Ask a Shiter

[Richard]

When they became plastic. Possibly the launch of the Sierra.

I believe the Chrysler Avenger was the first car to have full size plastic wheel trims and the Hillman Avenger was the first to have a plastic radiator grille.

[steve_earwig]

Can anyone tell me why the fuel gauge on my 406 sometimes shoots up by 1/4 tank? It was a good job I noticed it the other day otherwise I'd have run out of juice. At first I though what wonderful mpg I was getting, should get 800 miles out of this tank!

 

Sent from my H1 using Tapatalk

They're all a bit weird on the HDi's. Mine often sinks to empty in the normal manner so I plan to fill up in the morning, but when I start it in the morning I've suddenly got almost half a tank. But it might not, so it's not something I can depend on happening.

 

The sender is part of the lift pump, not cheap to replace, Cheaper to live with it and put it down to dodgy German French electrics.

[Andrew353w]

Can anyone tell me why the fuel gauge on my 406 sometimes shoots up by 1/4 tank? It was a good job I noticed it the other day otherwise I'd have run out of juice. At first I though what wonderful mpg I was getting, should get 800 miles out of this tank!

 

Sent from my H1 using Tapatalk

It might be a PSA thing. My Xantia's gauge is somewhat erratic from 1/2 to empty, so I rely in the trip mileometer. The yellow warning lamp is a useful guide, too. Apparently the float needs changing, but I can live with it!

[GrumpyCat]

No, that's just a car. Just some car.

Okay, but are they any good?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

We're driving from just outside Chicago to San Francisco - about 2,250 miles in total (not counting detours, getting lost etc), and we have a mileage allowance of 2,500, so that shouldn't be a problem.  They do charge a lot for extras though ($125 for a "kitchen kit" - 80 quid to rent some pots and pans for a week, fuck that for a game of soldiers).  It's a 28' C-class, based on a Ford E-series chassis as far as I can ascertain.  V10 petrol engine, so not going to be as economical as the one in your link which is a (presumably 5-pot) diesel Sprinter.  Insurance is included, but there's a $1,000 excess which will just get lobbed on the credit card (and then we'll try not to crash).

We had a V10 Econoline minibus thing a few years ago in Florida and it averaged 11 mpg over 3 weeks and 2,500 miles. It was great fun, smoky U-turns and black stripes off the lights racing the hordes of Hulk Hogan lookalikes in Daytona Beach during BikeWeek.

To put this in perspective ,last year we had a Toyota Sienna 3.5 V6 ( Fat Previa) and according to the OBC it was doing an average of 15mpg- don't forget Yankeegallons are smaller.

[sierraman]

If you fill a ka cill up with expanding foam. Then filler over the 50p sized rust hole that's appeared underneath the door drain hole

 

hide it under a plastic ka branded plastic stick on cill protecter liberated from a scrapyard.

 

Can Mr mot tester remove said strip to go poking things that I'd rather he didn't go poking with his pointy thing?

 

Or should I get another patch of weld to the ever growing collection?

No but the foam won't give much in the way of strength to the sill in the event of an accident.

[Clanger]

Why not rent a full-size car and stay in motels? Motels are cheap and plentiful, cars can go a lot of places RVs can't and if there are just two of you, sleeping in the car is manageable. And you don't have to shit in a cupboard sized portaloo. RV parks anywhere popular don't look attractive places to stay, packed in tight, throbbing generators and aircon,

 

Whatever, have loads of fun and take one of those towing gadgets, to collect roadside-bargain Chod.

A good suggestion.

 

But a real winner would rent this...

 

[Crusty Sills]

Is possible to a door lock barrel changed to fit the original car key?

I have bought a new handle with lock for the Audi [only need the lock] and its come with a new key.

I only really want 1 key and didn't know if it was easy/quick/cheap to do?

Does it involve the little cams and springs in the barrel?

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Is possible to a door lock barrel changed to fit the original car key?

I have bought a new handle with lock for the Audi [only need the lock] and its come with a new key.

I only really want 1 key and didn't know if it was easy/quick/cheap to do?

Does it involve the little cams and springs in the barrel?

 

There's plenty of info online regarding dismantling the 1990s VW lock barrels - they do seem to go wrong all the time, and there's a cheap repair kit for them on the ol'bay.

 

A video of the process can be found here. You will see that the bit that matches the key comes out very easily, and can be swapped between handles without much hassle.

[Crusty Sills]

Thank you I will have a look on the bay.

Thanks for the link, I will watch later.

[The Moog]

Any recommendations for trim removal tools?

 

Are the plastic ones any good?

[fatharris]

They aren't bad, I recommend getting two very cheap sets, as they tend to break easily when forced!

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[sheffcortinacentre]

don't know about vag ones, but I do lock rebuilds on 60-70's ford ones for the owners club.

[steveo3002]

cheapo fix for same key is to remove the barrel , insert the key you want to use then file off all the tabs that stick out 

[burraston2006]

I think I'm having a mid life crisis so your esteemed advise is greatly sort. Back ground is thus: shit life- I used to be a manager etc lost job so now an hourly paid support worker (a job which I greatly enjoy funnily enough!) lost everything in a divorce ( the new missus is way younger than me!) and now have to rent with no hope of ever being able to buy again. The question is should I blow all my meagre savings on a porky Porsche (996 Flavour) and say Fock the world? If I do this I'll have nothing in the rainy day fund.

