The new news 24 thread

[autofive]

 

no need for photos, heres one

[Negative Creep]

Sold the Mazda. Couple of lads came down to collect it, as one of them was having it for a first car. Since it has no insurance, tax or mot, their plan was to A frame it back but by putting a lighting board on the back turns it into a trailer. I somehow doubt it, but hey ho, not my car anymore. After a while faffing around with the A-frame (not that I know anything about them) and attaching said lighting board with shoelaces. They got it to the end of the road before sanity prevailed and it was decided this wouldn't work. So they've now arranged a recovery truck for tomorrow.

 

Seems like the alternator is shagged which would explain the intermittent starter but they were nice lads and hopefully get some use from it. In retrospect, using a car 3 times then having to spend £70 to cancel the insurance doesn't represent my best purchase ever

[dollywobbler]

I've had a very lovely day. Was leading a 2CV Convoy around North Wales. Day started badly as the 2CV was so frozen that I couldn't get into it, then it wouldn't start - I think because I accidentally filled it with 20w50 oil (still not sure why I put it in a 10w40 can...). Out with the starting handle. Success at the third attempt!

 

Convoy went nicely. Heater was managing to keep my toes warm. All was good. Pub for lunch, then disaster. The ignition lock seized. Reasons to be cheerful - I binned the steering lock when I rebuilt the car in 2002. Some clever use of hotwiring (the exact details of which are not for a public forum) got me on the move again. 180 miles covered though, with a good hoon on the way back. The pace of the 2CV surprised my BX-driving pal, who was sure I was going to bin it a few times. Perhaps the bodyroll just makes it look faster than it is?

 

Pal came back to mine because he was eager to help solve some issues with the BX. However, it was dark by the time we got back, and below zero. This didn't stop him and we (he) reseated the hydraulic regulator ball bearing, resulting in the accumulator actually holding pressure. Then we replaced the wiper motor and linkage. The wiper now no longer bashes the bodywork. The two remaining glow plugs were changed for new ones (I'd changed a pair before it went in for welding). The tailgate wiring was tackled. Number plate lights and central locking now work. HRW went a bit funny and we gave up before wiring up the rear wiper. A lot done though. Intermittent PAS still remains (unsurprisingly as Jonathan Dyane has already pointed out, the PAS doesn't use the regulator) and we reckon its either a duff pump or clagged up filters. I'm going to try and clean them out tomorrow.

 

It's been a long but enjoyable day.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Have you even considered that the poor sod may be skint because he's just bought a house?

 

Well, that wouldn't make him any more sensible, would it?

Although it probably isn't the case (see below).

 

 

Chipping £50 because the bloke didn't bend over backwards to flog you a car that was still running on ebay at the time you made your back-door offer because the chap has the sheer cheek to have bought a house in the middle of a recession?

 

No, that wasn't the problem. The problem was:

i) he said he agreed to a BIN price but didn't want to actually go ahead and do it (presumably in case it made more at the auction)

ii) he then went on to shaft the poor auction winner (not me, I never bid on it...The auction ran until the end, so my understanding is that he was contractually bound to sell) even though (ii and a half) he had been too cheap to put a reserve price in and

iii) he was going to break the car, spending time dismantling it etc for the sake of making a total of e.g. £320, i.e. 20 quid more than what he would've gotten doing the right thing and selling to the auction winner.

 

I am certainly not perfect and I don't expect others to be perfect towards me. I could understand that sort of behaviour from someone who is obviously having trouble making ends meet, but he seemed to be doing quite alright (and that's the feeling I got, although the house price was what really shocked me. That and the fact that he didn't even think the house had been expensive).

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

 

no need for photos, heres one

 

Yes, but this is Autoshite. You lot want to see the RUST!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Dismantled my broken seatbelt buckle just out of interest. Now I'm not even happy with the functional one, having seen how flimsy they are internally.

 

Saying that, it's a long shot, but does anyone have one of these Kangol buckles lying around they'd sell me for next to nothing? I don't want to have to replace all the belts for the sake of this one broken bit.

 

[Cavcraft]

Looks like my funky little CG125 will be departing CavCraft tomorrow and being replaced by something a) totally unsuitable and that I've owned before.

[Volksy]

..............replaced by something a) totally unsuitable and that I've owned before.

 

A Mondeo?

[cort16]

I've just stuck my 166on ebay for £595, which reasonable given the 6months T&T. The gear linkage problem was the last straw as I spent 2 hours pissing about with this yesterday when I really wanted to be working on the SD. I've also been offered a mega cheap 740i.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280807415006

[The Moog]

V40 failed MOT on both CV gaiters, Excessive corrosion to brake pipe and also both Anti Roll Bar dust covers are loose. Never heard of that being an issue before.

 

To change them you have to drop down subframe so I am going to get the garage to do it for me.

