Dan's 1.6 repairs

[Grapes]

Additionally I am in the process of replacing some of the door rubbers and ran into something I figured I'd ask before proceeding.
I ordered a new rubber for the rear window hatch. They sent me a very nice new one which isn't the original but should work fine. I've seen the same profile on a few other car websites and was already suspecting it would fit and then I bought this from Hades Pieces Auto which had it listed as specifically fitting the Murena. I'll add pictures for reference. However what stopped me from replacing it was that my old rubber has a gap at the top of the window so it's not a complete loop. I always assumed that was for ventilation but the new rubber Hades has sent me, seems to be long enough to actually complete the whole loop making it a full seal. I'll add a picture of the current rubber with the gap just in case.
I was wondering if anyone could confirm if I need to make sure I leave the gap, or that I can use the new rubber's full length to seal it completely.

If I could have read the answer to this somewhere in the documentation available and I skipped it over, my apologies in advance.

[Murena1400]

Originally the gap was there as you show it in your photo, the steel lip in the middle only had that hard strip covering it up.

Additionally to that, there was a rubber seal on the rear window the size of that gap that sealed the window to the roof so splash water couldnt get in, however, on many murena's, this rubber on the window appears to be missing.

I would install the new rubber just as original.

[Grapes]

Cool, I'll do that!

[Grapes]

I think I'm going to see if I can find some rubbers to put on the sides of the rear window to close the gap with the body. Somehow there's always leaves and pine needles getting in there that eventually sink down and accumulate at the drain holes on the bottom.

[Grapes]

Small update: The rear rubber I got from Hades is a perfect fit. I had to stretch along the edge a tiny bit because I initially had a gap of +/- 1 cm after installing it but doing so made the ends meet perfectly.

For the doors I'm having a lot less luck unfortunately. I've ordered 7 meters of velvet rubber but upon installing the second door I'm 10cm short 
For the moment I've patched the gap with a piece of the old rubber which for the moment should at least make it seal properly but it's less than perfect.  I tried to measure with a piece of string around the old rubber just in case and I thought with seven meters I'd have a couple of cm spare instead of short.

Does anyone have a similar experience? Or do people usually order 8 meters to do the doors for the Murena?

[Murenanimal]

i have a gap at the bottom on the 2 door velvet rubbers of each about 10 cm, i thought that was to evacuate air out of the compartment when driving with closed doors and fan working.

[JV]

In my experience air is coming in through that kind of gap. You can feel it if you drive fast in cold circumstances.
Some evacuation of air takes place via hidden grilles in the rear door jambs.

[Grapes]

I read somewhere the air is supposed to leave the cabin at the rear near the B pillars.

Where does the air come in though. There's leaves in my heater vents somehow so I was thinking about installing a filter somewhere.

[Grapes]

Oh by the way, the fully sealed back window makes the window fog up completely. I never had that problem when there was still a gap at the top. It seems the rubber is more there to cushion the window than to actually completely seal it.

[Murena1400]

Oh by the way, the fully sealed back window makes the window fog up completely. I never had that problem when there was still a gap at the top. It seems the rubber is more there to cushion the window than to actually completely seal it.

And that is exactly why Matra did it how they did it and why I advised you to re do it the same way. They would not have ended up making 3 rubber parts for the rear window if they could have done it with 1.

[Murena1400]

i have a gap at the bottom on the 2 door velvet rubbers of each about 10 cm, i thought that was to evacuate air out of the compartment when driving with closed doors and fan working.

These rubbers are known to shrink and were also installed too short from the factory, there should not be any gap but most Murena's did.

[Grapes]

Oh by the way, the fully sealed back window makes the window fog up completely. I never had that problem when there was still a gap at the top. It seems the rubber is more there to cushion the window than to actually completely seal it.

And that is exactly why Matra did it how they did it and why I advised you to re do it the same way. They would not have ended up making 3 rubber parts for the rear window if they could have done it with 1.

Ah I thought you meant as the new one is originally supplied 😅 this makes so much more sense 😉 I will find a bit to put on the window and recreate the original situation 👌 thanks for the clarification.

[Grapes]

I just replaced my broken solenoid valve for the headlights with two small solenoid switches, two T hose connectors and some extra tubing. Wonder how long it will keep up but it wasn't even close to €10 for all the parts compared to over several times that for an "official" valve, even what I could find second hand. So far I'm happy with the solution.
Added an image of the valve and a diagram of the contraption I've set up. At first I had the tubing between the two valves connected wrong so it didn't work but after some head scratching I finally figured out where I messed up. It's not elegant but it definitely works.

I've spoken with a guy who blocked off the vacuum from the engine and instead relied on a vacuum pump. What are the general thoughts on this solution? He claimed it improved something but I have by now forgotten what he said. Something to do with cylinder 4?

[roy4matra]

i have a gap at the bottom on the 2 door velvet rubbers of each about 10 cm, i thought that was to evacuate air out of the compartment when driving with closed doors and fan working.

No, the gap at the bottom of each door surround seal is really just because the seal was often slightly too short!  I have door body seal surrounds that meet and form a complete 'circle' and they keep out drafts and water!

The exit vent for cabin air is behind the internal 'B' pillar trim and it goes through a slatted vent in the chassis 'B' pillar, and then is pulled out by the air flow past the external 'B' pillar body trim, at the back, via the gap between that trim and the glass.  If you ever take off the internal or exterior trims, you will see the slatted vents.

You will also note, if your internal trim is a light colour as with my grey trim, that those internal 'B' pillar trims get very dirty over time owing to the airflow (which carries dirt) getting around and behind them, to vent out of those slats.  The air exit has to be in a low pressure area which you get just behind the external 'B' pillar trims.  (not at the bottom of the doors!)

As for the cabin air intake, as with all very aerodynamic cars, the air wants to simply flow up and over the car, so you must keep the fan on at least speed one to promote air flow through the cabin.  And yes the intake hole is tiny - it almost looks like a water drain point, but even with the fan shield replaced by a grill to give a larger intake, you still need the fan on, as it is not the air entry size that is restrictive, but the aerodynamics that stop air flowing through the heating system naturally without the fan drawing the air in.

Roy

[roy4matra]

... I have by now forgotten what he said. Something to do with cylinder 4?

If the vacuum take off is in the inlet tract for cylinder 4, then any leak will seriously weaken the mixture to that cylinder particularly even if the manifold has a shared connection to the other cylinders.  So a leak will cause that one cylinder to be both down on power slightly as well as running hotter than the others as a weak mixture burns hotter.

Roy