The new news 24 thread

[Sunny Jim]

Vehicle pre-conditioning shouldn't just be the preserve of electric cars.

Extension lead, timer switch and dehumidifier.

Job, jobbed.

[lesapandre]

Great vans. I have mine with me here today. Keep on top of the rust tho'. 

[SiC]

On 09/12/2024 at 12:35, wuvvum said:

The gearbox on the Merc started behaving very strangely yesterday evening - it was taking a good second or so to change between gears, with the revs flaring in between.  It wasn't responding to manual shifts either.  The accelerator felt strange too - very on/off near the top of its travel. 

I pulled over, switched off and restarted and it was fine after that.  Plugged the laptop in when I got home and it wasn't finding any fault codes.  So no idea what was happening there, although it was definitely electrical rather than mechanical.  I did briefly wonder whether it was the tuning box playing silly buggers, but that isn't linked to the gearbox so it can't have been that.

Transmission coupler plug letting transmission oil into the wiring? Common issue on them and can wick up the the gearbox ECU if left unresolved. Fucking up the wiring and ECU. 

This thing:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121092797988

 

[SiC]

McMurty of the ludicrous electric car fame has died at 84 today. 🙁

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/tech/mcmurtry-founder-sir-david-mcmurtry-has-died

 

[stuboy]

asked er'indoors about sorting her car out, she says oh no rush as she likes the sitting up high position and zooming about in the galaxy........... shes only 5'3 and the galaxy has the 1.9 PD engine compared too the 1.6 summit diesel

[Split_Pin]

Minus 5 and falling up here in Central Scotland. Despite being frozen solid for 24 hours the red Audi fired up straight away on the first cycle of the glow plugs.

As ever though, the bugrums strike when I'm preparing to change a car, especially when I've found it's possible replacement. As I started to drive I got a warning beeper and a message on the dash shouting 'BRAKES' which would go away after about 5 seconds and then return 10 minutes later. All wheels and calipers look dry, no patches under the car and the brakes work normally. Fluid level is about half way between min and max, which I always assumed was due to it having 3 new calipers before I bought it and not topped up fully.

I'll investigate in the morning, dumped back on the drive for now and took the grey one instead.

[RobT]

I did a day trip to France yesterday.  Took the 406 which is still behaving thankfully.  The way it picks up and fucks you off into the distance still raises a smile.

It was 2005 in the services parking area.

I didn't go far, only an hour down the coast from Calais to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme.  A view of the bay.

Mooched about, did a bit of spotting then buggered off home.  Not a bad way to spend a day.

Massive house and R3 Rover.  Spud cam because I had to zoom in as the driveway was equally impressive.

[Metal Guru]

On 09/12/2024 at 18:48, Asimo said:

A chap I knew from primary school onwards (we had the same birthday) died when his hired cherry picker collapsed.

Gravity is not on our side!

It’s the centre of gravity that counts. Once the perpendicular from the COG is outside of the base, you’re doomed.

[Split_Pin]

Investigated the 'BRAKES' error message on the red A4 at lunchtime.

The level was quite low, about 3/4 of the way down between max and min so I topped that up first. The master cylinder is all dry but I figured that a leak there would be pretty obvious from the pedal side of things. I checked the lines in each wheelarch and both calipers, one of which is just over a year old, all good.

Under the car the lines are hidden under plastic covers but there's no dampness there either. 

Round the back all looks good as well.

The only thing I can think of is that the car had 3 new calipers last year and the level was perhaps not topped up again after bleeding, but just enough not to ping on the warning alarm. Maybe the exceptionally cold weather caused the fluid to contract just enough for the level to drop a bit more.

The brakes work fine so I'll keep an eye on it and see what happens.

[beko1987]

28 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Investigated the 'BRAKES' error message on the red A4 at lunchtime.

The level was quite low, about 3/4 of the way down between max and min so I topped that up first. The master cylinder is all dry but I figured that a leak there would be pretty obvious from the pedal side of things. I checked the lines in each wheelarch and both calipers, one of which is just over a year old, all good.

