The new news 24 thread

[Ghosty]

Progress - it's freed off enough to move. Definitely a dragging caliper. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

I am currently reading one of my favorite car books to date and want to share something about this.

This book covers motoring in Norway during the war years and a little after. And the author has put a lot of work into this, the history of many cars has been found and documented and lots of rare photos from the war years have also been added.

Cars then had very long lives and experienced a lot and here are 3 car stories from the book.

1930s Wanderer this one was seized and used by Qusling's Minister of Culture, he and his wife drowned in this car in 1942 when it was driven into a Norwegian fjord. The car was raised and fixed and was on the road until 1963, the remains of  it still exist in the Telemark area.

1934 Chevrolet truck the author came across a picture of it where it was heavily damaged after the fighting in Norway in 1940 and he began to investigate its history. Documentation on the truck still existed and he was surprised when he was sent copies of this as they were 21 pages long. This had a long life and was fixed after the damage in 1940 and continued to work under several owners until 1958, so this both helped to defend Norway in 1940 and helped rebuild it after the war.

1936 Opel P4 this was borrowed from the owner by Norwegian forces during the fighting in 1940 and was heavily shot at and was no longer drivable, the owner found out where the car was and towed it home with a horse, picture below is of this. Due to the damage, the car was never requisitioned during the war and the owner had it fixed and got it on the road again after the war. It was used by the family until the mid 1960s when it was stored in the barn. It still exists and is still in the same family and still has some bullet holes preserved from the fighting in 1940.

And the book has more stories like this. It is called  På hjul med Wehrmacht  and is unfortunately only available in Norwegian.

[stuboy]

..... i topped the oil on the v6..... exciting stuff........................ sorry all

[Split_Pin]

The new thermostat on the Audi was worse than the original and the car barely got over 60 degrees. I got a link to the supposedly correct Gates item and fitted that today. Getting to the 2 10 mm bolts was an absolute arse but fuck taking the alternator off. 

All done now, I just need to test drive it to see if it has made a difference.

[Ghosty]

Update... the caliper carrier bolt has fallen out. Fixable one way or another. I think Reb has found a local Vauxhall enthusiast...

[RoverFolkUs]

Had an interesting* "quarter-of-an-FTP" in the Focus earlier. 

Thankfully it had the decency to do it about a quarter of a mile from home, on my way home. 

I was just pootling along with minimal fuss, spotted a car in the distance that I'd need to give way to so held back to let it pass without having to slow down. Hyper miling innit

Anyway, once it passed, I booted it in 3rd gear at ~25mph which naturally provides a bit of engine load but it's perfectly capable of accelerating from that speed without dropping to 2nd. 

There was this almighty *BANG* from what seemed like the front driver's side... I pulled over immediately and then set off, there was this weird "HUMMMMMMM" noise pulling away, almost like when a brake gets seized on or, less commonly, when a clutch's friction material separates from the disc without actually catastrophically failing... Weird. It seemed to drive fine. 

I turned around and headed back down the road to see if there was any debris I may have hit without realising, there was none. The "BANG" sounded maybe like a tyre blowing out or a broken spring, or both, just not *quite* as loud. I pulled over again to check the front springs incase they had snapped at risk of penetrating the tyre, and no, they seemed intact. 

I was pretty concerned at this point but since home was only 2 minutes or so away I figured I'd just carefully carry on and see how it behaves

It quickly became apparent that this *HUMMMMM* noise is actually intake noise... So an intake pipe or something has blown off. Weird, because this is a naturally aspirated engine!? The manifold is under vacuum!? 

Got home, opened the bonnet and soon discovered that the air box has burst open, clearly with such force that it smacked the bonnet! The self tapping screws appear to no longer have anything to bite into as the plastic in the air box seems stripped out

I'm not even going to begin to try and work out the physics behind this.. I can only assume at moderate throttle, with the restriction of the air filter, there was enough of a vacuum that when the screws let go and somehow allowed the lid to rise up, the rush of air created the noise and a pressure which blew the top off!? 

I've never come across this sort of failure, to see an air box quite literally explode!

Fixed* 

Grump: air boxes seem really expensive. Like £50 expensive for a second hand one! I'm struggling to justify that since they pretty much almost always end up getting crushed with the car in the breaker's.... 

[junkyarddog]

I've had reasonable* success by stuffing a Rawl plug into the stripped out plastic threads then re-tightening the screws.

HTH.

[richardmorris]

 

For Sale: Lagonda 4,5 Liter LG 45 Rapide (1937) offered for £650,000 (classic-trader.com)

 

[camryv6]

9 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Had an interesting* "quarter-of-an-FTP" in the Focus earlier. 

Thankfully it had the decency to do it about a quarter of a mile from home, on my way home. 

