Datsuncog's Heaps: Sept 2023 - Another Year's T-Met Exemption Certificate...

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Cheers for the encouragement and advice, folks!

 

After some intense negotiations, the agreed plan of action is to give the existing pipes a good rub-down over the weekend to secure an MOT pass, and then move 'full brake overhaul' onto the project list - so new lines throughout, flexihoses, caliper overhaul and handbrake cables (which are getting pretty baggy it has to be said, with only 23% efficiency recorded on the rolling road test), followed by caking the entire underside in some form of rustproofing - quite possibly Dinitrol.

 

The plan is still to keep this wee thing going for as long as possible; it's asked for very very little in its 13 years and 97k spent in MrsDC's custodianship, so we don't really begrudge doing the necessary work at this juncture.

 

Quite frankly, I'm astounded it's needed so little done to it up to now.

If you are doing DIY I have a decent brake flare tool one can borrow

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

[Datsuncog]

Okay so... Sunday afternoon, and I have an assortment of tools at my feet and an MOT fail document in my grimy hand. The déja vu is strong.

Rather incredibly, given my long and illustrious history of running abject nails, I have never before had a fail on brake pipes. I know, right? Even with so many Fords.

The MOT sheet fail ran thusly:

• Major fail: Brake pipe corroded/pitted; Offside rear - leading to flexi
• Major fail: Brake pipe corroded/pitted; Nearside front; Offside front - leading to flexi

The tester seemed a fairly decent lad; even though the Yaris was his very last test of the day (my usual sneak trick is to book the last slot of the day, to avoid falling foul of the alledged fail quotas which are very definitely not* employed by DVA Testing Centres in Northern Ireland), and he was no doubt keen to finish up and get home, he couldn't manage to find a pass for it - but his advice was "Coupla wee things there - just the brake pipes looking a bit rusty round the flexis. They should probably clean up okay, shouldn't need to replace them."

Which, despite my mild disappointment at being handed a fail slip rather than a pass certificate, is fair enough, no complaints here - I for one don't want MrsDC bombing up and down the motorway in the rain driving something with duff brakes.

So, okay then. Three rusty bits of pipe where they join with the flexi hoses. Needing a clean-up. Could this be within my capabilities?

Moving Project Cockroach onto the hard standing part of the driveway rather than the gravel (I found a lump of KAZ's rusted sill wedged into the wooden jacking block, which gave me pause for thought about ever using a trolley jack on a gravel surface again), UP goes the Yaris, and OFF comes the front n/s wheel.

I last had the wheels off La Cucaracha back in January, while doing a very not-fun fluid change in the twilight winter sleet. Today is somewhat more clement, and I'm pleased to see things looking reasonable under the arch.

Disc is reasonably unscored with no evidence of lipping, and there's stacks of meat left on the pads. The original rubber boots are all still surprisingly clean and unperished around the steering rack and CV joint, as are the hoses themselves. I wouldn't have been at all surprised to learn that these were on the verge of failure too, given the car's age, but apparently not.

Damage to the arch liners from the time I gave a verge on a country road a great big snog one snowy morn is still apparent. Most of the clips broke off, and undeneath is a delicate lattice of cable-ties and gaffer tape.

Equally, the bent front crossmember from the same incident has not spontaneously unbent itself. I'm hoping to try to pull this out a little while replacing the front bumper - it should be parallel to the radiator. But that's not today's job. What of this corroded pipe?

Okay, yeah... right enough, I can see what the tester was getting it. The paint on the pipe has a fair few bubbly bits just where it meets the union, so I go at it with a wire brush to get the worst off, then a stanley knife blade to pare away any rough bits, before a good rub with fine 000 grade steel wool to bring it back to a solid, slightly burnished finish.

It has to be said, although there is obviously corrosion here that needs addressing, I'm not sure it's in any worse state than the pipes on many of my other vehicles.

On goes a dab of this stuff, to try to burn back any corrosion hiding deep within the pitting.

I should stress at this point that this is only a temporary repair to get it through the MOT; MrsDC has advised that she would be happier knowing that the brakes have been properly refurb'd, so a full overhaul is on the cards for the autumn. The handbrake cables are not fantastic, so I may just try to get everything done at once, including new flexi hoses (JDMYO! braided, mebbe?), hubs removed and cleaned (and I may as well stick in that set of new shoes that's been in the shed for 5 years now) and calipers removed and serviced - plus new bleed nipples as they're getting a bit chewed.

So on round to the offside front, and it's the same story with largely the same outcome - wire brush, knife blade, steel wool and finally Kurust.

Finally, on to the rear offside. There's a touch of head-scratching here, as there are potentially three different points at where a brake pipe butts up to a flexi (or the hub), and all three points look as bad as the other.

There's the bit where the pipe joints to the top of the flexi hose:

And there's the bit where the pipe joins the bottom bit of the flexi hose - both the end nearest the flexi (which is very small) and the end that mates with the hub itself - but looks quite scabby and could also conceivably be regarded as "brake pipe leading to flexi".

To avoid blowing my tiny mind, I end up giving all three bits of scabby pipe the same treatment as before.

And, since the Kurust recommends a minimum of three hours before beginning overpainting, I pop the rear wheel back on and tidy away.

 

The bit I'm unsure about is what to do next. Yes, the MOT tester advised that the pipes should clean up ok without needing replacement - well, I've done that bit. But I've also heard of folk being failed on the retest for smothering the brake pipe in thick paint or Waxoyl, as it means that the tester "can't adequately assess the condition of the pipe".

