-
Posts
5,392 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
10
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Barry Cade
-
-
34 minutes ago, GR8 PL8 M8 said:
Good to know! Funnily enough I was looking at Astros when I bought the Aerostar...
If you weren't already aware of it, rockauto.com is fantastic for American bits. The shipping can be half the cost, but it'll still work out cheaper than UK sources, and arrives just as quickly. That's been my experience anyway.
I've used Rockauto, and Summit many times, but when I need 1 thing, usually quickly it can be a pain. I love cross referencing stuff and am always surprised what fits what from a local factors.... I'm having issues with the Astro at the mo, and not getting in to parts darts, which I would if I put in a big order to the 'States! Waiting on a coolant temp sensor now, which is the same as a Vauxhall Combo 1.7D 😆
-
Fun facts I have just discovered.. The Espero shares an Ignition control module, ignition pickup coil and ignition coil with my 4.3l V6 Chevy Astro .. .. I got Espero parts next day off the shelf!
-
On 24/03/2024 at 21:17, mk2_craig said:
Hey @Barry Cade, help me answer a pub argument. Mate says you can’t fit a towbar to a Focus ST (current shape). I say there’s no reason why not but I can’t find anything to confirm either way. Got any intel?
Brink exclude the ST with their towbars, they are OE supplier for Ford. Some other companies don't mention the ST. The only certain way to check is look on the VIN plate inside the door. 2nd line. If it says 0, or is blank, then you can't legally tow. Like this:
New 2024 model year VAG stuff cannot be coded for a towbar, not even by a dealer. I have been having issues coding a 2024 A Class Mercedes, had to do it remotely today.... £159 quid to the coding company and 2 hours standing in the rain with the Transit idling and jump leads between the 2.. The future's bright...
-
Spring loaded key Seat Mii
Remote central locking Renault 11 TXE
Keyless entry Suzuki Swift
Push button start Focus
Pull start no
Handle cranking start no
Automatic gearbox Carina e
CVT gearbox Volvo 340
Overdrive (that isn't a selectable gear) Volvo 240
Odd number of cylinders Audi 90, Volvo 850 T5 Seat Mii, Daihatsu Charade, VW Santana GX5, VW Passat GL5, Triumph Tiger
Turbocharger Volvo T5, Saab 9-5,
Twin turbo no
Supercharger Merc SLK
V6 Rover 75
V8 Dodge Challenger, Dodge D100, Chevy Caprice
Boxer engine Alfa 146
Air cooled engine Trabant
Electric no
RWD Escort Mk2 x 2. Manta GTEx2, Dodge Challenger, Fiat X1/9x17 .. many more
Part time 4WD Suzuki SJ, Mitsu Shogunx2
Full time 4WD Chevy Astro Shogun Pinin
Locking differentials Suzuki SJ
Hydrolastic suspension MGF
Hydro-pneumatic suspension Citroen BX, Xantia and XM
Adjustable ride height as above
Longitudinal mounted FWD Renault 21
Mid Engined Fiat X1/9 x 17. Pontiac Fiero
Rear Engined Suzuki SC100
ICE which doesn't drive the wheels by design no
Front wheel handbrake Saab 900 T16s
Electric handbrake no
Left hand drive Astro, Challenger, Caprice, Fiero,Trabant
Cruise control Astro, Focus, Saab 900, Saab 9-5
Radar cruise no
Heated seats Saab 900, Focus, Volvos- loads, Rover 75
Heated rear seats Saab 9-5
Air conditioning Mii, Focus, Astro, Volvo 360 GLEi, Fiero,
Two seats X1/9, MGF,
More than five seats Espace
Fabric roof Panda 1000s
Sunroof Saab 900T16s, BMW 518 touring
Carburettor Loads, X1/9, Escort, Trabant, Challenger
DMF Vito
DPF Focus
Android auto Transit
Bluetooth Mii, Focus,
Speech Synthesis / talking dashboard Renault 11 TXE
Ribbon / drum speedo FSO 1300
No speedo no
Odd number of doors no
Gullwing doors no
Pillarless windows Challenger
Plastic windows Astro has 1
No windows no
Opening front windscreen Suzuki SJ
Opening rear windscreen Suzuki SC100
One or more heated SIDE windows no
Heated mirrors loads
Heated washer jets loads
No radio of any sort no
No belts in fitted rear seats loads
Built from a kit no
