The new news 24 thread

[Cavcraft]

Didn't even know this was a thing anymore, but spotted today

See if you can work out where it was by entering our free competition:

 

Spot The Town Comp,

Home of the Astra,

ELLESMERE PORT

Cheshire.

[Ghosty]

 

Improvement (?). VTEC 3/4 cards and seats. Now just to find front seats. 

[Rustybullethole]

56 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

Hats off to anyone breaking the beads on an alloy wheel without using a machine, absolute bastard of a job.  Ref. getting the new tyre back on, try it from the front of the wheel, rather than the rear. It's been a very long time since I was out of the game, but pretty sure the 'rule' was to do it from whichever side the valve was nearest to, as that was the shallowest. Time has probs played tricks on the mind though, so could be wrong.

Cheers man. Long lever bar, shovel and a transit/council railing works pretty well. Just need to make sure it don't slip as that jars a bit! Right you are, rescued a broken gear bagged Vauxhall this eve after work for a mate and my mistake became obvious with the rotation when he produced a decent sized lever from the garage. Popped on like a dream. Hopefully is still up in the morning*

*A triumph with my advancing years. 

Little Frenchie tugs fat Astra. Wobbly.

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Rustybullethole
spellings again!!

[lesapandre]

Off to France in the C15.  This thing laps up the miles/kilometres.

The oldest vehicle at Dover tonight.

New ship - P&O Pioneer. Spec and details here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_P%26O_Pioneer

Still leaving late as usual, modern tech or no modern tech. Ah Dover.

Ship pleasantly under-populated - (it is after 23.00) AND NO SCHOOL TRIPS.

[Snake Charmer]

Some old bangers yesterday at Goodwood. 

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

Didn't even know this was a thing anymore, but spotted today

See if you can work out where it was by entering our free competition:

 

Spot The Town Comp,

Home of the Astra,

ELLESMERE PORT

Cheshire.

Bricks or breeze blocks.  Saves a lot of hassle with bearings, etc....

[dozeydustman]

New bit of vacuum hose ordered fir the Saab arrived the other day and fitted, turbo spool-up now back. EML back on so I can only assume it’s the failing EGR, so that will be fitted around the various jobs in the house. Will get the codes read again.

New shed arrives today, so once that’s built after I’ve finished converting the hall cupboard into a laundry I can sort my garage out.

And the Kia’s booked in for MoT in 2 weeks so I really ought to so the advisories from last year.

[wheel nut]

I changed the spark plugs on my Dacia Logan. It’s got the 3 cylinder Renault/Dacia 0.9litre TCE engine which uses long life iridium plugs and this was the first time they had been changed. Consequently I was a bit nervous with the combination of the age of the plugs and the aluminium cylinder head but I needn’t have worried -  they came out fine.

Since I had been planning to do this, a few days earlier when I had my Land Rover out I had parked it in front of the Logan when I got home so that I could use the boot to arrange my tools.

 

 

The main nuisance with this job was the amount of pipework hindering access to the top of the engine.

 

I had to disconnect the intercooler pipe and pull it to the side to gain access to two of the plugs.

 

 

And this is what the old plugs looked like after 9 years and 64000 miles. The engine was still running well and some people reckon you can get 100000 miles out of a set of these but i didn’t want to push my luck any further. 

[]

[Rust Collector]

Well, it's official: child number two is on the way. We've known for a while, but we've just got back from the 12 week scan and all is looking healthy.

Sprog number one is a handful already at 9 months old, so here's hoping sprog number two is a calm one 😅

[andyberg]

Fast work!! Congratulations to you both😁

[Lankytim]

Popped out today and collected the Volvos pez tank. It’s been  properly repaired this time with the pick up pipe at the bottom of the rank so after a lick of paint will be good to fit. It looks like a pretty nice job too. I’ve also had  at the P4s master cylinder apart and apart from some rust on the outside it seems in good shape with no leaks (the “leak” in the photo is some WD40!) The piston and bore are nice and shiny and the seal looks to be a recent replacement. Everything was cleaned up and reassembled. I gave it a lick of Hammerite but could only find some dark green paint! I’ve got a new tin of black but typically I can’t find it. 

[w00dy]

Clean pass on the Insignia. Took a bit of faffing to get rid of an engine light, but thankfully not much spend

[High Jetter]

Mrs J's Auris passed today. Not clean, but nothing much on a 14yo car to worry about apart from an advisory on corrosion on a rear mounting.

[Ghosty]

Both my mum's Civics have passed their tests, which almost marks two years with the EK, and a year with the EF.
Silver hatch is going in for test on Thurs, which will round out MOT season for us until the spaceship is due next June, assuming I've not chopped it in for a Rover 220 or a Cavalier by then (I sort of want to).

