The new news 24 thread

[High Jetter]

Good choice. Had an R reg Avensis from 6 months old, ex-Toyota GB car. Sold on after years of good service, rarely any MOT problems

[Spurious]

Any other political nerds binging the election this week? Staying up to have a watch of Biden's speech. 

(and I'm deliberately not straying into politics of who should have won but it's been a fascinating week) 

[Jamie]

This is getting a bit out of hand... 

[Jamie]

1 down, one to go. 

Cleaned up nice the xsi this is one I am going to use, it has a misfire under load but hoping it's just a coil pack only done 51,000 miles and has full history

 

[Out Run]

2 hours ago, Jamie said:

1 down, one to go. 

Cleaned up nice the xsi this is one I am going to use, it has a misfire under load but hoping it's just a coil pack only done 51,000 miles and has full history

 

Needs a WRC spoiler lol. Looks a right little beast, there.

[Out Run]

Just now, Out Run said:

Needs a WRC spoiler lol. Looks a right little beast, there.

I moved the flood lights underneath the carport roof. Much better.

[stuboy]

Sad news yesterday misses uncle not be in touch for 2 weeks, sadly he had passed away no suspicious circumstances etc etc,  the standard 8 not moved in years, and its alleged zodia zephyr in the garage but no idea on condition... sad times

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Finally managed to open a parcel from Malaysia. A pair of NOS front signal/marker light units for the CX:

These are like feckin' hens' teeth, and CX-Basis charges 320+ Euros for each side, so £120 for the pair from Malaysia is a bargain, even with import duty.
 

Meanwhile, it's mostly normal stables service for the CX:

So far running well, although there was a mysterious fail-to-start when I was about to go home. That cleared after using one of those pocket jump-start packs. No idea *shrugs* - hope the alternator isn't failing again.

[wuvvum]

Well it was a beautiful weekend weather-wise, but I didn't get as much done as I'd've liked due to a combination of my inability to get up early and the fact it now gets dark half way through the afternoon.

I removed the rear bench seat from the Granvia, to give a bit more space for stuff - I'm unlikely to ever need to carry seven people at once.  It's a bulky bastard and I don't really have anywhere to put it at the moment, so I've tipped it upside down and laid it on top of the middle row of seats as a temporary solution until I find somewhere permanent for it.  The sliding mechanisms are still in place on either side, but I've parked them next to the wheelarches so they don't intrude too much on the load bay.  I also fitted another stereo - there was a perfectly decent stereo in it when I bought it, but I've had this double din touch screen cheapo Chinese eBay special lying around for a couple of years and I wanted to try it out - it actually sounds surprisingly decent so it might stay for a while.

I stuck it up on the ramps so I could crawl underneath and work out what gearbox it has.  Helpfully, the maker's sticker is still on there so I was able to ascertain that it's an Aisin-Warner 30-40LE, which translates to an A340E in Toyotaspeak.  Unfortunately that didn't really help with trying to find a filter, as there appears to be at least three different filters for that 'box, one of which only seems to be available in Australia.  There are also more sensors on the 'box than I'd anticipated - half a dozen of the buggers, although I assume one of the ones at the tail end of the 'box is the speedo pickup.  I did a quick assessment of the grot situation whilst I was under there - for a 24-year-old JDM import that's been in this country for 16 years it's not fared too badly, partly due to the fairly industrial build.  The inner sills by the front door steps are going to need attention for the next MOT (I pulled on a bit of loose underseal and the metal underneath came away with it) but the chassis and outriggers etc all look sound - at least down the front end, I haven't been under the back yet.

The Rover 75 suffered an odd FTP - went to it yesterday and the battery was completely dead.  I'd used it on Wednesday to jump start the Scudo so it's not like it'd been sat for ages.  I jumped the Rover using the combined efforts of my big spare van battery and the C2, and took it for a drive to put some charge in.  I went back to it this afternoon and it started fine, so no idea what happened there.  The sat nav has packed up though - it still brings up a map but it doesn't move.  I'm not sure whether it's the disc that's getting tired (it was a knock-off anyway) or the DVD drive itself which has died - if it's the latter then it's going to be an expensive fix.  I'm going to try an updated disc first and see if that helps.

