Yet Another Moonstone...

[Toms306]

Evening,

So a few of you know I recently bought my 12th 306...

A V plate HDi DTurbo in a crap colour but with the right amount of doors.

It came with a crank pulley in several pieces and a snapped cam belt. This is probably the most original 306 I've ever seen, never had the bumper/grill/hockey sticks off, never had the gearbox off, ALL wiring clips and plastic clips were still intact! Were before I got there anyway.

Don't really have many pics, but here's what I've done so far...

Firstly, strip down front end and remove knackered engine:



The broken crank pulley - good reason to not leave one knocking lol!





De-EGR'd, de-airconned and cleaned the bay.



Bought it some presents as ECP had a good sale on lol.



Shorter belt, 6PK1185.



Built up ready to go back in -





Did actually refit the loom before putting back as well but no pictures.

Back together but will it start first time? This engine came from the rear ended moonstone so hasnt been run for months. And surely I've cocked something up as usual...

http://youtu.be/KKS9wvnYf0g

Yay! Gotta be honest, I did not expect it to fire up that quick, if at all!

So back together...



Stick PP on to check why the EML's on...oh dear!



Turns out they were all previous faults except the EGR one (which I caused). So cleared them and light hasn't come back.

Overshadowed by the better coloured one...



Quick test on a private road and seems all good!





So current engine spec list is -

125k engine
Cambelt at 90k
New clutch cable, fork bushes and low milage clutch (Much nicer than the china clutch!)
Metal gear rods
De EGR
De air con
Full filter service
New genuine gaskets for inlet, exhaust and cat pipe


Interior extras -

Meridian leaf leathers
Sony Bluetooth headunit and Rockford fosgate door speakers courtesy of previous owner.


Current problems -

Leaking driveshaft seal - my own fault, forgot to buy any seals until it was too late
RCL stopped working today - will try resyncing first
Drivers rub strip clips broken - ordered clips
3rd brake light hanging out on one side
No oil level gauge on clocks, and cant reset service indicator, when trying to reset it flashes '-10-' but immediately flashes off again instead of counting down
Leaky front shocks, not sure how bad they are, will drive on them before deciding whether or not they need changed, don't seem bad from the bounce test.


So whats the plan for it? Well.... Possibly use it for a while, being as I've 'built' it up with good, checked parts and a low mileage engine, and the 3dr is causing a lot of practicality issues and still full of niggles, and 5dr seats are much more comfortable lol. The plan was to fix and sell on but I kinda like it so not totally sure yet tbh.

[C.A.R.]

Moonstone FTW!

I prefer the China 3Dr though personally. Have you owned a cabriolet yet? I think it should be on your to do list lol

[Toms306]

Moonstone FTW!

I prefer the China 3Dr though personally. Have you owned a cabriolet yet? I think it should be on your to do list lol

I'm not a woman or a hairdresser so unlikely to own a cabriolet.

I must admit, cabbies just don't do anything for me, would quite like a ph1 '6 though lol.

Lookswise I do prefer the china, but that's where the preference list stops unfortunately.

Its a pain in the arse trying to get stuff in or out of, its difficult getting myself in and out in car parks and my Nans narrow driveway, 3dr seats are uncomfortable, theres a definite engine/fuelling problem as the moonstone has much more 'oomph' despite being standard. And tbh it's still full of niggles, though I did expect niggles given the mileage, I guess I just get irritated by things that don't bother most people. Its just a bit frustrating that neither is perfect/ideal and both have different positive points.

[DeeTurbo]

How long did it take you to do the engine swap Tom?

[Toms306]

How long did it take you to do the engine swap Tom?

A week.

But only doing about 2hrs an evening, and taking my time as I'd rather be tinkering with that than sitting home on my arse in the evenings.

I forgot to say, I'd stripped the old engine down to just block, head and fuel system. So had to re-build it up before it could go back in. Wished I hadn't stripped it but I didn't know I'd be sticking in another one at the time lol.

One out, one in would've been barely any work at all.

[DeeTurbo]

What niggles have you got with the 3 door HDI?

The main one I've got with mine is the dam brakes.

[Toms306]

What niggles have you got with the 3 door HDI?

