Ask a Shiter

[Albert Ross]

Are bottom ball joints handed?

Depends entirely on the vehicle. Some are knuckle mounted, some are pressed intro arms, some are bolted into arms, what's the motor?

[dollywobbler]

Anyone ever driven a Ford Consul Mk2 1703cc? What do they drive like and live with?, Are they a real gutless tank or a nice cool cruiser?.

 

I've seen one i like, made a offer that involves my Cortina and the amount i was going to spend on it's respray and the sellers shown an interest, I'm now wondering if it's such a good idea as i like my Cortina but always loved the Mk2 shape Consul/Zodiac./Zephyr styling.

 

I've driven one and don't recall it being too dreary - though I am used to shit-slow cars. They do feel nice and solid and have a superb column gearchange (when in good order). Would be a step down from the 'tina for sure.

[skattrd]

Whats the best/easiest stuff to clean leather seats with? the cream/beige seats in the Volvo are looking a bit grubby.

[Angrydicky]

Anyone ever driven a Ford Consul Mk2 1703cc? What do they drive like and live with?, Are they a real gutless tank or a nice cool cruiser?.

 

I've seen one i like, made a offer that involves my Cortina and the amount i was going to spend on it's respray and the sellers shown an interest, I'm now wondering if it's such a good idea as i like my Cortina but always loved the Mk2 shape Consul/Zodiac./Zephyr styling.

 

I've driven one and don't recall it being too dreary - though I am used to shit-slow cars. They do feel nice and solid and have a superb column gearchange (when in good order). Would be a step down from the 'tina for sure.

 

How about an A55 MK1 Cambridge? Fantastic, underrated cars, lovely to drive, much cheaper than the Ford equivalent and just as stylish. Excellent column change as well. Just don't make the mistake I did and buy a rotten one...

[vulgalour]

Whats the best/easiest stuff to clean leather seats with? the cream/beige seats in the Volvo are looking a bit grubby.

 

Either the sweat and tears of your enemies, or if that's too difficult to obtain, Autoglym Leather Cleaner followed up with Autoglym Leather Balm, always worked a treat on the tan leather interior in Dad's old 740 and smells great too.

[Guest]

Hi. Not a stupid question more a plea for some help!

Is there anyone who knows about that horrible business of Wills, Estates, Trustees and Beneficiaries?

It's a very long story but basically one of the executors who has nothing to gain is taking control over the other beneficiaries. One of which is one of the deceased's daughters.

The sisters are being torn aprt by this and the 'senior' executor is shall we say not being 'forthcoming' with information.

A new car has disappeared, there is no info on what was in the estate aside from the house.

This is just a brief over view, it's a lot nastier.

We are worried about running up a huge legal even though we are sure as beneficiaries, costs can be sought from the Estate but the way things are this avenue might even have to be fought adding more costs!!

So 1st question - where does it say a a beneficiary can claim their costs from an estate?

 

Really sorry for non car stuff gents & Louise! etc but i've lost a lot of sleep over this and appreciate there are some clever people on here in their chosen paths!

[autofive]

woman who lives over the road from me has a 3-pot corsa that sounds like its knocking its nuts off, and has a mystery oil leak

 

i spoke to her this morning and she said ' a mechanic' looked at it and cant find anything wrong

 

i ve heard lots of nasty stories about these 3-pot engines, but not seen any proof as to how bad they are

 

any common faults with them?

or are they just crap?

[Morgan84]

Rattling timing chains

 

Oil pressure switch leaks are a common,but cheap fix

[Morgan84]

Whats the best/easiest stuff to clean leather seats with? the cream/beige seats in the Volvo are looking a bit grubby.

 

Either the sweat and tears of your enemies, or if that's too difficult to obtain, Autoglym Leather Cleaner followed up with Autoglym Leather Balm, always worked a treat on the tan leather interior in Dad's old 740 and smells great too.

 

Any good leather cleaner,or saddle soap.I have used a flannel and normal hand soap before,such as Dove - if it doesn't hurt my hands,it certainly wont harm leather,plus its a lot cheaper

[KruJoe]

They're a 12valve Suzuki lump I believe, and can be ok if timed up right. Timing chains(?) stretch and go slack causing misfires.

