95' Nissan Micra k11 1.0 16v
Discussion
Had this for a few weeks now but not really had a chance to write anything up about it. It's looking like I'm hanging onto it and have some questions so this thread could be useful
Background is; I've taken the m3 off the road for the winter, It's going to live in the garage until the weather, well turns bad and then turns good again. The replacement is as stated, a lovely little k11 Micra. I'd gone to Neath from Cardiff with the original intention of picking up a quite tidy looking Suzuki Ignis .. GL maybe? The trader selling it assured me that it was all functional and in good condition. I get there and can barely pull off as the clutch was slipping
"the clutch is dead mate" said I, "yea it's gone but it's only £80 to fix it all in.." fking penis
So my mate and I who had driven me there sat in Mcdonalds for breakfast me feeling slightly dejected, he turns his phone to show me a little red Micra in Bridgend. Seemed tidy, a 12 month MOT, not much of a write up but price was about right.
It's an early model, totally base spec with black bumpers and no PAS. lovely Gave the guy a call, a young lad who was using it to commute back and forth to Bristol, he being the 2nd owner after an older lady. The car has 117k miles on it and not a scrap of service history at all, nothing more than one key and a handshake
The interior is almost as new, no weird smells and not a scag or tear on any of the interior trim or cloth. Mechanically it's not as rosy, the clutch feels very fragile and the CV joints play quite the tune when on more than about 50% lock. None of these things are a particular problem or expensive to fix but will be a full weekends work to change them over no doubt.
The only other issues are the heater only working on full blast setting, a matter of changing the heater solenoid card and a blown bulb in the dash cluster so the left side of the speedo doesn't illuminate. All things I can live with for now. The shell is very solid, my guess would be it's spent some of its life garaged, the front cross panel is in good condition also.
The touches I like are the original dealer plates, a local car it seems, the original Blaupunkpt stereo replete with 'tone' control, that's staying. The interior is sparse and grey, I love its simplicity. The twin spoke steering wheel is also a favorite.
Its first wash
period correct security precautions
Since these photos were taken I've received and fitted some genuine grey Nissan mats front and rear in the cabin, they look great and will save wear on the carpets. No doubt they'll be seen on here at some point.
Plans:
Not overly sure yet. The urge to start making it perfect is strong but I must remember my goal of buying something a) i don't care about and b) something I spend as close to £0.00 on as possible. I've already failed at a. I'm quite taken with it.
Initially I'm going to be giving it a service tomorrow consisting of:
engine oil/filter
spark plugs
fuel filter
brake system bleed
Mid term will be replacement of clutch and driveshafts.
After that, do I keep it standard or turn it into a little pretend road rally car I don't plan on doing events so the rally conversion wouldn't have to be major, but something like this
would be super rad.
All depends on my job in the next 12 months really..
So that's her, will be having a paint correction tomorrow along with the service tomorrow as although it's predominantly red it has been effected by tree sap and road grime so I'll see what I can do with it. Over all though I'm really pleased with it, It's surprisingly quiet and comfortable. It's ride is similar to my NB2.5 MX5 in as much as it soaks up bumps and floats over speed humps etc. The unassisted steering is heavy but engaging. High speed cornering on the mismatched 155/70/13" tyres is terrifying; and hilarious all in one go, I love the Micra
Background is; I've taken the m3 off the road for the winter, It's going to live in the garage until the weather, well turns bad and then turns good again. The replacement is as stated, a lovely little k11 Micra. I'd gone to Neath from Cardiff with the original intention of picking up a quite tidy looking Suzuki Ignis .. GL maybe? The trader selling it assured me that it was all functional and in good condition. I get there and can barely pull off as the clutch was slipping
"the clutch is dead mate" said I, "yea it's gone but it's only £80 to fix it all in.." fking penis
So my mate and I who had driven me there sat in Mcdonalds for breakfast me feeling slightly dejected, he turns his phone to show me a little red Micra in Bridgend. Seemed tidy, a 12 month MOT, not much of a write up but price was about right.
It's an early model, totally base spec with black bumpers and no PAS. lovely Gave the guy a call, a young lad who was using it to commute back and forth to Bristol, he being the 2nd owner after an older lady. The car has 117k miles on it and not a scrap of service history at all, nothing more than one key and a handshake
The interior is almost as new, no weird smells and not a scag or tear on any of the interior trim or cloth. Mechanically it's not as rosy, the clutch feels very fragile and the CV joints play quite the tune when on more than about 50% lock. None of these things are a particular problem or expensive to fix but will be a full weekends work to change them over no doubt.
The only other issues are the heater only working on full blast setting, a matter of changing the heater solenoid card and a blown bulb in the dash cluster so the left side of the speedo doesn't illuminate. All things I can live with for now. The shell is very solid, my guess would be it's spent some of its life garaged, the front cross panel is in good condition also.
The touches I like are the original dealer plates, a local car it seems, the original Blaupunkpt stereo replete with 'tone' control, that's staying. The interior is sparse and grey, I love its simplicity. The twin spoke steering wheel is also a favorite.
Its first wash
period correct security precautions
Since these photos were taken I've received and fitted some genuine grey Nissan mats front and rear in the cabin, they look great and will save wear on the carpets. No doubt they'll be seen on here at some point.
Plans:
Not overly sure yet. The urge to start making it perfect is strong but I must remember my goal of buying something a) i don't care about and b) something I spend as close to £0.00 on as possible. I've already failed at a. I'm quite taken with it.
Initially I'm going to be giving it a service tomorrow consisting of:
engine oil/filter
spark plugs
fuel filter
brake system bleed
Mid term will be replacement of clutch and driveshafts.
After that, do I keep it standard or turn it into a little pretend road rally car I don't plan on doing events so the rally conversion wouldn't have to be major, but something like this
would be super rad.
All depends on my job in the next 12 months really..
So that's her, will be having a paint correction tomorrow along with the service tomorrow as although it's predominantly red it has been effected by tree sap and road grime so I'll see what I can do with it. Over all though I'm really pleased with it, It's surprisingly quiet and comfortable. It's ride is similar to my NB2.5 MX5 in as much as it soaks up bumps and floats over speed humps etc. The unassisted steering is heavy but engaging. High speed cornering on the mismatched 155/70/13" tyres is terrifying; and hilarious all in one go, I love the Micra
Edited by squareflops on Saturday 8th October 12:48
cheers all
Delica - I could well do. the context for the road rally stuff is me and the boys are quite involved in Welsh RR'ing, a few have been competitive this year and we'll be attending the Powys Lanes on 5th Nov and Cilwendeg on the 26th etc etc so that's where the influence comes from. Time will tell but would be more 12 Cars I'd be doing initially, doubt I'd get an entry on the Twilight just yet ha.
