Marm Toastsmith

As mentioned elsewhere (https://autoshite.com/topic/56126-aldi-abs-fault-troubleshooting/#comment-2883826) today I replaced the ABS module with a used replacement from eBay. Pretty chuffed that it seems to have cured the fault, at £36 it was a cheap fix. I followed the technique in the video above which was fiddly but OK. Will keep the original - if the replacement fails I'll send it for reconditioning,
Next on the to-do list is investigate the engine management light which is constantly illuminated and which blinks when you "push on". There's a mention of an 02 sensor fault on a recentish bill from my dad's ownership but I'd like to check it on the VCDS.
I suspect the MOT may bring up one or two more issues, there's a slight knock when turning right and a few clunks from the front end, there was a mention of ARB bush/pin wear previously, I'll probably farm those out to the mechanic who's putting it in for the MOT.
 

Also pleased to receive a parcel containing paperwork and service history from my dad's partner. My dad thought it hadn't been kept but she's a careful sort. She had it from new, then just me and my dad. Nice to have a car that you know the history of. There are a few stamps in the book, and quite a few bills for later repairs and maintenance. 

As mentioned elsewhere (https://autoshite.com/topic/56126-aldi-abs-fault-troubleshooting/#comment-2883826) today I replaced the ABS module with a used replacement from eBay. Pretty chuffed that it seems to have cured the fault, at £36 it was a cheap fix. I followed the technique in the video above which was fiddly but OK. Will keep the original - if the replacement fails I'll send it for reconditioning,
Next on the to-do list is investigate the engine management light which is constantly illuminated and which blinks when you "push on". There's a mention of an 02 sensor fault on a recentish bill from my dad's ownership but I'd like to check it on the VCDS.
I suspect the MOT may bring up one or two more issues, there's a slight knock when turning right and a few clunks from the front end, there was a mention of ARB bush/pin wear previously, I'll probably farm those out to the mechanic who's putting it in for the MOT.
 

As mentioned elsewhere (https://autoshite.com/topic/56126-aldi-abs-fault-troubleshooting/#comment-2883826) today I replaced the ABS module with a used replacement from eBay. Pretty chuffed that it seems to have cured the fault, at £36 it was a cheap fix. I followed the technique in the video above which was fiddly but OK. Will keep the original - if the replacement fails I'll send it for reconditioning,
Next on the to-do list is investigate the engine management light which is constantly illuminated and which blinks when you "push on". There's a mention of an 02 sensor fault on a recentish bill from my dad's ownership but I'd like to check it on the VCDS.
I suspect the MOT may bring up one or two more issues, there's a slight knock when turning right and a few clunks from the front end, there was a mention of ARB bush/pin wear previously, I'll probably farm those out to the mechanic who's putting it in for the MOT.
 

Presumably you can't drive base spec models like an L, only the premium spec versions like the GLS

K11. Prices will continue to rise and they are cheap and reliable to run and repair.
107, C1, Aygo. They are mega cheap to run and spares are cheap plus you will always get back what you pay.
MK4 escort, mk2/mk3 golf, E36s can be a good reliable appreciating classic but they need a bit of love to keep rust at bay.
Anything bigger or premium has the trouble of one big bill causing you to lose money on it.

Rover 200/400 series (R8) - I'm a big advocate of these. I have a shabby 216 and it's a great utility car - takes whatever grotty tasks I throw at it in its stride, and it only cost £350 a couple of years ago. Admittedly I have a modern as well, but the 216 is so nice to drive I could easily see myself using it daily if circumstances forced me to - very comfortable and easy to use.

Mostly simple enough to work on yourself, qualifies for classic insurance, can still be bought for dirt cheap but there is a growing enthusiast base so potential for appreciation later. A K-series 214 will have cheaper tax, the Honda D-series 216 is a decent all rounder, T-series 220 is smooth but desirable (and therefore more expensive), and the XUD 218 is slow but very economical on fuel.

Downsides are quite costly tax on anything other than a 214 - but if you keep it maintained, the reputed OMGHGF won't be as much of an issue as it's made out to be. Also not MOT exempt yet.


 
So to sum up - very cheap to buy, but also very capable daily drivers. Just watch out for the tax man.

I've been lucky enough to own a few cars which I have used as a daily driver, and which have also appreciated in value, cost me very little in maintenance, plus I got a decent mileage allowance on top which means the car was sort of free in the end. Modern cars are so disposable and many jump on the PCP route and that's expensive and wasteful... I want to go the other way and ask a question, thinking of 'make do and mend' (and hopefully start a friendly debate on the subject) - which car would you chose for free* motoring? The starting point could be something tax and MOT free that classifies for classic insurance, that is cheap to buy now but might appreciate, robust enough to use as a proper car (y'know, kids, motorways, winters etc), won't cost a fortune to buy now, can be spannered easily etc etc... I have some ideas but will sit on them as I'm looking for some inspiration for another 'free' car.
*Some smallprint; OK, so it's maybe not going to be completely free, but how close can we get on a car that should do 8k a year, start in the mornings, etc etc.

Right... 2 "ilink" ditchfinders fitted to replace the 2 crumbling and ancient tyres, the newer old tyres rotated to the front.
Also had front tracking adjusted, I've been able to feel it pulling to the right slightly, very possibly a result of the recovery operation.
Feels much better.
Was a good chance to have a look underneath. It's as clean as a whistle, and there's no sign of damage from the misshap.
Unfortunately one of the centre trims didn't make it. Gonna try some superglue, they all need a paint too, we'll see...

Panic over… all sorted, car seems fine.
 