 

Some or all of the above may be complete bollocks.

[Morgan84]

I think it was the tensioners which Vauxhall had problems with in a few of their chain driven engines

[Albert Ross]

Oil leak will highly likely be the oil pressure switch. The rattling is the timing chain, caused by infrequent oil changes, using the wrong oil, and cheap filters, (which collapse and send the debris everywhere, blocking the timing chain tensioner oil feed) And in this case is sounds like all three. To replace the chain, it's a sump and front cover off job, new chain kit, they're pricy, and you have to ask "Is it worth it?" before you go getting the bits together. If the rack knocks, and the handbrake cables are frayed, and the gear linkage is falling off, get ready for ££££.

[Lacquer Peel]

They're a 12valve Suzuki lump I believe, and can be ok if timed up right. Timing chains(?) stretch and go slack causing misfires.

 

Some or all of the above may be complete bollocks.

 

It's not a Suzuki engine, as much as that would make sense, being a part of the GM empire and experts at small engines. It's from the same engine family as the 1.2/1.4 4 cylinder engines but with a pot lopped off. I've heard the 3 pot vibrations are balanced by a heavy flywheel, hence its inherent shitness.

[Cavcraft]

Oil leak will highly likely be the oil pressure switch. The rattling is the timing chain, caused by infrequent oil changes, using the wrong oil, and cheap filters, (which collapse and send the debris everywhere, blocking the timing chain tensioner oil feed) And in this case is sounds like all three. To replace the chain, it's a sump and front cover off job, new chain kit, they're pricy, and you have to ask "Is it worth it?" before you go getting the bits together. If the rack knocks, and the handbrake cables are frayed, and the gear linkage is falling off, get ready for ££££.

 

Aye.

Our's has had the chain done (Vauxhall main dealer, previous owner) but the oil pressure switch spat it's dummy out. This (ops) also happened to my neighbour's daughter's Corsa with spectacular results. She drove it back from Stoke and kept stopping to buy more oil, when she got home it actually looked like she' d driven through Piper Alpha and got Red Adair to wipe his coat on it for good measure.

The 3 pots do sound extraordinarily like a lawnmower and also don't seem to be getting you anywhere even if no known mechanical faults are present, though perversely they're not that bad on a motorway and they're brilliant on fuel.

[Morgan84]

10w40 engine oil and a good filter will keep it happy,although the later 'Twinport' models which were 998cc around about 2005> went over to 5W30 Longlife super synthetic oil. Many people think there earlier ones can do 20000 miles without a oil change;well try it and see what happens ! To be honest,10000 miles is more than enough,and in older cases 6000 miles is enough- oil is cheaper than metal

[DSdriver]

Hi. Not a stupid question more a plea for some help!

 

I am in the process of trying to remember who told me they had an ace probate solicitor locally and when I find out the name I will pm you.

My idiot father didn't bother to check that the house was not in joint names with my mother in the two years that he new he was going to die of cancer.

We are in the process of trying to clear my parents house but most unusually our relatives are not the usual rats that come out of the woodwork whenever there is the sniff of a few bob. None of them wants an antique four poster bed, probably because it is quite short due to them being midgets in those days. Any interest on here?

[TagoraSX]

Aftermarket air filters, K&N Pipecross etc.

 

Are they worth the money or are they a waste of time.

[trigger]

^ Good question, I'm thinking of getting one for mine, I know it can make the webers sound more fruity but I'd be interested if they is actually a improvement in performance or fuel economy.

[skattrd]

Aftermarket air filters, K&N Pipecross etc.

 

Are they worth the money or are they a waste of time.

 

If I plan on keeping a car past one or two services then I fit a pipercross filter in the airbox. To me they're worth if you plan on keeping the car. I take them out and clean them whenever I feel like it, a quick going over with the garage air line and they're like new again.

 

Personal preference here: I like the pipercross dry sponge ones as they're less messy than the oil ones - no other reason, just less messy, usual cost 4x paper filter replacements.