Spinakerr - Yea have been trying to track down a speaker'd rear shelf! no joy as yet but will keep my eye on eBay. Well, I say the front x member is good, from the top of the engine bay it visually looks great which is better than some I've seen. Don't jinx me now . I haven't heard a single rattle from underneath, I'm still to get it up on axle stands with 4 wheels off to have a proper look around but all seems ship shape. Gear linkage is smooth and direct, dare I say it's more communicative and feel-some than the m3 the bm feels as though it's mounted on a sea of rubber whereas this is quite - snicky is the wrong word but def nicer to run through the gears in.
Well update - I'll post what it is in the morning, but it's Micra related!
p.s. does anyone know how many splines my driveshafts should have on the gearbox side? 21 or 24? how the hell do I find out?
Delica - I could well do. the context for the road rally stuff is me and the boys are quite involved in Welsh RR'ing, a few have been competitive this year and we'll be attending the Powys Lanes on 5th Nov and Cilwendeg on the 26th etc etc so that's where the influence comes from. Time will tell but would be more 12 Cars I'd be doing initially, doubt I'd get an entry on the Twilight just yet ha.
Spinakerr - Yea have been trying to track down a speaker'd rear shelf! no joy as yet but will keep my eye on eBay. Well, I say the front x member is good, from the top of the engine bay it visually looks great which is better than some I've seen. Don't jinx me now . I haven't heard a single rattle from underneath, I'm still to get it up on axle stands with 4 wheels off to have a proper look around but all seems ship shape. Gear linkage is smooth and direct, dare I say it's more communicative and feel-some than the m3 the bm feels as though it's mounted on a sea of rubber whereas this is quite - snicky is the wrong word but def nicer to run through the gears in.
Well update - I'll post what it is in the morning, but it's Micra related!
p.s. does anyone know how many splines my driveshafts should have on the gearbox side? 21 or 24? how the hell do I find out?
It goes very well dan a little better today after its service.
All went pretty easily and got to have a better look at the car, didn't throw up any nasty surprises, the cross member does indeed appear to be slightly more rustsome than I had hoped but oh well..
We serviced my red one and my mates green one this afternoon, no troubles whatsoever, lovely little cars to work on
First my mates
we did identical work with the same service items for both cars
said cross member corrosion
think my fuel filter was rustier though!
replaced with a nice new Bosch item
Looking underneath and all looks good, nice and clean
and even the same dampers on the rear as I had on my e92 330i M Sport
Now, only the very sharpest eagle eyed among you will have noticed, that there are actually 2 red Micras on the driveway. So, introducing ....... another red Micra
There's one thing you should know. Last time I uploaded pictures it was a cute little red number with grey trim and black mirrors, and although it looks like the same car today, it is in fact an entirely different cute little red number, with completely different black mirrors! (no gold spangles on either)
This one is the wifes. Whereas mine is quite high mileage with no history; this one is the direct opposite. facelift so has actual features like PAS, intermittent wipers, a sunroof! not only that but it has 25 thousand and 58 miles on it from new and 10, 10! TEN service stamps in the book, 8 of them Nissan being main dealer, that's more than my m3 on 130k - amazing. It is like new, it's so much stiffer (relative term) than mine in every way, the handling, the brakes, the action of the indications and light stalks, it really does feel like the day it drove off the line. This is great because although both cars are old, the wife cannot afford to have an unreliable car, this is now her daily and shes on call 24 hours a day at least once a week. Whereas me, if my clutch burns out - no biggie.
The CVT auto box is great too it sounds kind of broken to begin with but you soon get used to the constant revs
pre wash, as I picked it up
that auto selector though
even came with half a tank of fuel (confirmed when the ignition is turned on)
first wash
It does have it's fair share of cobwebs and dead leaves collected in crevasses etc but that'll be removed in time
So there we go, doubt I'll do many updates on the CVT as it's not that kind of project. May be interesting to see though, and not bad for £575
All went pretty easily and got to have a better look at the car, didn't throw up any nasty surprises, the cross member does indeed appear to be slightly more rustsome than I had hoped but oh well..
We serviced my red one and my mates green one this afternoon, no troubles whatsoever, lovely little cars to work on
First my mates
we did identical work with the same service items for both cars
said cross member corrosion
think my fuel filter was rustier though!
replaced with a nice new Bosch item
Looking underneath and all looks good, nice and clean
and even the same dampers on the rear as I had on my e92 330i M Sport
Now, only the very sharpest eagle eyed among you will have noticed, that there are actually 2 red Micras on the driveway. So, introducing ....... another red Micra
There's one thing you should know. Last time I uploaded pictures it was a cute little red number with grey trim and black mirrors, and although it looks like the same car today, it is in fact an entirely different cute little red number, with completely different black mirrors! (no gold spangles on either)
This one is the wifes. Whereas mine is quite high mileage with no history; this one is the direct opposite. facelift so has actual features like PAS, intermittent wipers, a sunroof! not only that but it has 25 thousand and 58 miles on it from new and 10, 10! TEN service stamps in the book, 8 of them Nissan being main dealer, that's more than my m3 on 130k - amazing. It is like new, it's so much stiffer (relative term) than mine in every way, the handling, the brakes, the action of the indications and light stalks, it really does feel like the day it drove off the line. This is great because although both cars are old, the wife cannot afford to have an unreliable car, this is now her daily and shes on call 24 hours a day at least once a week. Whereas me, if my clutch burns out - no biggie.
The CVT auto box is great too it sounds kind of broken to begin with but you soon get used to the constant revs
pre wash, as I picked it up
that auto selector though
even came with half a tank of fuel (confirmed when the ignition is turned on)
first wash
It does have it's fair share of cobwebs and dead leaves collected in crevasses etc but that'll be removed in time
So there we go, doubt I'll do many updates on the CVT as it's not that kind of project. May be interesting to see though, and not bad for £575
Interesting reads guys
Busy day. On hers not mine but it's still a k11 micra so it counts..
