The new news 24 thread

[Shep Shepherd]

Drove The Volvo to work today*, as I hadn't driven it for almost three weeks. As you can see, it blends in well in the staff car park:

 

 

Pawnote: The Discovery is my department's site vehicle. It's quite good

 

 

 

 

*Managed to hit 100 mph at one point on the A13 on the way in, which is the fastest I have driven the car since I took it to Germany in 2010. I bet that quite a few of the drivers of the other cars I passed wondered what was going on

[overrun]

Can't remember if I've mentioned it but my local garage agrees with me that the Sirion's random power loss issue is probably down to an exhaust blockage - hence why it really kicks in on bends as the utterly knackered baffles move and block the flow of gas. Since identifying this fault, I've done absolutely nothing about it. I could get a complete system for £30-40, but there is part of me wondering if it's worth removing the old exhaust (which is perferation free) and seeing if I can tip the broken baffles out. I suspect this is an utter waste of time. Planning a bit of a roadtrip in it on Tuesday.

 

'Key backs' in the local retail park on a Sunday evening will help to remove those troublesome baffles.

[trigger]

I once found over £1000 randomly in my Paypal account from 3 different people, I though all my Christmases came at once until i started getting threatening emails of people asking why the fook i had their money! After a phone call to Paypal it turned out someone had hijacked my account for money laundering purposes and was using it as a middle man before moving it on into another account!.

[Lord Sterling]

Today I had the expansion on my Sterling changed, I had to take the one off my other Mk2 Sterling which I didn't want to do. At least it'll stop the coolant leaking. I hope.

 

I also got to drive an LDV Pilot van with a 1.9 Peugeot Diesel engine, what a miserably fun thing to drive, I can only imagine the petrol versions with those pathetically farty exhausts are even worse. I really want to try one of them out.

 

Just been watching the 'Cannonball!' film on YouTube. Not the Burt Reynold films but an earlier low-budget film made in 1976 with David Carradine. Great film if a little dark, very unlike the Burt Reynolds versions and so very 1970s that I had to check that hadn't grown a 70s moustache and lamb-chop sideboards.

[Lacquer Peel]

Drove The Volvo to work today*, as I hadn't driven it for almost three weeks. As you can see, it blends in well in the staff car park:

 

 

I like how my 940 doesn't blend in at all in most car parks - it's by far the squarest and boxiest vehicle so it's easy to spot.

[rml2345]

^ Ditto my 740. Three box saloons that look like three boxes FTW!

[wuvvum]

I sold the Daewoo today, to the first person to view it.  Didn't get quite as much as I wanted for it, but the girl who bought it turned up three minutes early, was pleasant to deal with, and brought along her dad, who seemed to actually know about cars (rather than just pretending he did).  He pointed out a couple of faults which I hadn't spotted (because I barely used the thing), but which were actually there, rather than some made-up bollocks to try and get money knocked off.  Then they paid cash and drove off into the sunset.  That kind of hassle-free sale seems to be a rare event on Gumtree and I was happy to take a bit less than my asking price to avoid being pissed about.

 

The money's already spoken for, needless to say (along with some of the rent money ).  All the talk on here recently about indecently fast Swedes got me thinking, and after a brief hunt on eBay it looks like I'll be heading Ipswichwards in the next few days to pick up what I hope will be an amusingly rapid means of transport.

 

The 406 has been playing up this weekend.  It's idled rather lumpily since I bought it, which I've put down to the previous owner running it on any old crap he could sling in the tank (although thankfully he seems to have stayed away from veg).  It's been getting worse, and this weekend it's actually cut out at low revs / idle several times.  It started up again straight away, but it's still annoying.  I've run a bottle of Redex diesel cleaner through it, but doesn't seem to have helped a great deal - I might invest in something stronger. 

 

That and a new diesel filter.  I took the cartridge out of the filter this afternoon to measure it (Peugeot being Peugeot, they seem to have chucked in whichever filter they happened to have most of on that day, and there seems to be half a dozen variations on the 2.1TD alone), and when I put it back in and pumped the system up with the primer bulb, the engine idled perfectly smoothly for the first few minutes, before gradually going back to shit again.  The film of diesel on top of the filter was quite black and oily, so I think there's still a bit of used engine oil swirling around in there, and perhaps the previous owner didn't filter it quite as carefully as he thought.

