The new news 24 thread

[Split_Pin]

I have had zero motivation for cars in the last week, I've not been feeling my best if I'm honest.

But the service pack was delivered for the Saab today and in a sudden rush of blood to the head, my interest was piqued.

Work was quiet so between checking emails  I changed the oil. 

First off, it said no to the Pela. Arse, auld claes on then and to underneath.

The sump plug had been done up to approximately  15669 nm and I couldn't get a good swing on the bar as the exhaust and cross brace were in the way.

NO IMPACT GUN, NO PROBLEM.

No idea why it's upside down  but you get the idea.

SCIENCE.

All went smoothly after that, in the main.

The car is really really clean underneath. The subframe in particular is GR12.

 

[LabRat]

13 minutes ago, mitsisigma01 said:

Other parties fault , claim for a rental car ...

Wish  we could- insurance have decided it's her fault, so she'll only get a courtesy car whilst it's actually in the garage. 

[Jazoli]

6 hours ago, SRi05 said:

Aye the parrot unit has been properly installed, annoyingly it only works for phonecalls, the newer ones you can stream your phone to them as well. Got my hopes up when I paired it for the first time 😂

The new Saab has the fancy 8 speaker system which sounds great, but doesn't have the 6 CD slots on the headunit the old one had. CHEAPSKATE ORIGINAL OWNER 

Does the parrot not have a cable with a 3.5mm jack for music? stick a bluetooth dongle on the end of it and jobs jobbed?

The stereo in my 9-3 is utter shite, I replaced all the speakers and it still sounds worse than a 90's amstrad beatbox, and its not easily replaceable as its the earlier type, which is a shame as I've an all singing all dancing double din android auto unit sat on a shelf in the garage

Liking it in red too, mine is the espresso black which is quite subdued and only really pops in sunlight, I get 26mpg out of mine purely in town driving, 30mpg should be possible on a run with yours, my subframe is in good order too as the small but persistent oil leak keeps things rust free underneath

[SRi05]

3 minutes ago, Jazoli said:

Does the parrot not have a cable with a 3.5mm jack for music? stick a bluetooth dongle on the end of it and jobs jobbed?

The stereo in my 9-3 is utter shite, I replaced all the speakers and it still sounds worse than a 90's amstrad beatbox, and its not easily replaceable as its the earlier type, which is a shame as I've an all singing all dancing double din android auto unit sat on a shelf in the garage

Liking it in red too, mine is the espresso black which is quite subdued and only really pops in sunlight, I get 26mpg out of mine purely in town driving, 30mpg should be possible on a run with yours, my subframe is in good order too as the small but persistent oil leak keeps things rust free underneath

I'll be honest I never gave it much of a look, would be a win for @Split_Pin if it does.

And yes, the standard stereo is pretty pants. I was stuck with using an FM transmitter as well for using my phone, I never bothered most of the time as it was crap.  Annoyingly from 2007 onwards they reverted to just using a standard double din stereo which could be replaced easily 

[grogee]

1 hour ago, artdjones said:

Is it just me or are after market parts all rubbish. I took the Mégane to be tested last week and it passed. But in Ireland the shocks are tested side to side for damping effect. If there's more than a 30% imbalance you fail. It passed at 20% on the front, but that's not great considering I put on 2  Monroes less than 20k miles ago. The rear shocks are the original Renault ones and had almost no imbalance. That explains why something clonk sometimes on rebound.

So I bought some genuine Renault old stock struts from Poland for the same price as more Monroes. Let's hope they last as well as the original shocks on the front -more than 140000 miles 

Interesting they check the dampers. Do you know how it's done, is it some sort of machine?

I bought some NOS Monroe for my Puma but they were a bit disappointing - thin metal and paint, obviously built down to a price. I think their market is mainly the Kwikfit/ATS outfits that might be able to fleece customers into parting with big bucks for new shocks. 

In the end I couldn't live with the Monroe so I bought bASe Bilstein which felt much more substantial. 

[SiC]

Phone call from Mrs SiC. 

"Glow plug light is flashing on the Audi A4, what should I do?"

If still working and no other warnings, drive on I said. 

*2 minutes later*

"It's cut out and won't restart"

Recovery called. 60-90mins.

It's making a decent tailback on the M5 J20 exit. 🙈

You bloody tempted fate @Kiltox 🤣

Could well be terminal. 

[GMcD]

Balls!

Hope Mrs Sic gets home safe and sound.

[Split_Pin]

Yeah I'll second that, hope she's OK, pretty scary breaking down on a busy road I'd imagine.

