Ask a Shiter

[Rocket88]

If a car was laid up for two years without being turned over and the fuel lines had to be disconnected in order to weld up the floor pan, would it be worth removing the tank and syphoning out all the fuel, to avoid any gumming up of the lines/carb from stale petrol? Or just best to try and bosh on a battery and turn the thing over before disconnecting the fuel line, just to check it either was/wasn't starting before being meddled with?

 

If it's not a complete ballache, might be an idea, depending on how much is in there!.

[wuvvum]

Can anyone recommend a good freeware video editing programme? I took my mini-DV spy-camera thing to Marham on Saturday and clipped it to the passenger side sun visor as I hadn't had time to fit the proper dash mounting kit - the video has actually come out OK, but it's upside down, so I need something that will turn it up the right way without ruining the quality.

[Spiny Norman]

Do you have Windows Move Maker? If your PC is Vista or more recent it should have it already installed.

I don't do much video stuff, but I've used http://www.filehippo.com/download_avidemux/ before and it's OK.

There are also some online editors that will probably do the job. VLC player can do a simple flip over but I'm not sure if it can actually save the result.

[pompei]

I went to get the Fiat 500 going yesterday after a long period of non-use. Good news - after 3 or 4 attempts, it burst into life . Bad news, brakes are partially seized on and the pedal only moves about 2 inches. It won't come back up either.

 

I'm guessing new master cylinder is the way to go?

[cort16]

I was checking the timing belt interval for my sisters new golf and it says 90,000 miles. The car's 6 years old but only done 15k. The book makes no note of age of the car in the interval for timing belts. Do you recon it's worth getting it done or it should it be okay for another couple of years?

[Akron]

I was checking the timing belt interval for my sisters new golf and it says 90,000 miles. The car's 6 years old but only done 15k. The book makes no note of age of the car in the interval for timing belts. Do you recon it's worth getting it done or it should it be okay for another couple of years?

 

60,000 or four years in my opinion, what engine is in it?

[cort16]

It's a mk5 Golf with the 1.6 FSi engine in it.

[Rocket88]

It's a mk5 Golf with the 1.6 FSi engine in it.

 

 

I'd get it done...........it seems the newer the car, the less tolerant of skipped maintenance. I'd do a cambelt at least every 4 years, even if you're doing next to no mileage.

[messerschmitt owner]

It's a mk5 Golf with the 1.6 FSi engine in it.

 

 

I'd get it done...........it seems the newer the car, the less tolerant of skipped maintenance. I'd do a cambelt at least every 4 years, especially if you're doing next to no mileage.

edited for accuracy!

[willswitchengage]

Mine hasn't been done for five years or 11k, the recommended interval is 2yrs/30k

 

What it actually happening within an engine when a car "ticks itself cool"?

[Spiny Norman]

What it actually happening within an engine when a car "ticks itself cool"?

It's mostly the exhaust I think.

[willswitchengage]

The BX barely did it at all, the Subaru does it a hell of a lot, but yeah it does look like it's coming from the ex. manifold. Just wondered what's actually happening inside...

[Pete-M]

My Subaru does it a lot as well. I think it's because of the insane exhaust manifold setup on 'em.

[fiatdaft]

It's the metal contracting back after the heat has made it expand.

[Morgan84]

I was checking the timing belt interval for my sisters new golf and it says 90,000 miles. The car's 6 years old but only done 15k. The book makes no note of age of the car in the interval for timing belts. Do you recon it's worth getting it done or it should it be okay for another couple of years?

 

I look after a 2005 1.6 FSi and that is chain driven

[Pillock]

Double-check with the dealer on the belt interval.

Some 2.0 TDI VAGs were specified with a 80,000 mile cambelt change which was later changed to 80k or 4 years - obviously this wasn't in the book though, only on the dealer info software. It's very odd to have a mileage but no time specified so they may have later changed their minds on the pez engines too.

[M'coli]

Anyone able to enlighten me as to why my Faceache photo of Cats' BX estate, Krujoe's Lada, Benno's pick up and Samba S's frankly immense FSO is suddenly getting a lot of traffic tonight?

[Cavcraft]

I don't know but Dave 4dr appears to be playing pocket snooker in the background.

[wuvvum]

Clutch hydraulics.

 

Car had been standing for some time (> 6 months) - it'd been started up occasionally and moved back and forward a few feet to stop everything seizing, but that's about it.

