The new news 24 thread

[320touring]

Can haz clean interiorjaaagz!

[Mike D]

cort16 the mx5 is 6" too short on the wheelbase and all its strength is in its sills which I wouldnt use

[mat_the_cat]

I've got a quick road tax question, My Civic is due for renewal this month but I don't plan on keeping it much longer.

 

Is it worth paying £79 for 6 month or can i pay direct debit of £12 and cancel at any time?.

 

I've never done the direct debit thing before but I looks like the cheaper option in the long run but i don't understand how it works.

 

+1 on cancelling the DD - I declared SORN several days before the end of the month only to have the DD taken out as normal at the beginning of the next. When I queried this I was told it was completely normal, and to expect a refund "within 6 weeks". How's that for quick service?!

[cort1977]

Fixed the power steering pump noise on the wife's daily by the simple method of changing out the fluid.   Had read on here and elsewhere that new fluid should fix it but was slightly skeptical.   Pleasingly it worked and got a favourable response from the boss.

[barrett]

Sadly the closest I got to finding a Citroen was a pair of BX rear lights. And one chavved up Saxo.

What about the ZX in front of the Volvo?

[TagoraSX]

Finally!

 

[rml2345]

+1 on cancelling the DD - I declared SORN several days before the end of the month only to have the DD taken out as normal at the beginning of the next. When I queried this I was told it was completely normal, and to expect a refund "within 6 weeks". How's that for quick service?!

If a DD is taken in error your bank should be able to refund it a damn site quicker than the lumbering DVLA.

[Richard]

My experience of DD is that the bank will hand over any amount of money that is asked for, even if you have cancelled it and there are no funds in the account.

[brickwall]

Driving in C70 when the window fell down into the door giving me a hell of a fright. Mechanism cable had snapped and ordered repair parts. The door is a fucking nightmare to repair.

[purplebargeken]

Just completed a blue badge application with Enfield council. Not holding breath re: successful outcome but is worth a try even though it galls me to consider it. Sigh. 

[Mike D]

Cross bracing added to the chassis, it's mega rigid now I shall knock up some closing plates for all the open sections one evening. Well pleased with it so far

 

[wuvvum]

Well the Vel Shatis sold last weekend.  I didn't get quite as much as I wanted for it, but it was bought by a trader who turned up when he said with cash in his pocket so still a good outcome by Gumtree standards.

 

The fleet was thus missing a big, wafty, silver, automatic barge with a massive boot and a 3-litre 6-cylinder turbo diesel engine.  This situation was unacceptable, so on Wednesday I bought this.

 

 

It's the old indirect injection 300TD, so no common rail bollocks to worry about.  It runs well and pulls like a train; it's not the most economical diesel I've ever owned, but then neither was the Vel Shatis.

 

The car has a moderate case of W210 wing grot, and the NSF wing has a dent in it, but the front strut mounts look sound.  It's done 128K miles (with history to back this up), so about half what most of these seem to have done.  There's a few bits that don't work (rear wiper, cruise control, radio) and I had to fix the screen wash jets this morning, but no other issues that I've found so far.  It's even got 7 seats, although the chances of me ever needing all 7 are slim.  I rather like it.

 

 

I also appear to have accidentally bought this.

 

 

It's a Grand Cherokee Limited with the big ole 4-litre straight 6.  I have no idea why I bid on it, I have absolutely no need for it.  It's a comfy enough old thing on a run, with its big squashy Caramac leather seats and working cruise control, and it goes like the clappers when given the beans, but the Subaru is also 4-wheel-drive, is much quicker and uses about the same amount of fuel.

 

It has the common Quadra-trac problem of a dodgy rear LSD (my old diesel one had the same issue), and the gearbox also slips when cold, although I checked this afternoon and there seems to be very little ATF in there, so I'll pick up a bottle in the week and see if that helps.

 

Either way, it's going to be for sale soon.  It's tested till June so someone should be able to get some use out of it.  If anyone wants it for 250 quid let me know...

 

 

In other news, I fitted the spare wheel, complete with newly fitted part-worn Pirelli, to the front of the van today.  Apart from having to jump up and down on the breaker bar to crack the bolts off (they'd obviously been rattle gunned on) and the stupid little ratchet thing that they supply to operate the jack breaking before I'd got the wheel off the ground, it was an uneventful swap, and I can now put my foot down in the wet without the vast torque* of the 2-litre HDI making the nearside wheel spin up.  More to the point, I am now no longer risking a fine and 3 points for having a dodgy tyre.  I'm not sure if it was quite illegal or not, but it was damn close if not.

 

The Mondeo's away having a new rear spring fitted - I'm picking it up tomorrow evening, and it'll then be taking over daily duties from the Rover for a while.  Next thing to go in will be the Forester to have the exhaust welded up (it's rather indiscreet at the moment, to say the least), and then after that the little van can go in to be MOT'd.  A lad on RR is supposed to be picking the Golf up next weekend, which will free up a space on the car park at least.  My neighbours will be overjoyed.

[myglaren]

 

repaying a favour and helping a friend take car back for its retest..

at garage..

mot bay..

pumps

view

me

 

Is that a little village near Ware?

It loogs very much like the garage where I met the eBay seller that I bought my leathers for the C5 from.

