Axel's Coupé - High stress windscreen surround
- Thread starter axelleveau
- Start date
axelleveau
Member
BMWZ4MC said:
Not at the moment, they don't bug me and I managed to take one appart, clean it as it had some alguae growth and glue it back. But I plan on eventually fixing stone chips and scratches so if I have the paint I might spray them
axelleveau
Member
It's been a while since I posted on here... had some simple daily driving and then a house move which has put car work on pause. But on the bright side, the house move has been an upgrade with a car port and garage + shed meaning more space to work while staying dry.
So, car is getting pretty close to 120k miles now. Thought it would be good to sand and re-clear the headlights. While at it I also cleaned the xenon lenses and as I finally found some honeycomb grill that was large enough, I redid the front grill mod I had done last year. Very happy with that new honeycomb being made with larger holes and spanning the width of the bumper in one piece meaning I don't need to hide the stitches. All of that really makes the car look newer than it is
So, car is getting pretty close to 120k miles now. Thought it would be good to sand and re-clear the headlights. While at it I also cleaned the xenon lenses and as I finally found some honeycomb grill that was large enough, I redid the front grill mod I had done last year. Very happy with that new honeycomb being made with larger holes and spanning the width of the bumper in one piece meaning I don't need to hide the stitches. All of that really makes the car look newer than it is
axelleveau
Member
Grill is from amazon: "AUTO-STYLE Plastic racing grille PP black - HEX 30 x 11 mm - 150 x 30 cm" https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005BP7BTC?tag=z4fo-21
I also used either PP, PVC or PC to make the "blanks" that fill corners where airflow is blocked instead of going in the front of the wheels and foglight blanks which are not part of the mod itself as you could keep your foglights or use ready made blanks.
The idea is to do a rough cut to the shape and then "hook" the honeycomb on the original grill's hooks. Start from the middle and see where things fall into place. There are some location where I had to cut in the grill to create a hole for the hooks to fit through. You want some level of tightness by making the top and bottom hooks push against each others but not so much that the bumper opening gets deformed and wavy.
Once it is layed in the bumper, then do the detail cut around the foglights. And then add the backing plate on the edges. That backing plate is held on a kind of plastic stud and a couple of those "hooks" as well as the foglight blank itself (not sure how proper foglights would work), glue between the plate and the grill can be addeed. I used some zipties wrapped around some of the hooks to better secure the grill and force it to be flush agaist the bumper opening as well.
See picture from the inside from the "V1" which required more fidgetting as the tiny honeycomb holes did not accomodate hooks as good as the new bigger ones. Also that was in the middle of making the foglight blank so it going backward a lot instead of being bent down to wrap around the grill and help support that "blanking plate" I talked about.
I also used either PP, PVC or PC to make the "blanks" that fill corners where airflow is blocked instead of going in the front of the wheels and foglight blanks which are not part of the mod itself as you could keep your foglights or use ready made blanks.
The idea is to do a rough cut to the shape and then "hook" the honeycomb on the original grill's hooks. Start from the middle and see where things fall into place. There are some location where I had to cut in the grill to create a hole for the hooks to fit through. You want some level of tightness by making the top and bottom hooks push against each others but not so much that the bumper opening gets deformed and wavy.
Once it is layed in the bumper, then do the detail cut around the foglights. And then add the backing plate on the edges. That backing plate is held on a kind of plastic stud and a couple of those "hooks" as well as the foglight blank itself (not sure how proper foglights would work), glue between the plate and the grill can be addeed. I used some zipties wrapped around some of the hooks to better secure the grill and force it to be flush agaist the bumper opening as well.
See picture from the inside from the "V1" which required more fidgetting as the tiny honeycomb holes did not accomodate hooks as good as the new bigger ones. Also that was in the middle of making the foglight blank so it going backward a lot instead of being bent down to wrap around the grill and help support that "blanking plate" I talked about.
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axelleveau
Member
Bit of a catch-up as that was last week-end but took the risk to replace my window regulator. Goal was to get my driver window to drop more reliably when door is opened, clean the seal that already cause scratches and cause horrible noises and sometimes windows stop rolling up due to too much effort.
So I followed all the great advice on here to get access to the mechanisms and some additional info online on how to replace the cables. I used a cheapo repair kit from Ebay which I have to admit was a bit of a waste of time. Basically my cables were in good shape and just needed some tension which could have been done other ways or maybe the system just needed a clean.
The kit had pulleys the wrong size so I reused my old ones and the tension mechanisms are fidgety. At the end of the day, after taking my time I figured out how exactly all of that works and took advantage of the window forcing at the top position to release the tension on the ratchet tensioner and to force it to lock tight.
While windows were out I did a two stage Glaco Comnpound + DX treatment so they are clear and hydrophobic. And of course used a nylon brush to shampoo the felt guides and seals and did some cleaning and greasing of all mechanisms.
