91MR2 Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Hello gentleman, long time without a check in... Winter has pretty well wrapped up (famous last words?) as of March 1st, so been charging up the batteries of some of the cars over the last week or so. Took the Peugeot out for it's first ride in a few months today. It ran great. Couple things I plan to do with the car this season: - taking Bean's advice and going to have the hood wrapped. Never got around to the peel paint, and for the price of vinyl, going to see how that comes out I think... - purchasing a used valve cover from Brian Holm, going to have it blasted and powdercoated, then install on my car. Using this method to avoid driving downtime (maybe will put my original one on the garage wall...). - change the gear oil back to synthetic (Mobil 1 75/90). I had that in originally and the car shifted great, but when one of the axle seals let go last summer, ended up filling it back up with regular. The synthetic makes the shift quality better... - my car seems to have developed an oil leak from one of the cam seals unfortunately, so my "new" timing belt could very well be compromised in time if I don't sort out the cam seal leak. So, the car will get new cam seals and again a new timing belt... That's it for now, hope you guys are doing well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Thanks for the update!   I’d HIGHLY recommend Redline 75W90NS. I’ve run in in rally Subaru’s, and all my RWD manual Peugeot transmissions and differentials and it’s fantastic.  Transmissions even shifted nice in absurdly cold (-34C) rally cross events. The NS part is the key as it makes the synchros work so much nicer.  That said - I’ll admit I’ve never owned let alone tried it in a FWD Peugeot trans. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 12 hours ago, Bean said: Thanks for the update!   I’d HIGHLY recommend Redline 75W90NS. I’ve run in in rally Subaru’s, and all my RWD manual Peugeot transmissions and differentials and it’s fantastic.  Transmissions even shifted nice in absurdly cold (-34C) rally cross events. The NS part is the key as it makes the synchros work so much nicer.  That said - I’ll admit I’ve never owned let alone tried it in a FWD Peugeot trans. Rabin Bean, thanks for the advice, but since you don't know how it may perform in the Mi16, for now I'm going to stick with the Mobil 1 75/90 synthetic, only since I know how well it works in there. If other Mi16 guys can chime in, I'd think about it. I hope this came out the right way, ha. I'm very gun shy when it comes to new gear fluids, and here's why - the 2nd gen. MR2's and Esprit throughout it's lifetime (using both Citroen and later Renault) gearboxes are not the strengths of these cars. I've dealt with crunchy synchros enough growing up to know that I don't want to ever deal with them again, ha...  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Totally fine, no worries there - But gear boxes aren’t rocket science and the principles at work in each one are very common. Crunchy synchros in a Subaru rally car is how I found out about Redline 75W90 when the Subaru factory race team techs suggested it when our transmission was baulking bad going into second and would often crunch gears.  I drained the tranny and filled with the 75W90 and shook the car down that night and by the end the tranny shifted perfectly.  That car did 2 more national rallies on the same trans without issue. I immediately switch it in my cars and one 505 in particular was just the most amazing shifting car I’ve ever driven - It would snick into 1st easily coming into a corner hot without issue which it would never do before.  I'm sure any synth will work fine, but I don’t have skin in the game as it were so no worries if you don’t feel comfortable using it.  Keep it in mind though if you come across a crunchy shift in any of your cars though. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRDT Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 It's not 75W80 for the gearbox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goce Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Nice to hear from you Joe, Peugeot's FWD gearboxes are pretty good, just keep oil in them i'm using Total 75W80 in my they don't brake, also like any other they don't want when they are in gear to have your hand on the shifter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 5 hours ago, SRDT said: It's not 75W80 for the gearbox? Yes, that is what the factory manual calls for, but I've had a hard time finding it in synthetic, I've talked to many mechanics and they all said 75/90 should work just the same… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRDT Posted March 20, 2021 Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 On 3/19/2021 at 3:40 AM, 91MR2 said: - purchasing a used valve cover from Brian Holm, going to have it blasted and powdercoated, then install on my car. The valve cover is made out of magnesium, not anyone can powdercoat it. You also need to paint or clearcoat the "16V", sanding it won't do as raw magnesium won't stay shiny for long. On top of that the plug cover is made out of plastic so it may be hard to have the same aspect on both parts. Also before doing any work on the valve cover look for stripped treads, you may need some M6 helicoils if lucky and if not a M8 tap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 On 3/19/2021 at 12:36 PM, Bean said: Totally fine, no worries there - But gear boxes aren’t rocket science and the principles at work in each one are very common. Crunchy synchros in a Subaru rally car is how I found out about Redline 75W90 when the Subaru factory race team techs suggested it when our transmission was baulking bad going into second and would often crunch gears.  I drained the tranny and filled with the 75W90 and shook the car down that night and by the end the tranny shifted perfectly.  That car did 2 more national rallies on the same trans without issue. I immediately switch it in my cars and one 505 in particular was just the most amazing shifting car I’ve ever driven - It would snick into 1st easily coming into a corner hot without issue which it would never do before.  I'm sure any synth will work fine, but I don’t have skin in the game as it were so no worries if you don’t feel comfortable using it.  Keep it in mind though if you come across a crunchy shift in any of your cars though. Rabin I agree for the most part, with regards to gearboxes, however the concern can be with certain "yellow metals" as is such with the Esprit (Renault) application. The Renault transaxle calls for Castrol TAF-X, which is very difficult to source in the states these days. A tried and true acceptable substitute has been Redline MT90. Again, I know this is an exception, but still something burned into my brain, ha... