The new news 24 thread

[barefoot]

One of the vehicles I am charged with maintaining at work, a 2.2 litre 14 plate Peugeot Boxer has a coolant leak. Slow & steady, but it frequently needs topping up. It does more sitting idling than motorway work. I'm taking it for a service next week and apparently when the garage were asked about this previously, there was a lot of tutting & 'its totally fucking fucked mate' and apparently it would involve removal of the engine to sort. Has anyone any knowledge of these engines? Do they have a weakspot? Is it a simple fix with a hose clip? 

In short, is there anything I should be aware of before the garage try to fob me off as well?

[Flashband]

15 hours ago, mitsisigma01 said:

What you really need is a set of headlight protectors.... I happen to have a pair, along with a set of genuine Ford front mudflaps bnib. Drop me a line if you're interested 👍

If puntopaul isn't interested I would be

[clayts450]

The benefit* of not working whilst I await van repair means I can at last turn my attention to my sagging fleet.

Streetwise - ordered a 2nd hand alternator off the Bay, so hopefully that will arrive quickly and I can get that replaced and the car running again (nearly full tank of fuel)

Combo - awaiting osf coil spring repair, but I have taken the opportunity to order some brake pads (£10 off the Bay, genuine Fiat/Vaux) and I have some replacement discs too, so I can hopefully get that nailed over the weekend, along with changing the fuel filter

420 - will be aiming to give it the once over tomorrow checking last year's advisories, before booking it in for a test

Coupe - it's fucking fucked m7, so am gonna move all the crap outta the boot, stick a shit battery in it, and get it gone

620 - swapped out the ignition switch today and good news, it starts first time every time now so I have finally got a serviceable (just) vehicle. Couple of annoyances however since it's been laid up. Central locking is very hit and miss. osr door had been jammed up, stuck locked. Miraculously when I went for a drive and then parked up, it unjammed and now works perfectly. Thought I had fixed the perennial internal door handle not working - it lasted one opening before failing again, gah....back to winding the window down to get out. And now the heater/blower has packed up (hopefully just a fuse). I also have half the dash facia missing due to broken clips. Who cares, the car runs..... (half tank of fuel)

214 - what you need to remember about the 214 is that we don't talk about the 214.

[somewhatfoolish]

Someone will have reported a house party/illegal pub/whatever; dibble seem to have been given a memo that 'this kind of thing should not be tolerated' recently.

  

6 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

Yesterday we were walking Memphis in the park, which is quite near our house (just beyond the range of her little legs so we take her in the car).  This regular outing passes for Daily Exercise for MrsR too.  We'd got beyond halfway round out usual route when I heard sirens approaching; they stopped, so there was clearly some sort of incident nearby.  Then, with a view of one of the gates, I could see a police van parked up, and an officer entering the park on foot.  I turned around and found two vans cruising slowly along the wider paths behind us, heading generally for the side of the park we hadn't visited.  We carried on back towards the car, and found two more vans parked at another gate we had to pass, and officers patrolling on foot.

This whole scene is quite unusual!  I haven't found out what was going on yet but I thought it was worth sharing.

The standard urban patrol car round here now seems to be a Peugeot Expert van, with a crewcab and presumably a prisoner cage in the very back.  Four of the vans yesterday were this spec (the other was a similarly-laid-out Transit).  Looks like the ole Panda car, Fiesta etc, is obsolete, at least in Cumbria.

 

[rickvw72]

Just bought a new dizzy cap for the Mk2 Golf. It’s a 16v so searching by name brings up a price 40-50 quid for a Bosch part.

If you search by its part number, they’re 15 quid, genuine bosch. Fitted to loads of cars, inc Ford’s, Vauxhall’s etc.

Worth a remember really, parts are cheaper online by part number, than name. Especially true if like the golf, values have climbed last few years.

This phenomenon was definitely true of used parts. It was a lot more for mk1 Escort RS reversing lights on eBay, than a hillman imp reverse lamp used to sell for! 

[Zelandeth]

3 minutes ago, rickvw72 said:

Just bought a new dizzy cap for the Mk2 Golf. It’s a 16v so searching by name brings up a price 40-50 quid for a Bosch part.

If you search by its part number, they’re 15 quid, genuine bosch. Fitted to loads of cars, inc Ford’s, Vauxhall’s etc.

Worth a remember really, parts are cheaper online by part number, than name. Especially true if like the golf, values have climbed last few years.