[barmatt]

You is about to have pm Dave

[dollywobbler]

Drat. Too slow! I was just starting to wonder exactly how much fuel a cross-country trip in a 4-litre Jeep would cost. Well, fuel prices are low at the moment!

[stuboy]

Is that a little village near Ware?

It loogs very much like the garage where I met the eBay seller that I bought my leathers for the C5 from.

this in kent

[skattrd]

You is about to have pm Dave

 

I wanna borrow it bro

[andy18s]

Spotted these today,not really worthy of a thread so....

This was in the local Sainsburys

 

And these are at a garage in the town

 

and around the back

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 21 is a Turbo Quadra i believe..

And then saw this on the way home

[barmatt]

 

 

Drat. Too slow! I was just starting to wonder exactly how much fuel a cross-country trip in a 4-litre Jeep would cost. Well, fuel prices are low at the moment!

 

Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be up for sale again soon

I wanna borrow it bro

thought you might

[ruffgeezer]

Help me @FPB7 you're my only hope;

 

 

23k non turbo diesel, some assembly required.

[Craig the Princess]

I also appear to have accidentally bought this.

 

DSC_0166.JPG

 

It's a Grand Cherokee Limited with the big ole 4-litre straight 6.  I have no idea why I bid on it, I have absolutely no need for it.  It's a comfy enough old thing on a run, with its big squashy Caramac leather seats and working cruise control, and it goes like the clappers when given the beans, but the Subaru is also 4-wheel-drive, is much quicker and uses about the same amount of fuel.

 

It has the common Quadra-trac problem of a dodgy rear LSD (my old diesel one had the same issue), and the gearbox also slips when cold, although I checked this afternoon and there seems to be very little ATF in there, so I'll pick up a bottle in the week and see if that helps.

 

Either way, it's going to be for sale soon.  It's tested till June so someone should be able to get some use out of it.  If anyone wants it for 250 quid let me know...

 

How on earth am I going to resist this? That is a mega barg.

[Lord Sterling]

Well, today I went to see Steve, he seems to have this habit of aquiring cars which increases my internet selling task. Helpfully he often swaps cars these days usually with cash his way.

 

He recently swapped a Rover 75 tourer 1.8 for a Jaguar X-Type 2.1 V6 base-spec. I took it out for a small test drive and kind of liked it, it's certainly a car I could live with. He swapped a Zafira for a Punto + cash which was then swapped for a T-reg KA with usual rot around the petrol filler. I'm still not making any money here as nothing seems go sell through me and am getting to the point of just jacking it in.

 

The Merc worried me slightly, the temp seemed to go rise very slightly over 80, no where near the red mark but I did take some time to check the rad, which is comfortably full of coolant, though the oil needed topping up again. I'm gonna have to get this oil leak sorted soon. When I first had the car it also once rose over the 90 mark briefly whilst stationery.

 

The dashboard tell-tail warning system has been cheerfully telling that a light-bulb is out. So, off I went to buy some bulbs, and much faffing about its still cheerfully telling me that a bulb is out. I've checked all of the lights and they seem fine. Bloody thing.

 

For the first time since I've owned this car, the tyres needed some air, we have some dreadful roads around here and I did notice that the tyre looked a bit low, as I was pumping up the tyre I noticed a fucking nail happily wedged into the tyre, I'm hoping it hasn't pierced it as it's in the thicker road-contact section. I also did accidentally bump the tyre upon a kerb prior to that.

[barmatt]

How on earth am I going to resist this? That is a mega barg.

sorry, I'm collecting it this week.

[Craig the Princess]

Thank god for that

[catsinthewelder]

 

And then saw this on the way home

 

This heap's been on here before,  me and DW spotted it at the Welshpool show and the pics caused much giggling.  Where did you see it?

[ruffgeezer]

That is just a manky old Sherpa though innit? 

 

In base form it wouldn't pull the cock off of a man made of Wotsits, how utterly miserable is it going to be with several tonnes of chrome plated shite attached to it?

[Pillock]

Is it? I was thinking Kenworth.... You might be right though.

[HMC]

The Merc worried me slightly, the temp seemed to go rise very slightly over 80, no where near the red mark but I did take some time to check the rad, which is comfortably full of coolant, though the oil needed topping up again. I'm gonna have to get this oil leak sorted soon. When I first had the car it also once rose over the 90 mark briefly whilst stationery.

 

 

LS, those 2.8 and 3.2 merc 124s have a viscous cooling fan, may be worth checking its working. I seem to remember from being on merc forums when I had one there was much talk of 'carrot tests' where you would shove a carrot to the blade when the car was running hot- if the carrot got sliced the coupling was said to be still working properly apparently.

 

EDIT just remembered I think I still have have an OEM behr radiator for these (assume yours is an auto?) If you end up needing one let me know you can have it for free.

[dave21478]

A few sheets of rolled up newspaper is less likely to result in a trip to A and E for finger re-attachment. When cold, you should be able to stop the fan quite easily, but when hot it should shred the paper - be careful to not break the fan blades - dont ram an entire Sunday Times into it.

[Inspector Morose]

Help me @FPB7 you're my only hope;

 

IMAG3079.jpg

 

23k non turbo diesel, some assembly required.

How many bits are missing?

 

Question 2 who's got a transporter they can lend?

 

Question 3 price?

 

Question 4 am I mad to consider this?