The new news 24 thread

[doug]

 

Found out why the lotto w124 was clunking a bit changing gear and going over bumps.

Spent the rest of the day welding it up to my usual shitey standards.

 

 

[taxi paul]

It was my wife's funeral on Thursday. It was a great turnout for her and there was a collection at the crematorium which raised £250.00. I took that to willow Brooke hospice yesterday with the kids and donated it to them . After the funeral we went back to the local pub to catch up with old friends and relatives and I broke my three pint rule and got a bit pissed. My hangover has lasted three days and reminded me why I only usually drink once a year and three pints at most.

[Guest Hooli]

Sounds like a good send off, which is the best you can hope for.

[twosmoke300]

Sounds like you did her proud .

When it was mums funeral brother and I went out and got bladered . Talked shit all night and got all emotional . Seems to be our way of sorting things . Must be the Irish in us 😄

[drum]

When someone told you that thrust bearings are fitted to the end of crankshafts to stop for and aft movement?Ben

No.

[fordperv]

it does sound like a good send off paul

[Cavcraft]

Someone came to see my non-starting Scenic diesel earlier and it didn't start. In other news, if the cat on the 406 HDi estate I bought the other night is the standard one, it's getting cut off and the car weighed in.

[wuvvum]

Unusually for three weeks before Christmas, I managed to sell two of the fleet today - the T4 and the 620.  I think I may have put the T4 up too cheaply - I had a shedload of messages on it and the bloke who bought it had driven up from fugging Torquay - left at 5 this morning and got to mine just before 11.  I still made a drink on it though, which makes up for losing a bit on the 620.  The couple who bought that drove up from Kent.  Nice day for it though to be fair - it's been fugging gorgeous here for December.

 

I've mainly been pissing about with pushbikes today so didn't get much fettling done on the cars, but I did slap some Hammerite red oxide on the (previously Kurusted) rusty bits on the Volvo, which will hopefully stop them getting too much worse over the winter.  I also scraped the loose paint off the front edge of the DAF bonnet and treated that (will give it a quick coat of white paint next weekend should the weather permit).  I was supposed to be changing the offside rear wheel of the CX, which has a slow puncture, but then I decided I couldn't be arsed to faff around with the spare wheel and just squirted a can of tyre foam in there instead.  It's due its MOT next week - I'm not sure whether I'm going to put it through straight away or wait until the spring - I'm not going to use it much over the winter because salt on the roads plus crap heater.  I've just taxed it for another year anyway so it can sit around for a while if need be without drawing the attention of the council.

[17-Coffees]

With me now working for Mercedes commercial in a weird round-a-bout sort of way, I got given an Advent Calender last week, and I said how i'd be pissed off if the chocolates arnt Merc related (Sprinter & Vito Vans).

 

Just opened it today, it's all mechanical related stuff! Headlamp bulb, engine managment lamp, backbox  and a brake disc so far!  

[cros]

I went for a look at a Rover P4 yesterday.

It was up at good money with a local trader so I was expecting a reasonably sorted vehicle.....but bugger was I wrong! I couldn't believe how many little faults it had which made the driving experience shit......and much of it could have been sorted for very little:

It idled way too high.......didn't pull very well either

Brakes pulled left on initial application....only about half a second and given the accompying invoices for brake work it was clearly a badly done/skimped job.

Slight exhaust blow at mainfold giving a tick

Handbrake linkage lazy...when you let if off you could feel the linkage did not not follow

O/s/f door bottom hinge loose although I suspect this was a symptom of deeper problems.

Nasty knit one/pearl one type welded patches on inner sill......probably harder to bodge than do right

Loose wiring with taped joints hanging from dash

All of the above made it feel like a piece of shit to drive......a shame because it wasn't actually a bad car

The standard of work on old cars is so often lamentable. 70% of mending I have to do is putting right previous botched repairs. What model is it?

[captain_70s]

Civic won't start, -3C was too much for it. Seems to turn on the starter alright but would only cough and splutter rather than actually firing. Now it's gone all weak battery on me.

 

 

0/3 cars working. NICE.

[alf892]

Mr Cros...........it was a 1962 100.

 

Maybe because people think they are a simple fix so simple people try to fix them?

[loserone]

It wasn't a dream.

[beko1987]

Civic won't start, -3C was too much for it. Seems to turn on the starter alright but would only cough and splutter rather than actually firing. Now it's gone all weak battery on me.

 

 

0/3 cars working. NICE.

Bloody 'reliable' moderns!

 

Mine fired up first turn of the key despite the cold start mechanism being disconnected and cabletied to a pipe in the engine bay to stop it vibrating!

 

Launched immediatly into a conversation about cars as I got into work this morning, a colleagues wife's x plate fezza failed its MOT on a fair bit at the weekend. I say a fair bit but I think all it needed was a wishbone, some tyres and not even any welding, but 4 hours labour @ £70 an hour made the bill £600.

