The new news 24 thread

[brownnova]

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 .

[HMC]

Patina- adjective descriptive term associated with Americans driving into objects.

[hairnet]

31 minutes ago, HMC said:

Patina- adjective descriptive term associated with Americans driving into objects.

 @PhilA tell him you dont do that

 

[PhilA]

1 hour ago, hairnet said:

 @PhilA tell him you dont do that

 

I try not to, in general

[RoverFolkUs]

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?

[wuvvum]

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.

[Ghosty]

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?

 

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. 

[brownnova]

7 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Which emmissions has it failed on and by how much?

Lambda… doesn’t say how much by, but it was a fair bit out in the first test (but they all were!). 

[dozeydustman]

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.

[primeradoner]

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!

[3VOM]

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.

[dozeydustman]

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)

[Richard_FM]

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.

[Pat Earrings]

This man now accompanies me everywhere with his sheer happiness.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

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.

[Rust Collector]

The car gods were shining down on me today

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 🤣

[stuboy]

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?

[Fumbler]

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?

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.

[RayMK]

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.

[taxi paul]

Was one of a lucky eight people today to have breakfast with and meet David dai bradley.  Better known has Billy casper from KES. One of the nicest blokes I have ever met. 

[beko1987]

39 minutes ago, taxi paul said:

Was one of a lucky eight people today to have breakfast with and meet David dai bradley.  Better known has Billy casper from KES. One of the nicest blokes I have ever met. 

I've never met you, and only know you through your posts... Your the chap on the left aren't you 😂

[wuvvum]

I went for a drive in the Volvo today.

Not very far, only up to the next village and back, but that's the furthest it's been under its own power for probably 12 years, and also the first time in a very long time that it's been over 30.  It wasn't entirely without hitch - the rear brakes were sticking on by the time I got home and the radiator cap was leaking a bit once it got up to temperature (my fault for ignoring the DO NOT REMOVE OR NUNS AND KITTENS WILL DIE warning and taking it off - I think it needs a new rubber seal) but importantly the engine ran absolutely fine, lovely and smooth and the temp gauge stayed where it should.  It's now had a full set of Bosch platinum tipped plugs and that along with the carb fettling and new diapraghms appears to have cured its running issues.  So not quite there yet but definitely progress - so much so that I've ordered it a new battery, as the one on there has pretty much had it - before the car started playing up the battery would just about manage to start it, but I think it's been flattened one too many times.  Given that it's a battery that I took off the Audi 80 I had about five years ago because I thought it was on its last legs then, it's not done too badly.

I extricated the Innocenti from the garage and gave it a clear out ahead of its exploratory MOT on Thursday.  It needed a jump but started easily enough.  I know it's going to fail but I'm hoping it doesn't fail on any bits that are impossible to get - I'll be rather pissed off if I've spent all this time and money on it only for it to be prevented from passing a test by some small but unobtainium bit.

Then I had an unexpected visit from my old MGB.

My mate who bought it off me was taking it on a run up to the coast with his Mrs and thought he'd stop off at mine on the way past to collect the window for his mum's Corsa.  It's nice to see the old crate out and about again, and still sounding as farty as ever (stainless exhaust FTW).  It's running rather rich at the moment but it sounds healthy enough.

The combination of torrential rain and hot weather this last week has been very good for the plant life.  There are a couple of quite impressive flowers that have appeared, one down the side of the Volvo and one growing from under my garden wall.  I don't know much about these things so I have no idea what species they are, but they were quite nice to see.

[LightBulbFun]

1 minute ago, wuvvum said:

but importantly the engine ran absolutely fine, lovely and smooth and the temp gauge stayed where it should.  It's now had a full set of Bosch platinum tipped plugs and that along with the carb fettling and new diapraghms appears to have cured its running issues. 

very awesome to hear the Volvo's running issues have finally been sorted for the most part since I know it was being a Major PITA for a long time

hopefully the brakes just need some of the usual cleaning up and then I look forward to seeing some pics of it out n about

(MOT exempt FTW)

[ruffgeezer]

On 6/9/2022 at 9:51 PM, Jazoli said:

Picked this up after a fraught train journey involving 4 trains, a missed connection and a lot of stress today

The drive home was thankfully uneventful, its an economical beast, 53mpg over 156 miles of mainly motorway, a bit better than the 24 I got from my V70 usually. 