Wanted to give it a proper de-gunk and clean so set about doing about 11am. Great weather all day, I fear we won't have many of these days left, i'll miss the summer
Glad I decided to get the wheels off (although that is what I tend to do at the faintest opportunity most times) as the wheel wells were pretty grubby
up it went
again nice and clean underneath
and the cross member is in much better condition on this one also
just the rears to show, indicative of all of them
tried the devils blood SF to soak the mud in the arches, I don't really have anything stronger atm so will have to invest for next time
and after. Not astonishing, wont win Concours d'Elegance but better.
what is astonishing was the amount of mud that collects up in the rear arch lips of cars, I'm never less than impressed by the weight of mud that any car can hold against its body. This was on the off side arch, the near side was much worse; the petrol tank piping was holding I'd say 5 times this amount right up in the arch
with the arches clean I set about cleaning the wheels. Got a bit carried away here but as the rest of the car was going to get pretty well cleaned I thought why stop at the insides of the steelie 13"s so they got cleaned too, Autobrite Direct Very Cherry non acidic wheel solution diluted about 6:1
at about this point in the day my SF lance stopped working. It took me about an hour to find out what had happened, find a guide online to fix the issue and to strip the thing down and clean, a wasted hour but no bother. Don't have a vice atm so was a right potch to get the thing apart without scoring the brass
all cleaned and blown through with compressed air and works better than before now thanks to removing some limescale buildup at the top of the intake fixing
After the arches and the wheels had been done I noticed some quite heavy deposits of leaves and mud in the inner wings just forward of the doors so ran water in until the water leaving the car ran clear and I could no longer see any mud deposits or leaves
bloody mud everwhere
while I was in 'maintenance mode' I greased the door swing catch thingies which were dry so the door operation wasn't nice and smooth, is now. I also oiled the seat runners which were very stiff back and forth so now they slide easily and smoothly.
Gave the interior the once over
looks like something from War Of the Worlds
You'll notice the tape to aux device, works great! £4.00 off Amazon; great little thing
and lastly 'cleaned' the engine bay. Was only on it for about 3 minutes, could have done better but it's fine for now
a coat of Autobrite Direct wax/glaze/polish in one and it looks OK all done. I elected to leave the trims off for now as they don't match, quite like the mad max look on it
knackered now
Jellyfish said:
'Micra-wave'
made me laugh Busy day. On hers not mine but it's still a k11 micra so it counts..
Wanted to give it a proper de-gunk and clean so set about doing about 11am. Great weather all day, I fear we won't have many of these days left, i'll miss the summer
Glad I decided to get the wheels off (although that is what I tend to do at the faintest opportunity most times) as the wheel wells were pretty grubby
up it went
again nice and clean underneath
and the cross member is in much better condition on this one also
just the rears to show, indicative of all of them
tried the devils blood SF to soak the mud in the arches, I don't really have anything stronger atm so will have to invest for next time
and after. Not astonishing, wont win Concours d'Elegance but better.
what is astonishing was the amount of mud that collects up in the rear arch lips of cars, I'm never less than impressed by the weight of mud that any car can hold against its body. This was on the off side arch, the near side was much worse; the petrol tank piping was holding I'd say 5 times this amount right up in the arch
with the arches clean I set about cleaning the wheels. Got a bit carried away here but as the rest of the car was going to get pretty well cleaned I thought why stop at the insides of the steelie 13"s so they got cleaned too, Autobrite Direct Very Cherry non acidic wheel solution diluted about 6:1
at about this point in the day my SF lance stopped working. It took me about an hour to find out what had happened, find a guide online to fix the issue and to strip the thing down and clean, a wasted hour but no bother. Don't have a vice atm so was a right potch to get the thing apart without scoring the brass
all cleaned and blown through with compressed air and works better than before now thanks to removing some limescale buildup at the top of the intake fixing
After the arches and the wheels had been done I noticed some quite heavy deposits of leaves and mud in the inner wings just forward of the doors so ran water in until the water leaving the car ran clear and I could no longer see any mud deposits or leaves
bloody mud everwhere
while I was in 'maintenance mode' I greased the door swing catch thingies which were dry so the door operation wasn't nice and smooth, is now. I also oiled the seat runners which were very stiff back and forth so now they slide easily and smoothly.
Gave the interior the once over
looks like something from War Of the Worlds
You'll notice the tape to aux device, works great! £4.00 off Amazon; great little thing
and lastly 'cleaned' the engine bay. Was only on it for about 3 minutes, could have done better but it's fine for now
a coat of Autobrite Direct wax/glaze/polish in one and it looks OK all done. I elected to leave the trims off for now as they don't match, quite like the mad max look on it
knackered now
cheers for the replies guys
I wish my one felt slightly more robust at the moment, the fragile clutch and knocking from the CVs is not confiedence inspiring but they should be getting done soon enough!
The CVT is a little cracker, when I drive that one it almost makes me miss the PAS, but I decided to go for poverty spec for mine and I'm sticking to it. new tyres and a simple alignment will sort things out. as will new bilstein B4s if I decide to go that way
Oh, first 'mod' on my car, silly but I like the irony of it
As an aside, I've started to contemplate selling the M3. I love it but does it need to sit in the garage not being used until say March / April next year? I don't know.. That's gonna be a tough one..
I wish my one felt slightly more robust at the moment, the fragile clutch and knocking from the CVs is not confiedence inspiring but they should be getting done soon enough!
The CVT is a little cracker, when I drive that one it almost makes me miss the PAS, but I decided to go for poverty spec for mine and I'm sticking to it. new tyres and a simple alignment will sort things out. as will new bilstein B4s if I decide to go that way
Oh, first 'mod' on my car, silly but I like the irony of it
As an aside, I've started to contemplate selling the M3. I love it but does it need to sit in the garage not being used until say March / April next year? I don't know.. That's gonna be a tough one..
all interesting to read again guys. It's surprising; this thread has invited so many more comments than the m3 one. That's great isn't it m3 yea yea.. But the Micra I think has a place in so many peoples lives and it's such an endearing little thing that it encourages comment.
It's all based on work really.
mini-shed is a great way to describe it hell it doesn't even qualify for shed status as it's well under the 1k mark.
