Ralliart Brake Reservoir Cover

I found this sock whilst repairing the central lock. Many including myself would ask, what on earth this thing is for? According to Spoon, their reservoir tank covers serve three purposes (Woww.. I couldn't figure out even one). One, they help keep the reservoir tank caps in place during racing and spirited driving, helping prevent spillage of vital fluids. Second, even if the caps are jarred open, the tank covers help contain the spill and minimize fluid loss. Third, the tank covers prevent dust and debris from accumulating on the tanks and potentially contaminating the brake fluid.

Ok.. point number 1 is quite BS to me as the factory reservoir cover is made from a very hard and durable plastic with rubber seal which could make one keep on bitching to open it once it has been tighten. So, it is almost impossible for the reservoir cover to pop out unless you banged into some walls or something. As it's capable to contain the fluid spill could make some good sense, but one still have to wonder, how much fluid this sock is able to contain since it not thick. The 3rd point seems to be clever, but then, again, it also related to the points above. If your reservoir cover is not doing it jobs properly, get it changed. Don't use this sock as an insurance because it's not. Get it for the sake of cosmetic.

When Alarm and Central Lock Went South

My central lock did give me some headache for a week or two. Whenever I arm the car using the transmitter, the door will lock and in a split second it will unlock the door back. On top of that, the lock latch on the driver side isn't locking properly which indicate, either the central locking gun has broken or the linkages were screwed. So I took it back to the shop I've bought and installed the alarm. To their finding, actually the wiring was the culprit. I'm quite surprise also since they are known as the one of the best in wiring job (as per claimed in Lyn.net). But then, even the mighty Microsoft did shit (remember Win ME?) They took more that an hour to troubleshoot it. Now everything is working fine.

Broken, Beat and Scarred Brake

I was driving on DUKE highway. As I'm passing 80km/h mark on the speedo, I felt strong vibration on my left-front of the car. A quick inspection told me that there might be a problem with the brake as there was heavy brake dust all over the wheel. Brought the car to my mech and it was discovered that the left front caliper has jammed. Maybe it's about time to get the front caliper serviced as I've done for the rear one 4 years ago. The service kit it self isn't too costly even though I knew my beloved mech already mark up the price for the stuff. Well, as long as the job done is well done, I don't mind paying a bit more.. Seriously, good service + cheap labour is an impossible combination nowadays.

My brake performance wasn't that convincing. I've changed to double layer brake booster/servo off from an Evo but I still feel that there are something lacking. I can almost never able to lock the front tire whenever I floored the brake.. and I don't have ABS on the car. Yes, I know that tire-locking ability isn't a way to determine whether the brake is good/strong enough. Maybe I should check the brake fluid hose. Anyway, I took the liberty of upgrading the front brake pad to Ferodo Zero. This pad is claimed to bite better than OEM brake pad and the brake dust produced is within acceptable range (as oppose to almost dustless on my OEM pad). I just finished bedded in the brake pad now and looking forward to trash it.

When Seal Ain't Sealing

I had this oil burning smell every time I wind down my window. The smell was intense if the engine is hot; such as after some wacking sessions. A quick visit to the workshop reveal that the seal around the oil sump need some attention. Due to my car ride height was very low, I've might went over some 'big fat bump' quite hard and swelled the seal. You can see that the base of the sump is dented, thankfully it ain't that bad. This 'treatment' is advised to do when you're doing an oil change since we have to drain the oil sump to start working.

It was quite amazed looking at the oil pickup screen. The passages (or more common phrase amongst us; holes) were so fine. The purpose of this screen is prevents foreign matter (such as lost washers, nuts and bolts) from entering the oil pump. Because of the screen is so so so fine; that makes me a fan and a firm believer of thinner grade of oil. Screw those 20W-50s. We don't live in the 60's or 70's anymore. Imagine those jelly-like oil forcing itself to squeeze into the screener in the morning; straining your hardworking oil pump.

After the old sealant was been brushes off, it gonna get some sanding using few grades of sanding paper until. After that, a new sealant paste was applied. This sealant looks like the stuff they use on cover rocker, but I was told it's kinda different between them. After the fitment, everything is fine, no more leaky and oily oil sump. Yey..