83C Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Automotively speaking, this weekend hasn't gone well. It began with the Astra having a FTP - alternator borked. Late last night I had to check over the wife's Focus after she reported a 'rattling' sound on the way home - turns out it needs 3 tyres and suspension bits for MoT next month, wiping out the budget for replacing the Astravan. Fuck sakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyarddog Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 My 205 was getting difficult to start from cold,so I decided to fit the new glow plugs that I had lurking in a drawer. 3 came out fine,one decided to do this... Marvellous!! Tried to weld a nut onto the broken stub,and the initial signs were good,but every time it went more that a few degrees the nut would shear off. So,another method was needed. You can buy a kit to remove them, but that's money I didn't want to spend. So,it was carefully drilled out and I luckily had a the correct M12x1.25 tap to clean up the threads. The remains of the plug,the rest was turned into swarf I used plenty of grease on the tap to catch the metal chips as it cleared up the thread. 4x new Bosch glow plugs later and we're back in action. Finally the new one screwed home. It did start on 3,but the new Monark brand plugs I had fitted didn't like the extra voltage and burned out after about 4 starts. You can see the tip is swollen (ooh-er missus) Hopefully the 4 Bosch ones will be fine. What a ballache for what should a simple straightforward job. 🙄 LightBulbFun, Craig the Princess, Jim Bell and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardmorris Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Signs of spring today. LightBulbFun, chaseracer, Yoss and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 3 minutes ago, richardmorris said: Signs of spring today. Theres been lambs here for a good few weeks now, even with the sub zero temperatures. These guys were at the end of the garden until last week. I suspect they might have gone off to be served next to mint sauce. LightBulbFun and richardmorris 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayts450 Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Hopefully today will be my last day of non-couriering as the Combo visits the local indie for a new coil spring first thing tomorrow. No doubt it'll take all day, but not necessarily a bad thing as I have a few incomplete jobs I'd like to kill off. Streetwise alternator - well, it's nearly out, finally got the lower mounting bolt loose by creating some room (hitting the outgoing alternator with a hammer to knock it forward, enabling me to get a much bigger ratchet in to attack the bolt. Yielded with an almighty crack and the bolt was out. The alternator is still stuck in there rigidly, so will need a pry bar to lever it out. However, that's only half the battle - I still need to get the alternator out of the engine bay. Ideally, it's a case of removing the top alternator mounting bracket, leaving plenty of room. Naturally, another bolt, this time a wee 10mm beastie is locked solid and is now rounder than the Magic Roundabout. Buggerbollox. It was getting dark so downed tools for now to allow for WD40 penetration and to locate my mole grips. Front garden hedge long overdue trim: before (yes that is a nest - long abandoned : woodpigeon believe it or not !) after Very satisfying three hours work, very therapeutic. Only trouble is, that's only a third of the hedge, still the other side of the path to do, which bends round to the side of the house. My arms look like I'm self harming as the hedge, which I planted myself many years ago, has hawthorn in it. Ouch. chodweaver, chaseracer, Rusty_Rocket and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarvinsMom Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 finally got the Rover home after having the alternator, belts and thermostat replaced. it had been at George's in town for the last fortnight getting that done. it would have been sooner, had York Road Motorfactors sent the right alternator belt first time, and not sent the wrong one twice before managing to send the right part. all those jobs are a proper pain on a diesel 75, requiring both o/s engine mounts to be removed and the engine manipulated one way to get to the alternator, and then back to get at the thermostat, and back again to get at the belt tensioners. luckily only one of the 4 bolts holding the stat on broke, George did get the remains of it drilled and tapped, before getting it all back together. the car runs mint, and the flickering on the lights, something the car has done for all of the 5 and a half years that i have owned it, is no more! though seeing the temperature gauge sit at the 9 o'clock position is alarming, i dunno when it last did that, no seriously i don't remember when it last did that. it must have been sometime ago. obviously this isn't cheap, with the bill been more than frankly the cart is worth, what is a 20 year old Rover 75 worth, with 205,000 miles on the clock? bugger all realistically, though as George said, its in pretty good nick, all told And, its a good old bus, its never let us down, and even when its broke, it hasn't left me or Kerry stranded, its not too bad on the derv, its a nice place to sit and i like it both to drive and look at, it is the perfect work horse. plus i feel i got off lightly, in the yard next to it was a 16 plate Renault Scenic, the owners of which will be left with a £3-4k bill! that has suffered some sort of electrical melt down, they have apparently been driving it for sometime with a bust ignition switch, so busted that when George took the cowl off it all fell to bits (£500-odd to buy, exchange, except this one won't be,cos its in bits) and a new steering rack (Renault don't stock them, its getting a 2nd hand one) which is out of a scrapped 17plate one with a borked engine. you gotta love the DCi engine, still shit after all these years..... well this had been in the breakers for a couple of days, and the carcass was already well picked over!! next over Georges pit is another 75, this one too wanting a new thermostat. Wilco-Motorsave in town had tried to change it, they have snapped 3 of the bolts, and mutilated the 4th one before declaring to the owner that the car is now scrap, no wonder then