Not sure on the k12 tbh, think they're generally the same in terms of reliability etc, I know they had the option of a 1.2 engine which is an unknown to me. I feel like the k12 is the mk5 Escort of the Nissan world when what you really want is the older, less safe, more fun Mk3 - does that even translate as a metaphor
Maybe that's why I'm contemplating selling the M, the Micra is all the car I've ever needed, who knew..
Barchettaman said:
I would keep it - you've got a great combo there, anonymous but reliable mini-shed and a weekend weapon lurking in the garage.
What are the financial implications of keeping/selling the M3?
Obvs the Micra is well beyond shedness with the work you've put into it, that was just the best description I could think of.
interesting question. It is no doubt a great combo. The financials of the m3 are it owes me nothing. It can sit there not costing me a penny over the winter and shouldn't cost anything to recommission in the spring all being well. There are things I'd like to do to it to 'bring it up to standard' vanos overhaul, all new brakes, new suspension being the main points. All expensive. With my current contract not being guaranteed long term at the moment I just can't see me having to the spare change to do exactly what I want to it next year potentially which is a concern. I can maintain it but I want to do more than that.What are the financial implications of keeping/selling the M3?
Obvs the Micra is well beyond shedness with the work you've put into it, that was just the best description I could think of.
It's all based on work really.
mini-shed is a great way to describe it hell it doesn't even qualify for shed status as it's well under the 1k mark.
J4CKO said:
C1
I can see a C1 in my future dude, seems like the natural progression, especially as Dale @ Bridge to Gantry is/was having success (and lots of fun) in his @ Spa as part of a spec series. If I ever feel like going super luxury shed I'll consider it Morningside said:
Damn you! Damn you all...I am now looking at Micra's near to me on eBay.
I don't really need one or want one but you never know.
What is the newer model like (K12)? I know they have that 'scared rabbit' look about them and not as appealing as the bubble shape but they are a bit newer.
stop messing about MS and go K11 I'm still looking on Gumtree daily at new ones that pop up in Wales, it's a fun little past time. I'll check the MOT history on my phone app as a matter of course on most of them as I find it gives a really good indication of general condition. If I see lots of previous red (MOT Fail) and the words Excessive Corrosion I feel.. well I wouldn't have bought it now anyway but it's still fun to see what's out there!I don't really need one or want one but you never know.
What is the newer model like (K12)? I know they have that 'scared rabbit' look about them and not as appealing as the bubble shape but they are a bit newer.
Not sure on the k12 tbh, think they're generally the same in terms of reliability etc, I know they had the option of a 1.2 engine which is an unknown to me. I feel like the k12 is the mk5 Escort of the Nissan world when what you really want is the older, less safe, more fun Mk3 - does that even translate as a metaphor
mr shoddy said:
We recently bought a 2002 K11 SE+ for my wife, to replace an older 'S' version. The SE+ has 1.4L engine which works really nicely on the motorways and the interior is actually quite nice - air con - electric windows/mirrors - sunroof - side airbags.
These may not be 'pistonheads' cars but they are seriously underrated. With some decent tyres on the handling is good enough to be enjoyable, the gearbox is great and the driving position is spot on.
I wasn't even really aware there was a 1.4se+. Seems otherworldly I'll have to keep my eye out for those, never see them come up! Agree though, driving position is perfect in my 1.0. and I still maintain it shifts better than the M.These may not be 'pistonheads' cars but they are seriously underrated. With some decent tyres on the handling is good enough to be enjoyable, the gearbox is great and the driving position is spot on.
Maybe that's why I'm contemplating selling the M, the Micra is all the car I've ever needed, who knew..
Not much been doing over the last few weeks with the Micra. After the service I still have a very slight air lock in mine I think, heaters get hot but I can hear a gurgle on start up behind the dash that I can't shift - bit annoying.
So new tyres fitted yesterday. Since buying it the steering has been very very heavy and insistent on returning to center quite aggressively but I'd sort of got used to it. I noted the old tyres were wearing quite unevenly so plumped for an alignment too. The difference is amazing. The steering now feels almost PAS-like and it no longer pulls wildly to the left which is nice, really really pleased.
The tyres fitted are Toyo Nanoenergy 3s, no doubt they'll be a massive improvement over the miss-matched, cracked 20 year old things that were on there. £20 each from Demon Tweeks on offer! amazing! £94 for fitting and the alignment though that'd be fine for the weekend car but seems far too much to spend on the Micra
I'm currently toying with the idea of bolting a 34" light bar to the front of the bonnet for watching night events / the winter generally, will look ridiculous - but watch this space
Oh edit: I did sell the m3
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
So new tyres fitted yesterday. Since buying it the steering has been very very heavy and insistent on returning to center quite aggressively but I'd sort of got used to it. I noted the old tyres were wearing quite unevenly so plumped for an alignment too. The difference is amazing. The steering now feels almost PAS-like and it no longer pulls wildly to the left which is nice, really really pleased.
The tyres fitted are Toyo Nanoenergy 3s, no doubt they'll be a massive improvement over the miss-matched, cracked 20 year old things that were on there. £20 each from Demon Tweeks on offer! amazing! £94 for fitting and the alignment though that'd be fine for the weekend car but seems far too much to spend on the Micra
I'm currently toying with the idea of bolting a 34" light bar to the front of the bonnet for watching night events / the winter generally, will look ridiculous - but watch this space
Oh edit: I did sell the m3
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by squareflops on Sunday 4th December 15:07
I'm thinking this
^one of the rally boys cars.
£38.99 for the same bar on eBay - he rates it
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231795063384
Looks purposeful on the subaru, 34" is almost the width of the bonnet on the Micra
Would look 'reet on the Scenic
^one of the rally boys cars.
£38.99 for the same bar on eBay - he rates it
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231795063384
Looks purposeful on the subaru, 34" is almost the width of the bonnet on the Micra
Would look 'reet on the Scenic
Well nothing has happened for aaaages! No light bars as yet or anything else, until today. The drivers side CV joint as mentioned previously was really loud on any sort of lock. So decided to order the finest non oem cv kit eBay could provide and change it over. Never done a cv joint before but, It's a micra, no dramas.
So got to it, I watched a very informational video before-hand to make sure I had some clue what I was doing. The video I watched was
https://youtu.be/M_U31oY7hKY
So wheel off
I've put 'my' wheels with the new Toyo tyres on the missus Micra as she does much more mileage than me so there's now less chance of catastrophic tyre explosion on a motorway, I've now taken on that burden.