Thanks to @sims00 for a easy pleasant deal as usual, my wife thinks we should just swap cars every 3 months.

Train stress

Please let me know if you do decide to move it on.

[Ghosty]

14 hours ago, 3VOM said:

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.

This is true, supposedly the staff in Smith's pubs are quite scared of him walking in. 

[New POD]

4 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I went for a drive in the Volvo today.

Not very far, only up to the next village and back, but that's the furthest it's been under its own power for probably 12 years, and also the first time in a very long time that it's been over 30.  It wasn't entirely without hitch - the rear brakes were sticking on by the time I got home and the radiator cap was leaking a bit once it got up to temperature (my fault for ignoring the DO NOT REMOVE OR NUNS AND KITTENS WILL DIE warning and taking it off - I think it needs a new rubber seal) but importantly the engine ran absolutely fine, lovely and smooth and the temp gauge stayed where it should.  It's now had a full set of Bosch platinum tipped plugs and that along with the carb fettling and new diapraghms appears to have cured its running issues.  So not quite there yet but definitely progress - so much so that I've ordered it a new battery, as the one on there has pretty much had it - before the car started playing up the battery would just about manage to start it, but I think it's been flattened one too many times.  Given that it's a battery that I took off the Audi 80 I had about five years ago because I thought it was on its last legs then, it's not done too badly.

I extricated the Innocenti from the garage and gave it a clear out ahead of its exploratory MOT on Thursday.  It needed a jump but started easily enough.  I know it's going to fail but I'm hoping it doesn't fail on any bits that are impossible to get - I'll be rather pissed off if I've spent all this time and money on it only for it to be prevented from passing a test by some small but unobtainium bit.

Then I had an unexpected visit from my old MGB.

My mate who bought it off me was taking it on a run up to the coast with his Mrs and thought he'd stop off at mine on the way past to collect the window for his mum's Corsa.  It's nice to see the old crate out and about again, and still sounding as farty as ever (stainless exhaust FTW).  It's running rather rich at the moment but it sounds healthy enough.

The combination of torrential rain and hot weather this last week has been very good for the plant life.  There are a couple of quite impressive flowers that have appeared, one down the side of the Volvo and one growing from under my garden wall.  I don't know much about these things so I have no idea what species they are, but they were quite nice to see.

Fox glove. 

 

[New POD]

15 hours ago, Richard_FM said:

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.

Sometimes I can't go to Lidl to do my weekly shop as i dont have a quid to borrow a trolley.  Or Asda. 

Instead I go to Tesco. 

I try not to carry cash to work as I might be tempted to buy a pie at the butty van, or chocolate out of the vending machine.  Both take cards, but with a joint account there would be comments about not sticking to my sensible eating plan. 

[Back_For_More]

11 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I went for a drive in the Volvo today.

Not very far, only up to the next village and back, but that's the furthest it's been under its own power for probably 12 years, and also the first time in a very long time that it's been over 30.  It wasn't entirely without hitch - the rear brakes were sticking on by the time I got home and the radiator cap was leaking a bit once it got up to temperature (my fault for ignoring the DO NOT REMOVE OR NUNS AND KITTENS WILL DIE warning and taking it off - I think it needs a new rubber seal) but importantly the engine ran absolutely fine, lovely and smooth and the temp gauge stayed where it should.  It's now had a full set of Bosch platinum tipped plugs and that along with the carb fettling and new diapraghms appears to have cured its running issues.  So not quite there yet but definitely progress - so much so that I've ordered it a new battery, as the one on there has pretty much had it - before the car started playing up the battery would just about manage to start it, but I think it's been flattened one too many times.  Given that it's a battery that I took off the Audi 80 I had about five years ago because I thought it was on its last legs then, it's not done too badly.