So I followed all the great advice on here to get access to the mechanisms and some additional info online on how to replace the cables. I used a cheapo repair kit from Ebay which I have to admit was a bit of a waste of time. Basically my cables were in good shape and just needed some tension which could have been done other ways or maybe the system just needed a clean.
The kit had pulleys the wrong size so I reused my old ones and the tension mechanisms are fidgety. At the end of the day, after taking my time I figured out how exactly all of that works and took advantage of the window forcing at the top position to release the tension on the ratchet tensioner and to force it to lock tight.
While windows were out I did a two stage Glaco Comnpound + DX treatment so they are clear and hydrophobic. And of course used a nylon brush to shampoo the felt guides and seals and did some cleaning and greasing of all mechanisms.
If the doors are still in bits, you can apply some sticky foam sound insulation to the outer panel.
It makes a good difference to the sound and feel when opening/closing the door, also it must help with blocking some noise when driving.
I did both of mine while I was in the mood, along with the entire rear boot and bootlid.
It makes a good difference to the sound and feel when opening/closing the door, also it must help with blocking some noise when driving.
I did both of mine while I was in the mood, along with the entire rear boot and bootlid.
axelleveau
Member
Passed MOT with no advisories on Friday so 
But weirdly, after it it got a sluggish start.... Thinking they drained the battery during the test but drove around during the weekend fine and I put it on charge to be sure it would be happy. Was bummed as over the winter it started better than it has over the last four years...
Without surprise it failed to start once this morning then nothing when turning the key, no click, no lights dimming...
Spent time on it tonight, battery seems healthy, thought the EWS/DME were pissed so checked codes and did an activation with INPA and nothing...
Got the wife to try starting while I measured the start signal and got 12V so it seems my solenoid is stuck. Tried hammering a bit but nothing so will take it out over the weekend, confirm it is buggered and ask Autodoc to save me on Monday
Right as I was contemplating a used Gravity exhaust as an MOT reward, ungrateful car!
But weirdly, after it it got a sluggish start.... Thinking they drained the battery during the test but drove around during the weekend fine and I put it on charge to be sure it would be happy. Was bummed as over the winter it started better than it has over the last four years...
Without surprise it failed to start once this morning then nothing when turning the key, no click, no lights dimming...
Spent time on it tonight, battery seems healthy, thought the EWS/DME were pissed so checked codes and did an activation with INPA and nothing...
Got the wife to try starting while I measured the start signal and got 12V so it seems my solenoid is stuck. Tried hammering a bit but nothing so will take it out over the weekend, confirm it is buggered and ask Autodoc to save me on Monday
Right as I was contemplating a used Gravity exhaust as an MOT reward, ungrateful car!
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Stockholm
axxel
Lovely car you have!! Question, are you still on the original shocks after so many miles or have you upgraded them?
Passed MOT with no advisories on Friday so
But weirdly, after it it got a sluggish start.... Thinking they drained the battery during the test but drove around during the weekend fine and I put it on charge to be sure it would be happy. Was bummed as over the winter it started better than it has over the last four years...
Without surprise it failed to start once this morning then nothing when turning the key, no click, no lights dimming...
Spent time on it tonight, battery seems healthy, thought the EWS/DME were pissed so checked codes and did an activation with INPA and nothing...
Got the wife to try starting while I measured the start signal and got 12V so it seems my solenoid is stuck. Tried hammering a bit but nothing so will take it out over the weekend, confirm it is buggered and ask Autodoc to save me on Monday
Right as I was contemplating a used Gravity exhaust as an MOT reward, ungrateful car!
Lovely car you have!! Question, are you still on the original shocks after so many miles or have you upgraded them?
axelleveau
Member
Thanks very much.
They are OEM/Sachs shocks but have been replaced around I believe 2018 so 40k miles ago. I am in no rush as they are good but keeping an eye on them and thinking of Bilstein B12 or other options with tunebale ride height for a sporty ride and look. Might take a gamble on Stance+ coilovers as I am happy with them on my Fiesta and that would be really cheap.
axelleveau
Member
So, it's been a while and I have been enjoying pretty straightforward miles but the desire for some more noise and a good local deal mean I spent about 24hrs fitting a Direnza/Gravity exhaust and while at it I replaced my handbrake cables. What took lots of time has been getting clearance between the pipe and the center underfloor brace which supports it, a known fitment issue with the Direnza. Also a bit of a fight with the exhaust studs despite being only two years old and of course the handbrake never being fun to deal with.
Remedy for all has been to use a cheap exhaust hanger from Amazon on the back box, bend the mounting points for the center support, add a space on one center support and add a spacer at the back of the center brace. This allowed clearance, movement and nothing too sketchy of permanently messed up.
Noise is great, matches the car looks as it should be. Bit of resonance at medium loads between 2 and 3K RPM, not sure if it drone or resonance with the sound generator. I will investigate but will live with it cause the sound is just too good
Remedy for all has been to use a cheap exhaust hanger from Amazon on the back box, bend the mounting points for the center support, add a space on one center support and add a spacer at the back of the center brace. This allowed clearance, movement and nothing too sketchy of permanently messed up.
