More Advice..

[whunt18885]

Sorry another post by me...

Further to my last posts and given my nervous nature I am still concerned about the dreaded blown engine - I want to keep my Smart 450 Pulse going as long as poss ideally if I can get it up to 65k then that should do me for 2 years by which point I will have covered the cost of commuting compared to using the train, if it carries on past this point happy days!

We also have a 64 plate Aygo and this gets used for everything else so the Smart is literally used 20 miles a day 5 days a week - To work and back. I have tried to convince the missus to share the Aygo so she takes the Smart some days but she is having none of it - If it ain't full auto with reversing camera and power steering then she ain't interested (None of which is on my Pulse).

The Smart just ticked over to 53'000 miles. I have been told to keep on top of the services and use decent oil (5w/30 fully synth) , Car was recently serviced with new oil filter and decent oil and I swapped out the standard air filter to a upgraded foam filter (so I can just wash it when needed).

I will be having the discs and pads swapped this weekend and I am going to swap out the 6 plugs at the same time (not done on last service) so I am trying to keep on top of the stuff I can do myself.

I have been driving very gently (I don't drive quickly anyway) and I have been letting the car warm up to at least 2 blobs before using the loud pedal and even then i have been changing gear at 3500 rpm or less , I have let the car idle in N for a minute at the end of a journey to allow it to cool and I only drive if the journey will be long enough to get the engine warm - No 5 min trips to the shop etc. Finally I have been checking the oil after its warmed up every week and making sure it sits bang in the middle of the dip stick (when warm)

So in terms of keeping on top of it I think I am covered but I have heard conflicting opinions on how best to keep the engine running sweet.

Can someone give me a yay or nay to the below , this is the advice I have been given elsewhere :

1. Once warmed up use high revs every now and then to clear out carbon deposits ?

2. Always change into N at lights etc no in gear with the foot brake on ?

3. Avoid using high gears on hills as this will stress the engine, drop down to a lower gear even if this pushes the revs up a bit ? i.e no 1800rpm in 5th instead use 2500rpm in 4th.


Thanks in advance.

[Thrumbleux]

I swapped out the standard air filter to a upgraded foam filter (so I can just wash it when needed)..

Post rebuild, I've gone back to standard paper elememts. The reason being there were signs of ingress of abrasive dust which the foam filter might have failed to filter.

I will be having the discs and pads swapped this weekend and I am going to swap out the 6 plugs at the same time (not done on last service) so I am trying to keep on top of the stuff I can do myself..

#
Don't forget the plug lead removal tool.

1. Once warmed up use high revs every now and then to clear out carbon deposits ?.

Yes, but the reason is to permit the con rods to go full stretch and avoid a build up of carbon/corrosion at the to of the bore that would then damage the top piston ring when the engine was taken to max rpm.

2. Always change into N at lights etc no in gear with the foot brake on ?.

I do - expecting the pressure on the clutch to be relieved (the fork is vulnerable) but possibly the clutch is still disengaged.

3. Avoid using high gears on hills as this will stress the engine, drop down to a lower gear even if this pushes the revs up a bit ? i.e no 1800rpm in 5th instead use 2500rpm in 4th.
.

I believe that to be a good idea as I think part of the 'engine problem' is excessive piston side thrust which is worsened with high loads at low rpm. (Note how the shorter geared and revvier Roadsters' engines last longer).

[tolsen]

What grease do you intend to apply to lube your caliper slide pins?

[tolsen]

Fit paper air filter intended for the diesel 450. Cheaper and larger filtration area than petrol 450 air filter.

Leave in gear whilst driving. Grease socket in clutch release arm at least annually.
Grease bolts that hold clutch actuator to transmission. Grease all bolts that hold rear panels on. Lower ones need be greased more often than uppers.

[tolsen]

Car was recently serviced with new oil filter and decent oil and I swapped out the standard air filter to a upgraded foam filter (so I can just wash it when needed).

Not advisable in my humble opinion. Free flow air filters such as the one you have fitted and others offer poor filtration and much reduced air flow than standard paper filter.

Copied from a post I made on another Smart forum:

Best Air Filter for a Petrol Smart 450 or Roadster
I suppose it may be a bit late since there are not that many 450 Smarts and Roadsters around these days. If you want a cheap high capacity good filtration air filter for your petrol 450 or Roadster, then go for the air filter specified for the diesel 450.

Why you may wonder?

They sure look alike but are in fact different.

Height, bore and outer diameter are all same. Part numbers are different.

Petrol 450 air filter part numbers:
Smart 000 9997 V 001
Bosch 1 457 433 739
Mann C1036/1

Diesel 450 air filter part numbers:
Smart 000 4591 V 001
BOSCH 1 457 433 044
Mann C1041

The real difference is in filtration area. The diesel air filter has 12.7% larger filtration area.

How do I know?

I just spent the last few hours counting pleats on various makes of Smart 450 paper air filters such as Mann, Smart's own, Bosch and Blue Print. Petrol 450 air filters have 71 pleats. Diesel 450 air filters have 80 pleats. More pleats means larger filtration area.

Price: The diesel 450 paper air filter is cheap. I only paid £6 today for a Bosch air filter. Bought from the nearest to me garage in Banchory.

[Mad smart person]

Greetings, when replacing the spark plugs, using the correct tool to remove the leads saves you a lot of dosh in that you don't have to replace the buggered ignition leads as well - which you will do, if you don't use the correct tool, correctly.
Also, keep in mind that, whatever rubbish that's sitting around the base of the spark plugs will fall into the cylinders and exit via the exhaust valves on start up. Burnt exhaust valves after circa, 3,000 miles.
Best to stop this rubbish falling in, by using compressed air to clean the rubbish out, after lead removal but before you remove the plug.
Words of warning, wear a face / eyes shield so you can see what you're doing and see what comes out of the spark plug well - you'll be surprised - when using compressed air.
If you don't protect your eyes, you WILL damage them with what comes out of the plug aera. BE SAFE.
A face shield is preferable to safety glasses, as what does come out although very small is hard and hurts on soft skin.
Cheers, Ian.,

[tolsen]

I have replaced lots of damaged plug leads. Usually caused by dumb professinal mechanics.

Make your own plug lead removal tool out of Wimpey water pipe:







This is a multifunction tool. Nothing is better for coring apples and pears.