The new news 24 thread

[beko1987]

Needed a small modern to blat about in to give the 605 a rest (and sort out the fucking exhaust rattle) and ended up winning a C5 Estate. Of course...

Well we know where a spare one of those is!

[busmansholiday]

I liked the interview with the AA patrol man.

 

His ingenious method for warning approaching traffic of a breakdown ahead?

 

Throw lit petrol soaked rags out of the window to burn in the carriageway!

 

No rags left? No problem, just pour petrol on the ground and light that.

 

The interviewed policeman wasn't impressed at that suggestion.

I can remember Leicester Forest East in the late 60's, early 70's. It really was exciting to call there. Think the posh restaurant above the carriageway was called something like the Captain's Table. Loved the idea making a U-turn across the central res if you missed your turn.

[Semi-C]

After spending several evenings removing a broken engine from my friend's GSXR 750 WW and replacing it with a fresh one, his uncle (whose premises we patronised in the engine swapping) asked if I would like to weld the sill of his Vauxsuzu Frontrooper up.

Of course I would.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not the grimmest of things I've ever welded, or the neatest but his brief was repair with no parameters or tolerances specified.

[320touring]

Good job on the stick of sparkle!

[Semi-C]

Thank ee kindly, if the pictures tell a thousand words, most of those were deceitful.

It was far preferable to welding the 45ft curtainside trailer chassis that had snapped 2/3 of the way through t'other day in that it wasn't galvanised. Or twisted out of alignment.

[chodweaver]

That looks mighty tidy! Is it four sail?

 

(Hides screen from wife)

[Semi-C]

That looks mighty tidy! Is it four sail?

(Hides screen from wife)

Alas, it is not for sale, but I'll pass your enquiry on to the owner. Sorry about that.

[chodweaver]

Ah, sorry. While I have a character flaw in liking these old buckets, I am in no way in a position to buy one. I wuz being facetious.

 

Sorry for being misleading.

[Semi-C]

Faeces-tious you say, how appropriate.

 

(Just joshing, I didn't think it was that bad actually)

[dean36014]

Currently broke down in the xm with a massive lhm leak. Time to test out how good Autoaid really are. On the bright side at least I made it in Tesco so I've snorted down a few donuts and having a coffee.

[chodweaver]

Currently broke down in the xm with a massive lhm leak. Time to test out how good Autoaid really are. On the bright side at least I made it in Tesco so I've snorted down a few donuts and having a coffee.

Liked for donuts and an imminent review of Autoaid services, not so much the ftp of an XM or the concomitant inconvenience and cost.

 

Pics or it didn't happen, though.

[bramz7]

Wondered why all the new window wash in the 605 wasn't going on the screen, it's all going from on the ground as there is a leak. How do I even get to the bottle?!

Also it's still slow starting. It's so bad I think the 11 with half choke would start quicker.

[Lacquer Peel]

Did you replace the battery?

[bramz7]

Yes.

[dean36014]

Right quick Autoaid review. Arrived in one hour and twenty minutes in a proper recovery vehicle as advised to them on the phone, because Citroen and hydraulics. First class service and can't complain for forty odd quid a year.

[Lacquer Peel]

Liked for the service, not the green leak. Where is it leaking from.

 

Brammy is it always difficult to start or is it just from cold?

[chodweaver]

Liked for the service, not the green leak. Where is it leaking from?

 

Ditto. From the puddle it looks in line with the reservoir but it could be pipework under the floorpan I guess.

[dean36014]

Leak is from nearside rear by suspension arm. I'm hoping it's not the ram. It can go in the queue of cars to be fixed.

[bramz7]

Liked for the service, not the green leak. Where is it leaking from.

 

Brammy is it always difficult to start or is it just from cold?

Okay I think it's worst cold, so it must be glow plugs. I'm sure they are a nightmare to do on an XUD11.

[bramz7]

Anyway, in more car purchase related news, the 405s departure to Holbeck a few weeks back made my commuting policy spare again, and with helping my brother move and the need to make several tip runs coming up, i was on the look out for something modernish that I could abuse for a short while.

 

So I found a C5 estate, not that far away (turns out the journey will include a taxi, no lifts offered from seller) and as a bonus it has working AC! Obviously now the weather has turned...