So, begging the Beige Forum's collective wisdom once more, what does everyone reckon Mr Tester wants to see when I bring it back later in the week?

The specified pipes taken back to the bare metal, looking clean and shiny (in which case I'd put a dab of oil/grease around the cleaned-up area tonight, to protect them) - or should I break out the old Peek Freans tin of Humbrol enamels and give them a quick tickle of Fire Engine Red or something?

I'm also now fearing I may be about to fall victim to a cunning ruse designed to secure lots o' retests, as they may fail me again on corrosion to the rear n/s pipe - the only one that didn't get a mention in the refusal note. With NI tests (dunno about the rest of GB) the test centre reserves the right to check all MOT-able components, not just whether the faults identified have now been rectified.

If three pipes were considered worthy of a major fail, why the hell would the other one not be in the same state?

Hmmm...

[beko1987]

I nearly had to go through all this with the laguna last mot as the year before had an advisory for rusty pipes. Not a mutter this year, and I'm presenting it next year in the hope that there's not a mutter then either!

 

Id say leave it as it is and re-test then ask the tester what he advises. Might portray you as a chap who cares, and wants to do things right etc. As you say they can see the repair and treatment.

 

Or if all else fails smack the tester round the head with a bar, quickly print your own pass cert and get out of there

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Okay so... Sunday afternoon, and I have an assortment of tools at my feet and an MOT fail document in my grimy hand. The déja vu is strong.

 

Rather incredibly, given my long and illustrious history of running abject nails, I have never before had a fail on brake pipes. I know, right? Even with so many Fords.

 

The MOT sheet fail ran thusly:

• Major fail: Brake pipe corroded/pitted; Offside rear - leading to flexi
• Major fail: Brake pipe corroded/pitted; Nearside front; Offside front - leading to flexi

The tester seemed a fairly decent lad; even though the Yaris was his very last test of the day (my usual sneak trick is to book the last slot of the day, to avoid falling foul of the alledged fail quotas which are very definitely not* employed by DVA Testing Centres in Northern Ireland), and he was no doubt keen to finish up and get home, he couldn't manage to find a pass for it - but his advice was "Coupla wee things there - just the brake pipes looking a bit rusty round the flexis. They should probably clean up okay, shouldn't need to replace them."

 

Which, despite my mild disappointment at being handed a fail slip rather than a pass certificate, is fair enough, no complaints here - I for one don't want MrsDC bombing up and down the motorway in the rain driving something with duff brakes.

 

So, okay then. Three rusty bits of pipe where they join with the flexi hoses. Needing a clean-up. Could this be within my capabilities?

 

Moving Project Cockroach onto the hard standing part of the driveway rather than the gravel (I found a lump of KAZ's rusted sill wedged into the wooden jacking block, which gave me pause for thought about ever using a trolley jack on a gravel surface again), UP goes the Yaris, and OFF comes the front n/s wheel.

 

I last had the wheels off La Cucaracha back in January, while doing a very not-fun fluid change in the twilight winter sleet. Today is somewhat more clement, and I'm pleased to see things looking reasonable under the arch.

 

20180805_135011.jpg

 

Disc is reasonably unscored with no evidence of lipping, and there's stacks of meat left on the pads. The original rubber boots are all still surprisingly clean and unperished around the steering rack and CV joint, as are the hoses themselves. I wouldn't have been at all surprised to learn that these were on the verge of failure too, given the car's age, but apparently not.

 

20180805_135111.jpg

 

Damage to the arch liners from the time I gave a verge on a country road a great big snog one snowy morn is still apparent. Most of the clips broke off, and undeneath is a delicate lattice of cable-ties and gaffer tape.

 

20180805_135441.jpg

 

Equally, the bent front crossmember from the same incident has not spontaneously unbent itself. I'm hoping to try to pull this out a little while replacing the front bumper - it should be parallel to the radiator. But that's not today's job. What of this corroded pipe?

 

20180805_134944.jpg

 

Okay, yeah... right enough, I can see what the tester was getting it. The paint on the pipe has a fair few bubbly bits just where it meets the union, so I go at it with a wire brush to get the worst off, then a stanley knife blade to pare away any rough bits, before a good rub with fine 000 grade steel wool to bring it back to a solid, slightly burnished finish.

 

20180805_141644.jpg

 

20180805_141654.jpg

 

It has to be said, although there is obviously corrosion here that needs addressing, I'm not sure it's in any worse state than the pipes on many of my other vehicles.

 

On goes a dab of this stuff, to try to burn back any corrosion hiding deep within the pitting.

 

20180805_141750.jpg

 

I should stress at this point that this is only a temporary repair to get it through the MOT; MrsDC has advised that she would be happier knowing that the brakes have been properly refurb'd, so a full overhaul is on the cards for the autumn. The handbrake cables are not fantastic, so I may just try to get everything done at once, including new flexi hoses (JDMYO! braided, mebbe?), hubs removed and cleaned (and I may as well stick in that set of new shoes that's been in the shed for 5 years now) and calipers removed and serviced - plus new bleed nipples as they're getting a bit chewed.

 

So on round to the offside front, and it's the same story with largely the same outcome - wire brush, knife blade, steel wool and finally Kurust.

 

20180805_142355.jpg

 

20180805_144206.jpg

 

Finally, on to the rear offside. There's a touch of head-scratching here, as there are potentially three different points at where a brake pipe butts up to a flexi (or the hub), and all three points look as bad as the other.