Plastic bodypanels BX
Plastic / GRP bodypanels Espace
Electric pop-up lights X1/9, Fiero
Manual pop-up lights TR7- they were broke
Sliding PASSENGER door no
Fresh air face ventilation with the heating on Merc 190
Wood rimmed steering wheel Astro, Alfa Giulietta
Imported from abroad Trabant
Made by a manufacturer which no longer exists. Saab, Rover
Made before you were born Challenger
Owned more cars than you have lived years yes
Car bought from an Autoshiter Yes
Car owned previously(or subsequently) by three or more Autoshiters no
Bought sight unseen Yes, Challenger
Bought without even a photograph yes, a few
Collection included flight Challenger
Collection included more than two trains yes, a few also
Collection included a drive home to a pre-booked MOT of more than 100 miles. no
Won in a ROFFLE no
Brought home on an A Frame / used to A frame another vehicle on its first journey Nova
Didn't make it home on it's first collection attempt no
Sold within a week of purchase yes, many
Ex-taxi Merc 190D 2.5
Car had previously been off the road for five or more years Yes, many
Owned the exact same car (not just the same model) previously no
Owned in part, as part of a convoluted shared ownership scheme no
Required solicitors letters / police assistance / detective work / confrontation / breaking and entering to collect after purchase no
Was displaying the wrong identity at purchase yes, Kawasaki ZZR
Given for free Yes, Volvo 340 -
10 minutes ago, yes oui si said:
Absolutely a design ahead of its time, and I wouldn't dispute that.
Worth noting that they were put in cars and sold to people who treated them like an A Series or Pinto. A friend's dad had a Rover dealership at the time of launch and despite giving customers the 'this is a modern engine that needs to be treated well' spiel along with care instructions, they got kettled regularly.
Mind you. Pintos used to eat camshafts.... because the oil hadn't been changed for 30k and the spray bar was blocked..
- tooSavvy, Jerzy Woking, 5speedracer and 1 other
- 1
- 3
-
5 minutes ago, yes oui si said:
The cars with K-series engines I've driven have all been nippy and responsive, and you can see why so many engine tuners love them... But it doesn't matter how good the engineering is if you're going to let brummies build them.
You'd think, but the tolerances they were built to and the fact that all the layers , most gasketless didn't give more problems and the bhp/litre efficiency that they gave, along with the influence Honda had on the company at the time meant they were way ahead of the game on build too. Just a pity they didn't realise this in 76 with the SD1.... I was just leafing through a What Car from 1991- cars of the year. Rover cleaned up in quite a few categories. They really were a viable company at that time.
- Low ontime, Asimo and St.Jude
- 1
- 2
-
Subaru Impreza's are a vet's car with a VW 411 engine and a big turbo. They didn't do anything the Audi Quattro couldnt , made a stupid noise, Rusted badly and weren't even good looking. Never driven one that's impressed me. The Legacy was a better car.
- wuvvum and Spiny Norman
- 2
-
29 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:
I'm going to say it....
The K-Series is a good engine, blighted by misunderstood or poor preventative maintenance/repairs.
Let me expand, OMGHGF didn't always occur out of the blue. Just like any other engine, if you cook it, then it's prone to OMGHGF.
It's just the K-Series is particularly sensitive.
2 types of gaskets, if a gasket replacement is done right it will last the life of the engine. If it hasn't been done as thoroughly as it should, or the wrong gasket has been used for the measurements taken, or indeed the block and head measurements not taken at all, then it will always be likely to fail again and be cursed as an unreliable engine. Simple as that.
Unpopular opinion but all mine based on having pretty much served my time on them.
