Daily drivers in Peru - Mazda 3 and Discovery 3 (LR3)

Ok, an update this morning.   It's not heatsoak, it was the same from a cold start this morning (well, once it had warmed up enough to give it a few rpm).  On the way I popped off the upstream O2 sensor, no change, and the actuators for the variable inlet tract wizadry (apparently a common failure), no change.

Upon getting to work I popped #1 plug out, all looked normal.   Then #2 & #3... Hmmm.  I need a new valve cover gasket (well the bits for the spark plug tubes anyway).   Now, I'm not sure if this was the issue or not.  Sure, any oil in the plug wells isn't good, but I'm not sure it's enough to be causing a problem, and I'd have thought I'd have some misfires registered (none at all).  I've cleaned it all up anyway.  So, whilst I'm hopeful this was the issue, I'm certainly not confident.  We will find out in a few hours when I leave work..

It wasn't the oil.   Leaving work it was exactly the same.  After about 10 minutes it did improve a bit granted, probably to around 75% of where it should be (with the full problem it feels like 50% power loss, border-line is it safe to drive), so below around 3k rpm it's not too noticeable, just over 3k rpm where it would normally wake up a bit, it just feels like a straight line.  Sigh. 

Just in case I've just pulled the battery for a few minutes and reconnected it, leaving work we'll see if there's any difference (I doubt it).

So, uhmmm, I ought to update this...  Slightly embarrassed as it was somewhat self-induced.

A while back I followed some advice on Mazda 3 forums and removed all the inlet ducting and resonance chamber prior to the air filter box.  I then replaced all that with some flexible duct.  It suddenly occurred to me to check that, and found it wasn't where I left it.  It had somehow come loose, turned 180 degrees and the inlet was just under the gearbox, then to make matters worse, it had been squashed flat.  In my infinite wisdom I'd attached that hose so darn well to the bottom of the airbox that with the bottom squashed flat there was just nowhere for it to breath.  Apparently it sucked the inlet hose between the throttle and the MAF flat...It's now reinstalled much more securely, without an air tight connection to the filter box.

Oddly, the engine is pulling better than ever before, which is confusing, as is the similarity of the symptoms to when I went up to the highlands - at that point it still had the stock inlet ducting on, I wonder if it had some obstruction in it....

I'm still really torn what to do.  I'm still considering an E36, it would free up some short term cash, however over 3 - 4 yrs it will cost a bit more than the Mazda (E36 here would be $2k - $4k cheaper to buy than the Mazda, but then it'll easily burn a couple of grand in cooling and suspension refresh, plus window regulators of course, fixing stress cracks in the unibody,etc).  The advantage would be RWD on all the muddy tracks I drive , plus knobbly tyres, new Bilstein dampers etc etc.  Then there is the fact that the Mazda is very capable as it is, it's mostly just be hankering something with a driven rear axle.  Then there's safety (or lack of in the E36 compared to modern offerings).  At that point I start considering 4th gen Legacy, but the only manual box ones here are the 2.0R, and the 2.0R here mostly comes with the (aprox) 150bhp EJ20D not the AVCS equipped EJ204 from what I can find.

Then there's the Disco. I still don't trust it.  Now the upper tailgate boot release is intermittent.  That goes through the same connecting block as the EPB wiring (still intermittent).  It's also randomly losing air, some days from the front, some days from the back..  The issue is we need something that can seat 2 child seats and an adult on the back seat, and fit in our small garage.   I'm not sure if the Legacy would meet the rear seating requirements, but there's not much which fits in our garage and has the rear seat space.  (The Disco3 touches the wall at the back and the door at the front)...