 

There's the bit where the pipe joints to the top of the flexi hose:

 

20180805_150705.jpg

 

And there's the bit where the pipe joins the bottom bit of the flexi hose - both the end nearest the flexi (which is very small) and the end that mates with the hub itself - but looks quite scabby and could also conceivably be regarded as "brake pipe leading to flexi".

 

20180805_150733.jpg

 

To avoid blowing my tiny mind, I end up giving all three bits of scabby pipe the same treatment as before.

 

20180805_151329.jpg

 

20180805_151331.jpg

 

And, since the Kurust recommends a minimum of three hours before beginning overpainting, I pop the rear wheel back on and tidy away.

 

 

The bit I'm unsure about is what to do next. Yes, the MOT tester advised that the pipes should clean up ok without needing replacement - well, I've done that bit. But I've also heard of folk being failed on the retest for smothering the brake pipe in thick paint or Waxoyl, as it means that the tester "can't adequately assess the condition of the pipe".

 

So, begging the Beige Forum's collective wisdom once more, what does everyone reckon Mr Tester wants to see when I bring it back later in the week?

 

The specified pipes taken back to the bare metal, looking clean and shiny (in which case I'd put a dab of oil/grease around the cleaned-up area tonight, to protect them) - or should I break out the old Peek Freans tin of Humbrol enamels and give them a quick tickle of Fire Engine Red or something?

 

I'm also now fearing I may be about to fall victim to a cunning ruse designed to secure lots o' retests, as they may fail me again on corrosion to the rear n/s pipe - the only one that didn't get a mention in the refusal note. With NI tests (dunno about the rest of GB) the test centre reserves the right to check all MOT-able components, not just whether the faults identified have now been rectified.

 

If three pipes were considered worthy of a major fail, why the hell would the other one not be in the same state?

 

Hmmm...

Ive had exactly the same fail in the past, and the same advice from the tester.

 

I neatly painted the sanded pipes with black hammerite, no complaints on the retest

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

[Datsuncog]

Well, just to keep everything neat and in the right place... some of Tuesday and Wednesday's posts from the Grumpy Thread:

 

On 8/7/2018 at 10:50 PM, Datsuncog said:

FFS.

Looks like Mr. Tester wasn't happy with the wire brush and Hammerite treatment on the crusty pipes after all.

Next stop: new brake pipes.

Ballsacks.

 

On 8/8/2018 at 1:00 PM, Datsuncog said:

The flexis are, apparently, fine despite looking a bit seabed... this time he took me under the car to point out the problem area - it's a small section between the pipe union nut and the plastic coating, on the short twisty section of pipe between the hub and the flexi (photographed prior to Sunday's clean-up).

There are three different sections of exposed pipe on the rear offside, and I'd cleaned them all up as best I could going by what the tester had said previously, but guess what - when looking at it again (ie from beneath on a 4-post, not from above on an axle stand), there was still a small bit of brown visible at one of the points where I clearly hadn't got the wire wool right round the back. Maybe less than 1mm, right up against the nut. So FAIL. Again.

ECP don't have the pre-formed pipes listed, and the only Ebay seller with the right ones in stock (this is a facelifted French-built version) won't deliver to Northern Ireland.

I do intend to get the braking system fully rebuilt on this car, including new pipes throughout and new flexis all round (I've already new handbrake cables in the boot, ready to fit) - but there's no way I can get all of this done and tested before the MOT runs out on Sunday.

In the meantime, MrsDC is blatting to work and back in the Subaru, and I know for a fact an entire tank of fuel will be gone by the end of the week.

So I dumped the Yaris down at a local backstreet garage this morning to see if they can fabricate and fit a new section of pipe just to get me the MOT pass before the weekend, and I'll look at the rest in the coming weeks.

I can't really blame the tester (same bloke both times) as, obviously, cars scooting aroung with duff brakes are in no-one's best interests. And I've no doubt they've seen a huge number of cars coming in with dreadfully corroded pipes as the gritter wagons seemed to be out nearly every night from early November through to mid-April.

**sigh**

Apologies, feeling proper grumpy about this; it's not just the money here for the test and two retests, it's all the fucking about getting into work late and leaving early in order to get the car over to the testing centre in Mallusk that's gnawing my bollocks. Also the feeling that I've done a bad job and let all concerned down.

 

Right, well... with time and talent both in short supply, as detailed on Wednesday I dumped La Cucaracha down with the Tame Mechanic recommended by Mr T_A_D_T_S, asking him to sort it out. 

 

I realised I'd managed to lose my brake spanners chez AdamMcC of this parish while sorting his Cortina's calipers a few months back, and since I absolutely don't trust myself to not do something dangerously incompetent if left to my own devices with a roll of kunifer and a pipe flaring kit for the very first time (my multiple DOT4 golden showers while failing to sort KAZ's busted brakes still weighing heavily on me), I decided that paying a professional to do it was the only way I'd feel confident of a safe pass.

And fair play to him, he managed to get a new bit of twisty stuff fitted by the end of the day for a fairly reasonable £40.

I'd advised him that I wouldn't be very surprised if the flexi needed replacing too, but as it transpired the coupling came away just dandy.

I should also point out that a lot of the mess under this car is mud as well as surface rust, since MrsDC travels to work along rural roads which currently have some major housing development works adjacent, with lots of earthworks. Which, given all the rain of late, is one reason why the car is totally boggin'.

MOT #3 is booked for tomorrow at 6:45. Same centre, same lane, same time. Hopefully not the same tester. These things get embarrassing after a while.

