The new news 24 thread

[dollywobbler]

Driving about in this object today. Annoying fiddly foot-activated parking brake like my old XM, and eerily quiet. Also doing that modern car thing of feeling quite cramped and claustrophobic inside while actually being a massive brute of a thing, due to having needless haunches.

 

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I like the idea of EVs, but I wouldn't like to drive this as a daily. Impressive motorway acceleration, mind.

 

It's a far better parking brake than an XM, because it's press on/press off. Also, my XM was a manual and four pedals is definitely at least one too many. Makes more sense than the ELECTRIC parking brake on the earliest LEAFs. What a stupid idea, wasting valuable electrickery on braking stupidity.

[clayts450]

It's the girlfriend's birthday today and 'cos I'm such an ace boyfriend I will be setting off shortly on a 15hour public transport journey to pick up a car most people would burn and drive it 560 miles back.

She's so lucky.

 

Have you tracked down the new owners of the Galaxy from Saturday and offered them a tenner to take it off their hands ?

[Tickman]

It's the girlfriend's birthday today and 'cos I'm such an ace boyfriend I will be setting off shortly on a 15hour public transport journey to pick up a car most people would burn and drive it 560 miles back.

She's so lucky.

 

I'm assuming with the distance you shall be passing by here (Dundee) if you need anything just shout.

[The Moog]

It's the girlfriend's birthday today and 'cos I'm such an ace boyfriend I will be setting off shortly on a 15hour public transport journey to pick up a car most people would burn and drive it 560 miles back.

She's so lucky.

You doing collection Fred? They are always amusing.

 

Oh and happy birthday lady bucketeer.

[Bucketeer]

I'll do some live updating in my 'cars' thread probably.

I'm all packed and good to go. I have brandy, tobacco, my phone and an adjustable spanner.

It's a car I don't need or even particularly want so I think now is the time I pull a chair into the circle and say 'my name is Alex and I have a problem'.

[Guest Hooli]

.... old belt have any numbers legible on it?

 

TS

 

Numbers on the belt are normally the length in MM, so you can use a bit of string & guesstimate what'll fit.

[tommotech]

Further to my "I bought a 207 cc with a stuck roof" post, does anyone have a lexia I can borrow?

Lexia (and Proxia) are Citroen diag tools. You need Peugeot Planet, PM incoming.

[Shep Shepherd]

Got £10 off some 5W30 fully synthetic engine oil and an oil filter for The Aero from Halfords in West Thurrock this evening by the simple expedient of being an AA member ^^

[Parky]

Halfords stuff or something branded? What did they end up charging you?

[Shep Shepherd]

Halfords stuff or something branded? What did they end up charging you?

 

Halfords stuff (which I used and trusted since the mid-1990s), but I was charged £25 for both the oil and filter instead of £35 

[Parky]

I have a bottle of the same in the garage for the dailies next service. Been using it for four or five years, good stuff as you say

[Guest Hooli]

I use halfords oil in the GSX14, seems good stuff as it's touching 114k now which a lot of people think is high for a bike & it still doesn't burn a drop.

[Datsuncog]

It's a far better parking brake than an XM, because it's press on/press off. Also, my XM was a manual and four pedals is definitely at least one too many.

Mmm... not sure I'd entirely agree. My XM was also a manual and therefore great fun* on hill starts, but this Leaf has the nasty habit of not fully disengaging - when I release the pedal the parking brake light goes out okay, but then as I move off a warning light blinks on advising 'parking brake engaged'... requiring lots of footsie under the dash for another dab at the tricky-to-locate pedal to release it entirely, while simultaneously trying to maintain forward momentum in city traffic. Dunno if it's a dodgy sensor or the brakes needing adjusted or something, but something's not right. It's three years old come March so I'm guessing it's going back to Nissan then. Whatever the reason behind the parking brake - do not like. Nothing wrong with a boring old handbrake lever...

[SiC]

I've pretty much figured out when and how to regenerate the DPF around city roads on the A4 now. The signs it needs to regenerate/is regenerating can be found if the stop/start system won't stop the engine when up to temperature. Once it's doing this, you know it's trying to regen.

 

To help it along its way, when you are moving again, keeping the revs between 1800rpm and 2600rpm will start it and allow to work. I can't figure out if the exhaust roaring when it is regening or just the tyres making me think that. However if you keep between those revs, even in a 20mph or 30mph limit it seems to happily do it. Basically means keeping it in 2nd on a 20mph and 3rd on a 30mph - despite what the gear change indicator is advising.

 

Doing that meant it started and finished the program on the 5 mile journey from work to home with an average speed of 12mph. Admittedly being in a 22C garage at work gets it upto temperature quickly to start.

 

This has eased my fears about owning another DPF fitted car and using it to run around the city in. Shit that you have to read the car to be able to use it but then it is what it is.