So after much faffing and uhmming and ahhing I've decided to stick with the Mazda at the moment. Whilst there are currently 2 Legacys for sale at the moment (both 2008 year, a 2.0R manual and the 3.0R 5EAT with flappy paddles, with all the options, almost a Spec B bar the Bilsteins).  After weighing everything up, I'm just not sure I can survive having no manual box in the household.   Then doing the maths, the actual real-world economy figures for both compared to the Mazda were showing a good 50% increase in fuel costs, before we get into all the deferred maintenance, so I decided to just stick with the Mazda.  Having done that, an order to Rockauto followed   New Bilstein B4 rears, new valve cover gasket, Akebono front pads and a couple of oil filters on the way (one for my mate with the red Mazda 3 - he just changed the oil and filter and called me to ask why there was oil all over the floor- he'd been sold a filter for the 1600cc Mazda 3 and he hadn't realised...).  Even allowing for that lot, plus an allowance for unexpected costs, the Mazda still comes out way ahead.

The last two fill ups I've had a 5-10% hit on fuel economy (same route, same fuel station etc as normal), I started suspecting the MAF, but having done lots of logging everything appears normal, except occasionally the downstream O2 just stops generating voltage, it's nearly always on overrun, so I'm thinking it's time lag in the data logging, and just going full lean and registering the voltage it is generating - I'm back on my old wifi OBD2 adapter, and it's REALLY slow at data logging. No CELs no pending codes nothing.  The only thing I'm wondering for the MPG hit is if maybe the upstream O2 is getting lazy, but is it worth gambling $130 on it??

Last weekend I got on with some overdue maintenance on the Landy - oil and filters, coolant flush and change (it was horrible), and front diff oil again.  There was a reasonable amount of swarf in the diff oil again, and on the drain plug.  I'm sure that diff isn't long for this world and the front prop has an awful lot of play in it - we either need to drop some serious money on it or expedite a replacement.  Aside from that, the intermittent EPB has decided to work again, but the rear upper tailgate button has quit funcioning, not the button, it's looks to be a wiring issue, I suspect inside the tailgate.  A little while ago my other half reversed into something in a car park and cracked the 3rd (upper) brake light.  That has recently quit working around the same time as the tailgate, so I'm thinking water ingress -time to strip the tailgate...

So I've engaged brain a bit this time.  The Mazda is taking a noticeable hit on fuel economy and was always a bit worse than the previous one anyway.  The 3 does have a reputation for thermostats - hooked up the extremely slow wifi OBD2 adapter from cold and sure enough, it looks like the stat is stuck open - on the school run it couldn't get up to stat opening temp until after arriving at school and leaving it sat there idling, it had struggled up to 170F but then on the highway temp dropped down to 160F, only finally getting to 180F after I left it idling for 10 mins whilst parked.  Ambient temps here aren't conducive to diagnosing stats that are stuck open "luckily" the last couple of days the ambient temp has dropped a bit again- I wonder if it's been stuck open since I bought it.   I still have doubts about the upstream O2 though, can't recall if I'd mentioned it previously but there is evidence that the O2 sensor loom has been 'repaired' previously (sensor side).

The Bilsteins, pads and rocker cover gasket for the Mazda should be arriving today..

On the Landy side of things we've debated the pros and cons, and really can't see a decent replacement for the Landy just yet, so we've just hammered the bank account and a new front diff, front prop, new high level brake light and a new release button for the tailgate (it's the microswitch inside that has failed) will shortly be Peru-bound..  Ouch on behalf of my bank account.

In reply to paul_s0 :

Having just stared down a degradation in mail delivery, I can better empathize with your plight.  Good luck with getting the 3 sorted, it's good/interesting to hear how well it's doing in 'austere' conditions.

Cheers  

Well the Bilsteins etc arrived, I appear to have neglected that purchase to my other half..whoops I got to work at 08:10 today, nominal start time of 08:30, and as I can't resist the contents of Bilstein boxes (I'm strange) I reckoned I could get the dampers changed before work, and normally on a Friday no-one else turns up until after 09:00 (la hora Peruana).  Sods law today someone turned up early, just as I was putting the first side back together, thankfully had it all done by 08:40, so not too bad. The Bilsteins fully extended are about a 1/4" longer than the dampers that came off, need to clean some of the crud off them to see what the old ones are, I was assuming the originals - they don't actually feel too bad off the car..

I also placed another Rockauto order yesterday for the thermostat, and new wiper blades for both cars- can't get blades to fit the Landy here (uses a stupid special fitment on the arm), and I'm fed up of the cheapos here for the Mazda lasting only a few months.