If (when) it gets a pass, I'll give the pipes a quick lick of paint but my intention still remains to do a complete overhaul on the whole braking system before winter. At which point I'll hopefully have the right tools and will have the time to teach myself how to bend, shape and flare kunifer pipe - although I am a bit hesitant over all the ABS gubbins, which looks to complicate matters somewhat.

I know that in principle it's a straightforward enough job, but whereas my younger self probably just would have got stuck in, the fact that I've never needed to do work of this sort on any of my cars until now makes me worry unnecessarily.

While the freewheelin' long-haired Datsuncog of 1998 had no qualms about re-attaching bits of rusty Vauxhall with cable ties and pieces of bent coathanger and then moseying down to the South of France in it, the wrinkled greybearded Datsuncog of 2018 is rather more circumspect about his wife travelling 250 miles a week, along narrow treacherous NSL roads with tractors pulling out at random intervals, in a small shopping trolley with DIY'd brakes.

Hmmm.

New handbrake cables may well be fitted over the weekend, as they don't look too awful a job anyway. The MOT rolling road test showed a fairly shit 28% efficiency, as I'm sure there's rather more stretch in a 13 year old braided cable than I'd like there to be - so £36 for a pair seemed a price worth paying.

As ever - further updates to follow, kids...

[Datsuncog]

Oh, and just as a reminder folks - I know I said I'd keep this thread back on track with full-size shite, but as an addendum to the Grand Prize Minishite Roffle fundraiser for the DaveNumbers Memorial (won by Dean36014), there's a secondary sub-roffle taking place tonight for a Mystery Model, for all those who didn't manage to secure a ticket for the main event.

£2 entry, all proceeds going to the Dave21478 Fundrazr page. There's a high-quality, limited edition, collectible 1/43 model of prime British chod in an acrylic case up for grabs, posted to your door!

I know not everyone checks the Open Forum threads, so I'm popping it down here too as a few folks I've spoken to weren't aware of it taking place.

£120 was raised in the main roffle, so this one's just a bit of a giggle and so no-one feels left out. I'm hoping to maybe get another £20 to chuck in the pot.

Let me know if you've any interest! There's only a handful of folk in it so far, so chances of winning are very very high!

[Split_Pin]

Those brake pipes looked fine before and spot on once you had cleaned them.

 

Its standard practice for my local garage to sand and grease pipes that have surface corrosion.

[Datsuncog]

On 8/10/2018 at 12:38 PM, Split_Pin said:

Those brake pipes looked fine before and spot on once you had cleaned them.

Its standard practice for my local garage to sand and grease pipes that have surface corrosion.

Yeah... I mean obviously they did look a bit crusty before I began the clean-up, but certainly not significantly worse than on any other car I've worked on. But it's quite likely the test centres have given out a huge number of fails on brake pipe corrosion over the past few months, caused by the vast amount of salt dumped across the roads network last winter, so they've probably been told to be extra vigilant and if in doubt, fail it.

And I suppose he was happy enough with all my other repairs; it's just been this tiny spot on the pipe where it goes into the rear hub that he took umbrage with.

In fairness, he did go and get another lad for a second opinion before coming over and inviting me under the four-post for a squizz, so I don't doubt he was just applying the agreed rules.

But the Bastard Alfa Of Much Cuntiness blew a hole in its front brake pipe outside the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, and I don't much fancy a re-run of that episode!

I'm hoping tomorrow evening will secure a pass - and then I'll set to work with the paintbrush.

Just fed up trundling up and down to Mallusk, basically.

Cars, eh?

[Datsuncog]

Lordy be, a month since the last update... time flies when you're having fun up to your oxters in mud and cement dust.

Yup, car-fondling has taken a metaphorical back seat for a few weeks, not least because the literal back seats in the Forester have been mostly laid flat to accommodate building materials for this shed relocation project.

So the 'fastate', despite all its OMG RALLY HERITAGE, has been (ab)used with the same sort of gay abandon last observed when I was using my Volvo 240 estate as a mobile skip, and is now full of aggregate and spilt sand. Clearly, this is an OUTRAGE and I don't deserve such a desirable vehicle.

Still, the new heavy-duty springs have received a rigorous testing regime, anyway.

(Fortunately, I only live a mile or so from the builders yard.)

Just to fill in the gaps, the Yaris did indeed finally secure an MOT pass for brake line corrosion at the third attempt, when the new length of metallic spaghetti was deemed acceptable by the test centre. I appreciate that it's in everyone's interest that cars on the road are safe, etc etc, but it was not without a touch of asperity that I snatched the Pass certificate and harrumphed off into the evening rain, muttering to myself.

Still, at least everything else seems more or less okay at the moment on La Cucharacha, although a general service is certainly due around now. Plans to fit interesting wheels and stripes, although still very much intended, may now need to wait until next year if the other outdoor projects are to be finished before winter sets its teeth against us.

Some mildly interesting chod in T-Met's Mallusk yard, the gateway of which I'd pulled into so I could text MrsDC the good news - (right to left) Terrano II 3-dr; sporty red E36 (getting rarer on the roads these days) and a slightly squished 607 that, quite possibly, has had a connection at some point to R9UKE of this parish (because, let's be realistic here, it's rarer to find a lump of large-engined French shite that he hasn't owned).

 

So, the Subaru.

Well, in four months of ownership now, I can advise that I'm very happy with it, for the most part. It's not given me any serious grief (yet); but the MOT is booked for next Monday so some remedial work is now urgent...

