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Sun roof repair kit,and other stuff!

7.2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  alistaircrat  
#1 · (Edited)
Just bought a tidy o4 plate 105+ with 55k on the clock but has a few wee problems that need sorting I wish to seek advice for!

1/ Ive read on here theres a sunroof repair kit available for the rusty seal retainer problem. Has anybody fitted this and is it a success? also where would I purchase one from?
2/ The clock on the centre dash doesnt read properly, is there a fix or should I just replace this?
3/ Dash lights knackered over fuel gauge, is this normally just bulb replacement or is the printed circuit on the dash goosed?
4/ The drivers seat leather part is badly scuffed, is there anything I can use to repair this or best just to leave it, its not holed or ripped, just down to rough leather.
5/ Car constantly pulls to left and sometimes to the right if you wander into middle of the road, I realise this needs to be looked at to diagnose, but.....
Is there any steering/suspension conponents that commenly wear on ZRs that I can check before I take it to the garage for wheel alignment etc.
6/ The front wheels get sooted quickly from brake dust, are the brake callipers known to be prone for sticking, or is this just cheap pads?
Apart from all the above, the car seems to be fine.Thank in advance for any help!!
Aly.
 
#2 ·
1) Dunno if there is, I just removed the seal, cleaned excess rust and treated the rest of the metal, resealed the rubber seal with silicon gasket and it hasn't leaked since.

2) As in the some LCD segments aren't showing up? or the backlight is dim?

3) There's 3 bulbs on the back of the cluster, the one on the right will of just blown, take out the cluster and take out the bulb and replace (Bulb type: capless 504)

4) Just try some leather restorer, but also depends on which seats you have as the more basic ones are just fake leather vinyl.

5) Just take to the wheel alignment place, if the track rod end is guff they should spot it anyway.

6) Unless the brake wear looks uneven or if the car pulls under braking then its probably just crap pads.
Although it could be related to your pulling to the left...
 
#3 ·
Cheers for reply, the seal retainer is beyond saving as most of it is rotten and theres nothing supporting most of the seal, but I would have thought somebody on here would have fitted the repair kit??
The clocks got segments missing so its probably as basket case after checking through the forum, and yeh the seats are leather not the pvc type so will check out leather repair creams etc - I never thought of useing these despite seeing them advertised in CC magazines - Doh!?:wall:
 
#4 · (Edited)
As far as I am aware, there is no actual repair 'kit' for the sunroof seal. New seals are available, but are around ÂŁ50, and if the metal frame yours is attached to is too far gone to leave anything to attach a new seal to once cleaned up and treated, your only option is to source a complete replacement sunhatch glass from a scrapyard (it should be possible to find one in better condition than yours, but it may still need the seal removing and the metalwork treating with Kurust or similar). The metal frame isn't available seperately and is bonded to the glass. There is a 'How to' on MG-Rover.org: http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=110768.

Complete new sunroof glass complete with seal are available from XPart, but you don't want to know the price ;)

Clock is a fairly simple fix - carefully take it apart and warm the circuit board with a hairdryer or heatgun (don't need to get it particularly hot) and rub each of the contacts where the ribbon cable attaches to it with a blunt cocktail stick or similar (use light pressure). They are fixed with a flexible conductive putty (not soldered) and this dries out and pulls away from the contacts. Warming the putty up and pressing and moving it around gently will usually re-establish the contact and the sections of the digits will work once more. If that fails, a fully working second hand unit from a scrappy will only be ÂŁ5 - ÂŁ10 I would think. (Incidentally, this method will usually work for any LCD screen with similar missing digits - calculators, mobile phones etc).

Wandering to the left is the car following the road camber, and could be a problem with brakes sticking or tracking/suspension misalignment, but equally, may just be down to the tyres. If the tyres fitted to your car do not have a directional tread pattern, you could try swapping the front ones over (left to right and right to left) as this can sometimes help.

Regarding the seat leather, depending how badly damaged they are, you may be able to restore them with leather restorer as suggested before, or there are specialist repair kits available for repairing more severe damage (I seem to think there may be a thread on this forum where someone has used one to repair a gash in the seat (to a very good standard IIRC).
 
#5 ·
Thanks for that Man in car! Im new to the ZR scene to all these tips are great.
You where right enough with the tyre/brakes thing, I had an idea the brakes where a bit sticky due to the excessive dust, and although they were not completly seized solid, the pads were stuck in the carriers causing random pull sometimes depending on which side of the camber the car was on, so I stripped them, filed off the rust under the shims and copper greased them so the pads have a looser fit, the tyres although not completly knackered where a mis match of makes, with different wear amount on each one, so I put on a complete new set on which between the 2 fixes has cured the problems!!

As for the clock, I will try the hair dryer this weekend, Ive also got some strong clear bonding tape which Ive attached to the sunroof/roof after removing whats left of seal as a tempory fix untill a sunroof comes along at a reasonable price.
Will post up some pics of car later. Thanks again