The new news 24 thread

[dollywobbler]

Going from the spark plug photos, I must assume this Astra is a V8. Ace.

[saucedoctor]

Isn't it 4 years already in Norn Iron?

 

Yep. Was 6 years for a long time, then 5 for a while, and now 4.

[saucedoctor]

Fatha_SD rang me to say that the Jaaaag wasn't blowing air onto the windscreen. A bit of Googling revealed that "TADT,S" and that a little rod thing might be broken in the heater box. Bugger.

 

I also found a reset procedure that was worth a pop, but it didn't work. However, disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes did the trick. Normal service resumed. It seems that the control system for the three "blend" motors gets a bit mixed up, and has to be powered down for 10 minutes until before it will wise up.

 

Excellent result, as having to potentially take the dashboard out of that car looks like a nightmare.

[SiC]

Power cycling it would likely force the aircon system to recalibrate itself. Quite a few climate control cars I've had give the interior flaps a good whirl on battery reconnection.

[bangernomics]

Moving the 1st MOT for new cars from 3 years to 4 years.

 

Good idea?

Not round these parts no, see many 12 months old cars with bald tyres. Should have compulsory 12 monthly for all vehicles, even if the new stuff gets a stripped down one for the first 3.

 

I used to take ex mrs cars for an mot every year (she had New every 3) and get the repairs done under warranty. And the last one a jimny needed swivels at 24k Miles!

[New POD]

Yesterday I Drove to Cardiff, from Miseryside, via the motorway network, which was a quick journey given that the motorways were fairly empty (which is unusual even on a Sunday Morning) had lunch, went around an art gallery, said "goodbye" to student daughter and then Headed for Hope Under Dinmore near Leomister to see friends on the way home, and then with it getting late in the evening, we headed up the A Roads Via Ludlow and Church Stretton, to Shrewsbury and the A5, and then eventually to the A55 and M53 and under the tunnel and home. In the rain, and fog. and dark.

 

Between Leominster and Shrewsbury the A49 is a little less straight than one would like, but making any kind of progress above about 35 mph is impossible.  Not because of the roads, the mud, the rain or the dark or not knowing where the next bend is, but because it is impossible to overtake 7 the cars in front of you, all of whom are following someone that travels at 35 mph.

I'm sure that I could have over taken all 7 one at a time, but only if there was actually a gap between them. I mean there was a gap, but I'm sure that none of the gaps between the cars were actually as long as an omega.  

So for 30 of those 40 miles, I left at least a 60 metre gap in front of me, in order to allow any of the cars following me, to over take on the few small straights where it would be safe to do so.  None did, but one car did seem to want to get into my boot, at one point. (Why not overtake me? I made it easy for them by slowing down a little (or perhaps not accelerating) on every straight, where I could see it would be safe)

Eventually the front 3 cars turned off, and the 4 remaining cars in front zoomed off into the mist and fog and rain. At this point I struggled to keep up with them.  Not because they were fast, but because in every village and town, I slowed down to the speed limit, and they just carried on at whatever speed they were travelling.  After each village it took me a while to catch them up, without going over the NSL limit. (I basically set the cruise to 60, used the brakes nice and gently coming up to bends, and then on the other side of the bend pressed resume again)

 

I'm not sure that anyone actually drives like me.  In fact I'm positive that nobody drives like me.

 

Once past Shrewsbury there is room to overtake and the roads are straight, so no real issues

[dollywobbler]

The Welsh borders/West Midlands are a pretty miserable place to drive on the major routes. I lost 15 minutes (in the 2CV!) along the A456 between Ludlow and Droitwich last week, because of two trucks that just plodded along. Nowhere for them to pull in to be fair, but bloody irritating given I was on a very tight schedule. Too tight it turned out. It's very hard to make up lost time in a 2CV...

[320touring]

Many thanks to Dome of this here parish for his assistance with Clio 172 rear caliper wrangling this evening.

 

Much appreciated chap!

[RobT]

It's been mild here tonight, 5 degress compared to the recent minuses, so I've done a bit of fettling. The radiator in the Cavalier has a crack in the casing where it meets the top hose, so I've bodged it with some silicone sealant that I fully expect won't last long but we'll see. Atleast I know where the coolant loss is coming from now. A new one is only about 40 quid so I'll get that sorted in due course.

 

I then took it to the local jet wash as it was filthy. One of my favourite things these days is to pop down to the jiz wash of an evening when no other sod is about. I tried doing it at the weekend but they were either busy or frozen up.

 

After that I took the Rover for a quick blezz which was great fun. It handles and steers really well, much more precise than the Cavalier. But then the latter is best at motorway work doing around 2000rpm at 70, whereas the Rover is a bit strained at around 3200rpm. Obviously that's a good justification for having several cars, each has their merits and uses!

 

I also took the Safrane to my friendly mechanic today to get a few jobs done, including new centre and rear exhaust sections. I bought the parts for 55 quid which are of dubious quality, so we'll see how that works out...Should get it back tomorrow or Wednesday.

