The new news 24 thread

[Angrydicky]

On 24/02/2026 at 20:28, Pete-M said:

Golf today had its yearly extraction from the garage and wash. Came up pretty well. Always does. 

Need to give it a full Haldex service, including repairing or replacing the Haldex controller. 

This should be fun. 

Aim is to get it usable and right, then road trip to Germany and back in the summer. 

That does look clean. Didn’t someone crash into it a few years ago while parked outside your house, if memory serves?

[Bren]

I put the dizzy and rocker covers back on the SD1 yesterday.

Today I was cranking with the king lead disconnected- I couldn't see the warning light going out so I stopped and broke out the ebay oil pressure gauge.

It showed nothing. Concerned I had bought cheapo shite I did a calibration test by offering it up to the outside tap - it showed pressure so I was satisfied it was calibrated for another 12 months.

The instructions state a "running engine" - maybe it isn't good enough to show cranking pressure - it did cost less than £20.

I soon realised the warning light was going out - I hadn't been cranking it for long enough - these engine rely more on oil volume than pressure.

I have put the battery on charge again - I will attempt a start this afternoon.

It didn't take this much to get a saturn V off the pad.

[richardmorris]

my Dad has just forwarded me a link to car and driver .....

1984 Bertone X1/9 Test: Simply Delightful

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

3 minutes ago, Bren said:

It didn't take this much to get a saturn V off the pad.

When people tell me that "old cars are a piece of piss to work on", I instantly know they've never worked on one !

[IronStar]

49 minutes ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

When people tell me that "old cars are a piece of piss to work on", I instantly know they've never worked on one !

OBD II is probably one of the best things that happened to working on cars

[New POD]

On 24/02/2026 at 06:16, New POD said:

So the other Astra J. This one a 1.4T auto GTC is proving I'm a useless mechanic.  I noticed some coolant loss the other weak. 

Eventually spotted it was coming from the plastic housing on the side of the engine. 

Internet wisdom said to replace with alloy housing. 

Which I did. 

And ran up to temp to check it was okay.

Next day after 19 miles It threw up a stop now warning. Most of the coolant had disappeared. Coming from behind the aluminium housing. 

I Let it cool before adding some extra coolant to finish my journey. 

At lunch time I tightened it a little more, and took it for a drive.  Seemed to be holding. 

On the way home I stopped twice to fill up. Its still pissing out once its up to full pressure. 

Expert** wisdom told me I should have reassembled with blue hylomar in the first place.   After checking the face of the new housing.  I'm working from home today so will spend lunchtime doing just that.  

 

**Expert wisdom?  I wandered into the Emgine Development team at Work and after they realised I didn't want to talk  about work especially Euro 7 or Cummins, gave me their undivided attention. 

Pictures of the old plastic housing. 

Did not work. Gave up and bought a plastic housing from GSF.  Fitted last night. Have done 30 miles and its holding pressure. 

Ebay have refunded the aluminium housing.  

So much for Internet wisdom. 

[Sigmund Fraud]

1 hour ago, IronStar said:

OBD II is probably one of the best things that happened to working on cars

Codes can be misleading, but the ability to look at live data is hugely helpful.

[SiC]

19 hours ago, Joey spud said:

I've always loved these little things so when this mostly rust free one came available my son bought it.

It had been standing for three years and got towed to a friend's barn where it was serviced,rust proofed and a two inch lift kit added along with the more aggressive rubber. It's a work in progress toy and it ran whisper quiet until yesterday when it developed a rattle that was quickly diagnosed as a failed/unbonded crank pulley.

We had a good spare pulley so a couple of hours were put aside this morning to swap it over. What could possibly go wrong...

How about the Woodruff key decided to shear when undoing the stupidly tight crank bolt. To add to the annoyance the key also drives the cam drive gear too.

So no choice but to lift the cam cover up,drop the sump down and pull the timing cover off.

I've undone 100's of crank pulleys over the decades and never sheared the drive key before and to be honest for a Japanese manufacturer who are usually excellent having one small Woodruff key to locate two separate drive systems is a bit pants.

Awaiting fresh parts to arrive now.

Lovely and clean internally and the chain and guides are still great after 90k miles.

A pisser but I'd rather a Woodruff key snap than a crank seized and sheared crank pulley bolt!

[RoverFolkUs]

On 03/02/2026 at 16:14, Split_Pin said:

Went to the garage, they have 2 weeks to correct it but the mistake was made on last year's mileage so too late. It's right now though and only less by a couple of thousand. My mum wants to sell the car when its about 6 or 7 years old as she felt she got a decent price for her last car at that age. I dont think anyones going to think a well-to-do 78 year old in a nice house is at it on the basis of a couple of thousand miles.