Good bits:

• That engine! Oh yes. Boxer burble and rocket-like turbo. Revelatory.
• AWD roadholding - much better than my previous 4x4 dalliances (ancient Holden Jackaroo, broken Suzuki Jimny). It'll take a sweeping bend at 60 with absolutely no fuss, remaining rock-solid with no roll or loss of traction. Really does feel like it's cornering on rails.
• Short doors and high seats - mega easy for ingress and egress, much to MrsDC's delight (she hated the Lagunas for their rubbish passenger ergonomics)
• Cup holders and 12v power sockets, plus plenty of binnacles and storage nets everywhere. These are important to me, because I am tragic.
• Pretty spacious inside, despite overall compact dimensions. Witchcraft.
• Really, really good door mirrors. I've never seen ones that allow such a wide field of vision; massively useful when manoeuvring.
• Turning circle and general agility is mightily impressive. It can wend its way around very tight obstacles with aplomb.
• Heater is really good; for a coldbody such as MrsDC this is a definite boon

Less good bits:

• Fuel consumption, while not significantly worse than either of the Lagunas day-to-day, does result in the fuel gauge falling sharply if piloted in a spirited manner (i.e. if MrsDC borrows it). Tracking with Fuelly suggests sub-30mpg.
• Seals around the frameless windows howl with wind noise at anything much above walking pace. Conversation on a motorway is an impossibility.
• Original Subaru stereo fitted is pants. No stalk controls; tiny fiddly buttons, no aux in, CD player often won't eject, speakers are woefully small and anaemic. I have the nearly new Pioneer mechless head unit from TAZ to fit, but it appears I'll need to dismantle the dashboard to get the bolted-in unit out first.

• Headlights have the bleary dull appearance of an elderly bassett hound with cataracts. I had a go at it with toothpaste, and then Doctor Power ultra-fine stain-removal powder, and seem to have only made matters worse.
• Several instrument bulbs have blown; replacement also seems fairly involved but will need doing sooner rather than later. Waiting for a day I can do these and the stereo at the same time.
• The 30 second immobiliser lock-out is a pain in the balls. It seems that the absolute fastest I can unlock it, get my bag in the back, climb in, remove the anti-theft steering wheel lock and stow it in the back, and then get the key into the ignition, is 31 seconds. And then I set the alarm off when I turn the key.
• The alarm does like to go off for no reason anyway when I leave it. Quite a lot.
• Ultra-dark window tint makes manoeuvring a bit of a pain, especially around dusk. The full-length sunroof has to have the cover kept shut at all times due to the anti-dazzle mirror prioritising a view of the sky in the mirror plane angled up, rather than the darker reflection to the rear.
• Alloys are quite stained and manky with bubbling under the paint, and won't clean even with super-whizzo alloy cleaner; ideally they need a full shot-blast refurb.

• Only one very shabby key, replacements for which are seemingly unobtanium. Seriously, despite being the original manufacturer item, it doesn't even look the same as the one in the owner manual. I found a specialist to make me up and code a solid key using a Hyundai pattern, which does at least open the doors and allow me to start it - but then the alarm goes off and can't be quelled without using the original plipper.
• Loads of dents and scrapes all over the bumpers and bodywork, plus tears and marks to seats/door cards/ headlining; this is the least of my concerns, but I do feel the car deserves a wee bit of attention here too.

Broken bits, needing actual attention:

• Rattle from the front end over uneven surfaces (drop links)
• Occasional 'thunk' when steering out of driveway (suspected ball joint play)
• Rear tyres won't hold air - I'm having to pump the (recent looking) Hankooks up weekly as the rear n/s drops from 30psi to 13psi in a matter of days, then stays constant - unsure if slow puncture, valve core, bad rim seatling or (gulp) porous alloys. The fact it's both rear tyres puzzles me.
• Air con runs hot (possible re-gas needed; maybe more serious if holed piping/compressor woes)
• Bootlid frequently won't open, requiring many many central lockings and unlockings before it finally agrees to pop. Usually it does this in the rain when I've two armfuls of shopping. May just need a squirt of WD40 - or could be a relay failing.
• Some scab around the rear inner wheelarches and rear door shuts. At the very least I need to sand these back, apply rust converter and paint, then Waxoyl the bejaysus out of them to avoid further winter deterioration.

• The back box is completely rusted out around the rear of the silencer, which accounts for at least 25% of the rorty sporty sound.
• Battery is 100% when starting, but looks like something that's been found in a canal.
• Heated seats don't appear to heat; not a massive problem exactly, but it'd be nice when it's January (really loved this feature on the 240)
• I'd feel happier once I've given it a full service, and I need to take a full day to check over all the bits, including gearbox and differential fluids. While it's given me no reason for concern, neither had TAZ up to the point it imploded.

So yeah... overall, I'd say I'm a happy bunny with my Forester. There's a few niggles, but I've driven much worse and with much more pronounced foibles. I find it slightly hard to believe it's a fifteen year old car, but then I can't believe the Ford Focus is twenty years old now so... go figure.

But it does what's asked of it pleasantly and uncomplainingly, has given a few steeky lads in lowered Corsas a bit of a fright on the motorway, and has a bit of presence, which we both like... so I'd say I won't be looking to replace it just yet.

Well, we'll see what next week's MOT has to say, any road... it doesn't expire until the first week of October, so I'll have a wee while to remedy whatever needs righting.

Tomorrow I'm taking it over to an exhaust place to get a new back box fitted, as that's a definite problem, and then I might hit up ECP for service bits and bobs.

Progress to be reported as it happens, kids...

