Ask a Shiter

[Stroller133]

DPFs have pushed me back to petrol! My C-Max TDCi had a unsuccessful dpf delete resulting in it running down on power and periodically pushing out clouds of white/grey smoke. Strangely it didn't effect the economy and I always got 45+mpg whereas my wife's identical (but non DPF) probably does a couple mpg less?

My company issues Astra Diseasels and I've heard that when the DPF light comes on you have to drive for 10mins at over 2k revs, not as easy as it sounds.

[The Moog]

If I follow right, you had two policies, one with 10 years NCB and one with none, and had the accident driving the car with none?

If so, when you need to renew the policy with 10 years NCB you will not loose it. Should you declare the accident......probably should. Everything is on record everywhere so best not hide anything, but make it fully clear to them that the claim was not on that policy.

I bet you that it will effect the policy no matter what. You had the accident therefore it will be a strike against you. I had 3 non fault claims including minibus reversing into my car in a park when I wasn't there. All effected the policy.

[cort16]

When I just took out the insurance on this CL the company I used reflected the NCB I had on my daily even though they knew it was a 2nd car.

The whole trade insurance NCB thing is a right pisser also. I've not made a claim in 20 years yet because my insurance was on trade insurance for 2 years it's not disregarded. What this means is i have not made a claim on my car insurance dis regardless of what car I was driving. Why should it make a difference.

 

I've heard people have similar issues moving between vans and cars. 

 

Insurance used to be a friendly local business ran by district branches or agents now it's ran my call centre sharks with cut throat targets trying to upsell useless products.

[skattrd]

Painting a concrete garage floor, what's cheap/quick easy to use to use? I know there are special paints for this, but are they worth it?

Would I need to seal the floor with PVA or something first?

 

My thought is that painting the floor should hopefully stop it from getting dust all over the place.

[Asimo]

The special floor paint is worth it because it dries so quickly and is really easy to put down.

 

I have used ordinary gloss which works ok but it takes weeks and weeks before it is properly dry enough all over a floor. Guess how I know.

 

I didn't seal my present shed floor before using floor paint, but it was very old concrete, new concrete might be different.

[Craig the Princess]

Last week the Rover 200 put it's ABS light on, turned the ignition off and it reset. Not done it since but every time I reverse it comes on and the ignition needs to be turned off to reset it? Why would reverse cause OMGABSFAIL?

[myglaren]

New concrete needs an acid wash to neutralise the natural alkalinity of the concrete.cement or the coating will just flake off quite quickly.

A thin 'primer' coat to bond with the flooring then two thick coats.

[TimothyClaypole]

In my garage the car Corrado VR6 at the time just to pull the paint off wherever the tyres were no matter how many times I painted it.

 

I'm moving said garage to my house and have some beige tiles picked out already.

 

I'll risk slips and shite people mention with tiles rather than a painted floor.    

[Inspector Morose]

A quickie for the MoT men out there. Is there any maximum height a fog light can be at? I've done a bit of electrickery with the rear lights on the BX astate so now it has separate brake lights (we're the fogs) and the fogs are now with the tail lights. The new fogs are as bright as they were before but just a bit higher up in the cluster.

Have I done wrong?

[320touring]

Painting a concrete garage floor, what's cheap/quick easy to use to use? I know there are special paints for this, but are they worth it?

Would I need to seal the floor with PVA or something first?

 

My thought is that painting the floor should hopefully stop it from getting dust all over the place.

I find brushes work well;)

 

Seriously though, floorpaint ftw. And machine mart swll it

[Noel Tidybeard]

the dpf thing- on a polio slowmotion the idiot book says to drive @45mph in 4th for 15 mins minimum

seems to work on 406 hdi90 as well

 

on the olop and the poojoe you can hear a definate change in zorst tone as the engine does its burning soot cycle and the start/stop wont work

[steve_earwig]

You found a 406 HDi 90 with a DPF? Hold on to it, it's rare!

[loserone]

A quickie for the MoT men out there. Is there any maximum height a fog light can be at? I've done a bit of electrickery with the rear lights on the BX astate so now it has separate brake lights (we're the fogs) and the fogs are now with the tail lights. The new fogs are as bright as they were before but just a bit higher up in the cluster.

