The new news 24 thread

[dollywobbler]

Having driven all the way to Solihull and back on Saturday, I drove all the way to Coventry and back today, for reasons of a worky nature. Took the XM, which ate the miles up with its usual relish, though the horrible front end clonk is still there. Might ask the garage to check it. Am hoping its just the shit, cheap, Ebay droplinks I fitted last summer, and not something more serious.

 

Also made the mistake of buying cheapo wiper blades. This went badly for several reasons. Firstly, the first garage I tried to buy blades at (a nice, small, local one for good karmas) had issues with the till, which didn't read the barcodes, so they couldn't sell me the blades. FFS.

 

At the next one, the rear blade didn't fit, so I got a refund. Fitted the fronts, which seemed fine, but they're not. As soon as I was up to speed, they were utter shit. One was so bad I changed it while waiting at a set of temporary traffic lights. 

 

Any recommendations for GOOD wiper blades? Guess I'll be ordering some on the interwebz then.

[forddeliveryboy]

Valeo work well for me.

[dollywobbler]

It had Valeo fitted just after I bought it. They were shite. Even the 2CV ones barely last any time at all now. I used to like Bosch, but they went crap too. I've had Halfords own brand on it for the past year or so, and they've not been too bad. I hate Halfords though.

[Barry Cade]

Valeo work well for me.

 Always far prefer Valeo to Bosch, but Asda have some flat blades in just now, 7 quid IIRC and they're really very good! Got a pair for the Vito and was impressed how solid they felt, wiped perfectly and most important, no noise! If you are loaded. PIAA.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Any recommendations for GOOD wiper blades? Guess I'll be ordering some on the interwebz then.

 

Lidl - and I'm being serious ! Their ULTIM8_SPEED_BRUV wipers clean the windscreen as well as Bosch/Valeo, they last longer and are cheaper to buy !

[dollywobbler]

I'm not loaded, and my wiper geekiness will not allow me to fit aero blades. The Prelude has them, and I don't like it. 

[dave21478]

I needed to get a few bits done for work today, but NOOOOO, I managed to burst the radiator of the shitlander while winching the Metro out of the mud that used to be my back garden.

 

You may remember I made the winch mount myself and proud of it I truly am....except I didnt think things fully through as normal.

 

Turns out if you are winching at a funny angle and the cable doesnt spool neatly, it will bunch up at one end of the drum and quickly arrives at a larger diameter than planned for which causes the cable to mash the radiator core. Thats exactly what happened.

 

FFS.

 

Access is a breeze*

 

Anyway - Daves radiator bodge methodology, step 1. Jubilee clip rubber gloves over the main hose tails on the rad.

 

Use an air line on the wee stub that returns to the header tank to lightly pressurise it. This shows exactly where the leaks are. Use soapy water if needed and watch for bubbles.

Despite it being well mashed, only two of the horizontal elements were burst. (The fine vertical fins are just for heat dispersal and of no real consequence to water-tightness.)

 

degrease, dry and apply epoxy resin to the effected area.

 

 

Once dry, repressurise with the air line and see if it holds pressure. This seems to have worked. I will now have a few anxious days with a drum of water in the boot in case it fails again.

Reassembly is the reverse etc etc.......

 

While it was drying I welded a steel plate behind the whinch drum to prevent a repeat performance.

 

I also spotted the return lines from the injectors were weeping diesel which might explain the noxious smell it sometimes has (apart from ass gass in the interior) so I took the Metro out for a run down to town to buy some new hose. Its running nicely at the moment.

 

 

[dave21478]

That was so exciting I posted it twice.

[320touring]

^^I read it 3 times!

[Sealtainn]

Have a week off work. Still waiting for Granada to be finished, waiting for paperwork on house that I need to take to the Bulgarian Embassy in that there London in a couple of weeks. Bored, been looking at cars on eBay as have house purchase money sat in my account, not a good idea. Have a picture of my beige cardigan with a background Autoshite sticker

 

Sent from my E2105 using Tapatalk

[skattrd]

Any recommendations for GOOD wiper blades? Guess I'll be ordering some on the interwebz then.

 

Still looking, I don't think there are any.

Currently using Lidl/Hella/Bosch/Valeo/PIAA ... None are GOOD, all mediocre at best, Hella seem ok, but they're the newest at present.

[vulgalour]

I think xtriple must be a certain age. 2 dogs, a Bentley and a sports car. Not sure if he's a cad or a bounder.

[dave21478]

The Thirteenth Duke of Wybourne? With the sixth form girls hockey team? In the back of a green Bentley? With his reputation? Absolutely!

 

[Bren]

Did the cabin filters on the A6 - not too much of a faff but I broke one of the clips on the trim under the dash - sorted with araldite.

 

The old ones were several years old and dirty - audi parts that had mann on them as well - genuine audi my arse. To be fair they looked better quality than the ones I fitted. Whoever fitted them must have ran out of patience because one looked like Acker Bilk's accordian and must have done fuck all filtering.

 

Tomorrow I will hoover it out - the first time since I bought it ten months ago. I also ordered a fuel filter -a whopping £23.

[catsinthewelder]

Yesterday I cycled to work as the Disco was misbehaving, I arrived home with the bits to find that the Cherry had FTPed so she had used it anyway. Mo has kindly offered me use of an 800 but as I would need to insure it I have borrowed a Tourneo from work. So tomorrow morning it will be out with the spanners to find out if it's a loose bolt or a broken gearbox. Grrr.

