The new news 24 thread

[wuvvum]

Another relatively unproductive weekend due to weather and general lack of arsedness.  I did get the replacement rear fog lamp fitted to the Scénic - the "rivet" holding it in turned out to be a large screw with a very small and very corroded Torx socket in the head - it took some persuasion to come out but got it eventually and then it was the work of a couple of minutes to wangle the new unit into the hole and fix it in place.  It's actually a reversing light from a LHD car so it has a clear lens, but I'd already fitted a red bulb to the broken light to pass the MOT so it's all good.  I was going to investigate the glow plugs as they are getting a little tired, but looking under the bonnet, just to get the plastic engine cover off you need to remove an intake pipe which goes over the top of the engine, and it's held in place with those horrible spring clips, so I decided I couldn't be arsed.  It still starts in cold weather, it just takes a bit more cranking than it otherwise might.

Not done much on the Mazda other than slap some Gun Gum on the obvious holes in the down pipe.  The thermostat I ordered for it has arrived, but that's not a job I fancied tackling on a cold, windy and frequently rainy day, so that'll have to wait.  The wheel bearing hasn't turned up yet, it was supposed to have been delivered by now but I suppose we're starting to get into the Christmas rush.  If we get a reasonable weekend over the next few weeks I'll try to get both the bearing and the 'stat done - then the car will be a lot more usable.

I made a start on fitting an air horn to the Daihatsu.  The horn itself is fitted, and the relay is ready to go, but a lack of spade terminals stopped play (I had a big packet of them somewhere, but I've not been able to find where I put it) so that will need to wait - it's just a case of cutting and plugging in half a dozen bits of wire though so should be able to do it in my lunch break one day, weather permitting.  I also need to get some working speakers fitted so I can have my choonz.  I did treat it to a litre of Dexron III as the gearbox fluid level was extremely low - the fluid wasn't the healthiest of colours either so I might have to do a full change at some point.

The Volvo is still suffering from fuel starvation - the new fuel pump and filter haven't cured it, so the next port of call is the in-tank filter.  Of course the setup shown in the HBOL is nothing like what is on the car - Mr Haynes said the filter is integral with the fuel sender, but I took the sender out and it's literally just a float with a wire attached, the fuel flow doesn't go anywhere near it.  I looked under the car and the fuel line comes out of the front of the tank near the bottom - the unions look quite rusty (understandably after nearly 50 years of road muck being chucked at them) so it's unlikely they'll come undone without something snapping, but there is a bolt going through the bottom of the tank below where the fuel line goes into the tank - I'm assuming this may give access to the filter?  Daylight (or lack thereof) stopped play before I had the chance to investigate fully.

[Minimad5]

Have we ever rebuilt a P38 high pressure pump ? 

No me neither, but I've GOT to do it tomorrow, in the pissing rain, before work.

Tune in tomorrow to see how it has gone 😅

[New POD]

7 hours ago, Vince70 said:

I put a jump pack on the 1997  £150 Ford Ka yesterday as it hadn’t been used since it’s last MOT  and my Mrs wants to give it to her son for a birthday present as hopefully he will pass his test in a few weeks.

It went straight through the ticket advisory free yesterday  and the tester couldn’t believe the condition of it and the old girl has only done 19000

Next thing is to service it and it doesn’t miss a beat but I’m not sure I’m brave enough to risk doing the plugs as I hear that they have a habit of snapping and I imagine these will be the originals but the old girl is most definitely a survivor.

 

Wd40 down the plug wells now. 

[SiC]

On 12/4/2021 at 2:46 PM, Kiltox said:

What do Tayna say it needs? Never had them get it wrong yet, but there's a first time for everything.

They're wrong for our A4. Wrong size, wrong capacity and wrong battery type as they don't think it's stop/start. 

[Kiltox]

4 minutes ago, SiC said:

They're wrong for our A4. Wrong size, wrong capacity and wrong battery type as they don't think it's stop/start. 

Looks like I’ve just been lucky. Fair enough. 

Halfords can be a good source of battery info too but they sometimes give theirs weird names. 

[SiC]

On 12/4/2021 at 4:31 PM, Ghosty said:

However the car was insured by Direct Line, and apparently their small print states that any car insured with them over 25 years old will not be repaired, the only option is that it's taken away and written off. 

Keep an eye on Copart, I guess. 

Have they asked to buy back after they write it off? Admittedly a decade newer, but DL were more than happy to sell my written off Civic back to me. 