It's also merely a HDI 90 so I suspect it will be slow as hell. But cavernous. 

 

I will only have it until October I suspect, so if anyone wants a cheap (it won't be much) estate come then, you may be in luck. Unless of course, in some bizarre twist, I take to it more than the 605. 

[17-Coffees]

As some of you know, I had a Suzuki Cappuccino, which I’d left abandoned at my parents with the intention of doing it up then selling it on as I’d had enough of finding a lead, dealing with rust, etc.

 

Well 2 weeks ago a note was left on the windscreen asking if it was for sale, and a number to call. It had been raining so couldn’t make out the number. Then start of last week a guy knocked on the door and asked, saying he’d left a note. Turns out it was one of the guys doing work on a house up the road. My mum let them have a look and then arranged a meet. Then told me...

 

So at the end of last week I set about making sure it worked, having not moved or started it in two years! First was the battery which hadn’t had charge in two years. Took to work to charge and amazingly it took, and held charge! Next was seeing it it started, put new fuel in and turned the key annnd...first then if the key! Tidy.

But why do I smell fuel? Oh cock, a fuel pipe had rusted that bad in 2 years. Bugger. Next was the tyres, which were bad enough when it was last on the road, completely flat and cracked. Pumped up no problems. Next challenge, will it move? The brakes being rusted and seized to fuck. Jacked the OSR up and gave the calliper a few chaps of the hammer, freed. Went to do the other side and the wheel was free. Likewise the 2 fronts. Nice.

 

Tuesday came, the guys came and had a look, said how they plan to fix it up and had already priced parts. Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t too far gone. Was honest about everything. A deal was done, they collected it today. Typically it was pissing it down. Shame. On the plus side, I got more than I expected for it.

 

Alas poor Cappo, ‘‘twas fun knowing ye.

[Tickman]

Glad you got more than expected.

[r.welfare]

Day off today primarily for car shizz.

 

 

First off my wife's car which has been assuming this position since last Saturday.  Why?  Because the battery light was coming on at high revs, along with the handbrake light flickering on and off.  Googling plus multimetrage on the battery (which is only a couple of years old) led me to suspect the alternator.  More Googling on the part number found a genuine Nissan exchange job on eBay for £60 delivered.  Lovely!  Another £7 spent at Amazon for an SKF serpentine belt, and I was ready to go.

 

 

Getting the old one out took about half an hour, getting the new one on took about three times as long, as it was a pain to line the mounting bolts up with their holes, then I couldn't remember how the idler pulley bolt (used to set the tension worked); I got the washer on the wrong side, so once I fired it up I could smell hot plastic...looking at the workshop manual (which I should have done in the first place) got everything worked out, although stopping the idler pulley going squint when tensioning took a while.  Multimeter now says 14.6 volts with the engine running and all accessories on (as opposed to about 12.4 before).  Will take it for a run tomorrow to see if all the warning lights stay off.

 

 

Done a few miles in 8 years has this.  My Geordie postman approves.

 

 

My wife has been driving my car all week so I have been borrowing this again from my brother.  He hardly uses it.  My job - in lieu of hire payment - was to fit new door check straps.  Procedure is battery disconnected, door panels off (all the clips broke, typical E46), unbolt the old ones (completely stuffed), feed them out through the inside of the door (removing lots of skin), feed the new ones back in (even harder as they weren't broken, so less flexible around obstacles) and put it all back together again. 

 

 

Wonderful.  Never doing that job again.  Only one armrest bolt that wouldn't bite, and now the electric mirrors don't work.  Mainly because the plug broke when I pulled the door card off.  I'll get the soldering iron out when I get trim clips.

 

Lovely creamy 2.5 straight-six, surprisingly economical and handsome, unmolested looks (I like the gingercators, it would be even nicer if it had been painted a proper colour), but it's being slowly consumed by tinworm and it clonks underneath when you change from 1st to 2nd.  My money's on the propshaft flex disc/guibo/giubo thing, cheap to buy but painful to fit because you need to drop the exhaust.  Another day.

