The new news 24 thread

[Pete-M]

Gah! Passenger side caliper on the Maverick is also knackered. This thing had better be good off-road because I'll have spent a fortune on it by the time I get it there!

 

LOL. Compared to a Range Rover or Defender - it won't be.

[dollywobbler]

I'm looking forward to finding out Pete. Solihull wins on axle articulation, but the Mav has a limited slip diff up its sleeve...

 

I'm green laning in a couple of weeks, so naturally I'll report back.

[wackywacerwill]

Bother. The caliper sliders on the Maverick seem goosed. That explains why only one pad wore to the metal. Whoever forgot to grease the sliding calipers needs a kick in the knackers.

 

EFA

[wackywacerwill]

Day off work and just making coffee ready to go and get the Leon in some sort of worthy condition for test. Temp gauge reads in the minus's, gonna break out the wood burner as I'll be working outside due to the lookups being chock full of immobile chod. Just looked out the window and there's a light snow in the air, drop of whisky in the coffee too I reckon.

[Negative Creep]

Bluebird in for the MOT tomorrow. Now I haven't actually found anything that will fail, but won't tempt fate. Also found a stock of Yugo bits in Penzance, so road trip planned for Monday

[rml2345]

Sorry to hear that Scoots, hope they find a way for some relief at least.

Yaris has been about 700 miles in the last 5 days without issue... Except that the engine management light now glows cheekily from the dash, taunting me with its unfixed-ness.

Thought I'd sorted that...

[AlsoMike]

Changed a headlight on the Mrs' Saxo yesterday, and found that the nuts are all secured using flimsy plastic clips... Cue said clips disintegrating straight away, bolts turning merrily and lots of swearing while local children look on in shock. The bottom bolt is hidden beneath the front crossmember bit too for minimum access, so nearly impossible to get molegrips on. Bit of a bollock of a job all round, but worth it for the MoT pass it got.

[ashmicro]

Bashed mark 1 Fuckass repaired! Actually dead easy, just add Plusgas. The owner is very pleased, I am now very dirty.

[barefoot]

Porsche booked in for MOT on Friday.

 

must remember to stick on the legal number plates

[wackywacerwill]

Missed your previous post scooters, sorry to hear that. Hope you and the family can find ways and means, my Leon traumas rather pale in comparison.

 

I'm back indoors now on child care duties after collecting our youngest from nursery after spending the last few cold hours wrestling door mechs and cursing the Spanish, German and vag in general. Fuggin moderns

[dollywobbler]

An actual news story - these bloody Fronteras get everywhere!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-s ... d-16943412

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

An actual news story - these bloody Fronteras get everywhere!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-s ... d-16943412

 

They just can't get back!

[eddyramrod]

Best of luck Scoots. Minimum pain and maximum relief (sprinkles fairy-dust in your direction). There, that should work...

 

As this is about news, I've had two potential buyers come look at my pickup, and this morning a phone call from a third. He's going to call me back this afternoon (it's now 10.15pm). One buyer hasn't returned, second is coming back tomorrow. I believe this one, he's a friend of a friend. Better than that: he was going to come today but I had to put him off at the last minute as I had to deliver some furniture, and he's still interested. So that's promising.

 

Oh the furniture? If you can find the very long posting I made, with all the stuff I have advertised on a local expats forum, then you've seen it. I sold the pale green leather suite for 250 euros. Cost me something like 1600 quid from Preston DFS but that was in 1999 so I reckon I've had good value out of it!

[Lankytim]

Sorry to hear of your health issues Scoot, Mrs Lankytim had something similar a year or so ago and she had to have her gall bladder removed, which fixed everything.

 

Won a weird hydraulic tool lift thing on ebay today, mega cheap too. Emailed seller but as of yet no reply!

 

Does anybody know anything about Tirfor hydraulic lifts??

[Lankytim]

No, it looks like this...

 

 

Google is full of those cable winch things, but there is very little on these tool lift jobbies. I intend to use it for shifting engines and the like about, maybe even lifting them in and out of cars if it can be adapted without breaking.

[Minimad5]

No, it looks like this...

 

 

Do they not use the same hydraulics as a Pallet Pump Truck ?

.. yeah one of them

 

 

And after reading back a page or two:

Sorry to hear about your troubles Scoots' , wish you all the best

[Guest]

Chin up scoots, think of the 820 instead. All the best from family_Wat.

