The grumpy thread

[SierraMikeHotel]

went for a trip in the Focus today
felt like it had a lumpy tickover
it was the dog panting in the back

My dog has this fault as well. She *hates* travelling.

[Sir Chocolate Teapot]

Hot bothered and pissed off

Today here in Italy I have finally after almost 4 months and 5/6   160km round trips managed to import my UK reg motorbike here in Italy and get the new Italian reg number and the libretto (vehicle reg document)

And then they tell me I must now go to a different office building dept to get the certificato di proprietà ( owners docs) plus register the bike with local town. And pay for the priveledge.

I go straight there, it is a hot day 34 degrees c, 2 kids in the car and they tell me I must pre-book a visit with them, i.e. not today !!

 

Another round trip of 160 Kms next week

I love the burocracy here in Italy !

 

[myglaren]

Just had a call from mech prepping for MOT.

Needs new discs and a caliper, not unexpected, but the steering rack is shot too, going to be around £600.

I'd replace the car but looking for cars is such a pain and son needs it for a holiday in Wales in a couple of weeks.

?

[kirton]

WTF

I want a new brake master cylinder for my BMW e28, NLA from BMW so I try the USA where there are many e28's

just got this from a parts retailer

We regrettably aren’t able to ship to the UK due to new privacy regulations enacted in the EU, which you will find with many American vendors. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience because I absolutely understand. Have they got the wrong end of the stick?  This if true will is very bad news for a lot of car owners now to try some others

[loserone]

There's a lot of US companies just scared by the idea of the GDPR, with no just cause.  Sadly it's "easier" to lose some business than engage brain.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

28 minutes ago, kirton said:

WTF

I want a new brake master cylinder for my BMW e28, NLA from BMW so I try the USA where there are many e28's

just got this from a parts retailer

We regrettably aren’t able to ship to the UK due to new privacy regulations enacted in the EU, which you will find with many American vendors. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience because I absolutely understand. Have they got the wrong end of the stick?  This if true will is very bad news for a lot of car owners now to try some others

If you have friends outside of the EU who are willing to take a delivery, maybe the part could be forwarded on to you that way?

[Asimo]

37 minutes ago, kirton said:

WTF

I want a new brake master cylinder for my BMW e28, NLA from BMW so I try the USA where there are many e28's

just got this from a parts retailer

We regrettably aren’t able to ship to the UK due to new privacy regulations enacted in the EU, which you will find with many American vendors. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience because I absolutely understand. Have they got the wrong end of the stick?  This if true will is very bad news for a lot of car owners now to try some others

Amazon.com still ships to UK

[95 quid Peugeot]

On 7/22/2019 at 12:47 PM, Tadhg Tiogar said:

The weird thing about Stoke is that I've only been there twice, and each time I ended up bringing a car home....

Exactly the same as me.  Chrisjvm citroen and saab

[MorrisItalSLX]

I preordered a book back in early March (for an April release) through Amazon and I just received an email saying the book I ordered is no longer available.

What woeful service. I have never used Amazon before and I certainly will not be using them again.

I went into town afterwards and bought it straight off the shelf at the local book shop. So much for preordering to get it ASAP.

[lesapandre]

[myglaren]

2 hours ago, MorrisItalSLX said:

I preordered a book back in early March (for an April release) through Amazon and I just received an email saying the book I ordered is no longer available.

What woeful service. I have never used Amazon before and I certainly will not be using them again.

I went into town afterwards and bought it straight off the shelf at the local book shop. So much for preordering to get it ASAP.

Unusual.  All my orders and pre-orders turn up early - except the LP I ordered for my granddaughter's birthday.  That took three weeks.

The camera I ordered recently was set to take five weeks, delivered in five days.

[kirton]

3 hours ago, Asimo said:

Amazon.com still ships to UK

I got quite excited on this as it is half the price, or less, than the ones I have found, but unfortunately it may fit an e30 but probably noy many e28s which have 23.81mm bore cylinders (15/16ths to those like me brought up using proper measurements which ATE must have been using). 

I have been looking for a european source which would avoid high shipping costs, VAT and customs duty, but only second hand so far.

You might say - rebuild it, but kits aren't available for the later e28 master cylinders and I've seen a post that says they not rebuildable due to the way they are put together, and right hand drive and left hand drive are different. 