 

Still, it's comprehensively outlasted the last French diesel estate I bought, so it's not all bad.

 

I also fired up the Gilera today and let it run for several minutes (sadly the weather precluded taking it for a spin - I'm very much a fair weather biker these days), and it seems to be a lot happier now than it was last weekend.  Looks like the meths-in-the-tank idea might have worked, so cheers whoever it was who suggested it (I CBA to search for the thread now).

[Negative Creep]

Got the wheel alignment done on Friday, came home and found a leaflet offering it for half price at the local tyre place. Ho hum

[Barry Cade]

Twas me who suggested meths in the tank- has save me a few times.

 

I've just been offered completely new (and much better) terms for my job as a breakdown driver, after I've shaken hands on the new job as an MOT tester. A handshake is my bond so I've had to politely decline,but it's giving me another sleepless night  feeling bad about letting someone down. Sometimes I wish I was a fekless mouth breathing Ebay mong so I could get a good nights sleep with no battle of  conscience.

[Jimcit]

Try Steve and Nick at Double-H Restorations near Kenilworth.  They're ostensibly into air-cooled VWs, but they'll take on pretty much anything; there was a Rod, a yank pick-up and Porsche in the workshop when I was last there.  Their premises are rubbish but the work is top notch (although I am no expert) and they're in it for the love of it rather than the money so they'll quote you a fair price, I'm sure.

 

If you speak to Nick, say Ceri sent you!

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Double-H-Restorations/54504454383

 

Cheers for the tip - speaking to a girl from 2cv club who does welding as she's got an old 96 as well, but it's good to know a good local welder too.

[cort16]

Wuvvum your symtoms sound very similar to the issues I was having with the zx, which was a air leak . Is there diesel anywhere it shouldn't be around the filter and does the primer bulb look intact ?

[dollywobbler]

Decided to buy a new exhaust for the Sirion. £60 isn't very much really, though cheaper ones were available last year annoyingly. I will also be using it for a trip to Englandcestershire tomorrow. I was toying with the idea of taking the Land Rover, but it's leaking various fluids in various manners - latest one seem to be the front seal on the transfer box, enough to clean the underside of it and cover the surrounding area in mucky oil. Great. Hopefully it'll hold out for the laning trip its taking on Saturday. I'm leading a group, so could be embarrassing if the transfer box fails. May have to find time to check the level.

[HMC]

^ Good to hear the patented* land rover underbody rust protection system is working. If only it worked better!

[dollywobbler]

Not just Land Rover. Seems BMC/BL/AR copied the idea. The front subframe on our Mini was in no danger of ever rotting.

[rml2345]

740 goes for MOT and rear brake pads tomorrow. Hoping for a pass considering the amount it's had spent on it in the last 12 months but you never know.

[barefoot]

Saw a bit of a korean soft roader by the side of the road, just beyond a series of vicious speed bumps.

It looked like the osf suspension had all but collapsed, there was a lot of wishboney stuff hanging down.

[vulgalour]

Princess thermostat housing now leaking in a more different way.  I think it's the cap, but I'm not sure.  It's certainly not leaking a scary amount, but I'd rather it didn't leak at all.

[Timewaster]

Bloody immobiliser on the Cosworth has come over all French.

It's going to be a right pain to sort as it's all taped into the loom and was a dash out job to fit. Joy.

[derskine]

Picked up 5 speed box for polo yesterday, I have a feeling the close ratio box in mine is on its way out as it's crunching into 1st and 5th sometimes.

This box is geared further apart so would rather avoid using it as the close ratios make the car really good to drive, but if it breaks, I don't think I'll have a choice, GT boxes aren't easy to find.

[oman5]

I *may* have found a Volvo 940 td 

[Slappy]

Drove some proper (I hope) future-shite today - a Day-sia Sandero Stepway faux by four as part of my work's pool car replacement search.

 

Had the 1.5 Renault diesel in it which was probably the best* thing about it. Was the top of the line model, and to be frank I wasn't expecting to see a large Sat-nav screen in the middle considering their budget credentials. My comparisons for other vehicles in this sector are my '03 Fiesta, the existing work 1.2(?) TD mega-lag Ibizas, a Jazz, and a K13 Micra, which was a massive step back in terms of quality from the K12.

