Dave's shonkers - electroshite and auctionshite

[Dave_Q]

Pistons haven't quite cleaned up quite as nicely as I thought.

 

 

2 are fine but these 2 have some pitting, not deep but it's there.

 

Could probably re-use them OK but new ones aren't that much at £9 each.

 

So should I re-use these?

 

[RKelly]My mind's telling me no.... but my wallet, my wallet's telling me yeeeee-eeeeeees...[/RKelly]

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I would probably re-use those after a good polish up with assorted grades of wet & dry TBH, I'm sure they will work ok, just might not last quite as long as if you'd replaced them.

[dollywobbler]

Whereas I'd probably opt for new. Especially at that price and while everything is apart. If you do reuse, use the rougher ones on the higher of the pistons, as it's apparently the bottom ones that most often seize.

[Dave_Q]

Cheers for the input gents.

 

The £9 ones are with some shitehawk ebay seller who hasn't got back to me about the exact dimensions.

 

If I can get some for around that price I'll probably go for it, the seal kit was about £30 so even with 2 new pistons I'm well up vs new calipers at £60+ a side.

[Dave_Q]

Brakes all done now.

 

Like most things I attempt it was a bit of a carry-on.

 

I ordered 2x new pistons which turned up on Friday.

 

Started trying to put it all back together, the internet had suggested poking the dust boot spring clips back into place with a small screwdriver.

Tried this and managed to put holes in 2 of the seals so had to order some more.

 

I had greater success by putting the seals in before the pistons, but still managed to rip one of the new ones so one of the ones on there has a small hole.

I've scored another set of calipers for 99p so can get another ready to go on at my leisure.

 

One thing that was successful was bleeding the brakes. I normally use an eezibleed but the cap for it won't fit the scoob so I picked this up from my local factors.

 

 

I was expecting it to be shit as it looks a bit shit but if anything it was easier than the eezibleed.

 

Just want to drive this flipping car for a bit now, it was partially meant to be for winter and snow etc and through mainly my own rubbish spannering it's been off the road for both the noticeable bits of snow we've had this winter.

[Dave_Q]

So with the Subaru out on the road it's the Berlingos turn for some attention.

 

Oil change was 2000 miles past my self imposed 6k limit so did that first.

Reset the service indicator, it went to 12500 miles! I'll do 2 oil changes in that time.

 

I'd noticed a small breeze entering the bottom corner of the windscreen/dashboard area on the motorway. This also made tiny drops of screenwash "rain" in upwards when you washed the screen, very strange.

 

At first glance this seal looks worn, but this isn't the actual windscreen seal.

 

 

With the wiper surround bit off, you still can't really see a problem to be honest. 

I'm guessing the screen is bonded underneath. I'll effect a repair by wobbing loads of sikaflex into the general area and see how it goes.

 

 

This morning I took the Subaru for a trans-pennine blat to Oldham to pick up some shite pressure washers off of ebay. Here's a picture from somewhere near Saddleworth. There are some snow covered moors and a reservoir in the background but you might have to use your imagination because fog.

 

[Dave_Q]

Bad times to report.

 

After this morning's run out on my private rally stage the A640, I was just thinking to myself how gr8 the car was and planning the next bits to do to it.

 

Parked outside university in Bradford at 1pm, came out to move it at 3pm - gone. No sign of glass or anything so I suspect lifted onto a truck to be stripped.

 

Have reported to police and insurance and on my way home on the bus.

 

Should get an OK settlement but not sure how easy it will be to find another non-monged wagon that is >20 years old.

[Split_Pin]

Holy crap that's terrible man. You must be gutted.

[The Moog]

That sucks. Pretty brave to lift it somewhere public

[loserone]

Mega un-like.

[Dave_Q]

Ive never been too worried about parking there as it's opposite the uni gym on a road with lots of pedestrian traffic. Pemberton Drive BD7 for the stalking crew.

 

I've got the university to put a shout out on Social Meeja as someone must have seen something, how much use it will be who knows.

[UltraWomble]

Bumcheese

[xtriple]

That sux big time. Sorry mate.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Ffs, thieving bastards. Violence is usually a bad thing, but I do occasionally wonder if car theft would drop if say, offenders only had one hand instead of two.

