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26,885 · May 3, 2018

Now that I'm on the second side of the Oxford re welding, my attention has turned to the need to consider additional works that do not need sparkly sticks.. with this in mind, I have the following questions:

As I have a 1500 B series fitted, what are the correct:

Oil filter

Air filter

Spark Plugs

Spark plug leads (or do I buy a kit to make my own?)

Rotor Cap

Points set / condenser (yes I know I should buy NOS rather than new -but which ones?!)

I cant seem to find definitive answers, and as there are so many variants of the b series I'm struggling to find the ones i need.

your help/guidance and links would be much appreciated!

6,839 · May 4, 2018

Cheers on the landrover mot history, that looks like a real liability .. look fwd to a purchase then

4,905 · May 4, 2018

Question:

I'm looking to hire a car in the US in October for a few days with my better half. The insurance situation we generally understand (book it through a UK website and you're likely to get the mandatory cover, check that this is the case) but I was wondering if there was anything else we should generally be aware of with regards to car hire over there. Both of us are over 25 and have clean licences...

It may be obvious (or not) but the credit card used in the booking must be in the lead drivers name. We failed to do this, disclosed it at the counter in Florida and had to re-hire a car there and then. Then the next day we had to drive back to MIA to sort out the original hire car. It was proper expensive but got all money refunded dealing through the original hire company in the UK.

- Don't be thinking a cabriolet is a good idea either during the day in certain parts. I felt like my brain was boiling in my head at some traffic lights.

- Motorways or ' the innerstate' appear to be a seven lane 'free for all'. Any lane, any speed and usually will come across a large piece of vehicle or building material just laying in the lane.

12,839 · May 4, 2018

I was in the centre of a 7 lane.

Early morning 7am. Every space packed, 10 foot gaps and all doing 60mph.

Full size paving slab in my lane, could see cars in front bouncing up and down but didn't know why until I hit it.

Some escaped, 3 of us got flat tyres.

Got my wheel brace out and space saver.

Brand new car, wheel brace wrong size!

Fortunately one of the other peoples car fit mine. (Its a tire iron over there I now know).

60 dollars for wheel and tyre, which I thought was quite cheap.

Tyres not covered on insurance.

17,337 · May 4, 2018

What is the best way to get an oil stain off a driveway ?

Depends what the driveway is made of, but GUNK driveway cleaner does remove some oil from some surfaces.

I've tried washing up lipsquid, washing powder, driveway cleaner, brake cleaner, white spirit etc.etc. and nothing has every *fully* removed the stain.

9,692 · May 4, 2018

Anyone within 30 mile of Ripley free to do me a spot of welding please? Can pay. Cheers

9,188 · May 4, 2018

What is the best way to get an oil stain off a driveway ?
I've heard burning does it. Any truth in it ?

Buy the Mrs a car that leaks oil like I did. Haven't had a peep out of her since about the stains.

1,942 · May 4, 2018

Question:

I'm looking to hire a car in the US in October for a few days with my better half. The insurance situation we generally understand (book it through a UK website and you're likely to get the mandatory cover, check that this is the case) but I was wondering if there was anything else we should generally be aware of with regards to car hire over there. Both of us are over 25 and have clean licences...

The only thing I'd add to what has been said is check what the minimum is in the state you are in. Some states let you get away with low third party amounts, stuff like that. You don't want to find out you are being chased for the balance of someone's $500,000 medical bill following an accident. See what our resident US citizens say.

15,389 · May 5, 2018

A wheels question for a Saturday morning. Saab-specific.

My Saab currently has 195/65R15 tyres on 6J ET41 wheels, all OEM. I wish to fit my not-so-recently powder coated 17" Saab wheels with new tyres to the car. These wheels are 17x7" ET49 offset and were OEM on a 200? 9-5.

