The new news 24 thread

[MJK 24]

3 hours ago, reb said:

found a tent in the cupboard 

garden camping time!

That’s a nice garden / general outlook.

[Lord Sterling]

10 hours ago, reb said:

I wrote this for elsewhere, but might as well put it here too: 

I suppose I should start this off by saying that I don't have an unhealthy sleeping pattern. I just don't have a sleeping pattern at all. It has been like this for as long as I can remember. Yesterday I woke up at 3pm having slept for 16 hours. The day before I woke up at 9am after 8 hours. I don't think I'm depressed or anything, it's just how things get when I don't have to conform to a modern fixed workday + stuff about sports

Sounds a bit like me. I work permanent night shift doing a 4-nights on 4-nights off shift.

When I came back after my last night on, I slept for near 16 hours (getting up every now and again to go the toilet) then the next day, I probably slept for a normal 7/8 hours. It happens to me every now and again where I just need to have a long multiple-hours of sleep. I don't think I'm depressed either.

Sports, I have literally no interest in, football, car racing, it just doesn't interest me and never has. It never bothered me at school but I do remember encountering a few people in various work places who simply could not believe or understand that I had no interest in sport.

[stuboy]

12 hours ago, paulplom said:

After that he give it a good hoover out and gave it a sort inside with cockpit shine and the like. I hope he's getting the bug.

Note gf's shit parking in the background.

wish my oldest was into cars not bloody football

[High Jetter]

45 minutes ago, stuboy said:

wish my oldest was into cars not bloody football

A football is cheeper than a car tho...

[stuboy]

3 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

A football is cheeper than a car tho...

i never been interested

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, stuboy said:

i never been interested

I feighned interest at Secondary school to fit in, but I couldn't arouse much interest

[Wibble]

2 hours ago, stuboy said:

i never been interested

Me neither mate.

[stripped fred]

15 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

I really liked my S Type 3.0 V6 when I had it.

Trouble is with these low mileage usage extra cars is the road tax. It hurts to pay out for a car I hardly use.

I pay £415 a year which is steep and I pay the same on my mk1 TT. It all adds up but they are not depreciating and you can afford to not tax for a few months. I am basing those on my mini fleet bit obviously more of a headache with the number you have.

I would like a go in a petrol version. I think the 3 litre petrol is probably the sweet spot, although my 2.7 diesel has been faultless, contrary to internet folklore.

[paulplom]

11 hours ago, stuboy said:

wish my oldest was into cars not bloody football

He loves football too.

[Supernaut]

I'm taking this to a vintage car show on Sunday, but today it's a tractor.

We keep an IBC of water up at the building site to water the trees etc with. It was looking a bit low.

[jonathan_dyane]

Not sure whether this is a grump or a grin so I'll put this here.

I changed the headgasket on the 406 daily because increasingly terrible oil leak.

Imagine my delight after completing the job (which is a bit of a ballache, poor access, inlet and exhaust manifold studs need winding out by feel etc) and finding oil still pissing out.

I lay underneath with the engine running and I could see the oil running along between the head and block up the back of the engine. I was perplexed how I could have fucked the job up but resigned myself to having somehow done so.

I used the P4 for work a few times but it isn't ideal because I do loads of miles often in heavy traffic. In fairness the Rover handled it fine however for various reasons not least of which MPG it wasn't ideal.

So I bought this Golf which seemed to be the cheapest car available within a reasonable difference that wasn't totally fucked.

I had to replace the wing on the Golf because it was both accident damaged and totally rotten and the interior was pretty hanging but it isn't a bad car.

Meantime I had been ruminating about the 406 and trying to summon the energy to pull the head back off.

I did however have a thought, the vacuum pump is right by where all the oil is leaking and there is an oil gallery from the head which supplies it. It occurred to me that I could have fucked up fitting it somehow and the leak was in fact from that.

Pulled the pump off earlier (two bolts and a nut, quick and easy) and guess what! The o-ring that fits in to the pump body to seal the oil gallery was MIA! I fitted another o-ring, started her up and let her run up to full temperature. No more oil leak!

