Ask a Shiter

[320touring]

My Merc has that - its on the lower hose.

[stephen01]

Is there an easy way to do change of address with the DVLA, or do i need to fill in each one of these and post them off?

 

IMG_20190127_170951.jpg

 

No easy way for address change, when I sent all mine off, only 4 mind, I sent them first class recorded and took a picture of each one just in case. 

[Frogchod]

I've been out to a garage sale today, there was a load a rammel best slung in the fragger but some of it caught my eye.

I'm seriously tempted by this Buick.

It's cheap and it works:

It has bangin' choonze:

Should the roof look like a fake soft top ?

 

I've yet to look into registration costs but, daft question on Autoshite, do I buy it ? Do these Buicks explode, it's a 3.8.

 

Other stuff that was there:

He wants 1300 euro for the Massy

Fiat 600 is 1000 euro

I was told this was a '76 caddy... RHD and non runner, also 1000 euro

Cant remember what this is, pre Studebaker he said, only 6 in the world.

 

Back to the Buick, what's a sentinel light ?

[louiepj]

My Merc has that - its on the lower hose.

Way to go Mercedes for breaking tradition and plumbing up the coolant system differently. I wonder if there are many different cars like that?

I just phoned Toyota main dealer to find out price of thermostat, gasket, housing and bolts.... £67 Inc vat!! oh and while I'm on the phone can you confirm that the radiator top hose connects to that housing as I want to make sure it's right.

And he confirmed it for me and offered me the hose as well for another £20.

So I'm hoping in this case the reverse flow through the radiator is the problem. Will have a quick hose swap when we get some coolant and see what happens though I am tempted to stick a new thermostat in as well.

[louiepj]

I've been out to a garage sale today, there was a load a rammel best slung in the fragger but some of it caught my eye.

I'm seriously tempted by this Buick.

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It's cheap and it works:

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It has bangin' choonze:

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Should the roof look like a fake soft top ?

107.jpg

 

I've yet to look into registration costs but, daft question on Autoshite, do I buy it ? Do these Buicks explode, it's a 3.8.

 

Other stuff that was there:

101.jpg

He wants 1300 euro for the Massy

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Fiat 600 is 1000 euro

108.jpg

I was told this was a '76 caddy... RHD and non runner, also 1000 euro

110.jpg

Cant remember what this is, pre Studebaker he said, only 6 in the world.

 

Back to the Buick, what's a sentinel light ?

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Twilight Sentinal is timed lights when you get out of car so you can see where you're going when it's dark I think. Optical sensor on dash to sense day/night and that slider switch to set time delay.

I drove one and thought it was automatic dimming light switch like cadillac optronic eye thing till people kept flashing me for main beams lol and then couldn't work out why car lights wouldn't turn off when I parked up.

[dozeydustman]

Car valuations. Any ideas what this is worth? Mum & dad bought it to ferry my nan around in, but as she's now in a care home until either money runs out or she pops off, it's surplus to requirements. 1 yrs ticket with advisory on minor exhaust leak. Have seen some of similar age still hitting £5k at dealers, but none with as low a mileage as this one.

 

Mileage is genuine, engine bay has not been detailed.

 

 

[MikeR]

Setting up a discrecionary trust fund . seperation of occupancy . living wishes . will etc ... Should this cost 4k ... Possible issues ?

[mitsisigma01]

Looks more like a 98 Cadillac STS

[Frogchod]

Looks more like a 98 Cadillac STS

Yes it is, the seller was a bit pissed on Friday night, I was getting excited expecting a 76.

The STS was proper arm chair comfy. It's rhd so I'm oot

[mitsisigma01]

I had a sniff at one recently, terminal engine damage unfortunately

[catsinthewelder]

Setting up a discrecionary trust fund . seperation of occupancy . living wishes . will etc ... Should this cost 4k ... Possible issues ?

 

Probably better in here

[Squire_Dawson]

Frogchod, the pre-Stude is an Erskine.

[D Spares & Tyres]

Would a DPF just block up with very little warning?

 

2015 Renault van 1.6 diesel

 

Symptoms. Low power, whistling noise like a worn turbo.

 

Then, it cut out. Oil over end of engine. Not massive amount but hard to see where it comes from. Made worse by aux belt spraying it.

Now when started it tried to very briefly but no smoke out of exhaust. Fumes in intake pipes.

 

It's got to be blocked DPF, can't be much else can it? It looks a right arse to do. Subrame and driveshaft out by the looks of it.

[Squire_Dawson]

I live on a knackered cobbled road, and the side roads near mine are all hills, gotta bring the k11 home tomorrow and looks very likely to get a good chunk of snow.

 

Any points, apart from avoiding stopping esp on hills and avoiding brakes, just curious for old timer tricks car has good all season tires still but only been driving 12month.

 

Set off in 2nd gear, keep to low engine revs and use as high a gear as possible, avoid high engine speeds. Basically you are trying to avoid wheelspin.

[twosmoke300]

Sounds like it’s either split or popped off a boost / turbo hose

[Guest Hooli]

I live on a knackered cobbled road, and the side roads near mine are all hills, gotta bring the k11 home tomorrow and looks very likely to get a good chunk of snow.