[Guest Hooli]

I had a Legacy with pillarless doors, they were nice & quiet. I'd suspect if you took the door cars off there would be adjustment on the window rails to make them seal properly.

[Datsuncog]

I had a Legacy with pillarless doors, they were nice & quiet. I'd suspect if you took the door cars off there would be adjustment on the window rails to make them seal properly.

 

It seems to be worst along the leading edge of the front doors - a previous owner has glued in various bits of rubber strip, seemingly in an attempt to improve the airtightness, and if you press hard into the corner then the wind noise vanishes... will have a look on some of the Subaru forums, thanks!

 

Worse comes to worst, it seems to be about £60 each side for new moulded weatherseals. It's not the end of the world, but the green Laguna had big lumps knocked out of the door seals and it was also irritatingly noisy to drive. I don't mind a cheapo rollerskate like my Mk2 Polo sounding noisy at speed, but I'd quite like the Forester to appear more civilised if I'm bombing up and down to Dublin, because as things stand I'd be reluctant to cover serious distances in it... it's not like the stereo can even drown it out!

[Guest Hooli]

Could be the hinges too of course, but if the door is sitting right in it's aperture I'd suspect the window guides at first.

[Datsuncog]

So, as promised, I took the Sub over to the exhaust place yesterday morning to get the OMG RALLY YO noises sorted.

Early indications suggested that I was not being over-hasty in seeking replacement...

I was astonished to find a very decent fella I'd worked with in Halfords twenty years ago now doing his stuff there with the old sparkly stick; had a bit of a catch-up, and he said he'd do his best to get me a good price on a stainless back box.

Buses were then utterly shite at getting me into work on time. Hey ho.

They were even worse on the way back; I'd left the office at 4 to give myself a comfortable hour to jump on any of the No.2 services out along the Shore Road; they're meant to run every 3-4 minutes at peak.

Forty minutes of standing later, still no frigging bus. At all. The BusTrak 'real-time information' sign kept counting down to 'due', then vanishing.

Bastards, bastards, bastards all.

I ended up phoning the exhaust place (which closes at 5) at 4.45 to plead with them not to leave me stuck in Newtownabbey with my car locked behind a gate, and in fairness they were ok with that. A 2D service did then miraculously appear, though naturally by the time I hopped off, we were now leading a cosy little trio of Service 2 buses, presumably huddled together for warmth and safety. Hell, I know North Belfast can be a touch rough, but that's surely unnecessary.

A few moments later, some mild distraction was provided by the appearance of this beauty, which left me slack-jawed in wonder and delight as it puttered past...

And thankfully, Scott was still kicking around when I came puffing through the gates at 5.15... cash was exchanged, keys returned, and off...

So L'il Thunder is no longer quite so thundery, but does appear to have sprouted a new cannon at the back.

I'm just hoping Monday's MOT doesn't indicate that I've been wasting my time and money.

But anyway. Thence onward, to Ballyclare Auctions...

[artdjones]

Look up window tint removal on YouTube when you can't stand it any longer.Removing it makes a car so much less claustrophobic in my experience.

[Datsuncog]

Just to update: L'il Thunder is due to present at Larne MOT centre at 7.40pm tonight.

Despite getting the new exhaust fitted on Wednesday and receiving its first ever thorough deep-clean yesterday, the thankless bastard has today developed a pronounced rattle somewhere underneath around the centre section which becomes noticeable above 40mph (which I'm going to guess is either a loose heat shield, a duff exhaust hanger or some adjustment needed) as well as a weird 'wob wob wob' noise and judder when braking to a halt at a low speed.

Both seemed to get worse during a blat up the M2 to Ballymena today for a work meeting.

I phoned the exhaust place but they can't look it over until tomorrow.

Fuck knows what the brake noise is (assuming it is a brake noise, and not a driveshaft or something about to commit suicide). Equally, yesterday's scrubbing session revealed rather more crispy bits underneath than a pork scratchings taste test...

Cars, eh?

Or at least, my cars, eh?

 

Place your bets, kids. I have to say, I'm not especially hopeful.

[Datsuncog]

Ah, this is a piss-take.

At the MOT centre.

Subaru now idling lumpy and spent the journey up making a whistling, birdlike chirping noise whenever I shifted gear.

Tester possibly one of the dourest and most taciturn people I've encountered in many a long while... I don't think I'm gonna charm myself out of this one.

[mrbenn]

Hell's teeth.

 

Has it put a headlight out yet, in a nod to it's French cousin?

[Guest Hooli]

Ah, this is a piss-take.

 

At the MOT centre.

 

Subaru now idling lumpy and making a whistling, birdlike chirping noise whenever I shift gear.

 

Tester possibly one of the dourest and most taciturn people I've encountered in many a long while... I don't think I'm gonna charm myself out of this one.

Boost hose fallen off?

[Datsuncog]

PHAIL.

Brake pipes.

Banjax.



Still, could have been worse.

Handbrake efficiency tests at 24%, which seems to me more like a gentle suggestion to remain stationary rather than a mechanical means to ensure that happens. Front brake imbalance is 30%, which again is not exactly brilliant.

Dour Derek, the tester, actually scolded me about the condition of the brake pipes.

"They're clean rotten, them pipes... you'll not be cleaning them up, they could go pop at any minute - surprised they haven't gone already, the absolute state of them..."

Moan, moan, mither.

Right, well if they're that unbelievably lethal then why haven't you give me a D-for-dangerous fail and told me I can't drive it off the premises, rather than putting it down as a Major Defect, the same as the Yaris? I've seen this happen at the very same centre before, for braking problems deemed too risky for the road.

