The new news 24 thread

[Asimo]

AdBlue for cars?

[dollywobbler]

Squeaking from rear of 405 has got worse over last two days. Covered 600 miles in that time.

 

I hhave found recon ones for £420 delivered but I bet they are a world of pain to fit with rusted nuts etc.

 

Are the bearings likely to go soon if they are squeaking or can i ignore them for a bit?

 

If they're anything like BX rear arm bearings, they'll make a hell of a lot of noise and still not actually fall apart. Problem is, the arm starts eating into the housing so the longer you leave it, the harder the repair gets as a bit of welding action may be needed to make the hole round again. That's my understanding anyway.

[Luckythirteen]

AdBlue for cars?

Yep, that shit's everywhere now. Every little logo you see on something with wheels and an engine that has 'blue' (or some variation) will signify its' presence.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Yep, that shit's everywhere now.

 

I don't mean to be a pedant, but AdBlue has far more in common with piss than shit, being an aqueous solution of urea

[saucedoctor]

I don't mean to be a pedant, but AdBlue has far more in common with piss than shit, being an expensive solution of urea

 

FTFY

[Sigmund Fraud]

Agreed... Perhaps people should begin using the freely available, 100% natural alternative in their Mercs ?

[The Moog]

If they're anything like BX rear arm bearings, they'll make a hell of a lot of noise and still not actually fall apart. Problem is, the arm starts eating into the housing so the longer you leave it, the harder the repair gets as a bit of welding action may be needed to make the hole round again. That's my understanding anyway.

Cheers DW. Will have to think about what to do. I love the car but loads of bits need doing to it.

 

Before guy went into the back it wasn't making the noise so whether it has hastened their demise I dont know.

 

Got do 2k in next few weeks, not sure whether to trust them not to go bang on motorway.

[Inspector Morose]

Again, if like the BX, they're worth doing sooner rather than later. Possible to do yourself on a BX but I'm being a wimp and having mine done at the place where Mr DW got his XM from next month (also collecting another interior for it as well)

 

Thing is, like the BX, 405s are extremely capable cars and are now good ones are getting thinner on the ground, If its a good one, it's worth spending on it.

[Pillock]

The light that signifies low AdBlue level in my Peugeot is even marked "UREA" on the dash.

 

My new Astra has a DPF but its a newer type that doesn't need fluid, apparently. Just runs hot to burn it off, there's a light that comes on if it needs a thrash but 20min at 2000rpm or over does it. When I threatened to park my Focus up the service managers arse at Sandicliffe Ford thanks to recurring DPF issues he also said the new versions don't need fluid. I think he was trying to get me to buy a new car instead of a £90 regen.

[The Moog]

Again, if like the BX, they're worth doing sooner rather than later. Possible to do yourself on a BX but I'm being a wimp and having mine done at the place where Mr DW got his XM from next month (also collecting another interior for it as well)

 

Thing is, like the BX, 405s are extremely capable cars and are now good ones are getting thinner on the ground, If its a good one, it's worth spending on it.

Reality is that bodywork is tatty, underneath is crusty, coolant is leaking from somewhere, interior has seen better days, needs front calipers rebuilding, new discs and pads, fan relays need replacing properly.

 

Saying thay I might try see if there is a pug/citroen specialist near me that will do the work.

[meshking]

I got my renewal for the RAC in the post this morning.

£90 odd for me & the fair lady barefoot, but it came with a special Silver membership card to reward loyalty.

Phoned up to cancel and woman said she could make it cheaper.

I told her it was a shame that they didn't reward loyalty with their best price from the off instead of silver cards.

Cancelled and took out with cover with Auto-aid.

Anyone had any experience of this lot?

£40 me & the wife and 4 motors going back to '72.

Apparently it is an insurance based contract, they arrange for recovery, you have to pay for it at the time but cost is refunded.

Seems worth a punt.