So now I have a spare car. Will have to mull over whether I should move one on (in which case which one!) or whether actually it makes more sense to keep a spare on the drive.

I might as well drive round in the Golf for the next couple of months and see how in behaves and how I take to it...

 

[wesacosa]

I don't need another car. I dont want another car. Another car is the absolute last thing I need.  I have no motivation to work on old cars despite having projects clogging up my drive.  I been trying to sell the Panda without success for getting on two years. I've finally moved the XM on and being enjoying having one less car to lose sleep over.  I don't need another car 

so why the feck am I going to view another car tomorrow morning 🤦🏼

[dome]

On 02/05/2025 at 08:04, SiC said:

First thing I reckon is to read the adaptation values as it's easy to - any decent scantool should be able to do it. Or if you have a DCAN cable & OTG USB cable with an android phone, you can use xHP Flash Tool. Comparing with the ZF values, it should give a good indication of the condition of the seals and clutch packs. If very high values (+/- 500mbar+) then perhaps it's probably not worth putting money into that box. Especially as they're readily available second hand in good condition for not much more than the seal+fluid kits (which you'd want to service before fitting anyway).

I did debate strongly about doing mine as it shifted absolutely fine on the whole, as I didn't want to make it worse. However now I know it was all factory, I'm pleased I did as old fluid isn't good and the seals are a weak point. Far better to change these parts when the box is not broken from being worn out because they've not been changed!

@SiC Had a quick look at this, as is the way with these things I have no idea whether it's good or bad though.

Readings taken at idle.

 

[Schaefft]

2 hours ago, wesacosa said:

I don't need another car. I dont want another car. Another car is the absolute last thing I need.  I have no motivation to work on old cars despite having projects clogging up my drive.  I been trying to sell the Panda without success for getting on two years. I've finally moved the XM on and being enjoying having one less car to lose sleep over.  I don't need another car 

so why the feck am I going to view another car tomorrow morning 🤦🏼

It can't hurt to look, riiight...?

[SiC]

2 hours ago, dome said:

@SiC Had a quick look at this, as is the way with these things I have no idea whether it's good or bad though.

Readings taken at idle.

 

They're in spec and not particularly close to the ZF limits either. Definitely is trying harder to shift than the original factory limits. Extra mbar and time on needed on many of the clutches and brakes.

How is it shifting?

If it was mine I would get the seals and fluid+filter changed if I liked it. I think it's unlikely it'll make things worse. 

[wesacosa]

23 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

It can't hurt to look, riiight...?

well that's true. Although unless it's terrible I will no doubt buy 

[Stinkwheel]

 

Car levitating - check

 

Tools to hand - check

 

I decided not to let the 206 die after the MOT fail last month, so started work at long last.

Brake servo and master cylinder replaced and bled up - check

Lower arm N/S replaced - check

Still some welding and a CV boot on the other side to do, but that can wait for another day. 

[loserone]

Thank you @Stinkwheel! I have a nice plastic boot liner for that when you are passing next 

[Stinkwheel]

5 minutes ago, loserone said:

Thank you @Stinkwheel! I have a nice plastic boot liner for that when you are passing next 

Amazing, thank you. Will take you up on that as long as I can remember when I’m up your way 😂

[loserone]

Pair of GTI front seats too if you wanted

[Yoss]

Coming home from work yesterday in the blue Favorit, a two tone maroon and gold Toyota Picnic was coming the other way. It was one of those moments where we both pulled in to a space and waved each other through at the same time. After a bit more gesticulating I eventually got him to go first. As he came past he slowed down and said to me 'I guess you're never in a rush when you're driving something as cool as that'.

I replied that it doesn't go fast enough for me to be in a hurry. I was a bit overwhelmed by the compliment so forgot to mention that owning two P reg Toyota Picnics is quite cool too. At least it is in these pages. It's the sort of thing most people wouldn't bat an eyelid at but to those in the know like us it's quite an achievement. 

I have previously photographed them. 

I'm just pleased he's noticed my car too. 

 

[beko1987]

Same colour as my 206 was! Mine was a 3 door though. I didn't hate it tbh, I'd have a 206sw hdi if required...

