Ask a Shiter

[Taff]

It should be offside (driver's side) and nearside (passenger side) rather then left hand or right hand. 

 

 

Unless you drive a left-hooker. Someone asked about nearside and offside a few years back on the 406oc so I did some digging. Turns out nearside and offside have nothing to do with which side the kerb is and which side the steering wheel is because the word's origins have nothing to do with cars, they're equestrian words.

 

already been answered I know, but I thought I would chip in.

The military teaches that the perspective on the vehicle is referred to as L/H front wheel (for example) from the drivers seat while sat in the driving position. This eliminates any confusion between RHD & LHD vehicles

[Station]

Does anyone understand what's going on in every episode of the Professionals? The story seems to revolve around some random script that keeps changing and introducing plots that make no sense or are vaguely explained. I'm not stupid, but I can't follow any Professionals episode at all.

[Andrew353w]

There's a website (www.mark-1.co.uk) that might assist.... Remember these were made in the 1980's when an hour's TV was about par for a programme. I love them, but then again many were filmed around where I live!

[Richard]

Does anyone understand what's going on in every episode of the Professionals? The story seems to revolve around some random script that keeps changing and introducing plots that make no sense or are vaguely explained. I'm not stupid, but I can't follow any Professionals episode at all.

 

It's mostly preening and willy waving, with a few witty* one-liners for Martin Shaw.

[cros]

Boot or under back seat?

Back seat.

[Taff]

Does anyone understand what's going on in every episode of the Professionals? The story seems to revolve around some random script that keeps changing and introducing plots that make no sense or are vaguely explained. I'm not stupid, but I can't follow any Professionals episode at all.

 

I share your love/bemusement of ITV4 programming.

[barefoot]

My editor recently gave me an article to do a second edit on, it was about a T2 with a big engine and it contained the sentence;

 

"The bus has currently clocked 130mph (on private land needless to say) gauged by Sat Nav as the speedo goes past zero and onto the stop again." 

 

I just sent it back annotated, 'this can't happen' but irritatingly it's made into print unaltered.

Surely this is absolute bollocks as the speedometer is a gauge with a 270 degree movement.

Zero is at 360 degrees and I'm not exactly certain how the needle is supposed to jump the stop 

(yet apparently sort itself out with the stop not stopping it when the vehicle next comes to rest)

Twats.

[John F]

My editor recently gave me an article to do a second edit on, it was about a T2 with a big engine and it contained the sentence;

 

"The bus has currently clocked 130mph (on private land needless to say) gauged by Sat Nav as the speedo goes past zero and onto the stop again." 

 

I just sent it back annotated, 'this can't happen' but irritatingly it's made into print unaltered.

Surely this is absolute bollocks as the speedometer is a gauge with a 270 degree movement.

Zero is at 360 degrees and I'm not exactly certain how the needle is supposed to jump the stop 

(yet apparently sort itself out with the stop not stopping it when the vehicle next comes to rest)

Twats.

 

By the sound of it, the needle isn't jumping the stop - it's merely going off the scale and coming to rest against the stop, not being able to move any further. The comment does claim that the speed reading was via sat nav.

 

I once managed to get my old 2.25 petrol Lightweight Land Rover off the scale on the speedo (which read up to 80 mph), although it didn't make it as far as the stop. It was fucking terrifying.

[HH-R]

Anyone owned or driven a mk2 Kia Rio?

 

I've had one for a month or so and it's great apart from the suspension is SO hard, as in the CD player skips if you drive over paint on the roads and your fillings are dropping out. Surely not meant to be like this?? It has 14" non low profile tyres and is a family car so surely meant to be more compliant?

 

I never really noticed it on the test drive but on the shitty roads and speed humps here it's a different story. I've got it in having the suspension checked as it's clunking if you hit an ant's shoelace turning right and it's creaking at low speed. Think a strut bearing might be away?

 

I'd guess that it has two snapped springs but it passed an MOT less than two months ago so unlikely. That or the tyres are inflated to 1000 PSI.

[brickwall]

I'm on the lookout for a Rio or Picanto. I think the Picanto is better, but they all seem to have a firm ride. I went to see one that was not the car they said it was and the numbers had been tampered with.

[HH-R]

Garage can't see owt wrong so it must just be fuggin hard, I've only ever really driven old Rovers and little Fiats with roly poly suspension. It crashes over smaller potholes, but the roads round here are a disgrace! I have ice cold air con now which is a bonus.