Under the car the lines are hidden under plastic covers but there's no dampness there either. 

Round the back all looks good as well.

The only thing I can think of is that the car had 3 new calipers last year and the level was perhaps not topped up again after bleeding, but just enough not to ping on the warning alarm. Maybe the exceptionally cold weather caused the fluid to contract just enough for the level to drop a bit more.

The brakes work fine so I'll keep an eye on it and see what happens.

Not a pair of pads suddenly worn away to nothing is it? 

Once you've checked those though top up and monitor sounds reasonable

[Split_Pin]

Ah, good shout. That happened on the 75 except it fell off entirely 😂

[SiC]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

Investigated the 'BRAKES' error message on the red A4 at lunchtime.

The level was quite low, about 3/4 of the way down between max and min so I topped that up first. The master cylinder is all dry but I figured that a leak there would be pretty obvious from the pedal side of things. I checked the lines in each wheelarch and both calipers, one of which is just over a year old, all good.

Under the car the lines are hidden under plastic covers but there's no dampness there either. 

Round the back all looks good as well.

The only thing I can think of is that the car had 3 new calipers last year and the level was perhaps not topped up again after bleeding, but just enough not to ping on the warning alarm. Maybe the exceptionally cold weather caused the fluid to contract just enough for the level to drop a bit more.

The brakes work fine so I'll keep an eye on it and see what happens.

Or a dicky sensor 

[Split_Pin]

20 minutes ago, SiC said:

dicky sensor

Soon find out!

The level was a bit low though. 

[Bren]

Back to the dentist. Molar broken in two. Not causing any pain - yet - so not having it pulled until Jan because I do not want my Christmas ruined - I had an extraction in October which flattened me - socket took weeks to heal and I had spurs of bone appearing. I had it pulled in the morning and stupidly did a weekend of nights with it still bleeding - I won't do that again.

[wuvvum]

21 hours ago, SiC said:

Transmission coupler plug letting transmission oil into the wiring? Common issue on them and can wick up the the gearbox ECU if left unresolved. Fucking up the wiring and ECU. 

This thing:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121092797988

 

Could be, although I'd not noticed any leaks from the 'box when I was under there.  I'm due to give it a fluid and filter change as soon as the weather warms up a bit, so I might change the coupler plug then as a precaution.

 

EDIT: That part number is for a 5g-tronic 'box - does the 7g-tronic have the same issue?

[Shoysty]

6 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Investigated the 'BRAKES' error message on the red A4 at lunchtime.

The level was quite low, about 3/4 of the way down between max and min so I topped that up first. The master cylinder is all dry but I figured that a leak there would be pretty obvious from the pedal side of things. I checked the lines in each wheelarch and both calipers, one of which is just over a year old, all good.

Under the car the lines are hidden under plastic covers but there's no dampness there either. 

Round the back all looks good as well.

The only thing I can think of is that the car had 3 new calipers last year and the level was perhaps not topped up again after bleeding, but just enough not to ping on the warning alarm. Maybe the exceptionally cold weather caused the fluid to contract just enough for the level to drop a bit more.

The brakes work fine so I'll keep an eye on it and see what happens.

If its a manual gearbox the clutch uses the brake fluid , might be worth checking for leaks there ?

[JJ0063]

On 07/12/2024 at 16:11, JJ0063 said:

Mrs JJ wants Xmas lights outside, I only own a stepladder. 
 

Stupid question but what sort of size ladder am I going to need to be able to reach the point of this gable end to drill a hook in and hook some lights up? 
 

Never bought a ladder before.

‘a man’ came today and fitted them for £40.

 

[Split_Pin]

27 minutes ago, Shoysty said:

If its a manual gearbox the clutch uses the brake fluid , might be worth checking for leaks there ?

Forgot to check that, thankfully the slave is outside the gearbox on these.

[High Jetter]

48 minutes ago, JJ0063 said:

‘a man’ came today and fitted them for £40.