Hopefully next week I can get the front pads installed before work one day- any recommendations for bedding in Akebono ProACT pads?

Well it looks like the stat was indeed at fault.  Having changed it in the work garage before work the other day, it now warms up considerably quicker, and maintains a much more stable temp – having done the same duty cycle today as twice last week, peak coolant temp is around 8 deg C lower than last week.  It could previously spike up to 100 – 102 deg C on this route in the traffic at the end, now it was a nice stable 90 deg C.  I reckon it was stuck partially open, causing a slow warm up (and over cooling on the highway with the AC on), and higher peak temps as it wouldn’t fully open.

I suspect that I currently either have a failing MAF or a MAF harness issue (apparently common on the 3), as occasionally the LTFT goes all wonky, sometimes going very negative at idle and trending back to 0%-5% once moving.  If I can get to work early tomorrow with my soldering iron I reckon I’ll splice a new earth wire in to rule that out.  If it’s unchanged then it’s time to say hi to Rockauto again.

On the Landy front, a 50kg crate arrived today.. with a new Diff tucked inside (and a big box with front prop and other bits in).   Not a moment too soon, as the existing diff is getting louder by the day.  I wasn’t intending to, but I reckon this Sunday I’m going to have get down to the workshop and get it done.. Oh how I am not looking forward to that.

I should that the colour of the stat isn't due to corrosion - the local 'red' coolant stains everything that colour.  Even after several flushes and 8 months running Prestone it's still like that

So, a bit overdue on the updates.  That big crate got emptied and helped make a functioning LR3 again, now no more horrible noises from the Landy diff.   Started at 9am and done by 13:00, sorry no photos as I was getting on with the job.  Only thing of note was that by ball joint splitter...split.   That necessitated dropping the entire lower wishbone to get the halfshaft out of the diff.  This weekend I want to get a 2nd oil change done on the diff, it's done around 1000kms on the oil now. Next on the list is new front brake discs, they're getting a bit thin.

The Mazda still keeps tripping me up every now and then, I think it knows I'm sort-of looking for a replacement.  Yesterday, after a frantic trip to school mid-morning (I'd left my eldest's lunch in my car), it started misfiring ever so slightly.  I started wondering if I'd done some internal damage - I was in a hell of a rush, and the poor MZR saw the redline a few times.  It got progressively worse, large throttle openings at high load, especially low revs.   Logged it on Torque and got 64 misfire on #3. Limped it home on very small throttle openings at the end of the day and popped the plugs out.  Ignoring the oil (valve cover seal weeping), both are allegedly OE NGK plugs.  One has around 3000 kms on it, the other who knows but I'd guess around 20k-30k kms.   The top one missing half the electrode is the one with 3000kms on it.  All 4 were the same, only 3 had by far the biggest gap- should be 1.3mm, was around 1.6mm....  I thought it strange that I could get OE NGKs for a reasonable price here, even in their Mazda branded box..  Looks like they aren't what they say they are.  The old NGKs have gone back in for now, and the misfire is totally gone.   The joys of living in Peru.

In reply to paul_s0 :

Counterfeit NGK plugs have been around for over a decade here in the states.. There is a tutorial on Youtube about how to spot them if they appear to be in NGK packaging.

In reply to TurnerX19 :

Really? I've got to be honest I'd never come across it before in Blighty, and didn't even think to check.  I'll have a gander at Youtube, cheers

So away from my indecisiveness about the Mazda, the dear old LR3. 

SWMBO has decided that it is worth doing whatever it takes to keep it chugging along, so this week a pair of new front discs arrived, the old ones are getting a bit thin.   At some point in the next couple of weeks I need to get 'em changed.  First things first though and that diff oil change still hasn't happened.   Life keeps getting in the way.  

