The new news 24 thread

[Shep Shepherd]

Gave The Aero's engine bay a clean up this afternoon, which was the first time I'd used my portable pressure washer since I bought it last summer. I'm pleased to say that it did a fine job and richly deserves to go on my list of my list of fine and funky lifestyle accessories:

 

 

A couple of cans of pound shop tyre shine later and things look much better:

 

 

I also replaced The Volvo's fuel filter (a sod of a job which I really hate doing) and a small section of fuel pipe between the filter and the fuel pump which was badly kinked, the latest attempt to fix an intermittent but persistent minor misfire, which has already seen me comb the engine bay for air leaks and replace every ignition component apart from the coil, 'radio suppression relay' and ignition module. It's a lot better now, probably due to replacing the fuel pipe, but it's still not perfect. 

 

Next thing to check will be the screen on the fuel pick-up pipe in the tank, which can wait a bit, as the prospect of trying to remove the sender unit terrifies me.

[beko1987]

Got my hands on a system I built years ago a nice socket 775 Q6600 with 4GB ram and 7770 GPU, which this means little to some, it's a nice spec, a good friend who taught me computers years ago is using a old Dell Optiplex, he is in for a shock when i tidy this up, add some new fans and drop it off for him with a new Win 10 license and install tweaked to avoid updates and shit

Pretty much my first proper pc! Still very capable today I imagine!

[DodgyBastard]

After just nine years of driving I've finally got a licence to buy any old shite with minimal effort having taken out a trade policy.

Now I'm actively looking for anything cheap with an mot...

 

Sent from my G3311 using Tapatalk

[Shep Shepherd]

I'd love a trade policy, but as I'm not 'trade', I don't think I'll ever qualify for one.

[MarvinsMom]

think we have* finished (for now) fixing the black mini

 

have spent all day getting the speedo working, sh to get at the bottom of the cable the radiator had to come back out, but now its all together, it works!

 

still doen't run too great around left hand corners, but in a straight line or going right its fine....... don't really trust it on any sort of run, but it made it into the lock-up in Pickering from Golden Square (about 4 miles or so) without issue.

 

and i've replaced the blown brake light on the Rover. it has many other faults, such as non-functional reversing sensor things, or working blower fans and the tailgate dosen't always open form the outside, plus the clutch sometines lips (i think) but at least all the lights now work!

[Bucketeer]

The picture window in my Volvo is working well tonight.

 

[stuboy]

Watching flipping bangers and see some much nicer wheels behind them

[xtriple]

Got my eBay fan for the lgd so tomorrow will be spent upside down in a footwell, should be fun! Hoping that the new brake switch cames as well then I can get all the 'crawling in footwell' jobs done. May as well do it now 'cos my back is KILLING me! Been out with a friend playing pool: first time in decades and I had forgotten how much bending there is.

 

I won, 4-3!

 

But, the last time I bought a drink in a pub was a while back, and two drinks was  under three quid. Tonight, two shandies and two diet cokes came to £12.

 

I also fixed the drivers seat bolster: one seam had split so I 'Gorilla' glued it back together. It's right what they say, powerful stuff! Also glued a watch strap that came apart first time I wore it (£5 eBAy special so I can't complain, though I am aren't I?) and then glued a picture back into its frame, repired Phoebes collar, wandered round the gaff looking for other things to 'fix'. Decided I like Gorilla glue!

[xtriple]

Watching flipping bangers and see some much nicer wheels behind them

Those are XJ-S wheels and still attached to the correct car

[stuboy]

Thought id give a tint film tge headlights... got more wrinkles than my forehead

[Tadhg Tiogar]

The man at Brodie Engineering reckons it's OK to overfill the CX auto box with Dexron. Er....

[Angrydicky]

A pair of German and British icons*

 

[xtriple]

Just been and struggled in a footwell. Air con/heater fan u/s so new (s/h actually) one procurred from Jaguar spares of all places - £35. Bit of an awkward sod to get out but once you know, dead easy. When I took the cover off the heater box, half a gallon of water poured out, think that's bad.... So all the carpets and under dash trim is out and sat in the garden sunbathing! Got the new one in easily, new pollen filter and all back together and I appear to have 5 speeds on my fan! Yay!

 

Obviously the water leak from the blocked drain in the scuttle has killed the fan, really wet in/under there. Obviously been a problem for a while as the carpet wasn't fitted properly so been out before to dry out.

 

Quite proud of myself: since I've had this car I've done quite a few bits to it. Fan, headlights, roof fixed, wheels painted (badly) new badge, drains front and rear cleared, checked filters and changed a couple, and taken the under dash out on the drivers side in an attemt to fix the brake light switch, still got to do that when the CORRECT switch finally arrives. Good fun fiddlin' wiv the car, missed that with the dollop.

[Ghosty]

Anyone handy with paint fancy spraying some door bottoms for me? Can provide paint, either Halfords rattle cans or some custom mix stuff for compressors etc, tea/coffee, and beer money.

