The new news 24 thread

[Burnside]

4 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

Wow. Is that a Fiat Stilo Estate? Nice. Gash wheel trims though. Get yerself some genuine items:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Set-of-Fiat-Stilo-15-Wheel-Trims-Hub-Caps-x4/124270783504?hash=item1cef1dac10:g:BGUAAOSw6d9fGauI

Hi Mo, tis a Fiat Stilo Estate. In 1.6 Active Aircon spec. (Minus Aircon as needs regas! ) Thank's for the link on the wheel trims. I've got 3 of the genuine wheel trims already.

I'll get a 4th at some point or maybe upgrade to alloys if the right set come along.  

 

[RayMK]

I've been using and enjoying my Tipo 1.4ie regularly since lockdown eased.  I always preferred the Stellar that I owned until June 2018, but the Tipo is slowly growing on me.  It's not all good news with the Tipo though. Recently the clutch pedal has occasionally been sticking down. There's no drop in the hydraulic fluid level (clutch and brakes share the same reservoir), no hydraulic wetness near either the master cylinder or slave cylinder and the clutch itself works fine when the pedal behaves normally, which is about 90% of the time. I lubricated the pedal pivot and the clutch actuation lever in case they had become dry with age (26 years) but that made no difference. The obvious probable remedy is to replace the clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder, neither being particularly difficult until you put my decrepitude in to the equation. For the moment, an easier fix* is being tested i.e. an additional return spring acting at the pedal - all out of sight and looks almost as if it had been designed by an Italian - and because that only made a slight improvement, a beefy tension spring has been hooked between the actuation lever on the bell housing  and a convenient vacant bolt hole in the front crossmember. The latter looks like a bodge worthy of an old giffer.  Clutch weight has not noticeably increased as a result of the additional springs and, so far, the clutch pedal has not stuck down as often. As soon as I get a chance to look under the car to photograph the master cylinder I'll order a replacement off the 'bay and also get a slave cylinder, then pass the job to my classic friendly garage, assuming he and his business has survived the virus.    

[Split_Pin]

I didn't work on my own car today for a change.

My neighbour has an 03 plate Ford Fusion which he uses to go to his caravan every weekend but due to the lockdown it hasn't been used much since March.

He had to bump start it last night as the battery needs to be replaced so he left it running for half an hour When he turned it off he noticed a hissing sound and there was a lot of coolant running down the inner wing and out behind the bumper. I took a look today and whipped off the header tank. It looked very crazed although a quick fill of tap water with my thumb over the hose outlets showed no leaks.

I reinstalled it and filled it up to the max with fresh coolant and let it run for half an hour. All else seemed good and it was running well but then I noticed bubbles around the neck of the tank where the cap screws on so a cracked and failing header tank was diagnosed. New one ordered for £11 with a cap and hopefully it will be here before he needs it this weekend. I will fit it when it arrives as I am off work this week. His wife's car is on a limited 10k a year so the Fusion is needed for the weekend.

I can't understand how so much coolant escaped from the tank though as it was only air bubbles evident when we were monitoring it and the coolant level is nowhere near the cap. I can only assume it had been overfilled. There was no evidence of HGF so I quickly ruled that out.

It's a good wee car and it was my next door but one neighbour's car before this and he looked after it. I think it's got many more years service yet.

[beko1987]

21 minutes ago, RayMK said:

I've been using and enjoying my Tipo 1.4ie regularly since lockdown eased.  I always preferred the Stellar that I owned until June 2018, but the Tipo is slowly growing on me.  It's not all good news with the Tipo though. Recently the clutch pedal has occasionally been sticking down. There's no drop in the hydraulic fluid level (clutch and brakes share the same reservoir), no hydraulic wetness near either the master cylinder or slave cylinder and the clutch itself works fine when the pedal behaves normally, which is about 90% of the time. I lubricated the pedal pivot and the clutch actuation lever in case they had become dry with age (26 years) but that made no difference. The obvious probable remedy is to replace the clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder, neither being particularly difficult until you put my decrepitude in to the equation. For the moment, an easier fix* is being tested i.e. an additional return spring acting at the pedal - all out of sight and looks almost as if it had been designed by an Italian - and because that only made a slight improvement, a beefy tension spring has been hooked between the actuation lever on the bell housing  and a convenient vacant bolt hole in the front crossmember. The latter looks like a bodge worthy of an old giffer.  Clutch weight has not noticeably increased as a result of the additional springs and, so far, the clutch pedal has not stuck down as often. As soon as I get a chance to look under the car to photograph the master cylinder I'll order a replacement off the 'bay and also get a slave cylinder, then pass the job to my classic friendly garage, assuming he and his business has survived the virus.    