Noise is great, matches the car looks as it should be. Bit of resonance at medium loads between 2 and 3K RPM, not sure if it drone or resonance with the sound generator. I will investigate but will live with it cause the sound is just too good
axelleveau
Member
Put some makeup on her in the form of "Solution Finish - Black Plastic & Vinyl Restorer", worked so good I did all external rubbers, hard pastics the stubby and even the wiper arms and hard plastic bits, surprisingly, on the painted metal arms it worked great and all of that makes the car look much fresher. Windscreen cowl is a great example. Might do underbonnet when I feel the courage to detail it!
Advice: wear latex gloves next time!
I really have to change the windscreen trim now as it is in a poor state and really brings downd the aesthetics next to this
Advice: wear latex gloves next time!
I really have to change the windscreen trim now as it is in a poor state and really brings downd the aesthetics next to this
Looks great. Be good to know how long it lasts as many products work well for abit then fade.
axelleveau
Member
Reviews on Reddit say it is good for at least a year so will report once we go through Summer UVs and Winter Salt
axelleveau
Member
Finally did the one job that was letting down the car aesthetic and revealing its age: the windscreen surround! (well not withstanding overall paint scratches and chips)
I was worried about this based on all the advice on the forum to get the windshield dropped to do the job but figured that for £45 for a Saint-Gobain branded piece I did not risk much and as my windshield is in a rough shape I could take the risk breaking it though I much preferred to avoid it due to struggle to source them. In any case my surround was crumbling and things would not look much worse without it than with a crappy one.
So here is how it went and my advice: split the surround in 3 pieces (top/left/right), mine did that on its own as the corners were gone! Side pieces are easy to remove as there are large channels and provision to squeeze the rubber flaps. Top piece is where I struggled, without prior knowledge I tried pulling out the side which had a narrow glass to roof spacing which resulted in a small crack in the windshield as the metal piece catches the glass as I was pulling (lucky it only the top layer and contained to the black area on toop). The strategy is to find the side with the largest gap and hope it is large enough to negotiate the surround out of the channel. Then from there get it out till mid way across the roof and it gets too hard you can slide the surround trim across the car to feed it out of the largest gap you started from.
Now for the fun part: fitting the new piece. Of course I started with washing the channels, making sure all bits of rubber, glue, dirt were gone and channels were clean. I did not bother with clearing windscreen glue as it appeared out of the way. The key for me was to deal with that glass to roof gap that was smaller than the piece I had to feed through. The solution for me was to trim some of the rubber and hard plastic surrounding the metal reinforcement from the new surround piece for about 30cm from the tighest corner and also open up the hard plastic going uder said corner (sorry for long explanations but you really need the piece in hand to understand). This coupled with a reasonable application of rubber mallet mean I managed to feed the trim piece in there. As advised on the forum, I rough fitter both corner, pushed-pulled to get things aligned, rough fitted the sides and then hammered the rest of the top piece before final fitting of the sides. And here is the result!
I was worried about this based on all the advice on the forum to get the windshield dropped to do the job but figured that for £45 for a Saint-Gobain branded piece I did not risk much and as my windshield is in a rough shape I could take the risk breaking it though I much preferred to avoid it due to struggle to source them. In any case my surround was crumbling and things would not look much worse without it than with a crappy one.
So here is how it went and my advice: split the surround in 3 pieces (top/left/right), mine did that on its own as the corners were gone! Side pieces are easy to remove as there are large channels and provision to squeeze the rubber flaps. Top piece is where I struggled, without prior knowledge I tried pulling out the side which had a narrow glass to roof spacing which resulted in a small crack in the windshield as the metal piece catches the glass as I was pulling (lucky it only the top layer and contained to the black area on toop). The strategy is to find the side with the largest gap and hope it is large enough to negotiate the surround out of the channel. Then from there get it out till mid way across the roof and it gets too hard you can slide the surround trim across the car to feed it out of the largest gap you started from.
Now for the fun part: fitting the new piece. Of course I started with washing the channels, making sure all bits of rubber, glue, dirt were gone and channels were clean. I did not bother with clearing windscreen glue as it appeared out of the way. The key for me was to deal with that glass to roof gap that was smaller than the piece I had to feed through. The solution for me was to trim some of the rubber and hard plastic surrounding the metal reinforcement from the new surround piece for about 30cm from the tighest corner and also open up the hard plastic going uder said corner (sorry for long explanations but you really need the piece in hand to understand). This coupled with a reasonable application of rubber mallet mean I managed to feed the trim piece in there. As advised on the forum, I rough fitter both corner, pushed-pulled to get things aligned, rough fitted the sides and then hammered the rest of the top piece before final fitting of the sides. And here is the result!
Sacramento, CA
axelleveau
Member
No, the seal pinches the windshield pretty well and has a thin bead of adhesive inside already