One of the reasons for SWMBO being happy with the LR3.  The joys of living here.  .  Young prat in a Suzuki thing decided to pull out to cross a 2 lane road right in front of a 2.5 ton Landy.  SWMBO said she saw the guy stop, look at her, and then accelerate across in front of her.  Despite SWMBO braking with everything she had, kicking in the ABS, they still made contact.  What's worse, the blithering idiot hit the left front corner of the Landy with his front wheel which knocked the Suzuki away from the Landy (if he'd stopped there or turned left there would have been hardly any damage), then he turned right again to have a second go and stove in his rear door, arch and bumper on the right front corner of the Landy.  I mean..... 

Insurance isn't obligatory here, only for 3rd party injury, not material damages.  We called our insurance and basically we could claim on our insurance, paying a hefty excess, plus having to pay for Police reports and blood tests, and being without transport, or just accept it as part of life in Peru.  We got the Police there anyway, more to cover our backs in case the guy decided to change his story when he got the repair bill for his car.  The idiot in the Suzuki gave us 'all he had' to pay for the damages - $30.  Marvellous.  In an ideal world the bumper needs replacement, but that's going to run over $1000 here.  So I'll whip the cover off, see what I can do to centralise it again (it's only about 1/8" off central the photo is at an angle), then send it for paint (which it needed anyway, a Mototaxi hit it around 6 months ago and made off without stopping).

This is what part of my commute currently looks like - it's a lovely area...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic_bmcYsNw0&feature=youtu.be

Unfortunately the 2013 Mazda 3 I'd been asking opinions on in another thread had actually been sold a couple of days after I saw it, so that was no longer an option.   With that in mind I figured I ought to get on with some bits on the current Mazda.

Had the rear wheels off the Mazda yesterday to change the rear brake pads.   Dug this out of the right rear:

Hmmm, that's not quite as round as it ought to be:

I also popped in the new (genuine) NGK plugs I just got from Rockauto, as since the cheap copies disintegrated I've been using the NGKs that the car came with. 

There's also currently a downstream O2 sensor en route (along with an O2 socket and thread chaser).  It's been showing odd behaviour everything now and then, and with all the issues on the long trip up through the mountains previously it was also being erratic.  I thought it was reading erratic emissions, now I'm not sure, as a couple of times it's just read 1.2V max and 0 V min.  At idle sometimes it's 0.1V or 0.05V, sometimes 0.95V.  Even at steady(ish) state on the highway it'll sometimes drop down to 0.05V (not on overrun).  This 3 has also consistently had 10%-15% worse MPG than the previous 3. I came across this thread: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/diagnosing-a-mazda-oem-wideband-o2/76058/page1/   

and it's convinced me to throw $100 at the problem.  I've started dowsing the sensor in Peruvian WD40, and hopefully after Xmas/New Year I'll be able to get to it.

So, the new downstream O2 sensor arrived, and surprisingly the old one came out easily and in went the new one.  The readings for this one are much more consistent and logical, although fuel consumption on this tank is pretty poor, I did reset the ECU after the change so it may just be running rich whilst it adapts to the new readings.  I had hoped it would sort a slight hesitation when you roll into the throttle from a steady state condition, but it hasn't, I wonder if it's actually a MAF issue.  I'll wait and see if the Mazda is staying or not..If it's staying I need to order a rear wheel bearing, and then probably the MAF.   The rack is just starting to make some noise, if you hit a bump with some lock on (no visible play yet, just a slight noise) - sadly there's no bushing that can be bought and replaced, it's rack replacement, which is $300, plus $200 shipping, plus 30% import duties..   I also dug out yet another screw from the left rear last week, and plugged it.  It's non-stop puncture repairs.

The LR3 keeps on pounding on, I finally got the diff oil changed again, pleased to say no metal flakes in it from the new diff.  I need to make some time to change the front brake discs, and also the spark plugs, she's just starting to miss occasionally at higher revs on LPG, I noticed it coming back from the beach yesterday.  I'll try and get around to both jobs this weekend..

It's been a while since we had an update..

