Tom's TDCi Titanium X...

[Toms306]

So, it's about time I updated this!

Focus has now got a stage 1 remap - would recommend Steve's work to anyone, excellent map! Felt a little flat on the first drive and I was a bit disappointed...not sure if it had to 'learn' anything or if I'd forgotten how to drive the Focus whilst in the Volvo, but the following drives felt progressively better, very pleased with the results! It's very smooth but responsive, plenty of torque low down so easier to drive but without spikes to kill the clutch or turbo, overtakes feel far safer now and the pull away 'dip' has gone. Not ideal to test mpg on the first tankful and I've had a boot full of jack and tools for most of it, but the trip computer is showing 58mpg average, which is significantly better than the 52mpg average I got on the previous tank! Though I'm still hoping for the magical 60mpg avg lol.

I also blanked EGR at the same time which has helped, bit of a pain on these but worth doing!

Due to the issues I was having with the car I'd lost interest in it recently, didn't want anything else just couldn't be bothered to clean it or anything. Well that changed after the work last week and a large meet this afternoon gave me the incentive to get on and wash it, as well as fitting a few parts I've had stored a while!

So gave it a wash this morning, good shampoo makes a difference - my cheap shampoo must've been stripping the wax as the Merr stuff seems to be allowing the wax to last a lot longer, didn't need any wax or quick detailer today!

Fitted some LED sidelights earlier in the week...which lasted minutes before presumably overheating... I hate LEDs lol, took advice on those from FOC! Anyway, I don't like the yellow bulbs against the HIDs so went for some whiter sidelights bulbs instead of LEDs, they're Philips Extreme White, which are coated blue and give a slightly yellow light lol...but significantly whiter than standard so that'll do! Also bought a set of genuine wiper blades as mine are starting to streak a little and the rear one is knackered - they've been on well over a year though, wear markers were visible when I bought the car lol! Also bought another set of centre caps as the last set of 'genuine' caps clearly weren't genuine as they didn't even fit lol.



Old wipers



Old centre cap (they rattled like a bugger!)



New cap, perfect fit! (Could do with a coupe of new nuts there and on others, hopefully they're being sorted. )



New blades



Of course, I can't do anything without f*cking up somewhere. The NS wiper arm was wet and slipped out of my hand without a blade on, causing this. Will have to get it filled so it doesn't spread, particularly as it's heated screen time of year lol.



Doesn't look bad overall...

[procta]

you can get that crack fixed tom, just claim on the insurance,

[1616six]

you can get that crack fixed tom, just claim on the insurance,

It's too near the edge of the screen by the look of it.

Needs to be at least 3cm away from the edge.

[Toms306]

Bit of superglue will have to do then...

[Toms306]

Yeah it's definitely not 3cm from the edge. Doesn't get any worse by pressing it though, and cant see a hole at all so will just leave it. Hopefully it doesn't crack as I don't want a whole new screen, both my Mum and I have had issues with new screens.

[Toms306]

You know when you wish you hadn't bothered... Yeah, that...

So firstly the new wiper blades squeak really annoyingly at the top and bottom of thier travel. Looks like there's some rubber on the screen from previous blades in this area that won't come off with cleaning. Is that the cause of the noise and if so how do I remove it?

Secondly, and this may render the first question unnecessary, the crack got worse this morning and has spread a leg about 3 inches diagonally towards the a pillar. Looks like the window will need replaced afterall. Can I leave it over winter and replace nextt year when I've hopfully got a bit more to spend or is there any reason it needs doing now? Really didn't want it replaced as my mum had 2 leaking screens on hers and when I had one on a 306 the dash rattled, the auto wiper sensor got broken and the mirror fell off after a day...

[powerandtorque]

If the crack is spreading that quickly I doubt it'll last once you factor in a few potholes and icy mornings I'm afraid.

As a balance to your tales of woe, misses had her screen done last year and it was fine. Indeed, guy did a very good job which is high praise indeed coming from a picky sod like me!

[welshpug]

I had the bmw screen done last year, 14k miles on its still fine.

[mr_fish]

Used National Windscreens the other day, chap was spot on. Even came to my place and did it. Granted I took the wipers and scuttle panel off he charged me £105 and gave me new clips for the scuttle.