 

"That's a shame James, mine failed too on saturday" "really? That's a shame, where is it now?" "Out there in the car park" "but it failed, you can't drive it can you?" "I can until the 23rd December/the re-test. Only needed a few little bits, nae bother!"

[bub2006]

I was surprised with the van. The escort used to take about 4/5cycles of glow plugs and still ran lumpy for 5 minutes or so when cold. The c15 fires straight up on first cycle.

[LC Torana]

I went for a look at a Rover P4 yesterday.

 

It was up at good money with a local trader so I was expecting a reasonably sorted vehicle.....but bugger was I wrong! I couldn't believe how many little faults it had which made the driving experience shit......and much of it could have been sorted for very little:

 

It idled way too high.......didn't pull very well either

Brakes pulled left on initial application....only about half a second and given the accompying invoices for brake work it was clearly a badly done/skimped job.

Slight exhaust blow at mainfold giving a tick

Handbrake linkage lazy...when you let if off you could feel the linkage did not not follow

O/s/f door bottom hinge loose although I suspect this was a symptom of deeper problems.

Nasty knit one/pearl one type welded patches on inner sill......probably harder to bodge than do right

Loose wiring with taped joints hanging from dash

 

All of the above made it feel like a piece of shit to drive......a shame because it wasn't actually a bad car

 

I assume you bought it, of course.  Nothing to stop you in that list.

[captain_70s]

Battery booster attached to Civic, starter spins fine but it won't fire. Coughs, splutters, backfires, no run. Going to let it warm up in the sun and try it later, if its still dead it'll be away to the garage on a low-loader.

 

Looking increasingly likely I'll have to ditch all three cars and buy something on finance again.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Or spend £40 on a set of new glow plugs

[Cavcraft]

It's petrol.

[cort16]

I had someone who was going to get the train up from Lincoln to get the P6.  I told them it'd probably not done more than 30 miles in the last year, probably 2 in the last few months and couldn't gaurentee what would happen if they attempted a long journey in it.  It seemed to put them off. 

Too honest, or should i just have let them come up and figure it out for themselves on the way home? 

[Cavcraft]

Honesty is always the answer.

[DodgeRover]

If they can't deal with that then they probably aren't the right person for the car.

[M'coli]

Re the non-starting petrol Civic:  have you checked the sparkplug gap?  Sometimes a few thou' less gap is all it needs.

[alf892]

I assume you bought it, of course.  Nothing to stop you in that list.

Well I'm only casually looking............and they were only the little bits........but if it had been a nice one I might have done.

 

I'm not looking for a project..........well not at finished car money anyway

[captain_70s]

Re the non-starting petrol Civic:  have you checked the sparkplug gap?  Sometimes a few thou' less gap is all it needs.

Don't have any of my tools here, all up at the parent's place for use on the stricken 1300. They've already popped down to bail me out with the battery booster and given me strict instruction to take the car to a garage, they did buy the thing in fairness. 

 

It's now sitting with a blanket under the bonnet and is still not starting but is certainly more eager than it was. I do suspect the spark plugs, hopefully I'll get it running once it's warmer and can actually get my tools, check the gap, book the thing in for a service and it'll keep trucking over Christmas...

 

Still, I've been looking at the Dacia Sandero 1.5DCi, can pick up a 3-4 year old example for about £6k. It is tempting.

[panhard65]

Found another source of water leaks on the Horizon. These were one of the first cars with new fangled bonded windscreens. It seems this one was held in with just the trims and a load of silicon. The screen fitters are coming tomorrow to glue it back in. Fingers crossed that a re-seal and a couple of drains drilled in the scuttle might make it water tight. Checking it over for mot has revealed one welded patch needs to be re-done on the rear shock top mount and a rack gaiter. The front brakes haven't been working properly either so at least some new discs and pads. Nothing too drastic and still worth doing at the moment.

[Cavcraft]

Scenic's gone, someone bought it for parts for their's. 

[beko1987]

It's now sitting with a blanket under the bonnet

Poor thing. Pop a couple of lemsips in the fuel tank? Vapor rub on the exhaust manifold?

[cort16]

 

 

Still, I've been looking at the Dacia Sandero 1.5DCi, can pick up a 3-4 year old example for about £6k. It is tempting.

 

If you're going down that route then don't buy anything 3-4 year old or you'll be in exactly the same situation as you are now but with a more expensive car.

Get something new or a year old and bathe in the warmth of a manufacturer warranty and the 3 year mot exemption. 

[cort16]

Honesty is always the answer.

 

If it was someone coming from Edinburgh then I wouldn't have been so critical. Someone is going to get on a train for 900 hours come here and buy a 45 year old car they've not seen before then attempt to drive it 300 miles

home I had to flag it up.