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Marm Toastsmith

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Marm Toastsmith last won the day on September 10 2019

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  1. Audi cat has been replaced, and I've just ordered a set of rocker cover gaskets. I've not been using it much because I'm still a bit cross with it. Might take the old cat to a scrap metal place later, maybe that will be enough of a road trip to help me bond with it again...
  2. It started this morning! Big cloud of smoke, I reckon it was probably flooded from repeated cranking without ignition. Took it for a drive, running fine. I had forgotten about the blowing exhaust flexi, it’s pretty bad. Also after I stopped noticed some warmish water dripping from the bulkhead area but fingers crossed it’s probably just accumulated rain water. Too clean to be coolant.
  3. Having got the pump out I decided to drain the petrol tank on the Varadero. Tricky to get the pump hose to the bottom of the tank but I removed a gallon and a half of dark, weak smelling fuel. The hoses that come with the Silverline pump are ridiculously short, so you have to lift it up off the ground to use it. Stupid. They’re also kinked from storage/transit so they don’t go where you want them to. Still, overall it’s a boon and fingers crossed the bike will run with some fresh fuel in it. The tank could probably do with a good clean out but that’s unlikely to happen soon. While having a play I ran the pc50 up the street and back. True to form it started first kick, ran nice and then proceeded to leak fuel all over the place. Tried the Audi again, it nearly went this time. 🤔 Am supposed to be gardening today. I want to tinker with bicycles now… 🤣
  4. Had a go at the Audi today. As per @SiC's suggestion I decided just to clean up first before getting carried away with replacing valve cover gaskets. Used my new pela-style oil pump to clean out the old oil then cleaned up with some wd40. Some potato cam pics attached - before and after. Would have been a horrible job without the pump. Unfortunately it still won't start - I think the oily leads were likely a red herring - they've probably been soaked for months/years. It's raining now and I CBA but if and when the sun comes out I'll start pulling plugs out and checking for a spark. At least now removing the plug won't fill the bore with dirty oil.
  5. Decided to press the Micra back into service as I haven’t had time to do anything with the Audi. With an ill mother I’ve had lots of local running about to do and it’s the ideal car for that really. Got it MOT’d today… clean pass… the tester says it’s one of the cleanest ones about. Such a good little car, it’s the best £200 I’ve ever spent and really I mustn’t ever think about selling it again.
  6. Washed it! Then went to the jetwash and blasted years of accumulated crap out from the wheel arches, door shuts, etc. It's quite a handsome car really. Would look better if I touched in the giffer scrapes.
  7. Makes sense. Oil has needed regular top ups since I got it. I hadn’t noticed anything sudden but to tell the truth I haven’t been that on it.
  8. The leads on both sides are drenched in oil. For some reason this has slightly taken the wind out of my sails, I'm now wondering whether I've done something silly or whether there's another problem. Seems odd that both sides would be so bad all of a sudden. Maybe it's just that I've been driving the car more, and working it harder than my Dad did? Obviously it's partly neglect, an unspecified oil leak has been evident for some time and the plugs haven't been changed in years. Before I get too far stuck in any thoughts on something I'm missing or something else underlying? Edit: note oil warning light coming on while I was cranking it.
  9. Ah yes i think you're right. I'm more used to old fashioned coil/distributor/leads setup.
  10. Good old "the internet" https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/306861/
  11. Cool, I’ll have a go, but will probably tax the Micra too temporarily to take the pressure off! I’m assuming it’s just the one side for now but I’ll pull a lead off the other side in a bit. Tea’s brewing, be nice if it stops raining!
  12. Hard to get a picture, but you can’t actually see the plugs there’s so much oil in there. It’s started raining so I’m going to have a cuppa and put some proper overalls on. I guess try and get a socket on the plug and pull it. Explains the oil warning light I was getting… Was it an ok job? Annoyingly there’s no HBOL for this engine…
  13. Battery is on charge. It had enough juice to turn the engine over this morning, again, a few coughs and splutters but it wouldn’t run. Put the code reader on it. Only thing that’s come up is the O2 sensor, which has been showing for a while. Not sure whether “resistance too high” is new. Wouldn’t have thought it would stop the car starting, or would it? What next? I guess check for a spark the old fashioned way?
  14. After miles of pleasant uneventful motoring (dodgy window demister and crap heater notwithstanding) averaging an impressive (for a 2.4 litre V6) 29 mpg. Last Wednesday I paid a local garage to replace the CV joint mentioned on the MOT advisory. "Adolf" has repaid me by: 1. Continuing to make a clicking noise while turning right, or hard left. 2. Springing a leak from the exhaust flexi coupling leak. 3. Today, failing to start at all, having only fired up 5 minutes before. Repeated attempts have resulted in the occasional splutter but it won't run. After cranking it over for an extended period the oil light came on to add insult to injury. Best (uneducated) guess is one of the two coil packs has failed as it's firing a tiny bit but not enough to run. I'm thinking that 3 cylinders are firing and 3 not. Smells a bit petrolly after cranking for a while so I'm assuming it's a lack of ignition rather than fuel. No (new) lights apart from the oil one (which came with an "!") but then the engine light is on anyway. Tomorrow I'll charge the battery (drained it using the starter motor to move it back from where it was blocking the driveway), put the code reader on it, and see if I can work out how to check for a spark. I think it must have heard me talking about @plasticvandan's Yaris Verso, which was already appealing as a less needy and even more practical replacement.
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