Suppose your will be more if it has auto wipers/heater/etc. But I would use them again.

Else wait for JJ to get you one out the door

[Eeyore]

tom dont bother doing it unless its really bad. get it done before the mot.

[Paul_13]

If you've got luck like mine it'll be cracked a week after getting the new one fitted

[1616six]

Tom if you use AG (If you're with the Admiral group you more than likely will) then you get a lifetime gaurantee.

Piece of piss to do your car, one of the most common so you'll be unlikely to get any problems as techs do so many!

[Toms306]

Used National Windscreens the other day, chap was spot on. Even came to my place and did it. Granted I took the wipers and scuttle panel off he charged me £105 and gave me new clips for the scuttle.

Suppose your will be more if it has auto wipers/heater/etc. But I would use them again.

Else wait for JJ to get you one out the door

Yeah auto wipers and lights, heated, infra-red reflective, doubt it'd be under £200 out of insurance tbh. Excess on insurance is £75 which I don't have atm tbh. Would've been £25 for a fill! Was just wondering of it'll cause any issues by being cracked, I'm not fussed by it spreading on the passenger side if it's not going to cause any issues.

tom dont bother doing it unless its really bad. get it done before the mot.

It's not an MOT fail where it is yet fortunately, probably will be by Feb though tbf.

If you've got luck like mine it'll be cracked a week after getting the new one fitted

Lol, wouldn't surprise me!

Tom if you use AG (If you're with the Admiral group you more than likely will) then you get a lifetime gaurantee.

Piece of piss to do your car, one of the most common so you'll be unlikely to get any problems as techs do so many!

Lifetime guarantee just means they keep sending the same tit that couldn't seal it properly the first time though... I really don't have any faith in the Ipswich Autoglass guys.

Also, any idea if they'd use a genuine screen? The crappy aftermarket one fitted to the 306 was what caused some of the issues there. Mums had to be genuine as hers was only a year old at the time - spent the next year smelling damp due to repeated f*ck ups by the AG guys lol.


Anyway, heres my crack today!



Had a pretty rough morning unfortunately and ended up trying to walk it off round the res, took a few beading pics while I was there.







Ice white sidelights there btw.

[1616six]

They don't send the same guys back that first did it, or don't now at least. They have warranty techs which go out to warranty jobs.

Screen wise will be OEM quality, very rare to get leaks or wind noise, shouldn't get any dash rattles as you don't touch or move anything on the dash to change a screen!

[Niall]

They don't send the same guys back that first did it, or don't now at least. They have warranty techs which go out to warranty jobs.

Screen wise will be OEM quality, very rare to get leaks or wind noise, shouldn't get any dash rattles as you don't touch or move anything on the dash to change a screen!

Some cars do have a foam strip though that sits between the dash and windscreen such as a 306. Mine was partially "removed" on my old 1.8 which was very annoying lol

[1616six]

Sounds like damping tape which isn't necessary on all cars & is to prevent sinking not stop to rattles lol

[Toms306]

OEM quality...just like ebay wishbones then... Think I'll leave it. As I say, the 'quality' screen fitted to the 306 was rubbish. Auto wiper sensor didn't fit and was then broken trying to get it on, and the mirror support wasn't stuck on properly so fell of as I adjusted the mirror. Plus the shaded area around the mirror was smaller and not overly well shaded. And the makers mark was annoying on the side of the screen.

Niall is right, there is something between the screen and dash on 306s that prevents rattles, whether that's actually it's purpose I don't now lol.

[1616six]

What do you plan on doing then, buying a screen from Ford & getting it fitted yourself?! Lol

[Toms306]

Finding a company that will fit a genuine screen next year. Much rather do that than pay £75 for one that's shit and annoys me for the next 2 years. I'd rather have the crack over a new cheap shit screen lol.

[Piggy]

What do you plan on doing then, buying a screen from Ford & getting it fitted yourself?! Lol

This.

Going INTO winter with a screen cracked like is just off the handle nuts.

It's a failure for a reason on MOTs. It's not just about vision, but structure too.

[1616six]

What do you plan on doing then, buying a screen from Ford & getting it fitted yourself?! Lol

This.

Going INTO winter with a screen cracked like is just off the handle nuts.