This phenomenon was definitely true of used parts. It was a lot more for mk1 Escort RS reversing lights on eBay, than a hillman imp reverse lamp used to sell for! 

Yep... Definitely true for the plethora of random Lucas bits on the Jag.  Same part used on twenty different cars...but if they stick Jaguar in front of the listing they quadruple the price!

[chaseracer]

9 hours ago, brownnova said:

Just had the news from the garage about the extent of the MX5s rust... it’s not good news... 

Decisions to be made... 

Buy a RWD classic and transplant the Mazda's oily bits...

[reb]

Finally got round to booking the Volvo in to get new ABS sensors fitted, I would do it myself but my unit is full of french shit and furthermore I just can't be arsed. Hopefully once that's sorted it'll fly through a test and I can rid myself of the hateful little Fiesta. Fingers crossed as said Fiesta only has test til the end of the month and won't pass another without work I'm unwilling to put in. (Nothing dangerous, I hasten to add)

[anonymous user]

24 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Yep... Definitely true for the plethora of random Lucas bits on the Jag.  Same part used on twenty different cars...but if they stick Jaguar in front of the listing they quadruple the price!

They always did, BL especially when I worked for a main dealer in the 70s. Lots of bits shared from the Mini  through the range of cars across to the Range Rover no surprise if you ordered for your Range Rover it would be dearer. (The cheap plastic  window winder handle was the same, as was some switchgear)

[stuboy]

Corsa tigra rims on a bini?.. same hubs as vauxhall 4 studs late 80s/90s, where they'd put bmw 3 series alloys on astra and cavaliers?

[Mr Laurence]

1 minute ago, stuboy said:

Corsa tigra rims on a bini?.. same hubs as vauxhall 4 studs late 80s/90s, where they'd put bmw 3 series alloys on astra and cavaliers?

You know, they suit it quite well I think

[Merryck]

1 hour ago, rickvw72 said:

Just bought a new dizzy cap for the Mk2 Golf. It’s a 16v so searching by name brings up a price 40-50 quid for a Bosch part.

If you search by its part number, they’re 15 quid, genuine bosch. Fitted to loads of cars, inc Ford’s, Vauxhall’s etc.

Worth a remember really, parts are cheaper online by part number, than name. Especially true if like the golf, values have climbed last few years.

This phenomenon was definitely true of used parts. It was a lot more for mk1 Escort RS reversing lights on eBay, than a hillman imp reverse lamp used to sell for! 

Any chance this will work for for a Land Rover 90 from the 1980's? Seems that anything with Land Rover or Defender written on the box costs three times as much as anything else!

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, anonymous user said:

They always did, BL especially when I worked for a main dealer in the 70s. Lots of bits shared from the Mini  through the range of cars across to the Range Rover no surprise if you ordered for your Range Rover it would be dearer. (The cheap plastic  window winder handle was the same, as was some switchgear)

Yup, I worked in parts for JRT, then AR, with late LR.  When they mention 'parts bin', that is exactly what they were, a 'bin' is a division on a shelf, given a coded number. 

[eddyramrod]

On 2/17/2021 at 7:54 PM, somewhatfoolish said:

Someone will have reported a house party/illegal pub/whatever; dibble seem to have been given a memo that 'this kind of thing should not be tolerated' recently.

  

 

I asked one of the park sweepers today.  He thought the cops had been "looking for some bloke" but didn't know if they'd found anyone.

[Craig the Princess]

4 hours ago, chaseracer said:

Buy a RWD classic and transplant the Mazda's oily bits...

Whispers... Yugo.

[SiC]

Princess Anne had ... this very car for a short period

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233899536299

[barefoot]

The SCIMITAR badge on the back, is it supposed to be wonky?

[Mally]

'Handbuilt.'

Photos of my son's rebuilt one should be available shortly.

Condition will be similar, price will not.

Taster.

[mitsisigma01]

3 hours ago, barefoot said:

The SCIMITAR badge on the back, is it supposed to be wonky

I'm out, that does look shite

[mitsisigma01]

Start again 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402698117778

[wuvvum]

The preliminary verdict is in on the diesel C2's fuel consumption.  Using the highly scientific* method of zeroing the trip meter when the fuel light comes on, sticking some diesel in and then checking the trip meter reading when the light comes on again, it's been averaging around 57.5mpg.  Which is slightly less than the 61.3 the computer thinks it's doing, and a lot less than the official figures, but not bad considering most of my recent driving has been pottering round the houses rather than long runs.

