Ask a Shiter

[tinribs]

I have never noticed tyres to wear equally across the full tread, usually the edges go first leaving loads of tread in the middle. So, when the edges have gone to the wear limit, I change them. Probably very wasteful but I hate looking at the tyres and seeing low outer/inner treads. I know this is down to over-inflation but I think it;s also down to heavy cars and the sheer number of roundabouts.

Bald inner tread - over inflation. Tyre bulges at the tread centre so makes more contact with tarmac and will not bend when cornering.

Bald outers - under inflation. Soft floppy tyres will roll around on their sidewalls more often. I bet this is more common due to nobody giving a fuck any more.

Bald to the chords on one side - you've had your tracking done at Farmers!

[M'coli]

Why has this had a name change? Who thought it was a good idea? What's the point of fixing something that wasn't broken?

 

I can't be the only one getting pissed-off with this sort of interference?

[Split_Pin]

I realised that I had out a touch too much oil in the 75 this morning, level seemed fine on Weds. Drained a bit out and noticed metallic flakes in it? This isnt good is it?

[puddlethumper]

Sometimes I have a question

 

Why has this had a name change? Who thought it was a good idea? What's the point of fixing something that wasn't broken?

I can't be the only one getting pissed-off with this sort of interference?

If I have a sensible question I don't want to put it in the stupid question thread. 

I am not pissed off with the change. 

[angle]

OK, answers other than 'its a Laguna' welcome - the steering has started creaking. Sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, but only ever when I'm turning the wheel right. Turning left is fine, holding it in a right turn is fine. PAS fluid seems to be where it should (although the reservoir is pretty opaque). Doesn't feel rough or heavy at all. Both front springs recently replaced, sounds a bit like its knocking over bumps from the nearside front but the local garage checked it over and said they couldn't see anything wrong. Any ideas?

[sierraman]

Astra 1.7 diesel, going into limp home every time you press accelerator. Any ideas?

[wuvvum]

All Vauxhalls are shite?

[wuvvum]

Or is it overboosting?  That can cause engine management systems to get their panties in a bunch.

[sierraman]

I did say that.

[AlabamaShrimp]

Any idea where I can get that broken rubber seat base from for the Frontera.

 

 

Can't find anything but stuff that doesn't look like it will fit for Triumphs etc.

[dave21478]

My Frontera did the same, dropping me a few inches lower than ideal while mid-drive. 

Four cheap wee ratchet straps across the framework made an adequate substitute.

[Microwave]

So, I fairly recently acquired a 1990 Peugeot 205 XLD with an extremely mouldy interior. It had been stood in a builders yard for a couple of years before I bought it, and I was told when I bought it that the reason it was mouldy/full of water was because somebody had left the driver's window down. However, this has turned out to be false, as every time it rains hard the rear footwells turn into small lakes, as shown here:

 

Did a bit of digging on various Peugeot 205 related forums, and it is my understanding that absolutely every single fucking seam on a 205 will end up leaking at some point in the car's life. At first, I thought the rear light clusters might have been the culprit, but I cleaned off a bit of the moss on the tailgate today to reveal this (on an otherwise very rust free car):

 

 

Dammit.

 

This is the top on that side:

 

 

And the other side for comparison:

 

 

I rang Autoglass, out of pure curiosity, and I got a quote of over 300 quid to replace the glass and seal and stuff. Apparently the glass is bonded and can break whilst being removed? I don't know. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be going down that route.

 

So, has anyone else here had to deal with leaky 205s before? Does that window seal look especially knackered? If so, what's the cheapest way that I'd be able to fix it? Only paid 250 quid for the car. Mechanically it's perfect but the rest of it is tatty as hell, should have the first MOT that it's had in a few years by the end of the week.

[puddlethumper]

What are the rules on A framing?

I presume the front vehicle has to be heavier than the one being framed but by how much ?

[DodgeRover]

What are the rules on A framing?

I presume the front vehicle has to be heavier than the one being framed but by how much ?

It's illegal unless it's fully braked and only for recovery purposes anyway. Must not exceed GTW for towing vehicle.

Best advise is not to get stopped.

[somewhatfoolish]

I rang Autoglass, out of pure curiosity, and I got a quote of over 300 quid to replace the glass and seal and stuff. Apparently the glass is bonded and can break whilst being removed? I don't know. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be going down that route.

 

The problem there is phoning Autoglass; they're thieves, find out who your local independent garage uses for glass work and ask them for a quote. Bonded screens can break while being removed but shit happens.

[warren t claim]

How come after seven and a half years my thread title has been changed? I thought it was pretty fucking obvious what it was about after nearly 600 pages?

[warren t claim]

I'll check my PM's. There's bound to be a message from admin in there. After all, I have been here eight and a half years so I'm sure they wouldn't be aloof enough to change the title on my longest running thread without letting me know.

[tooSavvy]

If a Latvian car owning floor tiler* came over to UK, bringing his Derv Passat on Latvian plates, could he work for 6 months - get 5 Gatso + 3 BusLane fines - and go home unchallenged?

 

*other trades/racial stereotypes available :/

 

This follows from musings, elsewhere on here, about propagation of 'Eastern European' plates in that there Lundunn [on the basis of no traffic enforcement/plod likely]

 

Just saying, lyke...

[SiC]

How come after seven and a half years my thread title has been changed? I thought it was pretty fucking obvious what it was about after nearly 600 pages?

As the thread creator you should be able to change it back again.

[Video]

 

I'm getting the opinion we're all far to well behaved on here now and the mods have nothing much to do. So they end up trying to find things to do and micromanaging everything. Also as the number of moderators expanded (with those new ones been chosen like in a gentleman's club), there is even less work to be done.