In some ways I can see why they wouldn't repair any car over 25yrs old. They are a mainstream insurer and don't specialise in classics. Parts are going to be very hard to get for something over that age. Unless a traditional classic but they really need a body shop who knows how to deal with such vehicles. 

DirectLine Group own their own repair centres. So instead of farming it out, they deal with the repairs themselves. 

Have to say when my Civic was written off, they were excellent to deal with and had no hassle. 

[Leyland Worldmaster]

On 12/5/2021 at 7:58 AM, LabRat said:

We're still fighting with Ageas over Mrs LabRats shunt in the Tivoli a few weeks back. The repairs garage that they use initially refused to take any cars from Oldham, then relented and said that they would send us a link to email them photos of the damage, to enable them to order parts. (Apparently we're looking at 12-18 weeks parts shipping from Korea, so they won't take the car away until they have them)

They've now stopped answering the phone and Ageas are about as much use as a chocolate teapot. Only the claims handler that Mrs LabRat spoke to can deal with the claim and she's "not available" and hasn't been for the last week.

In the meanwhile, the Tivoli can't be driven as the headlight falls out, front wing has exposed edges is now out of MOT and has thrown an ABS light as well just for the hell of it. It's also got a flat battery, because can't get near it to jump it thanks to arsehole neighbors.

It's tempting to sack them off, flog the fucking thing to WBAC and use the cash to pay off the last of the finance on it (she still owes £1500 on it)

Sorry to hear this. I found this lot very useful when getting fucked about:

https://www.motorclaimguru.co.uk/

I got my car back and repaired despite the useless cunt insurance company wanting to scrap even though it was non-fault and the TP admitted liability. 

All the relevant information to do it yourself is on their site, or one can pay their fee- £250 in 2019- and they'll handle it for you. 

Good luck getting it sorted. 😎👍

[Spurious]

Watched this video by BigClive, this seems like an handy bit of kit for odd jobs, and if Clive likes it, then it's hardly bad. The last time I needed a soldering iron I'd to plug an extension lead in and drape it across the garden and then it was still a faff. 

 

[MondeoBlues]

5 years to the day since my first car, a Rover 620 SLi, went to live its new life as toasters and carpet underlay.

RIP in piece mighty Shitmobile

[cort16]

Latest car taking up residence in my lockup . It’s a 2.8i too. It’s for sale if anyone fancies it .

 

[Minimad5]

14 hours ago, Minimad5 said:

Have we ever rebuilt a P38 high pressure pump ? 

No me neither, but I've GOT to do it tomorrow, in the pissing rain, before work.

Tune in tomorrow to see how it has gone 😅

Well it hasn't gone too well 😕 

Up at 8am to find more bits/ spares before the Volvo was picked up. Then a mad dash for fuel as the light came on. Quick chat with Ceri, who was here to pick the car up (sorry I didn't stay and chat too much).

Then inside for a quick brew & p*ss. And then outside started pissing it down, then hail, then rain again. So I'll be blagging the old mans car for tonight. Might have to be motorbike tomorrow 🤔 

[grogee]

3 hours ago, Spurious said:

Watched this video by BigClive, this seems like an handy bit of kit for odd jobs, and if Clive likes it, then it's hardly bad. The last time I needed a soldering iron I'd to plug an extension lead in and drape it across the garden and then it was still a faff. 

 

Love big Clive, one of the Scotch* finest.

On soldering irons, I do have a gas one but it's a bit hard to light and you can't exactly rest it on the dash while it's lit.

I did buy a cheap battery one but it's useless, unless I'm using it wrong. 

[grogee]

57 minutes ago, cort16 said:

Latest car taking up residence in my lockup . It’s a 2.8i too. It’s for sale if anyone fancies it .

 

Absolutely delicious. I think my Corgi model was this colour. 

I'd love to buy it but I imagine it's way into five figures, in which case I'm too poor.

[cort16]

4 minutes ago, grogee said:

Absolutely delicious. I think my Corgi model was this colour. 

I'd love to buy it but I imagine it's way into five figures, in which case I'm too poor.

I think he want 6-7 grand for it with a years mot. It’s going to need someone to do some work to in the future to make sure it doesn’t dissolve long term .

[NorthernMonkey]

20 hours ago, Liggle said:

New ABS ring fitted to the Clio and the light has gone out and no more pulsing brake pedal.

