The new news 24 thread

[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.

[worldofceri]

On 02/12/2024 at 17:30, Lankytim said:

I’ve seen a hard top at the side of a motorway before, I imagine they fall off cars on the back of “Shiply” recovery trucks doing the job for £25.

Yep. Literally happened to me; In the early days so it was a Shiply job as well.

Think I’ve told this story before, but I had a job to collect a 1946ish Rover. It was an old boy’s project but he’d never got chance to finish it. I spent ages tying everything down as there was lots of loose parts, plus every door had to be secured as there was no latches fitted, plus the bonnet boot lid etc. The chap’s widow, bless her, helped me push it out of the garden into the back alley and I eventually set off through the suburbs of Birmingham. A quarter of a mile from the motorway I thought I’d take the chance to stop and make sure nothing was working loose. As I pulled up a car drew alongside:

”Oi M8, did you know you lost half of the roof back there?”

“ I certainly didn’t but thanks for telling me!”

Turns out it had a canvas roof insert on a timber frame. It was just sat in the roof aperture and not screwed down at all; I hadn’t even noticed it, let alone thought to secure it. It had just flipped right out.

I retraced my steps and found it lying in the road on the corner of a junction. Luckily it seemed no-one had run over it and it survived unscathed.

[auntiemaryscanary]

Works Xmas do, modern crazy* golf type. Nice atmosphere...

However this is one of the obstacles is this

Shame it's marooned.

[MrGTI6]

Found out this evening that my newly-acquired Mini Cooper has a rev-matching feature. 

When shifting up or down, it holds the revs exactly where they need to be for whichever gear is selected, and when you release the clutch you end up with a seamlessly smooth change every time. 

Particularly useful with down-shifts; no need to blip the throttle, just drop it down a gear or 3, dump the clutch, and you don't feel a thing! 

Finally, a modern car feature that's designed with mechanical sympathy in mind! Genuinely impressed with it! 

[brownnova]

Why was I lay on the drive, wearing a dressing gown and holding a hair drier at 6.30am?

 

Hang on… that’s not where I left you?!?

 Looks like I didn’t pull the handbrake up far enough (it was on) , and with the cooling discs it had released enough for the car to roll down my drive and crash into the hedge. Lucky thing was that I usually park it facing the 9000 so had my wife not nicked my usual spot both my Saabs would have been bent.

So why the hair dryer? The plastic bumper got bent. Bit of heat action saw it bent back into place and now you’d never know… unless you looked really closely! 

[IronStar]

^this is why I never ever park cars out of gear. Handbrakes fail, gearboxes much less often.

[richardmorris]

4 minutes ago, brownnova said:

Why was I lay on the drive, wearing a dressing gown and holding a hair drier at 6.30am?

 

Hang on… that’s not where I left you?!?

 Looks like I didn’t pull the handbrake up far enough (it was on) , and with the cooling discs it had released enough for the car to roll down my drive and crash into the hedge. Lucky thing was that I usually park it facing the 9000 so had my wife not nicked my usual spot both my Saabs would have been bent.

So why the hair dryer? The plastic bumper got bent. Bit of heat action saw it bent back into place and now you’d never know… unless you looked really closely! 

I thought you had to leave Saabs in reverse before you could remove the key?

[brownnova]

Just now, richardmorris said:

I thought you had to leave Saabs in reverse before you could remove the key?

Older ones yes, not the GM ones. 

[brownnova]

3 minutes ago, IronStar said:

^this is why I never ever park cars out of gear. Handbrakes fail, gearboxes much less often.

This is the learning point from this incident! 

[reb]

5 minutes ago, brownnova said:

Older ones yes, not the GM ones. 

I'm sure I've been in a GM saab that had that feature

[wuvvum]

The first gen 9-3s I believe you had to have in reverse to take the key out.  Second gen not so.

[brownnova]

I could be wrong… it has happened before!