20th March 2004 - I purchased a yellow RS2000 today, I had been parked up on a drive for about 9 months, I had already been to see it earlier and was very impressed. It seems to have been well looked after and has been modified quite well. It was very dirty and the interior was desperate for a clean, but this is to be expected in a car that had been left for so long.
I was able to take it straight to an MOT, it did really well and only failed on a seized rear brake. It had a caution of a few small areas that might need welding soon and the emissions were a bit high. After getting it home I borrowed a battery from OMJ, and gave it a well needed wash, it looks much better now. Later that evening I stripped the entire rear brake then cleaned and lubricated the handbrake linkage that had totally seized. 21st March 2004 - I got up early to make a start, I hoovered and cleaned inside, re-fitted the speakers back into the doors, re-secured the centre console and cleaned out the boot. Under the bonnet I added a bonnet prop stand and the plastic clip to hold it in place, and I cleaned the K&N and removed the sticker from it. Then it rained :( 22nd March 2004 - Took it back for the MOT re-test, It has passed :) I also bought it a new battery and put the borrowed one back in OMJ. 27th March 2004 - Had a go at gettting the interior light working, is done but could be better. I bought some replacement door switches but they are the wrong type. Investigated under the bonnet and found a few areas under the bonnet where the paint is coming away and a fair bit of surface rust has started underneath. 28th March 2004 - Pulled the inner speedo cable out from the outer main cable from inside the car, it looks like the cable has snapped very close to the gearbox so I will need to order a new cable. Bought and fitted brand new door switches. I have compiled a list of modifications to my car, some I have found myself, some other people have told me about and some I don't even know what they are!! Some of this info has been taken from various receipts that came with the car.
29th March 2004 - Bought and fitted a new speedo cable. Speedo now working again but I just need to get the cable tied as far away from the exhaust as possible, it is a very close fit. 31st Marth 2004 - Removed, cleaned and oiled the K&N air filter. 1st April 2004 - Had all the brake shoes and pads replaced at Stapletons. Also required new pins as the others were rusted in place. Applied rust killer to the exposed areas under the bonnet. Fixed the clock and got the main beam working again (both of which were working yesterday!) 3rd April 2004 - Fitted RS Decals and got the Sony cassette player working. Have no radio as the car hasn't got an aerial. 9th April 2004 - Used touch-up paint to sort a few very minor bits on the paintwork. The car ran out of petrol even though the guage was reading one quarter full. After diagnosing it seems like I need a new sender unit. 10th and 11th April 2004 - Messed around first with my existing sender unit and then a different one that I got from a friend. The new sender seems ok but I will have to keep an eye on it 22nd April 2004 - Had all 4 wheels balanced at Stapletons. Had a chance to get a good look under the car, noticed that the gearbox is actually touching the bodywork in places. This would account for the rumbling sound I sometimes get. 29th April 2004 - Fixed both front seats, the passenger seat would't fold forward and the driver seat would't clip back into place. Both are ok now. 30th April 2004 - Bad news, the RS engine started knocking quite badly, so I took the car straight home and put it in the garage. 1st May 2004 - A few people have had a listen to the RS. Some say its the Cam, some say its the bottom end. I took the cam cover off and set gaps and cleared a blocked spray bar. The car is a bit quieter at low revs now but still knocks over 2000rpm. 5th May 2004 - Took the car to a garage for a decent diagnosis, the Cam is a bit worn but ok, the oil pressure is ok but it is definately bottom end and will probably be expensive to fix. I have got a few choices now, either sell up or get the car fixed. 6th May 2004 - Got the car home from the garage, I didn't want to make any quick decisions without thinking it over properly. Have spoken to Mark Cogan (2quick4u from Turbosport), he might be able to fit me a replacement bottom end for a reasonable price, so the car might be off to him next week. Marks website is www.rwd-escort.co.uk if anyone is interested. 7th May 2004 - Added some STP engine oil additive to the engine, hopefully this will thicken it up a bit and will help with the 40 mile trip I have to do to get the car to Marks workshop. 13th May 2004 - Drove the car to the Garage, it made it there ok but sounds very rough. Was a very embarrassing trip as I couldn't do more than 40mph. 16th May 2004 - Got my car back - it basically got a new top and bottom end (almost a whole new engine). 30th May 2004 - The car cut out twice while driving, all electrics were still on and the fuel pump was working, but it was like running out of petrol. After a few mins the car started again and was ok. 18 July 2004 - Everything has been running ok with no issues. The RS has been seen at a few shows over the last few months and even did a few runs at Santa Pod. I have replaced an incorrect seatbelt clip, repaired a faulty number plate light and treated some minor rust spots. 24 July 2004 - I replaced the missing passenger door mirror. 2 September 2004 - Replaced brake discs. I used standard 2.8 capri vented discs. 1 October 2004 - RS has been declared on SORN for the winter :( 8 March 2005 - Took RS for MOT - It passed first time. 15 March 2005 - Had to replace the control box of the alarm, I had to be practically IN the car before I could alarm/disarm it. I had already tested the batteries in the keyfobs but it turned out to be the controller. 2 April - 10 April 2005 - Did plenty of work under the bonnet on the exposed metal, the paint had lifted but the metal underneath is ok. Strangly the Alarm has started beeping when arming/disarming. Also cleaned the earth in the boot as the car would often just die completely, I had traced the fault to there. 7 April 2005 - Picked up a replacement front seat, I swapped only the bases over. 18 September 2005 - Not much to report with the RS, its been running well. Had one or two issues with dirty contacts at the starter motor and a bad earth causing it not to start, but thats all sorted now. I put the car in the bodyshop to get a bit of rust sorted in the rain gutter around the boot. Photos can be seen in the 'Finishline' section of my website.
To Do List - Reminders |