[Lankytim]

Changed the rear brake flexi's and torque rods on the Volvo this morning, all done before 11am. Pat on the back for me!

 

N/S brake still getting hot, so the brake pipe wasn't to blame. Still nice to see new stuff on an old car though.

 

Still a slight clunk from the rear end when taking up drive. That will teach me for using secondhand bushes!....well, they had only been on the donor for 6 months or so. Its much better than it was however, the clunking when pulling away caused passers by to stop and look around to see what was making the noise!

[M'coli]

This "hot brake" on the Volvo - doesn't the 240 have a drum inside the disc for the handbrake, so could it be the shoes on the handbrake binding slightly, or has this already been mentioned and I just haven't seen it?

[dollywobbler]

Took the BX for a good 30 mile drive as it hasn't had a long run for a while. That was much more fun than draining the LHM reservoir and cleaning out the filters, which is what I actually went outside to do...

 

Have applied a fresh bodge to the Peugeot's exhaust as well. I've made an exhaust bracket out of a cable tie and a hose clip. We'll see if that holds, but better support does seem to have solved the joint issue. Still ideally needs a new exhaust, but this should last for a bit.

[Negative Creep]

Fitted those wheels I bought a while ago. Need a refurb though as the lacquer is peeling off. Currently trying to find someone who can paint them a different colour

 

[Lord Sterling]

Replaced the 2 front tyres today, bashed on all-weather Dunlops on the front. Now I have Dunlops all-round (Except the spare, that will need replacing) no more wobbly steering now:

 

 

Had some old Rover 800 alloys delivered to me the other day (Cheers Brad) got to try and find a place for them in the garage as its now getting ridiculous

 

Messed about with some old hard-drives and rediscovered some pics of the old cars I've had, amongst them was a couple more pics of my old mk2 Sterling I forgot I took, whilst I still own the thing, I really do miss it:

 

 

A couple of years ago I replaced the drab-door cards with leather inserted Vitesse cards:

 

 

I really must sort this car out and get it back on the road.

[worldofceri]

This weekend I have mostly been trying to undo a seized/rounded-off bolt on my Volvo's brake caliper in order to change the discs and pads. To no avail.

 

Procedures attempted so far:

 

1. Mole grips. Makes the bolt even rounder.

 

2. Hammering a smaller socket over it (obvs). Neither a 13mm or ½in sockets will grip a rounded-off 14mm bolt, apparently.

 

c. Filing new flats on the bolt to accept a 13mm open-ended spanner. Couldn't get the leverage. Bolt rounded-off further.

 

4. Stud extractors. No space behind the bolt (it faces inwards) to get the drill in to drill a straight pilot hole. Drilled a shallow, cock-eyed hole then gave up.

 

The bolt is now comprehensively müllered and I am going to look a right dickhead when eventually I take it the the garage for them to sort it.

 

And I didn't even get to use my shiny new caliper rewind tool.

 

So I'm sulking.

[scaryoldcortina]

^ I've got three words for you - Irwin Bolt Grips

 

That is all.

[wuvvum]

Epically failed to get the gearbox filler plug out of the CX today. I bought an 8mm square drive tool but it's 3/8" drive and my 3/8" ratchet just isn't man enough, even with a long plug spanner on the end for extra leverage. I'm going to have to invest in a 1/2" to 3/8" adaptor I think and get my breaker bar on it. It doesn't look as if it's been out for a while - wonder if the previous owner was checking the fluid level with the engine off...

 

Took the Iveco for a blat this evening as it's supposedly sold on eBay (haven't heard from the buyer as yet) and I wanted to make sure everything was shipshape. It felt weird getting back into it after driving the Transit - it felt slow and the gearbox is horrible, but it does handle a lot better than the Transit. Not that the Tranny's bad as such, but today was the first time in a while that I'd driven the Iveco on a dry road with nothing in the back, and you really can throw the old thing into corners.

 

Nicked the battery off the Ducato as well, as it's nearly new and bloody huge. I stuck the taxi battery on the Ducato - the Fiat engine has glowplugs so the Metrocab battery is more than enough to start it even in freezing temperatures. The plan was to put the Fiat battery on the Transit (no preheat on a Ford DI) but it's about an inch too long. Arse. So I've stuck it on the taxi for now, which now starts a lot more easily in cold temperatures. It'll probably end up taking over jump-starting duties from my ancient JCB battery, which still holds a good charge but isn't putting out the cranking amps that it used to.

[Lacquer Peel]

worldofceri, are your mole grips a questionable brand? I was about to give up on a bolt head I ruined with cheap mole grips, but found my uber mole grips and gripped and undid easily.

[dollywobbler]

After the success of the Pug fixing, I gave the 2CV's roof another pressure wash. It's got into a bit of a state lately. I've not really cleaned it properly in 8 years... That's getting the full on Fabsil treatment tomorrow, ready for the rain that's forecast to return from Wednesday...