Oil was over £100 for 3.5l but its the correct type for the wet belt PSA engine so I am OK with that if it prolongs the life of it (4 years old atm)

From experience the likes of motorway etc will refuse to advertise the car on the platform if there's been a mileage discrepancy in the past. Private sale it's unlikely to make a difference as you say, but it may cause a headache if selling to a dealer

If the error was last year, DVSA *can* correct the mileage after 28 days if you have other proof, such as an invoice with the correct mileage on, the emissions printout etc. Might be worth checking last year's paperwork? 

£100 for the oil is quite frankly extortionate, even the latest 2024 spec is about £15 a litre but most garages are chucking in the old recommendation of 0w-30 or generic 5w-30 C3 which is less than £10 a litre nowadays 

[Rustybullethole]

 Berlingo MOT day = clean pass. Whoop whoop and indeed whoop.

[Joey spud]

3 hours ago, SiC said:

A pisser but I'd rather a Woodruff key snap than a crank seized and sheared crank pulley bolt!

Very true. My DeWalt nut gun obviously doesn't know its own strength.

And fair play to the local Suzuki dealer who got the necessary bits in for 9.30 this morning.

While it was apart I gave the scabby sump a couple of coats of stone chip.

I had thoughts of using some spare grey Dow Corning bathroom silicone on the timing cover and sump but chickened out and got this German stuff from GSF instead.

 

All back together now and it seems happy again. Its got an MOT booked for 16.30 and I think the sealant should ideally be left overnight to cure but my son doesn't do waiting...

[Split_Pin]

A4 cabriolet window got stuck half way, thankfully close to home and made the sound of grinding gears (thankfully not a skrunkle type sound when the cable turned into a bird's nest). 

Took the doorcard off and all 3 trousers to hold the electric motor on had backed off about half way! Meaning the gear on the end of it wasnt engaging with the regulator. I probably hadnt done them up FT when the whole lot was off last year when I replaced the regulator. 

Nice easy fix.

[Bren]

5 hours ago, Bren said:

I put the dizzy and rocker covers back on the SD1 yesterday.

Today I was cranking with the king lead disconnected- I couldn't see the warning light going out so I stopped and broke out the ebay oil pressure gauge.

It showed nothing. Concerned I had bought cheapo shite I did a calibration test by offering it up to the outside tap - it showed pressure so I was satisfied it was calibrated for another 12 months.

The instructions state a "running engine" - maybe it isn't good enough to show cranking pressure - it did cost less than £20.

I soon realised the warning light was going out - I hadn't been cranking it for long enough - these engine rely more on oil volume than pressure.

I have put the battery on charge again - I will attempt a start this afternoon.

It didn't take this much to get a saturn V off the pad.

It went first turn of the key.

30 lb of oil pressure and the sound of a massive air leak. I think two of the plug wires may also be fitted incorrectly. I had to get out before I was overcome with fumes.

It runs but needs a tune up.

[Joey spud]

The Jimny passed its first MOT for five years with just an advisory for body covered in uder sill.

 

[Snake Charmer]

5 hours ago, Joey spud said:

The Jimny passed its first MOT for five years with just an advisory for body covered in uder sill.

 

Uder sill, can't find that in the Mot book! 🤣

[Snake Charmer]

6 hours ago, Bren said:

It went first turn of the key.

30 lb of oil pressure and the sound of a massive air leak. I think two of the plug wires may also be fitted incorrectly. I had to get out before I was overcome with fumes.

It runs but needs a tune up.

Does your SD1 have an oil pressure switch and pressure gauge sender? I remember something on my 1978 V8 where the ignition was cut if the pressure dropped.

[High Jetter]

27 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

Uder sill, can't find that in the Mot book! 🤣

Stop milking it 😀

[robt100]

19 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

 

Took the doorcard off and all 3 trousers to hold the electric motor on had backed off about half way! 

 

Might be worth swapping out the articles of clothing for proper fixtures to stop it happening again... 🤣

[Split_Pin]

6 hours ago, robt100 said:

Might be worth swapping out the articlaes of clothing for proper fixtures to stop it happening again... 🤣

How the heck did I type 'all 3 trousers ' 😂😂😂😂😂

[Bren]

11 hours ago, Snake Charmer said:

Does your SD1 have an oil pressure switch and pressure gauge sender? I remember something on my 1978 V8 where the ignition was cut if the pressure dropped.