 

Well wurf it, I'd say. Your house is on the map now!

[stuboy]

An exciting day instructing people the exciting art of banksing and ambulance...

[richardmorris]

Did all the cones survive?

[stuboy]

24 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Did all the cones survive?

Yes , only 1 clipped one lightly... I drove a horrendous unpredictable automatic gearboxed mg hs.. 

[wuvvum]

Got the replacement exhaust section fitted to the Merc at lunchtime today, bit of buggering about but not too bad of a job in the end.  There still seems to be a very slight blow from somewhere though - I think I can hear it and there's still the occasional faint whiff of fumes in the cabin, albeit a lot less than before - so I'll have to get it up on the ramps at some point and have a look.

One thing I did notice - presumably there's supposed to be a bolt through this bracket (the hole next to the torx bolt) to support the cat?  It's missing and judging by the rust in the thread it's been AWOL for some time - I wonder whether that might have been what led to the pipe splitting in the first place...

[Split_Pin]

Between me and my new robin pal (he seems to be full time now), we checked the red A4's master cylinder under the pedal (dry, apparently a very fiddly job) and the slave (dry, nearside of the gearbox, access looks good from underneath).

So I'm going with either a dodgy sensor or pad wear as I vaguely recall the fluid level has never been up to max since I bought the car.

Robin rewarded with crumbled up oatcake, me a mince pie.

[reb]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Robin rewarded with crumbled up oatcake

I don't remember receiving this reward

[Lord Sterling]

Today I changed the passenger side dipped beam bulb  on the Jag after I spotted it was out.

I have spare bulbs and sauntered over to the Vectra to recover them, the bukb from the Jag (and the Vectra) are 2 prong bulbs, thankfully I had one spare but I bought a pack of 2 blue tinted bulbs from a charity shop for a couple of quid and these are 3 pronged bulbs so don't fit the Jag or Vectra. Anyone in need of 3-pronged headlight bulbs? Got a pack of 2 and one that is spare in a pack I have so 3 altogether.

[RobT]

Nu shite.

 

The Xedos is now with @bramz7 and this is my new daily.  Had it for almost a month now and within days it'd picked up a puncture.  Thankfully it was repairable so that saved me 90 odd quid on a new all season. 2003 2 litre automatic, so the ideal ULEZ beater.  The thought of getting anything newer was giving me a nose bleed, so hopefully this will do us for a few years.  The ride seems a bit bouncy and there's a few grumbles from the front, so it'll need some suspension work at some point.  All I ask at the moment is it just works.  The increased height over the Xedos is welcome, as Mrs T was having trouble with the low down seating position.  Plus I was getting increasingly annoyed with SUV headlights constantly up my chuff.  Less bother in this, and the auto dimming rear view mirror is a welcome win.  I think the wiper mechanism needs new bushes (now bought) as they slop about when in operation.  I'll take a look over the festive period as it'll drive me nuts if I don't fix them soon.

Dog approves.

 

The Super Tourers before the Xedos left.

 

[bunglebus]

Didn't know where else to put this. Custom '63 Mini built in the 70s and featured in Hot Car, thought to be long dead but alive and well in Colorado. Owner has brought it back to the UK several times and seems to tour far and wide in it

https://maximummini.blogspot.com/search?q=sedanca&fbclid=IwY2xjawHI0xpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUbQ__z5Aa_OybQWt5FL0EWptgun1-mu4MJmFjjTg6lDznmhuR79Si9UIw_aem_TWxozbpNP48dLrjFRkPKlQ&m=1

[ruffgeezer]

Got a bit bored yesterday after the early shift, so after walking the mutts,  I made a start on replacing the Partner's front discs and pads.

In a rare moment of actual momentum, I now have the timing belt and water pump stripped off.  I should have enough time and light this evening to clean it up and rebuild it.

 

[lesapandre]

In France ATM. Never far from an old car. This of one of two Porsche touring as a pair. Very noisy.

Folk do seem to use their old cars out here. Currently about 1°C brrrrrr.