Stimpy

(late night typo -- subject should say fill not full) I always dread using those little fluid pumps that take about 100 pumps to pump in 1 quart of fluid. Gravity is much better. For the gearbox and both diffs, I am able to thread a heater hose down the chassis and into the diff and gearbox and just fill them up quick. I have a 90 deg joint to get into the fill plug, and I use a funnel on the other end. Makes very quick work of filling.

Success cleaning the exhaust tips with metal polish. The tips look like new and the staining and discoloration are completely gone. I used a foam pad on my drill for the underside and the ends, and a small terry cloth towel wrapped around the top of the exhaust tips to get the top of the tips cleaned. The polishing cream was Blue Magic: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BO8Z9...arch_detailpage It worked very quickly to get the mirror shine back.

I'll be interested to read what the experts say, but from what I know about manual transmissions, you will want to start with the easy/low cost items to rule them out first before pulling the transmission. And I have also learned that a simple problem can cause very strange symptoms that would make you think you need a new transmission. Few questions: How old is the transmission fluid? When was the last time the clutch was bled? Has the clutch master cylinder ever been replaced? Is your shift lever centered when it's in neutral? What happens to the shifting if you double clutch before going into gear? Does the car move forward when you are in 1st gear with the clutch fully depressed? How is the gear change into each gear when the car is not moving but the engine is running? How is the gear change into each gear when the car is not moving and the engine is not running? Does the shift feel change depending on how high the engine is revving at the time of the shift (i.e. shift at 2K versus 5K RPM)? Does the shifting change depending on whether the car is cold or warmed from driving?

From what I have read about the Murci and Diablo, the shifter breaks from forcing too hard into gear. If you are having to force it so hard that the shifter breaks, good thing the shifter breaks before you end up breaking your transmission, which is much more expensive than a shifter.

Thanks. After doing a little more searching online, it looks like having high pressure lines custom made is not that difficult. I'll take some pics of the fittings and make sure the workshops can match them before I take the car apart.

I've read stories of the hoses for the lift system failing and causing a breakdown and/or fire. Since this car has a long soft line from the back to the front of the car for the lift system, and the soft lines to the shocks have to move with every suspension movement, it seems like a good idea to change them periodically before a failure occurs. Does anyone have a plan for having hoses made up? Can one take the old hoses to NAPA, or some other shop, and have them made up? FYI, if you were to buy the factory hoses from the pressure block to the front, to the shocks, and to the accumulator from the normal discount vendors, you'd be looking at around $2200 for about $300 in hoses. Please share your experiences if you have any with sourcing these hoses and replacing them.

Like many Murci's I saw while shopping for my car online, the access panel on the passenger foot well that lets you get to the radio and climate control system on my car was not very well aligned, loose, and looked sloppy. As I posted in my Bluetooth thread, part of the problem for me was the previous mechanics had left only one of the 3 push pins needed to hold the panel, and that one was really no longer good. After replacing the push pins, things were better, but the panel was loose at the top toward the rear of the car, and not well aligned toward the bottom of that same side. The solution was two fold: 1) Reduce the clearance of the retaining tab on the back of the removable panel, and 2) bend out the adjacent panel to align with the removable panel. To reduce the clearance of the retaining tab, I found it's a very sturdy metal clip that is not held very well onto the the back of the panel. So if you try to bend it, you are more likely to break the tab off completely from the panel and make a big job for yourself. So what I did was put a felt pad that you buy from home depot for furniture legs taped to the inside of the tab on the panel. This made the clearance much tighter and the panel was now snug at the top. Next, it seemed like the mounting tab on the center tunnel on the bottom was sticking out too much, but it is very firmly mounted, and any attempt to bend it inward would clearly not have gone well. What I found is that you can grab the adjacent panel at the bottom and easily pull out. Problem solved. It's so easy to pull out, that it's probably easily pushed in by passengers and mechanics so that's what causes the alignment issue. Now my panel is firmly mounted and tight, and perfectly aligned.

Just an update that the Bluetooth streaming has another advantage other than just an easy way to listen to your music through the factory sound system. The other benefit is that the sound is much more clear than listening to the radio. As a result, while the stock system sounds embarrassingly crappy while listening to the radio to passengers expecting awesomeness from a $300K car, it actually sounds pretty darn good while listening to music on Spotify or any other phone music. This is good for me, because I don't like overhauling factory sound systems.

Some of them do, many don't. I don't go to many mechanics, but when I do, I choose ones that don't mind working with me in the bays. But are you local to the car, or do you have to travel? Since there aren't a lot of these cars, one usually has to shop nationally. If you have to travel to attend a PPI, it will complicate matters since they will not only have to be willing to let you hang around, but they will also have to coordinate with your schedule on when they do it. Plus you will need to know what they are supposed to know, or you'll still miss getting a good PPI. There's no universal standard for PPI's. If you have to know what the mechanic knows, you might as well do your own PPI and save a grand.

