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348 DIY "Restoration"
- Thread starter irarref
- Start date
irarref
Active member
I did want to swap the headrest over to the driver's seat as my original was in a bit better condition but after practicing on the old seat I decided against it. The theory is you lever up the plastic surrounds on the headrest and once they are free you can jiggle/pull the headrest out but when I tried to extract the plastic surrounds they deformed and you cant buy new ones - total fail :-(
To try and help matters I squirted a bit of WD40 down the gap between the slider and headrest leg as originally I thought you can just pull them out but no dice there!
Eventually I tucked some long handled thin nose pliers under the head of the plastic lug and tapped the pliers from the underside until the plug slid upwards.
As you can see the plug head got deformed doing this and they are NLA (and about £17 when they last were!)
One the lug is released so far you can pull the headrest out. Thankfully this was the old seat so decided to leave things as they were on the seat in the car
To try and help matters I squirted a bit of WD40 down the gap between the slider and headrest leg as originally I thought you can just pull them out but no dice there!
Eventually I tucked some long handled thin nose pliers under the head of the plastic lug and tapped the pliers from the underside until the plug slid upwards.
As you can see the plug head got deformed doing this and they are NLA (and about £17 when they last were!)
One the lug is released so far you can pull the headrest out. Thankfully this was the old seat so decided to leave things as they were on the seat in the car
Thanks. Do they mix the colour based on a sample of the leather or is their stuff a decent colour match anyway? I've got bordeaux seatsYes - its Buffalo - they are only about 10 mins from me so I can call in and buy stuff without waiting for delivery
irarref
Active member
They mix it for you - I took my car in but I'm sure a sample would do.
HI Jeff, just read all 151 pages... wow what a journey. Just wish you had bought a vehicle lift for your own sakes!
Did I miss something but not sure if you concluded on the MAF situation - did the repaired ones solve your issues?
Also am i right in thinking that you havent done a cambelt in your ownership... that is brave!
Did I miss something but not sure if you concluded on the MAF situation - did the repaired ones solve your issues?
Also am i right in thinking that you havent done a cambelt in your ownership... that is brave!
irarref
Active member
Yes, MAF rebuild (although highly expensive) has resolved my running problems so worth doing. I did a couple of other little fixes too that I came across whilst investigating but it does look like the MAFS were 95% of the problem.
The intention was to buy a scissor lift but after a stroke and losing my job twice that's not likely to happen now - hence the sale of the car sadly.
No cambelt change I'm afraid - that was going to be the final job once I'd got a lift etc. TBH honest though the current Cambelt has only done approximately 22,000 miles and I run the car regularly. I just don't believe belts and bearings fail that quickly if the car is regularly used and I've taken the inspection caps off to visually inspect the belt and nothing looks amiss.
The intention was to buy a scissor lift but after a stroke and losing my job twice that's not likely to happen now - hence the sale of the car sadly.
No cambelt change I'm afraid - that was going to be the final job once I'd got a lift etc. TBH honest though the current Cambelt has only done approximately 22,000 miles and I run the car regularly. I just don't believe belts and bearings fail that quickly if the car is regularly used and I've taken the inspection caps off to visually inspect the belt and nothing looks amiss.
irarref
Active member
Thanks Malc. Had a busy day today doing some fettling
One of the things I don't like about the 348 when compared to a 355 is the way the inside of the rear of the front wings have like a step inwards in the colouring which just doesn't flow for me.
Using some flexible body tape I masked off as best as I could the line that I thought should be black using the lip on the sill cover that takes the inner arch and trying to blend it out into the arch
Masked off the surrounding area and covered the car in a paint sheet to protect it from overspray
Using my favourite paint I then applied 2 or 3 light coats to blacken the area
Was very pleased with the result and makes the car look more modern IMO
Did the passenger side too
One of the things I don't like about the 348 when compared to a 355 is the way the inside of the rear of the front wings have like a step inwards in the colouring which just doesn't flow for me.