I understand the offset means these will sit further inside the wheelarch on the inner edge, this website https://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=195&aspect=65&diameter=15&wheelwidth=6&offset=41&width2=225&aspect2=45&wheel_size=17&wheel_width=7&offset2=49 suggests the inner edge of the rim will be 2cm closer to the suspension components/centre of the car with the new wheels compared with the old ones. The outer edge will sit about 5mm further out than the old ones (i.e. the extra inch of wheel width is 80% on the inner edge and 20% on the out edge)

Before i go out and buy 4 expensive tyres to fit to these wheels (and having already spent a moderate amount having them stripped and powder coated) is this going to cause me problems with the tyres contacting the suspension components or the inner arches?

There is a lot of conflicting information on Saab forums with some people saying it is fine and there is plenty of clearance, and some who have sid that there is a potential for some rubbing on the fronts on full lock with wide tyres from certain brands. From what I've read this seems to only become an issue for 9-3s when you get to 8" wide wheels (compared to 6") with an ET of 49 and are fitting 235 width tyres which is a LOT wider than my setup.

I intend to fit 205/50R17 tyres to these wheels, which is the slimmer end of the options available (you can fit between 205 and 225 width tyres to a 7" wheel I understand).

Is someone able to check my maths and tell me if I'm likely to encounter issues? As the car is at the garage (see my thread in Modernz section for your guideline daily amount of idiocy) I can't slide under it and see how close the existing setup is, and I won't know until tyres are fitted whether it rubs or not.

To put into a shiters perspective, if I get this wrong I could have bought a tatty local 205 1.8d with MOT to november for the cost of buying and fitting tyres to find they don't fit, thats a big gamble!

17,618 · May 5, 2018

The only thing I'd add to what has been said is check what the minimum is in the state you are in. Some states let you get away with low third party amounts, stuff like that. You don't want to find out you are being chased for the balance of someone's $500,000 medical bill following an accident. See what our resident US citizens say.

I found a website with all of the coverage charges laid out for each state. The minimum coverage allowed in Maryland is $60,000 and we are planning to go through there. That's one of the highest of all the US States. Cheers for mentioning it - we'd found that bit already but your reply is obviously much appreciated!

May 5, 2018

Decided today would be a fine day to give the trusty MK2 Focus a service. The bastard is fighting me. I know I'm in for a world of hurt changing the pollen filter but at the moment my biggest ballache is the sump plug, which I appear to have rounded off.

I've tried the 'hammer a smaller socket on it's method favoured* by many on here, but either it's too small (12mm on a 13mm bolt) or I'm just being a pansy.

Access isn't great as I have the car on axle stands, but this has been fine in the past when the sump plug wasn't made of camembert.

Any ideas or assistance would be appreciated!

9,652 · May 5, 2018

Anyone a bit nearer to Swindon than me fancy looking at a car for me?

If so, does anyone else want to store said car for me for a month or so?

It doesn't have MOT. But isn't hanging.

24,371 · May 5, 2018

Decided today would be a fine day to give the trusty MK2 Focus a service. The bastard is fighting me. I know I'm in for a world of hurt changing the pollen filter but at the moment my biggest ballache is the sump plug, which I appear to have rounded off.

I've tried the 'hammer a smaller socket on it's method favoured* by many on here, but either it's too small (12mm on a 13mm bolt) or I'm just being a pansy.

Access isn't great as I have the car on axle stands, but this has been fine in the past when the sump plug wasn't made of camembert.

Any ideas or assistance would be appreciated!

You need a 1/2 inch socket

May 5, 2018

You need a 1/2 inch socket

Cheers, I'll see if I have one and will have a go. Sadly I don't have any heat source or bolt extractor things otherwise I'd try that. Doesn't solve the problem of reusing the sump plug, might have to get a replacement in the week, surely there won't be anywhere I can get one tomorrow or Monday?

39,414 · May 5, 2018

Decided today would be a fine day to give the trusty MK2 Focus a service. The bastard is fighting me. I know I'm in for a world of hurt changing the pollen filter but at the moment my biggest ballache is the sump plug, which I appear to have rounded off.

