As time went on I encountered a few of the common micra problems. The rattling exhaust shroud became too much, but was removed in short order. A tow bar went on easily and whilst the car coped pulling a light trailer and motorbike rack, the back end sagged with the bike, so some spring assistors are required.
I was getting high 30's around town and 50 on a run if I stayed under 70, but with the advent of the 2nd MOT I checked the air filter and found it quite dirty after approx 8k miles. I took it out to help the emissions and found a whole new engine under my bonnet. The engine had become so eager and loved to rev. The car passed after two badly welded patches were welded onto the cross-member for an extra £80. I was not happy, but as it was the middle of the coldest January in living memory, I had no option of doing it myself. A new filter was fitted pronto and a mental note made that this engine was limited by the inlet breathing. A bolt on filter that removed the air box was obtained for future experiments for £5 from ebay. I was now getting low 40's locally and low 50's on a run.
A real mystery occurred in December 2009 when the engine started to leak oil in spurts when it was started! This was a worry, but was eventually sorted when I was about to change the the oil pressure switch. The problem ley with the filter not having been tightened sufficiently by the garage that serviced the car for the previous owner. The weather was very cold -9C and the oil obviously very thick. The pressure upon starting was obviously enough to push oil past the seal, then as it warmed and thinned it stopped. This happened three time before I got it up on ramps and sorted it. The trails of oil are still visible on the road as the snow melted and left record of the event on the road!
If there was one thing I could change on my micra it is the seat runner arrangement. I drilled a hole in a previous Corboda and gained and extra 1.5inches, and we all know how usefull I found them! This is not possible with the micra and welding is not somthing I wanted to do given the nylon runner inner. Most of my journeys are under 20 mins so I will have to live with this........unless you know different
As time went on I started thinking of my perfect Micra - 1.3 pre facelift 5dr GX with aircon and alloys. I would fit a ex manifold and an Almera air box. It should be possibl;e to get this combo in a nice colour and condition for about £1,500, but would have to wait a while as I was still recovering from the discovery that I needed an emergency quadruple heart bypass operation at 50! Being super fit from the gym and circuit training had not saved me from the Genes handed down to me and the odd Pizza! I would have to set my sights a little lower as with the current jobs market, my outlook was financially looking quite uncertain!
I was getting high 30's around town and 50 on a run if I stayed under 70, but with the advent of the 2nd MOT I checked the air filter and found it quite dirty after approx 8k miles. I took it out to help the emissions and found a whole new engine under my bonnet. The engine had become so eager and loved to rev. The car passed after two badly welded patches were welded onto the cross-member for an extra £80. I was not happy, but as it was the middle of the coldest January in living memory, I had no option of doing it myself. A new filter was fitted pronto and a mental note made that this engine was limited by the inlet breathing. A bolt on filter that removed the air box was obtained for future experiments for £5 from ebay. I was now getting low 40's locally and low 50's on a run.
A real mystery occurred in December 2009 when the engine started to leak oil in spurts when it was started! This was a worry, but was eventually sorted when I was about to change the the oil pressure switch. The problem ley with the filter not having been tightened sufficiently by the garage that serviced the car for the previous owner. The weather was very cold -9C and the oil obviously very thick. The pressure upon starting was obviously enough to push oil past the seal, then as it warmed and thinned it stopped. This happened three time before I got it up on ramps and sorted it. The trails of oil are still visible on the road as the snow melted and left record of the event on the road!
If there was one thing I could change on my micra it is the seat runner arrangement. I drilled a hole in a previous Corboda and gained and extra 1.5inches, and we all know how usefull I found them! This is not possible with the micra and welding is not somthing I wanted to do given the nylon runner inner. Most of my journeys are under 20 mins so I will have to live with this........unless you know different
As time went on I started thinking of my perfect Micra - 1.3 pre facelift 5dr GX with aircon and alloys. I would fit a ex manifold and an Almera air box. It should be possibl;e to get this combo in a nice colour and condition for about £1,500, but would have to wait a while as I was still recovering from the discovery that I needed an emergency quadruple heart bypass operation at 50! Being super fit from the gym and circuit training had not saved me from the Genes handed down to me and the odd Pizza! I would have to set my sights a little lower as with the current jobs market, my outlook was financially looking quite uncertain!
