It's grim up north....tales from the Primate House

[NorthernMonkey]

37 minutes ago, snagglepuss said:

Oi I am still waiting for the p38 update! It was promised days ago ...

If it wasn’t for the fact someone dumped a fecked Berlingo on me, there may have been some hot Lode lane action. 

Maybe tomorrow....

[Fumbler]

Or loads of beeps. Either way, still interesting.

[The Moog]

Or loads of beeps. Either way, still interesting.

Is that just the swearing being removed??

[Fumbler]

Or the car swearing at them for turning it on.

[NorthernMonkey]

Apparently, 7 cars in random states of health is more than enough for anyone and if I want anything else, I need to get rid of one.

Hmmm. This calls for a cunning* plan.

[NorthernMonkey]

So yesterday, I took hold of a delivery...

MrsNM.....What’s that doing in the garage?

Me...Don’t worry darling, it’s not mine, I’m just delivering it for someone. Fancy a nice run out to the seaside tomorrow?

[NorthernMonkey]

Right...fuel has been obtained...

Breakfast is now being consumed...

Then onwards in a northerly direction.

MrsNM has just raised the question....if we are delivering a car, then how are we to get back?

Hmm. You did say I couldn’t buy anything else until I’d got rid of one. Well, I’m getting rid of this one, aren’t I?

Told you it was cunning.

[MrsNorthernMonkey]

39 minutes ago, NorthernMonkey said:

Right...fuel has been obtained...

Breakfast is now being consumed...

Then onwards in a northerly direction.

MrsNM has just raised the question....if we are delivering a car, then how are we to get back?

Hmm. You did say I couldn’t buy anything else until I’d got rid of one. Well, I’m getting rid of this one, aren’t I?

Told you it was cunning.

But the car we are delivering isn’t ours...

So that means our car count is going up!!

[Flat4]

2 hours ago, NorthernMonkey said:

Right...fuel has been obtained...

Assuming the yellow light is brake pad warning thing?

[NorthernMonkey]

2 hours ago, MrsNorthernMonkey said:

But the car we are delivering isn’t ours...

So that means our car count is going up!!

Well, it depends how you look at it...ahem.

[NorthernMonkey]

25 minutes ago, Flat4 said:

Assuming the yellow light is brake pad warning thing?

Yep ? 

[NorthernMonkey]

Currently on toilet/coffee stop 2 at anandale water services.

Along with everybody else north of the border judging by the car park.

Destination will hopefully be achieved by 16.00.

[Flat4]

My other half has only just worked out what's going on too ROFL

[big_al_granvia]

i love being in such a open, honest relationship when it comes to automobiles.... didnt know about the granvia until a trailer rocked up

[Flat4]

You just weren't paying attention. The for sale thread has been on here for over a week!

[big_al_granvia]

you send me about 6 for sale things a day, i just look at them and go aye whateva

[Flat4]

Safe journey home Mr and Mrs NM! Diamond Shiters! Shall we take bets on the number of bottles of water required? :p

[NorthernMonkey]

Thank you kindly....

Stopped for a cheeky KFC around the corner before heading south...

Now at cairn lodge on the M74.

Pooh count currently at 2

Coffee approaching double figures

Water bottles still untouched

No filling station shots yet as the car was handed over with a full tank of fuel!

Top seller(s), would buy 4x4 sports tourers with cooling issues again ??

Lovely to meet you both and thanks again for a very pleasant deal!!

[Flat4]

The pleasure was all mine! Getting my new barge would have been so much more difficult without your assistance  Glad you're happy so far tho. Is there seriously still water in the rad??? It's behaving well for you lol How's the temp guage? It's such a good looking car, I hope you bond with it and get it running right.

Btw, I forgot to give you the 2nd key but I will post that down to you on Monday.

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

now looking at the sigs MrsNM lays claim to the xc90 so that means you only have 6 ?

[NorthernMonkey]

No problem ?