I was just pootling along with minimal fuss, spotted a car in the distance that I'd need to give way to so held back to let it pass without having to slow down. Hyper miling innit

Anyway, once it passed, I booted it in 3rd gear at ~25mph which naturally provides a bit of engine load but it's perfectly capable of accelerating from that speed without dropping to 2nd. 

There was this almighty *BANG* from what seemed like the front driver's side... I pulled over immediately and then set off, there was this weird "HUMMMMMMM" noise pulling away, almost like when a brake gets seized on or, less commonly, when a clutch's friction material separates from the disc without actually catastrophically failing... Weird. It seemed to drive fine. 

I turned around and headed back down the road to see if there was any debris I may have hit without realising, there was none. The "BANG" sounded maybe like a tyre blowing out or a broken spring, or both, just not *quite* as loud. I pulled over again to check the front springs incase they had snapped at risk of penetrating the tyre, and no, they seemed intact. 

I was pretty concerned at this point but since home was only 2 minutes or so away I figured I'd just carefully carry on and see how it behaves

It quickly became apparent that this *HUMMMMM* noise is actually intake noise... So an intake pipe or something has blown off. Weird, because this is a naturally aspirated engine!? The manifold is under vacuum!? 

Got home, opened the bonnet and soon discovered that the air box has burst open, clearly with such force that it smacked the bonnet! The self tapping screws appear to no longer have anything to bite into as the plastic in the air box seems stripped out

I'm not even going to begin to try and work out the physics behind this.. I can only assume at moderate throttle, with the restriction of the air filter, there was enough of a vacuum that when the screws let go and somehow allowed the lid to rise up, the rush of air created the noise and a pressure which blew the top off!? 

I've never come across this sort of failure, to see an air box quite literally explode!

Fixed* 

Grump: air boxes seem really expensive. Like £50 expensive for a second hand one! I'm struggling to justify that since they pretty much almost always end up getting crushed with the car in the breaker's.... 

Bigger screws ?

 

[beko1987]

10 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

Had an interesting* "quarter-of-an-FTP" in the Focus earlier. 

Thankfully it had the decency to do it about a quarter of a mile from home, on my way home. 

I was just pootling along with minimal fuss, spotted a car in the distance that I'd need to give way to so held back to let it pass without having to slow down. Hyper miling innit

Anyway, once it passed, I booted it in 3rd gear at ~25mph which naturally provides a bit of engine load but it's perfectly capable of accelerating from that speed without dropping to 2nd. 

There was this almighty *BANG* from what seemed like the front driver's side... I pulled over immediately and then set off, there was this weird "HUMMMMMMM" noise pulling away, almost like when a brake gets seized on or, less commonly, when a clutch's friction material separates from the disc without actually catastrophically failing... Weird. It seemed to drive fine. 

I turned around and headed back down the road to see if there was any debris I may have hit without realising, there was none. The "BANG" sounded maybe like a tyre blowing out or a broken spring, or both, just not *quite* as loud. I pulled over again to check the front springs incase they had snapped at risk of penetrating the tyre, and no, they seemed intact. 

I was pretty concerned at this point but since home was only 2 minutes or so away I figured I'd just carefully carry on and see how it behaves

It quickly became apparent that this *HUMMMMM* noise is actually intake noise... So an intake pipe or something has blown off. Weird, because this is a naturally aspirated engine!? The manifold is under vacuum!? 

Got home, opened the bonnet and soon discovered that the air box has burst open, clearly with such force that it smacked the bonnet! The self tapping screws appear to no longer have anything to bite into as the plastic in the air box seems stripped out

I'm not even going to begin to try and work out the physics behind this.. I can only assume at moderate throttle, with the restriction of the air filter, there was enough of a vacuum that when the screws let go and somehow allowed the lid to rise up, the rush of air created the noise and a pressure which blew the top off!? 

I've never come across this sort of failure, to see an air box quite literally explode!

Fixed* 

Grump: air boxes seem really expensive. Like £50 expensive for a second hand one! I'm struggling to justify that since they pretty much almost always end up getting crushed with the car in the breaker's.... 

I did a Laugh for the actual issue, rather than the expensive fix. Brand new air filter, tiger seal, more cable ties and forget it for 2 years? 

[RoverFolkUs]

12 hours ago, junkyarddog said:

I've had reasonable* success by stuffing a Rawl plug into the stripped out plastic threads then re-tightening the screws.

HTH.

 

2 hours ago, camryv6 said:

Bigger screws ?

 

I like those ideas. Will give it a whirl, or anything that works!

[Zelandeth]

There's something you don't see every day.

Nacreous clouds if my memory is right.

Edit: Apparently not as that's something which happens at dawn/dusk...not at 1300.  

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

There's something you don't see every day.

Nacreous clouds if my memory is right.

Edit: Apparently not as that's something which happens at dawn/dusk...not at 1300.  

mother of pearl clouds?

