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41 minutes ago, Spurious said:

BINI with a prince engine level of worried?  Once they've taken a dislike to the car, I think it's hard to go back and you need a new one or you won't hear the end of it. 

Yes that's what I'm worried about. 

Fortunately she is very bad at actually buying a car herself. Her style is to tell me what she doesn't like and expect me to find the perfect one for her but refuses to engage with the process of telling me what she does want. 

I've pretty much said if she wants a Bini she's going to have to sort it out herself. I'm not sure if that's the best thing to do or not 😅

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1 hour ago, Cord Fourteener said:

So the wife has been browsing Mini estates, this worrying behaviour has been happening for a while now. 

I know we can't afford to buy a car now, (mostly because I have a bagpipe habit that might need looking at by a professional) so that's something. 

She has a perfectly good, if a bit oil-leaky Peugeot 307 that she's prejudiced agsinst for an unknown vague reason that doesn't make actual sense. 

How worried should I be?

Same utterly shit Prince engine. If you're tired of your wife saying she wants a new car, just wait until the Bini breaks every week and you need to sort it out.

I owned mine although ostensibly it was my wife's car. That way when it eventually blew out all its coolant, I could ultimately make the decision to get rid of it.

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Drove my semi-employer's 924 and LR to his local village fete this morning. The Porsche felt great (at 20mph) as it should with 6,000 miles on the clock.

Fuck me though, you've really got to love LRs to want to drive one. I know we're going back in time and things were different then, but it is punishing for any distance. 

Re: LR rear diff, I've taken out the slop from the nose bearing and bolted the prop back, then topped it up with smelly oil. He's going to take it to Town and Country in Leam for a considered opinion - the front diff has decided to leak now too, TADTS.

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23 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Moved it across the drive, washed it, dipped the oil again and it's now at 3/4 🤷‍♂️

Firstly I'd recommend taking readings on a flat surface or at least in the same spot every time, it can quite easily catch you out if you're taking readings at different locations 

Secondly, nothing to do with the remap is it? How much black smoke are you getting? If there's that much excess fuel it sounds close to failed DPF regen levels, although of course the 75 doesn't have a DPF but the principal remains the same - if there's excess fuel it'll wash into the oil. 

Just a thought 🤔

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Driveway is flat and the remap has been on for years. New PCV made no difference either. Its only just started doing this in the last few months.

I've contacted Duncan the Rover guy in Whitburn and he still has the tools to fit a replacement pump. I pulled it out the garage last night and the replacement one looks really clean. As long as I rule out diesel being dumped into the sump then the level can carry on and do as it pleases.

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Miss stuboytobe wanted me to drive her car as she wasn't feeling great, I said u checked that tyre? Well she said dunno what one it was... well I hit the roof and said u not driving this anymore until its sorted... I took her and her debit card to local tyreweb for 2 new front tyres and tracking was out.. so £176 later and moan up from me she all legal again.

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So I picked up this beauty courtesy of @Tubbo and also Ceri’s superb delivery service. Let me tell you, this is a gem. Ridiculous amount of history, like ridiculous. Drives absolutely spot bob on. Here it is getting a valet and clean up from my brothers mate, who runs his own valeting company. 
 

Only plans are to fit some 17” Toyota GT86 wheels which I’ve bought, lower it to suit and then enjoy it. 

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So my MG TF went in for test a couple of weeks back and failed on emissions. So I took it to the local MG place (where I had bought it in the first place) to see what they could do. They took too long for the retest, but it looks as though they’ve done something, because it went for a test on Friday… where it failed on different things! 

FML.

Generally I prefer to have become attached to a car before spending money on it .

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9 hours ago, brownnova said:

So my MG TF went in for test a couple of weeks back and failed on emissions. So I took it to the local MG place (where I had bought it in the first place) to see what they could do. They took too long for the retest, but it looks as though they’ve done something, because it went for a test on Friday… where it failed on different things! 

FML.

Generally I prefer to have become attached to a car before spending money on it .

Which emmissions has it failed on and by how much?

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Took the 107 to King's Lynn for the ACA classic auction today.  Using the scientific* method of resetting the trip computer when the fuel light came on, I've calculated that it managed 56.5 mpg.  Which isn't bad at all considering I wasn't going particularly slowly.  I reckon if I granny it on a long run it should be able to get over 60 easily enough.