The LR3 issue was actually the LPG system - a month or so prior my wife called me to say the Landy smells of gas (LPG).  I said switch to petrol and see if it clears, it did so I said leave it on petrol and I'll check it at lunch.  Checked it at lunch and it was dumping LPG out of the vaporiser - a seal that covers the top for the built-in filter had failed.   I hate LPG conversions.  At that point I went round the back and wound in the manual valve on the tank to physically shut off the gas flow.  This valve is also a basic pressure regulator....   Fast forward a few weeks when I finally got the required seal, did the fix and opened it all back up again.  Unfortunately it would appear that I opened it approx half a turn less than before - so the issue was actually fuel starvation at the very top end.  Cracked it open a touch more and all is good.

To celebrate I finally got around to replacing the 3rd high level brake light.  These are glued in into the top of the tailgate, you have to destroy the old one to replace them.  Horrible job, took about 2 hours with the Dremel, but I'm glad I got it done.  I did have some very interesting (!) pictures of broken plastic to share with you all, but I seem to have deleted them..

On the Mazda front, whilst still faffing about it's long-term future, I got around to slotting in a new MAF, and wouldn't you know it, the hesitation has been banished, success! The LTFT and MAF numbers all seem to be happier too, although sadly the MPG hasn't improved ;-(  I'm recalling it worsened around the start of summer, and the AC compressor is a bit noisy on first start up, so it may all be AC related (it's on constantly since mid January), I don't recall it having such a big affect on it's predecessor (the red one) though.

I also decided to change the 'box oil, as it's been getting a bit crunchy on 1st-2nd shifts, and occasionally on a cold start VERY hard to get out of gear for the first couple of miles, and went for some of the recommended Motorcraft oil, which certainly seems to have helped.

I'm still idly looking at replacements, mostly E46s, 4th gen Legacy (2.0R 5MT or 3.0R 5EAT), and possibly 4runners and R50 Pathfinders.   Only one reasonble-ish E46 at the moment, a 2001 330i, but it's high-ish mileage (for here) and in a rough area, which makes me hesitant (plus the whole subframe/boot floor issue) $6100.  There is still the overpriced '08 Legacy 3.0R with headers and complete exhaust, intake, new Kumho XS KU36s, dimpled/slotted rotors, and some sort of upgraded pads, it has dropped by $1k to $9,900 now though, plus what is advertised as an '08 2.0R 5MT (actual build date in '06...), $7500 but high mileage, although it does have new dampers, new bushes, and a new fuel pump.  Dash is all horrible and breaking up though, and I just feel that the 2.0 will be a bit sluggish.

Toyota-tax is high here - I saw a one owner 3rd gen 4runner for $8900 which had me thinking, but it's got 300k kms on it.  I know they can do double that, but... it's still quite a lot, especially Peruvian kms

So, down here we've been on lockdown for over a week (lockdown here meaning Police and Military controlling all movement, and only medical staff allowed to use private vehicles).  Schools are cancelled, I'm trying to work from home.  Not normally an issue, I occasionally work from home, the issue is having to home-school the kids at the same time.

As a result of the lockdown Amazon are no longer delivering to Peru, so the new AC compressor clutch I'd ordered for the Mazda has been cancelled.  Rather more worryingly, as I fired up the Landy (which hadn't been started for a few days) on day 2 of lockdown (wife works in the medical profession), it cranked slowly before firing.  The local batteries only have a lifetime of around 2 years in the Landy, and we're coming up on that timeframe.  The Landy has a high load on the battery even when off (ruddy self levelling suspension keeps going even with ignition off), so I pulled the battery and brought it inside.  Hooked it up to my charger (small hobby charger, for Lipo, Nimh, and thankfully Pb batteries), and in a couple of hours was showing fully charged.   Trickle charged it a few times since and keep checking voltages.  It's sat for around 24 hours since the last charge, and showing 12.65V, so sitting voltage seems fine, but I've no way of testing it under load, other than hooking it back up to the Landy.

Normally I'd just go and get another battery at this point, but everywhere is closed apart from food stores and pharmacies.  The local supermarket normally stocks batteries, but when I went yesterday they'd pulled the batteries to make space for toilet paper.. I'm not allowed out in my car, so SWMBO could take the Mazda, but she's not keen as a) it's a been a while since she's driven a manual, b) she doesn't feel safe in the Mazda around her work (lots of big trucks and buses who just assume you'll get out of the way) c) there's a lot of BIG holes around her work, it makes my commute look pleasant, and whilst it is do-able in the Mazda you need to be very careful to not damage a rim/balljoint/rip the sump off.