80% of HGF diagnosis was actually a split inlet manifold gasket at no4 . Same symptoms. Using water, misfire when cold and steam out the exhaust. They are replaced as part of head gasket kit rep so problem solved...... if it wasnt caught early, the as the K had a small coolant capacity and an odd location of the thermostat it would lead to HGF. The crappy temp gauge calibration didnt help. If liner heights weren't checked and made good during a real HGF, then it'd happen again and again.. wrong clamping force on the fire rings.
The original type gasket and plastic dowels allowed for a little movement as was expected on a "sandwich" engine. The MLS gasket steel dowels and land rover "ladder" was ,in my opinion, a poor answer to a problem that was much overblown.
The MGF suffered from thermal shock and incorrect bleeding and the stupid jiggle valve made those a bit more likely to go full HGF. K was a powerful,light,efficient engine that was miles ahead of the competition at the time.
I always said treat your K's like you would treat an Alfa Romeo.. use quality fluids, check levels very regularly, warm up gently and drive it hard.
- RoverFolkUs, warch and St.Jude
- 3
-
Fiat's are actually very reliable and tough cars which don't really rust.
There is so much crap talked about the K Series engine. The OMGHGF is caused by poor maintenence or misdiagnosis.and the "cures" are bolox.
BMWs are dangerous twitchy poor handling over rated piles of crap.
VTEC is shit.
Sierra Cosworths are shite.
As Saab used to say. 250BHP is the max for FWD cars.
-
-
1 hour ago, wesacosa said:
It was the same symptoms on mine, although the heated rear window light came on too but only when reverse was selected. When I was playing around with it last year I did notice the reverse lights didn't come on with the tailgate open but started to flicker as you closed the tailgate and were fully on when it was about 3/4 closed
Used to have this with Fiestas.. try tapping the tailgate hinge pins back and forth slightly if that's the hinge they have
-
Work continues on the Astro. After finally finding and curing the coolant loss I built it all back together, then a few days later it wouldn't start from cold. Would crank and crank but nothing. Slightest waft of brake cleaner and it would fire right up and be fine for the rest of the day. Take out wooden Starcraft dash, then plastic Chevy dash then the doghouse again and hours of diagnostics.. it's pre OBD2.. turns out its the ignition control module.. doesn't activate the injector when cranking, but as soon as it sees 400rpm, the ECU takes over and it fires right up . Early injection/ECUs are fun! Waiting on a module arriving so fitted the sink and tap, then stuck a new bumper sticker on 😁
-
I think you've connected the brake light wire to the tail light. Remember you only need to hook up 1 tail light feed too
-
Just now, JJ0063 said:
Thanks!
Yeah I connected the lot, tails and brakes. Would you suggest disconnecting the tails and leaving just the brake connected and seeing if that still works then? Cheers
Yes, and did you test the wire colours with the lights plugged in? BMWs put on the brake light if a tail goes out etc so if it sees things unplugged it changes all the rules!
-
30 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:
Tow bar complete!
Very straight forward to fit, wiring was fine once I’d worked out what loom to tap into.
Really happy with it. With the hitch removed you can only see the Brink cap so it’s not in your face. Electrics flip up so they’re hidden too.
Only issue I have, and I don’t know whether it’s one you can answer @Barry Cadeis that even with the car locked and all car lights off, the light tail lights are permanently lit on the light board. Not sure if that’s because I’ve put the two orange lives to the battery rather than ignition live?
Orange need to go to permanent live, did you hook up tail lights or just a brake wire? Some only need 1 connected, it'll tell you in the instructions. Tails shouldn't be on if all car lights are off .Best check this as Bimmers are terrible for not going to sleep and flattening the battery
"· IMPORTANT! Dual lamp function: If brake light and tail light or fog light and tail light share a
common wire do not connect either of the side light wires (Black or Brown) from the relay to the
car. The relay will interpret the signal on the brake signal wire (Red) or fog signal wire (Blue) and
operate the lights, including the side lights, correctly" -
9 hours ago, JJ0063 said:
Yes , that's basically what I use. Just make sure the green box has some air around it as they can get slightly warm.