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17 hours ago, Cord Fourteener said:

So the wife has been browsing Mini estates, this worrying behaviour has been happening for a while now. 

I know we can't afford to buy a car now, (mostly because I have a bagpipe habit that might need looking at by a professional) so that's something. 

She has a perfectly good, if a bit oil-leaky Peugeot 307 that she's prejudiced agsinst for an unknown vague reason that doesn't make actual sense. 

How worried should I be?

R55?

 

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DON'T. If you absolutely have to get one, get a diesel. But even then, don't.

The petrol Prince engines are <Rik Mayall> utter, utter, utter, UTTER, UTTER </Rik Mayall> shit, especially the early N14 in prefacelift cars. 

a) we've had two and b) an acquaintance that's a BMW service tech will attest for them being shit. So will The Reverend Bluejeans. (Remember him?)


They drink oil - litre every couple thousand miles, best case. Constant top ups.
Timing chains are fragile and have failure prone plastic guides, they last no miles at all and the guides can end up in the sump. 
Valve stem seals go - £££.
Poor tolerances from the factory mean they're prone to piston slap when cold (has happened to us - response? sell car).
Top mounts fail.
Bulb out at the rear? it's probably melted the housing. 
Sunroofs often leak or just won't work. 
Can be hiding rot under the plastic trim.
 

Quote

N14 is a time bomb
I wouldn't touch one unless it's been rebuilt or on very low mileage
Even on low mileage I'd have want the timing chains done
If you were buying one with more than 100k I'd have wanted it to have a recent top end rebuild + chains aswell as thermostat housing+water pump

Ours (2009 car) drank oil, had failed timing chain guides, several rear light clusters and piston slap at 35k, we bought it on 22k in 2017 and sold it last year.

Really, really don't recommend them. 

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On 09/06/2022 at 19:49, New POD said:

He's not wrong. 

 

Barbers, Nail bars, fake tanning establishments, launderettes.

Have you not watched Ozark ? 

 

Nail bars and tan places definitely, international food stores which change name or management every few months, and anywhere which doesn’t take card.

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24 minutes ago, dozeydustman said:

 and anywhere which doesn’t take card.

None of the Samuel Smiths pubs in Durham take cards. Its cash or the door. I think that its probably because Humphry Smith is a dinosaur rather than a money launderer.  They dont have TVs ,music or gaming machines either so its a win win win  from me. Oh and you cant use your mobile phone or tablet inside the pub either. There is a sign on the bar that tells you this. I will grab a picture of the sign next time I am in. Oh hang on a minute!

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53 minutes ago, primeradoner said:

None of the Samuel Smiths pubs in Durham take cards. Its cash or the door. I think that its probably because Humphry Smith is a dinosaur rather than a money launderer.  They dont have TVs ,music or gaming machines either so its a win win win  from me. Oh and you cant use your mobile phone or tablet inside the pub either. There is a sign on the bar that tells you this. I will grab a picture of the sign next time I am in. Oh hang on a minute!

I think they are all like that. My local one is the same (central Stockport). Allegedly Mr Smith will wander in any of them to check and remind the licensee how much they like working with him.

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3 minutes ago, primeradoner said:

None of the Samuel Smiths pubs in Durham take cards. Its cash or the door. I think that its probably because Humphry Smith is a dinosaur rather than a money launderer.  They dont have TVs ,music or gaming machines either so its a win win win  from me. Oh and you cant use your mobile phone or tablet inside the pub either. There is a sign on the bar that tells you this. I will grab a picture of the sign next time I am in. Oh hang on a minute!

Dinosaur definitely. Pubs are a lot different to shops and many started taking card not long after they started selling meals. I remember when a few Wetherspoons were cash only in the 1990s.


I know of a corner shop in Fernhurst (not far from me) owned by a Tubbs and Edward/Arkwright hybrid couple who staunchly refused to get a card machine, turned down the opportunity to take in the post office franchise when the local branch was closed down and they hyper-inflated prices as “they are convenient for the locals”. Talking £1.80 for a can of coke or £3 for a Heinz tomato soup. They also hated passing trade because they ‘may not shop here again’. 
With no cash point in the village, and nobody wanting to use cash during the pandemic means they lost their local trade and closed down, all seemingly because of not wanting to take card. Even the greengrocer opposite them saw sense and got a chip & pin thing during the pandemic to save their business. Dinosaur or money laundering?

