Hey folks,
I've just bought a 55k 03 172 Cup, one lady owner from new.
It was cheap for such a low mileage car but not without it's minor issues. First up, it's on the original timing belt, so being 12 years old I need to address that first. I've booked in into an independent who is familiar with these motors to get the timing belt, dephaser and water pump changed. Most other jobs I want to address myself.
I've only driven the car home and did so pretty gingerly. One the one occasion I did give it a little welly, I heard a loud vibration coming from the bulkhead. At first I thought it was the exhaust but now think it's the engine itself, fouling the bulkhead. Either way, I'm guessing engine mounts need replaced or tweaked?
There was the occasional knock from the NSF strut area. There doesn't feel like much in the way of steering play to drive it but after jacking the front end up I can feel slight play when I wiggle the wheel at the 3&9 position. Nothing really stands out as being the weak link so i'm thinking of refreshing the whole lot if it doesn't cost the earth. I'm going to price parts up just now. Can anyone advise on the cheapest place to get the parts and anything else I should add to the list? - Wishbones, Track rod ends, Strut top mounts.
With the car jacked up, I can see that the springs look pretty tired and the shocks are probably on their last legs too being 12 years old. Now I want to keep the standard ride height as my favourite roads are pretty lumpy. Should I look at replacing the springs and shocks with OEM ones or are there cheaper or better equivalents? I don't want the expense of coilovers and i'm not planning any track time. I would imagine that in standard and new condition, these cars were good straight out the box for my needs.
Based on my driving intentions (fast, bumpy, twisty road use) is it worth polybushing anything in particular or is that overkill?
Any advice is more than welcome
I've just bought a 55k 03 172 Cup, one lady owner from new.
It was cheap for such a low mileage car but not without it's minor issues. First up, it's on the original timing belt, so being 12 years old I need to address that first. I've booked in into an independent who is familiar with these motors to get the timing belt, dephaser and water pump changed. Most other jobs I want to address myself.
I've only driven the car home and did so pretty gingerly. One the one occasion I did give it a little welly, I heard a loud vibration coming from the bulkhead. At first I thought it was the exhaust but now think it's the engine itself, fouling the bulkhead. Either way, I'm guessing engine mounts need replaced or tweaked?
There was the occasional knock from the NSF strut area. There doesn't feel like much in the way of steering play to drive it but after jacking the front end up I can feel slight play when I wiggle the wheel at the 3&9 position. Nothing really stands out as being the weak link so i'm thinking of refreshing the whole lot if it doesn't cost the earth. I'm going to price parts up just now. Can anyone advise on the cheapest place to get the parts and anything else I should add to the list? - Wishbones, Track rod ends, Strut top mounts.
With the car jacked up, I can see that the springs look pretty tired and the shocks are probably on their last legs too being 12 years old. Now I want to keep the standard ride height as my favourite roads are pretty lumpy. Should I look at replacing the springs and shocks with OEM ones or are there cheaper or better equivalents? I don't want the expense of coilovers and i'm not planning any track time. I would imagine that in standard and new condition, these cars were good straight out the box for my needs.
Based on my driving intentions (fast, bumpy, twisty road use) is it worth polybushing anything in particular or is that overkill?
Any advice is more than welcome