I've had a failing clutch slave on a laguna 2 before. Sounds way easier to fix on a tipo! 

[Christine]

New correct  rear glass fitted in the Volvo  xc  , new fast glass that works in the doors , bonus central locking  works as does mirrors adjuster  ..cost ? 30quid  and a tube of  black jizz stuff  ?.   2000 miles added too !  Hooked on D5 engine noise ??

[Christine]

Argh what am i gunna do with this ?  I bought it brand new ..It was £9995 + vat  ,Its never ftp..ever .. Really needs a clutch , a cambelt kit ,2 tyres , a caliper , mot ..maybe more . Sat there since xmas and i know everyone is fed up with it sitting there...Half of me wants to keep it and half of me wants it gone !   400 for a clutch 220. Cambelt 100 tyres..50 caliper 50 mot....is it worth it i ask myself !  Grrrr! And a seatbelt !

 

[mitsisigma01]

Errrr YESSSS??

[camryv6]

Have you seen how much they still fetch ?

So it's a yes from me !!

[andyberg]

Its worth big bucks  all day long to a surfer dude?

[lesapandre]

Van looks nice - worth the spend? I mean what can you get for £600 odd. 

Meanwhile some Citroen porn. My XM having tyres today for a MoT. Finally has the manufactures recommended 205 60 R15's on - previous tyres were too skinny, new ones fill the arches very nicely. Continental on the front - forgot what on the rear -good newish used from my mate in the tyre business.

For those interested this is a 2.5 turbo-diesel manual. Almost 200,000 miles but you'd never know really.

[Split_Pin]

4 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Van looks nice - worth the spend? I mean what can you get for £600 odd. 

Meanwhile some Citroen porn. My XM having tyres today for a MoT. Finally has the manufactures recommended 205 60 R15's on - previous tyres were too skinny, new ones fill the arches very nicely. Continental on the front - forgot what on the rear -good newish used from my mate in the tyre business.

For those interested this is a 2.5 turbo-diesel manual. Almost 200,000 miles but you'd never know really.

Absolutely lovely!

[lesapandre]

The photo flatters it. That particular 90's colour has shed its lacquer in places - seems to plague all marques with it. Shows all 13 glass panels in the car. Gets quite hot in summer.

[Coprolalia]

Right shiters, advice please.

I'm trying to fit a new stereo. ISO has now been rewired so theoretically should have all speakers.

I've tried three different head units but none of them will turn on. I have 12v at the head unit side of the ISO connector. 

Any suggestions?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Sunday pub hack

[plasticvandan]

I finally found a replacement wing for my Rover 400 from our local breakers yard, unfortunately it had a dent and was BRG,but given they are hard to find and it was £20 I went for it.Not a perfect job by any means but aside from a few small dents my rattle can job has come out well I think and really lifts the car up from before,I was pleased to find no rust under the sill cover too

[Dabooka]

8 minutes ago, Coprolalia said:

Right shiters, advice please.

I'm trying to fit a new stereo. ISO has now been rewired so theoretically should have all speakers.

I've tried three different head units but none of them will turn on. I have 12v at the head unit side of the ISO connector. 

Any suggestions?

Are you certain the pins on the harness are correct.  I'm not 100% certain but I thought ground was below the (switched) live?

I may* be wrong on this...

[davehedgehog31]

The 405 has wipers with built in washers, needed replaced so thought I'd try this kit with washers which mount on the wiper arms. 

Not a great fit, but with a bit of adapting with a file they went together and do a splendid wash/wipe.

[Split_Pin]

31 minutes ago, plasticvandan said:

I finally found a replacement wing for my Rover 400 from our local breakers yard, unfortunately it had a dent and was BRG,but given they are hard to find and it was £20 I went for it.Not a perfect job by any means but aside from a few small dents my rattle can job has come out well I think and really lifts the car up from before,I was pleased to find no rust under the sill cover too

That's a bloody decent job, you're right to be happy!

[lesapandre]

38 minutes ago, Coprolalia said:

Right shiters, advice please.

I'm trying to fit a new stereo. ISO has now been rewired so theoretically should have all speakers.

I've tried three different head units but none of them will turn on. I have 12v at the head unit side of the ISO connector. 

Any suggestions?

I fitted one recently. The only advice I can give is there will be 2 live feeds - 1 a constant to maintain memory and aux setting and 1 for ignition on. Not getting both live means the head unit won't power up . That's all I can add.

