Ask a Shiter

[Bobthebeard]

Car wash question.

Our local auto car wash place has been refitted and upgraded. Special offer £1.70 for 'wash1' which is pretty basic but includes a spray of the car and wheels first. So decided to give it a go, as the Saab was very grubby. The chap lanced the whole car over from some sort of portable pump thing then off through the car wash.

The result was astonishing. ALL the baked on brake dust and general crud gone from the wheels, (crud that I could never completely remove by hand washing and using aerosol wheel cleaner) plus the car has never looked so clean and shiny. Not even when I painstakingly hand washed and polished it after purchasing from Barry Cade of this place almost a year ago....

Stupid question is, clearly some kind of fairly aggressive chemical cleaner must be involved. Is it likely to be so aggressive that it actually damages the alloy wheels and or the paintwork long term? No idea what the chemical is, but it works effectively and quickly. Too good to be true?

[Guest Hooli]

TFR.

 

Traffic Film Remover.

[Bobthebeard]

TFR.

 

Traffic Film Remover.

Assumed that was the stuff used, but also have heard that TFR is, or can be, very aggressive and actually damage alloy etc if used often. What is it? Some sort of acid or alkaline solution I assume?

[Guest Hooli]

No idea but most dealers I know of use it. Spray it on, wait a few mins & wash off. I don't think much of the car likes it staying on long term.

[Lacquer Peel]

Van insurance. Is it possible to get SDP&C cover with business use? I can't find any combinations that suit my current circumstances, which is commuting with a little business use (<1000 miles per year).

It'd be fine if it was my own business but it isn't.

[steveo3002]

you can get tfr in alsorts of grades of angryness , plus it comes neat and can be diluted to whatever taste you want

 

gets used by most places , but see what it can do to a solid red painted car 

[dave21478]

Van insurance. Is it possible to get SDP&C cover with business use? I can't find any combinations that suit my current circumstances, which is commuting with a little business use (<1000 miles per year).

It'd be fine if it was my own business but it isn't.

 

I believe Direct Line can do this. They used to at any rate.

[oldcars]

Assumed that was the stuff used, but also have heard that TFR is, or can be, very aggressive and actually damage alloy etc if used often. What is it? Some sort of acid or alkaline solution I assume?

Horrible stuff. Some folk use it i hate it. Mate has a paintshop and i have seen the state some cars come in that this stuff is used on a lot. Stains and marks trim and alloy wheels, and etches paint too. 

[DodgeRover]

TFR does the job it's supposed to do, strips of oil/ wax/ tar etc. you need to replace the oil/ wax etc after using it, unless you run a lorry.

[Lacquer Peel]

I believe Direct Line can do this. They used to at any rate.

Sort of, it's either business use or SDP&C but it seems to cover business use other than my own.

[captain_70s]

I've bought twin high/low horns for the Doloshite, because priorities.

 

Hows best to wire these up? Can I wire them in a series live to live, ground to ground or will I need to split the wires in advance?

[Guest Hooli]

Parallel is best, so they both get the full voltage.

 

I'd use the original horn feed to run a relay & then feed the horns from there.

[DVee8]

Is there anyway of finding old no claims bonus for a motor policy from around 10 years ago?

10 years ago the in-laws had 2 cars,A Xantia and a  Proton mpi auto.

They then dropped to 1 car,now the are looking to go back to two cars.

MiL thinks she won't have any NCB, She still should isn't it just suspended/paused?

She also can't remember who she was insured with is there any way of finding out,back tracking?

Any ideas..

[Guest Hooli]

Most insurers won't accept it after two or three years (depends on the company). What they should have done (too late now I know) is swapped who's name the single car was insured on every year so both their NCDs stayed live.

 

Mind you, as they are both on a policy with full NCD a lot of insurers will offer a discount equivalent to that in my experience. Or maybe they could go multicar & use their existing NCD on both cars? I'm not sure how that works though.

[The Moog]

Is there anyway of finding old no claims bonus for a motor policy from around 10 years ago?

10 years ago the in-laws had 2 cars,A Xantia and a  Proton mpi auto.

They then dropped to 1 car,now the are looking to go back to two cars.

MiL thinks she won't have any NCB, She still should isn't it just suspended/paused?

