Ask a Shiter

[Richard]

There are various tools for trim removal, these look handy http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-Trim-Clip-Removal-Pliers/dp/B000RTCZNO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1430285539&sr=8-5&keywords=trim+clip+tool

[The Moog]

I am potentially buying a car on Friday, which will need an MOT booking to get it home. Is there anywhere online that offers the chance to reserve an MOT slot without paying for it upfront ? 

[scdan4]

I am potentially buying a car on Friday, which will need an MOT booking to get it home. Is there anywhere online that offers the chance to reserve an MOT slot without paying for it upfront ? 

 

Halfords autocentres do.

[nigel bickle]

My garage in Sussex.......

[catsinthewelder]

Most garages do so the answer is whichever garage last ripped you off.

[cort16]

I remember wrestling with one if these bastarding Christmas trees taking a liner out and my mate came up and pushed the pin in the middle and it just fell out. This was after I'd spent half an hour man handle 3 if them out by brute force.

Lesson, check for the pin!

[DeeJay]

There's a site right by the roundabout, between A470/A55, Llandudno junction. Always wondered if it's a scrap yard or car storage. Can anybody enlighten me? 

[barefoot]

Advice please;

 

My T2 has been in the local VW specialist for months - End of Jan, I think - having a new rear end and more excitingly a pop up roof fitted.

A couple of weeks ago it was trailered over to the coach trimmer to have the bellows fitted along with a new headlining.

All sorted, all loverly but the coach trimmer drove it back to the initial garage this week.

No tax - SORN'd end of October and no MOT - it ran out on the 20.4 but will be MOT'd again tomorrow & taxed when I get it back next weekend.

 

Should I worry?

[Luckythirteen]

Put a glass of water on top of the engine. If it looks about level, it'll be fine.

Same problem here, street looks level-ish but really isn't.

[Leyland Lawrence]

Does anyone know about these? It's a Spitfire

 

Is rectiying this large gap easy or a sign of bigger issues?

 

 

[M'coli]

That's ok, that is. It's a flip-forward bonnet - if it doesn't rub the other panels as you flip it forward, then there's no paint getting ruined and thus it's fine.

[mat_the_cat]

There's a site right by the roundabout, between A470/A55, Llandudno junction. Always wondered if it's a scrap yard or car storage. Can anybody enlighten me? 

 

Scrapyard, although I've never been. Not cheap for parts and not a great rate on scrap cars, so I tend to head for Ruabon.

[phil_lihp]

Anyone done a timing belt change on a 2008-2011 Hyundai i10 1.1? I'll be doing a service on my sister's soon and its timing belt is years overdue (interval is every 5 years/60k miles, it's never been done and it's 8 years old with 47k on it). I've only done a couple of fairly simple ones before and can't find much info on it online.

[spike60]

I have

 

Anyone done a timing belt change on a 2008-2011 Hyundai i10 1.1?  I'll be doing a service on my sister's soon and its timing belt is years overdue (interval is every 5 years/80k miles, it's never been done and it's 8 years old with 47k on it).  I've only done a couple of fairly simple ones before and can't find much info on it online.

I have Autodata 2011 and it looks a simple one, cam and crank are marked and there's only a tensioner running on the belt as well. This is for a 2008 petrol 1.1 without A/C, if yours is different let me know. I'll see if I can post info but I'm a bit of a dunce at IT.

Book time 1.9 hours to remove and install so should be straightforward.

[phil_lihp]

Great, thank you. It does have air con, any info would be gratefully received.

[spike60]

Hope these help, i10 1.1 2008 belt info.

 

 

 

 

If needed I can post the original paperwork if you PM me your address.

If you don't have access to one I wouldn't fret about the belt tension tool too much, if you've done other belts you should have a good idea of how tight it should be.

[phil_lihp]

That's brilliant, thank you very much!  Couldn't really be any clearer either, this is perfect as there's no Haynes manual for the i10.  Thank you for the offer but this will be ideal as I can print it out for reference.  

[Formula Autos]

_{Krypton Tuning; anyone care to explain what the hell that was?}

 

_{I spotted a sign for this on an old petrol station the other day and remembered it was offered in virtually every garage in the late '80s/ early '90s.}

 

_{What was it? A modern snake oil? Just a box full of lights and spurious print-outs that amounted to little more than a carburettor tune-up?}

 

_{Or was it actually any good, and just died out along with widespread use of carburettors?}

[panhard65]

_{Krypton Tuning; anyone care to explain what the hell that was?}

 

_{I spotted a sign for this on an old petrol station the other day and remembered it was offered in virtually every garage in the late '80s/ early '90s.}

 

_{What was it? A modern snake oil? Just a box full of lights and spurious print-outs that amounted to little more than a carburettor tune-up?}

 

_{Or was it actually any good, and just died out along with widespread use of carburettors?}

It was garages that had bought the great big machines and sent their best fitter on a course how to use it. Basically they could run through the whole set up. Checking points timming etc then tune the carb. Nothing particuarly special but back then it would make a real difference as most cars were on 6000 mile service intervals and not very well looked after so when they did go in and have the points etc set correctly it was noticable to the driver when he got the car back. I have still got the machine but haven't used it in years.

