The new news 24 thread

[GeorgeB]

13 minutes ago, red5 said:

I am aware of what it means  - its not safe.  A hydraulic jack is lifting equipment, not for supporting a vehicle, especially a un-chocked one. A tyre change is really the limit. I'm aware that lots of people work on unsupported vehicles, no chocks etc - doesn't make it right.

Not sure what you're trying to prove so will leave it there. 

I'm not trying to prove anything.

I am just pointing out that there is very little danger of injury to anyone in the situation shown in that picture.

 

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, GeorgeB said:

I shook my dolomite off stands once while fitting an exhaust. Nearly broke my arm, but I survived.

Was a) the car not securely on the stands, b) the exhaust subject to excessive force, or c) being careful not worth the risk?

[wuvvum]

I have to admit that I'm not great at bothering to get out the axle stands, but I won't put any vital part of my body under a car unless it's supported by at least two jacks (usually a trolley jack used to get it up in the air and then the car's own scissor jack as a backup).  I figure that if I'm unlucky enough for two jacks to let go at exactly the same moment, it was probably my time anyway.

[High Jetter]

Scissor sounds a plan, but if the trolley fails the sudden load could defeat the scissor. OE scissors could be of shockingly poor quality. Stands should be solid

[Tadhg Tiogar]

7 hours ago, SiC said:

Last LED comes on after a week iirc. Basically dropping the charge voltage right down at that point and on full maintenance mode. 

One week?!??

[stuboy]

17 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

One week?!??

slow learning cells....lol

[brownnova]

The older I get the more cautious I get... when I was in my early 20s I’d be under there with just a Jack... now I get the axle stands out every time!

By the time I’m in my 50s I’ll probably have rigged some kind of chain based support system to the roof of my garage... 

[Angrydicky]

Had a near miss a few years ago with the back of the car off the ground on one axle stand and a trolley jack. Car started to roll backwards and I saw the axle stand start to lean over. Managed to roll over and get clear of the car before it came down.

Never moved so fast! 

Always use two axle stands now if I'm going under the car, and make sure if the back end is off the ground the front wheels are chocked (unless fwd, then I leave it in gear). Got to be careful, it's very very easy to get crushed while working under the car. I find ramps safer, but don't especially like driving cars onto them.

[N19]

I've a set of ramps too and also hate driving on to them. I've been known to jack the car up with a trolley jack then slide the ramps under the front wheels before... 

[Supernaut]

If I'm doing anything more than brake pads the car is always chocked and on a stand or two (depends if I'm working on just one corner or a whole end).

I also lower it onto the stands with the jack, then close the jack again and give the car a good few shoves when it's on the stands to make sure it's secure before going under. If a wheel is off, it's on its side under the sill.

 

Overly cautious? Whatever, it keeps me happy.

 

 

I still have a childhood memory of my dad jacking up a Fiat Ulysse rather high for some reason at the front corner, then the opposite corner rear wheel started sliding across the floor of the barn, towards me! I still have no idea why he was jacking up that corner so bloody high. An entire Ulysse slewing diagonally towards you sharpens the mind rather quickly, though. In the end it only moved a few inches, but still.

[captain_70s]

11 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

I also lower it onto the stands with the jack, then close the jack again and give the car a good few shoves when it's on the stands to make sure it's secure before going under. If a wheel is off, it's on its side under the sill.

That's my procedure as well.

The street outside my house is bowed and slopes away into cobbled gutters, more than once I've been jacking up a car to find it rolling sideways on the jack. Having said that I've never had a car fall off a jack so people who've been under cars without stands for 30 odd years aren't gonna' stop, the odds are they'll not be squashed.

On the other hand I have had a jack fail, not rapidly, but it'd loose pressure over time. If you jacked a car up and went in for a cup of tea it'd be back on the ground when you came back out. I was also under the Acclaim with stands at the jacking points when @GingerNuttz noticed that the car body was slowly sinking as the jacking point rose up through the rotten floor. 😂

[Steve79]

This mornings mot for the aero hot did not fall in its favour

 

[Steve79]

Subframe bushes i figured were probably required due to the movement and clonking over bumps. The lights are bi-xenons so predictably are about 25 per bulb. Which of course i'll need two as the good one will probably blow in short order.

[Cord Fourteener]

News! Day 1 of being able to meet people. 

A friend come round with his diagnostics computer and we found a maf fault in the Passat, it's going to ground. 

Then we found a broken wire in the maf sensor lead. 

It's a good place to look. Going to reconnect the wire and see if there's any improvement. 

Also there's oil blowing out of every seal from the turbo though the inter cooler into the manifold, he says I need to clean it all out and check it's all sealed. 

