smart142

That is a 450 diesel. I've changed the starter a number of times on that type. Once the engine is lowered, like you have done, I remove the water inlet jacket to the water pump.It's held on by 2 T10 bolts. No need to remove the AC compressor. The starter is held in by 2 long bolts, T12 if I remember correctly, that are under the intercooler. One of them is visible. The other one is under the plastic intercooler shroud. I cheat and cut and snap off enough of the plastic to access the bolt. It's tight in there but can be done. Next is to disconnect the battery and then take off the 2 wires to the starter. The starter needs to be pushed forward and up to remove. There is very little room but this method has worked for me at least 5 times. I don't like the job because it usually eats up 5-6 hours and can get frustrating as well as skinning a few knuckles. Good luck!

I had an electrical drain that I finally got around to looking at. Turns out the generator was bad. I took that to my rebuilder and they were having some difficulty dismantling and getting all the parts needed. I checked out a supplier in the states and they had a rebuild kit for $100. Then I saw that they had an alternator that was a direct fit for usd $225. I decided to order it and I received it in 5 days. In the meantime my rebuilder was able to get the old generator repaired and working for $120. I decided to go with the alternator and keep the generator in reserve. The alternator was an easy install and am happy to say that it works perfectly. On St. Paddys day I took her out for a 20 mile run and had a blast! No issues Looks like she's ready for the upcoming season!! ps. much easier to change the alternator on a ''T'' - 3 bolts and i wire to connect. Compare that to a cdi (2-3 hrs)

I have LED's in the drl[fog position and the headlights' For the headlights I used AUXITO H7 LED Headlight Bulbs from Amazon. They were expensive at around $100 but came highly recommended.

That circuit is only sucking power to two led bulbs and I've never had the circuit go bad.

People do the headlight relay mod because full headlights are the drl's and burn out the pins on the sam, but there is a way todisable them(with key in hand press the unlock button while pulling the high beam stalk) and then I do the euro turn signal mod and add led's to the fog light position using a seperate circuit to the switched power on the side of the sam.(evilution.com has the fuse box info).The leds are your new drls This prolongs the life of the headlights and reduces the strain on the sam.

No need to do that. What I do is take the water seperator out of its holder, there is a plastic plug on top that I open, turn it upside down and drain the fuel and any water in it. Reassemble and the system will self bleed. Like you I change out the fuel filter.

Welcome to the club! I hate to burst your bubble but...... I doubt if its a true Brabus. It looks like a lot of Brabus parts were put on your smart, like the exhaust shield and the front spoiler. Is there any other Brabus badging on the car?

Welcome to the club!

Here's an old video about a large model ''t'' meet. It has some good ideas for car meets.

The climate in Canada is a little more harsh.

If I'm not mistaken I looked at these smart cars 4 or 5 years ago. They were all parked outside. In my experience the fix is not the simple rotate the alternator shaft with a wrench. Please let me know who has had success with this procedure. IMHO the correct approach would be to replace the alternators. Changing them on the cabrios is more difficult even with the correct tools and equipment. I beieve most shops charge $600- $1200 for the job. Good luck!

Correct!

With warm weather coming it is a good idea to have an intercooler scoop. If the car has been driven through snow chances are that it is broken off. It's a small scoop that faces forward. I would also check your intercooler fan to make sure it is good. The majority of these are seized. An intercooler scoop and functioning fan helps to cool the engine in warm weather. The headlights can be a pain to change. Full headlights are the drl's but there is a way to disable them and then I do the euro turn signal mod and add led's to the fog light position. This prolongs the life of the headlights and reduces the strain on the sam. Every oil change (at 5,000kms) I unscrew the antenae, lube the base and then i lube the rear reluctor rings.

This is a quality aftermarket accessory from Germany. Very useful if you spend any time on the highway. I'm selling for $375.00 Smart madness in the states sells them for us$449 + shipping and duties. https://smartmadness.com/smart-fortwo-cruise-control-450-model-cabrio-355?search=cruise

A very handy unit. You can check and clear codes, monitor alternator function, turbo pressure, fuel consumption and much more. Selling for $85.00

Welcome to the club! My wife and I visited Paris in 2015 and loved the city and the sights! And it was great seeing so many smarts!!!

Welcome to the club! Good luck with your purchase!

What an amazing time I had with the T from Aug to Dec.(I drove it to storage mid Dec) I gave so many rides and answered so many questions - an experience for sure! One little old lady (>80) asked if she could take a picture of the T - of course I said yes, and then she tells me her grandfather used to drive her to the beach in a T when she was a child. I offered a ride and she chose to ride in the back just like she did way back when. Another day I was approached by a gentleman who gave me a T owners manual that he had been saving for years. And it was fun going through the drive thru at Timmies! A month ago I took relatives out for a spin, there were too many to all fit in the T , so I was being followed, and was clocked at 70 kmh!!!! Last week she started when it was -10 Apparently the model T can be quite reliable as illiustrated by this video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj5ABgjuK2c

Merry Christmas to all the good smarties out there!!!

I received a call from a long time smart owner. They wanted to know if I wanted to buy their smart for parts. I checked it out and found that it started and ran fine. They had been told that the car needed over $3000 in front end repairs.The car was delivered to me and I discovered that it only needed front springs to pass safety. A far cry from a $3000 repair. It was a high mileage smart (275,000 kms) and ultimately I sold it to a fellow that wants to convert it to a golf cart. The second one was also from a long time smart owner. They had lost the brakes and a shop told them they needed an ABS pump and that was going to be a $2000 repair. The smart was brought to me and up on the hoist I removed the belly pans. I filled up the brake fluid reservoir and then had a buddy pump the brakes while I looked for a leak under the car. One of the front brake lines had corroded on a holder and was spurting out fluid. (usually I find that it is the rear lines that corrode and cause problems) The offending piece was cut out and a new piece was installed. There was nothing wrong with the ABS pump. Again a far cry from $2000. Moral of the story - a second opinion can be helpful. Anyone else experience something like this?

It was 17 years ago that I got my first smart car and I still love them!!! Back then Chretiens Liberal government had the one tonne challenge to reduce carbon emissions. Unfortunately most people took to driving pickups and suv's. All the smart car drivers can be proud to say that they made an effort to meet that challenge!!! Here's hoping that 2022 will be the year that the pandemic ends! Until then get vaccinated and keep wearing a mask in public!

Try this pmctire.com

I see no problem by doing that.

Good news! Have you ever had the clutch actuator adjusted?

Halloween and the ''T'' Halloween.zip