Using some flexible body tape I masked off as best as I could the line that I thought should be black using the lip on the sill cover that takes the inner arch and trying to blend it out into the arch
Masked off the surrounding area and covered the car in a paint sheet to protect it from overspray
Using my favourite paint I then applied 2 or 3 light coats to blacken the area
Was very pleased with the result and makes the car look more modern IMO
Did the passenger side too
irarref
Active member
When I got my car back from the body shop they had put the wing mirror back on (the stem had started bubbling) but when it was put on the gasket had drooped a bit so I decided to remove the mirror and refit it with the gasket properly sited. It would have been nice just to buy new ones but they are £80+ VAT!!!!
Once you remove the plastic triangular cover on the inside of the door there are 3 nuts and washers holding the wing mirror on - you have to be really careful they dont drop down inside the door. After removing each nut and allowing it to stay inside the socket I used a magnetic pickup o pull the washer off.
Once unbolted you just have to disconnect the electrical connector for the wing mirror to release it from the car. The triangular seal just falls away.
There's a little piece of foam too you have to be careful not to lose.
I just used a glue gun to tack each corner in place rather than gluing the entire gasket.
The hardest part of the job is bolting the mirror back on without losing any of the washers or nuts. I used the magnetic pickup to place the washer in position then pushed it on with my fingers and stuff my socket with tissue so the nut sat at the end. All very fiddley but worked in the end.
Once you remove the plastic triangular cover on the inside of the door there are 3 nuts and washers holding the wing mirror on - you have to be really careful they dont drop down inside the door. After removing each nut and allowing it to stay inside the socket I used a magnetic pickup o pull the washer off.
Once unbolted you just have to disconnect the electrical connector for the wing mirror to release it from the car. The triangular seal just falls away.
There's a little piece of foam too you have to be careful not to lose.
I just used a glue gun to tack each corner in place rather than gluing the entire gasket.
The hardest part of the job is bolting the mirror back on without losing any of the washers or nuts. I used the magnetic pickup to place the washer in position then pushed it on with my fingers and stuff my socket with tissue so the nut sat at the end. All very fiddley but worked in the end.
milkshaker0007
Active member
Great job, like the inner arch, makes a difference in appearance, I would never of noticed unless you pointed out 
I found it was much easier to remove the side trim first before trying to remove the vent. Else is too easy to break the plastic clips. Removing the side trim is simple, it’s one screw and it comes off.Here's the central vent after de-stickying. Its not been painted yet but re-assembled to test functionality etc. Outer vent is still in process :-(
View attachment 122828
Did my passenger vent at lunchtime...
Make sure you switch the vent to the closed position so you can spin the central piece round enough to get a screw driver in
View attachment 122816
Once this is pulled back you should be able to tug/lever the rest out which comes out with the vent pipework behind
View attachment 122817
Lever the vent flap control apart to disconnect it and then you should be able to lever/pull the pipework off - this seperate bit although "sticky" just needs a clean in detergent.
View attachment 122818
Lever against the inside and you should be able to pop the center vent unit out
View attachment 122819
Just gently pull the stay off the back of the flaps then pull each flap off one at a time - pull straight back so you dont snap any of the locating pegs
View attachment 122820
Here are all the parts seperated - I would of liked to take the adjustment wheem out too but it looked like it would crack the case so left it in place - if anyone has got it out successfully let me know!
View attachment 122821
Thought I try soaking it in the googone stuff to see if helps buts it no better than the reccomend spray and leave for 5 mins - oh well at least I tried.
View attachment 122822
View attachment 122823
View attachment 122829
Mine were not so easy to remove. I found taking out the screw holding the side dash panel in place made it a bit easier. With the side dash panel loosened up, it was easier to get the vent out. Here are some pictures which may help you out.
Attachments
I could not get the screwdriver into the front of the vent to pop the clip loose to remove the vent as shown in this picture. My vent would not rotate up far enough (even with the vent closed ) and I was afraid I was going to break the plastic clips. That’s why I loosened the side dash panel. After gentle pressure and turning 90° to the left, the vent came out.
