The new news 24 thread

[wuvvum]

Aaand today the Scénic's wipers are working perfectly again.

I really don't understand this car.  It also puts me in a bit of a quandary - I was going to have a go at taking the wipers apart this weekend and cleaning the connections, but I'm now worried that if I do that they might stop working again permanently - that wasn't an issue when they weren't working anyway but would be a bit of a bugger now.  I really need to find a dry day to take it in for a retest so that I don't have to use the wipers, but looking at the forecast for next week that's not looking very likely.

Before I can take it in I need to replace the rear springs - this looks like it should be an easy 30-minute job (jack the rear of the car up nice and high, wheels off, bottom shock mounts undone, drop the axle, ping the old springs out, pop the new in, reassembly is the reverse of removal) but being modern, French and generally a bit temperamental you can guarantee it's not going to be that easy...

[Zelandeth]

4 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

Tada! 

totally* worth the £10.70 LOL

Hmm...good effort, but lacks ambition...

Sure I've got one of those little B&W sets somewhere... though this is the one I usually default to for things like that.

Think the chain there was HDMI to VGA to RGB Scart to the DVR, composite Scart from the DVR to the VCR, then RF from the VCR to the TV!

[LightBulbFun]

31 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Hmm...good effort, but lacks ambition...

Sure I've got one of those little B&W sets somewhere... though this is the one I usually default to for things like that.

Think the chain there was HDMI to VGA to RGB Scart to the DVR, composite Scart from the DVR to the VCR, then RF from the VCR to the TV!

yeah I am not sure I can compete with compared to what you have on hand!

although saying that I do have a Macintosh SE, but when new that was not very autoshite and I dont have the right serial cable to network it currently sadly, and it might need a bit more then the 2.5MB of RAM it currently has! I think ill save this idea for when I get my Macintosh SE/30 in hand which has the same case design and 1 bit BW 512x342 CRT display only with a lot more grunt behind it!

I will say yours are much clearer! (im especially impressed by your little BW set's clarity given the amount of adapters its running through! when booting on mine there was no way you could make out the linux kernel messages scrolling down the screen LOL)

I do need to see if I can do something about the fuzziness of my little set, I mean I know these 5 inch TV's where bottom of the barrel when new, but I do recall them actually being surprisingly sharp, granted last time I used one in anger was about 15 years ago! so perhaps its rose tinted glasses!

so ill have to crack it open and see if theres any focus pots I can play with! although I will try another composite source (If I can find said composite adapter for my Apple iBook laptops) just incase it happens the Raspberry Pi Model B im using has an unusually soft composite output...

it also probably doesn't help that the only composite cable I have (that I know I have! gawd knows whats buried in one of my many boxes somewhere...) while decent quality I think, is about 10ft long or so

Say you have at least one 405 line (capable) TV set IIRC right? the Forum on one of those would be seriously fun! (and impressive)  

[Angrydicky]

8 hours ago, Jon said:

Thanks Dicky, I totally forgot you worked for a company that worked on such things!

Had a stab at this this morning and success!

 

However, partial success only, as the brown/black seal is not included in the repair kit and that's where there's sign of fluid loss, between the master and servo.

Close up of seals - do they look borked?

Apologies for orange-ness, I was using my anglepoise with a tungsten bulb in to try and shed more light on the inner part.

 

Also, this looks like it's built not to come apart:

And I've not worked out how to extract the second spring set-up, either:

 

And in hindsight, a 2.5mm drill bit seemed just too big a bit to make a hole with:

I'm figuring that if fluid was pissing out already, breaching beyond the groove where the circlip sits is a likely weak spot.

Unless it wasn't the MC leaking all along and rather the servo, instead...

So, I'm not quite sure what to do next. 

Maybe work on the Cavalier's brakes instead, as they seem much easier to deal with!

You've made a great start! Usually there is a long screw which holds that primary piston assembly together, but in this case there's no screw head or something. Maybe another attempt by ATE to discourage home repairers. They've already tried using torx style screw heads which doesn't work. I haven't seen this before, I shall consult someone more experienced.

Seals look ok, but it is difficult to tell from the photos.