 

All this took me about six hours.  Good job I don't do this for a living, innit?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

CX's MoT booked for next Friday. This is the same tester who did my oul 635 for donkeys' years up to 2013. He hasn't seen me since then.....

[chodweaver]

^^^^^^ Crossing digits here for another year's ticket on the CX...

[mrbenn]

Wonderful.  Never doing that job again.  Only one armrest bolt that wouldn't bite, and now the electric mirrors don't work.  Mainly because the plug broke when I pulled the door card off.  I'll get the soldering iron out when I get trim clips.

 

Just done similar on my brother's E46 and had same problem with the arm rest. One of the spire clips had slipped off an fallen inside the door, should be able to retrieve and push it back into place.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

^^^^^^ Crossing digits here for another year's ticket on the CX...

There are three possible things that could happen:

 

1. Failure to start on the key, because Citroën.

2. Air horn fails to work, despite my clean up and repair*

3. Greasy gearbox casing put down to fluid leak (there isn't one, far as I know)

 

Any or all of these could produce fail.

 

Just hoping the tester recognises it for what it is - a very old car - just as he used to with the 635 and doesn't get pedantic.

[Tamworthbay]

Day off today primarily for car shizz.

 

IMG_2616.JPG

 

First off my wife's car which has been assuming this position since last Saturday.  Why?  Because the battery light was coming on at high revs, along with the handbrake light flickering on and off.  Googling plus multimetrage on the battery (which is only a couple of years old) led me to suspect the alternator.  More Googling on the part number found a genuine Nissan exchange job on eBay for £60 delivered.  Lovely!  Another £7 spent at Amazon for an SKF serpentine belt, and I was ready to go.

 

IMG_2615.JPG

 

Getting the old one out took about half an hour, getting the new one on took about three times as long, as it was a pain to line the mounting bolts up with their holes, then I couldn't remember how the idler pulley bolt (used to set the tension worked); I got the washer on the wrong side, so once I fired it up I could smell hot plastic...looking at the workshop manual (which I should have done in the first place) got everything worked out, although stopping the idler pulley going squint when tensioning took a while.  Multimeter now says 14.6 volts with the engine running and all accessories on (as opposed to about 12.4 before).  Will take it for a run tomorrow to see if all the warning lights stay off.

 

IMG_2617.JPG

 

Done a few miles in 8 years has this.  My Geordie postman approves.

 

IMG_2618.JPG

 

My wife has been driving my car all week so I have been borrowing this again from my brother.  He hardly uses it.  My job - in lieu of hire payment - was to fit new door check straps.  Procedure is battery disconnected, door panels off (all the clips broke, typical E46), unbolt the old ones (completely stuffed), feed them out through the inside of the door (removing lots of skin), feed the new ones back in (even harder as they weren't broken, so less flexible around obstacles) and put it all back together again. 

 

IMG_2619.JPG

 

Wonderful.  Never doing that job again.  Only one armrest bolt that wouldn't bite, and now the electric mirrors don't work.  Mainly because the plug broke when I pulled the door card off.  I'll get the soldering iron out when I get trim clips.

 

Lovely creamy 2.5 straight-six, surprisingly economical and handsome, unmolested looks (I like the gingercators, it would be even nicer if it had been painted a proper colour), but it's being slowly consumed by tinworm and it clonks underneath when you change from 1st to 2nd.  My money's on the propshaft flex disc/guibo/giubo thing, cheap to buy but painful to fit because you need to drop the exhaust.  Another day.

 

All this took me about six hours.  Good job I don't do this for a living, innit?

it’s a shit job on the E46 for sure, there are also two types, one looks better made but fucks up the electric window channel if fitted to the wrong door as I found out.

[r.welfare]

This is an early coupe so I struggled a bit to find the right strap, thankfully they were identical to those that came out. I forgot to mention I put the first one in the wrong way round so I couldn't reconnect the bolt to the door jamb...great days. I believe it's a slightly easier job on the saloon or Touring as there is slightly better access.

[stuboy]

Had to crowbar my wallet open as i knew front tyres where getting low on the daddywagon, ats wanted £167 the pair, rang protyre(tyreweb) and they quoted £130 so being a tightass i went there and got a pair of autoquips.