 

[Supernaut]

Tops off weather today.

Or TAPS AFF!

Door tops, that is.

It's so much fun I don't want to put them back on until at least autumn. I might figure out a better way to mount that mirror though. Maybe through the hole left in the door by the absence of the top half.

[Stinkwheel]

57 minutes ago, loserone said:

Pair of GTI front seats too if you wanted

Oooo now that’s interesting

[lesapandre]

A poet's car. I came across this today.  Poet Philip Larkin writing about his cars in the 1960's.

Larkin went on holiday returning to locations in Dublin and on the west coast of Ireland he had visited via slow steam trains from Belfast in the 1950s. He calculated that he would cover at least 2,000 miles and was looking forward to testing his new car. A month earlier he had exchanged his Singer Vogue for an Austin Princess Vanden Plas which he described to novelist Barbara Pym as:

‘an enormous 4-litre Vanden Plas Princess, with a Rolls Royce engine . . . love at first sight, one of the few cars I can bear the look of . . . huge and ponderous, like an old drawing room, and does 80 without turning a hair.’

He even took a snapshot.

[lesapandre]

And a new book purchase - very good very comprehensive.

[richardmorris]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

A poet's car. I came across this today.  Poet Philip Larkin writing about his cars in the 1960's.

Larkin went on holiday returning to locations in Dublin and on the west coast he had visited via slow steam trains from Belfast in the 1950s. He calculated that he would cover at least 2,000 miles and was looking forward to testing his new car. A month earlier he had exchanged his Singer Vogue for an Austin Princess Vanden Plas which he described to novelist Barbara Pym as:

‘an enormous 4-litre Vanden Plas Princess, with a Rolls Royce engine . . . love at first sight, one of the few cars I can bear the look of . . . huge and ponderous, like an old drawing room, and does 80 without turning a hair.’

He even took a snapshot.

Not huge by today’s standards though.  I drove into Richmond ( and back) today, an awful lot of congestion would go away if people had car sized vehicles not audi q7s and bmw beaver faces.

[richardmorris]

31 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Not huge by today’s standards though.  I drove into Richmond ( and back) today, an awful lot of congestion would go away if people had car sized vehicles not audi q7s and bmw beaver faces.

 

[stuboy]

On 09/05/2025 at 02:36, stripped fred said:

I pay £415 a year which is steep and I pay the same on my mk1 TT

mondeo £415 same but galaxy £315 

[stuboy]

On 09/05/2025 at 17:06, jonathan_dyane said:

Not sure whether this is a grump or a grin so I'll put this here.

I changed the headgasket on the 406 daily because increasingly terrible oil leak.

Imagine my delight after completing the job (which is a bit of a ballache, poor access, inlet and exhaust manifold studs need winding out by feel etc) and finding oil still pissing out.

I lay underneath with the engine running and I could see the oil running along between the head and block up the back of the engine. I was perplexed how I could have fucked the job up but resigned myself to having somehow done so.

I used the P4 for work a few times but it isn't ideal because I do loads of miles often in heavy traffic. In fairness the Rover handled it fine however for various reasons not least of which MPG it wasn't ideal.

So I bought this Golf which seemed to be the cheapest car available within a reasonable difference that wasn't totally fucked.

I had to replace the wing on the Golf because it was both accident damaged and totally rotten and the interior was pretty hanging but it isn't a bad car.

Meantime I had been ruminating about the 406 and trying to summon the energy to pull the head back off.

I did however have a thought, the vacuum pump is right by where all the oil is leaking and there is an oil gallery from the head which supplies it. It occurred to me that I could have fucked up fitting it somehow and the leak was in fact from that.

Pulled the pump off earlier (two bolts and a nut, quick and easy) and guess what! The o-ring that fits in to the pump body to seal the oil gallery was MIA! I fitted another o-ring, started her up and let her run up to full temperature. No more oil leak!

So now I have a spare car. Will have to mull over whether I should move one on (in which case which one!) or whether actually it makes more sense to keep a spare on the drive.

I might as well drive round in the Golf for the next couple of months and see how in behaves and how I take to it...

 

is the golf PD powered?