that both Kerry and myself are both very particular about who looks at our cars!! Split_Pin, barefoot and chodweaver 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Jetter Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Sounds ok...i think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 8 hours ago, DodgyBastard said: Instead I've been looking at a roadworthy 505 gtd auto That's a car that always intrigued me. A turbocharged Indenor mated to an auto 'box is an unusual combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 More stuff on the rover - Cleaned inside the rocker covers - some shite in there but not a lot - i've seen much worse. Likewise the rocker gear - sometimes they get so bad you cannot see the headbolts for sludge. When they get to that state they need rebuilding. Some paint on the covers. .... and on the trumpet base. Stanky, dome, Pete-M and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 I dropped the Volvo off with tame mechanic yesterday to have new rear ABS sensors fitted, a wise choice as apparently the fuel tank needed dropping to run the wiring for them, this has cleared the ABS fault so this afternoon I took it along to the MOT garage for them to test at their leisure. I will now spend my time plugging the reg into the MOT checker until it's done. With any luck it should be done tomorrow. Then comes the fun of getting it home given MrsREB can't/won't drive here so the Fiesta is going to end up stuck in town unless I walk (which will take at least an hour) or get a taxi (where's the fun in that?). If the fiesta had more test left I'd just abandon it in the long stay car park until it sold, but laziness in getting the Volvo fixed has ruined that slightly. Very much looking forward to being back in the Volvo, even just driving it to the garage yesterday was a joy. Once it's back I'll have a day of cleaning the interior as it's ended up somewhat grim from sitting and I got a load of detailing products for my birthday. It'll be the closest I've got to working on a car in over a year, so I'm quite excited about that! Before and afters will be provided of course! dome, Floatylight, stripped fred and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymous user Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 20 hours ago, SiC said: Theres been lambs here for a good few weeks now, even with the sub zero temperatures. These guys were at the end of the garden until last week. I suspect they might have gone off to be served next to mint sauce. No, they are down the casino, gambolling Twiggy, richardmorris, N19 and 3 others 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig the Princess Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 33 minutes ago, anonymous user said: No, they are down the casino, gambolling Ewe should be ashamed of that joke. Shite Ron, anonymous user and Twiggy 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickman Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 53 minutes ago, reb said: If the fiesta had more test left I'd just abandon it in the long stay car park until it sold. Get the advert up for the Fiesta, @Mrcentosaid earlier that he is car less at the moment and it might fit the bill even if it is in Fife. (Fife bit in relation to his grump) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borsuq Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the last car, a Chevrolet Aveo, rolling off the production line at FSO. RIP FSO, and probably good riddance. Coprolalia, richardmorris, SiC and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N19 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 All this talk of mint sauce is making me hungry... Bluebird window regulator ordered up. In the meantime, with the window dismantled, it's parked inside at the local friendly garage. I took the steering wheel surround apart this afternoon, the rear washer hasn't worked since I got it - apparently the front washer switch failed some years ago and the previous keeper swapped it over for the rear washer one. My plan is (having seen the prices of second hand stalk units) to wire to an extra switch for the rear wash. BorniteIdentity 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRi05 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 A message to strike fear into even the most battle hardened of shiters dome, SiC and chancer 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRi05 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 5 minutes ago, SRi05 said: A message to strike fear into even the most battle hardened of shiters Sooo.... After seeing the Mrs typing for an eternity making me increasingly anxious, she sent this. Hmm, could have been worse. The bing bing noise is actually the ping pong noise for the Saab enthusiasts among you. I'm guessing there's a duff sensor since opening and shutting the door a few times hasn't done anything. Told her to manually lock the doors and not to use the fob which should stop the alarm going off its tits. Off tomorrow so at least have some time to investigate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiC Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 3 minutes ago, SRi05 said: Sooo.... After seeing the Mrs typing for an eternity making me increasingly anxious, she sent this. Hmm, could have been worse. The bing bing noise is actually the ping pong noise for the Saab enthusiasts among you. I'm guessing there's a duff sensor since opening and shutting the door a few times hasn't done anything. Told her to manually lock the doors and not to use the fob which should stop the alarm going off its tits. Off tomorrow so at least have some time to investigate. The aeroplane noise. I used to fear it on my 9-3. It did the noise and then a slight delay before it told you the problem. SRi05 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRi05 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 2 minutes ago, SiC said: The aeroplane noise. I used to fear it on my 9-3. It did the noise and then a slight delay before it told you the problem. Aye, it's never good news Stanky and dome 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayts450 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Combo returned in under 2 and a half hours, £108 all in - most chuffed with that. Gave the van a celebratory wash, and then a company who use me regularly offered me a run into South Wales tomorrow which I readily accepted - back in da game. Decided to skive off the rest of the day. Streetwise alternator hasn't moved, but the mounting bracket bolt is rounder. Arse. In hedge news, two thirds now done and I have made a decision to leave the remaining third uncut as it provides a natural windbreak to the house. And because it will hopefully annoy those of an OCD persuasion. chodweaver, LightBulbFun, Craig the Princess and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownnova Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Auf Wiedersehen! After nearly six years in my ownership (a new record) I sold the MX5 today... the rust was too much for me to tackle. 