 

What we need is a good old bust up and side taking like the daveb47 transition period. That will leave plenty of moderating to be done.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

OK, answers other than 'its a Laguna' welcome - the steering has started creaking. Sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, but only ever when I'm turning the wheel right. Turning left is fine, holding it in a right turn is fine. PAS fluid seems to be where it should (although the reservoir is pretty opaque). Doesn't feel rough or heavy at all. Both front springs recently replaced, sounds a bit like its knocking over bumps from the nearside front but the local garage checked it over and said they couldn't see anything wrong. Any ideas?

 

Could be a thousand things. If it's been checked properly then they should have yanked, pulled and barred all the suspension bits to check for excessive play. In the past, creaking has near on always turned out to be a dry ball joint but I have encountered springs moving in their seats, collapsed top mountings and even anti roll bar clamps shifting in their mounts. Usually after poking and prodding, lube is applied to various components under dust covers in stages to see if it shuts it up temporarily. If it's all done at the same time then you'll never find out what it is. Oddly I've never been able to permanently shut up a creaking ball joint and ended up changing it out.

[Talbot]

What are the rules on A framing?

I presume the front vehicle has to be heavier than the one being framed but by how much ?

It's illegal unless it's fully braked and only for recovery purposes anyway.

Sorry, Rong. Otherwise all the campervans who A-frame tow diddly little cars would be doing so unlawfully. You're thinking of towing on a rope or on a bar, which is now for recovery over a minimum distance only.

 

As for A-framing, The car being towed either has to be under 750kg MAM (IE an Axiam or something equally tiny) or it has to have working brakes on ALL the roadwheels in contact with the road. (basically, same rules as trailer towing). The same rules also apply regarding weights. You shouldn't tow more than the towcar is rated for, and what your licence allows.

 

While the car being towed is attached to the towcar, the car being towed takes on the legal status of a trailer, so as far as I can tell, that vehicle can be without MOT/Tax/Insurance/on SORN if you want, but ONLY while it's attached and is genuinely a trailer. You must have a lighting board with the registration of the towcar on it attached to the back of the car being towed. The moment you disconnect the A-frame from the towcar, the back car is "A car" again, so you should be a little careful of the legality there. Also, despite not necessarily needing MOT etc, the parts that are "being used" must still be in roadworthy condition, so tread on the tyres, working brakes, working steering etc. Washers and wipers might not be needed, or working lights (taken care of with the trailer board) nor anything else that isn't actually doing anything.

 

The only legality question I cannot resolve is that of auto-reversing brakes. Even if you have a car with the brakes hooked up to an over-run arrangement, this will not work in reverse, as autoreversing brakes are a fundamentally different design to standard service brakes. However, if you have a car on A-frame, you can't reverse anyway as the castor angle of the front wheels means they would just flop to full-lock within a few meters, so I think that aspect of the law on brakes is either not enforceable, or just ignored by everyone, plod included.

 

I've A-framed many different vehicles over many many miles and never had an issue. Click the "Berlingo" link in my sig for a recent example.

[chodweaver]

Any idea where I can get that broken rubber seat base from for the Frontera.

 

IMG_20180422_164900.jpg

 

Can't find anything but stuff that doesn't look like it will fit for Triumphs etc.

 

The construction looks a bunch like an old Parker Knoll chair or folding deck chair - so I'd be seeking out some furniture reupholsterers or suppliers thereof for a piece of sturdy fabric to replace the torn bit.

[dave21478]

Sorry, Rong. Otherwise all the campervans who A-frame tow diddly little cars would be doing so unlawfully.

Double rong. And yes they are doing so unlawfully.

A-frame manufacturers websites are full of legally vague phrases like "in our opinion" and "our interpretation of...." but it's hardly in their interest to say "it's actually illegal but you will likely get away with it".

 

A-frames are for recovery of a broken down vehicle to a place of safety. No more. Using one for transport as you rightly said comes under trailer laws which can't be followed, mainly must have equal braking force to all roadwheels and must have autoreverse brakes.

 

That said, I too have used one for decades all over UK and France, as do many others. This is "getting away with it" rather than being legal and people will continue to get away with it due to lack of knowledge and lack of being arsed by the police.

However, the day it goes really wrong and causes a coach full of nuns coming back from a kitten show to overturn on the motorway is the day you would stop getting away with it.

[Mally]

How come after seven and a half years my thread title has been changed? I thought it was pretty fucking obvious what it was about after nearly 600 pages?

 

Might be obvious to you because you started it.

When I came on I thought it was for stupid questions, and thus avoided it because I'm not stupid.

[sierraman]

I've known people A frame hundreds of miles. Could end badly if you have a bump whilst doing so I guess.

[AMC Rebel]

.

[tooSavvy]

^^ ... a Martin Lewis moment, you mean?

 

#facebook

[AMC Rebel]

.

[BorniteIdentity]

What’s the story with the folks here who we don’t know?

 

I’ve heard whispers about the legendary Electric Leyland - but wondered who’s actually hands on and the story behind the names really.

[Dave_Q]

I think electric Leyland was the founder in so far as he setup the autoshite.com domain.

During Davegate there were various times when he moved servers etc and EL had to update the DNS.

H Sceptre was a member from the good old days when there was only 12 people here and people only discussed cars that sold less than 100 units in total in the UK, or something.

No idea on siestaboy.

Cavcraft has been a moderator on here for as long as I've been here, with some breaks, and chaseracer also I think.

The other mods are newer and clearly chosen for being of unsound mind and for their penchant for trying to help but getting moaned at for it.

 

Edited to add: 12days was a mod account setup for the 12days of shitemas competition around xmas last year.