[Guest Hooli]

Just been and struggled in a footwell. Air con/heater fan u/s so new (s/h actually) one procurred from Jaguar spares of all places - £35. Bit of an awkward sod to get out but once you know, dead easy. When I took the cover off the heater box, half a gallon of water poured out, think that's bad.... So all the carpets and under dash trim is out and sat in the garden sunbathing! Got the new one in easily, new pollen filter and all back together and I appear to have 5 speeds on my fan! Yay!

 

Obviously the water leak from the blocked drain in the scuttle has killed the fan, really wet in/under there. Obviously been a problem for a while as the carpet wasn't fitted properly so been out before to dry out.

 

Quite proud of myself: since I've had this car I've done quite a few bits to it. Fan, headlights, roof fixed, wheels painted (badly) new badge, drains front and rear cleared, checked filters and changed a couple, and taken the under dash out on the drivers side in an attemt to fix the brake light switch, still got to do that when the CORRECT switch finally arrives. Good fun fiddlin' wiv the car, missed that with the dollop.

 

Hurrah for LGD being good for your mental health

[bramz7]

Tipo probably off to a new home tomorrow morning. Sadly it's now decided to drag up some of the window mechanism with the window on the front passenger side.

Would it be too risky to take the door card off tonight and try to sort it out? Or do I just knock off some £££ to the new owner?

[xtriple]

As an added bonus, the air con works! Freezing cold air puthering out of dash vents and only on the second speed plenty of flow. All the carpets are still out in the sun but it seems to be the rubbery padding on the back of the carpets (they are moulded round all the air distribution gubbins and wiring guff) that is holding the water. Jus tgiven them a squeeze and loads of water came out. I fear it's going to take some time...

 

Non motoring news... I took the dogs down to Ilsham valley where we often go and ended up sitting on the grass watching the Red Arrows. Those boys are MIGHTY impressive when you actually see them up close.. at one point I reckon one of their number went over us at about 300 feet (perhaps less) and the noise and speed was spell-binding! There were loads of us 'dog walkers' down there, and not one of the dogs was bothered by the noise in the slightest. Chester did look up at one point to see what all the noise was about. Phoebe, played with her ball, as usual !

[SiC]

Good fun fiddlin' wiv the car, missed that with the dollop.

Sounds like you're enjoying this car 50000x more than the Bentley. The fact that it's not perfect and needs a bit of TLC (like most 10-20yr old German cars) also means you've got stuff to fiddle and play with thus not getting bored with it.

 

Is the Bentley all gone and been paid for now?

[tommotech]

Having threatened to bridge the Renault Scenic I investigated options for replacement. The honest answer was that nothing appealed and I don’t want to be buying anything substantial for at least two years, plus we know the Scenic well after 10 years of ownership.

 

Looking at the alternator properly it looked like the pulley had, in fact, collapsed. This was confirmed on removal of the alternator and googling showed this as a common problem. A new pulley was procured for £30, delivered and the Scenic is back on daily duties.

 

The collapsed pulley seems to have shat it’s rubber coupling and the poly belt grooves had broken in to two pieces, the engine is certainly quieter with the new item installed.

 

 

 

 

Only thing to sort for the MOT is the airbag rotary contact, a couple of tyres and the front brakes need replacement. On balance we’ve decided that it’s better the devil you know, for now at least.

[HMC]

E46 MOT looming. Rear arches bubbling. No sharp metal projections but some of the edges of the paint are sharp to the touch. Wonder if that's a fail ? Easily sorted I suppose.

[cort16]

Gaffa tape it if you’re not sure. I used a LOT of gaffa tape to get my old p6 through its mot as the door bottoms were so rough .

[HMC]

My plan b is to buy angry dicky's rover 600- which is tempting whether or not the BMW fails. Having a non crusty car is good for the soul after all.

[xtriple]

Sounds like you're enjoying this car 50000x more than the Bentley. The fact that it's not perfect and needs a bit of TLC (like most 10-20yr old German cars) also means you've got stuff to fiddle and play with thus not getting bored with it.

 

Is the Bentley all gone and been paid for now?

Yes, gone but not forgotten. It will be some time before I recover from that sod!

[puddlethumper]

My ongoing 305 van problems might be coming to an end on Monday. Yay !

The injector pump had seized, resulting in recovery, after which some scrote stole it.

After getting a pump from a scrappy, thanks D Spares, it didn't work as it should.

Took it to a pump specialist who informed me that it was totally fucking fucked mate.

Back to scrappy who swapped it. Wasn't sure he would. Back to mechanic, coz I know eff all about this kind of stuff.

What with work, and my mechanic being somewhat busy, to say the least, this has all taken about six weeks. 

My mechanic has now had a breakdown, not the mechanical sort, and looks like being gone for a couple of weeks. Had to get it towed to another mechanic, who I also use quite often, who is going to sort it on Monday. It's the only thing that's gone wrong in eight years so I can't complain too much.