Everyone and their brother will tell you to pay for a PPI to save buying a car that is abused. But be aware that when you are buying a car from another city, getting a good PPI is far from guaranteed. First, you are not there to see what they really do and didn't inspect. It's a lot easier to check the box that the conpression tests were all within spec than to actually go through all the steps to do it right. And you have no idea who is friends with whom. If a shop kills a $200k lambo sale on a PPI, they just earned an enemy for life in their brotherhood. And when the car is delivered with problems not found on the PPI, expect this stock standard answer: Didn't have that problem when we checked it, must have happened at the dealer before shipping or during shipping... You just have no idea when you're not from there what's going on. So just know the risks.

What caused you to need a new 3rd brake light? I can see lots of bulb changes, but the thing is pretty out of the way from road hazards and its seems pretty sturdy. Also, I didn't see any matching BMW units on eBay like you described, but I am pretty sure these Honda and MG parts are identical: http://www.ebay.com/itm/231792239181?_trks...K%3AMEBIDX%3AIT http://www.ebay.com/itm/361064522219?_trks...K%3AMEBIDX%3AIT It also looks pretty close to the one molded into the wing of my Lotus Esprit V8.

There are big holes on top of the transmission. I have tried to put my inspection camera in there, but it's hard to see and the angles for inserting the camera are not great. There are 2 tiny overlapping holes on the bottom of my transmission, but you can't see the clutch from them. Random pic from the Internet showing the holes with the clutch pack still in there.

This radio is notorious for developing sticky volume and channel knobs, and while replacements are only $30, some have reported that the replacements are already getting sticking right out of the bag. The best solution is Plasti-Dip. It's fool proof and will not get sticky. The knobs just pull out of the radio. I used cotton swabs stuck into flower arrangement foam, and shot them with 4 coats of Plasti-Dip (but at Home Depot for $6) with only 15 mins between coats. The buttons feel great and look stock. They won't get sticky again.

Definitely a user error. iPhone 6 takes great videos as long as you dont leave your greasy fingerprints on the lens and don't hold your hand over the microphone.

I can only talk to my 2004. The allen screws are on each side, very exposed and obvious on my year.

Cars of this value are hard to find from private parties for a few of reasons: 1) The owners have a lot of money and aren't the types that want the hassle of dealing with flakey buyers, 2) depending on their sales tax in their state, it could cost them 10k or more by not trading in their car for a tax break on their next car, 3) many buyer want a dealer that can finance and take a trade in, and private sellers can't/won't have the ability to do that. Also, I think the 6-speed owners are thinking it's a good idea to hold on to their cars for potential appreciation over egear cars, so there are even less for sale. Doesn't mean it won't happen but those things are lowering your odds even futher beyond the low production numbers of the car you want.

If you get ones that are 12V and they physically fit, they will work. The car does not monitor these bulbs for resistance like some other vehicles, or I would have gotten an indication (like fast blinker) since I had a bulb out. And you're welcome!

Here's a pic of the bluetooth unit. And here's how you reliably set the AUX input: Press the sound settings button one time until the controls for the bass, treble, etc show up. Then press and hold the sound settings until a secondary menu shows up. You have to press the button for the -> to get to the next set of options, and there you will see AUX off/on.

The center bulb in my 3rd brake light was out. I was thinking this is a sealed unit, and I would need to buy a new one. However, when you take it out with 2 allen screws, you can see there are 5 or 6 screws on the back and it opens up nicely. In my case, the bulb was just out of alignment. The bulb is like a small landscaping bulb, and connects like a christmas tree light bulb. The little wires had shifted to the side and I just needed to bend them back and put the bulb back in. So if you have a bulb out, it's an easy fix. I took the extra time to treat the surface rust on the screw heads and clean the cavity and light strip to make it all look like new. I also put anti-seize on the thread of the bolts because they were getting corroded in place and pretty hard to remove. Not any more!

I was thinking the same thing. And designing it that way gives them a very good revenue stream by charging a king's ransom for the part.

