The new news 24 thread

[wuvvum]

I stand corrected. Volvo S60 caught fire. Now moving again.

[richardmorris]

I've just driven 200miles back from north Wales in the Mercedes. Lots of idiots in thick fog with no lights on. Visibility about 50feet in places in Oxfordshire.

 

Anyhow, car ran fine, but temperature gauge had a bit of a mad time on the m42. Dropped to 80 (instantly), then shot back up to 95ish before dropping again and repeat for about twenty miles. Any thoughts? I can only think the freezing but patchy fog was Mucking up the rad. Cooling. And so getting the thermostat to go a bit haywire, or it's a bad connection. Where's the temp gauge sender on these? It was fine on the m40 and before this episode though, and driving up from Oxford in -3degrees on Tuesday.

[anonymous user]

Fitted an important upgrade to the van

Just to make sure that the RAC patrolmen salute. Also swapped the radio for a radio/CD player so I can have tunes.

[bangernomics]

Owing to a technical error on my part I need a short term chodmobile for a month at most.

 

I've posted a want add, does anyone have something available with a couple of months MoT on it? Do I need to say cheap? Currently offering computers etc to gumtree advertisers good deal innit mate.

[wuvvum]

Well the three-headed monster is home.  Thanks to the self-immolating Volvo on the M4 I missed the bus I'd intended to take to the seller's village, and there wasn't another for almost two hours, so I ended up walking the last 4 1/2 miles.  It was a pleasant enough stroll through the Wiltshire countryside - I even heard a woodpecker at one point.  Only hairy bit was the last mile or so which was on a busy B road with no pavement and little in the way of a verge.

 

Anyway, here's the car:

 

 

It's a bit of a heap TBH.  The engine leaks oil, the nearside front suspension rattles over bumps, the slight exhaust blow that it had when I paid for it last week became a major exhaust blow when I booted it onto a busy roundabout, but the worst thing is that the clutch slips whenever it's given anything resembling the beans - which I didn't pick up on my (very) brief test drive.  It's hydraulic as well so probably can't be adjusted out. 

 

On the plus side, it starts first time, most of the electrics work (not including the HRW, a bit of a drawback at this time of year), the heater is infinitely better than the Rover's, it's not too bad on diesel and to be fair to the old heap it drove the 210 miles home without FTPing.  Most of the issues should be fixable for little cost - it's the clutch that's going to be the fecker.  I've found a kit on eBay for 57 quid, but I don't know how much a garage would charge to fit it and I'm honestly not sure whether it's worth spending any money on it.  It's done 153,000 miles, although the presence of a trailer plug in the front bumper makes me wonder whether some of those were done on an A-frame behind a camper, and the bodywork is getting a bit tatty.

 

The VM 3-pot is a funny thing.  It's a bit like a scaled-down version of the 4 headed monster in the Rover 825 etc.  It pulls well enough but doesn't like to rev and is comically unrefined for a "modern" diesel, especially at idle - the 4-pot VM isn't exactly a paragon of refinement, but add in the inherent imbalance of a 3-pot and it shakes around like buggery.  VM appear to have tried to cure this by fitting an immensely heavy (single mass I think) flywheel, but this does little other than make gear changing jerky.  It also means the engine takes ages to spin down when switched off, which leads to a mildly amusing Briggs & Stratton lawn mower sound effect as it chugs to a stop.

 

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'm going to stick it up on the ramps to see if I can locate and cure the exhaust blow, and while I'm under there I'll also investigate how difficult it's likely to be to change the clutch.  The car still has 6 months' test and I didn't pay much for it, so if the clutch can be done for under 150 quid all in it might be worth going for.

[spike60]

I've just driven 200miles back from north Wales in the Mercedes. Lots of idiots in thick fog with no lights on. Visibility about 50feet in places in Oxfordshire.