[HMC]

Continuing to use this as a hack around town. It's ace for work as the car park is a strange shape with lots of little alcoves that it slots into with ease that are too small for most of the other cars.

 

I'm ( no suprise) continuing to uncover more rust as I strip the front end of the range rover prior to repairing the front inner wings. The first shot is to orientate you, and the second shows a bit more detail. There's supposed to be a box section rail running across the middle of the pic and there's a variety of holes on the side of the bulkhead/ footwell area. If only fiat had consulted with Solihull about corrosion prevention....

[stephen01]

Still looking, I don't think there are any.

Currently using Lidl/Hella/Bosch/Valeo/PIAA ... None are GOOD, all mediocre at best, Hella seem ok, but they're the newest at present.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371140098079

[skattrd]

Are the only decent ones now aero wipers?

I think they look shit so avoid them. I usually go for spoiler wipers where possible.

[dollywobbler]

Are the only decent ones now aero wipers, I think they look shit so avoid them. I usually go for spoiler wipers where possible.

 

That's what worries me too. Aero wipers look bloody ridiculous. Seeing as it's a Citroen, I found some Michelin blades for sale. Let's see if these are any good. Seem to recall some Lucas ones I found for my Rover 416 a while back weren't too bad either. 

[beko1987]

I bought a set of old style wiper blades the other week as my 7 month old vauxhall meriva aero blade was smeary as shit. I'm impressed so far, the wiper frame design keeps the blade pressed against the glass too, and the speed of wipe is improved, no doubt as the aero was harder to push.

 

I think I prefer the old style now, despite liking Aero blades initially. The Meriva can keep wearing them though, their mucho cheapo in aero style for that, and Amy loves dry wiping the windscreen so they only last a year anyway

[ruffgeezer]

I still haven't bought anything interesting, I'm awaiting a new headlamp for the Pug to get it's MOT and then I can think about getting the Ax sorted next.

 

I've a couple of months to patch up the sill on the Picasso, but at the moment am devoting my time to the ghetto trailer rebuild.

 

I want a new car!

[andrew e]

It sounds ridiculous but clay bar the windscreen glass DW, see how you get on.

[Lord Sterling]

Ma_Sterling has torn a muscle in her knee so she is on crutches for the time being, this has also rendered her unabke to drive the Micra. The Micra's clutch has never been 100% sinve it was changed years ago, it always felt too hard to change compared to how it used to be and I have driven other similarly aged Micras that had clutches that felt alot smoother in operation.

 

So, we have 2 options before she need to return to work in the next couple of weeks, get the Micra's clutch change or find a small* Auto for Ma to use.

 

* well, I say small, Ma_Sterling did express an interest in owning a similar e46 BMW 3-series like mine

[Kiltox]

Is it bad that I'm seriously considering a certain Renault Scenic for sale on here as an alternative to van rental?

 

WCPGW?

[Noel Tidybeard]

Having driven all the way to Solihull and back on Saturday, I drove all the way to Coventry and back today, for reasons of a worky nature. Took the XM, which ate the miles up with its usual relish, though the horrible front end clonk is still there. Might ask the garage to check it. Am hoping its just the shit, cheap, Ebay droplinks I fitted last summer, and not something more serious.

 

Also made the mistake of buying cheapo wiper blades. This went badly for several reasons. Firstly, the first garage I tried to buy blades at (a nice, small, local one for good karmas) had issues with the till, which didn't read the barcodes, so they couldn't sell me the blades. FFS.

 

At the next one, the rear blade didn't fit, so I got a refund. Fitted the fronts, which seemed fine, but they're not. As soon as I was up to speed, they were utter shit. One was so bad I changed it while waiting at a set of temporary traffic lights. 

 

Any recommendations for GOOD wiper blades? Guess I'll be ordering some on the interwebz then.

michelin stealth £6.50ish at costco

[skattrd]

Is it bad that I'm seriously considering a certain Renault Scenic for sale on here as an alternative to van rental?

 

WCPGW?

 

Buying a van sized car instead of renting a van makes much more sense, although I'd go for a certain Espace (in the land of Volvos) instead of a Scenic.

[Kiltox]

I only need to move an engine and take some stuff to the tip - my usual van is a Kangoo but it's broken

 

Just needs to be close to me, cheap and tested

[alf892]

I've been working on my truck the last few weekends (update sometime soon) but my Mig of Many Fires finally seemed to spark it's last on Sunday. It has done well.......I've had it since 1990 and it has done a lot of work and earned me quite a few quid.

 

Like any married bloke I now face the task of getting approval for spending on something she neither needs nor understands. To overcome this I have mentioned the fact it stopped working and that, to me, it is as essential as her washing machine. Oh.....and no point in buying shit stuff.

 

She gets this. In the next few days I plan to float the idea of a new portamig and seek her input about spec.

 

I think by the weekend she should have decided which one she wants....

[BavarianRetro]

Rather than the Portamig, check the identical BritArc/TechnicalArc etc. models offered by wellyweld.com. Kept in stock too rather than waiting 4 weeks for a Portamig.

 

http://www.wellyweld.com/categories/BritArc-Mig-Compacts-66485.aspx

 

About £75 cheaper for the 200 amp version.

[alf892]

Will have a look.....thanks!

 

Portamig thoughts were based on comments I've seen on here by people I'd trust.......and then I looked on mig welding forum where it is reckoned to be a decent thing. Apparently MTA version is identical and little bit cheaper.