Thankfully here the lockdown early-on has meant the rate of infection has been no-where near other countries, and so most of my wife's appointments have been cancelled as being non-urgent, so she's only had to go in a couple of times.  They're now trying to set up online appointments, so she can attend to her patients remotely.  Fingers crossed that happens, although if things worsed she'll be called into emergency, and I'm not sure the Landy battery will last...

All car buying ideas are on hold currently, which is annoying as another '13 Mazda3 has shown up, this time at a dealer which will do a part-exchange which makes it very tempting (Pull off the new Bilsteins for the new car, possibly even the longer springs) and part ex the old one.  I don't normally deal with dealers, but this is one of the times it may help..Saves all the grief dealing with private buyers.. It's a 2013, 2.0MZR with 6 spd, full complement of airbags and factory HIDS..

In reply to paul_s0 :

thanks for the check-in Paul, and glad to hear you're weathering the storm relatively well.  Good luck

A short update from here, we've now been in lockdown for nearly 6 weeks.   Taking the Landy battery out every 2 days was getting tedious, so the in-laws taxi firm's contacts managed to find a replacement and got it sent over in a taxi.  One added bonus of being de-energised for long periods is that it's shown the air leak is affecting only the front, and both side equally, so it's most likely the cross-over valve that's leaking, I'll get that on order now that DHL are working again, with some new front anti-roll bar bushes (they existing ones look like squashed sponges) and filters.  Unfortunately as we live in an apartment block with outside parking, we're not really permitted to work on the cars during lockdown.   My in-laws under the current regs aren't allowed out for anything (age and one of the them with pre-existing health condition), and they're missing the kids/grandkids, so we're debating a temp move over there for a week or 2 when/if the current lockdown eases.  Normally I wouldn't be so keen, but it would allow me to get on with jobs on the car that don't need the workshop (so basically anything that doesn't need the hydraulic press), also more space for the kids to run around, and we can help them with all the shopping etc.

No idea how, with a full COVID lockdown, but that '13 Mazda 3 has been sold.  Very peculiar.  Also an R50 Pathfinder that caught my eye as it was a VQ engined version with the 5MT, but which has also oddly sold during full lockdown.

That said, I've no idea when I'd be in a position to change the car with how things are currently, going round visiting lots of folk, and having lots of folk visiting probably isn't the best idea.  Add into that equation that to sell it, it could do with paint on the bumpers and the roof (to fix clearcoat issues), and some dents in the C post sorted out (cleaning lady in the building kept leaning the mop/brush against the car, and she was heavy handed, I imagine she pretty much threw it against the car).  I'm not sure the bodyshop guy will be working, and he's also the least hygienic person I've ever met..

So I was thinking of ordering bits for the Mazda.  I've found a decent place for OEM parts (not in Peru, obviously), and I'm tempted to order up an OE transmission mount, as mine is shot.  Also, the Whiteline anti-lift kits are really discounted at the moment ($140 vs $200 normal), which is very tempting, plus I'm also considering an AEM dryflow as the dust where I work is so bad, I need to change filters every 3 -6 months.  Finally that AC clutch never got ordered, so I ought to get that on order too.

One benefit of all this is positive affect on the air quality here.  Skies here are clear, air quality vastly improved, even the river Rimac which runs though Northern Lima has clear water (it's normally dark brown with chuncks of rubbish in it).  This time of year would normally see very grey skies due to the pollution, but not now. 

Ok, sorry for the quality of that photo - to the Mk1 eyeball the sky was a lovely bright light blue, and very unusually for Lima you could see several stars.