I still can't get the brakes on the Volvo to work.  I tried bleeding them again, this time using a Visibleed thing as it has a clear tube so I could see what was happening - it's pushing some fluid out the nearside front caliper (although I don't know how much of that is due to gravity) but nothing is coming out of the rears on either side.  So I'm wondering whether the master cylinder has had it.  It's rather annoying given that I've spent quite a lot of money on brake parts but so far have bugger all to show for it...

[N19]

Connections on the Capri dash now all cleaned up and where needed working... An illuminated dash is sort of useful during winter! Opportunities to take it for a run have been limited of late, but I think I'll take it to work for a change one day next week. 

[Cord Fourteener]

An expensive morning!

I have my Mondeo back, £372 lighter.

I know there's folks who would have done this themselves, even my neighbour, but it would have taken me two weeks with a lot of swearing. I don't have the time and patience, and I need it for work. So there 😜

 

[SiC]

53 minutes ago, Tim_E said:

An expensive morning!

I have my Mondeo back, £372 lighter.

I know there's folks who would have done this themselves, even my neighbour, but it would have taken me two weeks with a lot of swearing. I don't have the time and patience, and I need it for work. So there 😜

 

There are times in life when it's just not worth the hassle to DIY. I do the the same on my dailys all the time. You just need one bolt seized to loose a whole afternoon trying to get it done. 

[cort1977]

Replaced the coil, points and condenser on my Cortina yesterday.  Was trying to be methodical and test after each change to work out which had failed but it's hard to 'hold the lead close to a clean contact while checking for a spark' when trying to turn the ignition key at the same time.  My assistants wandered off to play minecraft and bridging the contacts on the starter solenoid is a little scary so i ended up swapping all of them without working out exactly which was the problem.  

Came to the conclusion that the starter might not be turning it over quick enough, a boost pack got it going for a couple of seconds before family duties stopped play for the day.  It will run next time.

[beko1987]

I've done that before, then when I'm asked what was wrong... "umm, well one of the 3 things I changed, don't care now!" 

[beko1987]

26 minutes ago, SiC said:

There are times in life when it's just not worth the hassle to DIY. I do the the same on my dailys all the time. You just need one bolt seized to loose a whole afternoon trying to get it done. 

I had money set aside for potential whel bearing issues at mot time, a job I'd not like to try at home, I remember @dollywobbler s zx wheel bearing fun, and my car is still a zx in an ugly frock! 

[Out Run]

5 hours ago, Tim_E said:

An expensive morning!

I have my Mondeo back, £372 lighter.

I know there's folks who would have done this themselves, even my neighbour, but it would have taken me two weeks with a lot of swearing. I don't have the time and patience, and I need it for work. So there 😜

 

It’s understandable that you may have not wanted to do the job, but that’s expensive!

Mk3? The bearings are about £30 each and it’s 4 torx bolts to remove and the ABS sensor to unplug.

It seems pretty cheeky from the garage. Unless I’m missing something?

I’ve never had to change them on any of my mk4’s, but I’m fairly sure it’s the same approach.

[SiC]

23 minutes ago, Out Run said:

It seems pretty cheeky from the garage. Unless I’m missing something?

Looks like they replaced the whole hub assembly as one piece. Probably a lot less hassle for them to do that than fannying around trying to press out rusted up bearings. 

[Out Run]

10 minutes ago, SiC said:

Looks like they replaced the whole hub assembly as one piece. Probably a lot less hassle for them to do that than fannying around trying to press out rusted up bearings. 

Yeah, I would imagine they have stuck a couple of these on.

I’m not being a dick. I just think they have charged a fortune, considering the job.

[Stevebrookman]

I’ve done a couple of these on the wife’s focus. Access to the torx screws or whatever they supply is difficult.  It’s from behind and on the focus there’s a dome shaped bit of metal covering it.It’s not too bad if they undo ok like my first one did, but the second ones screw# would not undo and I had to cut it off with a grinder. Also depends on whether an expensive or cheap replacement.

[Cord Fourteener]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

Looks like they replaced the whole hub assembly as one piece. Probably a lot less hassle for them to do that than fannying around trying to press out rusted up bearings. 

That's what they told me.

[Cord Fourteener]

1 hour ago, Stevebrookman said:

I’ve done a couple of these on the wife’s focus. Access to the torx screws or whatever they supply is difficult.  It’s from behind and on the focus there’s a dome shaped bit of metal covering it.It’s not too bad if they undo ok like my first one did, but the second ones screw# would not undo and I had to cut it off with a grinder. Also depends on whether an expensive or cheap replacement.