 

Time has come to try and get it back on the road. The problem that has appeared is thus: When starting up from cold, the clutch works fine, albeit with a very low biting point. After a few manouevres, I lose the pedal completely, and it's as if the clutch is stuck on. Under hard acceleration, vigorous pumping of the pedal will get the clutch slipping slightly, but nowhere near enough to allow conventional gearchanges or pulling away from rest. Leave it overnight, and lo and behold in the morning the pedal has returned, but only for the first couple of manoeuvres again.

 

The fluid reservoir is full and it doesn't seem to be leaking anywhere.

 

Before I start taking things to bits, is there a way of diagnosing from the above symptoms what it's likely to be? Could it just need bleeding, or is one of the cylinders on its way out, and if the latter then which one? I'm hoping it's not the slave as that looks like an absolute cock to get to...

[Des]

I'd start with a bleed, if that doesn't work it could be the master partially siezed, so it's not returning fully when pedal released and pedal has its own return spring, is it possible to lever the clutch release arm back a few times, alternately pushing the pedal, that and fresh fluid from a bleed and maybe a squirt of wd up its chuff might free it off, as may hitting the master with a brick.

[nigel bickle]

I'd guess at a sticking cylinder. Odds on the slave- but it might be the master. If its accessible- giving it a couple of clouts might help -or squirting a little brake fluid in the 'wrong 'end to lubricate it -if poss.

 

Use -if possible, will help -as will engine warmth (eventually). Have you given the pedal box a cursory glance- in case the carpets caught up -or a leaking screen has rusted the pivot up?

 

Me? I'd stick with it -as is -and try to persuade it back; whilst carrying brake fluid- cos if its rusty bores- the seals are going to tear....Leastways then you'll know which cylinder it is!

[DSdriver]

Is the water pump over the clutch like on some Citroens. A slight drip from the pump whilst not affecting cars run frequently can cause a stationary car's clutch to rust and sieze.

[Guest]

Does hitting the bump stops cause lasting damage to subframes \ other assemblies?

 

I ask this not because I've turned the torsion bar down several clicks in my C4, I ask because it's spent the past three days bottoming out going to and from shooting locations on the appallingly surfaced roads around Salford and North Manchester. We were 5 up and fully loaded with camera kit. It was doing 32 MPG.

 

The only other car on the shoot was a Daewoo fucking Matiz that was useless for any kind of crew transportation. That it was fucked to start with didn't help matters.

 

After cleaning out all of the shit from the interior (the cast and crew more or less used it as a doss house) it feels seriously wayward. I think something has cried enough or I've blown one of the shocks.

[cobblers]

it doesn't do them any good, but I've spent the best part of ten years driving cars with stupid low suspension that hit the bump stops (which were already cut in half so 4 times as stiff) about every 100 yards and never really had any actual noticeable damage to anything. With the normal soft OE bumpstops and a reasonable profile tyre you'll be fine, perhaps bend a wheel worse but I've never even done that with like 35 profile tyres and stuff.

 

Theres a chance you've knocked the tracking out or something, but you'd probably really really bloody know about an impact that send the tracking pissed (cos it'd need to shift something in its mounts or bend something!)

[rml2345]

Excuse the crap photo but is this fron a Lada Riva;

 

 

It has what looks like TP-RTI-299 stamped on the back but Google doesn't help.

[Gompo]

I've noticed that on quite a lot of older cars (pre 1963(?) before suffix) they often contain 'X' in the registration, UXO329 or whatever for example. Seemingly too often to be just a coincidence. Seems to be more often than not some sort of 'rod too. Are these registrations that are given out on imports and cars that have been plate raped in the past, and supplied with a dateless registration by the DVLA?

[Pete-M]

Quite probably yup.

 

DVLC tend to use number series that were either previously not issued or ones from areas where the number of registrations were low. So often you'll see '50s stuff with North Wales plates, i.e. AFF 123 or similar, or ones from the uninhabitable lands north of Hadrians wall, which often contain an S in the last two letters.

 

London had a few plate series that died off around '61, they tend to use the remainder of those. They often contain an X. My '61 P5 was 491 UXR I think, that was an age related plate (one of the early ones that are still tranferable) from a sequence originally issued in London around '61.

[ashmicro]

Looks like a Lada mirror to me old chap. Here is one in an Riva.

 

[Tayne]

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[Lacquer Peel]

Is it a microphone?