DFB's Garage

[Klasse Act]

New car?

Nah...that's not you

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[DFB]

No, not my car, but easily the most expensive car I have detailed to date.



This is a previous generation Ranger Rover Autobiography, the "real" Ranger Rover and not the "Sport". I have to say, being a Brit-Car man, I love these Range Rover's. I wouldn't buy one myself, but I adore the restrained styling and the complete focus on luxury and comfort.

The owner has had a string of previous model Range Rover's, all have been complete lemons! :laughing: I applaud him for his patience, because when they are running, there is nothing quite like a Ranger Rover and their ability to just waft across any surface. Fitted with the 4.4 SDV8 diesel, this is the owner's daily driver and has over 130,000 km / 80,000 miles on the clock. I'm hoping one day I get my hands on his Bently Continental GT!

As a daily driver and being winter, it was in a state.









The car was dropped off last night so I could get started on it nice and early. That early start was going to be needed!

I knew these wheels were going to be ferrel, so I went straight to Sonax Full Effect.............



While the wheel face was fine, I dare say the barrels have never been cleaned.



Even with a heavy hitting wheel cleaner, and combined with some alkaline Shine Supply Wise Guy which I also used to clean the tyres, the barrels needed to be cleaned THREE times. Even then, I wasn't completely happy. Sometimes you just have to know when to stop. I think I would have needed some Meguiar's Wheel Brightener to fully sort these, but that stuff frightens me.

While this car 1000% needs to be polished, that's not something I was wanting to tackle at this point, it needed too much work than I had time for today. Even so, I wanted to do the full decontamination wash to at least have clean paint.

First step, I applied Gyeon Iron to the whole car from dry. This product has absolutely no attempt at disguising the horrible scent. Same for Sonax Full Effect above.



After soaking for 5 minutes, I then foamed Carpro Lift over the top of the iron remover. The concept here being that the iron remover will continue to react and then slowly start to run with the soap, as pictured below.





While that was soaking, I hit the engine bay with the remaining Lift, agitated with brushes, rinsed and then applied some Hyper Dressing. This was not planned, but I couldn't resist.



After another rinse down, I then foamed with Carpro Descale for the contact wash. The two previous steps worked so well that I could have probably gone with a pH balanced soap, but again, I couldn't resist. At this point I want to say that despite being a huge vehicle, the big flat panels made it so easy to wash.



After another rinse, I emptied my wash bucket and refilled with more Descale mixture and a towel. I then blasted the door jambs with the pressure washer and took a towel and went to it cleaning all the accumulated dust and grime. I will say I absolutely hate cleaning door jambs in this state, and the reason why I ALWAYS take the extra few minutes to wipe them down after each wash.

After finishing the door jambs, I hit the whole car with Carpro Hydr02 Lite, wheels included. I have been using the pre-mixed version of Hydr02 for paint because it seems to be less susceptible to streaking than the diluted concentrate.

I then dried with the Big Boi and went ahead applying KCx S0.02 to the paint and glass, picking up any remaining water in the process. I have been enjoying this product lately, it's so simple to use and creates some excellent gloss. It delivered what I was aiming for on this car, producing so much gloss and slickness that it distracts from the horribly swirled finish underneath.



It was then back to those bloody door jambs, using ONR and a towel to finish them off.

For the interior, I started with the vacuum in tandem with brushes and compressed air. I'll also point out that this is the easiest carpet I have ever dealt with, everything just lifted out without repeated passes, agitation or assistance from the compressed air. I guess you get what you pay for.

Because of the intricate nature of this interior, I found the compressed air helpful at getting dust and debris out of all the crevices and air vents, with vacuum sucking it up as I went. It also helped drive my cleaning chemical out of those sections too. That chemical was P&S Express, in this case I used it to clean basically everything; the leather, the door trims, dashboard, pedals ect.

