The new news 24 thread

[phil_lihp]

You in Bideford DW? I have rudimentary tools available if you need anything. I think today will be oil change day for the Escort, it's a gorgeous morning to be outside.

[oldcars]

Don't watch  much tv but had Motors on last night, some rally on with an old Manta. some MK2 escorts, a Hillman Avenger and a mazda thing, was great fun to watch.

[dollywobbler]

I am Phil but have things to attend to today. I reckon I'll safely get back with the heater blower trick. Starting to wish I had the sunroof switch with me though (at home, along with the headlining and interior lights).

[Richard]

Hmmm, this isn't good. I can't seem to get insured on the Xantia. Did it easily enough on dayinsure yesterday but every quote I have done this morning is coming in over £700. This is with a clean licence, no accidents, 9 yrs NCB and age 38. WTF is going on?

 

Never had to worry about insurance before, its always been about £300 on every car I have ever owned so did not bother checking beforehand.

 

Is it because of Mrs Imp's accident?

[ruffgeezer]

Take the relay out and check the pins/plugs aren't green inside, that's quite common.

[bub2006]

Maybe news maybe not but couldn't think where to put it. A white g plate bx is parked on drive just down from work. A tiny for sale sign on dashboard. Is it wrong to be tempted? I'm hoping it's an auto but I doubt it. May go look later. What's going rate for one now? Anything to look for and avoid?

[stuboy]

Maybe news maybe not but couldn't think where to put it. A white g plate bx is parked on drive just down from work. A tiny for sale sign on dashboard. Is it wrong to be tempted? I'm hoping it's an auto but I doubt it. May go look later. What's going rate for one now? Anything to look for and avoid?

tiny sign... but u want it

[Skizzer]

April's Craptical Classics has a BX buyer's guide if you can still find a copy.  Rot highlights are the rear arches/door shuts, front inner wings where they meet the wheel housing, under the airbox, windscreen surround, boot floor and the A-post which leads to shonky door hinges.  Estate bits of estates are more rust-prone.  Sunroof drain holes get blocked leading to damp interior.  Engines and gearboxes are pretty robust (see the bulletproof engines thread for opinions on XUD).  Any suspension issues should be relatively fixable.

 

Going rate = cheap as chips.  There's a  G-reg 19RD (non-turbo dizzler) with MOT until October for £400 here.

 

Do it.

[bub2006]

It's been there years,used daily till recently. A newish car is on drive at side of it now and I'm sure it said for sale. Will go look closer later I think

[HillmanImp]

Is it because of Mrs Imp's accident?

Had deliberately left her off. Was just me on there. Have had to come out now to look at cars with Mrs Imp. I am not getting involved in this as my car buying mojo is at rock bottom.

[EssDeeWon]

Hmmm, this isn't good. I can't seem to get insured on the Xantia. Did it easily enough on dayinsure yesterday but every quote I have done this morning is coming in over £700. This is with a clean licence, no accidents, 9 yrs NCB and age 38. WTF is going on?

 

Never had to worry about insurance before, its always been about £300 on every car I have ever owned so did not bother checking beforehand.

 

Have you tried all the comparison sites? I know you'd think they all search the same insurers for the same prices but apparently not. Prices can vary between Moneysupermarket, Go Compare and Compare the Market etc etc..

 

Sureterm can be cheap for cars 10+ years old, just don't cancel the policy with them at any time, they'll want half your life savings within 14 days!!

[myglaren]

Well the Shaguar has moved to Castle Volksy and there is a new kid a Imp Towers:

 

 

First impressions? Er......mixed.

 

Driven it up from Sheffield tonight. Its an Activa (not Danone, Muller, Actimel, Ski etc) 2.0 Turdo and is amazing wanging itself round corners and propelled me at quite some speed up the M1, so much so that I was thinking I was tootling along at the speed limit but was happily cruising in 3 figures without noticing.