So, bits got ordered, the tailgate struts on the LR3 failed completely and SWMBO couldn't open the boot, so that meant a Rockauto order got approved, into which slipped a few bits, nothing too exciting, a front wheel bearing more as a just in case, and a front brake hose as I noticed one of mine had some chafing from before I found it flapping in the breeze:

I also got the order in of OEM bits - OEM transmission mount, front bumper brackets, and the strut top reinforcement plates.  Why the plates? You may ask.  Well a while back being the hack I am, I slotted the strut tops diagonally towards the firewall (I'm running Mazda 5 springs, so ride height is higher than normal, I need to recover some camber/caster), helped a lot but there was a seam which interfered with the extremity of the top mount, and also the centre of the strut top would foul the extremities of the strut tower cut out.  The OEM strut top reinforcements are around 3 or 4 mm thick, which nicely alleviates all those problems, allowing me to get *a bit more* caster and camber, and a touch more ride height now the springs have settled.   So, over the last 2 evenings I've dodged the security patrols and gotten them fitted.  Now they're as far over as possible without hitting the strut tower.  It's a grey area with regard to working on the car, I'm inside the building, so on private ground, not out on the street, but I'm not inside my home, I'd rather not have the discussion with the armed forces.   I really want to get the OEM transmission mount done too, but I reckon it'll have to wait as I'll need a good 1 - 1.5 hours, and it's not ideal as under the centre of the car is grass, so I'd need some wood down to support the jack for the transmission.

I also got the bits ordered for the LR3, new cross over valve, filters and anti-roll (sway) bar bushes.  Likewise it'll probably have to wait, as I need to get all the wheelarch plastic off to get to the cross over valve, and obviously support it all before I dump the air pressure from the suspension, not ideal to do here, especially with only around 1/16" of clearance between the ends of it and the building/gate.

Frustrating to have all this time at home and not be able to get on with stuff!  On which note I need to repaint the terrace, but have run out of supplies.  Thankfully this week the DIY stores have been allowed to open the  warehouses for delivery, so a bunch of stuff got ordered.  I was also pleased to see those magnetic parts bowls in the DIY store, so that got slipped in the paint order, usefull to have when you're working on grass...  Also some black rustoleum anti-rust aerosol for the bottom of the sills, especially the seam.  With the state of the roads around here, the paint has been ground off that seam - and when the lockdown hit the Mazda was in need of a power wash underneath, and whilst I've done my best to clean it off, it has still taken it's toll.  I'll need to get the sill covers off and then clean it up and paint it.

Last week they announced another 2 weeks of lockdown.   Trying to homeschool 2 kids, work from home and do everything else is getting a bit tiring... Unless there is a huge change, school is cancelled for the whole year - it's all online.  The plan of going to the in-laws is on hold for 2 reasons, 1) we're still in lockdown so we can't mobilise 2)SWMBO (she's a doctor) has now been pulled from her normal area to work in emergency on the COVID wards intermittently, and obviously there is the worry of transmission.

This virus malarky is getting troublesome.

Yep, that transmission mount is done for, front edge is ripped right across. Quick 45 minute job tonight, even having to do it on grass and in fading light-not too bad a job, and a new OE mount installed.

Tomorrow a quick drive to see if I can feel any difference..

Well, lockdown continues here, and COVID cases keep on increasing.

In the meantime, I've been trying to get on with little bits and pieces.  One thing I've wanted to do for a while was have a look at the Mazda's front subrframe.  Mazda kindly built in some adjustability in the front subframe mounts.  The guys on the Mazdaspeed forums recommend seeing how much there is.  Mine was full rearward, and offset slight to the passenger side (and I've always had more negative camber that side).  So, subframe went all the way forward and slightly to the driver's side to centralize it and hopefully even up the camber.  I still need to do a final alignment (rough one done but after a drive need to tweak it a bit).  That plus the re-positioned top mounts now seems to have maxed out the caster available - I'm now low on clearance to the front of the inner liner, much more caster and we'll have interference between the tyre and the liner.  So, that decides whether or not to buy the increased caster bushings!

My main annoyance with the Mazda now (apart from being FWD) is the passenger side headlight, it's just weak compared to the driver's side.  I've checked voltage (same both sides), I've cleaned the lenses, and nothing.  The only other thing I'm wondering is if it's the projector itself (halogen projectors), or the earth, but I did run a seperate earth one day just to see, and it made no difference.