With the interior "clean", I then followed with a wipe down using P&S Swift, which leaves behind a very subtle/barely there dressing. Leather was dressed with NV Nourish, again very subtle. FYI, even the headlining is leather on this car, a very nice touch and surely more durable than the crappy fabric almost all cars have up there. Glass was cleaned with Invisible Glass, rubber mats dressed with KCx GUF, carpets spritzed with Angelwax Eden. Sorry for the lack of pics cleaning the interior, I was sort head down-bum up at that point.

Returning to the exterior, I dressed the tyres with Carpro Darkside and wiped the wheel faces with Beadmaker.

Finished results....................













I've driven the last three generations of Range Rover now, and all have that cushion-like ride and effortless feel. This version of the 4.4 V8 diesel produces 250 kW/335 hp at 3500 rpm and 740 Nm/545 ft-lb at 1750 rpm, combined with the ZF 8-speed auto, it has no trouble getting the big girl moving. I would love to know what the SV version feels like with the awesome JLR supercharged V8 under the hood.

I wish I had the time to polish this car as well, the swirled-out paint really lets the car down. But I managed to make it look and feel glossy and the owner thought I had polished it anyway. rops:

 

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

Nice job, looks great in the pics.

What I learnt from my previous place of employment is that it's badge snobbery, they don't care about reliability, they're paying for the badge, and they accept that stuff is just going to go wrong with them.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

 

[Klasse Act]

Autobiography...

Great job Deyon, I would've used everything in the arsenal as well, NO STONE UNTURNED and afterwards you have NO regrets and feel satisfied

Love how your winters look down there

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[DFB]

Autobiography...

Great job Deyon, I would've used everything in the arsenal as well, NO STONE UNTURNED and afterwards you have NO regrets and feel satisfied

Love how your winters look down there

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Thankyou.

Was a nice day for it, even if I didn't see much of it with head down working. It's not always blue sky's in winter for though. Yesterday was pretty ordinary, very grey with a chilly breeze. Nothing like you get of course.

 

[Prange]

Nice job, looks great in the pics.

What I learnt from my previous place of employment is that it's badge snobbery, they don't care about reliability, they're paying for the badge, and they accept that stuff is just going to go wrong with them.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

They all drive great when new. Especially the supercharged V8's. One thing you get with the Range Rover is a near-perfect ownership experience. They treat you like royalty. If you get a new one before the warrantee runs out, you're good. After that, run away. They'll still treat you like royalty, but the costs are staggering. And frequent.

 

[Prange]

Thankyou.

Was a nice day for it, even if I didn't see much of it with head down working. It's not always blue sky's in winter for though. Yesterday was pretty ordinary, very grey with a chilly breeze. Nothing like you get of course.

Great job. You wore me out just looking at the pics. :xyxthumbs:

 

[Danube]

Great job DFB, glad you show the guys from all around the world how's winter in Australia :xyxthumbs:

I'm able to ride my motorbikes all year long .. the climate allows for that.

 

[DFB]

My process with Wera has been to add certain items that I didn't already have.

The tool chest I bought last year came with 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 ratchets, so I really didn't need one of these Zyklop ratchets. But I couldn't resist the design and functionality of them...............

https://www.amazon.com.au/Wera-Zykl...+ratchet+3/8,home-improvement,272&sr=1-1&th=1









The Zyklop ratchets have a pivoting head, allowing the user to go from a traditional ratchet to a driver.

In this case, I went with the 3/8 size as this is what I tend to be using most. I find the 1/4 too small for my hands, the 1/2 a little big for certain jobs.

 

[Danube]

Two things come to mind -

- First, a blocked exhaust port or spark arrestor in the muffler. This is mostly applicable to 2-stroke engines, but it you don't run the machine at full or high revs often, the carbon doesn't burn off properly and eventually causes it to build up and block, ultimately preventing the engine from exhaling.

I haven't pulled down a small GX25 / GX35 Honda before, but you would need to inspect the small muffler outlet screen, which your unit may or may not have as there are a few different designs for these engines. Remove any built-up carbon with a wire brush or by heating it with a flame and again agitating with a brush.