@mk2_craig its a common question..BMWs are weird this way, some do some don't. I did an X1 today and it shut the sensors off automatically through the CAN BUS with no coding. Usually when it doesn't, there's a button or a bit in the menu where you can shut them down. I have heard you can code it in but depends on the maker of the electrics kit.
Got a 3 series tomorrow so will plug in the coding machine and see if it gives me an option to change anything.
-
11 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:
I had a feeling you’d be the man in the know!
So long and short for mine being a 2013 F31 is just buy a universal type 7 pin electrics with a bypass box? Something like this?
Yep, you don't really gain anything on a 2013 by going with a dedicated kit on a BMW. That kit is all you need. Check with the instructions with that box if you need to connect the tail light wiring. We use the Ryder boxes and you just connect the brake and it sorts the tail lights out. Also, test the light wiring for colours with the tail lights plugged in... German motors can have the bulb failure substitution, which can cause a bit of head scratching!
-
1 hour ago, JJ0063 said:
Not sure if this is anything you could answer @Barry Cade but this tow bar has come with a vehicle specific electrics kit, namely this:
BW02807U
https://www.ecs-electronicsuk.co.uk/en/towbar-wiring-kits/bw02807u.html
Which shows it’s suitable for vehicles March 14 onwards.
My car is a May 2013 so this looks like the correct one I need:
BW008B1U
https://www.ecs-electronicsuk.co.uk/en/towbar-wiring-kits/bw008b1u.html
Im wondering what the difference actually is? I know the newer F31 has LED tail lights but you can swap those into the earlier model so suggests the wiring is the same.
I’m going to fit the bar at the weekend so am tempted to try this wiring kit it comes with, if it doesn’t work then I’ll have to order the correct one.
Cheers!
Ooft, that's a question which got the wheels turning.
The early 1 series E81/E87 and early F20/F21 uses low speed CAN to activate the trailer module, whereas the later f20/f21 (03/14 on) use high speed CAN, so are not interchangeable. The CAN wires are different colours between the two as well.
To be honest, on an earlier 1 series I'd just wire in a bypass box, power from the battery in the boot and all the light wires are at the o/ s in the boot. Really easy and doesn't upset anything.
If it has battery management, remember and wire to the battery side before the little black box at the positive terminal, and - not appliccable to the 1 series- wire a BMW towbar power to the rear fusebox. It stops the car going to sleep and it won't start in the morning..
-
- Dyslexic Viking and 500tops
- 2
-
On 24/02/2024 at 22:20, Rustybullethole said:
Tank off or lifted at the rear if anything like my gs. Snapped the fuel pipe like a twat the first time i did mine.
The tank is aluminium, hidden under the fairings, so fairings off, then tank out to get to tha battery.
-
5 hours ago, captain_70s said:
Only 1998 onwards. Before , you could bolt a towball to the back bumper of your Riley Elf and tow your Castleton up to the lakes, clutch and body structure allowing. That's why the regs were brought in .
- Saabnut, BorniteIdentity and RayMK
- 2
- 1
-
32 minutes ago, LightBulbFun said:
the most I could find on the matter was this, which is pretty inconclusive*
https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/156853/taxi-towing-capacity
googling for a train weight or anything does bring anything up sadly, theres nothing in this brochure either
https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/6540/london-taxi-tx4-euro-5-brochure
*although does make me wonder what the towing rules are for very old vehicles that just where never plated? say if I wanted to tow a small trailer behind REV or such
(ie does the vehicle *have* to be plated for towing regardless of age, or is there an exemption/cut off date, but then I would have to ask what is the max towing/train weight allowed for those vehicles)
Before European Type approval 94/20/EC - 1st August 1998, you can basically put a towbar on anything you want!
-
-
29 minutes ago, High Jetter said:
One for @Barry Cade
I don't think so. Would have to check the VIN plate for a tow capacity . I'm sure I've seen FX4's with towbars though?
Ambitious towbars
in AutoShite
Posted
There will be a workaround, when the aftermarket catch up. Last job today was a 20 plate Skoda Octavia. couldn't fit a bar as it had 0 towing capacity on the VIN plate. The calibrations for towing are already there, they just need to be activated , which we do after fitting a bar- it alters all the systems required