It also now has choonz - the secondhand Kenwood CD player I bought off eBay for 6 quid turned up and was fitted at the weekend.  It works fine - it doesn't switch off with the ignition but it does switch off when the BSI shuts down a few minutes later, which is good enough.  It also doesn't retain the station when it's switched off, but it's the work of a few seconds to retune it.  I might swap the red and yellow wires round at some stage but there are bigger fish to fry at the moment.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

Alison passed her MOT today. One advisory. Very pleased as she has 246,000 miles on the clock! 👍 👍 👍 😎 😎 😎 

[beko1987]

2 hours ago, wuvvum said:

The preliminary verdict is in on the diesel C2's fuel consumption.  Using the highly scientific* method of zeroing the trip meter when the fuel light comes on, sticking some diesel in and then checking the trip meter reading when the light comes on again, it's been averaging around 57.5mpg.  Which is slightly less than the 61.3 the computer thinks it's doing, and a lot less than the official figures, but not bad considering most of my recent driving has been pottering round the houses rather than long runs.

It also now has choonz - the secondhand Kenwood CD player I bought off eBay for 6 quid turned up and was fitted at the weekend.  It works fine - it doesn't switch off with the ignition but it does switch off when the BSI shuts down a few minutes later, which is good enough.  It also doesn't retain the station when it's switched off, but it's the work of a few seconds to retune it.  I might swap the red and yellow wires round at some stage but there are bigger fish to fry at the moment.

I'd be researching the wiring in it, the last few moderns I've had I've had to run a perm live wire from places as the bsi wiring has it all built in....

My pioneer has a live wire wrapped around the live terminal for the ciggy lighter, Zafira was the same, the lagunii only left the ciggy lighter in the armrest live so that was a longer wire

[reb]

Something has gone terribly wrong in my life.

[New POD]

1 minute ago, reb said:

Something has gone terribly wrong in my life.

I think not. 

Cruise control and phone connectivity.  

Everything you want for a comfy long journey. 

And a Vauxhall, which is always a good thing. 

[New POD]

22 hours ago, rickvw72 said:

Just bought a new dizzy cap for the Mk2 Golf. It’s a 16v so searching by name brings up a price 40-50 quid for a Bosch part.

If you search by its part number, they’re 15 quid, genuine bosch. Fitted to loads of cars, inc Ford’s, Vauxhall’s etc.

Worth a remember really, parts are cheaper online by part number, than name. Especially true if like the golf, values have climbed last few years.

This phenomenon was definitely true of used parts. It was a lot more for mk1 Escort RS reversing lights on eBay, than a hillman imp reverse lamp used to sell for! 

I worked for Lucas Industries for 9 years.  Often bits with different part numbers are interchangeable with very little fuss.  

Most suppliers to the motor industry, have a family of systems , that use as many common components as possible. 

Reuse a design, over and over again. 

 

[wuvvum]

31 minutes ago, New POD said:

And a Vauxhall, which is always a good thing. 

[N19]

An opportunity presented itself to do a job I've meant to do for a while, and reinstate the heat shield on the Bluebird. The previous fixings were snapped off, so needed drilled out... To get a drill in, the radiator had to be drained... 

... Removed... 

... One came out easily enough, but the other two were far trickier. In the end, I went for a bit of a bodge, and put a self tapper into the stub of the fixing. The fixings just hold the shield in place, so not much weight to worry about. 

And with that done, time to fit the new air duct hose, and reinstate everything with new and less chewed fixings and jubilee clips. 

... Slightly too long, but not wildly so. 

The previous one rotted away and it's been missing for about a year now - maybe this'll allow the autochoke to come off earlier and improve the dire mpg. 

Oh, whilst we're at it, here's the autoshite calendar... 

... And, finally, changing the content of the in car entertainment, 1980s style. 

[reb]

4 hours ago, New POD said:

I think not. 

Cruise control and phone connectivity.  

Everything you want for a comfy long journey. 

And a Vauxhall, which is always a good thing. 

For a long journey it might have been alright, but this is a company* supplied and signwritten Pizza Delivery Weapon, reconnecting my phone every time I got in got tiresome so I ended up just bunging Heart 70s on. No opportunity to use cruise either.

Quite why they need a whole Astra to deliver pizzas I'm not sure.

 

*Not numbertile this time round, the other one.

[loserone]

5 minutes ago, reb said:

For a long journey it would have absolutely crippled from the appalling seats

And that's before the dangerous lane assist kicks in