For the exhaust port, you will need to remove the muffler and inspect the port for carbon build up. Remove by gently scraping the carbon away. In both cases, you will need to remove the engine shrouding. While the muffler is removed, make sure the inlet is not blocked either.

- Secondly, it could be that engine is not getting enough fuel at full throttle. In which case, check the fuel filter in the tank. Otherwise, you will likely need to rebuild or replace the carb. These are a diaphragm carb, which become hard with age and don't pump fuel properly. Usually, you will have starting issues as well. On my GX25 powered Atom Edger, I had the carb rebuilt and fuel line replaced to solve this issue.

Thank you for your help, I have already tried all the options except the carb replacement.

Looks like this is my best bet: Carburettor Fuel Line Filter Kit For Honda GX25 GX35 HHB25 ULT425 UMS425 UMK425 753510571934 | eBay

 

[DFB]

See, it does get kinda dirty sometimes................



The Mustang has been the errand car over the last two weeks. I tend to have the one car uncovered and driven while the others are clean and covered. I then rotate them around like this.

For the wheels, I did them OG style, as in the bucket is the carrier of tools and actually has no water or soap in it. The wheel is then rinsed and foamed with Brake Buster and the tools rinsed with the pressure washer as you go. For cleanish wheels like mine, this method works very well and saves on cleanup afterwards.



I then gave the car a quick rinse down before moving into the garage for a rinse-less wash with Absolute instead of a foamed contact wash with soap.

 

[Prange]

Do you have the stock Brembo pads? They are dust generators. They also destroy rotors. I've switched to Power Stop years ago because of that.

 

[Klasse Act]

Do you have the stock Brembo pads? They are dust generators. They also destroy rotors. I've switched to Power Stop years ago because of that.

Yeah you can surely see it! I don't have Brembos but because my car is "track ready" it comes with pads that really dust up

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[DFB]

Do you have the stock Brembo pads? They are dust generators. They also destroy rotors. I've switched to Power Stop years ago because of that.

Yeah you can surely see it! I don't have Brembos but because my car is "track ready" it comes with pads that really dust up

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Yeah, factory Brembo pads in both the Mustang and XR8.





Brembo pads have nothing on the Euro spec Ford's for brake dust though. My sister had a MK II Focus Zetec and its was appalling bad for brake dust, the pitch black sort. And the Mondeo we had prior to the Jaguar was the same. Both were the sort of brake dust that necessitated regular use of a wheel cleaner.




Speaking of that Mondeo, I feel like providing the story on that car.







The Mondeo was Ford's mid-sized sedan and wagon, in essence the European equivalent of the Fusion. The Mondeo had a brief stay in Australia during its first generation but disappeared at some point in 2003. As the sales of large six cylinder RWD sedans began to wain, in 2007 Ford brought the Mondeo back to Australia, the all-new 3rd generation of the car. This offered a four-cylinder medium sedan to compete with the Camry, among others and the inclusion of the diesel engine was a point of difference in the class, becoming very popular with fleets, especially in wagon format.

Ours was a 2011 Mondeo Titanium, one of the first fitted with the 200 hp Ecoboost engine. This version was teamed with the superior wet clutch Powershift and never had the issues of the dry clutch version fitted to less powerful Ford's. While most Mondeo's were fitted with the dreary diesel engine, having the EcoBoost was somewhat unique. You will also note the rear window wiper, while this vehicle looks like a sedan, its actually hatchback. You would be surprised at how useful that was, the trunk was massive, even more so when the seats were folded down. Who needs a wagon! The color of ours was called Midnight Sky, in most cases it looked like a flat graphite grey, but in certain light it flipped to a highly metallic plum purple.

Many, the press in particular, complained about the interior being too plain. But it was very functional and well made, these Ford's were actually made in Germany.





That German heritage also showed in how it drove. I have driven very few vehicles that have sat on the road at speed as well as this Mondeo. Granted, the Titanium came with the sport suspension tune, but the stability at highway speeds was exceptional. Throw it at a few corners and the Mondeo defied its front-wheel-drive layout and steered with precision with little body roll. Brake response superb. Again, the Titanium also brought with it the sport seats, which despite being quite firm were supremely comfortable over long distances. Overall, this car was designed for highway cruising.