The other issue with it currently is the exhaust- it was a bit grotty before lockdown started, and being used 3 times in 3 months hasn't helped it, especially as it was caked it quite a bit of finest Lima muck when lockdown started.  It now looks really crusty.  Getting a replacement is a bit cost (shipping), looking at around $700 with delivery.

The disco has a pile of maintenance waiting - our 'garage' is too small to do much.  Last weekend I didn manage to get the front crossover valve changed though - it's had a slow air leak and I'm sure has been causing some handling issues too.   They're another common failure on these...

Not a great photo, it's tucked up inside the arch:

Bit of an annoying job due to access.  Now all that's left on the to do list are front and rear sway bar bushes, front brake discs, engine oil & filter, alignment, and then some transmission oil (ZF HP6) and transfer box oil (around $300 for enough for a drain/refill, no flush)..  It also needs it's "Revision Tecnica", but the inspection places are being slow to put in place their COVID protocols, so the only one near here is still closed....

Ok, where did we get to?  Whilst the state of emergency has been extended to the end of July, the lockdown in Lima has been eased, so no more having to dodge the patrols.

With that, I got 2 gallons of 5w-30 sent to the house, dove into my stock of filters and got a long overdue oil and filter change done on the Discovery.  I also took advantage of the in-laws flat driveway to see where the rear alignment was at - as suspected it's got some toe out at the back (it was feeling unstable at speed), unfortunately the tie rods are seized.  So that was just the excuse needed to order a small blow torch, and this weekend I'll be carefully warming up those tie-rods.  Carefully, as they close to the LPG tank...

The front brake discs and the anti-roll (sway) bar bushes still pending, I need to get some motivation to get them done.

On the Mazda I decided to lubricate those poly bushes at the back of the front lower wishbone, as the squeaking is getting on my nerves now.  So, I got it up in the air, got the arm off, and...hmmm.  I think they're a Peruvian/Chinese copy of these Superpro bushes:

Only these copies are all in black and have no metal sleeve.  Otherwise they look identical.  However, the entire bush is bonded together, and the wishbone just rotates within the bush, which isn't so clever, as the wishbone pin isn't perfectly smooth, and has no lubrication.  Unsurprisingly the bush is deforming and it is slowly taking chunks out of it.

So I need to decide what I'm doing.  I'm still faffing about changing or not, although prices have dropped a bit in the used car market.  Aside from those bushes, I'll be needing an exhaust in the next 12 months, and probably an AC compressor.  The only real options are keeping it, or getting a 2001 330i 5MT, several 325i/328i/330i with the auto box, or a pair of Legacy 3.0Rs (autos).  One of those Legacys is almost $3k more than the Mazda, then other almost $2k more.  The cheaper one of the two looks very tidy with only 80k kms, new ish tyres (RE760s), Akebono pads, and generally well cared for:

Having asked about auto E46s, as the manual E46 was advertised in bad area of Lima, the advert has just been updated, and now shows as being in the same district as me.. hmmm.  It's an 01 330i, with base spec, no real options, although it does have curtain airbags, and 150k kms, and it's around $1k cheaper than I'd get for the Mazda.  That $1k would evaporate with a cooling system overhaul and a couple of bushes however.

The manual E46:

Or how about a shonky looking 105 series Landcruiser (with the 4.5 6 cyl and an LPG conversion) - I have started looking at SUVs again as we've gotten ourselves a dog, and transporting her in the Mazda isn't going well.  I think an R50 Pathfinder would be a better bet though:

Ooo shiny bits from Whiteline arrived for the Mazda.. Hoping to sneak out early tonight and get them fitted.  It's their anti-lift / more caster kit, to replace the rearmost bush on the bottom wishbone.  The bush and bracket is HUGE compared to the OEM version.  I popped down at lunchtime and got it up on axle stands to save time...Not sure I'll be able to get both sides down tonight, but I'll give it a go, let's see how long it takes before I get asked what time I'll be finished..  If not I can always finish it tomorrow, but we're not *supposed* to leave cars in disassembly in the parking here...