I bought the ex FOAD, knob van,which shat its master cylinder three days ago. Been driving around on handbrake and gearbox. I'm sure there are those who will shout about nuns and kittens but I've driven worse and the nuns and kitty's were, mostly, unaffected. The ex knob van has done what I wanted over the last 4/5 weeks and although to pay for it has reduced my earnings by about 20% in that time, it's been well worth it. 

If anyone is interested, ex knob could be up for grabs in the not too distant future. 

After driving the ex knob for a while I can't help noticing the difference between it and mine. Eight years ago I chucked a Xantia  lump in mine after the Plug one went tits up, after a mechanic in Holland changed the cam belt but not the tensioners. Afterwards I thought it went really well, although I didn't have anything to compare it with. 

I have now come to the conclusion that a Shitroen 1.9 has better acceleration and top end than a Plug one.

The head on the Shitroen is different than the Plug. Well, by sight, and yeah, I've been to bloody specscammers. 

As they are the same basic engine, which went into loads of chod, what would Shitroen have done to make the difference ? Higher compression ? I'm sure someone will let me know.

Fingers crossed I'll be on a barge in Dutchshireland next week. Mmm ! Palm beer.

[clayts450]

These bolt grip nut removers (aka hammer a smaller socket over a seized bolt) seem to be mega cheap at Screwfix at present (half the price of other places, £11.99), but are collect only - your mileage may vary, but managed to bag a set to collect from Basford, Nottingham

 

 

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-5-piece-bolt-grip-nut-remover-set/96028

[Lord Sterling]

I applied for a garage through Birmingham City Council several years ago. They've only just got back to me to ask if I'm still interested in applying for a garage. I replied saying that I am still interested providing they actually offer me a garage this time and not just keep my name on a list that'll sit around collecting dust.

 

If they are actually offering me a garage it'll be just in time seeing as Ma now wants to actually 'retire' her Micra.

[dollywobbler]

My ongoing 305 van problems might be coming to an end on Monday. Yay !

The injector pump had seized, resulting in recovery, after which some scrote stole it.

After getting a pump from a scrappy, thanks D Spares, it didn't work as it should.

Took it to a pump specialist who informed me that it was totally fucking fucked mate.

Back to scrappy who swapped it. Wasn't sure he would. Back to mechanic, coz I know eff all about this kind of stuff.

What with work, and my mechanic being somewhat busy, to say the least, this has all taken about six weeks.

My mechanic has now had a breakdown, not the mechanical sort, and looks like being gone for a couple of weeks. Had to get it towed to another mechanic, who I also use quite often, who is going to sort it on Monday. It's the only thing that's gone wrong in eight years so I can't complain too much.

I bought the ex FOAD, knob van,which shat its master cylinder three days ago. Been driving around on handbrake and gearbox. I'm sure there are those who will shout about nuns and kittens but I've driven worse and the nuns and kitty's were, mostly, unaffected. The ex knob van has done what I wanted over the last 4/5 weeks and although to pay for it has reduced my earnings by about 20% in that time, it's been well worth it.

If anyone is interested, ex knob could be up for grabs in the not too distant future.

After driving the ex knob for a while I can't help noticing the difference between it and mine. Eight years ago I chucked a Xantia lump in mine after the Plug one went tits up, after a mechanic in Holland changed the cam belt but not the tensioners. Afterwards I thought it went really well, although I didn't have anything to compare it with.

I have now come to the conclusion that a Shitroen 1.9 has better acceleration and top end than a Plug one.

The head on the Shitroen is different than the Plug. Well, by sight, and yeah, I've been to bloody specscammers.

As they are the same basic engine, which went into loads of chod, what would Shitroen have done to make the difference ? Higher compression ? I'm sure someone will let me know.

Fingers crossed I'll be on a barge in Dutchshireland next week. Mmm ! Palm beer.

The XUD was tweaked in later life, with a change of inlet port. On paper, it made sod all difference, but I reckon it does make them feel a little livelier.

[beko1987]

*august*

 

Dear Mr Watson

 

We are writing to inform you that we are increasing your direct debit amount to £xxxxxx

 

Love Thames Water...

 

[Kiltox]

I'd love a trade policy, but as I'm not 'trade', I don't think I'll ever qualify for one.

Just become a “trader” then

 

You don’t need to have a sales pitch or anything. Just flip a few cars a year (not even for a profit necessarily) and keep records.

 

It has pitfalls too though - rarely includes glass cover (or has big excesses), they only pay out trade book money for a write off, etc.

[Timewaster]

*august*

 

Dear Mr Watson

 

We are writing to inform you that we are increasing your direct debit amount to £xxxxxx

 

Love Thames Water...

 

IMG_20180603_100039.jpg

Put end of the slide in the pool and sit the hose at the top.

 

Mini water slide. They love it.