Slightly revised below. Isn't the way this forum locks you out of editing your messages within 15 minutes the stupidest idea? Here's how I replaced my clutch master. There wasn't any noticeable change after the replacement, but I do it as preventative maintenance since the original is over a decade old Disconnect battery Remove front panel and the trim on front edge (always remove this trim when working so it doesn't crack, it's 2 screws only) Remove big abs connector (pull the slider to the left outward and it pops right out) Remove wiper motor electrical connector Remove other 2 wiring connectors to the left of the abs unit to make more room Move all loosened electrical wires out of the way so you have room to work Mark location of wiper blade on the windshield with tape so you know where it goes back Remove cap over wiper with small allen key Remove wiper fluid rubber tube a bend out of the way Loosen almost all the way but don't remove bolt holding down wiper blade Use small 3 arm puller with center post inside wiper nut to break loose wiper, it is very hard to remove without a puller and you could break something without one Lift wiper arm up and set on windshield Remove decorative cap over wiper motor nut Remove large nut holding in wiper motor Completely remove wiper from car now Remove 2 nuts/washers for brake master cylinder Remove front nut of the wiper bracket inside the trunk Remove 2 nuts/washers in back of wiper motor bracket against firewall (lots of extensions and swivels) Slide brake master cylinder forward and down enough to pull out wiper motor completely Put paper towels around feed line to clutch master Remove the feed line to clutch master and tie wrap it higher than brake master cylinder for the rest of the work Use crow’s foot with extension to break the hard pressure line at bottom of clutch master Remove 2 nuts with washers holding the clutch master to the firewall Remove driver's seat In foot well, remove the nut/bolt/4 washers linking the clutch master to pedal just above the gas pedal Remove clutch master from car from trunk side Move over the clutch master fork to the new unit (don't tighten down yet, you can adjust later) Reverse install the clutch master Adjust the clutch fork so it matches up with the pedal without any pressure pushing in the clutch master Reverse install seat and everything else Bleed the clutch -- I use a suction bleeder with a helper to make sure reservoir doesn't run dry The cost is about $160 for the parts plus brake fluid. I have no idea what a dealer would charge for this job.

A couple of general notes: Whenever I remove an electrical connector on a car, I always take the opportunity to add dielectric grease to keep out corrosion. Speaking of corrosion, the Murci has a lot of painted and unpainted steel that will start getting surface rust if left exposed. So whenever I am working in the engine bay, under the car, inside the wheel wells, or in the front trunk, I keep this corrosion converter and a small paint brush handy to touch up anything getting rusty. If you apply it with several coats, it does not need to be painted, and dries a black color which matches all of the black painted steel very well.

Here's how I replaced my clutch master. There wasn't any noticeable change after the replacement, but I do it as preventative maintenance since the original is over a decade old Disconnect battery Remove front panel and the trim on front edge (always remove this trim when working so it doesn't crack, it's 2 screws only) Remove big abs connector (pull the slider to the left outward and it pops right out) Remove wiper motor electrical connector Remove other 2 wiring connectors to the left of the abs unit to make more room Move all loosened electrical wires out of the way so you have room to work Mark location of wiper blade on the windshield with tape so you know where it goes back Remove cap over wiper with small allen key Remove wiper fluid rubber tube a bend out of the way Loosen almost all the way but don't remove bolt holding down wiper blade Use small 3 arm puller with center post inside wiper nut to break loose wiper, it is very hard to remove without a puller and you could break something without one Remove wiper blade olt completely Lift wiper arm up and set on windshield Remove decorative cap over wiper motor nut Remove large nut holding in wiper motor Completely remove wiper from car now Remove 2 nuts/washers for brake master cylinder Remove front nut of the wiper bracket inside the trunk Remove 2 nuts/washers in back of wiper motor bracket against firewall (lots of extensions and swivels) Slide brake master cylinder forward and down enough to pull out wiper motor completely Put paper towels around feed line to clutch master Remove the feed line to clutch master and tie wrap it higher than brake master cylinder for the rest of the work Use crow’s foot with extension to break the hard pressure line at bottom of clutch master Remove 2 nuts with washers holding the clutch master to the firewall Remove driver's seat In foot well, remove the nut/bolt/4 washers linking the clutch master to pedal just above the gas pedal Remove clutch master from car from trunk side Move over the clutch master fork to the new unit (don't tighten down yet, you can adjust later) Reverse install the clutch master Adjust the clutch fork so it matches up with the pedal without any pressure pushing in the clutch master Reverse install seat and everything else Bleed the clutch -- I use a suction bleeder with a helper to make sure reservoir doesn't run dry

Ok, I changed the master cylinder tonight. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but definitely more of an effort than probably any other car in the world. I'll add pics with details soon, but just briefly, everything is done from inside the front trunk and the footwell. There is no access from below, more so due to the frame being in the way as opposed to anything removeable like the differential. The parts diagram is a little confusing. There is no traditional slave cylinder to change like on the Diabo or most any other manual transmission car. The cylinder show in the parts diagram is the master cylinder. Changing the slave means changing the hydraulic throw out bearing. So no easy fix there. I will bleed the new clutch master in the morning when I have access to a helper to keep the reservoir full while I vacuum bleed the system. It flows pretty quickly and the reservoir sucks air very quickly so even with 1 man bleeders, it goes a lot easier with a helper.

I would be hesitant to do that much of wiring changes to a Lambo, but I bet it's been done before (maybe to one of the ones that ends up in the news or eBay after burning to the ground). But if you get one, go for one with a remote popping of the front trunk. That's always annoying to have to open the door and reach in to pull the trunk release.