[strangeangel]

Sorry to hear this. Car/bike thieves should be repeatedly tazered in the nuts.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Shitting nora, bad times Dink. I hope whoever robbed it gets AIDS. Its the only way they will learn

[bub2006]

Shit. Having had motorbikes stolen from public places in the past I wonder how brash someone must be to do this.

[trigger]

That is shit man, I'd be fuming. Is there any CCTV cameras nearby which could have caught something?

[John F]

Ive never been too worried about parking there as it's opposite the uni gym on a road with lots of pedestrian traffic. Pemberton Drive BD7 for the stalking crew.

 

I've got the university to put a shout out on Social Meeja as someone must have seen something, how much use it will be who knows.

 

I used to live around the corner from there when I was at Bradford. It's a shithole.

 

Gutted about your car. Seems that you can't have anything nice without some shitstain trying to steal it.

[eddyramrod]

Dang, that's annoying!  I do hope it's found, preferably by a handful of your biggest worst-tempered mates...

[dollywobbler]

Bugger. This is why I hate owning nice things. People are arseholes.

[Matt]

That's thoroughly shit. I'll bet it's not gone far.

[egg]

sorry to hear. Gits.

[Supernaut]

What the shit. Who lifts an entire car like that? In broad daylight!

 

I always heard rumours that Bradford was a bit of a shithole, but I thought that was just a case of the locals taking the piss like you get everywhere. I shall make a note to avoid.

[Dave_Q]

Thanks everyone for the sympathies.

 

The Police said they would ring me if anything happened such as it pinging ANPR.

 

Summoning all my best Bradford stereotypes it is probably:

 

a) Driving round on false plates

In a garage being stripped

c) Going to be used to rob a post office

d) a), then c), then .

 

I think I would like another once insurance etc is sorted but finding a non-modified one that can go on classic insurance will be a bit of an ask.

 

Am open to suggestions on alternatives, budget would be around £1500, looking for 4x4 and turbo, preferably estate but must at least be 4 door and pre 96.

 

Don't ask for much do I?!

[Ghosty]

I'd say B5 A4 quattro would do you good but the're mainly fucked and the oldest ones are '96. And no, you can't have ours.

 

Maybe look into 80/100 quattros? They're mostly n/a V6s though.

[dieselassist]

Sorry to read the above - thieving SKUM - the Turkish punishment is the least they deserve; If your attached to car, and would like it back, my advice is to get very proactive, spreading the word on t;internet - on car forums, local forums, gumtree, Facebook; pics back front, sides, any identifying marks dings, paint blebs, stickers in the windows etc....this is what, I did when some thieving skim stroked my merc 190E from outside my house (night before its test)...

...a total stranger, spotted the car a week later in Waterford carpark, parked in pay per hour carpark, with non working CCTV; seems like they were drug munchers/fetchers as the clocked up 650 miles in 5 days - I later got parking fines tickets etc from various days where they had left it in the carpark...

The chap identified the car by its AMG kit, and carshow sticker on its rear quarter window, walking home from work - he later spotted a post on a forum, n linked the description of the car on the thread to the 190E in the car-park...

 

law enforcement are pretty casual, as regards a stolen car; I got lots of 'we are busy dealing with serious crime' - a polite fuck off basically...

When I got word that the car was spotted I contacted them n they had a low loader from the impound yard scoop it; they took another week to actually do forensics on the car, before releasing it to me... naturally enough, they took credit for 'solving the crime' n added it to their statistics ...

 

Anyhow; hope your fortunes improve, n either get the car back or get sorted with the insurance if that doesn't come to pass...

[fatharris]

That's a bloody shitter Dink, sorry to hear that.

[For Fiats Sake]

What the shit. Who lifts an entire car like that? In broad daylight!

 

Put a Hi-Viz on and you become invisible to general population as people just assume you are official.

 

Bad news when it's your car, commiserations.

 

Although I live a few miles from Bradford I cannot defend it and avoid like the plague.  More Asians drive Toyota Yaris  in Bradford than anywhere else in UK PHACKT.

[holbeck]

What a pisser.

 

Been there (car thefted - not Bradford) myself.