First look at the task at hand, everything was pretty greasy around the boot area so maybe there's been some sling in the past. boot was in good shape though with no obvious splits/tears
The disc has definitely seen better days. The colour is not severe overheating of the disc rather the reflection of my tartan mat ha. I'll replace the discs and pads when I can be bothered to, the thing still stops for now
So off with the driveshaft nut, 30mm. Not an impact socket I know, was half expecting it to split but thankfully it didn't, was wearing safety glasses just in case
Went ahead and cleaned up the hub bolts for a good purchase on them after driveshaft nut removal
The impact gun made quick work of removing them
With the hub bolts out the hub could be swung away to allow for removal of the shaft. When undoing the driveshaft nut I was so pleased to see the shaft move in the hub, thank god it wasn't frozen in there
Removing the old cable ties
The old boot; seen better days but seen worse boots
Greasy little fellow. The joint was extremely loose and was obviously past its best
A quick few taps with a mallet and the cv joint slid off the shaft without any real issue
Onto the replacement. It cost me £20, apparently reduced from £40. I've heard of Comline but no real idea on if the brand is good/bad. I'ts better than the one that was on there that's for certain. I wasn't sure if the new kit came with moly grease as it didn't specify that it did on the box. I bought some Carlube stuff; the kit came with grease, £5.99 wasted but ehh
Seems to be a good quality kit with metal ties for the boot and a new split ring for the shaft; which I didn't use
Old vs new
At this point I referred again to the internet to determine how to and much grease to apply to the joint. Having grown up without the internet until about 15 I still find it so cool that you can google/YT search and get an answer within seconds on just about anything; so handy
In went the grease until I could start seeing it escape from the .. inner race? and around the bearings
Then a dollop on top to ensure no air pockets etc and smoothed over
Back out side then to clean up the shaft as it was very grubby
That'll do
All reassembled, with new cables ties rather than the metal ties as I don't have the correct tool tighten them, I do however have pliers to tighten cable ties
Hub bolts cleaned a little and torqued to 118nm
And shaft nut impacted on then torqued to 177nm, the missus kindly put her foot on the brake to allow tightening to torque
Marvelous quick drive confirmed all OK, no knocking whatsoever which is great. Had a quick look half way through the drive to ensure the boot hadn't pulled off but still on there and holding it's grease it. Cool.
A very satisfying job and surprisingly easy. Good sunday, good weekend! (also did Boxster stuff here if anyone wants to know http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... )
So got to it, I watched a very informational video before-hand to make sure I had some clue what I was doing. The video I watched was
https://youtu.be/M_U31oY7hKY
So wheel off
I've put 'my' wheels with the new Toyo tyres on the missus Micra as she does much more mileage than me so there's now less chance of catastrophic tyre explosion on a motorway, I've now taken on that burden.
First look at the task at hand, everything was pretty greasy around the boot area so maybe there's been some sling in the past. boot was in good shape though with no obvious splits/tears
The disc has definitely seen better days. The colour is not severe overheating of the disc rather the reflection of my tartan mat ha. I'll replace the discs and pads when I can be bothered to, the thing still stops for now
So off with the driveshaft nut, 30mm. Not an impact socket I know, was half expecting it to split but thankfully it didn't, was wearing safety glasses just in case
Went ahead and cleaned up the hub bolts for a good purchase on them after driveshaft nut removal
The impact gun made quick work of removing them
With the hub bolts out the hub could be swung away to allow for removal of the shaft. When undoing the driveshaft nut I was so pleased to see the shaft move in the hub, thank god it wasn't frozen in there
Removing the old cable ties
The old boot; seen better days but seen worse boots
Greasy little fellow. The joint was extremely loose and was obviously past its best
A quick few taps with a mallet and the cv joint slid off the shaft without any real issue
Onto the replacement. It cost me £20, apparently reduced from £40. I've heard of Comline but no real idea on if the brand is good/bad. I'ts better than the one that was on there that's for certain. I wasn't sure if the new kit came with moly grease as it didn't specify that it did on the box. I bought some Carlube stuff; the kit came with grease, £5.99 wasted but ehh
Seems to be a good quality kit with metal ties for the boot and a new split ring for the shaft; which I didn't use
Old vs new
At this point I referred again to the internet to determine how to and much grease to apply to the joint. Having grown up without the internet until about 15 I still find it so cool that you can google/YT search and get an answer within seconds on just about anything; so handy
In went the grease until I could start seeing it escape from the .. inner race? and around the bearings
Then a dollop on top to ensure no air pockets etc and smoothed over
Back out side then to clean up the shaft as it was very grubby
That'll do
All reassembled, with new cables ties rather than the metal ties as I don't have the correct tool tighten them, I do however have pliers to tighten cable ties
Hub bolts cleaned a little and torqued to 118nm
And shaft nut impacted on then torqued to 177nm, the missus kindly put her foot on the brake to allow tightening to torque
Marvelous quick drive confirmed all OK, no knocking whatsoever which is great. Had a quick look half way through the drive to ensure the boot hadn't pulled off but still on there and holding it's grease it. Cool.
A very satisfying job and surprisingly easy. Good sunday, good weekend! (also did Boxster stuff here if anyone wants to know http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... )
certainly do dude will be interesting to read anothers' Micra adventures. Incredibly reliable machines though. I dipped mine earlier and it hasn't used any oil since I serviced it a few months ago, astounding @ 118k, it gets driven pretty enthusiastically too! no doubt yours will be equally reliable!
excellent HenryBee! How you finding it? MOT history is good and that's pretty low mileage! Looks pretty straight from here, they all seem to have little dings and scrapes but for what they are we're not too concerned huh my clutch bit point is also very high, thinking it's on the way out, might be a tutorial (pictures of me half arsing my way through a clutch change) on here soon
The micra in many ways of the perfect car to start spannering on; very simple and forgiving to work on with loads of room. With the most basic of tools you'll have it done and all will be well.