😢 Shite Ron, loserone, Floatylight and 9 others 3 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardmorris Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 More Sunday lunches about today. LightBulbFun, Skizzer, Stanky and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skizzer Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 IMG_4361.MP4 IMG_4361.MP4 I’m shear those sheep puns are woolly unacceptable. Happy news here, the ex- @Vantman Accord now has a fresh MOT after the replacement of a perished CV boot. Paul the Garage says nothing to worry about with this one, which is nice. Here it is being hailed on the other day. Edit: I don’t know what those weird black not-video things are doing at the top of this post. I can’t delete them. We’ll have to live with them. Just North Korean spybot things, probably. BorniteIdentity, Burnside, Stanky and 13 others 12 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilA Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 58 minutes ago, richardmorris said: More Sunday lunches about today. Here it's all birds. Cardinal in the tree today No idea what this was but it looked menacing as it circled overhead yesterday. Phil chadders, Yoss and Skizzer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoss Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Today I dug the Triumph out for the first time in months. I should be using it more but I'm too lazy to shuffle everything around. Further hampered by the building of my model railway. Not something that ought to get in the way you'd have thought, but the half dozen of you that peruse the miniature railwayshite thread will know I've been having major expansion in my loft. So I set up a temporary workbench with a chopsaw on in front of the Triumph that I could pull in and out but I was too lazy to break it down to get to the Triumph. And then winter came and being a postman means December is a write off because I'm at work for the entire daylight hours. Anyway this is all feeble excuses. I've been giving it a once over the last few days as it's been stood so long. Pumped up the tyres, checked all the levels (clutch fluid was a bit low) and lights. Brake lights weren't working but a wiggle of the switch got those on. One sidelight is very dim but that will be a poor earth, I can sort that out once it is out. So the reshuffle happened this afternoon. Favorit is now in the garage having a rest for a week or so. The reshuffle is quite a convoluted affair, there's also a Felicia out of shot. The drive holds two cars and the garage one but they are line astern so you have to get them all out and put them back in the required order so once it is out it's staying out for a while. Unless it breaks. We've only had the dog since November so he's not been in it before. Check mirrors. Check blind spot. And we're good to go. stripped fred, chodweaver, brownnova and 24 others 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angrydicky Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 My bargain Rover 620 breezed its first MoT in my ownership. Advisories for perished upper ball joint boots (I’ve looked and they are available separately), and one front tyre worn on the edge. The uneven tyre wear is caused by the tracking being out, the steering wheel is straight but it always wanders to the left if you let go of the steering wheel. I’ll have to get the tracking done. Shame about the tyre as they’re newish matching Goodyears. GrumpiusMaximus, Stanky, Tickman and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayts450 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 15 minutes ago, Angrydicky said: My bargain Rover 620 breezed its first MoT in my ownership. Advisories for perished upper ball joint boots (I’ve looked and they are available separately) TADTS. Been an advisory on mine for years. Superglue worked this year again so the fronts haven't been mentioned in my ownership. Didn't get away with the rears in 2019, mind, so just went the whole hog and replaced the upper arms completely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angrydicky Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 1 minute ago, clayts450 said: TADTS. Been an advisory on mine for years. Superglue worked this year again so the fronts haven't been mentioned in my ownership. Didn't get away with the rears in 2019, mind, so just went the whole hog and replaced the upper arms completely When did they actually become a fail then? I thought the only boots they could fail on were CV and steering rack! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayts450 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 1 minute ago, Angrydicky said: When did they actually become a fail then? I thought the only boots they could fail on were CV and steering rack! Think we need one of our in-house MoT testers to comment @meggersdog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeB Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Skizzer said: I’m shear those sheep puns are woolly unacceptable. Happy news here, the ex- @Vantman Accord now has a fresh MOT after the replacement of a perished CV boot. Paul the Garage says nothing to worry about with this one, which is nice. Here it is being hailed on the other day. Edit: I don’t know what those weird black not-video things are doing at the top of this post. I can’t delete them. We’ll have to live with them. Just North Korean spybot things, probably. No idea what they were, but I seem to have managed to delete them. Skizzer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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