Maxheadroom Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Afternoon all, whilst I’m refurbishing brake callipers and replacing brake pipes etc I decided to have a good look around for any further up and coming jobs that might need some attention, it looks like the cat converter flange bolts/nuts are well past their sell by date. They’ve delaminates quite badly and don’t look to have much mechanical strength left in them to be honest. The three fixing bolts are they just nuts and bolts or is the bolt splined and pressed into flange etc if the later then I fear this could be a right royal pain in the a@s to fix! Any tips gents that might ease my pain ( apart from retiring from garage to sofa with a couple of beers ). A couple of pics below......... and yes I did notice the drive shaft was a tad rusty and paint peeling a bit 😀 cheers guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tozerman Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Very common problem. Those bolts are spot welded on and are a royal pain in the arse to remove. What I did was wait till the clutch needed doing as the garage will need to remove them as part of the process. Any good indie will be well practiced in removing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxheadroom Posted November 7, 2020 Author Share Posted November 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Tozerman said: Very common problem. Those bolts are spot welded on and are a royal pain in the arse to remove. What I did was wait till the clutch needed doing as the garage will need to remove them as part of the process. Any good indie will be well practiced in removing them. Seems like a hassle free option Tozerman, I’m considering having the clutch changed in the new year anyway so would make sense, fingers crossed they hold out till then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tozerman Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 They look better than mine did, you will be fine for a while yet 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extanker Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 just leave them alone until they leak or some repair work makes it necessary to remove them....in other words ...yawn and open another beer [beers] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxheadroom Posted November 8, 2020 Author Share Posted November 8, 2020 6 hours ago, extanker said: just leave them alone until they leak or some repair work makes it necessary to remove them....in other words ...yawn and open another beer [beers] Carrying out said advice, now firmly planted on sofa with a couple of beers 🍻, leaving it now till next week end. I might try with a dremel to nibble away the spot welds and nut etc, however I feel I might regret this statement end of next weekend 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlosRich Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 (edited) Think it through, if you get it wrong, it may become undriveable, then you have to pay to have it towed to your local specialist. p.s. how do you find your MX-5? I've just bought a 2018 2.0 convertible. Edited November 9, 2020 by GlosRich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extanker Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 PUT THE DREMEL ON THE GROUND AND STEP AWAY FROM YOUR VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD............snap out of it [pun] .....leave it alone 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tozerman Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 3 hours ago, extanker said: PUT THE DREMEL ON THE GROUND AND STEP AWAY FROM YOUR VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD............snap out of it [pun] .....leave it alone This 😁leave well alone til clutch swap time.. I doubt a Dremel will be powerful enough 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxheadroom Posted November 9, 2020 Author Share Posted November 9, 2020 10 hours ago, GlosRich said: Think it through, if you get it wrong, it may become undriveable, then you have to pay to have it towed to your local specialist. p.s. how do you find your MX-5? I've just bought a 2018 2.0 convertible. I keep telling myself “leave it” but the voices in my head keep saying “ how difficult can it be ? What could possibly go wrong ! “🤭, gonna wait till weekend and hope the “ leave it” voices prevail. on a different note GlosRich the MX5 is quite entertaining it’s a tad more tail happy than I’d expected even though we opted for the 1.5 as most of the time it will be spent in town and occasional weekend jolly’s. I get quite amused watching the metal lid opening and closing and folding away 😀. The only couple of niggles I have are storage space in cabin no usual glove box in dash and no pockets in doors, what small storage there is is rammed with the wife’s garbage, and the drivers foot well is that tiny I often find my feet rub together occasionally . Only small niggles but they really bug me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlosRich Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Thanks for the MX5 feedback. Yes the amount of storage in the cabin isnt enough. It could have had a small glovebox also, and some pockets on the transmission tunnel for phone etc. I guess its this whole weight saving obsession they have. You do have to wear narrow shoes, its not a car to drive in boots. I reckon bang for buck, they are unbeatable. They are tail happy, first wet roundabout, bit too much power and it was 'here we go', bit of oppo to catch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxheadroom Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 Right gents, couldn’t wait till the weekend so decided I had to spend a few evenings in the garage this week................ so here goes, decided to carry on with original job of tarting up brake callipers 😀, finally came to my senses and leave until clutch change in new year. Before and after pics below, quite pleased with the outcome as I haven’t used a rattle can for years. Only issue is it not quite the right shade of red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tozerman Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 That is a very impressive finish from a rattle can 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxheadroom Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share Posted November 13, 2020 Thanks, it has taken all week to do just this one, 3 coats of VHT red calliper paint and 3 coats of VHT clear coat calliper paint. Looks more of a burgundy than a true red though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extanker Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 that is some nice work there ,it looks brand new ........well better than brand new...designers edition 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavrik Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 (edited) @Maxheadroom Good job on the caliper! I sprayed my CS red calipers yellow (& the Yank haters lost their mofo minds!!) I used Motip caliper paint but used Brembo decals to be different 😂 Edited November 14, 2020 by Mavrik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxheadroom Posted November 14, 2020 Author Share Posted November 14, 2020 4 hours ago, extanker said: that is some nice work there ,it looks brand new ........well better than brand new...designers edition Took a fair bit of effort but worth it in the end, thanks @extanker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxheadroom Posted November 14, 2020 Author Share Posted November 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Mavrik said: @Maxheadroom Good job on the caliper! I sprayed my CS red calipers yellow (& the Yank haters lost their mofo minds!!) I used Motip caliper paint but used Brembo decals to be different 😂 Looks spot on @Mavrik, as you say “different” makes a change from the norm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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