 

Anyhow, car ran fine, but temperature gauge had a bit of a mad time on the m42. Dropped to 80 (instantly), then shot back up to 95ish before dropping again and repeat for about twenty miles. Any thoughts? I can only think the freezing but patchy fog was Mucking up the rad. Cooling. And so getting the thermostat to go a bit haywire, or it's a bad connection. Where's the temp gauge sender on these? It was fine on the m40 and before this episode though, and driving up from Oxford in -3degrees on Tuesday.

If your car has the same M103 engine as my 1989 300SE the temp sender for the gauge is the single wire one about 2/3 back on the top of the cylinder head. The rear one with either 2 or 4 wires does the fuel injection and ignition, not the gauge.

[richardmorris]

Thanks, it's the m104 but I'll take a look.

[spike60]

Ah, different head. Wrong again!

[M'coli]

Anyway, here's the car:

 

IMG_20161230_152051.jpg

It's done 153,000 miles, although the presence of a trailer plug in the front bumper makes me wonder whether some of those were done on an A-frame behind a camper, and the bodywork is getting a bit tatty.

 

The VM 3-pot is a funny thing. It's a bit like a scaled-down version of the 4 headed monster in the Rover 825 etc. It pulls well enough but doesn't like to rev and is comically unrefined for a "modern" diesel, especially at idle - the 4-pot VM isn't exactly a paragon of refinement, but add in the inherent imbalance of a 3-pot and it shakes around like buggery. VM appear to have tried to cure this by fitting an immensely heavy (single mass I think) flywheel, but this does little other than make gear changing jerky. It also means the engine takes ages to spin down when switched off, which leads to a mildly amusing Briggs & Stratton lawn mower sound effect as it chugs to a stop.

 

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'm going to stick it up on the ramps to see if I can locate and cure the exhaust blow, and while I'm under there I'll also investigate how difficult it's likely to be to change the clutch. The car still has 6 months' test and I didn't pay much for it, so if the clutch can be done for under 150 quid all in it might be worth going for.

I've been wondering what the Getz diesel is like for some time, so thanks for the info! As an aside, if it's got an electronic speedo/odometer I wouldn't have thought that any mileage that's been done behind a motorhome would be recorded, as the engine usually needs to be on for the speedo to work.

[cort16]

nice work wuvvum that looks like total misery

[purplebargeken]

The Getz wasn't a bad looking thing but at the moment I appear to hate all Hyundai products, even the fridges. 

[Jerzy Woking]

Bollocks-just kerbed a wheel on my Saab due to a broken kerbstone that had a lump sticking out that has managed to scrape half the circumference on the outer edge about 1mm wide.

 

Bet it won't be cheap to repair, but can't bear to see scuffed alloys on any car, let alone my own.

[tooSavvy]

Tomorrow, I'm riding shotgun in a early 90's, first gen Dodge Ram 2500, cummings diesel powered, to spend the day at a shooting range! Then heading to get drunk at a local bar after. Because 'Murica!  And Im on holiday.

 

.... one day 'Murica will sober up >> and take off their Orange Wigs.....

 

TS

[Lord Sterling]

Just recovered my KV6 Sterling back home after a long holiday being parked up in another local town. It performed exactly as it did just before it was parked up. It needs a good clean, certainly will need a service and replacement radiator. But it still starts and drives it is an incredibly comfy thing to drive.

 

 

It was playing up whilst driving before parked up and still has the same symptoms, it looses drive for a while then suddenly finds it if I change to a lower gear, sometimes it run roughly enough to stall the engine to which it would only need switching back on.

 

Anyhow, it's back home with me, I'll try and fiddle with a few things and see if I can't do some small improvments over time.

 

If I ever get around to it, it'll be some sort of miracle

 

Thanks to DodgyTom for helping me recover it home!

[DVee8]

LS that is a good looking majestic car.

[Lord Sterling]

LS that is a good looking majestic car.

Cheers, I do love it, despite promising myself not to when I received it. I'd heard about the usual HGF these suffer, but this car has just runs and runs, almost like it wants to keep on living, so why not help it keep on living. I hate scrapping/selling cars I've kind of become attached to, it was rather hard getting rid of the Merc, but I knew I'd never get around to sorting that out. I'm hardly able to sort out the other remaining Rovers partly down to my lack of mechanical skills, time/money and current situation.