The secondary piston is held in place with a stop pin which you can just see jutting into the bore in your photo of the inside of the cylinder. This is usually located in the secondary inlet port, under the reservoir grommet which you have already removed. You will need to depress the piston with a screwdriver then use a pair of long nose pliers to pull the pin out, then the secondary piston will just tap out.

Should look something like this.

[LabRat]

Don't know if anyone else has noticed this with their chod- since switching the MG6 to E10, it fucking reeks on the warm up cycle. The plug gaps are correct, air filter recent and if anything it's running smoother, but the exhaust smells really sharply of chemicals (as opposed to that nicer smelling dino petrol, I know) and it's kicking far more steam out than before to the point that I got stopped yesterday by an old bloke who thought the head gasket had popped!

 

It does this until its got a bit of heat in the exhaust and then clears up lovely, according to  MG this is normal... Can't be all that good for the environment right? 

[Cluffy]

On 11/21/2021 at 12:07 PM, grogee said:

@Cluffyand I spent this morning wrestling with his Corrado gearbox. It came off after the requisite amount of swearing, sweating, grunting and pulling. 

In the end we decided the 'Falling Onto Something Soft' was the best way to get it out completely. 6 layers of foam floor stuff plus some rolled up carpet did the job, although I don't think that's the approved HBoL method. 

His task list includes new chains and guides, plus a new clutch because why wouldn't you when you're balls deep? Head is off to the specialist for skimming and stuff. 

Job#1 is Spring so we're hopeful it'll be back together by then. 

Happy times. @grogee- I'm glad you're more confident that replacement will be easier than removal!!

[brownnova]

10 hours ago, TheOtherStu said:

I'm suitably impressed with @brownnova's E Class. I always loved that one with the round lights.

I’ll let you know if it becomes available!

 So the good lady has given me the go ahead for B or C, she has also always wanted a proper Volvo Estate too (that’s what it is)… so pending test drive and agreement on a price… 

That does mean I actually need to get on and sell the Elgrand and the MX5 like I’ve been saying I will for a couple of months now! 

[tom13]

First commute in the new car today. Quick stop in town on the way. 

[TheOtherStu]

11 hours ago, Talbot said:

Depends if you have a 2-post lift and a gearbox stand.  Without them, it's a bastard of a job, as you have to get the car high enough on axle stands to get the gearbox out.  You're then scrabbling around under the car to get it out.

With a 2-post and a gearbox stand, 3-4hrs work.  My local merc specialist would likely do that job for the cost of the parts plus about 3-4hrs labour, which probably works out at about £200.  Assuming the clutch isn't stupid money, you'll likely have change from £500.   But yes, it does depend on the DMF, and whether it's shagged, and how expensive it is.  I can ask for a quote if you're interested.

I think that's the issue. The clutch kit itself (it's a dual clutch apparently) is around £300. The DMF is around £360 (both are LUK that i've looked up). So yes, it's likely to be the labour that's hard work.

Wouldn't mind a quote - where abouts are you based?

[Ghosty]

5 hours ago, LabRat said:

E10

E10 smells bloody awful in general I've noticed. First time I smelt it I felt sick. 

Sticking to E5. 

[LabRat]

 

1 minute ago, Ghosty said:

E10 smells bloody awful in general I've noticed. First time I smelt it I felt sick. 

Sticking to E5. 

Wish I could- it won't hot idle at all on E5 super, SAIC must have set the mapping to run off the Chinese equivalent of 2 star or summat. 

[Talbot]

1 hour ago, TheOtherStu said:

Wouldn't mind a quote - where abouts are you based?

the garage isin RH14.  Too far?

[Split_Pin]

13 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

E10 smells bloody awful in general I've noticed. First time I smelt it I felt sick. 

Sticking to E5. 

Really?

I put £30 of E10 in the Audi last week and it doesn't smell at all.

[TheOtherStu]

43 minutes ago, Talbot said:

the garage isin RH14.  Too far?

Not a million miles away. I live in Bucks, drive to the South Coast every week.

[Timewaster]

I keep seeing all these references to E10 and all I keep thinking about is Jeff Lynn. 