 

Any points, apart from avoiding stopping esp on hills and avoiding brakes, just curious for old timer tricks car has good all season tires still but only been driving 12month.

 

Be smooth & plan ahead. If it does start sliding you've have loads of time to see if braking/throttle helps get it back where you want, try both as different cars etc make a difference.

[New POD]

Setting up a discrecionary trust fund . seperation of occupancy . living wishes . will etc ... Should this cost 4k ... Possible issues ?

You are using a Solicitor who is local to you?

Is it Whitfields?

They are never cheap.

Get 3 quotes.

And ask for a discount.

 

The thing is that they have done this sort of thing 100 times before so it isn't a massive job for them. They'll use smoke and mirrors to make it seem confusing.

 

If only your wife had a best friend who was a Solicitor. Oh she has.

 

Mind you I think that was about what my wife was quoted to divorce me.

[New POD]

Set off in 2nd gear, keep to low engine revs and use as high a gear as possible, avoid high engine speeds. Basically you are trying to avoid wheelspin.

No....

Get the wheels spinning to generate heat a nd melt the ice....then take your spade and dig yourself out of the rut you are now trapped in.

 

I have yet to drive the omega in snow. I wonder if traction control helps or not

[D Spares & Tyres]

Sounds like it’s either split or popped off a boost / turbo hose

I've had that before on other vehicles and they still run, just low on power. This now refuses to start. It also has no error codes when plugged in. Hard to see turbo properly.

[twosmoke300]

Vivaro/ trafic 2.0 's wont start with a boost hose off . Or they just run for a sec and shut off like an immob fault

[taxi paul]

Need a Bluetooth device that I can wire to my ignition so it comes on with the car.needs to be stand alone cos can't attach it to head unit, mad Japanese unit. I do have one but I forget to turn it on or the battery in it goes and it turns off. Links would be appreciated please.

[Royale80]

No....

Get the wheels spinning to generate heat a nd melt the ice....then take your spade and dig yourself out of the rut you are now trapped in.

I have yet to drive the omega in snow. I wonder if traction control helps or not

I had two auto estate— not the best in snow. Traction control made little difference- the auto box snow setting pulling off in second made a little bit more difference.

[Guest Hooli]

My old (ex-SiC) Saab was an auto with traction control. Last year it quite happily plodded around in snow & passed several 4x4s stuck where they'd failed to go uphill. I didn't turn the TC off once, there was no point as it worked well. It was only on cheap tyres too.

tl:dr - depends on how well the TC/auto is programmed.

[Frogchod]

How can I find the build date for a Buick ?

All I can find from the VIN is 1989.

Last UK mot says 31/12/89 but I suspect that's a made up date.

I really need an earlier date to make this buyage do-able. Just need it to be 30 years old to avoid frog registration grief.

VIN is 1G4CW54C7K1610371

Could there be another number on the car to indicate build date ?

[drivewaymyway]

If you know a dick head who has a driveway outside his house but insists on parking in the road taking a valuable space in a limited parking area, how would you make sure they stopped being a dick head ? As far as I know insurance isn't valid if you don't park on the drive when at home.. He's one of them modern Mercedes drivers that is all cocky and you can't talk to him..

[Guest Hooli]

 As far as I know insurance isn't valid if you don't park on the drive when at home..

 

Depends where he's told them he parks it. Besides the normal wording is along the lines of 'must normally be parked on the drive when at the home address'. So any claim will start 'I unusually had to park on the road'.

 

Besides he's as entitled to park on the road as anyone else.

[Guest Hooli]

You could ask to rent his drive to park on as there is no room on the road...

[dozeydustman]

If you know a dick head who has a driveway outside his house but insists on parking in the road taking a valuable space in a limited parking area, how would you make sure they stopped being a dick head ? As far as I know insurance isn't valid if you don't park on the drive when at home.. He's one of them modern Mercedes drivers that is all cocky and you can't talk to him..

 

Give him a giffer scrape.

 

Used to have one of these idiots when I was in my teens. We had a 1 car drive, 2 cars, no garage, same for next door. He had a 3 car drive and 2 cars, one was always on the road. Even when the dustman hit his car one monday morning because of his stupid parking he still insisted on putting his wife's car out on the road, when it could easily have nestled next to his. Pair of Novas, so not exactly huge.

 

You can't get the message through to people like this unless their motor get totally written off. Even then the memory fades quickly and they get back to their old tricks soon enough.

 

I'd go with a polite* note under his wiper "please use your drive you inconsiderate twat*"

 

*Other expletives available.

[twosmoke300]

I see the other side of this . I have a drive way / garage for about 4 cars but my car has spent most of the last 3 weeks parked on the road . This is because I’m having my back garden landscaped / trees taken down etc so I need to leave the drive free for access for diggers etc . I expect the people over the road are moaning about it but I have a genuine reason , the car is all legal etc .

So maybe they have a good reason ?

[catsinthewelder]

Vivaro/ trafic 2.0 's wont start with a boost hose off . Or they just run for a sec and shut off like an immob fault

 

If its the van I think it is then its a 1.6.