The airbag light is peeing me off, I've checked and cleaned all the connectors and tried 2x new modules from breakers to no avail. Was hoping to avoid bypassing the airbags but might need a temp fix for the MOT

What’s coming back if you scan the airbag faults? These are prone for snapping the wires to the side airbag in the seats where the backrest joins the base.

[NorthernMonkey]

On 12/5/2021 at 7:58 AM, LabRat said:

We're still fighting with Ageas over Mrs LabRats shunt in the Tivoli a few weeks back. The repairs garage that they use initially refused to take any cars from Oldham, then relented and said that they would send us a link to email them photos of the damage, to enable them to order parts. (Apparently we're looking at 12-18 weeks parts shipping from Korea, so they won't take the car away until they have them)

They've now stopped answering the phone and Ageas are about as much use as a chocolate teapot. Only the claims handler that Mrs LabRat spoke to can deal with the claim and she's "not available" and hasn't been for the last week.

In the meanwhile, the Tivoli can't be driven as the headlight falls out, front wing has exposed edges is now out of MOT and has thrown an ABS light as well just for the hell of it. It's also got a flat battery, because can't get near it to jump it thanks to arsehole neighbors.

It's tempting to sack them off, flog the fucking thing to WBAC and use the cash to pay off the last of the finance on it (she still owes £1500 on it)

I’m normally loath to recommend accident management companies but in this instance, that’s where I’d be heading next…

[clayts450]

Squeaked over Snake Pass before they shut it at 1pm this afternoon for safety reasons. Gawd bless Michelin Cross Climates. Enabled me to overtake 6 strugglers whose wheels were spinning like crazy up the last big hill before the downhill section to Glossop.

TBF, I really was chancing my arm. Pissing with rain in Sheffield and I reckoned it could turn to snow over the Pass. It did....and then some. 

Other motorists felt the best thing to do was drive slowly at 10mph - up a hill. Fuck that, I wasn't gonna get stuck behind them when they inevitably failed to reach the summit. [clarkson mode]POWER[/clarkson]. Coasted up the hill at 30mph leaving a quickly disappearing trail of slow moving ve-hickles behind me. No skids, no loss of traction, no skid marks in the undercrackers. Win.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/live-updates-heavy-snow-closes-6308962

[Liggle]

34 minutes ago, NorthernMonkey said:

What’s coming back if you scan the airbag faults? These are prone for snapping the wires to the side airbag in the seats where the backrest joins the base.

On the original air bag module:

111 - Airbag Missing Multiplexed Information - Stored

I've tried 2x other modules and the fault remains, although I don't have access to a scanner again until next week so the fault could have changed I guess with new module. 

 

[grogee]

1 hour ago, cort16 said:

I think he want 6-7 grand for it with a years mot. It’s going to need someone to do some work to in the future to make sure it doesn’t dissolve long term .

That seems reasonable. How bad is it, do you know? I'm ok at slowing down the rust, but useless at welding. 

[cort16]

33 minutes ago, grogee said:

That seems reasonable. How bad is it, do you know? I'm ok at slowing down the rust, but useless at welding. 

It's going to needs some fun time with Mr Sparkles at some point soon I would think. It's probably fine to get through and MOT but to keep it nice long term it's going to need a bit of work.

[Spurious]

Went to see this this afternoon and I wish I hadn't wasted my time. 

Firstly, they text me that it's not at the address but at a back street storage unit where there's a load of taxis been repaired. Not a good sign really. 

No service history, well, there is but it was stamped in 2015. That's it. They try and say "well it probably had an oil change at some point" 

Timing belt? No, they don't need changing for 10 years don't they? Surprised when I told him they were a 6yrs and 70,000 miles and should have had one two years ago. 

Also a nast rip in the drivers seat that was left out of the photos as well as stains all over the seats. 

Tried to convince me that they would do the timing belt if I paid the asking price. Probably in the dodgy no-name garage where the Taxis swap tyres between each other for the council MOT? 

Off you fucking hop. 

Link here for those interested. 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109277854673?atmobcid=soc3

[Bear]

Covid is horrible. Still exhausted & coughing but refusing to give up and rest because I'm an idiot.

This weekend's toy was:

It's rather good but also very crude. Excellent platform for cutting hedges though.

[TheOtherStu]

10 minutes ago, RichardK said:

Covid is horrible. Still exhausted & coughing but refusing to give up and rest because I'm an idiot.

We were allowed out on Saturday. The Missus is still coughing badly, so she's not been anywhere.