 

It does need a good sort out, so a valet, at the very least, is on the cards for a start.

[stuboy]

Woke up eyes glue shut, conjuctivitus!! So ideas of looking into why my revs stay hi then drop 2 secs later, consensus suggest tps sensor and not the icv as it idles fine.

 

And on a personal note been up the hospital and had an ultra sound and got hernia on both sides of the groin

[DeeJay]

Woke up eyes glue shut, conjuctivitus!! So ideas of looking into why my revs stay hi then drop 2 secs later, consensus suggest tps sensor and not the icv as it idles fine.

 

And on a personal note been up the hospital and had an ultra sound and got hernia on both sides of the groin

Lucky you're not a horse.

[320touring]

Just recovered my KV6 Sterling back home after a long holiday being parked up in another local town. It performed exactly as it did just before it was parked up. It needs a good clean, certainly will need a service and replacement radiator. But it still starts and drives it is an incredibly comfy thing to drive.

 

 

It was playing up whilst driving before parked up and still has the same symptoms, it looses drive for a while then suddenly finds it if I change to a lower gear, sometimes it run roughly enough to stall the engine to which it would only need switching back on.

 

Anyhow, it's back home with me, I'll try and fiddle with a few things and see if I can't do some small improvments over time.

 

If I ever get around to it, it'll be some sort of miracle

 

Thanks to DodgyTom for helping me recover it home!

glad to see you get the sterling mojo back me ahld sahn!

[twosmoke300]

Faulty vehicle speed sensor can cause idle hang up on some fords . Some had a mechanical speedo but used an electronic sensor for the ecu . Idle stays high until the car stops so if there is a fault with this circuit it can cause idle issues

[Guest Hooli]

Faulty vehicle speed sensor can cause idle hang up on some fords . Some had a mechanical speedo but used an electronic sensor for the ecu . Idle stays high until the car stops so if there is a fault with this circuit it can cause idle issues

 

My goona does that, are you saying they bothered to import other make's faults to ensure FTPs?

[twosmoke300]

All petrol injection cars use some form of idle up when the car is moving - it smooths gear changes . Most cars have electronic speedos so if there are faults with the sensor it shows up straight away . Fords with the strange hybrid setup can cause strange faults

[Guest Hooli]

My other ECU doesn't do it though so I know it's a fault.

But the other ECU looses connection to the throttle body every couple of days so I'll stick with the idle fault for now.

[twosmoke300]

Or the ecus have different software updates - I know ford did an update specifically for flare on gear changes / idle issues so it wouldn't surprise me if Renault did too

[Guest Hooli]

That wouldn't surprise me either.

 

TBH it drives so I don't care, it's a renault it doesn't deserve looking after.

[egg]

And on a personal note been up the hospital and had an ultra sound and got hernia on both sides of the groin

Sorry to hear, that's shitty. I've only been done on one side and the op isn't too bad, but personally I'd advise a general anaesthetic. I didn't enjoy being awake.

[Kiltox]

Need to shift everything in my signature apart from the Golf as well as a Fiesta, Citroen C3 and Astra G van before April.

 

Fuck.

[taxi paul]

I shall be heading to Sheffield soon. My lad has just rang me to say he has won a Peugeot 406 3.0 ltr v6 executive. On eBay. Mot till March. Guess what I shall be getting for my birthday.

[bangernomics]

Need to shift everything in my signature apart from the Golf as well as a Fiesta, Citroen C3 and Astra G van before April.

 

Fuck.

Cheap with cheap tax may be interested. Around the middle of February as it depends if contract is renewed or not.

[stripped fred]

This pickup has been parked near my house over the Christmas period. I walk past it every day when walking the dog and I can't take my eyes off it. It's huge! Can't get over how far between the front and rear wheels. Must have strong sills! Looks like it gets used as intended. I want one!