[Formula Autos]

It was garages that had bought the great big machines and sent their best fitter on a course how to use it. Basically they could run through the whole set up. Checking points timming etc then tune the carb. Nothing particuarly special but back then it would make a real difference as most cars were on 6000 mile service intervals and not very well looked after so when they did go in and have the points etc set correctly it was noticable to the driver when he got the car back. I have still got the machine but haven't used it in years.

So not a round in a mechanics edition of The Krypton Factor, then?

 

Now it makes sense.

[Taff]

_{Krypton Tuning; anyone care to explain what the hell that was?}

 

_{I spotted a sign for this on an old petrol station the other day and remembered it was offered in virtually every garage in the late '80s/ early '90s.}

 

_{What was it? A modern snake oil? Just a box full of lights and spurious print-outs that amounted to little more than a carburettor tune-up?}

 

_{Or was it actually any good, and just died out along with widespread use of carburettors?}

 

 

It was garages that had bought the great big machines and sent their best fitter on a course how to use it. Basically they could run through the whole set up. Checking points timming etc then tune the carb. Nothing particuarly special but back then it would make a real difference as most cars were on 6000 mile service intervals and not very well looked after so when they did go in and have the points etc set correctly it was noticable to the driver when he got the car back. I have still got the machine but haven't used it in years.

 

we did a two day module of Krypton Tuning when I went through basic trade training. I never saw a krypton machine again after that

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Reminds me of when they put the machine in the back of a van and called it Hometune, which I think was a franchise.

In my head they had Marina vans then Rascals, but Google throws this up

 

My only experience was in 1981 and in desperation ,getting one out to get my P6 S engined 1958 Series 2 to run properly. He battled for at least an hour before giving up and not charging me. The only specialist equipment seemed to be a timing light and a screwdriver, the van was full of a big white box with dials on it though.

[cort16]

_{Krypton Tuning; anyone care to explain what the hell that was?}

 

 

 

I've never forgiven them for what they did to superman.

[HH-R]

My dad had his Bosch K-Jetronic equipped 1984 Orion tuned by a home tune guy, in 00/01 ish. The Crypton machine had a full size PC-like keyboard and I was amazed when it made the car rev without anyone touching the accelerator.

[MarvinsMom]

bogg brothers up at west lutton have a krypton tuner and still use it regular.

 

they set up alot of cars for the grass trackers on a rolling road hence the regular use.

 

their father who is i believe is in his 70's and still in the saddle, if only part time is a whizz with it, anything with a carb, especially an su and he can tweek it to perfection.

 

there is a probe that goes up the exhaust and then the machine is clipped into the coil and away you go, it will tell the operator what the engine is doing and the oscilloscope maps out the spark and that.

 

i think it really works by magic....

[Hendry]

Nissan Micra, I'm not up on the model designation but I'm going to guess K11, older style ones that first came out on K/L reg but had a facelift in 2000 X reg and were made up to 03 plate I think.

 

Most of them I see look like they had factory colour coded bumpers when new but now have grey plastic bumpers because all the paint haa fell pff but the "rub strips" are still body colour, what the fuck did Nissan do wrong when painting the bumpers that all the paint falls off? Its like either the bumper hasn't been keyed or primered before painting, but earlier ones up to W reg are fine

[Richard]

Is lettering at the bottom of the windscreen a thing now? I pass a Civic in the mornings that has "Honda Hatch" in that script you see on neck tattoos. I thought it was just one car but I've seen another car with something equally daft on the bottom of the screen.

[Hendry]

Is lettering at the bottom of the windscreen a thing now? I pass a Civic in the mornings that has "Honda Hatch" in that script you see on neck tattoos. I thought it was just one car but I've seen another car with something equally daft on the bottom of the screen.

Is it not the in thing with these VW modifiers who either do the rat look scene thing or slam OCD clean plain looking ones on Bentley rims etc

[cort16]

Would it be possible to create a hand crank jump starter pack? Could you feasibly build up enough amps and voltage from a hand crank if it had a big flywheel it something? Those jump packs are good but you need to charge them where as you could employ a child to crank the starter pack for 15 minutes for a shiny button

[Timewaster]

It was garages that had bought the great big machines and sent their best fitter on a course how to use it. Basically they could run through the whole set up. Checking points timming etc then tune the carb. Nothing particuarly special but back then it would make a real difference as most cars were on 6000 mile service intervals and not very well looked after so when they did go in and have the points etc set correctly it was noticable to the driver when he got the car back. I have still got the machine but haven't used it in years.

Most ex apprentice mechanics I've known have a story to tell about using a krypton tuner and then reversing off the ramp with it still attached.

If they were lucky it would drag the machine across the workshop to the amusement of their colleagues.

Unlucky, they pull it over and smash it or twat it into the front of the car.