 

 

[Lankytim]

On 8/22/2023 at 10:21 PM, RoverFolkUs said:

As said above check the rearmost bush on the bottom arm, also get it put on a proper 4 wheel alignment which also checks camber and castor. Once you have those figures as well it will be easier to see what you're up against

Check for vertical play in the steering rack, get someone to rock the steering side to side while you observe the inner track rod, you won't find any play with the car in the air rocking the wheel, you will only find this type of play with the weight of the car on the suspension. I have seen this before and it's been tricky to pick up on

Swap the left and right front tyres (not front and rear) and check for any difference. I've also seen shitty budget tyres (but not exclusively in the case of an underlying suspension fault) that wear the tread in such a certain way that it causes a pull. 

Also just because the arms are relatively new don't assume they're good, aftermarket arms only really have an expected lifespan of a year or two, so if you're doing the steering check I mentioned above then check the arm bushes and also the lower ball joint

Some Renaults are notoriously difficult to find play in a bottom ball joint with the suspension hanging free so also pay attention to this while someone rocks the steering

I’ve just thought of another symptom to consider, it doesn’t pull under braking, only acceleration. Surely a worn bush would have to do both? 

[Tenmil Socket]

Spotted a couple of frooty motors earlier at possibly the worst services I’ve had the pleasure of visiting.

Is that a nitrous cylinder?

[Split_Pin]

I went to see this last night. It was 1 mile from me. I have wanted a Jaguar for some time so I couldn't not go and see it.

2.7 V6 diesel. It was a lovely, honest car and knocked spots off the 75 in the driving experience department. But with just 4 weeks ticket it seemed a bit dear at £1500. The seller was a respectable looking older chap and said it would pass another MOT no bother. I couldn't make sense therefore of why he didn't just submit it for a test and be able to get at least £500 more for it. For a car that he's had for 8 years, it's free money.  I also couldn't see the sills properly as they are covered in plastics and on that basis I walked away. Had it been £600 or so I may have bought it. 

I'd still really like one though as I think they are cracking cars.

[horriblemercedes]

1 minute ago, Split_Pin said:

I went to see this last night. It was less than 5 miles from me. I have wanted a Jaguar for some time so I couldn't not go and see it.

2.7 V6 diesel. It was a lovely, honest car and knocked spots off the 75 in the driving experience department. But with just 4 weeks ticket it seemed a bit dear at £1500. The seller was a respectable looking older chap and said it would pass another MOT no bother. I couldn't make sense therefore of why he didn't just submit it for a test and be able to get at least £500 more for it. For a car that he's had for 8 years, it's free money.  I also couldn't see the sills properly as they are covered in plastics and on that basis I walked away. Had it been £600 or so I may have bought it. 

I'd still really like one though as I think they are cracking cars.

They are great cars but I think the pick of the range is the 3.0 petrol - very reliable engine and not really bad on fuel. I'd have either a 3.0 or an R

 

The sills will be rusty, I guarantee it. They always are. You just can't tell thanks to the shaping of the plastic covers

[Ghosty]

Get in, VTEC front seats tomorrow. I'm now skint.  

[Sigmund Fraud]

8 hours ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Is that a nitrous cylinder?

Looks like an accusump to me.

[stuboy]

7 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

is nice

[RoverFolkUs]

10 hours ago, Lankytim said:

I’ve just thought of another symptom to consider, it doesn’t pull under braking, only acceleration. Surely a worn bush would have to do both? 

Not strictly, it will tend to cause the wheel to definitely toe out under acceleration but sometimes actually toe in under braking. The force of acceleration causes the wheel to have a tendency to go outwards, so a worn bush allows this to happen to an excessive degree and that's what scrubs the inner edge of the tyre, and causes a pull in more extreme cases. 

What type of inner tyre wear is it? Can you post a photo? 

[Lankytim]

26 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Not strictly, it will tend to cause the wheel to definitely toe out under acceleration but sometimes actually toe in under braking. The force of acceleration causes the wheel to have a tendency to go outwards, so a worn bush allows this to happen to an excessive degree and that's what scrubs the inner edge of the tyre, and causes a pull in more extreme cases. 

What type of inner tyre wear is it? Can you post a photo? 

Here’s a couple of pics of the wear, it’s right on the shoulder. I moved the tyre to the back as it looks like it’ll be down to the plies within weeks if I leave it on the front. 

[RoverFolkUs]

1 minute ago, Lankytim said:

Here’s a couple of pics of the wear, it’s right on the shoulder. I moved the tyre to the back as it looks like it’ll be down to the plies within weeks if I leave it on the front. 

