Smart Roadster shed
Discussion
So thought I'd update this for new year's.
When I bought my second Roadie it felt like it had about 40bhp, wasn't boosting but otherwise drove well. I presumed air was escaping somewhere as turbo was running at about 0.5 bar max.
Had a nosy around under the car, and the arm operating the wastegate had fallen off (centre), £2 clip to fix it on again. Back to 80 or so bhp again, and Honda Jazz worrying levels of acceleration. Happy days.
The interior was pretty horrible place to be - smelled very strongly of cigarettes, hadn't been cleaned in a while and things like the steering wheel and gear knob were pretty rank.
So bought a few new bits - some rubber mats, a gear knob and a steering wheel.
Took some faffing to fit the wheel, and still need to make a few tweaks, but otherwise it's a much nicer place to be, especially now it's aired and doesn't stink of cigarettes.
Generally just trying to tidy it up a bit, so things like the mirrors were previously bodged with silicone and self-tapping screws.
Not sure why as still leaked like a sieve and looked horrendous. It hasn't stopped raining since I've bought the car, so I just went over it all with black silicone for now so it looks a bit neater, will tidy it up properly in the summer.
If nothing else, it now doesn't leak from that particular area.
The roof was another low point, and as with most it had shrunk slightly, looked crap and was 15 years old, so decided to replace.
Think I'm at about £1900 including cost of car, which seems pretty reasonable considering. Still need to change the starter motor at some point, and also looking at replacing the turbo, but hoping it'll treat me as well as the black Roadster it replaces, already a couple of thousand miles down and forgotten how much I love these little cars. Flawed but like nothing else.
When I bought my second Roadie it felt like it had about 40bhp, wasn't boosting but otherwise drove well. I presumed air was escaping somewhere as turbo was running at about 0.5 bar max.
Had a nosy around under the car, and the arm operating the wastegate had fallen off (centre), £2 clip to fix it on again. Back to 80 or so bhp again, and Honda Jazz worrying levels of acceleration. Happy days.
The interior was pretty horrible place to be - smelled very strongly of cigarettes, hadn't been cleaned in a while and things like the steering wheel and gear knob were pretty rank.
So bought a few new bits - some rubber mats, a gear knob and a steering wheel.
Took some faffing to fit the wheel, and still need to make a few tweaks, but otherwise it's a much nicer place to be, especially now it's aired and doesn't stink of cigarettes.
Generally just trying to tidy it up a bit, so things like the mirrors were previously bodged with silicone and self-tapping screws.
Not sure why as still leaked like a sieve and looked horrendous. It hasn't stopped raining since I've bought the car, so I just went over it all with black silicone for now so it looks a bit neater, will tidy it up properly in the summer.
If nothing else, it now doesn't leak from that particular area.
The roof was another low point, and as with most it had shrunk slightly, looked crap and was 15 years old, so decided to replace.
Think I'm at about £1900 including cost of car, which seems pretty reasonable considering. Still need to change the starter motor at some point, and also looking at replacing the turbo, but hoping it'll treat me as well as the black Roadster it replaces, already a couple of thousand miles down and forgotten how much I love these little cars. Flawed but like nothing else.
Edited by pthelazyjourno on Thursday 31st December 19:23
Aaand it's dead, for anybody who cares. Starter motor has died. Looks like some effort to change. At least it's stuck on my drive and not at the supermarket, worse times to happen than a national lockdown.
3k miles covered, just waiting for some bits to replace the starter motor, then will hopefully get it going again. Sure there is a lesson here about replacing parts when I know they're knackered before they ultimately fail!
3k miles covered, just waiting for some bits to replace the starter motor, then will hopefully get it going again. Sure there is a lesson here about replacing parts when I know they're knackered before they ultimately fail!
jakesmith said:
Sorry if I missed it but Evilution covers waterproofing the roadster well. The wing mirror is a classic source of leaks.
I believe the Brabus electrically adjustable part doesn’t suffer as badly
Yes joined Evilution back when I had the black one, invaluable source and wouldn't want to be without it. I had a shower cover for both cars, the grey one also leaked like a sieve when I bought it, the replacement roof has eliminated all of the roof leaks as far as I can tell. I believe the Brabus electrically adjustable part doesn’t suffer as badly
Still an occasional trickle around the passenger mirror every now and again, silicone around the outer and inner part seemed to make a big difference, so wouldn't be surprised if different construction of the electric ones made a big difference. Have got a few ideas I think will stop it from leaking completely from around that area, we shall see if they work, but in the meantime it seems to stay dry 99% of the time.
giveitfish said:
Hope you get it going again without too many issues. Looking forward to more updates 
Thank you! It looks like a ball ache. Need to remove the rear bodywork, drop the engine, remove the fan, the intercooler, pipework, plastic shrouds to even see the starter motor! I think it was two bolts on my C-Max and had it replaced in 15 minutes. Oh well. Hoping to bump start it so I can get it indoors, I don't have the mental fortitude to work outside in single digit or freezing temperatures
Thought I'd revisit this. Starter motor died, followed by a month of snow. It's a bit more involved than the 3 bolts I undid on my C-Max, I did get a quote at a specialist but it was just shy of £400, so decided I'd get off my arse and do myself.
Finally got it off the drive and indoors.
Rear bodywork has to come off for starters. Access is still an utter t
t, so swapped out some bolts and dropped the entire subframe/engine 6 inches or so.
This means you can at least get an arm down the front of the engine, although access still isn't really any better.
Some of what I removed after this.
To name a few - throttle body, intercooler pipes, fan, intercooler, intercooler shroud, more pipes and wires, thermostat. Access, as you can clearly see, is still just a tt.
Starter motor is at the top of the pic, under air-con and coolant pipes. Eventually shoehorned starter motor out and replacement in, and put assorted sundries back on the car. Dropped thermostat bolt under starter motor, didn't have a magnet, had to remove it all again, including the new starter, to get the bolt out.
Put car back together but in all the excitement with the bolt, didn't spot gasket for thermostat falling out, hence coolant leak when I turned the car on. Thankfully I checked before putting everything back together!!
Everything back on, and engine back in situ:
Lesson learned - ask for a considerable amount off the price if buying a Smart car (450, 452 and I believe 451) if the starter motor sounds like it's on the way out!
Finally got it off the drive and indoors.
Rear bodywork has to come off for starters. Access is still an utter t
t, so swapped out some bolts and dropped the entire subframe/engine 6 inches or so. This means you can at least get an arm down the front of the engine, although access still isn't really any better.
Some of what I removed after this.
To name a few - throttle body, intercooler pipes, fan, intercooler, intercooler shroud, more pipes and wires, thermostat. Access, as you can clearly see, is still just a t
t. Starter motor is at the top of the pic, under air-con and coolant pipes. Eventually shoehorned starter motor out and replacement in, and put assorted sundries back on the car. Dropped thermostat bolt under starter motor, didn't have a magnet, had to remove it all again, including the new starter, to get the bolt out.
Put car back together but in all the excitement with the bolt, didn't spot gasket for thermostat falling out, hence coolant leak when I turned the car on. Thankfully I checked before putting everything back together!!
Everything back on, and engine back in situ:
Lesson learned - ask for a considerable amount off the price if buying a Smart car (450, 452 and I believe 451) if the starter motor sounds like it's on the way out!
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