A basic service would consist of:
oil 10w40 semi synthetic or similar, about 3l but just buy 5l for top ups
oil filter (potchy to get to but not impossible)
spark plugs
air filter
fuel filter
I think all of the above came to about £35 from ECP with a bit of weekend discount applied, set aside a sunny weekend day to get it all done. As for the minutia of the project, things that come to mind are:
don't over tighten anything (spark plugs especially - one "urgh" is plenty)
warm the oil before you drain it
women and children first
other things I've forgotten
watch a few youtube videos if necessary and you'll be set. Post your results! It didn't happen if there isn't a thread about it.
Do not bin the wheel trims sell them to me for a very very low price instead! really though I have 3 of those I've been looking for a 4th for ages..
My mate has the tool evwalls (cheers evwalls!) linked to so I may swap them over on the weekend, then again I may not ha.
about an hour ago
arse
The micra in many ways of the perfect car to start spannering on; very simple and forgiving to work on with loads of room. With the most basic of tools you'll have it done and all will be well.
A basic service would consist of:
oil 10w40 semi synthetic or similar, about 3l but just buy 5l for top ups
oil filter (potchy to get to but not impossible)
spark plugs
air filter
fuel filter
I think all of the above came to about £35 from ECP with a bit of weekend discount applied, set aside a sunny weekend day to get it all done. As for the minutia of the project, things that come to mind are:
don't over tighten anything (spark plugs especially - one "urgh" is plenty)
warm the oil before you drain it
women and children first
other things I've forgotten
watch a few youtube videos if necessary and you'll be set. Post your results! It didn't happen if there isn't a thread about it.
Do not bin the wheel trims sell them to me for a very very low price instead! really though I have 3 of those I've been looking for a 4th for ages..
itcaptainslow said:
Sorry to poop on your party but that CV boot won't stay put being held by a cable tie. It needs a proper CV boot clip.
The tool is about £15-£20 on eBay and well worth the investment, makes life 100x easier!
You could well be right dude! The old boot was held on with ties; albeit slightly fatter ones, and feedback I got was they should be ok but there is definitely two camps of thought on the subject. It's still on as of 20 mins ago at least. The tool is about £15-£20 on eBay and well worth the investment, makes life 100x easier!
My mate has the tool evwalls (cheers evwalls!) linked to so I may swap them over on the weekend, then again I may not ha.
about an hour ago
arse
celica gt-four, 2 m3s, impreza, vx220, e92 330i msport - and this is by far the busiest thread, great stuff
Sir Lord Poopie - very true, I saw one that had hit a tree at reportedly around 50mph, there was nothing left.
itcaptainslow - cheers for the offer bud, in Cardiff myself ha, and have the two metal clips supplied with the CV kit, should probably have put them on in hindsight but #bootwatch it's still attached how long will it last..
and I may just be looking at an MX-5 on the weekend haha
Morningside - very true, sometimes I can't tell if the car in front that's far quicker on paper is struggling to drop me down a twisty or if they're completely oblivious to the fact that I'm on the door handles trying to keep up with them on their sedate morning commute ha.
Don't mind the new one. Wouldn't buy one for at least 25 years though..
Ste372 - Exactly as you say! I had the Ignis Sport for a while and that thing as THE MOST fun I think I've ever had in a car. Was on a rally night in Brecon and was chasing a road rally prepped Micra (fittingly) with a very quick driver behind wheel for about 120 lanes miles (not competitive) and it was one of the best driving expriences of my life, to the boards for hours, and the Ignis was perfect. i do want another one.
HTP99 - I might be selling my newphews on account of him being a clart, he's only had it two months and it's generally lovely; has had all the welding done on it by a professional. It's not perfect but.. Just saying!
Sir Lord Poopie - very true, I saw one that had hit a tree at reportedly around 50mph, there was nothing left.
itcaptainslow - cheers for the offer bud, in Cardiff myself ha, and have the two metal clips supplied with the CV kit, should probably have put them on in hindsight but #bootwatch it's still attached how long will it last..
Gooly said:
I had a K11 1.0 same spec as yours but white, went up and bought it without even seeing a picture of it. £150 later, with nothing more than the car, a key and an old MOT I was away and it was genuinely one of the most fun cars I've ever had. Highlights include a brilliant little gearbox with decent ratios, pedals well placed for heel & toe and surprisingly good handling if you learn to drive past the bodyroll and find the actual limits of the car. As someone else mentioned, lift off oversteer is just a flick and a dab of the brakes away and the 1.0 revs to the moon and back. Never had trouble making progress with mine, always wondered what the 1.3 Super S ones would be like. Mine died when the gearbox input shaft snapped out of the blue; probably after one too many clutch dump starts. Brilliant cars, and like MK1 MX5s I hope they stay common and cheap for a little while yet as they are the kind of cars that you never want to not own at any given point.
ohh white - road rally colour, It's the one thing I'd change about mine (apart from lots of other stuff) would love a white one. Sounds similar to my purchase scenario, except I didn't have the old mot ha. but was grinning all the way home and still do when I get in it. As you say they're just ergonomically almost perfect, everything just falls to hand and they hustle along, can be at 10/10ths @ 40mph, more exhilarating than say the boxster at double that. and I may just be looking at an MX-5 on the weekend haha
Morningside - very true, sometimes I can't tell if the car in front that's far quicker on paper is struggling to drop me down a twisty or if they're completely oblivious to the fact that I'm on the door handles trying to keep up with them on their sedate morning commute ha.
Don't mind the new one. Wouldn't buy one for at least 25 years though..
Ste372 - Exactly as you say! I had the Ignis Sport for a while and that thing as THE MOST fun I think I've ever had in a car. Was on a rally night in Brecon and was chasing a road rally prepped Micra (fittingly) with a very quick driver behind wheel for about 120 lanes miles (not competitive) and it was one of the best driving expriences of my life, to the boards for hours, and the Ignis was perfect. i do want another one.
HTP99 - I might be selling my newphews on account of him being a clart, he's only had it two months and it's generally lovely; has had all the welding done on it by a professional. It's not perfect but.. Just saying!
Few haps with the micra today.
I noticed some green appearing on rubbers and around the screen etc so decided to take all that off
Used this stuff diluted to 1:10 and a toothbrush
and .. better
onto a standard wash blah blah etc
yay look a picture of a clean micra
Evidence of the new front tyres fitted last weekend
before speccying on the Gremlin Rally. A spirited drive through the lanes getting back to the a470 revealed that these (Nexen) Arrowspeeds are actually pretty good! however I also experienced brake fade. That coupled with my MOT tester telling me a while ago that the discs wouldn't pass the next MOT inspired me to replace them. So about 12 today jumped onto ECP and reserved discs and pads at the Cardiff Bay store. I could have had Eicher for £38 or Brembo for £45 so I plumped the extra £7 and splashed out. This was after applying the 30% weekend discount.