I dare say they used the top priced part, they are a bit like that.

It's done now anyway...

[SiC]

2 hours ago, Out Run said:

Yeah, I would imagine they have stuck a couple of these on.

I’m not being a dick. I just think they have charged a fortune, considering the job.

The conversation probably went to the local motorfactors

"Need some hubs and bearings for a Mondeo"

"Yeh got 'em on the shelf. 80 quid each."

"Ta, send 'em round now."

Then two to three hours labour on top of that. 

[Cord Fourteener]

28 minutes ago, SiC said:

The conversation probably went to the local motorfactors

"Need some hubs and bearings for a Mondeo"

"Yeh got 'em on the shelf. 80 quid each."

"Ta, send 'em round now."

Then two to three hours labour on top of that. 

Pretty much.

I have ordered parts myself then given them and the car to the garage. I don't think they like that!

The funny thing is there are so many garages in town, it's difficult to know who's best at what jobs. And they are all booked up to the eyeballs.

Anyway I have a quiet and smooth car and even if you add the cost of the car and all the parts and repairs I've done it has still cost peanuts😜

[BorniteIdentity]

51 minutes ago, Tim_E said:

Pretty much.

I have ordered parts myself then given them and the car to the garage. I don't think they like that!

The funny thing is there are so many garages in town, it's difficult to know who's best at what jobs. And they are all booked up to the eyeballs.

Anyway I have a quiet and smooth car and even if you add the cost of the car and all the parts and repairs I've done it has still cost peanuts😜

Your car is fixed. You paid someone’s wages. 

Sometimes I’ll have a go. Sometimes I won’t. But whenever I pass a job to a garage, it’s never with embarrassment or shame. It usually follows the “cost benefit analysis” (Can I be arsed vs Can I afford to pay someone vs How busy am I?)

 

[Bren]

The vectra was recovered to the garage. I'll know tomorrow or Wednesday what the damage is - mechanically and financially.

[sierraman]

15 hours ago, Out Run said:

It’s understandable that you may have not wanted to do the job, but that’s expensive!

Mk3? The bearings are about £30 each and it’s 4 torx bolts to remove and the ABS sensor to unplug.

It seems pretty cheeky from the garage. Unless I’m missing something?

I’ve never had to change them on any of my mk4’s, but I’m fairly sure it’s the same approach.

Cheap ones are £30 a piece but the FAG or SKF bearings are closer to £120 each. Not a difficult job at all so long as you use the right bit on the bolts holding the bearing to the hub carrier. Probably assuming they don’t seize or shear then no more than an hours labour per side. You’ve probably not been ripped off if they’re SKF or FAG but why you’d fit these to a 20 year old banger I don’t know. 

[bunglebus]

Saw this in London yesterday - how TF can they justify charging more to park a diesel? Pretty sure all vehicle emissions are the same when they're not being driven

 

[dozeydustman]

On 05/11/2020 at 22:18, vulgalour said:

My print/scanner combo has decided it doesn't want to talk to my computer any more, which means I've got a couple of unfinished traditional automotive art pieces there's not much point in me finishing until I replace the thing, or get it talking again.  Tried all the usual updates with drivers etc. and while the computer can see the device, and the device can see the computer, they're not on speaking terms and we can't figure out why.  Never mind, I've been wanting to replace it with a laser printer and a separate flatbed scanner for a while so this is as good an excuse as any.

That means I've been trying to get better at digital automotive artwork and I've been picking away at this Fury, getting stumped for a wheel choice until finding this excellent photo in the reference folder which might originally have been posted by someone on here, I'm not sure.

No idea what the wheel is, I just know it works for what I'm creating and seemed to be a fairly popular style for American stuff in Australia.

 

The yellow car trailering the JRG avenger estate would also make a cracking artwork.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

17 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Saw this in London yesterday - how TF can they justify charging more to park a diesel? Pretty sure all vehicle emissions are the same when they're not being driven

 

Quite sobering when you remember that £7.35 isn't far from the National Minimum Wage....

[bunglebus]

Bearing in mind this was in the congestion charge and ULEZ zone, so you've already been bum raped to get there