Ask a Shiter

[scaryoldcortina]

It's the inbetween bubble-but-rectangular-lights one.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

My friend who recently bought that Granada asks why his fuel-injected car requires him to use the gas pedal in order to fire up and stabilise the idle within the first minute or so after starting up from cold. After that, it holds it perfectly well. Is it likely to be a dirty idle air control valve, spark plugs on the way out or something else?

 

"They all do that sir...." or at least autofive's new one does, and so does my 2.0i sierra.

 

But it's more likely to be the cold start sensor. Which engine is it?

 

The 12v 2.9. I had never heard of a "cold start sensor" before but, if there is one, I suppose that it must be that!

[OwdChina]

Any ideas why the Bluebird takes so damn long to heat up? Unless you're stationary the needle barely moves and as a result the heater is never more than luke warm. I've changed the thermostat, flushed and renewed the coolant and both pipes to the matrix are hot. Does the cabbie trick of a bit of cardboard over the rad actually work?

 

 

I sugest that the temp sender unit may be faulty if you've put a new thermostat in. A common problem with the heater is a clogged matrix, not completely clogged but enough to make it crap...........Remove heater hoses from the engine sides and reverse flush by connecting garden hose to the return side hose using a 15mm piece of copper tube and jubilee clips. It's amazing how much crap sometimes gets flushed out.

[Morgan84]

Rover 400 questions...

 

Are the rear calipers the same as a Honda Accord of the same vintage? (R reg)

Does anyone know of a supplier or scrapyard with said rear calipers? (need a passenger side one urgently)

Will the front bumper off the same shape Rover 200 fit? (scrappy has one the right colour and everything)

Why am I bothering to fix it? (customer likes it and doesn't want a new car - caliper will stop it MoTing next month)

 

The 1989-1995 Rover 200 and 1989-1995 Rover 400 'XW' chassis models have the same front end - they are the Honda Concerto based model before the later 'Bubble' models came out which then became the 25

[maxpower]

was there a link on this site that enabled you to check your vehicle's history or did i just dream it all up?

[KruJoe]

Some of the R8 (wedge) 400s had larger headlights than the 200s did they not? I'm sure this tripped me up once before.

 

The 600 series was the one related to the Accord.

[Rod/b]

Shouldn't do KruJoe, they're all the same on the R8. The later cars had longer indicators, though, so the wing pressings are different.

 

On an R plate it's most likely to be an HHR (400/45/ZS shape) rather than R8 though, unless it's a tourer?

[scaryoldcortina]

Yes, it's the first of the bubble shape not a R8. I mentioned accord because the brake pad box lists it as a fitment.

 

On another note. There was a 45 saloon in the scrapyard with a kv6! when did they do that?

[M'coli]

Has anyone used one of these, and are they any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spot-Weld-Gun ... 1c23136ca6

[barefoot]

OK a couple of questions from me this morning;

 

What makes a car "good' to drive?

I know that it won't go down too well here but I think that the worst cars I have driven have been

an Austin Maxi - heavy steering and a gearchange that fought back.

A diesel Maestro van that rattled my fillings when started from cold & woke up the entire street at 05:00, it also wouldn't go around corners without threatening to topple over.

Nissan Cherry 1.0 3 door hatch thing on a W plate - completely gutless with a dashboard that lit up from left to right in an absolute plethora of pointless colour.

 

And "Signallage" - phoned the highways agency to enquire about a sign "Roadworks start here 31st Jan for 7 weeks"

that has appeared on the roundabout where the A50 meets the B6540 just off J24 M1.

This is an excellent large roundabout with good visibility, queues only form when one of the surrounding roads has a problem,

I regularly negotiate it at 60 odd mph because it is three lanes wide & generally empty.

Apparently the twats are planning to spend 20:00 - 06:00 for SEVEN weeks fitting traffic lights to it!

What (apart from slowing traffic down even further) is the point of such a debacle?

There's not been an accident on this island in the 15 odd years its been there.

How much will that all cost then?

 

.

[DSdriver]

This is an excellent large roundabout with good visibility, queues only form when one of the surrounding roads has a problem,

I regularly negotiate it at 60 odd mph because it is three lanes wide & generally empty.

Apparently the twats are planning to spend 20:00 - 06:00 for SEVEN weeks fitting traffic lights to it!

What (apart from slowing traffic down even further) is the point of such a debacle?

There's not been an accident on this island in the 15 odd years its been there.

If a roundabout needs traffic lights it is pointless having a roundabout there at all. (I have deleted everything else I have just written about roundabouts because it should be in the Grumpy thread).

[Cavcraft]

The 'good car' question is always going to be subjective. For me it needs to be comfortable, reliable, easy to drive and good on fuel as well as having enough poke to get you by. Some cars can just make you feel at home and you get so used to driving them anything else seems strange.

[eddyramrod]

^^WHS. It's always a matter of taste, but for me, one of the finest driving experiences has to be the Volvo estate I had for over three years (unheard of!). 22 years old at the end, it was a 740 GLE auto with the 2.3 injection motor. BIG comfy velour seats - with heating! - perfectly-weighted power steering, more than adequate power... and you know what? After those, nothing else really matters.

 

Austin Maxi? Definitely one of the worst, right up there with a 2004 BMW 530d. Fuck-me-never-again-while-there's-breath-in-my-body territory.

[autofive]

Has anyone used one of these, and are they any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spot-Weld-Gun ... 1c23136ca6

 

ive got a 1970s version of that

 

but im too chicken to fire it up

 

 

my stupid question:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1993-Renault- ... 3cc1529e05

 

was this a standard model, or a bodged after market 4x4 conversion ?