 

Fit and finish were as to be expected for a car in this budget, but that's not what it is about is it at the end of the day I guess. Engine was nice, much better than our Ibizas which always need some right foot to generate any momentum (so sod any fuel economy gains obviously), and it did it's job getting from A to B. However the ridiculously notchy and vaguely flexible gear lever required almost Defender (I've driven Work's one of those too, a TD4 90) levels of effort to get into gear, which was a massive shame really. Work aren't likely to take these on, I tried an Eye30 the other week and that was many miles better overall, and I think that's been the consensus.

 

At the same time, my 10yo Fester with 87 and a half k still felt much better put together, had pretty much the same sort of things apart from multi-connectivity for my ipod, and I think a good one will be available at 15-20% of the purchase price of the Sandero, but hey, I'm preaching to the choir here aren't I!

 

Apols (if required) for the driving review as I don't tend to see them too much in the 18 months or so that I've been reading this fine resource of a forum, but as I had an opportunity to have a go at something that in a few years time a few of you could be eyeing up, I thought it would be rude not to share.

[oman5]

aye, Sanderos are not bad. so long as you go into it realising that it's built down to a price, they're fine. Brand new an equivalent Fester is a lot,lot more.

[garbaldy]

well I decided to buy some triumph shite well I say shite but I fear it wont be classed as such,

  

I had thought about a collection thread but since its only 70 odd miles away it will be a straight forward push onto trailer, hell I wont even need a fuel stop to get the typical forecourt shot   I fail at this

[wuvvum]

Wuvvum your symtoms sound very similar to the issues I was having with the zx, which was a air leak . Is there diesel anywhere it shouldn't be around the filter and does the primer bulb look intact ?

 

I didn't notice any diesel where it shouldn't be; the primer bulb seems fine, and pumped up rock hard after a few squeezes (as the actress said to the bishop).  The seal around the filter cartridge seems to be in pretty good nick as well.  I did wonder about an air leak, but I'm hoping it isn't as air leaks on diesels are inevitably a complete c*ntstick to track down.  Also, as long as it's going steady or accelerating, it never cuts out at all - it's only when I come completely off the throttle that it misbehaves.

 

It cut out even more today on the way to work, and I ended up losing my rag with it.  I'm not sure it appreciated being driven at 30mph in first gear for the last half mile, but at least the bastard thing didn't stall.  Going to buy it a filter and some Wynn's tomorrow and see what happens.

[trigger]

I was bored this afternoon so I decided to tackle a job I've been putting off for ages, rubbing down the wheels on the Civic and repainting them, They aren't bad considering but they are covered in "Spider Leg" type scabs and have rusty patches and i personally think they let the car down.

 

 

 

I wish i hadn't started, what a rubbish job and my fingers are now sore!, About 3 hours later they looked like this, i covered them in that Kurust stuff and I've now left them to dry over night after washing them down.

 

[trigger]

Actually i meant to ask, I've removed the weights from the wheels and marked their positions, now if i was to refit the weights back onto the inside of the wheels instead of the outside would it throw the balancing out?.  

[skattrd]

Actually i meant to ask, I've removed the weights from the wheels and marked their positions, now if i was to refit the weights back onto the inside of the wheels instead of the outside would it throw the balancing out?.  

yes

[Justin Case]

Mazda passed its MOT today after standing outside and not turning a wheel for four months, so after the rain we've had a not surprising advisory for slight surface rust on discs but otherwise OK. Bonus it is now seven years old, so another year nearer Shitedom and not 'All Modern Cars are etc, etc'

[Barry Cade]

Yeah

 

Old Airhead lives again after a lot of head scratching, studying parts 'fiches and spending a lot of time on Ebay.de.

 

My kitchen table has been home to various Bings, jets, diagphrams, rub and buff, baby oil and sometimes even dinner over the past few weeks. What a pleasure playing with points and carbs.

 

Everything post 1982 is shite.

 

 

The wee Kwak is also finished and on the road. It's rather fun, and so nice to ride a bike again where 3 figures on the speedo isn't the norm.

[dugong]

Princess thermostat housing now leaking in a more different way.  I think it's the cap, but I'm not sure.  It's certainly not leaking a scary amount, but I'd rather it didn't leak at all.

Buy a new thermostat \ thermostat housing?