Rare ‘mother of pearl’ clouds spotted over Scotland | Science | The Guardian

[junkyarddog]

2 hours ago, RoverFolkUs said:

 

I like those ideas. Will give it a whirl, or anything that works!

I've used them on the undertray of my Mondeo,hasn't fallen off yet.

😂

[lesapandre]

Transport mayhem this afternoon.  Staff at Getlink - the parent company of Eurotunnel and LeShuttle are having a 'wildcat' stoppage over their Christmas bonus - or paucity thereof.

So no Shuttle this afternoon and folk in for a long wait at Cheriton and Sangatte. Knock on to M20 with Operation Brock triggered reducing lanes - no Eurostar out of St. Pancreas this afternoon and traffic pushed on to the ferries.

Hopefully it will get resolved. 

But folk can find themselves trapped in the mayhem and unable to exit the terminals.  I use this route a lot  and it's a sad fact how many people cross the international border (in winter) in vehicles without making proper provision for these delays. 

I've delayed my crossing from Dover till the 28th when the madness decreases - that is if my van gets it's MoT tomorrow.

All the latest mayhem here - no sign of a a resolution:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-67784644

Merry Christmas 🌲

[Saabnut]

So glad I was able to travel yesterday. It will be chaos  for the next 3 days, it always is but these strikes will make it worse.

[lesapandre]

Eurostar now suspended for night - poor sods at the station. No way are they going to get to France now this side of Christmas as the following trains will be booked.

F***ing Eurostar.

The French Transport Minister Beaune has announced the lifting of the 'blockade' of the Channel Tunnel - so LeShuttle can get off at least - driving looks ok - but this will have a knock-on to ferries and shuttle tomorrow - so will still be busy.

[RoverFolkUs]

20 hours ago, junkyarddog said:

I've had reasonable* success by stuffing a Rawl plug into the stripped out plastic threads then re-tightening the screws.

HTH.

 

11 hours ago, camryv6 said:

Bigger screws ?

 

 

11 hours ago, beko1987 said:

I did a Laugh for the actual issue, rather than the expensive fix. Brand new air filter, tiger seal, more cable ties and forget it for 2 years? 

Fixed it! 😅

Like Beko says, the air filter is clean (new, obviously, after the hydrolock....) so I shouldn't have to disturb it for ages

Also; a grin as follows -

Those of you who follow my thread for this car may remember my concern surrounding the slightly notchy gearchanges. Well, while the air box was out look what I spotted! 

The collar mechanism that holds the gear cable into the bracket has broken, so it was sitting slightly adrift... 

^ Fixed! 😂😂

Sod paying £100 or whatever for a new set of gear cables.. haven't been able to test drive yet due to the aborted ball joint replacement (a further £77 spaffed up the wall thanks to needing a complete bottom arm 🙄) 

But having saved £50 or so on the air box, man maths tells me I'm only £27 worse off now having to do the arm, but the ball joint alone was £12 which I'll get back so it's basically £15 extra.... 😂😂

But I'm definitely not spending £100 on new gear cables when a cable tie seems to be doing the job.. for now 

[Ghosty]

Got back, called AA in the daytime and actually got a patrol rather than a contractor, that found a bolt to get the caliper back in place.

[Split_Pin]

Sorn'd the Saab today, a couple of months will see a £118 saving. Even if I sold it and didn't replace it, by the time I'd removed my plate (£80) and then cancelled the insurance which has only been running since July (more than likely about £50 cancellation fee) I would be worse off. 

And have no Saab.

[Ghosty]

Cav continues to be a cunt, random cutout in an ALR bit of the M62. Thank fuck it got started again before it rolled to a stop. 

 

I'm really losing faith in that car. 

Fortunately, that Civic I'm trying to sell, I've been offered a swap for a Yaris T-Sport from someone I've dealt with before... sounds ideal. 

[Split_Pin]

As a punishment for contemplating selling it, the 75 has shat its 2nd windscreen washer pump in 18 months.

Thankfully a replacement is only a tenner and I can get the bumper on and off in about 15 minutes now!

[tooSavvy]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

As a punishment for contemplating selling it, the 75 has shat its 2nd windscreen washer pump in 18 months.

Thankfully a replacement is only a tenner and I can get the bumper on and off in about 15 minutes now!

People with lonngggg memories will recall my Savvy wash pump going pop....

Studied anything relevant on t'Web [Savv = Not much 🙄] and decide I wasn't going to #ukonn removing fender/liner to fix (REAR wash motor same place/share reservoir... Working tikettyboo) SO >>>

eBay a Pug motor/grommit... Slotted a 5lite hard skin container into o/s engine space... Drill grommit hole & chop rubber feed tube/chop power loom AND >>>

Bleach bottle washers 100% 🚀

.... Worked till I palmed it off 😎

🚙💨

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, Nyphur said:

Been trying to figure out a knocking noise on the Roomster which has got progressively worse in the last couple of weeks. A hollow sounding "clonk" coming from the nearside over bumps, seems to be worse over slightly uneven road rather than big bumps. I couldn't tell for sure whether it was coming from the front or rear, a couple of passengers said "sometimes from the front, sometimes from the rear". Hmmmm.

