snap from one setting to the other in one instant movement at one precise temperature. A coolant thermostat starts to open around its stated temperature but is not fully open until it reaches a higher temperature and will be partially open between those temperatures.

I've join the authorities - delete your thread drift now! 😄 I'm joking, you're reinforcing the point I made, altho' I'd have went further given Kharl's other threads, there seems to me to be quite a bit of difference to Kharl's use of his Fabia to the use the all/vast majority of UK posters here which would be missed unless the video is seen - though our roads could be similar given another few years. I'm just spectating on this from now so as to keep out of trouble - hoorah they shout.

I don't think Kharl would find it confusing judging by his previous threads and and posts, it's a related matter not aimed at dealing with ground clearance as there's a lot more to this after Kharl put up his video than just ground clearance and camber and Kharl has been open to ideas in his other threads - but yes you are right they can go outside the strict narrow boundaries of the thread title and original post.

Think of it like your coolant thermostat. To test replicate the conditions you expect it to work under, take it outside where it is cold and get a hair dryer with speed/heat settings and at a steady rate apply and increase heat to the exhaust inlet tube area and you should see it operate, remove the heat for reverse.