Ask a Shiter

[steve_earwig]

Does he climb out the boot once he's driven the car into position, or open the door and fall the additional 3 feet to ground level? I assume re-entry is achieved either via the boot, or using a step-ladder?

I hadn't really thought about it, open the door and banzai!

 

I suppose it wouldn't really work with a left-hooker, unless those windows open inwards...

 

Reminds me of this

 

I can't really tell what that is, it might be two bits of ply or the ramps for driving a front-end loader onto a transporter Either way it looks like a "what happened next?" quiz..

[chaseracer]

Sent the Owd Giffer this pic, earlier:

 

 

He must have been checking his emails, because I got a phone call almost straight back asking when I wanted them.  Result!  

 

Practically-minded fathers with workshops definitely have their uses... 

[KruJoe]

Glad I posted that then!

My old man likes playing with wood as well... I might give it a try Already have ramps, but you can never have too many, can you?

[wuvvum]

Anyone know anything about Sachs 125 Roadsters?

 

These things:

 

 

They look great IMHO, especially for a 125, but are they proper German-built bikes or some Far Eastern rip-off that just uses the name?  They apparently use a Yamaha Virago engine, which I recall being utterly gutless even in the little Yam, so in something this size I would imagine it's quite painful unless it's been tuned. 

 

I really do like the look of them though.

[skattrd]

Does anyone know a decent Lancia forum that deals with a variety of the marque?

 

I joined TDC (Thema & Dedra consortium) and Betaboyz which are/were good for their respective models, but I'm looking for something that covers more models.

I've not heard great things about LMC (Lancia motor club) so was looking for other options/recommendations or have I been mislead?

[bub2006]

From what I recall,Sachs use Chinese built copies of jap engines. Contrary to popular belief the engines aint bad providing they have been maintained,same as anything really. Bonus is parts are cheap and plentiful

[doobietoo]

So i bid on a car for sale on ebay which had a reserve..... only put in one bid right at the end as always..... the other bidder who won the auction but didnt reach the reserve bid 4 times 3 of these before i bid so the listing said 3 bids but the price didnt change until i bid.... is this strange??? or am i being paranoid again...

[Richard]

When you bid on an item the price changes to one step above the existing highest bid e.g.-

 

 

Item listed at £10 start and Bidder 1 bids £50- current price goes to £10.

 

Bidder 2 bids £30- current price goes to £31 with Bidder 1 winning- i.e. one step above the highest rival bid.

 

Bidder 3 bide £80- current price goes to £51. Bidder 1 notices he isn't winning any more and bids £60, the price goes to £61.

 

At the last minute Bidder 2 bids £80, the price jumps to £80 but Bidder 3 wins it because he put the highest bid in first.

 

In your case I think the other bidder must have decided to up his bid even though nobody had bid against him. I don't know if that helps or not.

[Skizzer]

Thanks, it helps me:  I'd never understood eBay before, except that sometimes I win and sometimes I don't.  (When I win it's either a BIN or something that's so hopeless nobody else wants it, like a series 1 SD1.)

[doobietoo]

bid 1...

£155.00

23-Nov-14 17:01:14 GMT

     

       bid 2...

       Ã‚£175.23

23-Nov-14 17:02:47 GMT

       bid 3.....

         Ã‚£201.99

23-Nov-14 17:03:33 GMT

 

 

        bid 4.....

 

             Ã‚£210.00

23-Nov-14 17:04:05 GMT

 

All without any one else bidding.....as my bid was after 17.04.05 ......and the bidding didnt go above the £150 starting price until i bid...so it wasnt as if they were bidding against the reserve...

[brickwall]

What angles or conditions of the rear screen dictate whether a car needs a rear wiper? I mean, some cars with steeper windows have a wiper, yet a saloon does not. Explain pls.

[mat_the_cat]

Depends on how close to the rear of the car it is (i.e. saloons tend to be better for road spray being thrown onto it), and also the aerodynamics of the car. A low pressure area behind the car is what causes it, so a steeper rear screen is worse in this respect. A lip above the screen might help direct the air stream away from it.

[Noel Tidybeard]

a vectra b doesnt need the rear wiper much above 35mph

[gm]

Does engine oil get dirty much quicker in a Diesel engine than in a petrol engine ?

 

When I bought my diesel civic the seller told me that the (black as ink) oil had been recently changed (I smelled shite but liked the car anyway). I changed it myself and it only stayed clean for a few weeks. Is my engine a wrong 'un or is this normal behaviour ? The egr has been blanked if that makes any difference ? 2004 Honda civc diesel 1.7 (an Isuzu engine apparently)

[M'coli]

Diesel you say? They all do that sir...

[Asimo]

Does engine oil get dirty much quicker in a Diesel engine than in a petrol engine ?