So it's nearly £250 and a repetition from Mrs K - "I've  told you many times that you should have sold it"

[tooSavvy]

So it's nearly £250 and a repetition from Mrs K - "I've  told you many times that you should have sold it"

 

Ha! Remind her[in Back to the Future mode] that newer/more complex cars could have been bought but 'low cost/high liability' would have had a lot more £250 /nls repairs required

[New POD]

4 hours ago, 95 quid Peugeot said:

Exactly the same as me.  Chrisjvm citroen and saab

Ah but for visitors Stoke ( as people think it) is really just lots of smaller towns.  Longton, (proper shit hole), kidsgrove, (acceptable) , Newcastle,  (Parts are quite middle class), Burslem, (There's nothing to be said, apart from run run run), Tunstall (not the best), Stoke,(can't say too much). Theres probably a few more ive missed. 

There's a few suburbs that are quite nice.  I'm working near Trentham Gardens and staying tonight in a hotel in Clayton. Both are quite reasonable places. 

No offence to any one that lives there, but the loss of ceramics and coal and other manufacturing industry must have hit it hard.  There's lots of warehouses on great field sites. 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

27 minutes ago, New POD said:

....for visitors Stoke ( as people think it) is really just lots of smaller towns.  Longton, (proper shit hole), kidsgrove, (acceptable) , Newcastle,  (Parts are quite middle class), Burslem, (There's nothing to be said, apart from run run run), Tunstall (not the best), Stoke,(can't say too much). There's probably a few more i've missed...... 

I ended up in Werrington (for the Ro80), and Mow Cop (for the CX). Mow Cop has some brilliant views but God Almighty the state of the road surfaces are shite.

[Floatylight]

 

 

 

 

[I_am_Diesel]

2 hours ago, kirton said:

I got quite excited on this as it is half the price, or less, than the ones I have found, but unfortunately it may fit an e30 but probably noy many e28s which have 23.81mm bore cylinders (15/16ths to those like me brought up using proper measurements which ATE must have been using). 

I have been looking for a european source which would avoid high shipping costs, VAT and customs duty, but only second hand so far.

You might say - rebuild it, but kits aren't available for the later e28 master cylinders and I've seen a post that says they not rebuildable due to the way they are put together, and right hand drive and left hand drive are different. 

So it's nearly £250 and a repetition from Mrs K - "I've  told you many times that you should have sold it"

Long shot, but have you tried Past Parts in Bury St Edmunds?

[artdjones]

7 hours ago, kirton said:

WTF

I want a new brake master cylinder for my BMW e28, NLA from BMW so I try the USA where there are many e28's

just got this from a parts retailer

We regrettably aren’t able to ship to the UK due to new privacy regulations enacted in the EU, which you will find with many American vendors. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience because I absolutely understand. Have they got the wrong end of the stick?  This if true will is very bad news for a lot of car owners now to try some others

Try the Autodoc app,put 41727 into the search box.It's €162 on the app.

Also,try eBay.de item no.153496859741

[Cavcraft]

Hard to know what you're moaning about, tbh. I once put a bay leaf in a curry, and it repossessed all the carrots.

[kirton]

Thanks to rdtjones looks like I have plenty of choice on ebay.de and at a reasonable price; now for a quick course in German via Google translate. Some of the prices are crazy, 999 Euro for a thermostat I'm sure they don't have in stock, why do they play that game?

[DVee8]

RTA at the road junction we are camping next to. Air ambulance landed on the site. A motorbike overtook a freelander as the freelander turned right at the junction. Biker died at the seen police are still here 5 hours later.

[wuvvum]

3 hours ago, I_am_Diesel said:

Long shot, but have you tried Past Parts in Bury St Edmunds?

Angrydicky works there - he should be able to tell you one way or t'other.

[SiC]

1 hour ago, kirton said:

Thanks to rdtjones looks like I have plenty of choice on ebay.de and at a reasonable price; now for a quick course in German via Google translate. Some of the prices are crazy, 999 Euro for a thermostat I'm sure they don't have in stock, why do they play that game?

Because it costs to list on eBay. If you're out of stock, you set the price really high so no one bids but you don't have to delete the listing. 