 

This is important knowledge for most people on here as in 5-10 years when current 10yr old cars become chod/daily drivers, the vast majority are going to be diesel. If you don't believe me, do a search on AutoTrader for cars less than 8 years old that are medium or large cars! Especially large cars are predominantly diesel. With the way things are going, it's likely these type of cars and having diesel lumps will be undesirable and cheap soon too. Medium and larger vans of this age are pretty much 99% diesels too - all with DPFs.

 

Admittedly this is only one data point on a 2010 VAG 2.0TDi lump (with the emissions fix) but the Bosch ECU and programming will be shared across many different models. I think older design diesels (2005-2012 ish) that were the first with DPFs aren't as aggressive to starting to regen.

[ruffgeezer]

Ordered some new front arms for the Audi from gsf, £73 each plus an oil filter giving a total of £152, handily though I had a code "gsf60" which took 60% off (£94).

 

Ta very much.

[PhilA]

 

Bike lights arrived in from Beijing. Bolted on. Look pretty good. Headlight has dip and high beam. Possibly soon to be making some click-clunk in the form of engine driven generator (the one I ordered was a terrible cheap copy of a cheap part and is totally, utterly wrong. It's meant to have two windings, center tapped. Instead they made a single winding and soldered 2 wires to it) which will power the lights if the engine is running and then switch to the wheel generator if it's engaged because it doesn't load the engine at high rpm.

 

Or I might just wire it to a switch

 

Haven't decided yet

 

 

Phil

[captain_70s]

Doloshite booked in for an MOT on Monday.

 

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Handbrake now maxes out on 3 "clicks" and the car can be held on a mild/moderate slope, it might be good enough to pass. I was correct about the timing, it was steadily retarding itself, this is now sorted to the point where the car runs and drives... Oil light now flickers when it gets warm. Fuck it, it's as good as Its gonna' get...

 

Well, the garage never phoned and it's not on the govt site so one can assume it never got done. Perhaps it'll get done today...

[Noel Tidybeard]

 Proper comfy on a long trip too.

 

+1: after i fixed the double lumbar support on my '96 2.0 GLS vecturd i was able to do the birminghamshire to kernow trip without stopping and still walk upright when i got out (i kan haz bad back [scoliosis])

[Kringle]

Boiler man come over today in this lovely 940, also owns a 940 red classic, sat up for 9 months as a spares. Clearly will do a sound job when driving around in such luxury.

 

[Kringle]

Gravity defying too. Maybe I'll double check his work.

[xtriple]

Started the dollop again, it may not do many miles at the moment but it has run out of fuel just sat in the garage! Well, fuel light has come on at any rate

[mercrocker]

A small fleet update.... 

 

Little Morris has gone off on a flatbed this morning to have the braking system rebuilt.  I had put this off too many times and when the weather warms up a bit the last thing I will feel like doing is laying underneath it wishing I was driving it.    Took a while to get the electrics all working again, funny how soon dis-use wreaks havoc.  I normally put 12v through all my car's circuits and have done so with this but it wasn't happy today.   Anyway, I cycled up to the place that is doing it and had a pleasant 45 minutes talking bollocks about old cars with the garage owner.  

 

Big Morris needs a run out but that will have to wait for the weekend.  Might do a little thread-ette on that if it is a nice day.   

 

Van has had an airing in the last week or two, next reliably dry day I will get it out of the barn again, battery on trickle charge in readiness.... 

 

Merc just Mot'd as reported last week, got to plan the de-rusting exercise over a couple of Spring weekends and lend Mrs Rocker the Fiesta so she can give me the keys.  

 

Speaking of which, the Dagenham Dustbin I bought as a sacrificial anode for the winter is still refusing food and drink and the only thing I have topped up has been the screenwash. 

I did think about getting the Vactan out on it last week and dealing with some scabs, hope this doesn't mean its a keeper although an 18 year old car has a lot more appeal than an 8 year old one....

[Guest Hooli]

It doesn't have to be a keeper, it could just be a WBOD purchased early for next winter...

[320touring]

It doesn't have to be a keeper, it could just be a WBOD purchased early for next winter...

#logic!

 

Good thinking

[Guest Hooli]

Well the best time to buy something is when everyone else is selling....

[Shep Shepherd]

The Volvo at Lakeside IKEA this evening:

 

 

[MikeR]

a loving modification made by a secret admirer when I was not looking ...........

 

 

 

[Shep Shepherd]

FFS.

[somewhatfoolish]

Apparently there's a Robin in the chamber of the House of Commons; the BBC were silent on whether it was an estate or a saloon.

[Guest Hooli]

Apparently there's a Robin in the chamber of the House of Commons; the BBC were silent on whether it was an estate or a saloon.

 

I believe democracy is Reliant on it.