[SiC]

Highways agency have arrived. They couldn't figure how to get the handbrake to unlock 🤣

Talked them through it and they've pushed it to the side. Told them to leave it in gear with handbrake off. It's just had a pair of £280 new tyres on the back, so the last thing I want is it being dragged on its arse because the battery has got too flat 😬

[fatharris]

Bugger, terrible timing with Christmas too!

Hope it's a cheap and quick fix!

[Dick Cheeseburger]

47 minutes ago, SiC said:

Phone call from Mrs SiC. 

"Glow plug light is flashing on the Audi A4, what should I do?"

If still working and no other warnings, drive on I said. 

*2 minutes later*

"It's cut out and won't restart"

Recovery called. 60-90mins.

It's making a decent tailback on the M5 J20 exit. 🙈

You bloody tempted fate @Kiltox 🤣

Could well be ternimal.

Broken VAG? Bugger!

[grogee]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

Phone call from Mrs SiC. 

"Glow plug light is flashing on the Audi A4, what should I do?"

If still working and no other warnings, drive on I said. 

*2 minutes later*

"It's cut out and won't restart"

Recovery called. 60-90mins.

It's making a decent tailback on the M5 J20 exit. 🙈

You bloody tempted fate @Kiltox 🤣

Could well be terminal. 

Weird. Can't see how glow plugs would cause FTP, but maybe it's a catch-all light that flashes in Morse Code to give a fault code.

Poor Mrs SiC. I know I would be getting an ear-bashing from Mrs Grogee if her Alfa broke down in the dark and it left her stranded. 

I hope it's both easy and cheap to fix. 

(Note to self: Check the Alfa's vital fluids)

[SiC]

Fuel pressure rail too low 😭

Might be terminal

[SiC]

Just rolled over to 210k too!

I think this might be the end of it. 

RIP Little Soldier. 

[SiC]

Doesn't look good. Actual Vs demand dropping significantly between the three error codes logged. 

[SiC]

Fuel rail clearly not building up pressure when cranking.

Next steps would be to do a leak off test on the injectors but I'm not sure if I want to get that involved with this. To add insult to injury, the Moggie is pretty much ready to go for a drive now but the A4 fat arse is blocking it in. 

[artdjones]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

Interesting they check the dampers. Do you know how it's done, is it some sort of machine?

They put each pair of wheels on two floor plates, which are oscillated up and down, and measure the deflection allowed by each individual shock. Any imbalance above 30% fails.

[Split_Pin]

Sorry to see this man.

 

[taxi paul]

Xmas present for me. The man who has everything apparently.  Who didn't love kes and quadrophenia.  

[supermellowman]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

Fuel rail clearly not building up pressure when cranking…

 

High Pressure Fuel Pump possibly? Worth a Google and Youtube search. Expensive but probably diy-able for someone with your know-how, I’d have thought.
 

…that’s if the car is a keeper of course. It has served you well.

[worldofceri]

My brother just posted this picture on FB (without context) of his ex- @BorniteIdentity Clio.

It’s looking well and gets daily use.

[SiC]

18 minutes ago, supermellowman said:

High Pressure Fuel Pump possibly? Worth a Google and Youtube search. Expensive but probably diy-able for someone with your know-how, I’d have thought.
 

…that’s if the car is a keeper of course. It has served you well.

Almost certainly yeah. It's going to be either that or the injectors really. Fuel pressure regulator unlikely as that was changed 70k ago. Also would have expected those 3 freeze frame codes to show it not dieing off like that. 

Should pull the filter and cut it open really. 

I guess could also be an injector leaking but I haven't noticed a lot of regens recently. Leak off test will confirm or deny that likely. 

If HPFP then probably should have injectors as well if it's disintegrating internally. 

Car take back say £675. In my mind that's the budget to fix. So if it sharts itself again soon after, at least I can get a recent expenditure covered.

It's just when do you call it quits? At least this is a major enough sharting that it's a fairly easy decision. But then given I don't have much to loose, I could DIY it. 

Either way I think Mrs SiC will be getting a new car. Then if I get the A4 working, I'll sell the Fabia and use the A4 as the runaround. 

Will phone my garage tomorrow to discuss potential options with them and what they'd be prepared to do too. 

[supermellowman]

@SiCHope the diagnosis is straightforward and the prognosis not too painful (sadly, there is bound to be some pain though). Really hope it isn’t terminal from a cost perspective.