Okay, so brake work is needed, then. Also investigation about this whistling noise... it definitely wasn't doing it earlier, so something's gone awry in the past hour... boost pipe sounds quite possible! I shall investigate!

Lightbulbs were, amazingly, well-behaved. The Yaris likes to crunch at least one bulb every year in celebration of its MOT-day, so it's not just a French thing!

 

EDIT: Just remembered that the Yaris is French-built, so quite probably it is a French thing.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I've been scolded like that in the past. For pipes that were hard to see without crawling right underneath, on a car I had only bought two weeks prior.

 

He perhaps has an unjustified stereotype in his head for subaru pilots?

 

Sent from my F3211 using Tapatalk

[mrbenn]

More brake pipes! Bugger.

 

Still, first MOT on a "new" car could always go either way so that's a bit of a result, generally.

[Datsuncog]

On 9/17/2018 at 8:15 PM, They_all_do_that_sir said:

I've been scolded like that in the past. For pipes that were hard to see without crawling right underneath, on a car I had only bought two weeks prior.

He perhaps has an unjustified stereotype in his head for subaru pilots?

Yeah, he had a bit of an attitude from the off, which seemed a tad unnecessary... I mean, I don't frequent testing centres purely for the sparkling conversation and witty repartee therein, but even among jaded government employees who spend all day in a draughty shed in Larne, he seemed particularly morose - one-word commands and world-weary sighs, combined with the sort of facial expression you'd expect to find on a Yorkshireman whose dog had just eaten his last ten-bob note before it immediately fell into the mill race and disappeared under the water-wheel...

I think he got annoyed at the 30-second immobiliser lock-out too, which he tutted and blamed me for. Hey ho.

The Subaru stereotype is a not unreasonable theory, though he seemed fairly pally with a lad who'd brought a modded sc3n3 BMW M5 through in the other lane... maybe he took exception to my Autoshite tee-shirt??

 

On 9/17/2018 at 8:19 PM, mrbenn said:

More brake pipes! Bugger.

Still, first MOT on a "new" car could always go either way so that's a bit of a result, generally.

Absolutely - in the five minutes the Forester was up on the ramps, I'd convinced myself of a fail on drop links, ball joints, handbrake, underbody corrosion and shock absorbers, so a length of brake pipe is small beer in comparison!

It certainly needs other work doing to it, but at least I can plan and budget for that. If I can get the brakes sorted this week, I'd call that a win.

[Guest Hooli]

Who needs brakes on a Scooby anyway? they'll corner at any speed!

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

A result! - if this is ever once this is for sale - unless Alcy1 has been nice enough to sell me his estate - I'm still in for dibs on it........ I've walked away from 6 of these now. They just don't get looked after...... 

[The_Equalizer]

Yeah, he had a bit of an attitude from the off, which seemed a tad unnecessary... I mean, I don't frequent testing centres purely for the sparkling conversation and witty repartee therein, but even among jaded government employees who spend all day in a draughty shed in Larne, he seemed particularly morose - one-word commands and world-weary sighs, combined with the sort of facial expression you'd expect to find on a Yorkshireman whose dog had just eaten his last ten-bob note before it immediately fell into the mill race and disappeared under the water-wheel...

 

Getting an MoT here is a quite different to my local MoT station back in Blighty. For the latter there used to be a little bit of understanding once they got to know you althought it has tightened up over the last decade according to my Dad.

 

With NI MoTs, I always try and have a little conversation with the tester. However, the last one a Mallusk sounds very much like your Larne fella. Then again, you've no idea what's gone on. His missus might have just run off with his best mate that morning, so I try not to let these things get to me. Speaking of MoTs I have taken your advice and have the 8:00pm slot on Thursday for my Land Rover. It looks okay after I have spent quite literally 40 hours on it, but who knows. It worse that going to the dentist in my opinion!

[Datsuncog]

On 9/17/2018 at 10:52 PM, Hooli said:

Who needs brakes on a Scooby anyway? they'll corner at any speed!

Well, that's true!

It really is astonishingly grippy, although there's a few steep hills locally culminating at a T-junction where it might be advisable to have tip-top stoppers... (there's still a deep crater in the verge from where an articulated tanker didn't/couldn't stop a few years back, and launched itself skywards).

MrsDC doesn't believe in braking, anyway. The fact the Yaris is only on its third pair of pads and still on its original shoes after 100,000 miles bears that assertion out...

 

On 9/18/2018 at 1:23 AM, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

When you take it back, set the stereo to maximum and ensure Agadoo is set to play when ignition is turned on.  Also put a woopie cushion under the seat cover.

Ohhh, don't tempt me! I might go full clown-car and fill the exhaust with confetti... go on, smile, you miserable git!

 

On 9/18/2018 at 9:29 AM, Exiled_Tat_Gatherer said:

A result! - if this is ever once this is for sale - unless Alcy1 has been nice enough to sell me his estate - I'm still in for dibs on it........ I've walked away from 6 of these now. They just don't get looked after...... 

Hey, I'm always delighted to have a future buyer lined up for first refusal! Noted!

We bought the Forester with the intention of keeping it as a longer-term car rather than a life-limited banger like most of my heaps (hence fitting the stainless pipe for a change, rather than cheapo mild steel as per usual) - but then again this is Autoshite, and heads they do get turned...