 

[Fumbler]

I performed a coolant hose repair. Can you tell?😁

I didn't notice my hands were that shaky but at least it's more watertight than what was on there.

 

[grogee]

Today I went to look at this, a 1998 Fiat Brava. It had potential* especially for an Autoshite project but seller wouldn't go lower than £600 which is too rich (for me) for an old Fiat with no MoT. Even if it is only 28,000 miles.

To be honest I hadn't run it past Mrs Grogee (the Steering Committee) so probably a lucky escape from a tongue lashing (not the good kind).

[grogee]

43 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

I performed a coolant hose repair. Can you tell?😁

I didn't notice my hands were that shaky but at least it's more watertight than what was on there.

 

Factory spec. Bonus points if the clips were generic washing machine ones. 

[Fumbler]

1 minute ago, grogee said:

Factory spec. Bonus points if the clips were generic washing machine ones. 

Factory Weber ones no less! Citroen has used these everywhere on the car so I feel less bad about adding to that number.

[grogee]

3 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

Factory Weber ones no less! Citroen has used these everywhere on the car so I feel less bad about adding to that number.

Posh bastard. 

[Split_Pin]

10 minutes ago, grogee said:

Today I went to look at this, a 1998 Fiat Brava. It had potential* especially for an Autoshite project but seller wouldn't go lower than £600 which is too rich (for me) for an old Fiat with no MoT. Even if it is only 28,000 miles.

To be honest I hadn't run it past Mrs Grogee (the Steering Committee) so probably a lucky escape from a tongue lashing (not the good kind).

That's lovely. Not £600 lovely though.  The seller probably cant see past the low mileage. I'm going to guess it's going to sit there until either the seller realises they're not going to get rid and lowers the price, or they might be a miserable tight git and let it sit until its too far gone.

[grogee]

16 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

That's lovely. Not £600 lovely though.  The seller probably cant see past the low mileage. I'm going to guess it's going to sit there until either the seller realises they're not going to get rid and lowers the price, or they might be a miserable tight git and let it sit until its too far gone.

Exactly what I thought. He said, "I'd rather keep it than let it go for less than £600."

Looks like you're keeping it then mate. I don't need or even want a Fiat Brava, but I thought it might be a fun project and an interesting trip back in time to when cars were A Bit More Shit than they are now. 

I think when he produced the replacement master cylinder still in its packaging I was thinking, "this is more trouble than I want to get into". I mean, not a terrible job I'm sure, but that's on top of the service, cam belt and windscreen it needs

[Split_Pin]

Ooft, fuck that.

Its not as if people will be beating his door down for it. Only a few blokes in a beige corner of the internet would be interested and only only if its cheap.

He'll be weighing it in for a few hundred this time next year. Plonker.

There's a 51 plate Bravo near me, that I have major want for, it's very tidy.

[brownnova]

Two cars bought in a week… to serve the same purpose….

Standard. 

[dollywobbler]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

I think when he produced the replacement master cylinder still in its packaging I was thinking, "this is more trouble than I want to get into". I mean, not a terrible job I'm sure, but that's on top of the service, cam belt and windscreen it needs

Brake or clutch? If it's clutch master, it's presumably a sod of a job, as it is on the Multipla.

[reb]

I'm sitting outside work with the wind attempting to lift up the car.

The Tay Bridge should be fun*

[Mrcento]

9 minutes ago, reb said:

The Tay Bridge should be fun*

I'd say odds are that's not happening, it's already down to cars only, 30mph and folk are coming off with brown trousers and begging them to close it.

Forecast to get worse in a few hours.

[dollywobbler]

Stay safe folks. It's bad enough over here (a mere Amber warning).

[bezzabsa]

9 hours ago, tom13 said:

First commute in the new car today. Quick stop in town on the way. 

is that in that there Stourbridge??

[Spurious]

New Hey Road in the Jimny was fun* in the Jimny.  The M62 was basically bumper to bumper eastbound from Manchester over the hills. So I put my brave pants on and went over the tops. 

The morning is also going to be fun, but a Saturday should reduce the chance of people crashing on the motorway. Equally as windy but you can't get blown off the side of a mountain unlike New Hey Road as there's barriers to stop you 🙃