I’ve a lot of time for these - my 2008 B8 Avant is currently at 156k and has been a good servant. Would’ve been closer to 200k but for Lockdown and life in general getting in the way in the past couple of years. I’m 8 years in with it and don’t know what I’d get to replace it when the time comes.

[richardmorris]

2 hours ago, SiC said:

Fuel pressure rail too low 😭

Might be terminal

Faulty sensor or pump? 

[stuboy]

Got called out to a crew who couldn't get key to turn in the ignition, and so steering lock stuck on etc etc, and they parked outside a care home, well on way down I thought who driving it, and realised she drives the same make of vehicle as the ambulances, and off course she trying to start it, she was very embarrassed. 

[Split_Pin]

I know that the HPFP on my 75 is nearly a grand new to replace but the accepted fix is to buy a 2nd hand one for £50 and rebuild it using a kit from ebay. I believe its quite a meticulous job but worth it for the saving of around £6-700 quid. I have all the gubbins in the wings should the need arise.

Can you do something similar with the Audi (if it is indeed the pump)

[SiC]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

Sorry to see this man.

Thanks. Its bloody annoying especially at this time of year right when we need it. But at £4.5k 4.5 years ago and ~60k, we feel like we've got our moneys worth!

 

1 hour ago, supermellowman said:

@SiCHope the diagnosis is straightforward and the prognosis not too painful (sadly, there is bound to be some pain though). Really hope it isn’t terminal from a cost perspective.

I’ve a lot of time for these - my 2008 B8 Avant is currently at 156k and has been a good servant. Would’ve been closer to 200k but for Lockdown and life in general getting in the way in the past couple of years. I’m 8 years in with it and don’t know what I’d get to replace it when the time comes.

Yeah I'm pretty convinced its the fuel pump or injectors. 

Nothing is really inspiring, especially for what everything goes for. To get another B8 that is around 2015 vintage and 100k+, we're looking at ~8k-12k. Not only that, most are lower spec than what we have!

Tbh we are both tempted by a Civic Mk9 hatch. Honda Civic is my go to vehicle in these scenarios. Will feel bit of a downgrade when sat in it though.

 

57 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Faulty sensor or pump? 

I'd go more with the pump. If it was reading over its more likely to be the sensor. Given its reading low, I'd expect the demand from the pump to increase and thus over fueling rather than under. You can see it in the video where the pump eventually builds up enough and then coughs as it drops back down again. Admittedly a sensor is a cheap and easy part to change.

 

32 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

I know that the HPFP on my 75 is nearly a grand new to replace but the accepted fix is to buy a 2nd hand one for £50 and rebuild it using a kit from ebay. I believe its quite a meticulous job but worth it for the saving of around £6-700 quid. I have all the gubbins in the wings should the need arise.

Can you do something similar with the Audi (if it is indeed the pump)

That's pretty much the next plan is to contact my local garage and see what they say. Second hand HPFP aren't £50 unfortunately - more £200-400. There is a HPFP and 4 injectors going on eBay for £400 at the moment. No idea on labour time, but say ~4hrs (iirc cambelt change time) then £200 at £50. All in would be £600. For that sort of money it'd be worth a punt.

Thing is, as you probably well understand, Mrs SiC isn't keen on a car that has blotted its copybook like this. So either way she will want something to replace it. But for £600, I'd sell the Fabia and use the A4 as a run-around instead. Replacing her car will allow us to get something that is Bristol Clean Air Zone compliant too.

We knew this day was coming and we knew it was effectively on borrowed time given the mileage. I'm most surprised how it went from flashing coil warning light but no messages on the screen (unusual for German and VAG!) to zilch in literally 2 minutes of driving and no untoward noises. You can see it in that freeze frame data where at 1630 the code first triggered (and Mrs SiC contacted me) with a low pressure, to 2 minutes later the pressure dropping even more significantly (when Mrs SiC re-contacted me to say its died). 

[Split_Pin]

Let your Mrs have a Prince engined Bini and she will re-evaluate her standards of what 'reliable' is. Nothing fazes my Mrs car-wise now!

Seriously though, there's nothing worse than your heart skipping a beat when your Mrs calls you when she's out and you wonder if she's stranded in the middle of a busy roundabout (speaking from actual experience) or its just to ask if we already have enough bread in. So her wanting a new car is understandable.

[ruffgeezer]

@SiC there is a really informative video about VAG tdis with the p0087 fault you described.

Definitely worth a look. 

 

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, taxi paul said:

Who didn't love kes

Hands off cocks! On socks.

(Sry literary ref)