old frontera hand ! new member !!

[z1baz]

hi peeps just a short intro.had my first frontera sport way back in 97 a midnite red softop 2.0i l reg.absolutely brilliant car that had its top down soon as the sun rose till it set but winters saw the heater whacked right up lol,never missed a beat in the 3 yrs of ownership,just loved the look on disco owners faces when they were stuck on our hill in the deep snow when i went sailing past,great on fuel,usual upgrades like chrome wheelcover body couloured disc with vauxhall graffix in chrome.130 w rally giants spotlites,k+n filter,splitfire plugs,opened up the airbox (bigger intake) 30mm wheelspacers and of course the chrome tailpipe after 3yrs just happened to be in a car sales when i noticed a 2.2 b sport on a t plate in light met blue bought it on the spot,,,,,,big mistake,no power lumpy running after just one week,yep you guessed 11k on the clock n my new baby had a naffd head gasket grrrrr,garage done the job but i was never happy with the power,thoght it was just my fronty but no a mates 2.2i was exactly the same,tried to doll her up to make me feel better,full stainless cobra safari bullbars,yet another stainless wheelcover disc painted body colour with vaux emblem in chrome vynyl,new set of allys to replace the nasty steel items and after 2 yrs of ownership the headgasket went again,£500 lighter in the wallet i got shot of her/it bought a focus st170 what a breath of fresh air.still got the focus but have just bought a 98 facelift frontera sport in dark copper met 79k and no rust apart from the rear quarter bumpers,quick rub down n mat black paint job done.
i cant use it tho as the mrs keeps nicking it to go everywhere,shops,work,visiting etc.typical innit.
so i`m back ready to get this sport into trim,k+n 57i kit ordered,cobra safari full bullbar ebayed,new stainless wheelcover ebayed,exhaust trim erm ebay.
like i said just a few words as a short intro lol.
one problem well 2 actually the gearchange is very hard/notchy and the throttle is also hard so i will be looking into these first.
baz in sunny south wales......lmao !!!

[andysd1]

hi and welcome

[bigdazz]

[4x4 bobby]

Welcome to the forum Baz hope you get it sorted mate.

[Big Dav]

Hi & welcome - sounds like you have quite a common coloured Fronty. As regards the gearchange - check the bulkhead for cracks around the clutch master cylinder position. If yours is suffering check elsewhere on the forum for a fix.

[Wolfie666]

Welcome to the Madness of F.O.G........

[z1baz]

cheers lads,going to check the bulkhead for the dreaded split ont sat.
on the madhouse front,that makes 2 oc`s i`m on with that brain out madness,this n the zrxoc as i`m a biker nutta as well

[luke2110]

Welcome mate, i have the same prob at the moment with gearchanging so if you find the fault let me know! Cheers

[Krusher]

Welcome to the asylum mate, gearbox problem could just be clutch needs bleeding. Just a thought..

[z1baz]

well cant see any split bulkhead,so new oil n bleed fer the clutch,oilchange fer the box and some newfangled ceremizer iol additive to see if things get less notchy,my old frontera`s were great gearchanging,but hey they had a lot less miles on em,this one having 79k which is nowt but i dont know how she`s been treated tho ?
some of the clock lites are out but got some blue led replacements ready.changed the faulty spotlite bulbs fer some 160`s so i can laser the local non dipper population . part stonechip sprayed the underside after power washing 16 ton of baked on mud off
had a fright earlier on the clutch pedal stayed all the way down ? put me toe under it n she popped back up but has not happened again,whats that all about ?will see when i do the clutch bleed etc.
changed 3 of the 4 plugs,the 1 by the bulkead refusing to come ot with the tbar plug spanner so its the socket set next.
new leads ont way as she seems to run erratic at 1st till i rev her a wee bit,sods law it`ll be that last plug is fouled
my cobra safari full stainless wraparound bull bar like krusher`s is coming friday
things i want to change are,the 3 spoke 16" wheels i want some deepdish 5 spokes off the sport cabrio (swaps anyone?)
and the apache spare wheel cover,i want a stainless jobby,the rear lites conv is defo on too.
that`ll do fer 2 mins

[Big Dav]

Those blue dash LEDs you mention, are they capless design that just push in as a direct replacement? One of mine blew and the only standard replacement I could get was a tad brighter than the other but was looking to get the balance right and softer.
Sounds like your truck maybe a TransGlobe? , watch out for the start of corrosion at the trailing end of the drivers sill just on front of the wheel arch - thats a favourite place to go - the chip resist plastic there conceals the rust from within until its substantial and then lets you know (a stitch in time etc...)

[z1baz]

cheers big dave,the body is immac just the chassis is showing its age,usual surface rust but getting her steam cleaned n proofed as soon as cash allows.the led`s have the caps on ready just a twist fit i hope.
on the stuck spark plug front.....
warmed the engine up got the spark plug tube out the way put my trusty torque bar on the job still the lil bleeder will not shift.got the feeling its been forced home cross threaded sigh,managed to crack the porcelaine away from the plug put the ht lead back on and she still fired up,off to my local garage for them to get it out while she`s still mobile,sods law you get one that wont budge grrr.
she`s loosing water from somewhere`s but damned if i can see where,nowt on the floor at anytime but did notice a whisp of steam from under the bonnet by the expansion tank pressure cap,seal gone not tight will have to have a good look when i get time,she is putting a bit of water out the exhaust but if it was a head gasket performance and general good running would be affected surely.