Whereas I decided to do a large amount of shopping and go to the ice hockey on both Saturday and Sunday night. I work from home and can be very inactive so didn't really consider it.

Still had to go to bed at lunchtime for an hour today. I'm toying with going up shortly with a book, I'm fucked. It wasn't something I associated with Covid.

[jcr]

Turns out my Micra has had an Almera distributor put on it.... only found out after ordering the wrong cap and rotor. Old ones have finally properly died as well....

Very strange, unsure why that happened?

[Fumbler]

24 minutes ago, jcr said:

Turns out my Micra has had an Almera distributor put on it.... only found out after ordering the wrong cap and rotor. Old ones have finally properly died as well....

Very strange, unsure why that happened?

I think the Almera and Micra cylinder heads are identical or at least very similar to each other. It is just essentially a Hall Effect sensor, reluctor ring, ignition module, cap and rotor so there's not much that can be changed.

[adw1977]

2 hours ago, TheOtherStu said:

We were allowed out on Saturday. The Missus is still coughing badly, so she's not been anywhere.

Whereas I decided to do a large amount of shopping and go to the ice hockey on both Saturday and Sunday night. I work from home and can be very inactive so didn't really consider it.

Still had to go to bed at lunchtime for an hour today. I'm toying with going up shortly with a book, I'm fucked. It wasn't something I associated with Covid.

The after effects of Covid can be absolutely knackering.  Trying to power through is likely to lead to long Covid bringing you down for months, it's much better to give yourself the rest you need now, then hopefully you'll be over it in a couple of weeks.

[stuboy]

14 hours ago, RichardK said:

Covid is horrible. Still exhausted & coughing but refusing to give up and rest because I'm an idiot.

i have few collegues whom had covid and still slow to get too 100%

[EightMegs]

Apparently 90 odd horsepower in a floaty thirty year old dad car qualifies as "high performance" to Aviva, and they want £1760 to insure it for the year 🤣

[Cord Fourteener]

This is a bad idea, but I'm thinking out loud, so to speak. 

Any shitters with a You Tube or other social media, do you want to experiment with diesel engine runaway?

My Mondeo is literally trying to run away right now, any heavy or full throttle makes it start. Currently I'm able to bring it back down using the brakes as its only happening when I'm loading it up eg giving it the beans up hills. An overtake would end up in disaster, not least because of the smoke screen it produces in this condition that HMS Belfast would consider adequate to withdraw behind. 

Therefore this could be used to test and therefore educate the wider public if you can prevent runaway from static by using full braking power and high gears and dumping the clutch therefore stalling the engine. 

You'd have to have access to waste land, say an ex-industrial unit, you'd have to give me scrap value for the car and transport it to the location (it won't make a long journey safely under its own steam).

You'd probably have to make sure no-one is going to want to breathe down wind, that there's not many people to complain about the noise and you might want to tell the fire brigade that there's not a fire, it's just a social media stunt. 

You'd probably want to consider the possibility of the radiator exploding in a hot steamy mess of plastic shrapnel and have more than just a hanky and hand gel as a first aid precaution. 

You might want to plant a small forest to re-absord the co2 released...

If the above is deemed possible, the method i would employ would be to drive the car, warm it up, then go for a second gear full throttle run. This will result in a runaway, then you can film the attempt to recover both from moving and also from static simply by going into neutral and coming to a stop, then attempting recovery. 

The car is goosed right now so it won't mind sacrificing itself for the greater good. 

Though, as I said, I'm fully aware this is probably just a silly and very dangerously polluting idea.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

19 hours ago, clayts450 said:

Squeaked over Snake Pass before they shut it at 1pm this afternoon for safety reasons. Gawd bless Michelin Cross Climates. Enabled me to overtake 6 strugglers whose wheels were spinning like crazy up the last big hill before the downhill section to Glossop.

TBF, I really was chancing my arm. Pissing with rain in Sheffield and I reckoned it could turn to snow over the Pass. It did....and then some. 

Other motorists felt the best thing to do was drive slowly at 10mph - up a hill. Fuck that, I wasn't gonna get stuck behind them when they inevitably failed to reach the summit. [clarkson mode]POWER[/clarkson]. Coasted up the hill at 30mph leaving a quickly disappearing trail of slow moving ve-hickles behind me. No skids, no loss of traction, no skid marks in the undercrackers. Win.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/live-updates-heavy-snow-closes-6308962

So bloody glad I've got a set of Crossclimate 2 on Alison! 👍 👍 👍 😎 😎 😎