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 4 hours ago, SRDT said: The valve cover is made out of magnesium, not anyone can powdercoat it. You also need to paint or clearcoat the "16V", sanding it won't do as raw magnesium won't stay shiny for long. On top of that the plug cover is made out of plastic so it may be hard to have the same aspect on both parts. Also before doing any work on the valve cover look for stripped treads, you may need some M6 helicoils if lucky and if not a M8 tap. Yes, good point, I know this and should have been more clear with my post. I said blast and coat, but really meant whatever needs to be done to strip and/or paint safely/correctly, ha... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 Some pictures from yesterday's drive, parked in front of a European cafe' in Buffalo... Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 Well, got some vinyl wrap quotes for my hood yesterday, and they were more expensive then what I wanted to spend. The quotes ranged from 150-300, and the repaint quote was 200. Might as well just have it painted eventually. However, since I bought the peel paint last fall, decided to give that a try today. Free is always nice, so we will see how it looks when it dries. The first 2 shots are prepping, and the last 2 shots are after 8 (yes, you read that correctly) coats...   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted March 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 Well, 10 coats of peel paint later, and here we are. It's both better and worse, but mostly better. This peel paint doesn't lay so great, leaves some splotchiness (this a word?), but the color match is certainly much better, and I was definitely after that. The other issue is that even though it's gloss white, the finish is quite flat. May have to buy a can of clear to finish it off. I'll drive it for a bit this way and see how much I can tolerate it...either way, not a bad investment, worth a try for $25...  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 Just use some wet/dry super fine paper on it and it should come up perfectly smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 @Mike T - Peel paint is / like plasti-dip so it’s not something that can be sanded and polished. @91MR2 - I’ve never seen shiny plasti-dip, it’s always been flat or satin finished.  At least it’s a better paint match and should be fairly easy to remove when it comes to repainting properly. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 Oh it's plasti-dip? Waste of time.  Use actual paint and do what I recommended and it should come up well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted March 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2021 Thanks for the input guys. I took the car out for a ride today, and in the daylight, it actually doesn't look as bad as I initially thought. Still not great, but passable for now. I think I will peel it off later in the season, and just do what Mike said and spray it myself. It's simple enough to do. Here's the photos from today. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayden M Posted March 24, 2021 Report Share Posted March 24, 2021 The paint job seems fine mostly. - in my opinion the headlamps being yellow-ish while the lights on the side of the main headlights are crystal clear is what looks the worst. A glass replacement instead of the plastic ones would look real nice. Overall looks nice still! Keep it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted March 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 Took the Peugeot out for another ride last night, as we've had an unusually early spring. Drove it for a good hour or so. As always, paid attention to the oil temp. gauge, as that's always been a concern of mine. Biggest concern being not so much the temperature it runs at (which should still be safe, if the gauge is to be believed), but how much more it is than the water temp., which is consistently around 170F (my oil temp. is often closer to 220F, even 230F). This disparity still doesn't sit well with me. Hoping I have a bad oil temp. sensor, since on a drive in the fall, I did watch the oil temp. gauge mysteriously drop down very low on a drive (see post somewhere on page 15), only to return back to normal after turning the car off and then back on. Will be picking up an infrared thermometer, as well as check the connection on the bottom of the engine, perhaps something is loose. Took a few shots from last night, they are rather poor due to darkness, but the niagara river is in the background...  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Oil jets cool the pistons in the MI16 so high oil temperature in comparison to coolant is perfectly normal. Just make sure you use really good oils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted April 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thanks Mike, I use Mobil 1, which is what I use in all my cars. This info. is helpful, since the biggest struggle in owning this car is finding others that have them where you can compare/contrast issues. Even the guy I bought mine from, his '92 Mi16 oil temp. never seems to get hotter than around 190-200. If I recall correctly, Savo's cars seem to also be in that 190-200 range. So am just still trying to gather as much info. as possible as other Mi16 owners... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted April 2, 2021 Report Share Posted April 2, 2021 There may be an oil/coolant intercooler on the MI16 (like there is on my smart cdi which also oil sprays the piston undersides) and if so, check that it's in good order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted April 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2021 Yes, I'm quite sure it has one, and pretty sure that was even covered in this thread some pages ago. I'm going to be checking a lot of things this week with the car on my lift, I'll report back any relevant findings... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goce Posted April 4, 2021 Report Share Posted April 4, 2021 Start with verifying how accurate the gauge is, simply drive the car till gets up to temp , with the engine running get it in the air and using a infrared thermometer measure the temp on the oil pan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91MR2 Posted April 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2021 OK gentlemen, have a small update at the moment with regards to the oil temperature gauge... Finally picked up an infrared thermometer today. MASSIVE disparity between what the gauge on the car is reading and what the infrared thermometer is reading... Oil temperature gauge on the car was reading around 230 and the infrared thermometer on the bottom of the oil pan was reading between 160 and 180 depending on where I was shooting it... Now to figure out why, about to put the car on my lift, will report back soon I hope… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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