 

K&N pancake types - nice noise, slightly improved airflow, performance gain - possibly, but minimal.

On my Spitfire I fitted a Pipercross PX500 (big sponge) link which was cheaper and lets in more air than the K&N pancake things. I can't say if it made a difference as I also rejectted the carbs and fitted a 4-branch at the same time. It did sound nice though.

 

Induction kit/cone filters - not worth it my opinion, unless the car has a seriously restricted airflow, most don't. I have induction fitted on two of my cars, both turbocharged petrol cars which do benefit from more/less restrictive air.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

The Herald felt faster with a K&N, but that was almost certainly a psychological effect brought about by the lovely noise. If anything it should have been slower, as it was sucking in warmer air from around the manifold area. One plus was that the cleaning kit was significantly cheaper than buying new paper filters at £10 a go. Also it looked pretty smart.

[Cavcraft]

Aftermarket air filters, K&N Pipecross etc.

 

Are they worth the money or are they a waste of time.

 

 

I found they're ok with an aftermarket (exhaust) system, definately noticing an improvement mid-range at least on 1990's Vauxhalls. On X-flow Fords I seem to recall pancake filters just made them sound a bit nicer and sup a little more fuel, with no noticeable difference in performance.

[dollywobbler]

I've got no air filter experience myself, but have spoken to many experts on the subject. General consensus is that they're good for sounding good, but make little or no difference on their own. Match a good filter up to a sports exhaust and you can get a few more BHP as well as a fruitier noise.

 

However, sometimes fitting a cone filter can give you less power as it can often end up sucking in warm air from around the engine (especially on something like an MGF). So, you'll need a cold air feed to feel any benefit.

[Spiny Norman]

My understanding of these things is that any decent brand of new air filter will provide the engine with all the clean air it could ever need, so unless you like the daft sucky noises a K&N makes, what's the benefit unless there are other mods to make the car burn more fuel/air mix?

I never keep cars long enough to benefit from any financial gains from being able to clean a £30 air filter rather than buying a new one for a fiver.

[willswitchengage]

They're probably not worth the financial outlay unless you ebay one for cheap.

 

As they will fundamentally require the engine to do less work in sucking air into it, yes they will bring benefits in efficiency and therefore power), although you probably won't notice the difference. If you look at it from the not having to buy an air filter every year perspective, yes they're good value for money.

[pompei]

A few years ago, the tuning mags were all saying you could get loads more horses by drilling holes in your airbox to let more air in. I suspect that was all hogswash but did anyone here try it?

[CreepingJesus]

Dunno about it on cars, but the bike mags went mental drilling airboxes a while back. Some even had dyno sheets to prove gains. Sounded like hogwash to me; bloke with Black + Decker vs many hours computer modelling the airflow? Nah, pull the other one...

 

Anyhoo, any good reason why copied CD's give up in weeks, while 'genuine' ones dont? I've used many brands of CD'S and writers, and they're only used for work,but I'm fed up constantly replacing them. Any ideas?

[TimothyClaypole]

I binned some discs the other week back from when they cost £7.00 each for a blank one and my writer cost £1500.00

 

Most of them were still readable - maybe 1996 or thereabouts.

[Cavcraft]

Besides cherry is there any other 'alternative' fule that cannot be legally used?

I recall reading you can lob paraffin and used engine oil into diesel and they'll run on it (mixed with proper diesel of course) but I also recall watching some DOUGHNUT* on Roadwars getting into bother with the coppers for using old engine oil as fuel, but he might have been in a van which have different rules I think. So can I use old engine oil in my car as fuel?

 

*He might have been a valve, or even a nugget.

[Morgan84]

That was a old Passat estate they pulled over - remember seeing that

[wackywacerwill]

Well, it takes the rosy tint off the cherry I've (a mate at the pub who) run a fair few oil changes through various derv engines and can confirm they loved it, not sure on the legality though Probably not great for the environment though neither is pouring it down the drain. These days most of my old oil is used for free underseal or chain lube for the bikes.