[richardmorris]

3 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

I fitted one recently. The only advice I can give is there will be 2 live feeds - 1 a constant to maintain memory and aux setting and 1 for ignition on. Not getting both live means the head unit won't power up . That's all I can add.

It is possibly possible to swap over the round yellow and red connections to get the configuration you want.

[Coprolalia]

Thanks @Dabooka and @lesapandre. The old head unit only required switched live and earth, which is what was left and corresponded to the wiring diagram I was able to find.

There's no feed for a constant live to be seen, so will find the appropriate wire somewhere in the dash. 

It's been hacked about before so always possible that there the earth and live are cross-wired somewhere.

There is a yellow/white wire, but from what I can tell it's some sort of power aerial feed.

 

[jaypee]

Howdy! Some before during and after pics of a quick return on the worst wheel on our (me and 320touring) dad's CRV. Not perfect by a long way, however much better. The before is actually a different wheel, however the one refurbed was slightly worse. 

Just sanded and cleaned the wheel back, a couple of coats of primer, then a couple of coats of Simoniz Silver Wheel paint finished off with a few coats of lacquer. 

All in all, not too bad. 

I think the others will likely get a splash of paint stripper first to reduce the stripping time. 

Cheers. 

Jp

[mitsisigma01]

46 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Sunday pub hack

Roffle ??

[lesapandre]

7 minutes ago, Coprolalia said:

Thanks @Dabooka and @lesapandre. The old head unit only required switched live and earth, which is what was left and corresponded to the wiring diagram I was able to find.

There's no feed for a constant live to be seen, so will find the appropriate wire somewhere in the dash. 

It's been hacked about before so always possible that there the earth and live are cross-wired somewhere.

There is a yellow/white wire, but from what I can tell it's some sort of power aerial feed.

 

I used this:

I had the CD player - and connector and modern coloured wiring out the back and then spliced it in to a 30yo Mercedes. Was helpful.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectors_for_car_audio

[richardmorris]

9 minutes ago, Coprolalia said:

Thanks @Dabooka and @lesapandre. The old head unit only required switched live and earth, which is what was left and corresponded to the wiring diagram I was able to find.

There's no feed for a constant live to be seen, so will find the appropriate wire somewhere in the dash. 

It's been hacked about before so always possible that there the earth and live are cross-wired somewhere.

There is a yellow/white wire, but from what I can tell it's some sort of power aerial feed.

 

A permanent live will be needed somewhere for the memory functions. I’ve installed all mine to be off with the ignition switch, so they won’t drain the battery accidentally,

[Split_Pin]

13 minutes ago, jaypee said:

Howdy! Some before during and after pics of a quick return on the worst wheel on our (me and 320touring) dad's CRV. Not perfect by a long way, however much better. The before is actually a different wheel, however the one refurbed was slightly worse. 

Just sanded and cleaned the wheel back, a couple of coats of primer, then a couple of coats of Simoniz Silver Wheel paint finished off with a few coats of lacquer. 

All in all, not too bad. 

I think the others will likely get a splash of paint stripper first to reduce the stripping time. 

Cheers. 

Jp

Brilliant job. The Audi's wheels are similarly afflicted, I need to get motivated to do this!

[trigger]

Treated myself to a late 40th birthday present today. 

I'm mega excited, I've wanted a Sprint since being a kid, especially a yellow one so jumped on this when I was offered it. 

Drove down to Potters Bar this morning to view it and fell in love straight away, it's a million miles away from my old 1500 SE, it's a rip roaring monster which will probably financially ruined me bit it's worth it! 

It's being delivered by the owner on Tuesday as he gets free train travel and it saved me having to insure and going back again. Definitely my favourite car I've ever bought! 

[jaypee]

6 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Brilliant job. The Audi's wheels are similarly afflicted, I need to get motivated to do this!

Cheers dude, aye, they look no bad. I am washing what's left of my hair that day ??. 

[cort16]

9 minutes ago, trigger said:

Treated myself to a late 40th birthday present today. 

I'm mega excited, I've wanted a Sprint since being a kid, especially a yellow one so jumped on this when I was offered it. 

Drove down to Potters Bar this morning to view it and fell in love straight away, it's a million miles away from my old 1500 SE, it's a rip roaring monster which will probably financially ruined me bit it's worth it! 

It's being delivered by the owner on Tuesday as he gets free train travel and it saved me having to insure and going back again. Definitely my favourite car I've ever bought! 

nice one, looks like a belter.

[phil_lihp]

That Dolomite looks superb, well bought!  Loving the colour too.