That looks like camber wear to me, so something is probably bent or incorrectly located

Definitely get it on a proper 4 wheel alignment, one that measures camber and castor and toe against the rear wheel flags. 

A place with the proper hunter alignment kit shouldn't cost much more than £50/60/70 ish, well worth the money I can tell you

[Lankytim]

1 minute ago, RoverFolkUs said:

That looks like camber wear to me, so something is probably bent or incorrectly located

Definitely get it on a proper 4 wheel alignment, one that measures camber and castor and toe against the rear wheel flags. 

A place with the proper hunter alignment kit shouldn't cost much more than £50/60/70 ish, well worth the money I can tell you

I’ll get googling and see if there’s anybody local! I’ll also have a close look at these lower arms. 

[dome]

7 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I went to see this last night. It was 1 mile from me. I have wanted a Jaguar for some time so I couldn't not go and see it.

2.7 V6 diesel. It was a lovely, honest car and knocked spots off the 75 in the driving experience department. But with just 4 weeks ticket it seemed a bit dear at £1500. The seller was a respectable looking older chap and said it would pass another MOT no bother. I couldn't make sense therefore of why he didn't just submit it for a test and be able to get at least £500 more for it. For a car that he's had for 8 years, it's free money.  I also couldn't see the sills properly as they are covered in plastics and on that basis I walked away. Had it been £600 or so I may have bought it. 

I'd still really like one though as I think they are cracking cars.

I definitely think you've dodged a bullet there, they can rot like fuck. 

I'd not rule out an XJ, they are fucking amazing cars. Find a non rusty one and enjoy the waft

[brownnova]

11 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I went to see this last night. It was 1 mile from me. I have wanted a Jaguar for some time so I couldn't not go and see it.

2.7 V6 diesel. It was a lovely, honest car and knocked spots off the 75 in the driving experience department. But with just 4 weeks ticket it seemed a bit dear at £1500. The seller was a respectable looking older chap and said it would pass another MOT no bother. I couldn't make sense therefore of why he didn't just submit it for a test and be able to get at least £500 more for it. For a car that he's had for 8 years, it's free money.  I also couldn't see the sills properly as they are covered in plastics and on that basis I walked away. Had it been £600 or so I may have bought it. 

I'd still really like one though as I think they are cracking cars.

I am, and continue to be very tempted by an S-Type. I was at the motor show when it and the 75 were launched, and so they’re very much on the list of cars I want to own. 
 

On a similar vein, I went to look at this this week… it was local and cheap. 

Sadly, it was badly hunting at idle, kangarooing at low revs and the sills had certainly seen better days. It had clearly been quite neglected so much as i really want an XM… I walked away from this one! 

 

[ruffgeezer]

4 hours ago, brownnova said:

I am, and continue to be very tempted by an S-Type. I was at the motor show when it and the 75 were launched, and so they’re very much on the list of cars I want to own. 
 

On a similar vein, I went to look at this this week… it was local and cheap. 

Sadly, it was badly hunting at idle, kangarooing at low revs and the sills had certainly seen better days. It had clearly been quite neglected so much as i really want an XM… I walked away from this one! 

 

Blimey, Mr Peck's Xm still lives.  He'd had a lot of money extracted from him year ago for all the high quality* welding.  We looked after the oily bits that his normal garage didn't want to touch.  I bought his Xantia estate from him when he first got this.

The Xantia was leaking coolant from the heater matrix hose, but that was soon sorted,  I shouldn't have traded it off to that fat twat in Norfolk for the Exclusive Estate that followed, that was total shit.

[brownnova]

 

1 hour ago, ruffgeezer said:

Blimey, Mr Peck's Xm still lives.  He'd had a lot of money extracted from him year ago for all the high quality* welding.  We looked after the oily bits that his normal garage didn't want to touch.  I bought his Xantia estate from him when he first got this.

The Xantia was leaking coolant from the heater matrix hose, but that was soon sorted,  I shouldn't have traded it off to that fat twat in Norfolk for the Exclusive Estate that followed, that was total shit.

Ah, you know the car! Fella selling it had only had it a few months. Did not seem like a great example of the breed, my instinct was walk away in the first 2 minutes. 😂😂

[eifion]

9 minutes ago, brownnova said:

 

Ah, you know the car! Fella selling it had only had it a few months. Did not seem like a great example of the breed, my instinct was walk away in the first 2 minutes. 😂😂

Is the that 2.5 diesel that's near Wrexham somewhere? If so it's a shame it didn't work out, it's probably the best engine the XM had. I loved mine.