[CreepingJesus]

And "Signallage" - phoned the highways agency to enquire about a sign "Roadworks start here 31st Jan for 7 weeks" that has appeared on the roundabout where the A50 meets the B6540 just off J24 M1.

This is an excellent large roundabout with good visibility, queues only form when one of the surrounding roads has a problem,

I regularly negotiate it at 60 odd mph because it is three lanes wide & generally empty.

Apparently the twats are planning to spend 20:00 - 06:00 for SEVEN weeks fitting traffic lights to it!

What (apart from slowing traffic down even further) is the point of such a debacle?

There's not been an accident on this island in the 15 odd years its been there.

How much will that all cost then?

 

With a week to spare (in case of over-run) it'll be complete within this tax year Roads budget all spent, books balanced.

 

Ok, time for mine. What's the story with the 'sky restaurant' towers at Forton Services? Do they ever use them at all? I've been up and down the M6 since the early 80's, and can't recall a time they ever were. I'm asking partly out of curiosity, and partly because I think it would be a fantastic place for a shite meet, if it came with authentically tasty 70's carvery food!

[eddyramrod]

I'm sure they were used when the Services were new; I would be 6 or 7 at the time, and we sometimes drove up there in the Zephyr on a Sunday afternoon. As for having a shite meet there: towers or not, I'm in! First Sunday in December, 3pm, northbound? I know it's a long time away, but it'll be months before I'm within reach of Forton...

[warren t claim]

I'm sure they were used when the Services were new; I would be 6 or 7 at the time, and we sometimes drove up there in the Zephyr on a Sunday afternoon. As for having a shite meet there: towers or not, I'm in! First Sunday in December, 3pm, northbound? I know it's a long time away, but it'll be months before I'm within reach of Forton...

 

A meet at Lancaster services followed by a shite convoy for a spot of lunch at the TVR Cafe in Blackpool might be a good idea.

[eddyramrod]

I picked the later time because, being the first Sunday, it'll give me the AACNW meet in the morning at the Trafford Centre Krispy Kreme... Two meets in a day? Sounds like Christmas!

[Craig the Princess]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

[CreepingJesus]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

 

Yes. I do.

[warren t claim]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

 

I loved driving a truck. I miss it so much.

[Cavcraft]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

 

Not often, especially not today. Do some people think just because they're built like an all-in wrestler they can talk to you like shit? It didn't work today for some tosspot.

[Pete-M]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

 

Yeah. Most of the time.

[trigger]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

 

I've had worse jobs, I work with a good bunch of guys, the moneys good and weekly paid and it's not exactly hard work, the worse things about it are the long, unsociable hours and the boringness of the place.

[dollywobbler]

Good jobs are possible, and they don't have to be dream jobs. I used to change jobs almost as often as I change cars until I actually found a boss who respected me, a team who were great fun and finally a job where I didn't dread getting up in the morning. Not exactly the best job - it was menial temporary office work, paid poorly and meant dealing with a shite agency and being treated by scum by most of the permo staff (bar my manager). Makes a hell of a difference though. We spend huge portions of our lives working - perhaps this isn't the best economical time to do it, but a change is definitely much better than a rest.

[ashmicro]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

 

 

Put it this way, today was interesting. Woke up this morning with aching legs due to Getz/A6 Avant interface last night, and I spent this afternoon in the design office of a missile company in Belfast.

 

Edit: I meant "company" not "factory". A Belfast missile factory is 50 gallons of unleaded and a bunch of stolen milk bottles.

[eddyramrod]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

 

I loved driving a truck. I miss it so much.

 

Yeah, me too.

[Cavcraft]

Good jobs are possible, and they don't have to be dream jobs. I used to change jobs almost as often as I change cars until I actually found a boss who respected me, a team who were great fun and finally a job where I didn't dread getting up in the morning. Not exactly the best job - it was menial temporary office work, paid poorly and meant dealing with a shite agency and being treated by scum by most of the permo staff (bar my manager). Makes a hell of a difference though. We spend huge portions of our lives working - perhaps this isn't the best economical time to do it, but a change is definitely much better than a rest.

 

Indeed.

 

Best job I had was three times a week for a tenner each 'shift' involving 1.5-2 hours of absolute non-stop bedlam. Had reams of idiotic punters/bent-as-a-nine-bob-note sellers and often nearly fainted in the smoke filled hall.

I'd go back tomorrow without a nano-seconds thought, it was absolutely brilliant.

[The Moog]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

 

Absolutely love mine. Definitely a vocation thing. Went from earning close to £100K working in marketing to earning a quarter of that being a lecturer but cant beat it. Where as I dragged myself into work before not I breeze in. Dont get me wrong it sucks sometimes but overall it is a fantastic role ..

[DSdriver]

Does anyone actually enjoy their job?

 

I have a very understanding boss - ME. Mind you the staff are crap - also me.

 

The solution to job satisfaction is having an interest in what you do. I have always loved sailing so when I had an opportunity I started supplying and fitting replacement yacht windows. I got the idea because my own boat needed new windows and I could not find anyone to do the job. For about ten years I was just doing it part time as the business built up, but it now keeps me as busy as I want to be. I don't make much money - probably less than minimum wage but that is because of "health issues". However I enjoy the work most of the time and hopefully I will be able to sell the business on if I want to retire as my pension fund was robbed by men in suits who are now using that money to live in luxury somewhere sunny.