Just purchased a sapphire 4x4 on a j plate in black, I was told by the garage that it was standard with only 55500 miles from new, the car checked out on hpi and the service history and seemed the real deal & to be fair the car is as tight as a drum and interior and exterior is in mint condition, got the car home & 3 days later i found a concealed 'in car boost controller' under the dash a small playing card pack size device with 2 twist dials and a small screen, to be honest this made me feel sick! Having said this i am really made up with car having saved my hard earnt for 3 years, need some basic pointers on the following:

Based in wigan, best place local for servicing and tune up. Need to figure out what has been done with the car/chip/ecu etc. When i turn on the boost controller & change the settings it goes like no other car i have owned and i have had some fast cars.

Car is having a problem idling from cold start and peaking at 3000 revs, this does not happen all the time but is a worry.

Like my username suggests i am new to this cosworth game but a quick learner, any pointers would be grateful.

 

wouldnt worry aslong as it still running ok mate get some pics of the new motor up for us to see!

 

Take it to MSD in Blackpool for a set up. Think it was £140ish when i took mine. Ran like a different car when i picked it up. Obviously it had a few bits sorted when they did diagnostics but well worth it.

 

The high ideling can cause a faulty iscv. Just remove it and give it a good clean.

And for the other things, to be safe, get it to a pro for a set up.

 

take it to msd for a full check over , good guys up there and they will give you any pointers on stuff that needs sortin to keep it tip top . do you know rich from autosave ?

cheers

gaz .

 

Yes rich from auto save top bloke popping down to see him today he did mention he had amate with a cossie though yours was laid up? You obviously based in wigan, could do with a chat etc pointers on cossie ownership always best to glean info from someone a few steps ahead etc?

 

As above take it to MSD for a set up,i'd also change fluids and filters,cambelt and tensioner just to be safe.

 

The 2 most vital things are FAN rewire, and FUEL PUMP rewire, the fan wiring was substandard to start with with new wiring, let alone 20 year old wiring, and is well know to burn out wires/fuses/relays.
Low voltage at the fuel pump under load(foot down) can cost you a whole engine, ie result in holed pistons, so until these are done I wouldn't go thrashing it, or expecting the fans to work when in traffic.
As said previously do a full service, oil, a nice 50 weight, filter, fuel filter(get new washers), unless you know 100% the belt is newish, for around £60 it would be wise to do a new belt/tensioner, very easy on these.
I personally would also change the CTS, collant temp sensor, a bugger to get to rear of head on nearside, the one with the 2 way amp connector on it, 19mm deep socket fits, or might be 21, can't remember!!
Then just a all round check over, when done take to someone to get a fuelling check as a minimum, esp as it has a tuning box on it.
Enjoy your cossie ownership, awsome cars, not expensive to run for the performance they give, masses of cheap tune up stuff/mods you can do if wanted, easy to look after diy wise, best of luck.
tabetha

 

has been laid up since last aug time , flew through mot last week just a couple of advisories after sorting a few things over the winter , yours sounds like a minter from what rich as said and with that milage too . was with rich yesterday resisting buying more auto glym products .

 

Cheers for all the comments chaps,

Gaz4x4cos -do you do your own basic oils & filters servicing or take it to local garage ? i know you mentioned you go to msd for tune up etc, also looking for a couple of trim interior any pointers for a scrapper?

 

get some pics on here fella.

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1750824.htm

This link will bring you to the pictures from the advert i bought the car off the back of. The car was first registered in this country June 92 then exported the next day to japan, kept and owned by the same chap who looked after it like a new born child!. I re-imported it through the broker whose website the photos are on, 10 out of 10 bloke.

My mate imports bongo's (people carriers) direct from japan so could read and advise on the japanese auction grading sheet which came with the car, the car was a grade 4 which meant it was near perfect for its age with a grade 5 only going to cars less than 6 months old. The auction sheet verified the milage, no of owners and service history.

With japans mild climate no rain, snow or salt on roads the car has absolutely no rust. Japans MOT's are like ours but on sterioids, oil leaks etc must be fixed. Trust me i have seen good bad and ugly cossies but this one is mint! The japanese love looking after their cars.

I wish to keep the car as original as poss so will want to get MSD to remove the in-car-boost controller (although it does go like stink when it is on) I have not quite figured it out yet and don't want my pride and joy to go up in smoke so will leave well alone til MSD have done their magic.

Anyone got any pointers on spares routine servicing in and around the wigan area?

Check out the jap import websites for rs's and cosworths they will be in mint condition - grab a bargain, most people are put off out of ignorance only, ignore the horror stories cars are bought according to the grading system - get a grade 1 - pay grade 1 money and you get a dog!

Comments advice welcome regarding future proofing a standard car ie undersealing etc

cheers

 

i do all oil , filters and servicing myself dead easy to work on with basic tools, if you need any bits of trim there are always people breaking them on here much cheaper than ebay i've found and people are honest about condition too .

sounds like you know mike at wheelquick too , he supplied and put the mongoose exhaust on mine when i first got it .

cheers gaz .