Yes, I have autoaid as well. Fortunately for me we have never had to call them out, so I can't say how easy it would be to get the money back.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Got talking to a guy today at work who bought a Mercedes "Signature" approved used S Class. 2011 car, low mileage, eleventy hundred point check, the usual bollocks. In the 10 weeks he's owned it:

 

 

• Water pouring in through the passenger side inside of the bulkhead. Fixed, twice, but it's doing it again
• Battery keeps going flat. Unresolved.
• Starts when it feels like it. Unresolved, unrelated to the above.
• Driver's seatbelt catch won't stay in.
• Heated seats u/s now
• Chews through AdBlue (they all do that, sir)

Makes me glad my Dad talked me out of the one I was looking at. M-B need to give their dealers a massive kick in the hole for not checking these things, and Mercedes themselves need to stop pissing about with active suspension experiments and make the cars not "be shit".

 

 

 

Dealer name and shame : Isaac Agnew Mercedes, Belfast.

I know a couple of people who've had 08/09 S Classes and reckon they cost £1000 every time they went in a workshop ( not MB dealers either) . Cost a fortune in lost work too, one of them chopped it in against a 730d and only got £6,000 for a 160k mile 08 S320L , the trade don't want em either ! The other guy called me when he heard my 300 was written off to offer me a deal, ridiculously I was tempted, even though I know it's a bag of shit, they just look and drive so nicely. I saw sense and bought a nice sensible 530d estate - I seem to be taking giffers to Southampton for cruises more and more these days and the small amount of work I'll lose through not having a posh car is more than made up by not spending ten grand a year maintaining the fecker.

[DS20]

S-Classes I would like to own (if paying the bills): 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S-Classes I would not like to own (if paying the bills): ones built after about 1997 

 

 

[320touring]

So, have any of the other parts of this mighty forum managed to set up a monthly meet or that?

 

Scotoshite seems to be booming:) but would be good to see other likeminded institutions and their patients getting involved

[rml2345]

I don't mean to be a pedant, but AdBlue has far more in common with piss than shit, being an aqueous solution of urea

Does that mean you can pee in the AdBlue tank when it's running low? I can see why they called it AdBlue rather than ExhaustPiss.

Haven't done anything car related in a couple of weeks but I replaced the shed window yesterday only 9 months after it was blown in or something.

 

 

It's mainly full of car spares that are impossible to find when they're actually needed. Also, the Scotoshite monthly meet allowed the collection of a ridiculously expensive bit of plastic to sort one of the headlamp wiper arms.

 

 

So I'll get that fitted at some point, then it's just sourcing a replacement motor that works...

[crapcarcollector]

Seeing as I only run old shite like, WTF is Adblue? What does it do? Is it Viagra for your car? Seriously I have no idea.....

[cms206]

AdBlue is nasty shit - burns the skin off your hands among other things. It's basically highly alkaline piss and it burns off excess exhaust nastiness or something.

 

We just used to fill out Optare's AdBlue tank with water, made no difference.

[Richard]

Pig piss I believe. Also the main ingredient of the pheromone sprays you used to see advertised in the 90s.

[Pillock]

For cars equipped with a DPF, you have a canister sat in the exhaust system that collects soot and particles. Eventually this will fill up, so AdBlue is injected to make some sort of chemical reaction and it all gets burned off. Should only use it if you drive like an old dear, any time you're "pressing on" (as 90s car adverts used to call Hooning) you generate enough heat to burn it off anyway.

 

Its also about £75 a litre from Ford.

 

Naturally it will be the downfall of many a car in 15 years time. Even with the fluid, there's only so many times a DPF can regenerate and when it goes, your car will sulk. A new Focus one is £1400 dealer price, £350+ eBay might-just-be-a-bean-can-full-of-marbles price. And you need the ECU reset, and the fluid. There are companies who claim to jetwash them out, and others who will empty the canister and fool the ECU - instant MOT fail if found out on that one!

[vulgalour]

In 15 years time people will find a way to delete it from the system, like so many other superfluous items bolted onto modern cars in the pursuit of meeting emission regulations.

[oman5]

How does Ford get away with charging 75 quid a litre for adblue? It's less than a quid a litre for trucks, or does ford use a different kind of fluid?

 

It's mostly water, with synthetically produced nitrogen rich urea. Not piss.