Have I done wrong?

Can't say anything for certain about the MOT, but construction and use regs. mean it must be 100mm away from the tail lights / brake lights.  

 

Source: Mk1 MX5s often have one reversing light converted to a fog light (like mine did).  It's marginally too close for C&U, but passes an MOT without complaint.

[explosive-cabbage]

I'm having problems with a compressor I have been working on. Please watch the video and all is explained.

 

Contains shite content!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iomOhGKRR1g&feature=youtu.be

 

 

Please help!

 

Should I just purchase another compressor off eBay?

[explosive-cabbage]

And how do I embed a video so you can watch it without navigating away from this page?

[Craig the Princess]

 

Just copy and paste the link into the post

[explosive-cabbage]

Mine hasn't come to life in the last post on the previous page...

[Craig the Princess]

I'm having problems with a compressor I have been working on. Please watch the video and all is explained.

 

Contains shite content!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iomOhGKRR1g&feature=youtu.be

 

 

Please help!

 

Should I just purchase another compressor off eBay?

 

 

delete the &feature=youtu.be

[explosive-cabbage]

Okay thanks!

[dave21478]

No idea re the motor, but in my experience a motor that will start if flicked by hand generally has a problem with the capacitor.

 

However - isnt welding on the tank more than a little bit dangerous? Especially if you ran out of gas....if those welds have made weak or brittle points in the metal, well....these things run at about 8 bar normally? If a weld fails while you are standing near it, it will quite possibly kill you.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuGZxmIBkaU

[Asimo]

What if a hypothetical Romanian fruit picker -  of which there are many around here - got bored with the Romanian registered Oltcit he had driven here in the spring and sold it to me to pay for the Ryanair to home.

 

Would I get into Nova declaration type difficulties or other import /export/customs/dvlatype aggro? 

[Sigmund Fraud]

What if a hypothetical Romanian fruit picker -  of which there are many around here - got bored with the Romanian registered Oltcit he had driven here in the spring and sold it to me to pay for the Ryanair to home.

 

Would I get into Nova declaration type difficulties or other import /export/customs/dvlatype aggro? 

 

My interpretation of the guidance on the gov.uk website is that the current owner should submit a NOVA application before selling. He should then give you all of the car's documents plus a signed and dated receipt, which you can use for the registration process.

 

The car is old enough to not need type approval, so that won't be an issue. It will still need to pass a UK MoT, so you need to sort out beam pattern (deflectors/bits of tape are enough) and rear fog light. You also need to insure it on the chassis number before registration, but most classic insurance brokers can do this. And you'll need to pay for the registration fee, road tax and new number plates.

[Bobthebeard]

Just been told that some new Audis will automatically change the headlight aim when driving on the continent.

Triggered by the SatNav it seems. Is it true? Even if it is true, I feel sure that they will still blind everyone coming the other way...

[Richard]

I read somewhere that new Audis can detect if their headlamps are dazzling people and shut off part of the beam accordingly. It sounds as if it might be the same feature but I can't imagine how it would work.

[meshking]

Dunno, but Waze on my phone changes to use the language of the country you're driving in to give directions. Very useful, but I don't speak Flemish.

[Stroller133]

I read somewhere that new Audis can detect if their headlamps are dazzling people and shut off part of the beam accordingly. It sounds as if it might be the same feature but I can't imagine how it would work.

Some sort of light sensor?

[Stroller133]

Surely if that works then it could be applied even when using main beam for completely auto lights?

[Luckythirteen]

I read somewhere that new Audis can detect if their headlamps are dazzling people and shut off part of the beam accordingly. It sounds as if it might be the same feature but I can't imagine how it would work.

It uses radar to detect other cars in the vicinity. The backup is linked to the light switch being 'on'.

[Sigmund Fraud]

I read somewhere that new Audis can detect if their headlamps are dazzling people and shut off part of the beam accordingly.

 

Didn't 1950s Cadillacs do the same thing with the 'Autronic Eye' ? So much for progress...

 

See also : modern "directionally adaptive headlights" and 1940s Tuckers.

[DSdriver]

When everyone else is travelling in driverless cars with automatic dimming headlights will I be able to drive around on main beam not stopping at traffic lights because they will take avoiding action?