[wuvvum]

Been having a fun game of musical shite this evening. It went something like this:

 

Jump start Transit van off Rover of Doom

Drive Transit van 15 miles to shite storage facility

Jump start Metrocab off Transit

Jump start Innocenti off Metrocab

Pull Metrocab out onto road

Pull Innocenti out and park round corner

Shoehorn Metrocab into space left by Innocenti

Fire up CX and back out onto road

Open garage doors, fire up Ligier which is stuck behind Renault 6

Jump start Renault 6 off Ligier

Back Renault 6 out onto road

Drive Ligier out onto road

Drive Renault 6 back into garage and close doors

Drive CX back into driveway and park up against garage doors

Drive Ligier back into driveway and park behind CX

Dump Transit van round the corner

Fire up Innocenti and drive it 15 miles home

 

I hate cold weather - out of the seven vehicles I've moved this evening, only three managed to start up without assistance. To be fair, the Innocenti and Renner Six had both been standing for months, but the taxi and Transit seem to have lost some of their battery power in the cold snap. Innocenti drove home fine, but has now developed an exhaust blow from the centre box, which is annoying as the MoT is up at the end of the month. I might have to invest in some gun gum.

[Cavcraft]

Fell out with local VW dealer (parts dep't) as didn't like their incredibly snotty attitude on the 'phone earlier this week. Quick call to EuroParts who obviously understand how to speak to customers so water coolant flange, O ring for the same and new thermostat got from them-at a bloody good price too it must be said. Hopefully my lad will be fitting them* this weekend as miss the economy of the diesel at the moment.

 

*Still can't use my left hand

[barefoot]

The fuckwit at the top of our street, who backs his company Audi A6 out of his drive,

bounds across the street & up the kerb opposite (on 45/50 series tyres on big wheels)

has finally hit the lamp post.

Sadly the bumpers are not the correct colour to repair with Gaffa tape.

[John F]

The fuckwit at the top of our street, who backs his company Audi A6 out of his drive,

bounds across the street & up the kerb opposite (on 45/50 series tyres on big wheels)

has finally hit the lamp post.

Sadly the bumpers are not the correct colour to repair with Gaffa tape.

 

Haha, sounds like this has been a long time coming

[theorganist]

Well I was expecting to be taking the Megane to the scrapyard after the MOT this week but all it has failed on is a cracked headlamp. One duly sourced for £15 from a local scrappie!

 

The Maxi is having its first MOT since 1997 next Wednesday (If I can get it there) I know it will fail (particularly on the electrics) but I want to see what else is needed as it seems fairly solid!

[Negative Creep]

Bluebird went for its MOT today. Failed on front pads and a wheel cylinder. It may need shoes as well, but all in all I don't think that's a bad result

[cort16]

I had my first proper drive of the 740i today. Impessions are that it drives really well given it's done 271,000 miles. Every BMW I've ever owned, which ranges from ones built in 1982 to 2000 have always had that really bloody annoying 55mph shimmy but this one doesn't suffer from that. It feels really tight infact and handles quite nicely for a car that weighs 14 tonnes

Down sides are the front discs are completely shagged and are doing an ABS whenever you touch them. It's £70 for a set so not the end of the world. The head unit with the telly and radio works sometimes but not others. There's power getting to it but it won't switch on and the body has a few scabby bits the worst being where a slate decided to end itself by jumping off a roof and sconing the BMW on the boot lid.

 

740i Front by cort16, on Flickr

 

740i Back by cort16, on Flickr

[dollywobbler]

Perhaps a bit bigger than you thought though?

 

They are lovely looking barges. They have a grace that the 5-Series lacks, and which the replacement 7-Series missed by a country mile.

[cort16]

Bigger size wize? Na I know they're massive. My boss has a new 7 so I might compare the sizes. I don't think the 7's swollen quite the same as the 5.

[dollywobbler]

It was a slight reference to your parking...

[cort16]

Never being one to catch on quick I realised this I was driving down the road.

I normally drive an a6 in which it's mandatory to park like a twat so it's hard to break the habit.

[cobblers]

I've just remembered there's barely any antifreeze in my T25, and its going to be about minus eleventy if the weather reports are to believed. I'll give it a run before bed to get it nice and warm, and I'm off out in the morning. I'll probably be OK. Might also leave the decklid off, so the engines exposed to the "inside of the van" temperatures more than the outside.

[dollywobbler]

I've just remembered there's barely any antifreeze in my T25, and its going to be about minus eleventy if the weather reports are to believed. I'll give it a run before bed to get it nice and warm, and I'm off out in the morning. I'll probably be OK. Might also leave the decklid off, so the engines exposed to the "inside of the van" temperatures more than the outside.

 

Eep! I'd give the hoses a squeeze before you try starting the engine tomorrow. My dad once snapped the cambelt on his Montego by starting the engine when the coolant had frozen. Water pump didn't want to go around...

 

My CX survived frozen coolant. I left it until the hoses were at least mushy again, then let it tickover for a goodly while so it could gently heat up.