 

However, the clutch is going on it and I think there might be a problem with the O/S rear suspension as it doesn't feel as solid turning left at high speed and seems to move up and down a bit every now and then when you pull up. The clutch is not a worry but the suspension is. My degree was not in Xantia Activa suspensions and even if it was, I only got a 2:2 so would be out of my depth anyhow.

 

However this car was cheap. So cheap I could even forgive the smell inside it. Other things wrong are that it seems to have a warped brake disc, the airbag light is on (and sometimes flashing), there is no history, the wheels need balancing, the girl I bought it off was a pikey, the blower keeps cutting out when you put it on full power, there was no V5, here appears to be a bullet sized hole in the rear wing and the interior really smells. I know I already said that it smells but its so bad I think its worth mentioning twice.

 

But it really was quite good on the corners. Not had a cornering challenge with any other cars yet so have not been able to compare it, each time I look behind the car I was trying to race seems to have turned off or something? It really does feel good. Will have to keep driving up roads with right hand turns trying to make boy racers look stupid.

 

Now, this thing can only appreciate in value from what I paid for it, although there is that much wrong with it I will probably pay 4x what the appreciation will be. If I can sort the suspension, I need to start enquiring about how much it would be to replace the John Wayne engine (as its done 184k) with a V6 instead so that I can live the dream. 

 

More photos to follow.

Hope that all goes well - they can be a bit of a headache at times.

One of the best cars I have driven, incredible how they stick to the roads - have you seen the "Moose Test" on YouTube"?

 

There is a dedicated Activa section on the French Car Forum and there are a couple of V6 conversions on the go at the minute.

[phil_lihp]

Since the sun was shining I cracked on with getting a quick oil and filter change done on the Escort.  Assume the position...

 

 

Considering it had barely done any miles since the last change in January last year, the oil was filthy so a big glug of Castrol GTX made it all better.

 

With that done, I turned my attention to the loud exhaust.  The whole system is quite new apart from the manifold, where the noise seems to be coming from.  I unbolted the heatshield and voila, just what I was expecting.

 

 

Dirty great crack right down the middle.  Another item for the shopping list!  I'm hoping I can get away with a used one as long as I can find one in good condition.

 

I was intending to do the timing belt but didn't get time so will have a crack at that another day.  

[Skoze]

Just met someone to talk land rovers for a mag feature. Expected it to be a middle aged man, not an utterly gorgeous Hungarian girl. 

 

Asked her about these, thinking it'd be a couple a summer or something - 'no, that was all in one go. I just went for a drive, me and my dog' 

 

Absolutely besotted. New hero.  

[michael1703]

Just met someone to talk land rovers for a mag feature. Expected it to be a middle aged man, not an utterly gorgeous Hungarian girl.

 

Pics please

[richardmorris]

Damp curry smell inside the xantia? Check the heater matrix.

[Skoze]

Pics please

 

Pics available in Classic Land Rover magazine in a couple of months time...

 

[richardmorris]

Well I drove up to North Wales from Surrey in the merc this morning. Quite clear apart from a four car shunt on the m42, and seemingly the entire length of the m54 being 40mph limit. Merc perfect of course. Then got the X1/9 out and had a quick drive in between hospital visiting hours. Only problem being a veeerrrrryyyy sllooooow driver's window. Took the switch apart and contacts were black, contact cleaned them up and all is back to just slow. Success!

[Richard]

The V70 goes quite well for a diesel that isn't boosting properly. I'd better look at the thermostat though.

 

[HillmanImp]

Damp curry smell inside the xantia? Check the heater matrix.

 

You know, that reminds me of my old Xantia, it used to do that. Wonder why?

[vulgalour]

111111111111111111

[richardmorris]

You know, that reminds me of my old Xantia, it used to do that. Wonder why?

Matrix leaks at the plastic seam. Bacteria lives off the antifreeze and when it warms up you get the hot damp curry smell of cooking bacteria.