I extricated the Innocenti from the garage and gave it a clear out ahead of its exploratory MOT on Thursday.  It needed a jump but started easily enough.  I know it's going to fail but I'm hoping it doesn't fail on any bits that are impossible to get - I'll be rather pissed off if I've spent all this time and money on it only for it to be prevented from passing a test by some small but unobtainium bit.

Then I had an unexpected visit from my old MGB.

My mate who bought it off me was taking it on a run up to the coast with his Mrs and thought he'd stop off at mine on the way past to collect the window for his mum's Corsa.  It's nice to see the old crate out and about again, and still sounding as farty as ever (stainless exhaust FTW).  It's running rather rich at the moment but it sounds healthy enough.

The combination of torrential rain and hot weather this last week has been very good for the plant life.  There are a couple of quite impressive flowers that have appeared, one down the side of the Volvo and one growing from under my garden wall.  I don't know much about these things so I have no idea what species they are, but they were quite nice to see.

Pics of the Innocenti please fella - how's it holding up?

Initial checkover before MoT showing anything obvious?

[horriblemercedes]

11 hours ago, wuvvum said:

I went for a drive in the Volvo today.

Not very far, only up to the next village and back, but that's the furthest it's been under its own power for probably 12 years, and also the first time in a very long time that it's been over 30.  It wasn't entirely without hitch - the rear brakes were sticking on by the time I got home and the radiator cap was leaking a bit once it got up to temperature (my fault for ignoring the DO NOT REMOVE OR NUNS AND KITTENS WILL DIE warning and taking it off - I think it needs a new rubber seal) but importantly the engine ran absolutely fine, lovely and smooth and the temp gauge stayed where it should.  It's now had a full set of Bosch platinum tipped plugs and that along with the carb fettling and new diapraghms appears to have cured its running issues.  So not quite there yet but definitely progress - so much so that I've ordered it a new battery, as the one on there has pretty much had it - before the car started playing up the battery would just about manage to start it, but I think it's been flattened one too many times.  Given that it's a battery that I took off the Audi 80 I had about five years ago because I thought it was on its last legs then, it's not done too badly.

I extricated the Innocenti from the garage and gave it a clear out ahead of its exploratory MOT on Thursday.  It needed a jump but started easily enough.  I know it's going to fail but I'm hoping it doesn't fail on any bits that are impossible to get - I'll be rather pissed off if I've spent all this time and money on it only for it to be prevented from passing a test by some small but unobtainium bit.

Then I had an unexpected visit from my old MGB.

My mate who bought it off me was taking it on a run up to the coast with his Mrs and thought he'd stop off at mine on the way past to collect the window for his mum's Corsa.  It's nice to see the old crate out and about again, and still sounding as farty as ever (stainless exhaust FTW).  It's running rather rich at the moment but it sounds healthy enough.

The combination of torrential rain and hot weather this last week has been very good for the plant life.  There are a couple of quite impressive flowers that have appeared, one down the side of the Volvo and one growing from under my garden wall.  I don't know much about these things so I have no idea what species they are, but they were quite nice to see.

Foxgloves are quite pretty but fairly toxic so I'd recommend handling with gloves (if you do handle it) and not touching eyes, nose, mouth etc afterwards. Also don't eat it, if you can avoid it

[chancer]

55 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

Foxgloves are quite pretty but fairly toxic so I'd recommend handling with gloves (if you do handle it) and not touching eyes, nose, mouth etc afterwards. Also don't eat it, if you can avoid it

Well, thanks to this I can now understand why I have been ill for the last 24hrs! We had one growning up the driveway that fell over, so I lifted it and put it on compost heap. Obvs never realised it was toxic. Last night I was so ill I was ready for heading to hospital. Still ropey today, hopefully get back to work tomorrow. Mother Nature is a bitch