I've tried the 'hammer a smaller socket on it's method favoured* by many on here, but either it's too small (12mm on a 13mm bolt) or I'm just being a pansy.

Access isn't great as I have the car on axle stands, but this has been fine in the past when the sump plug wasn't made of camembert.

Any ideas or assistance would be appreciated!

Try filing the sides down enough to fit an old socket to the point where you will have to hammer it on so its proper snug. Then get the bar on it.

Failing that use the stillsons if they'll give you enough of a purchase on it.

May 5, 2018

It's f***ed. 1/2 inch socket spins freely on it, not surprising when you look at the f***er.

Bollocks.

May 5, 2018

Try filing the sides down enough to fit an old socket to the point where you will have to hammer it on so its proper snug. Then get the bar on it.

Failing that use the stillsons if they'll give you enough of a purchase on it.

I'll give it a shot, cheers.

17,618 · May 5, 2018

A Pela pump or similar might be in your future if it’s that tricky to get to. One day I’ll service the MK2 Focus her upstairs drives and I will be using my oil pump...

Also avoids sump plug replacement.

May 5, 2018

Sump plug is off! In the excitement I let a shitload of oil get on the driveway, luckily it's the 'old crappy' driveway and not the newish block paved one. Thanks all, will give more info when I can put less oil on my phone!

May 5, 2018

A wheels question for a Saturday morning. Saab-specific.

My Saab currently has 195/65R15 tyres on 6J ET41 wheels, all OEM. I wish to fit my not-so-recently powder coated 17" Saab wheels with new tyres to the car. These wheels are 17x7" ET49 offset and were OEM on a 200? 9-5.

I understand the offset means these will sit further inside the wheelarch on the inner edge, this website https://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=195&aspect=65&diameter=15&wheelwidth=6&offset=41&width2=225&aspect2=45&wheel_size=17&wheel_width=7&offset2=49 suggests the inner edge of the rim will be 2cm closer to the suspension components/centre of the car with the new wheels compared with the old ones. The outer edge will sit about 5mm further out than the old ones (i.e. the extra inch of wheel width is 80% on the inner edge and 20% on the out edge)

Before i go out and buy 4 expensive tyres to fit to these wheels (and having already spent a moderate amount having them stripped and powder coated) is this going to cause me problems with the tyres contacting the suspension components or the inner arches?

There is a lot of conflicting information on Saab forums with some people saying it is fine and there is plenty of clearance, and some who have sid that there is a potential for some rubbing on the fronts on full lock with wide tyres from certain brands. From what I've read this seems to only become an issue for 9-3s when you get to 8" wide wheels (compared to 6") with an ET of 49 and are fitting 235 width tyres which is a LOT wider than my setup.

I intend to fit 205/50R17 tyres to these wheels, which is the slimmer end of the options available (you can fit between 205 and 225 width tyres to a 7" wheel I understand).

Is someone able to check my maths and tell me if I'm likely to encounter issues? As the car is at the garage (see my thread in Modernz section for your guideline daily amount of idiocy) I can't slide under it and see how close the existing setup is, and I won't know until tyres are fitted whether it rubs or not.

To put into a shiters perspective, if I get this wrong I could have bought a tatty local 205 1.8d with MOT to november for the cost of buying and fitting tyres to find they don't fit, thats a big gamble!

I assume your car could be ordered with bigger wheels/tyres as new? how big do they work out?

I can't recall where you are, but if it's near Doncaster you're welcome to try my spare with 225/45R17 rubber on to see if it fits.

15,389 · May 5, 2018

Yes, mine are the smallest rimz you could get on the range, you could get wheels up to 17" as OEM options but the offset of all of them are 41ET - these are 49ET definitely. And come from a 9-5 originally. These have slightly different ET across the entire range.

I'm going to throw caution to the wind, order the tyres and fit them. Everything I've read suggests I'll be fine and the only chance it could be an issue would be if the car is loaded up with 5 people and all their luggage. Since this has literally never happens I'll try it and see what happens.