I paid for a bottle of drink in a One-Stop yesterday with a fiver and it confused the fuck out of the guy behind the counter (I needed some change)

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I had no loose changed for ages apart from a pound coin in my wallet, which I had to spend when I got a haircut for £11 & the barber only took cash.

When I went to a Sainsbury's this week I deliberately used a note rather than my card so I could get some change.

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On 6/11/2022 at 8:50 AM, Cord Fourteener said:

So the wife has been browsing Mini estates, this worrying behaviour has been happening for a while now. 

I know we can't afford to buy a car now, (mostly because I have a bagpipe habit that might need looking at by a professional) so that's something. 

She has a perfectly good, if a bit oil-leaky Peugeot 307 that she's prejudiced agsinst for an unknown vague reason that doesn't make actual sense. 

How worried should I be?

We've had a 2009 Cooper Clubman D for about six months and got it at about 54K.  At 59K the clutch went although the warning signs had been there since we got it (but we didn't know at the time).  Ended up needing a DMF and clutch replacement and that was expensive.  It also likes to pretend that its bulbs are playing up (sensors) but this comes and goes and the handle for the bonnet release snapped (and has since been fixed).

The warning sign on the clutch was that the pedal was heavy and then we couldn't find the torque band.  Then it started slipping and gave up the ghost fairly rapidly.

Ours has the Ford diesel engine.  It's a nice engine and gives decent performance.  It handles nicely and it's a pleasant place to be.  The ride is a bit hard for my tastes and the seats are a bit small - but I'm 20-odd Stone.

It's a really nice car and I like it, although the boot isn't as big as you think it is (even on the estate) but it is good fun to drive.

You can get more bagpipes into most other estates and we all know how important that is.

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The car gods were shining down on me today

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I had taken a guess at the spool of copper pipe I had laying around being long enough to do the front to rear line on the passenger side of my Dad’s W211. I was getting less confident as I got towards the end 😅

Even better, the job took less time than expected and so I have time left to go to halfrauds and get more so that I can replace the passenger front.

It seems to be going too well so I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop at any moment now 🤣

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39 minutes ago, stuboy said:

Popped Into lidl and they had some 0.8mm gasless wire for 4.99.. not that I need it right now but good to have.

 

I have an old welder and can it use gasless flux wire?

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Depends on what the welder says. You need to reverse the polarity on the output for gasless wire. Welders made for MIG and gasless usually have the facility to do that either on the front or within the reel compartment.

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Today I ran out of excuses to change the diaphragm in my 1961 Reliant's fuel pump.  I last started the car on 25th September 2021 and last drove it in October 2020, but only a hundred metres or so within the cul-de-sac.  Just getting in to it today in my garage seemed like a major exertion.  Nevertheless, with my son's help I got the car out of the garage far enough to open the passenger door so that access to the pump side of the engine was easier.  The two fuel pipe unions unscrewed without difficulty. The two nuts which secured the pump to the engine could only be undone one flat at a time with an open ended spanner. None of my sockets or ring spanners had slender enough dimensions to get on the nuts. I think my box spanners may have had a chance but I have no idea where they are. After a laborious 45 minutes of nut turning I had the pump off.  The pump was remarkably clean inside and the new diaphragm fitted well and made healthy sounding suction noises when the actuation lever was moved.  Reassembly of the pump to the car took another 45 minutes.  The car's battery had taken a charge whilst I was fiddling around with the pump but it did not have sufficient power to fling the bendix on the starter to turn the engine.  At this point my endurance ran out and my son pushed me (in the Reliant) back in to the garage.

I'm going to chew over my thoughts for a day or two on what to do next. My current thinking is to sell it as a non-running project. I may have a go at starting it with jump leads before putting it up for sale. I would feel better if it was at least running before parting with it. Surprisingly, given that I've owned it since 1992, refurbished it between then and 2005 including a rebore etc., used it to drive to Reliant events and general enjoyment from 2005 until about 2019, I have very little emotional attachment to the car.  It's more a case of 'I'm glad I have owned and enjoyed it. Now it's time to move it on.'  Decisions will be made soon.

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