[overrun]

Any recommendations for trim removal tools?

Are the plastic ones any good?

The plastic ones have never broken on me, but they will flex to hell, when asking a lot of them.

They are great, and I wouldn't be without them, now.

[cros]

I don't keep up with modern motor cars, so one of the many things I need explaining is the Vaneo. I'm assuming that it wasn't a great success but can't fathom why they bothered to make the thing; I'm guessing it was hopelessly out of its depth, not least because of its name. I'm not remotely interested in owning one, just nosey.

[cros]

I think I'm having a mid life crisis so your esteemed advise is greatly sort. Back ground is thus: shit life- I used to be a manager etc lost job so now an hourly paid support worker (a job which I greatly enjoy funnily enough!) lost everything in a divorce ( the new missus is way younger than me!) and now have to rent with no hope of ever being able to buy again. The question is should I blow all my meagre savings on a porky Porsche (996 Flavour) and say Fock the world? If I do this I'll have nothing in the rainy day fund.

 

In my world owning a 996 will cost more than buying a house. Then again most folks don't see the joys of living in a former cow shed.

[Slartibartfast]

I think I'm having a mid life crisis so your esteemed advise is greatly sort. Back ground is thus: shit life- I used to be a manager etc lost job so now an hourly paid support worker (a job which I greatly enjoy funnily enough!) lost everything in a divorce ( the new missus is way younger than me!) and now have to rent with no hope of ever being able to buy again. The question is should I blow all my meagre savings on a porky Porsche (996 Flavour) and say Fock the world? If I do this I'll have nothing in the rainy day fund.

In a word, no.

[skattrd]

I think I'm having a mid life crisis so your esteemed advise is greatly sort. Back ground is thus: shit life- I used to be a manager etc lost job so now an hourly paid support worker (a job which I greatly enjoy funnily enough!) lost everything in a divorce ( the new missus is way younger than me!) and now have to rent with no hope of ever being able to buy again. The question is should I blow all my meagre savings on a porky Porsche (996 Flavour) and say Fock the world? If I do this I'll have nothing in the rainy day fund.

 

No ... buy a 928.

[burraston2006]

Are they really shit then?

[Asimo]

Probably not, but no car is worth having if it makes you broke, lonely and homeless. Car happiness is a state of mind and has never been proportional to how much is spent. You know that, which is why you are on Autoshite.

[skattrd]

I was considering saying fuck it and buying a Porsche recently, but then I got a bit more sensible and bought a fast Volvo instead.

It's probably making me grin as much as a Porka would but I've spent a lot less money.

 

I'd say go for it if you must, but be sensible about it and get a car that should sell easily should you want/need the money for something else.

[xtriple]

I did it. So I say..... think hard before hand, weigh up the pros and cons and then go do it! But not a 996 as they are supposed to be the ones that blow up and cost several fortunes to rebuild.

 

They don't give a warning either!

[andrew e]

All cars blow up, just get it bought!

[spike60]

Is possible to a door lock barrel changed to fit the original car key?

I have bought a new handle with lock for the Audi [only need the lock] and its come with a new key.

I only really want 1 key and didn't know if it was easy/quick/cheap to do?

Does it involve the little cams and springs in the barrel?

Did you get the lock from Audi or is it Ebay tat? If it's aftermarket the key is likely a different design, no chance of ever fitting,. I asked Merc recently about an ignition barrel for an 80's S class to fit my existing key. No problem, that'll be £82 says Merc. I now have 2 different keys.

[Sigmund Fraud]

The question is should I blow all my meagre savings on a porky Porsche (996 Flavour) and say Fock the world? If I do this I'll have nothing in the rainy day fund.

 

Don't do it !

 

A work colleague recently bought himself a Boxster for £peanuts, so I did some homework on them to see if he had really gotten a bargain. As you would expect, he didn't.

 

The M96/97 engines have the kind of design/manufacture problems that you would expect from an early '00s Renault : leaky seals, exploding bearings, cracking cylinder liners.

 

The difference is that you won't get a used, running Porsche engine for 99p on ebay. We're talking a couple of thousand pounds as a minimum, and nothing tells you that the new engine won't blow up in a week's time.

 

You can get some fairly decent "midlife crisis" cars for under £1K, and most of them can be run on an AS budget. A 996 will cost £8-10K to buy, won't be any more fun to drive and can go wrong in some very expensive ways. Plus, people will think you're a tosser.

[gm]

I've owned a couple of Porsche 944s, neither made me as happy as my mk1 mx5 - test drive one of those and try not to smile

 

rough examples are around for a few hundred, mint condition fresh imports are currently available for £4-6k

[Lacquer Peel]

My friend's 1999 Merc C250 turbo diesel is overheating, it sounds like the coolant is grim and the heater matrix is blocked. What's the best way to flush these things? The plug on the bottom of the radiator won't come out but could I just pull the bottom hose off the radiator?

[dave21478]

That will drain it fine, but oif you flush it with a hosepipe you ideally want the thermostat out.