[saucedoctor]

How does Ford get away with charging 75 quid a litre for adblue? It's less than a quid a litre for trucks, or does ford use a different kind of fluid?

 

It's mostly water, with synthetically produced nitrogen rich urea. Not piss.

 

I used to get mine from a friend of a friend who worked at Mercedes Commercial in Belfast. £25 for 20 litres.

[The Moog]

Managed to fix the Saab, by buying missus Moog a new car!

 

Short hop to Preston to purchase this beauty. 1.6i es civic heather mills special. Only third owner.

 

Definitely been looked after as inside is in good nick. 138k with no rattles or squeaks.

 

Downside is actually driving the thing, 1.6 plus hm spec means leisurely progress. 70mph is 3600rpm with lots of engine noise. Foot down means definite increase in noise accompanied by the speed increase of a turtle going through the K Hole.

 

I am sure missus Moog will like it.

 

Saab will be up for sale, including special lightweight* hood.

[r.welfare]

Those Civics fit your criteria of 'boring reliable car' alright.  I had a 1.4 in 2000, the newest car I've ever had (2 years old).  I did 17,000 miles in 9 months then replaced it with a 1984 Audi 80 quattro.  I can't remember anything about it at all, other than your picture reminds it was that colour blue (Orleans Blue I believe). 

 

To be honest while they last forever if the fluid is changed every 36k, most Honda autos are hardly cutting edge for acceleration and fuel economy because of the peaky engines (although 70mph is 3000rpm in my Accord). 

 

But what you spend on fuel you save on repair costs.

[Cavcraft]

Those Civics don't half go, at least in 1.4i form. You just have to use your right foot a lot.

[Luckythirteen]

I don't mean to be a pedant, but AdBlue has far more in common with piss than shit, being an aqueous solution of urea

Ha! Smartass...

Or, if I may be permitted to translate into East Coast..."'at pesh is a'whur ese dehs".

 

I know Pa_Thirteen's modified/doctored a few AdBlue systems for folk. Some things go along quite happily with water in the tank, some need messed with. He did some guy's Daf once, and it passed its' MOT like that. Go figure. He got a tidy backhander for that, having saved the guy a two grand bill!

[oman5]

When we got our new volvo fm truck fleet in work, we were told not to run them out of adblue under any circumstances, something to do with overheating and burning out the catalyst. Dunno if true or not, nobody ever has run one out.

 

The stuff sure does smell like old piss though.

[Noel Tidybeard]

Managed to fix the Saab, by buying missus Moog a new car!

 

Short hop to Preston to purchase this beauty. 1.6i es civic heather mills special. Only third owner.

 

Definitely been looked after as inside is in good nick. 138k with no rattles or squeaks.

 

Downside is actually driving the thing, 1.6 plus hm spec means leisurely progress. 70mph is 3600rpm with lots of engine noise. Foot down means definite increase in noise accompanied by the speed increase of a turtle going through the K Hole.

 

I am sure missus Moog will like it.

some moderns have fuzzy logic in the ecu which will adapt to driving style- nissans in particular take a period of "retraining" after being giffer owned as the car needes to learn that there is life after 2500rpm

 

you gotta love the mrs moog reg no

[panhard65]

Sold the Hotchkiss today and now have cash burning a massive hole in my pocket. Just put an offer in on this so might be heading North at the weekend. Should I do it ????

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A979LLN-/161465497758?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item259817f89e

$_57.JPG

Well I have finally done the deal at £2350 it is joining a seriously depleated fleet. The Hotchkiss gets delivered to Sheffield on Saturday then up to Ferryhill to collect this. An overnight stay then down to Nottingham to drop off my trailer which I have sold as well. Then home. Over 600 miles in the Izusu this weekend I hope it is ok as I sold it this morning as well, on the assumption it makes it back in one piece.  I have even sold the Cinquecento for £300 on ebay. He has been in touch and seems keen to collect his purchase as well. Now all I need is a bike. I am looking for a mid 80's Honda CB125 superdream. My mate had one back in the day and it just looked so right I think I need one to get me back on 2 wheels.

[Shep Shepherd]

A £2350 Rolls Royce? What could possibly go wrong?