Worst case scenario is that I have to buy a set of spacers. There are plenty of options between 5 and 10mm for GM specification hubs which should solve the issue without putting ridiculous stresses on the hubs. Looking for spacers is frankly terrifying. People actually make 50mm+ spacers which must put a lot of strain on standard hubs.

I'll update this thread from the ditch when my plan comes radically undone in a couple of weeks time.

39,414 · May 5, 2018

Sump plug is off! In the excitement I let a shitload of oil get on the driveway, luckily it's the 'old crappy' driveway and not the newish block paved one. Thanks all, will give more info when I can put less oil on my phone!

Let me guess though you've not got a replacement plug!

Not a massive fan of the Pela pump idea of changing unless you are an armchair mechanic or that you are working to time, it takes no effort to drain the oil from the sump. Its not even less mess, you've still got to clean the pump out! Youve still got to get underneath the car to swap the filter. In fact on the 1.6 diesel Ford recommended against using vacuum pumps to do an oil change.

28,544 · May 5, 2018

Advice please: I’m fed up of buying shit condensers. Upgrading to electronic ignition: Powerspark or AccuSpark? Or someone else? Or neither? Or what?

May 5, 2018

The equivalent of making a jacket potato but using every utensil in the kitchen...

Carnage.

Oil filter change was rather easy, new one fitted.

Let me guess though you've not got a replacement plug!

Not a massive fan of the Pela pump idea of changing unless you are an armchair mechanic or that you are working to time, it takes no effort to drain the oil from the sump. Its not even less mess, you've still got to clean the pump out! Youve still got to get underneath the car to swap the filter. In fact on the 1.6 diesel Ford recommended against using vacuum pumps to do an oil change.

Err...

Yeah, you're right - I'm a bad person. I would have put a new one in if the parts desk at the local dealer was still open, I'll buy one in the week and keep it in the glovebox ready for the next oil change.

The tip for using a 1/2 inch socket was a good one, but I was a dimwit - I used one that had either 12 or 18 sides first time around, I then found one with 6 sides which did the trick.

7,078 · May 5, 2018

Yo Skizzer, I hope all is well. I've not done anything with electronic ignition for years, but the last one I converted (Spitfire) I used Aldon ignitor, and it worked great for me. That was 10 years ago so there might be better out there now, but I had no complaints

http://www.aldonauto.co.uk/ignition

9,692 · May 5, 2018

Advice please: I’m fed up of buying shit condensers. Upgrading to electronic ignition: Powerspark or AccuSpark? Or someone else? Or neither? Or what?

Powerspark fitted on my reliant trike and also fitted it to my old robin. Very good from these two experiences. Old robin did nearly 10k in it with no issues. Trike has had it for about 5 years now.

16,454 · May 5, 2018

Advice please: I’m fed up of buying shit condensers. Upgrading to electronic ignition: Powerspark or AccuSpark? Or someone else? Or neither? Or what?

similar to bub, but accuspark, 20000 miles on minis and capris, no issues

28,416 · May 5, 2018

What do we think this is? Apart from fucked, obviously.

Picture from my local paper, driver and passenger walked away, apparently, looks like it bounced off some other things before ending up here.

My first thought was a 19 Chamade or possibly a Saab CD, but now I'm sure n it's not.

Over to you lot.

9,692 · May 5, 2018

Powerspark/accuspark will be pretty damn similar same as if you get any known name. Simonbbc was bandied around on the reliant forums years back too.

9,692 · May 5, 2018

What do we think this is? Apart from fucked, obviously. image.jpeg

Picture from my local paper, driver and passenger walked away, apparently, looks like it bounced off some other things before ending up here.
My first thought was a 19 Chamade or possibly a Saab CD, but now I'm sure n it's not.
Over to you lot.

Unsure on car but why does it look like a pole us sticking right through the bonnet with no bonnet forced round it?

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