Ask a Shiter

[Pillock]

BUTTON!! The sound of a handbrake ratchet makes my toes curl.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

BUTTON!! The sound of a handbrake ratchet makes my toes curl.

+onemillionty, my wife and daughters only do it to piss me off!

[Asimo]

Button!, enjoy it whilst you can, electric parking brake menace is spreading.

[Wilko220]

Tried running it off a can before you strip carbs? just to prove (or disprove) it's a fuel supply concern?

 

I haven't - but thanks for the suggestion mate.

 

Any particular tips or pitfalls for doing that, for someone who has never tried it before? Is it as simple as just disconnecting the fuel line and sticking it in a can? (In my defence, this is the stupid question thread...)

[red5]

Gravity feed is your friend. Either a safely positioned can in engine bay at highest point ( I know..) or on a bench or similar next to it with a straight as possible run to carbs/inlet. Fuel is fed by 'gravity' so negating need for pump. Or, rubber hose to inlet side of mechanical pump (?) and other end of hose in fuel can. pump then sucks up fuel from can as opposed to from tank/filter.

[red5]

Potential pitfalls are fire and explosion.

[tooSavvy]

^^^ W.H.S.

 

TS

[warren t claim]

I want to upgrade the Ford stereo in my 2007 Mondeo to a Ford DAB unit. Is it just a straight plug and play job of just swapping the head unit?

[Louise2cv]

Hello shiters! As you probably guessed I never pulled my finger out to do anything about the seatbelt but it passed with only a driveshaft gaiter needing to be done.

 

I am, mind you somewhat confuzzled by the advisory items.

 

1. Seatbelt....childseats blah blah, I get that one.

 

2. Undertrays fitted obscuring some underside components.

 

3. Engine covers fitted obscuring some components in the engine bay.

 

WTF do points 2 and 3 mean? I totally get that MOT dude can't spend the test dismantling the car, but for a start, which components were obscured? Important ones? Testable ones? Wouldn't it be polite/usful to include that info? And seeing as we haven't fitted any additional covers or trays in the 3 years we have had it why has it only been mentioned now?

 

As an aside:

 

4. Chips in windscreen.

 

I only ever had one chip in a windscreen until getting the mk5 golf and this A6, which bring my total up to about 20. Is it something to do with modern car design that makes them more prone to collecting chips? Is this also the same reason that on modern cars you can't have less than all of the windows open without that God awful flapping noise battering your eardrum? I swear that never happened in mom and dads cars (up to the 96 ZX) or any of my old bangers.

[Inspector Morose]

IIRC it's a pretty standard thing nowadays as, like you say, they are not allowed to dismantle a car to test it so any trays/shields obscuring sills, structure or testable components are pass and advise. Basically all cars with under trays and covers will get an advisory for it.

[Louise2cv]

I suppose, but at least with the child seat one they specify that the seatbelt hasn't been tested iyswim? Couldn't they say unable to fully check brake pipe/underside body work in prescribed zones or something similar?

[MrDuke]

Does that mean that if I drive my car to the test station, and cover it with a tarp before walking away, they'll have to pass it without inspection? Result!

[Pillock]

Warren, it should be a straight plug into the loom, as long as that model was offered with a DAB radio as an option, but I think 2007 you're alright.

 

You will need a DAB antenna though. I think from the factory it comes down one lead but needs a specific aerial, and a splitter. That's the case on a similar age Focus anyway.

[mat_the_cat]

4. Chips in windscreen.

 

I only ever had one chip in a windscreen until getting the mk5 golf and this A6, which bring my total up to about 20. Is it something to do with modern car design that makes them more prone to collecting chips?

 

Hardly modern cars on my fleet, but since we moved to North Wales they seem to be a fact of life. Never needed a windscreen in 7 years living elsewhere, yet have gone through (not literally) seven in 8 years living here. Most from stones flicked up by vehicles coming in the opposite direction - I guess that fast single carriageway A roads are worse than motorways in that respect.

 

Slightly worried about taking the Stellar out on the roads now, as the last screen in it had to be custom made!

[willswitchengage]

 

This photo is on Wikipedia's Austin Maestro page? Does anybody know where's it's taken? As in specifically, not just "Birmingham"...

[saucedoctor]

I think that's the Cowley plant. I'm pretty sure it had a greyhound track next to it.

[willswitchengage]

Well spotted! Cheers, I learned to ride a motorbike there. Interesting.

[lisbon_road]

Yes, I think it is Cowley.  Maestros were made in Cowley not Longbridge.

 

(though possibly still in production in China, now totally restyled I think)

[barefoot]

Stupid questions,

 

What is the difference between a coilover, presumably a coil over/around a shock absorber

And a McPherson strut, which looks like a coil around a....

 

Why do manufacturers make 'interference' engines?

What is the advantage?

A zetec thing is a reasonably modern twin cam yet doesn't interfere.