This one really stood out to me because, although it hasn't been looked after terribly well, I could see it was all-original and not yet completely fooked (as every other local example appeared to be). Unlike the Renners. I think this one is reasonably likely to be worth repairing as and when, and should respond well to the sort of basic cosmetic improvement that even a handless goon like moi can attempt.

Blokey who I bought it off appeared surprised that there'd been such a clamour for it, within hours of posting up his ad on Gumtree - with folk in Wales phoning to say they'd jump on a plane that evening to come and get it. I think I was just fortunate that I saw it when I did, and it was within walking distance from me.

I know very little about them to be honest, but I'm told the manual gearbox is quite rare - and the dealer stamped service book up until a few years ago indicates that any neglect seems to be recent.

I really do like it... but I do like a lot of cars.

 

On 9/18/2018 at 9:30 AM, The_Equalizer said:

Getting an MoT here is a quite different to my local MoT station back in Blighty. For the latter there used to be a little bit of understanding once they got to know you althought it has tightened up over the last decade according to my Dad.

With NI MoTs, I always try and have a little conversation with the tester. However, the last one a Mallusk sounds very much like your Larne fella. Then again, you've no idea what's gone on. His missus might have just run off with his best mate that morning, so I try not to let these things get to me. Speaking of MoTs I have taken your advice and have the 8:00pm slot on Thursday for my Land Rover. It looks okay after I have spent quite literally 40 hours on it, but who knows. It worse that going to the dentist in my opinion!

Yes, I generally try for a bit of light-hearted patter (asking them when they finish, so they can moan freely about their twelve-hour shift is my usual tack) but this dude was having none of it and just blanked my grinning attempts from the off.

You could have cut the atmosphere in the cabin with an icepick while we were going through the suspension joggle/rolling road brake test sections. T'was odd, given that I'd arrived twenty minutes early (and had been called in after parking up out of the way) - I could understand his demeanour if I'd shown up late, mebbe.

After he'd done all the hoking and poking on the ramps and was entering the details into the computer at the end, the fella who'd brought in the E34 for testing (possibly a fellow tester off-duty) ambled over to him and they seemed to be having a nice old chat for five minutes while I stewed on one of the battered café chairs behind the scaffold pole barrier. Maybe he just didn't like the cut of my jib.

This was the fourth time I've been at an MOT centre in the past six weeks, so yeah - worse than the dentist in many regards! Fingers crossed for you on Thursday, do let us know how you get on.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

It's good when decent MOT testers give a bit of latitude for owners who plainly do give a toss - although sadly not an option with Northern Ireland MOTs, which are all carried out in government testing centres!....

 

….which I why I took the CX to the tester who did my oul 635 because he remembered my obsession with weird cars. I wouldn't take it to the tester who does the diesel Borat.

[Datsuncog]

I'd love to have access to a tame tester of choice, as per GB shiters. Unfortunately the ones I encountered while living in England were either utterly disinterested (some MOT specialist on the London Road in Brighton, seemingly operating out of a cellar) or actively hostile (the Busy Bee garage in Ringmer, who were a shower of useless bastards and seemed to hate me and my cars but were the only accessible garage near to where I was working at the time).

Australian rego checks (to be secured by the owner prior to selling a vehicle) weren't much better, with the garage selected at random turning out to be a bunch of spivs who tried to sting me for $1000 of fictional work on a 21 year old Toyota...

Guess I should be thankful-ish...

[MorrisItalSLX]

Australian rego checks (to be secured by the owner prior to selling a vehicle) weren't much better, with the garage selected at random turning out to be a bunch of spivs who tried to sting me for $1000 of fictional work on a 21 year old Toyota...

 

Guess I should be thankful-ish...

That’s why I get my rego checks done by the local farm machinery mechanic, who does car regos on the side and never seems to find any problems!

[Datsuncog]

Nipped over to the exhaust place last night to see about the banging/clanging coming from the underside above 40mph.

The helpful fabricator threw it up on the ramps, and it quickly became apparent that a mount at the rear of one of the heat shields had pulled through at one point, presumably while the back box was being fitted, and was now chafing against the original bolt.

An oversize washer soon saw it sorted, which was a mild relief.

Since the garage was slack and no-one else was about, the fella left in charge was happy to let me poke about underneath for the first time while it was hoicked up on the lift.

Initial thoughts ranged from Goodness, there's a lot of bits isn't there? to Actually, it's not that bad...  And it's really not.

General corrosion appears minimal, with only a small amount of scab to the very edge of the sill seams where the underseal has been knocked, possibly by jacking. This can be dealt with fairly simply. There were a few bits of hay jammed into the suspension mounts, which was even easier to tug out.

The rest of the exhaust seems fairly good - and all remaining sections are pressed with SUBARU complete with logo - so either are impressively long-lived original factory items, or someone's shelled out at the main dealer for replacements at some stage.

The only items of concern are the front lower wishbones, which seem more scabby than the rest of the underside. I'm wondering whether the 'klonk' noise that occurs as I pull out of the driveway might be related to wear here.

I also took the opportunity to examine the OMG DETHTRAP brakepipes that had so upset Dour Derek the previous evening... and I'm still unclear what the problem is.

Rear pipes seem to involve several sections, but I couldn't see any which had corrosion even approaching the levels of terror stated to me. There's what looks like a load regulator thingummy just in front of the o/s rear wheel which had a bit of green powder around it, but it came off at my touch and looked clean. A bit of mud here and there, rubbed away to reveal shiny black pipes underneath. I couldn't even see anywhere that someone might have recently rubbed at them, to check for corrosion.

I ARE CONFUSE.