But I'm happy that we found the broken wire. 

[Sunny Jim]

Liked because it's good to hear you making progress. Good luck with getting it sorted.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Well, I made it through a stage 3 interview for a job a actually want. I'm not getting excited, I've been here before in life but if I get the offer then I'm going to need a commuter car to throw my car allowance at. I don't want to use the Jaag because the miles will pile on so I thought...

Get something I want to drive.

Something economical but yet can perform on the daily commute.

Something with satnav and leather.

So here's the plan. I use the Jaag. But then I have my car allowance...

Simple solution is to buy an S type R as well. I need one. 

Like I said, I'm not getting excited...

 

[richardmorris]

Amazing how much debate* a photo provokes. No it’s not something I’d do myself and, and do know that rick supports my cars with multiple axle stands when working and not just looking.  I think it’s down to perceived risk.

 

[richardmorris]

2 hours ago, Tim_E said:

News! Day 1 of being able to meet people. 

A friend come round with his diagnostics computer and we found a maf fault in the Passat, it's going to ground. 

Then we found a broken wire in the maf sensor lead. 

It's a good place to look. Going to reconnect the wire and see if there's any improvement. 

Also there's oil blowing out of every seal from the turbo though the inter cooler into the manifold, he says I need to clean it all out and check it's all sealed. 

But I'm happy that we found the broken wire. 

Mice?

[Cord Fourteener]

2 hours ago, Crispian_J_Hotson said:

Well, I made it through a stage 3 interview for a job a actually want. I'm not getting excited, I've been here before in life but if I get the offer then I'm going to need a commuter car to throw my car allowance at. I don't want to use the Jaag because the miles will pile on so I thought...

Get something I want to drive.

Something economical but yet can perform on the daily commute.

Something with satnav and leather.

So here's the plan. I use the Jaag. But then I have my car allowance...

Simple solution is to buy an S type R as well. I need one. 

Like I said, I'm not getting excited...

 

Dam, I wish I could need a Jag🤣

[Cord Fourteener]

20 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Mice?

No, chafing against a loose air feed.

[Cord Fourteener]

I'm on booost again!

Thanks to a temporary fix. 

There's still it's normal servicing to do, look at the potentially leaky boost pipe and figure out if the coolant temperature sensor fault code needs addressing. 

A few other bits and pieces but otherwise it's all good. 

All in all a good experience when I feared endless gremlins. 

[Fumbler]

New car's insurance paid for, lucky it wasn't too expen-

Oh! That'll sting for a week or two. Still, it's done now. I won't need to think about it for a year.

Now all I need is for April to roll around so I can take delivery of it...

[Tadhg Tiogar]

CTEK transferred over to CX

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

29 minutes ago, Fumbler said:

New car's insurance paid for, lucky it wasn't too expen-

Oh! That'll sting for a week or two. Still, it's done now. I won't need to think about it for a year.

Now all I need is for April to roll around so I can take delivery of it...

You don't just have to go with the Halifax you know...

[Fumbler]

1 minute ago, Crispian_J_Hotson said:

You don't just have to go with the Halifax you know...

Halifax, to tell the truth, didn't even bother to quote me.

[stuboy]

New sticker, shame I ordered an internal one!!

 

I do need to get an autoshite one... 

[Cord Fourteener]

1 hour ago, Fumbler said:

New car's insurance paid for, lucky it wasn't too expen-

Oh! That'll sting for a week or two. Still, it's done now. I won't need to think about it for a year.

Now all I need is for April to roll around so I can take delivery of it...

Jeez either you've bought a Ferrari or you crash every year...? Or live in Central Liverpool. 

[Fumbler]

6 minutes ago, Tim_E said:

Jeez either you've bought a Ferrari or you crash every year...? Or live in Central Liverpool. 

I've bought an old car and I'm a young driver. In the eyes of the insurance brokers, that's the equivalent of buying a Ferrari, crashing every year and living in central Liverpool.

[Steve79]

6 hours ago, captain_70s said:

 I've been jacking up a car to find it rolling sideways on the jack. Having said that I've never had a car fall off a jack so people who've been under cars without stands for 30 odd years aren't gonna' stop, the odds are they'll not be squashed.

 

Unlike this poor bugger

https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/7410458.scrapyard-heroes-save-visitors-life/

A mechanic i used to know told me story of someone they knew who worked underneath xantia's by just setting the suspension on high! 

One of them lost pressure whilst he was underneath with predictable results ☠

 

[louiepj]

My 18 year old son pays £1400 for a 1.2 polo with a black box.