Possibly another one for the parking thread… Wasn’t me driving but actually an easy mistake to make to be fair to Mrs T.
Waiting for Autoaid… Fingers crossed they can move it and it’s not totally fucking fucked.

Cam belt and water pump ✔️ 
Chuffed to have found a local one-man, back-street Volvo specialist to do the job.. Previous quote from trusted local garage who have recently been ruined by new management was "£500 - £600". At that money I'd have probably played roulette... Saying that, the old belt was cracked, genuine Volvo, very possibly original so glad I didn't!
He also noticed aux belt was tired, that's being done tomorrow. Otherwise he reckoned "give it some use".
Then I'll look into replacing the naff rear tyres (+ maybe swap round the OK fronts).
 

Wish me luck.

 
edit: poo count=1

Yes please! I’ll send a PM.
 
When I just told her Mrs T remarked on what a nice place this forum is. She‘s right. 

I had the same trims and style of wheels on my V40.  I seem to recall that I had the same issue with the split ring retaining clips on one or two of them, but there are some good ones in my valuable parts stash hoard of hopeless stuff.  Would you like me to dig out the better ones and wing them over to you?
I still have a set of those wheels with good tyres on as well, but I know you are miles away.  If you are interested though, I'm sure I can do something.

Right... 2 "ilink" ditchfinders fitted to replace the 2 crumbling and ancient tyres, the newer old tyres rotated to the front.
Also had front tracking adjusted, I've been able to feel it pulling to the right slightly, very possibly a result of the recovery operation.
Feels much better.
Was a good chance to have a look underneath. It's as clean as a whistle, and there's no sign of damage from the misshap.
Unfortunately one of the centre trims didn't make it. Gonna try some superglue, they all need a paint too, we'll see...

Nice to see this getting some love!

Given the weather I've not been doing too much car related this last few days.  Especially as family are off work this week so I've been trying to be social.
Wanted to tick something easy off today though so with parts having arrived, I went out and tackled this functionally unimportant but visually annoying issue.

Much better.

Do really need to secure that bit of trim to the right of the pedals too.
Little details, but that was something which drew my eye every time I opened the door.
The new fuel pump has arrived so I had a bit of a ponder where it will go.  Most likely candidate at the moment is here.

An otherwise unused void which is about as far from the heat of the engine as I can get.  Not 100% decided, but likely somewhere like that.  Should be pretty invisible once in place there too.
Final job for the day was investigating the lack of a working heater blower, or at least the most simple possible cause of said problem.  Actually getting to the blower as far as I can tell basically means removing the heater box, which comes out from the outside.  Fun.  That WILL likely need to happen either way as the foam seals on the air distribution flaps will inevitably have decomposed to near nothing by now.
Figured checking for simple causes such as manky contacts in the fuse box would be worthwhile first before I committed to too much work.
Well that wouldn't help...

Somewhat to my surprise, cleaning that up has resulted in the blower motor immediately springing back to life.  No unpleasant noises (yet) either.  It's working on both speeds and seems to be shifting an acceptable amount of air for a ventilation system from this era.  
While they're meant to be on separate fuses, this switch lighting up suggests that the rear window demister has also been tied into the same fuse.

Which wouldn't have helped the issue of overheating fuse holder contacts.
Given I've found several contacts in that fuse box to have issues I can see if being replaced going forward.  Especially as I'd like to add a couple of additional separately fused feeds in the future.  I'd also rather be using blade fuses simply because the old glass ones are difficult to get hold of in an emergency these days.  I do always try to keep spares in the car, but Murphy's Law states that the one day you need one in the middle of a trip will be the one day you borrowed the spares for something else.  I'd really rather be reliant on spares that I can pick up at any Halfords or even most motorway services in a pinch rather than something I need to order in specifically.  The only factor I've found around here which still carries them on the shelf is a 40 mile round trip away.
Halfords do have them on the shelf - but only in 1A and 5A ratings, which isn't particularly useful when it's a 25A fuse that's blown, leaving you with no lights due to a short that you've now fixed.
Speaking of lights, this one randomly decided to start working again today.

It's not worked on either of the door switches until today.  I like self-healing faults!
Having a working heater blower though makes the car a lot more usable outside just the summer months as it means I've half a chance of actually keeping the windscreen demisted on a rainy day.

Right... 2 "ilink" ditchfinders fitted to replace the 2 crumbling and ancient tyres, the newer old tyres rotated to the front.
Also had front tracking adjusted, I've been able to feel it pulling to the right slightly, very possibly a result of the recovery operation.
Feels much better.
Was a good chance to have a look underneath. It's as clean as a whistle, and there's no sign of damage from the misshap.
Unfortunately one of the centre trims didn't make it. Gonna try some superglue, they all need a paint too, we'll see...

Right... 2 "ilink" ditchfinders fitted to replace the 2 crumbling and ancient tyres, the newer old tyres rotated to the front.
Also had front tracking adjusted, I've been able to feel it pulling to the right slightly, very possibly a result of the recovery operation.
Feels much better.
Was a good chance to have a look underneath. It's as clean as a whistle, and there's no sign of damage from the misshap.
Unfortunately one of the centre trims didn't make it. Gonna try some superglue, they all need a paint too, we'll see...

I wasn't intending it to be, but I think this may end up being a keeper!
Just needs to pass the Mrs SiC test for that. Basically will she drive it regularly happily.

Well bought, I was incredibly tempted by this but having just acquired another German estate it didn’t quite make sense… glad it’s come closer to me though!

Possibly another one for the parking thread… Wasn’t me driving but actually an easy mistake to make to be fair to Mrs T.
Waiting for Autoaid… Fingers crossed they can move it and it’s not totally fucking fucked.