[stuboy]

Brother asked me to change headlight bulbs for impeding mot.. what a horrible working blind job...

 

And check out his new tyres and there name of trust...lol

[Bren]

Fatha has purchased mondeo. Passat now on ebay as spares repair with bids almost as soon as it was listed.

 

I suspect it will be dismantled by Polish gentlemen.....

[ruffgeezer]

Just bought another car. Oops!

 

Anyone in the market for a shonky Xsara hdi with a fresh ticket?

[bub2006]

Xsaras are nice motors. I enjoyed mine. Mine was A 1.4. I bet the Hdi is a strong motor in that car

[HMC]

Just bought another car. Oops!

 

Anyone in the market for a shonky Xsara hdi with a fresh ticket?

 

Me too! I was getting shot of a citroen too but i part exxed it. Doing the 'hand over' at 4pm today

[HMC]

So what do you have now Ruffgeezer?

[Six-cylinder]

Me too! I was getting shot of a citroen too but i part exxed it. Doing the 'hand over' at 4pm today

And what are you gaining?

[HMC]

Well I was looking at this as an option

 

Then this

 

 

Then this caught my eye

 

Before I lobbed a low offer on this (check out the 80s excesssss !!!)

 

Before getting very sensible / boring and buying this....

[RobT]

^^Mentalist....for buying the Merc rather than Bentley splendour!

 

I've been looking at early Discoverys too.  Living in London's zone 4 I need one obviously.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Quick question.......need tie rod ends for the 307 and ECP have OCAP ones in stock. are they any good?

[Anthony]

Quick question.......need tie rod ends for the 307 and ECP have OCAP ones in stock. are they any good?

Ocap are best avoided IMO. Lemforder is the brand of choice for TRE's from ECP in my experience, at least on older Peugeot stuff (205, 306's etc)

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Ocap are best avoided IMO. Lemforder is the brand of choice for TRE's from ECP in my experience, at least on older Peugeot stuff (205, 306's etc)

 

Cheers I had a feeling that would be the answer, but OCAP are all ECP have in at the minute. I'll venture online!

[panhard65]

Sold the Horizon last night to a dealer who is going to fully restore it. I hope he does really as the poor old thing deserves a good home. In other news I bought a Saxo VTR, not a very nice one but it was 80 quid and I want the wheels for my other Saxo if it turns out to be a complete dog.

[Six-cylinder]

Well I was looking at this as an option

IMG_0047.PNG

 

Then this

IMG_0049.PNG

 

 

Then this caught my eye

IMG_0050.PNG

 

Before I lobbed a low offer on this (check out the 80s excesssss !!!)

IMG_0051.PNG

 

Before getting very sensible / boring and buying this....

IMG_0048.PNG

Trouble is I think you need them all, which is why I am in such a mess!

[phil_lihp]

Sold the Horizon last night to a dealer who is going to fully restore it. I hope he does really as the poor old thing deserves a good home. In other news I bought a Saxo VTR, not a very nice one but it was 80 quid and I want the wheels for my other Saxo if it turns out to be a complete dog.

saxo.jpg

 

Underneath the dirt and despite the lowering, that looks quite tidy, not bad for £80!

 

I'd like an early, unmolested one of these.  How do they compare to a Puma though?

[panhard65]

Underneath the dirt and despite the lowering, that looks quite tidy, not bad for £80!

 

I'd like an early, unmolested one of these.  How do they compare to a Puma though?

The mot history isn't so good lots of advisories on rust and failed last month on rust and emmisions. I think it's days are numbered but we will see.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Well I was looking at this as an option

IMG_0047.PNG

Then this

IMG_0049.PNG

Then this caught my eye

IMG_0050.PNG

Before I lobbed a low offer on this (check out the 80s excesssss !!!)

IMG_0051.PNG

Before getting very sensible / boring and buying this....

IMG_0048.PNG

A late W211 E Class will probably be referred to in years to come as the high point of Mercedes development , they don't rust, drive beautifully ,they've got all the electronic and safety aids you will ever need and they're not wilfully ugly. A true successor to the W124.

Sometimes I'd get into mine after a day driving something obscenely posh and expensive and just feel at home and relaxed. The last car I had that felt like that was an e39 BMW.

That one, if the mileage is genuine is barely run in, truly a car for life, which is a bit of a waste with you, is t it?

[ruffgeezer]

So what do you have now Ruffgeezer?

A Xsara hdi hatchback, just passing through, will chuck it in for an mot and see what happens.

[John F]

Just finished prepping my Disco 300 TDi for its annual trip to the Austrian Alps...

 

- cam belt & osf wheel bearing done last week

- oil & filters changed, oil levels in TXB and diffs checked / topped up

- propshaft UJs checked & greased

- Tyre pressures checked

- DAB head unit fitted

- snow chains packed

 

Still to do:

 

- clean the windows

 

[rml2345]

I've had an eventful afternoon out...

 

 

 

 

[bub2006]

That looks like scorch marks?