It's a failure for a reason on MOTs. It's not just about vision, but structure too.

I only learnt on the course I'm on this week that a windscreen us up to 30% of a cars structure.. Crazy that a piece of glass contributes to that much of a cars structure!

[Toms306]

I'm not aiming to roll it. As I say, I can't afford a new screen right now anyway, ironically as I spent the last of the years car money on wipers which I now wish I hadn't lol, I never learn, if it ain't completely f*cked don't attempt to fix or replace it.

[1616six]

I'm not aiming to roll it.  As I say, I can't afford a new screen right now anyway, ironically as I spent the last of the years car money on wipers which I now wish I hadn't lol, I never learn, if it ain't completely f*cked don't attempt to fix or replace it.

Tom, no one aims to ever have a car crash.. Well genuine ones anyway!

[Toms306]

True, some of us take a bit more care over avoiding them though, I couldn't cope with a proper crash (not talking a car park knock), the windscreen would be the least of my worries if that ever does happen. That's a great thought to go to bed on lol.

[Matt-Rallye]

Tom i really don't understand why you bother asking any questions to anyone ever? as all you do is then come up with a list of the most annoying / pathetic excuses in the book to skirt around the genuine answers you get given by knowledgeable people.

Genuinely not having a go but maybe it would be more noticeable to yourself if you sat down with a cuppa, went back a few pages in this thread and thoroughly read through some of the questions posed, answers given and then your response to those answers.

Your windscreen is f*cked and needs replacing. Thus meaning get it replaced and worry about the quality of the job afterwards, that's why places like autoglass have a complaints dept.

[powerandtorque]

Excess on insurance is £75 which I don't have atm tbh.  Would've been £25 for a fill!

I'm no expert, but I think even after you just did it that it was never going to be repairable by filling.

Filling as I understand it is for "bullseye" type chips that haven't cracked, whereas yours already had significant crack propagation from two different points.

This isn't meant to sound harsh, but you say that you can't afford the £75 to replace the screen and yet all through this thread you've been buying spurious cosmetic niceties that you didn't need - I think you've your priorities somewhat a**e about face. Not only that, but from what I've seen you've had people wanting to buy well over £75 worth of parts from that turd of a 306 you bought on a whim but like Matt says, you've come up with excuse after excuse about why you can't remove them, why you can't post them etc.

But hey, lets ignore the illegal windscreen you're driving around with - at least the car has nice water beading and white sidelights, that's what's important. FFS...

(I know you've got your issues and this isn't meant to be having a go at you, merely somewhat of a reality check)

[Toms306]

My money situation is changing as of next month, hence needing to get the car sorted this month so there shouldn't be any unexpected car bills over the next couple of months at least...that's gone well. Sidelights were replaced as one blew, centre caps I bought a while back any never got round to fitting, what other niceities were there recently? I'd like new mats and badges, but couldn't afford or justify them yet, tbh I'd also like a set of Eibach springs and a few Sports bumpers etc and have done for the last year...I do have priorities in order as far as I can.

I don't know what you saw worth £75 if I was willing to post on the breaker, doors are worth a tenner, wings a fiver, lights a tenner, there's nothing of value on them looking at my last breaker price list. It should just about break even I think. That's another fail atm but that's for the other thread.

Is a crack under the NS wiper actually illegal? No-ones confirmed that if so, I didn't realise there'd be any legal or MOT issues with it in that area?

I do understand what you mean, but what seems a 'pathetic excuse' to you guys, is usually a lot of hassle and stress for me - for example having someone messing with my car to change the screen will be difficult enough - when the window then leaks I've got to go through it all again, not that I'll be able to make a complaint as presumably that's done on the telephone. When it's eventually done I fully guarantee something is wrong with it.

[Piggy]

Couple of tight bends and a bump and that is going to go bang.

Its dangerous end of Tom.

[Lwilliams]

Not sure it's illegal? I thought it was only when it obscures vision? Or stupidly big

To me doesn't look that bad... just needs to be sorted in near future?

[Toms306]

Bang in what way? It isn't going to fall out or shatter in a billion pieces as its laminated. It'll probably spread, but other than being a little annoying I don't see an issue. Just want to know whether its actually illegal or not.