I've heard in the past of ECP boxing up 'lesser' brands into more preferable packaging, no idea if this is true or not but a quick check revealed the items I'd bought were actually genuine Brembo, or someone's gone to a hell of a lot of trouble to copy the good stuff
these pads are tiny I'm sure I've replaced bigger pads on my downhill mountain bike
discs are stamped Brembo also
So got to it. Found a use for my Tekton magnetic holder tray
it conveniently held all of the nuts and bolts for the job with no loses
Working on the near side first, the pads were actually in pretty good condition, I'd say not really needing replacement but I'd started so I finished
I got the caliper up out of the way and the carrier off to remove the disc
with the disc off you can see the inner (and outer) faces are very crusty. The outer edge of the pad was no longer making contact with the face of the disc
outer face. Quite heavily ridged with a sizable lip on the edge of the disc pointing towards excessive wear
inner surface again
Onto fitting the new items then, disc(s) cleaned with brake/clutch cleaner
and a quick comparison between old and new pads
old pads really not that bad, I considered keeping them as back ups but remembered they'd just sit in the garage somewhere for the next 400 years so binned them to save time
stuff fitted and things and stuff
Everything copper slipped that should be slipped
moving on to the off side then and pretty similar story with the disc and pads. Good to see they wore evenly at least
It was whilst trying to push the piston back on the off side caliper that I discovered it was stuck/seized solid. Standard method of trying to push it back was having the caliper in place with inner pad removed and levering the piston with a spanner/screw driver. That didn't work. Time to pull out the C clamp
That didn't work. Boy was it stuck tight.
At this point I took more severe measures. I had the genius/idiotic (not sure which) idea of adding additional lubrication to the piston/seal area to try and get the piston moving. First of all though I had to move the piston out to free it an maximize the lubricated area. I employed my trusty assistant to push the brake pedal down with the engine running to push the piston out without it coming free from the caliper and then
I withdrew silicone grease up into a syringey thing and applied under the dust seal of the caliper and ran it all around to piston to ensure full lubrication
After that, applied the C clamp once more and hey presto, the piston slid back into the caliper very nicely
The piston should now have adequate grease to keep it moving freely for some time. Along with the piston I lubricated the sliders on both carriers with silicone lubricant so ensure the rubbers were looked after, they were free moving before hand but this cant hurt of course
That's pretty much that. Apart from the stuck piston it all went pretty smoothly and a quick test drive was without incident and the pedal feels .. yea good.
Lastly - to all you doubting Thomas's saying the cable tie wouldn't hold the boot on, behold!
hasn't fallen off yet
I noticed some green appearing on rubbers and around the screen etc so decided to take all that off
Used this stuff diluted to 1:10 and a toothbrush
and .. better
onto a standard wash blah blah etc
yay look a picture of a clean micra
Evidence of the new front tyres fitted last weekend
before speccying on the Gremlin Rally. A spirited drive through the lanes getting back to the a470 revealed that these (Nexen) Arrowspeeds are actually pretty good! however I also experienced brake fade. That coupled with my MOT tester telling me a while ago that the discs wouldn't pass the next MOT inspired me to replace them. So about 12 today jumped onto ECP and reserved discs and pads at the Cardiff Bay store. I could have had Eicher for £38 or Brembo for £45 so I plumped the extra £7 and splashed out. This was after applying the 30% weekend discount.
I've heard in the past of ECP boxing up 'lesser' brands into more preferable packaging, no idea if this is true or not but a quick check revealed the items I'd bought were actually genuine Brembo, or someone's gone to a hell of a lot of trouble to copy the good stuff
these pads are tiny I'm sure I've replaced bigger pads on my downhill mountain bike
discs are stamped Brembo also
So got to it. Found a use for my Tekton magnetic holder tray
it conveniently held all of the nuts and bolts for the job with no loses
Working on the near side first, the pads were actually in pretty good condition, I'd say not really needing replacement but I'd started so I finished
I got the caliper up out of the way and the carrier off to remove the disc
with the disc off you can see the inner (and outer) faces are very crusty. The outer edge of the pad was no longer making contact with the face of the disc
outer face. Quite heavily ridged with a sizable lip on the edge of the disc pointing towards excessive wear
inner surface again
Onto fitting the new items then, disc(s) cleaned with brake/clutch cleaner
and a quick comparison between old and new pads
old pads really not that bad, I considered keeping them as back ups but remembered they'd just sit in the garage somewhere for the next 400 years so binned them to save time
stuff fitted and things and stuff
Everything copper slipped that should be slipped
moving on to the off side then and pretty similar story with the disc and pads. Good to see they wore evenly at least
It was whilst trying to push the piston back on the off side caliper that I discovered it was stuck/seized solid. Standard method of trying to push it back was having the caliper in place with inner pad removed and levering the piston with a spanner/screw driver. That didn't work. Time to pull out the C clamp
That didn't work. Boy was it stuck tight.
At this point I took more severe measures. I had the genius/idiotic (not sure which) idea of adding additional lubrication to the piston/seal area to try and get the piston moving. First of all though I had to move the piston out to free it an maximize the lubricated area. I employed my trusty assistant to push the brake pedal down with the engine running to push the piston out without it coming free from the caliper and then
I withdrew silicone grease up into a syringey thing and applied under the dust seal of the caliper and ran it all around to piston to ensure full lubrication
After that, applied the C clamp once more and hey presto, the piston slid back into the caliper very nicely
The piston should now have adequate grease to keep it moving freely for some time. Along with the piston I lubricated the sliders on both carriers with silicone lubricant so ensure the rubbers were looked after, they were free moving before hand but this cant hurt of course
That's pretty much that. Apart from the stuck piston it all went pretty smoothly and a quick test drive was without incident and the pedal feels .. yea good.
Lastly - to all you doubting Thomas's saying the cable tie wouldn't hold the boot on, behold!
hasn't fallen off yet
AndrewEH1 said:
Should I get a lock up this year a K11 will be my second purchase after a two/four post lift!