Series 1 and early series 2 cars had this - you can tell by the three terminal oil pressure switch. Mine is a late series 2.

[Wibble]

Our eldest son and his best mate, went for a few drinks in Winchester last night. They were in a kebab shop afterwards, when some random fucking maniac attacked them. They were taken by surprise and our son was knocked unconscious. His mate tried his best but took quite a beating. Police were quickly on the scene and arrested this cunt and took our son and his mate to A&E, where they’ve been until now.

The police have just called to say they will be interviewing the cunt later this morning but intend to charge him. Our son has a swollen face and bump on head and is pissed off he wasn’t able to help his mate. What the fuck is wrong with people?!

[beko1987]

30 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Our eldest son and his best mate, went for a few drinks in Winchester last night. They were in a kebab shop afterwards, when some random fucking maniac attacked them. They were taken by surprise and our son was knocked unconscious. His mate tried his best but took quite a beating. Police were quickly on the scene and arrested this cunt and took our son and his mate to A&E, where they’ve been until now.

The police have just called to say they will be interviewing the cunt later this morning but intend to charge him. Our son has a swollen face and bump on head and is pissed off he wasn’t able to help his mate. What the fuck is wrong with people?!

I remember being jumped leaving a pub in Marlow when I was 19 as 'I looked at someone funny' apparently earlier.

Mad world out there 😢

[Bren]

Just now, beko1987 said:

I remember being jumped leaving a pub in Marlow when I was 19 as 'I looked at someone funny' apparently earlier.

Mad world out there 😢

Yes. And it's getting worse.

[Lord Sterling]

1 hour ago, Wibble said:

Our eldest son and his best mate, went for a few drinks in Winchester last night. They were in a kebab shop afterwards, when some random fucking maniac attacked them. They were taken by surprise and our son was knocked unconscious...

Sorry to hear this Wibs, that's horrible.

They shut down and abandoned the asylums many years ago for us to suffer from random cunts just attacking people for the hell of it.

[silvercar]

That's quite sad @Wibble but I fear the "nice" Britain we know is slowly becoming the rest of the world. I and a couple of collegues got a right good shooing coming out of a bar in a place called Ust‑Kamenogorsk in the late 80's - reason given was that one collegue the previous day had drunk the russian opposition bidders for the mining licence under the table and won it and they were a bit pissed off hence the retaliation. Two of us were in hospital for a couple of days to recover. I do hope your son has no long term issues.

Note, we were driven off the mine a couple of years later by a/an internal civil war..........but that is another story

Edited Saturday at 12:15 by silvercar
edited for context not humour

[Wibble]

54 minutes ago, silvercar said:

That's quite sad @Wibble but I fear the "nice" Britain we know is slowly becoming the rest of the world. I and a couple of collegues got a right good shooing coming out of a bar in a place called Ust‑Kamenogorsk in the late 80's - reason given was that one collegue the previous day had drunk the russian opposition bidders for the mining licence under the table and won it and they were a bit pissed off hence the retaliation. Two of us were in hospital for a couple of days to recover. I do hope your son has no long term issues.

Note, we were driven off the mine a couple of years later by a/an internal civil war..........but that is another story

Thank you and that is a scary tale.

They were taken by surprise and are annoyed . They’re not small lads, my son spends 3 to 4 nights a week in the gym and are pissed off. They just want to forget it and don’t want to go out again at the moment. Neither are big drinkers so they’re better off in the gym.

[silvercar]

1 minute ago, Wibble said:

Thank you and that is a scary tale.

They were taken by surprise and are annoyed . They’re not small lads, my son spends 3 to 4 nights a week in the gym and are pissed off. They just want to forget it and don’t want to go out again at the moment. Neither are big drinkers so they’re better off in the gym.

It is pretty rare to have a full on randomer have a go despite what "everyone" says. council him to have some time and move on, and spend the gym time "profitably".

[Split_Pin]

Thats terrible @Wibble, I wish them both a speedy recovery. Fucks you up mentally for a few months vis-a-vis going out and whatnot but hopefully confidence will be restored.

Likely the culprit was either on drugs or not on drugs when they should have been and sooner or later someone will take umbridge to their behaviour and put them out the game. Nobody wins 😞

[Wibble]

Well, despite this cunt being arrested mid attack and witnesses all confirming my lad and his mate did nothing to provoke the attack and the shop having CCTV, he’s been released without charge, due to “insufficient” evidence. I have no words.

[Joey spud]

The 'uder sill coated' Jimny is now coated with Kentish clay too.