 

I like the Rio, they're cheap and not much goes wrong with them going off my research on the net. The boot is big, plenty space for passengers, 1.4 does 36-39 MPG and is quick enough (like a rocket ship compared to the Panda). It has decent visibilty for a modern car too, A pillars aren't a deathtrap. Typical 90s Hyundai inside, grey everywhere! Dull but innofensive. It's a work hack though, as long as it doesn't break every five minutes then I'm happy.  Adjustable intermittent wipe is GR8, small thing but the intermittent in the Fiat did my head in, it was no use for any kind of rain.

 

I looked at Picantos too but the 0-60 is slower than the Panda and wouldn't have wanted anything slower.

[kinkersaab]

Had a few rios, i like em, got a diesel one in stock yesterday, good driving we cars. Not trying to be anything they arent.

[Luckythirteen]

Ended up changing the brake fluid the other day - weather was nice and I had a willing* assistant. Just reassure me that it's okay that the brake pedal is like a light switch now.

Fluid level is perfect, nothing is binding and it pulls up straight. It's just the shock of not having spongy brakes isn't it?

Incidentally, I can confirm that the drill bit down the bleed nipple trick works a treat.

 

Also, is it just me who thinks that if you open a crisp packet at the bottom, the crisps therein are now evil?

[Asimo]

Anyone here driven one of these stretched jobbies?

Are they as precarious as they look? Wouldn't a bendy-bus be better?

 

 

I followed a 300C like this last night; very slow over speed bumps and roundabouts. It had some obvious sill repairs and the roof-line looked a bit wonky.

[Luckythirteen]

Never driven one, but I did have a good look at one that was rented for a friend. If that one (also a 300C) was anything to go by, they're 20 yarders.

Angle iron reinforcement underneath, and once you'd clocked the lines under the vinyl roof, you couldn't unsee them.

Smelled like Magic Trees and dirty nastiness inside. Swore I could feel weld under the carpet too.

Glad I wasn't travelling in it, but I'd like a go of driving one. According to the driver, 'slow' and 'all over the road' are normal.

[Jerzy Woking]

Saw in the "For the love of Cars" thread mention of spoiling it by putting new number plates on the car and not pre-2001 plates.

 

What's the difference?

[Ghosty]

Post-2001 plates have narrower characters, and don't look right on older cars. 

Here's a Wikipedia pic:

 

You really need to see two next to each other to compare.

[Jerzy Woking]

Thank Ghosty-even see what the difference is now. Ignorance is now overcome.

[fred]

Limo's pretty crap at everything really

 

 

 

 

 

Even the biggest superpower on the planets car couldnt make a hump in Dublin

 

[Des]

I've had a nosey under a couple of stretch limo things 20 years ago, when I worked in a garage that did yanks. They defined  cut and shut, everything got cut and joined, handbrake cables, brake pipes, the lot, lazy shameless bastards, I reckon if the interior light got cut they'd glue a fluorescent tube cover in.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

A few years ago I helped a mate do a repo job on a limo company, I drove a Lincoln that was about to go out on a job. It felt like a blancmange on castors, but had a surprising amount of oomph off the line.

A couple of days later my mate called me to say the one I'd driven wouldn't start so he put his spec under the back end just to move it into the unit, and the fucker literally bent in the middle!

He had to jack the middle up to straighten it, the worrying thing was that the Limo Company came up with the money they owed so got all of their cars back ,presumably the bendy Lincoln was back out at work the next weekend.

[Taff]

What is "Fuelly" and why do you all advertise it?

 

How will it make my turbo diesel saloon  MGF work betterer?

[Lacquer Peel]

It sounds like my Volvo has a noisy valve, what's the best way to treat it apart from the painful, expensive and complicated way? I tried some Wynn's hydraulic valve lifter treatment which didn't work for long, any better ones?

 

I looked at the valves and they're all ok, plenty of resistance.

[320touring]

It sounds like my Volvo has a noisy valve, what's the best way to treat it apart from the painful, expensive and complicated way? I tried some Wynn's hydraulic valve lifter treatment which didn't work for long, any better ones?

 

I looked at the valves and they're all ok, plenty of resistance.

Utilise the valves in the radio to drown out the valves in the enjin;)

[Jim Bergerac]

What is "Fuelly" and why do you all advertise it?

 

It's a website for tracking fuel consumption.

[Lacquer Peel]

Utilise the valves in the radio to drown out the valves in the enjin;)

 

I think I've narrowed it down to the brake vacuum pump. VAG SHITE.

[willswitchengage]

 

If anybody has the original hi-res of this photo can you please pm me?

[Matt]

How the feck do you get these stupid 'christmas tree' plugs out?

 

[STUNO]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Same way they go in, brute force and good luck

[dave21478]

How the feck do you get these stupid 'christmas tree' plugs out?

 

 

 

Trim removal lever....

 

You can sometimes improvise with long-nosed pliers.