The want is so strong!
so much want for a lift, and a garage that could accommodate one! Who'd ever have thought that we'd be hankering after old Japanese economy boxes I love my little K11 as much as the boxster genuinely. The want is so strong!
Six Fiend said:
Excellent works
Hoping to do a bit to mine this week but no takers on my 540i just yet so can't have it back home.
cheers bud. Ohh 540, I'll be giving one a very good clean next weekend hopefully, can't wait to get my hands on it! Hoping to do a bit to mine this week but no takers on my 540i just yet so can't have it back home.
Enjoying seeing the Toad come back to life
well, thanks photobucket years and years of threads on quite a few cars dead; if anyone ever did want to read through them. Rubbish.
Well, this may as well be post 1 of this thread as it will be pictures from here only. I've signed up to Flickr so lets see if they can keep 3rd party hosting simple.
Due to a change in my personal circumstances and an imminent house move I haven't really had the inclination to do/post much for the last few months. I'll be in a new house soon with one less bedroom and one less person to share with (have I brought a tear to any ones eye yet ) I'll do a virtual tour of the place when I move in. At least the new place has a garage, which needs quite a bit of work to make habitable!
I've been very happily bumbling around in the micra for the past few months. It hasn't missed a beat (apart from a miss-fire on cylinder 3 which lasted about an hour then fixed itself - marvellous) and I've had nothing really to report on it.
With the MOT coming up on the micra on 28th of August I thought it best to inspect the front cross member and protect it for the coming winter. I wasn't sure what I was going to find but - I found some stuff I hadn't had the front bumper off before so there was a lot of faffing and uncertainty before figuring out that it's actually very easy, I'll be about 2 hours quicker doing it next time
car up on the ramps. The forecast said rain so I tucked the nose into the garage just in case
So off came the bumper eventually, I thought I may have to remove the headlights so removed the off side then figured out I didn't really need to
at first glance, through squinted eyes with my hand over my face it didn't look too bad, I started to poke and prod and things quickly went from "ahh not too bad then.."
to "fk..."
Well I was in there at that point and thought I've started so I'll finish. My hope was to clear the cross member up and make it look semi-presentable so a friendly MOT tester will think at a glance that it's not too bad in there. Long term I'm really not sure what to do as it's largely uneconomical to repair at garage rates.
So I rubbed it all down, got the worst of the rust off and coated with hammer finish hammerite
All rusty areas around the back of the cross member have been covered and looking over it now shows it to be all nice and tidy. Who knows maybe when I move to my new place I'll invest in a welder and some Youtube lessons. I'll post the outcome of the MOT in a few weeks!
As I was in a potching mood I turned my attention toward the other halfs (while she still is) mx5 as there's been a lot of sloshing noises coming from the near side sill. I stuck a small flat head screw driver in the drain hole and was satisfied to see quite the torrent of water pour out. A quick job that should now help the thing last maybe a few more years before it turns to a rusty dust pile
Jacked up to make sure all the water was out of the sills leaving via the front drain holes and also checked/cleared/drained the hood drain tubes
As an aside to this aside, a few weeks ago I hosted this fella (stripy polo shirt)
while he was on holiday travelling through Europe. We had quite the weekend based around Welsh car culture and he got to see Caerphilly Castle which apparently was quite the experience to someone who's native country has nothing over 200 years old in it. I don't expect anyone to know who he is but 9,437 internet points if you can identify him.
More to come in a few weeks I guess..
Well, this may as well be post 1 of this thread as it will be pictures from here only. I've signed up to Flickr so lets see if they can keep 3rd party hosting simple.
Due to a change in my personal circumstances and an imminent house move I haven't really had the inclination to do/post much for the last few months. I'll be in a new house soon with one less bedroom and one less person to share with (have I brought a tear to any ones eye yet ) I'll do a virtual tour of the place when I move in. At least the new place has a garage, which needs quite a bit of work to make habitable!
I've been very happily bumbling around in the micra for the past few months. It hasn't missed a beat (apart from a miss-fire on cylinder 3 which lasted about an hour then fixed itself - marvellous) and I've had nothing really to report on it.
With the MOT coming up on the micra on 28th of August I thought it best to inspect the front cross member and protect it for the coming winter. I wasn't sure what I was going to find but - I found some stuff I hadn't had the front bumper off before so there was a lot of faffing and uncertainty before figuring out that it's actually very easy, I'll be about 2 hours quicker doing it next time
car up on the ramps. The forecast said rain so I tucked the nose into the garage just in case
So off came the bumper eventually, I thought I may have to remove the headlights so removed the off side then figured out I didn't really need to
at first glance, through squinted eyes with my hand over my face it didn't look too bad, I started to poke and prod and things quickly went from "ahh not too bad then.."
to "fk..."
Well I was in there at that point and thought I've started so I'll finish. My hope was to clear the cross member up and make it look semi-presentable so a friendly MOT tester will think at a glance that it's not too bad in there. Long term I'm really not sure what to do as it's largely uneconomical to repair at garage rates.
So I rubbed it all down, got the worst of the rust off and coated with hammer finish hammerite
All rusty areas around the back of the cross member have been covered and looking over it now shows it to be all nice and tidy. Who knows maybe when I move to my new place I'll invest in a welder and some Youtube lessons. I'll post the outcome of the MOT in a few weeks!
As I was in a potching mood I turned my attention toward the other halfs (while she still is) mx5 as there's been a lot of sloshing noises coming from the near side sill. I stuck a small flat head screw driver in the drain hole and was satisfied to see quite the torrent of water pour out. A quick job that should now help the thing last maybe a few more years before it turns to a rusty dust pile
Jacked up to make sure all the water was out of the sills leaving via the front drain holes and also checked/cleared/drained the hood drain tubes
As an aside to this aside, a few weeks ago I hosted this fella (stripy polo shirt)
while he was on holiday travelling through Europe. We had quite the weekend based around Welsh car culture and he got to see Caerphilly Castle which apparently was quite the experience to someone who's native country has nothing over 200 years old in it. I don't expect anyone to know who he is but 9,437 internet points if you can identify him.
More to come in a few weeks I guess..
https://www.gumtree.com/p/nissan/nissan-micra-k11-...
Is that allowed?
The rear tyres are likely to explode at any point, other than that shes good to go.
Is that allowed?
The rear tyres are likely to explode at any point, other than that shes good to go.
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