 

I was feeling a bit fired up then and cracked on with hydraulic fun and games with the BX. The hydraulics can be quite simple really. The PAS works by slurping fluid from the reservoir direct to the pump, then from pump to the steering. It doesn't go through any fancy regulators or 'owt. So, if it's intermittent, there isn't too much that could be wrong. There's a flow valve, that splits the pressure between steering and other stuff, but that doesn't often go wrong. Chances are that there simply isn't enough fluid getting through. Could be the pump, but it could also be that the filters are all gunked up in the reservoir. So, disconnected the pipework - discovered some gunk in the high pressure feed pipe straight away! Out comes the reservoir and one of the filters is just floating around in it rather than being clipped where it should be. Ah-ha!

 

Cleaned out the reservoir, plumbed it all back in, added several litres of fresh LHM and went for a drive. No difference at all. Oh well! Looks like the pump is probably to blame - but I'm glad I got the cleaning job done anyway. It needed doing. I have another second-hand pump, so that'll get fitted at some point yet to be agreed.

 

It's also running increasingly badly. An air leak is the suspect, so the plan is to find a clear bit of fuel pipe, plumb it in and check for bubbles. Jonathan_dyane may well win a prize* for this one if an air leak is found. He blames the fuel warming pipework (I think mine takes heat from the exhaust manifold, but the gubbins is all buried down the back of the engine. Fun!)

 

* It's the thought that counts. Prize may not actually exist.

[Lacquer Peel]

Fuel filters are usually heated by engine coolant, that sounds like a very odd setup.

 

 

Does it look like this (removed from an old 205 diesel)? The coolant heated element wouldn't cause air leaks on its own, it's just a base for the filter. It's more likely to be air ingress through the filter head.

[dollywobbler]

Nope. Hasn't got any of that stuff on the bottom of the filter. I've never dabbled and the thing I need to dabble with is out of sight down the back of the engine, so I can't really comment further until I've had a look.

[Lankytim]

This "hot brake" on the Volvo - doesn't the 240 have a drum inside the disc for the handbrake, so could it be the shoes on the handbrake binding slightly, or has this already been mentioned and I just haven't seen it?

 

Already been checked and found to be free, but then stripped and rebuilt anyway. I suspect its somehow the caliper.... but the damn thing isn't binding when I check it!

[dollywobbler]

They don't have to be binding much to generate heat. I think that's the problem with trying to identify it. The calipers on the Range Rover didn't feel like they were restricting the wheel, but heat was definitely being generated. New pistons sorted that out, though I did go through an agonising spell of thinking they were still faulty - turns out that slowing a Range Rover down when descending a hill just generates a lot of brake heat!

[Pete-M]

Bugger all. Surfing eBay looking for Mk2 Escort bits.... it's not going badly.

[Cavcraft]

Worth looking at the fuel filter housing for a leak, caused me a lot of grief on a BX yonks back. Also does your's have the 'rubber bulb' to hand pump the fuel if needed? These can perish quite alarmingly.

[dollywobbler]

Housing did have a leak. Bodged up with chemical metal and seems to be holding. I've got a new housing to go on once I'm ready to get my hands soaked in diesel again. Doesn't have the 'bulb' type primer, but the button goes rock hard instantly, so it doesn't seem to be losing fuel pressure.

[RobT]

Was bored this evening so I took the Montego out for a 70 mile romp on the M25, just to see if the mis-fire and hot starting has finally been sorted by fitting the new ECU. And apart from idling too fast and a bit uneven it drove superb, makes me realise how much I've missed it as my daily. Next task is to book it in with a place that has the necessary MEMs tuning gear just to even it out and sort the idle, patch up or replace the exhaust as the centre is blowing a bit, and sort out the slight leak from the PAS pump.

[dollywobbler]

Today, I have mainly been demonstrating the joys of good penetrating oil. The BX now has doors that open and the 2CV has a working ignition barrel again.

 

I'm now about to make the most of the sun (might be the last day of clear weather) to water-proof the 2CV's roof.

[Lord Sterling]

Was bored this evening so I took the Montego out......

 

You've got a Montego? I dont think I've ever seen it?

 

The oil light on the trip computer has been flashing/bleeping at me since I got the Sterling on the road, took the thing down to my mates in Worcester today and founf that there was hardly any oil in it I'm sure I didnt drain that much from it as I seem to remember there was too much oil at one point. Anyhow I topped it up a bit to at least at half way, but the light hasnt extinguished so I'll have to live with it but keep checking on the oil, there hasnt been any leak from anywhere, so where I checked it must have been on a slight incline or something.

 

Finally undid the coolant valve to check for any air locks, there are non, so thats alright.