 

Breakdowns on motorways, why do these cause the massive delays that they do?

Wasn't that what the hard shoulder is for?

[KruJoe]

1. A McPherson strut is a coilover for the front, with bearings at the top to allow the whole thing to steer.

 

2. Higher compression ratios these days, ie the piston gets closer to the top.

 

3. Rubber-neckers.

 

HTH.

*May be partly or wholly inaccurate.

[Asimo]

What is the difference between a coilover, presumably a coil over/around a shock absorber

And a McPherson strut, which looks like a coil around a....

 

 

A  coilover is a combined coil spring and shock absorber unit. Can be used in many different suspension configurations.

 

A MacPherson strut is a specific type of front suspension where the top of a telescopic strut (Which always incorporates the shock absorber) is fixed via a spherical bearing or (equivalent) to the vehicle body and the bottom of the strut is located via a track control arm (or similar) and rigidly carries the hub / wheel assembly.

MacPherson struts do not always have a coil spring included.

A coil spring can be mounted on the track control arm (smiley Transit), transverse leaf spring on the track control arms (Mercedes Sprinter, torsion bar (early 911) or hydropneumatic, Citroens from BX onwards.

 

See http://ateupwithmotor.com/terms-technology-definitions/macpherson-strut-history/

[Pete-M]

Coil over is regularly used to denote strut assemblies with 2.5" coil springs.

 

You can buy 2.5" springs in virtually every usable spring rate and length. They're handy when you're setting race or rally cars as the springs are cheap ish.

[red5]

Aaaargh.

 

Shock absorber = the (road) spring, of whatever flavour. Coil, leaf, torsion bar, rubber, air etc.

 

Damper = device used to slow down the (road) spring movement (oscillation) after deflection by converting kinetic energy into heat.

 

Sorry.

[twosmoke300]

I'm with you red 5. Probably cos my college lecturers beat it into me. Don't get me started on cogs vs gearwheels.

[Richard]

Speed camera/NIP question.

 

About three weeks after I got the Volvo I was heading up the A68 and at a crawler lane I overtook a dawdler a bit faster than was strictly necessary, I probably got over 70 during the manoeuvre and then noticed the speed camera. It was facing me and it wasn't a traditional Gatso, possibly an updated version. I do try to drive within speed limits these days but the Volvo is the first car I've driven in ages that doesn't need all its power to overtake and it caught me out a bit.

 

I didn't get a V5 with the car and I hadn't applied for one yet because you have to wait four weeks. I have one now, it finally arrived six weeks after I got the car.

 

What's the deal in situations like that? I know there's no way the NIP could reach me (or even Jonathan Dyane, because it seems he was never the registered keeper) in 14 days, so how long do they have to find me?

 

I'm not looking for a loophole or anything, just wondering how long I have to worry about it.

[MrDuke]

OMG U TWAT I HOPE U GET BANNED 4EVA AND BUMMED IN PRISON FOR 10 YEARS THAT WILL TEACH U U TROLL U COULD HAVE KILLED MY MUM

 

Seriously, if the previous 'owner' wasn't a registered keeper, I can't see how they would trace you. I mean, obviously they could in theory, with a very small amount of effort, but Doovla aren't known for that kind of thing.

Example: I may have forgotten to SORN a car shortly before moving house recently, as well as forgetting to update the V5 address. I did, however, change the address on my driving licence, and kept the same phone number, but they still failed utterly at contacting me. I'm currently ignoring a private debt recovery agency (I probably will pay them something at some point)

[willswitchengage]

2. Higher compression ratios these days, ie the piston gets closer to the top.

 

Also is that a higher cam lift (i.e. valves go further into the cylinder, increasing "interference") leads to better aspiration as there's a path of reduced resistance for the engine to breathe. Can operate well at higher RPMs etc. Honda VTEC means that that valves open massively above 5500 ish, meaning that they can spin faster and still work.

[Asimo]

What does a D.M.F. sound like? I don't know whether my Ford Zetec 1.8 van has one or not but there is a funny rattly, rustly sort of buzz which varies with load at low revs. It is just the same now as when I bought it 5,000 miles ago. 45,000 miles total.

Everything works ok, gearbox and clutch are quiet. Just wondering.....

 

^^^ Oh yes, damper, every time. Usage is quite inconsistant, it is always a steering damper and never a steering shock absorber for instance.

[saucedoctor]

Some dick has clipped our 2007 Smart FourTwo promo car, and busted one of the repeaters. I see that there are a lot of LED replacement types on eBay for £not much.

 

Questions:

 

1. Are the LED repeaters MoT friendly?

2. Is the Smart OMG-CANBUS, and will LED lamps make the electrics go haywire?

Thanks in advance.

[saucedoctor]

Cheers Tayne. I'll have a check. Even though I paid for half of the car, I've only been in it once!