 

When I bought my diesel civic the seller told me that the (black as ink) oil had been recently changed (I smelled shite but liked the car anyway). I changed it myself and it only stayed clean for a few weeks. Is my engine a wrong 'un or is this normal behaviour ? The egr has been blanked if that makes any difference ? 2004 Honda civc diesel 1.7 (an Isuzu engine apparently)

Yes it does. There is enough of the old oil left after an oil change for it to look pretty black almost immediately. Oil has to be in a petrol engine a long time to go black (unless it is worn out)

[steve_earwig]

Normal for a dizzler apparently, the egr delete is meant to improve matters (allegedly) amongst other things.

[Skizzer]

Here's a pretty stupid question.

 

I'm about to get some fresh petrol in a can for the Rover, hopefully to fix its reluctance to proceed, and I find that my fuel can is full of what I assume to be petrol.  It smells like petrol.  It's not very likely that anyone would have put diesel in there... but I don't want to assume anything.

 

Is there a quick and easy test for whether it's petrol or diesel?  For instance, if I poured a little into a container and lit it (at arm's length, obviously), would petrol burn and diesel not?

[steve_earwig]

If no one has a better idea, you could try running a lawnmower on it (they don't: even a trace amount of diesel will make them run like a pig - t-shirt on order)

[gm]

Yes it does. There is enough of the old oil left after an oil change for it to look pretty black almost immediately. Oil has to be in a petrol engine a long time to go black (unless it is worn out)

Cool, thanks. It's not getting done again for a while now anyway, the filter is buried under a mass of wires, ducts and pipes so it can stay where it is until the spring (or until I get bored and sell it which is much more likely )

[Skizzer]

If no one has a better idea, you could try running a lawnmower on it (they don't: even a trace amount of diesel will make them run like a pig - t-shirt on order)

 

That's a fine idea, except I don't think my electric Flymo would give us a definitive answer  Closest thing I've got to a petrol lawnmower is the Golf, which already runs like a pig.

[Inspector Morose]

Lob tiny amount in a coke can and chuck a match to it. Petrol goes "woo-mph and diesel just doesn't. Fine. You know whether it's petrol or not. What you don't know is how good it is if it is petrol. Therefore bung it in a nearly full tank of petrol so if it's iffy, it'll dilute with the good stuff. With now empty can, go to fuel station and get some fresh for the Rover!

[steve_earwig]

Ah. In that case tip it over the Golf and set fire to it, if it's hard to get going and smoky then it's diesel, if it goes "womp!" and singes your eyebrows then it's petrol.

 

I got 4 pwoppa 2-stroke Flymos me

[Asimo]

Stick your finger in it.

 

If it is petrol it will evaporate in no time leaving only a smell. If it is Diesel it won't evaporate and your finger will feel oily.

[worldofceri]

bid 1...

 

etc etc

 

All without any one else bidding.....as my bid was after 17.04.05 ......and the bidding didnt go above the £150 starting price until i bid...so it wasnt as if they were bidding against the reserve...

Someone may have been trying to find out the reserve by bidding in increments.  As soon as the reserve is met the current bid jumps up to the reserve amount.

[Skizzer]

Stick your finger in it.

 

If it is petrol it will evaporate in no time leaving only a smell. If it is Diesel it won't evaporate and your finger will feel oily.

Perfect! It's petrol

 

What you don't know is how good it is if it is petrol. Therefore bung it in a nearly full tank of petrol so if it's iffy, it'll dilute with the good stuff. With now empty can, go to fuel station and get some fresh for the Rover!

Agreed - wise words - plan is to chuck it in the Renault (which needs a fill-up anyway) then put fresh petrol in the empty can. One thing I do know is that what's currently in the can is even more stale than the stuff that's (probably) upsetting the Rover.

[RobT]

What with this continuous insurance malarky, how long do you reckon it's safe to leave a newly purchased car without cover before DVLA lob you a letter?  Peter James want an extra £78 to insure the Corsa I collected yesterday, and I don't fancy paying that (normally they just charge an extra 30 quid or so for adding another car to my current policy).  I was going to sell it anyway once the V5 came through so looks like I'll have to SORN it.  Arse.

 

Edit:  I got temporary cover for £20 yesterday to make it legal to bring home, hence the question.  If I wasn't so impulsive I would have phoned them up on Friday to check first....

[Skizzer]

My Jaguar was uncovered for a while after I taxed and collected it on temporary cover then put it into storage.  Took DVLA several weeks to write and remind me of the continuous insurance rules, at which point I extracted my thumb from my bottom and got a classic policy:  no fine or owt, just a reminder.  This was back in 2012 when continuous insurance was about a year old, so I suppose they might be a bit quicker/keener now.

[Luckythirteen]

Is a cambelt more likely to snap when cold, or hot?

It's just a point of interest, after a conversation the other day!

 

Also, I can't get our washing machine to stop smelling faintly mouldy. I've tried running it at 90º with and without bleach, and it doesn't take long to come back.

That's about all I know to do. Any bright ideas or cunning plans?

[rml2345]

Hide a couple of Magic Tree air fresheners in the casing somewhere?