My biggest complaint with the car was the lack of character from the engine. The hearty 300 Nm / 221 ft.lb of torque made it quite toey when required, but those Ecoboost engines were all about mid-range, so revving them out was hardly worth the effort. And when you did, it was hardly a musical affair, even with a dual exhaust system fitted to the Titanium. The strange thing is, this exact same engine with the exact same power and torque figures is fitted to the car that replaced our Mondeo, the Jaguar XE. And yet, Jaguar managed to make that engine sound rorty, with some lovely pops from the exhaust and a nice growly induction note. Ford did their best to keep the engine subdued, Jagaur made it sound like a thoroughbred. As a petrol head, the engine just let the car down for me a made an otherwise entertaining car seem quite boring.

Mondeo -

Jagaur -

The car that the Mondeo replaced was a 2003 BA Ford Falcon Futura sedan, fitted with the big 4.0 Barra Inline 6. I loved that car for the engine alone, it was very torquey down low, but unlike older Ford inline 6's, this new DOHC version actually had top end performance. I mention this because that Barra was so characterful, which exaggerated the lack of engine noise from the Mondeo.

Someone once told me I was a fool for paying the premium for a Jaguar only to get a Ford engine. Frankly, this never bothered me, having the much larger Ford parts supply behind it seems like a good thing to me.

As for the Mondeo in Australia, it only had limited success. The Mondeo was classified as "medium" car but was hardly medium in size and was barely any smaller than the Falcon it shared showroom space with. And because of the European build, it was not that much cheaper than the Falcon either. In many ways, the Mondeo was the superior car, it had more budget spend on it during development and it showed in terms of features and build quality. It was also roomier and more fuel efficient. You would think that would have made the Mondeo sell in larger numbers than Falcon. But apart from heavy fleet sales on the base model diesel, the lack of rear drive and big six- and eight-cylinder engines made it a tough sell to private buyers.

Overall, the Mondeo was a fine vehicle, but its replacement was more my style and even better to drive.

 

[Klasse Act]

My first new car was a Contour SVT, the "US Mondeo". This was the day I sold it in early spring of 2005. Sadly, this is the only pic I have of it as the old picture hosting site I had back in the day went under and I lost all the pics...everything

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[Big DaveBig Dave is verified member.]

There's still a couple of those Mondeos getting around my neighbourhood, they look a bit rough, but they keep going.

Slight tangent, but I could actually look up how many KMs they've done. If I do an online rego check, it will show me the last 3 odometer readings put in when the registration was renewed, something the state government has done to combat people who wind the odometer back.

Sent from my motorola edge 20 fusion using Tapatalk

 

[DFB]

My first new car was a Contour SVT, the "US Mondeo". This was the day I sold it in early spring of 2005. Sadly, this is the only pic I have of it as the old picture hosting site I had back in the day went under and I lost all the pics...everything

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

That's the model Mondeo we got in the mid 90's till 2003. With the exception of the V6 ST24, all were powered by 4 cylinder engines. Can't remember the last time I spotted one on the road though.

 

[Prange]

We've had no brake dust issues with our '17 XE. It's the supercharged V6, type R-Sport, RWD. And.......it's been 100% reliable.

 

[Prange]

"Brembo pads have nothing on the Euro spec Ford's for brake dust though. My sister had a MK II Focus Zetec and its was appalling bad for brake dust, the pitch black sort. And the Mondeo we had prior to the Jaguar was the same. Both were the sort of brake dust that necessitated regular use of a wheel cleaner."

I just can't be cleaning the brake dust off every two days. I'm not going through that again.

 

[oneheadlite]

...
Speaking of that Mondeo, I feel like providing the story on that car. ...

I'm telling ya man, you've gotta start a YouTube channel where you do videos covering your passions. Figure out a teleprompter and do an episode just like you wrote it up.