It’s a weird one with the temp gauge...if you drop below around 1500 revs through the towns etc, it creeps up to just below the red but as soon as the revs pick up a bit, it settles back to the midway point.

Without digging deeper, my instinct is the water pump or some blockage causing circulation problems. I’ll do a chemical sniff test first to make sure there’s no combustion gases in the coolant, then it’ll be a good flush and investigate the thermostat and water pump I think.

I’m actually looking forward to getting stuck into it...it’s a lovely thing to drive ?

[NorthernMonkey]

4 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

now looking at the sigs MrsNM lays claim to the xc90 so that means you only have 6 ?

They are well out of date! MrsNM has a Saab floppytop in the stupid insurance bracket and the XC90 has been off the road due to gearbox and electrical issues. That’s the next one to go actually as it’s too high for our 12.5 year old Springer to get out of without risking hurting herself.

[Flat4]

Yep, I'm fairly sure the wrong coolant has been used in it at some point and mixed, creating gunge some where. It was pretty gunky when we replaced the bottom hose. The rad was changed before me due to a suspected blockage but it still seems to be there. Also while I remember, I did read that if a non-Subaru thermostat is used, that is also prone to blocking up in that area. I don't know if that has ever been changed but the Subaru one apparently has some sort of additional filter.

Failing water pump might certainly account for the coolant loss tho, and it does keep a steady temperature with enough airflow. Below 30mph there is no heat in the cabin once it's up to temp, but above 30 mph there is plenty.

[NorthernMonkey]

Back home now after a fairly uneventful journey.

Upon the advice of flat4, we kept stopping to check the coolant level...the weird thing is it never seems to take more than a litre? You can top it up and the heater will work for about five miles before it cools off but then it doesn’t seem to use any more whether you go 15 miles or 50?!

Anyway, got to do some jobs around the house tomorrow so the Scooby can wait until Monday now for investigations to commence. Any ideas, feel free to shout up... ?

[The Moog]

I was handed the keys for NM newest steed today



Styling doesn't do anything for me, although lovely colour and wheels are a decent shade of grey

3.0 boxer with an auto box. It's an interesting drive as below about 2.5k it feels massively underpowered, yet bury the throttle and it will take off like a scalded cat. And boy does it keep going to silly speeds in the blink of an eye.

For me it is reminiscent of VTEC power type cars - missing that slug of torque that a 3.0 should have. It is fun for those once in a blue moon times you can boot it on a clear road.

I handed the keys back happily - driving home in the mx5 which is miles slower but much more fun .

[big_al_granvia]

use the sequential option, normal auto is boring as fook

[Flat4]

Yep, the auto box is tuned for economy rather than power. It tries to get into 4th as quickly as possible which really lets the car down IMO. The same engine with a manual box does 0-60 in 5.6 seconds. Drives much better in sport mode which holds the gears longer or yeah, use the sequential option.

[The Moog]

That would make sense

[NorthernMonkey]

As mentioned elsewhere on the forum, I had a 12 plate Berlingo van dragged in last week by the RAC that was turning over but refusing to fire.

It had run very low on fuel apparently and cut out as it pulled into the filling station but then wouldn’t start after filling.

The primer pump was stuck on the filter head and wouldn’t release so a new filter was fitted but still no joy.

Live data was showing that the key would synch through RF when the lock/unlock button was pressed but no transponder code was being read and the engine ECU was locked which led me to believe that the BSI/ECU had somehow dropped the key code due to excessive cranking leading to a flat battery.

Now, bearing in mind it had supposedly driven into the forecourt before running out of fuel, there was nothing to suggest any issue with the key itself but in the interests of covering all bases, I checked it on a transponder code reader...nothing, nada, zilch.

Tame mobile auto locksmith came out, pulled the code from the ECU as the key code card had been lost, cut and programmed a new key in the back of his van and success...job done.

[loserone]

On 7/4/2019 at 7:32 PM, big_al_granvia said:

use the sequential option, normal auto is boring as fook

Or get a proper manual one like mine ?