Spotted the rear shock had spaffed all its oil, and was nice and dry when I was last under there a few months ago. Internet wisdom suggested shocks can make a clonking sound as they no longer compress evenly but suddenly jerk into place. I fitted a new pair today with new covers and bump stops. Nice easy job and only ~£70 all in.

Well that helped identify why the noise was "sometimes the front, sometimes the rear" as the clonk is not as bad or as frequent now, but still present and definitely from the front nearside corner. I must have had 2 noises all along.

I can't for the life of me figure out what the noise is though. Spring, all joints and dust covers, top mount etc seemingly fine, ARB bushes, bottom ball joint, drop links all good - all checked with and without the corner loaded up. Driveshaft nut still tight, even checked to make sure battery was still secured correctly. Fuck knows. My suspicion falls to the front shock now - it was alright with a brief "bounce test" but that's obviously not conclusive.

Housemate had a Fabia which developed a similar sounding noise by description, it turned out to be that it had lost one of the little rubber dome shaped stoppers that the bonnet is meant to sit on on one side.

Also, not wanting to state the obvious, but while you checked the hub nut was still tight, you did ensure that the wheel nuts/bolts were too didn't you?

I *definitely* haven't gone chasing ghost faults which turned out to be loose wheel nuts in the past.  Nope...never.

[HMC]

Currently off roading in the transit….

[Split_Pin]

34 minutes ago, HMC said:

 

That looks great.

I can see a camper in my distant future!

[Snake Charmer]

Managed to get my hands on Old Nail today, it needed a push! 😊

[dome]

51 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

Managed to get my hands on Old Nail today, it needed a push! 😊

As in the ex Gerry Marshall Old Nail?😳

[stuboy]

9 hours ago, Ghosty said:

Cav continues to be a cunt, random cutout in an ALR bit of the M62. Thank fuck it got started again before it rolled to a stop. 

 

not like a cav they normally pretty good

[RoverFolkUs]

5 hours ago, Nyphur said:

Been trying to figure out a knocking noise on the Roomster which has got progressively worse in the last couple of weeks. A hollow sounding "clonk" coming from the nearside over bumps, seems to be worse over slightly uneven road rather than big bumps. I couldn't tell for sure whether it was coming from the front or rear, a couple of passengers said "sometimes from the front, sometimes from the rear". Hmmmm.

Spotted the rear shock had spaffed all its oil, and was nice and dry when I was last under there a few months ago. Internet wisdom suggested shocks can make a clonking sound as they no longer compress evenly but suddenly jerk into place. I fitted a new pair today with new covers and bump stops. Nice easy job and only ~£70 all in.

Well that helped identify why the noise was "sometimes the front, sometimes the rear" as the clonk is not as bad or as frequent now, but still present and definitely from the front nearside corner. I must have had 2 noises all along.

I can't for the life of me figure out what the noise is though. Spring, all joints and dust covers, top mount etc seemingly fine, ARB bushes, bottom ball joint, drop links all good - all checked with and without the corner loaded up. Driveshaft nut still tight, even checked to make sure battery was still secured correctly. Fuck knows. My suspicion falls to the front shock now - it was alright with a brief "bounce test" but that's obviously not conclusive.

Have someone rock the car from side to side whilst you feel around everything, paying particular attention to the shock absorber top nut and steering rack. I've found that this can invoke a tricky to find knock as it extends the suspension through a wide range of movement. I've also found that knocks over uneven surfaces/undulations rather than bigger bumps/potholes can be caused by internal steering rack wear

VAG drop links and lower ball joints can be tricky to find play in due to the angle they are installed in - depending on model they are often under some form of tension regardless of whether the suspension is loaded up or free hanging. This is where rocking it side to side helps. 

Also steer it out to full lock one way or the other and get someone to rock the steering about 45-90° in a reciprocal motion while you look at the bottom ball joint. That's another way of checking them. (Different methods work for different designs)

I've often had this with PSA stuff as well, a terrible knock/clonk over slightly uneven surfaces with seemingly nothing wrong, no play felt at the wheel, and seemingly nothing with a lever bar either. Just today I've had it on a Pug 207 which has been plagued with a knock for months that we couldn't find at first, it's now here for an engine replacement(!) and having separated the lower ball joints from the hub, now discovered they are knackered with a relatively small amount of play but just enough to cause the problem. The arms on them are under so much tension that it masks the play really well in situ