The main one I've got with mine is the dam brakes.

I'd be here all day listing them tbh. As said though, really anal things irritate me, down to the door handle trims falling off and the parcel shelf rattle. There are bigger issues, brakes have developed a terrible squeal and 'snatch', drivers seat wont lock into place properly so keeps moving under acceleration/braking, strange engine noises that I cant pinpoint, clicking/tapping on right hand bends that isn't driveshaft, clutch is stiff/jerky despite being new as I couldn't change the fork bushes and didn't change the cable as it wasn't that old, and the failing door loom so I have no mirrors and now have an intermittent drivers speaker, the original windscreen which allows no visibility in the sun. Then theres a lot of cosmetic niggles, the crease in the door, the bonnet dents, the peeling black vinyl, the scratch on the rear quarter. Then the noises inside, the sqeaky blower motor, rattly glovebox, rattly parcel shelf, rattles bloody everywhere lol.

Don't get me wrong, mechanically it's a good A to B workhorse, which is what its been used for daily for years and suited Simons needs perfectly. Unfortunately I have to admit it's just not the car for me though. What I'd really like is something silent, light, numb and boring again....would happily swap for another PD130....

---

Also, not sure if anyone else noticed on the vid, but the oil pressure light, and oil level gauge both fail to illuminate on ignition...any ideas why that might be? I'm sure I plugged both in lol!

[7057sam]

Time to sell the china I think mate

Much prefer moonstone,bring out the colour in your eyes

[Tom]

Oh Tom, another one, really?!

[Toms306]

Time to sell the china I think mate

Much prefer moonstone,bring out the colour in your eyes

Well, umm...

Problem with selling the china is I know I'll lose a lot on it. In hindsight wish I hadn't changed the cambelt and stuff, but done it now so can't undo it lol.

Oh Tom, another one, really?!

Yeah man, nearly bought a 13th as well but the bids went too high.

I'll just say this though, OCD is more than the stereotypical handwashing....just cant help myself when I see a cheap 306 for sale locally! If only I could find a cheap PD130 that needed repair...

[Toms306]

Bit of progress on this today!

Current problems -

Leaking driveshaft seal - my own fault, forgot to buy any seals until it was too late Replaced the shaft seal (what a bugger to do in situ, wish I'd done it before the engine went back lol!)
RCL stopped working today - will try resyncing firstResyned and working fine.
Drivers rub strip clips broken - ordered clipsClips fitted and trim secured
3rd brake light hanging out on one sideNo change, may just remove it altogether
No oil level gauge on clocks, and cant reset service indicator, when trying to reset it flashes '-10-' but immediately flashes off again instead of counting down got replacement bulb for oil pressure light. Oil level seems to work now lol.
Leaky front shocks, not sure how bad they are, will drive on them before deciding whether or not they need changed, don't seem bad from the bounce test.Stuck the VTS struts on with new droplinks


This will be my main car from the 1st of May....and with an insurance reduction of £25 changing from the 3dr lol...

[kentiiboii]

Tom you don't half make me laugh! But we do love you and we'd me lost without you!

[Toms306]

So, swapped the good tyred cyclones and the powerflow onto this tonight. Will be using it from tomorrow.....slightly worried after all the work I done to it lol! But then again, I cant be any worse than some of the monkeys I've seen in garages!

The bonnet rust is a bit annoying though, seeing as Moonstone is a shit colour I guess its pretty easy to colour match?

[kentiiboii]

So, swapped the good tyred cyclones and the powerflow onto this tonight. Will be using it from tomorrow.....slightly worried after all the work I done to it lol! But then again, I cant be any worse than some of the monkeys I've seen in garages!

The bonnet rust is a bit annoying though, seeing as Moonstone is a shit colour I guess its pretty easy to colour match?

Halfords was a decent color match. Moonstone is lovely colour, but I saw about 6 within 2 hours today

[Piggy]

colour matching is tricky...I have all originally painted panels on mine, but the bonnet, N/S wing and rear doors all dont match in the sun at the right angle.

Halfords is awful, try Autopaint St Helens, thats been very good, very good.