[vulgalour]

@HillmanImp:  I had issues with the Onion Bus on the insurance front, most wanted rather a lot so I went direct to people not on the comparison sites.  Adrian Flux are insuring me with 3 years NCB, 3 years experience, 32, parked on the street for about £450.  Most quotes were coming in at the £900-1400 mark elsewhere.  I was told by a couple of insurers that Xantias have a 'high risk claim' attachment, which I can only assume means they're shit in a crash and personal injury payouts are normally huge as a result or something of that ilk, they wouldn't actually explain what it meant when I tried to get more info out of them.  In fact, getting actual information out of an insurer about risk factors and how to make insurance more affordable is akin to trying to get a whelk out of its shell with a wooden spoon.

[Ghosty]

The V70 goes quite well for a diesel that isn't boosting properly. I'd better look at the thermostat though.

 

01001000 01101111 01110111 00100000 01100100 01101001 01100100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100?

[Richard]

01001000 01101111 01110111 00100000 01100100 01101001 01100100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100?

 

I was trying out all the functions on the diagnostic software. This was the instrument panel test, it sweeps all the gauges and flashes all the warning lights- except the MIL because some bounder has removed the bulb as an alternative to actually fixing the fault.

 

There's also a function to test the deadlocks, but I couldn't find a way to unlock them so we were locked in the car too for a while.

[hairnet]

i r disappoint you werent doin 139 mph

[phil_lihp]

Right then, someone somewhere is in a lot of trouble.  Which one of you Volvo owners has been mending your car?  The delicate Volvo Welfare Balance has once again been upset.  

 

After a mare of a job last year with Philibusmo getting the turbo inlet pipes off for cleaning and replacing of the PCV system on the 940, which was blocked solid, I'd assumed all would now be well, it'd blown the front cam seal which we'd also replaced at the same time.

 

Drove it about 30 miles this morning and when parking up afterwards noticed a strong smell of burning oil.  Turns out it'd blown the dipstick out of the tube and sprayed the engine bay quite liberally with oil.  It's also venting oil mist through the filler cap and generally consuming quite a lot.  Either we missed a pipe or its worn its piston rings - I really hope not because it's only done just under 140k but it does seem to have been badly neglected in recent years before I got hold of it.  A quick compression test will probably be the next port of call before I go pulling the PCV bits off again.

 

In addition, the dreadful job of replacing the heater valve has not resulted in dry carpets or a working heater, it now seems that the heater matrix is clogged solid and leaking as the drivers footwell is still a little soggy and the heater is pathetic.

 

Falling slightly out of love with this car at the moment, despite its recently demonstrated ability to swallow large items of furniture.  Hopefully this is a temporary setback.

[Shep Shepherd]

Right then, someone somewhere is in a lot of trouble.  Which one of you Volvo owners has been mending your car?  The delicate Volvo Welfare Balance has once again been upset.  

 

Not me; The Volvo remains unbroken

[RobT]

Sorry, that'll be me Phil. I've been tinkering with the 440 today trying to make it run better, plus i did a coolant flush in a cheap attempt at resolving the running hot issue. It starts and idles better, but not sure about the overheating until i take it for a run tomorrow. It's got a slight misfire so I'll be doing the plugs, leads and dizzy cap next as they look ancient, so you've been warned!

[HMC]

Soz phil, I could be to blame too. The saga of the ABS warning light on the 760-

 

Remove front discs to clean the wheel speed sensors. One was stuck on the hub and needed a bit of careful persuading; which may or may not have knocked that disc out of true; which resulted in the need for new front discs/ pads. It seemed daft to pop something like that back on the hub. After all that- warning light still there.

 

Clean all connectors and relays, no different. Take out the warning light bulb, then some sort of reality check happened- this is not the way to ' fix' it, what sort of shiteist are you? Bulb back and get a multimeter on the sensors, One giving a duff resistance reading. MOT due Tuesday so I'm hoping I can get one in time!