She also can't remember who she was insured with is there any way of finding out,back tracking?

Any ideas..

 

Normally only lasts for 2 years off a car so will be expired.  Some may take into account that you had it previously, obviously better if go through broker for that. 

[Kiltox]

Anyone used Hertz 24/7 for van rental? (The vans they have at Ikea / B&Q that you rent by the hour)

 

Interested to hear how it worked out - looks useful.

[oldcars]

Where has Cavcraft gone, not seen posts for a while. Come back please 

[The Moog]

Anyone used Hertz 24/7 for van rental? (The vans they have at Ikea / B&Q that you rent by the hour)

 

Interested to hear how it worked out - looks useful.

Yes. Easy to use all digital and can be booked from App.

 

Myself and Bucketeer availed the services of one to move sheets of plasterboard etc.

[The Moog]

Where has Cavcraft gone, not seen posts for a while. Come back please

As been mentioned elsewhere he is just having a small break.

 

Barbara Cartland Dog is on a Christmas book signing tour so he is driving her around in a ropey red transit with copies of her latest thriller "Viva las Transit- an in-depth view of the rise and fall of Griffin badged motoring".

[HH-R]

Is there anything that particularly causes calipers to stick? I usually get this problem with every car I own, regardless of age or make. I used to blame it on doing sub 5k miles a year and braking lightly but I do 20 miles a day minimum 5 days out of 7 now and it still happens.

 

I get the car serviced every 6k, am I doing anything wrong? Still cleaning the stains off the seat from today when my front brake was binding on and I didn't know until it was like trying to brake on black ice. One front wheel was red hot so I'm assuming it's binding on.

[twosmoke300]

Lucas calipers ? Poor quality seals and piston coatings are to blame . Your best bet is , when you service it - pump each piston out as far as you dare then peel the dust boot back . Smear the piston surface with rubber or silicone grease and put all back together . Make sure the slider pins are free to move and lube with rubber grease too .

 

Do not use normal grease on caliper parts

[HH-R]

Thanks, is a KIA so possibly Denso? Though I've had it happen on fiats and Rovers and all sorts.

 

I entrust the servicing to a garage so just have to hope it happens lol.I think I will ask them specifically to do that.

 

This is the second time it has happened but with a full year and about 10k miles between incident,worth replacing the calipers? I don't mind the cost for peace of mind.

[DodgeRover]

Take it somewhere that does a proper service as above rather than just dropping the oil and filter?

[HH-R]

Yeah, there is that. I can only trust them really. It ends up getting serviced at independents closest to where I'm working at the time so quite a broad cross section of garages cos I work all over Northumberland and Tyneside.

[twosmoke300]

Could well be the sliders seized

[HH-R]

Ta. I've got the use of ma HHRs Colt (I really rate them) until I can see what the craic is.

[Noel Tidybeard]

As been mentioned elsewhere he is just having a small break.

 

Barbara Cartland Dog is on a Christmas book signing tour so he is driving her around in a ropey red transit with copies of her latest thriller "Viva las Transit- an in-depth view of the rise and fall of Griffin badged motoring".

trading standards have pulled him in "for questioning" about "quality" used cars

[MorrisItalSLX]

Question: Do MGB headrests fit Marinas/Allegros/Princesses/Minis/Itals/etc.?

 

I ask this because there are many MGB headrests around as they were standard fitment and many other BL products just have blanking plates.

[Bucketeer]

Surprisingly an electrical malady has surfaced in my French car. The lights on my Citroen AX are flickering/fluctuating when the engine is running, not badly but noticeably, and this is all the lights, ie; headlights, instrument lighting, etc. This does not happen when the engine is turned off which makes me think possibly a fault in the alternator department. Also, when driving with the radio on, any other electrical usage/input (eg; using indicators, applying brakes) causes the radio to turn off for a split second before turning back on again. Also also, sometimes when using the wipers there is clicky/buzzy noise from somewhere footwellish (poss fuse box).

I'm okay at fixing faults I've come across previously but this is a new one to me, and as I leave for work at 6am and get back after 7pm I have little time or daylight to conduct a fault finding marathon so if this shouts out a specific likely cause to anyone your suggestions would be much appreciated.

[steveo3002]

check all the battery /alternator cables are clean and tight  , then id be looking at the voltage regulator