So...when you breaking this then tom? That front bumper and O/S wing look nice!!

[Toms306]

Haha, funny enough so did I! Not sure if Im just noticing them more now I've got one though.

I'll be honest, I've yet to polish it and see what it looks like really clean....but I know it wont be deep or pear like china lol.

Might try a touch up job then, cant make it any worse tbh lol. No rust anywhere else except the very front of bonnet, really odd!

Did give it a half arsed wash the other day though. And it looked no different.

[Piggy]

I flatted a bit on the N/S wing today...few deep scratches....then polished and waxed that one bit....woh what a difference...I really liked it...moonshine is growing on me

[Toms306]

colour matching is tricky...I have all originally painted panels on mine, but the bonnet, N/S wing and rear doors all dont match in the sun at the right angle.

Halfords is awful, try Autopaint St Helens, thats been very good, very good.

So...when you breaking this then tom? That front bumper and O/S wing look nice!!

Not breaking it after the time and effort I put in! Hopefully it'll be worth a decent amount in about a month or so.

Bumper and wing is very good though.

[Toms306]

I flatted a bit on the N/S wing today...few deep scratches....then polished and waxed that one bit....woh what a difference...I really liked it...moonshine is growing on me

Well, no doubt it'll get an SRP and Poorboys wax at some point soon, so will see how it comes up.

[kentiiboii]

I love moonstone such a nice colour.
On my old one my passenger rear door never quite matched, but everyone said it was just me. So I kicked it in and learnt it was originally provence blue.

[Toms306]

Lol, that's one way of testing the colour I guess.

[kentiiboii]

Lol, that's one way of testing the colour I guess.

This is why I jealous of you tom, one simple reason... women. Everything explained in that one simple word haha

[procta]

go on there tom!! its great to see a car fire up after an engine change!! next tackle an engine conversion!

[Toms306]

Might've uploaded something from Jammapic last night...

[Toms306]

So, done the 'usuals'...mist jets, aerotwins, pressed plates and a few other little bits. Then gave it a wash, SRP and Nattys wax. Must admit its come out better than expected! Still not a fan of the colour though lol.

[Toms306]

So better update this....

Can't recommend JP's mapping enough tbh!! Its a stage 1 + and tbh is a bit smokier than I'd like...but by far the quickest and most driveable HDi I've owned!


Bad points since the swap -

Started hunting like mad at scrapyard with EML as well....got home, got PP on it and turned out to be a +ve short on the FPR....one of the wires was laying on the starter!! Oops, rerouted it and hasn't happened since.

Slight leak from heater matrix pipes at bulkhead...and I mean slight, it took 250 miles before the header level dropped below the sensor lol. As a quick fix I put some insulation tape round it but it completely cured it lol!! Not sure if they're not seated right, or if I damaged the plastic during removal, but I have a spare set anyway

The bonnet rust has got worse from jetwashing.


Apart from those things, its been good.


It will be for sale soon, some point next month and I'd like it to go to someone on here tbh. Will be looking for a grand with T&T which I think is fair considering the work done and the 'extras'. Powerflow wont be coming with it I'm afraid, std chrome tip will be going back on. Spare moonstone wing and matrix pipes will come with the car. I will of course make a proper ad nearer the time, but if you're interested feel free to drop me a PM.

[DeeTurbo]

Could it be the o rings not seated right causing the leak?

[Toms306]

Yeah it could be, or even the pipes themselves not quite square on....but I'm not losing a load of antifreeze and going through re-bleeding it when the tape works fine lol.

[DeeTurbo]

I found sticking silicone grease on the o rings helps with putting the pipe back on and it makes it easier to take off next time as well.

My thermostat housing is leaking again even though a put a new cover on as the old one was wrapped. Have you ever had problems like that on the plastic ones you've had?

[Toms306]

Ah I didn't think about greasing them....they were a right bigger to get off, dnt think theyd been off before! And almost as bad to get back on, didn't think of lubing them!

For the stat housing, I've only had 1 with plastic housing, the high miler, I changed the stat and had no leaks at all. I'd just use some grey sealant on a leaky one though, like you'd use for a waterpump. Bad design to use plastic there really!