[adw1977]

5 hours ago, New POD said:

Ah but for visitors Stoke ( as people think it) is really just lots of smaller towns.  Longton, (proper shit hole), kidsgrove, (acceptable) , Newcastle,  (Parts are quite middle class), Burslem, (There's nothing to be said, apart from run run run), Tunstall (not the best), Stoke,(can't say too much). Theres probably a few more ive missed. 

Newcastle (under Lyme) is not part of Stoke, it's a separate town and borough.  Kidsgrove is also part of Newcastle borough. 

[Zelandeth]

Nope nope nope nope nope...

The Temperature gauge should not be this far off the stop before the engine has even been started!

Not surprised...this was in the shade.

Only going to get worse tomorrow...hiding in the AC I reckon will be the only task for tomorrow.

[taxi paul]

Had to go down to bordesley green in Birmingham today. Needed a cv joint for the jap bus and a nice man down there had them in stock.  It's a lovely * place , well it might be. But both there and back on the m6 I may have had to go into the first lane and undertake ,sort of safely . Actual knobheads in lane three and four doing 65 mph with clear spaces in lanes one and two to pull into. I think if you made it ten lanes wide . The outer two would be full of people doing 65 whilst the others go faster. 

[Rovorsche]

On 7/22/2019 at 12:47 PM, Stanky said:

Yo Rovorsche, what engine does the mower have? That carb doesn't look familar but the symptoms sound like the issues you get with Briggs and Stratton 148cc engines when the carb diaphragm stretches, which they all do after about 3-4 years. To begin with the primer bulb works, but the diaphragm won't maintain vacuum so new petrol isn't sucked in during running - hence it runs for whats been squeezed in by the priming bulb then conks out when they is used up. if you can get a photo of the engine i can give more info, but its almost certainly not terminal.

It looks like this, at the moment, not a single hammer mark, boot imprint or fire damage.

 

The actual carb looks like this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mouchao-Carburetor-799583-Stratton-Lawnmower/dp/B07SLL495H/ref=sr_1_23?keywords=briggs+carburetor+799583

The one I ordered hasnt turned up and I cannot see the one I ordered but there are legions of Chinese clones for this part.
I fear my one will never arrive.

 

I could not see anywhere for a diaphragm to exist in this setup.

 

 

[New POD]

7 hours ago, adw1977 said:

Newcastle (under Lyme) is not part of Stoke, it's a separate town and borough.  Kidsgrove is also part of Newcastle borough. 

Yeah? But as most people just drive past on the M6 they see them as all the same place. 

 

[New POD]

6 hours ago, taxi paul said:

Had to go down to bordesley green in Birmingham today. Needed a cv joint for the jap bus and a nice man down there had them in stock.  It's a lovely * place , well it might be. But both there and back on the m6 I may have had to go into the first lane and undertake ,sort of safely . Actual knobheads in lane three and four doing 65 mph with clear spaces in lanes one and two to pull into. I think if you made it ten lanes wide . The outer two would be full of people doing 65 whilst the others go faster. 

Not used the motorways recently? 

I have a regular 10 year experience of junction 15 to junction 21A and i will tell you that the 4 lanes have made it better.  As you say the trick is to only leave lane 1 if you have to.  Undertaking may be frowned upon, but it's impossible* not to. 

The other trick is to have an alternative. 

M54, A41 M56 is slow but predictable. 

A50, through Holmes Chapel and Knutsford is too close to M6 and therefore gridlocked if there's a problem. 

[Lord Sterling]

6 hours ago, taxi paul said:

Had to go down to bordesley green in Birmingham today. Needed a cv joint for the jap bus and a nice man down there had them in stock.  It's a lovely * place , well it might be. But both there and back on the m6 I may have had to go into the first lane and undertake ,sort of safely . Actual knobheads in lane three and four doing 65 mph with clear spaces in lanes one and two to pull into. I think if you made it ten lanes wide . The outer two would be full of people doing 65 whilst the others go faster. 

Its the same anywhere. I travel regularly to Gloucestershire from Worcestershire on the M5. Loads of middle-lane knob heads just cruising along with nothing around them. Same when I went to London on the M40. People are just turn off thinking about driving and think of something else so their concentration isn't on thier driving apart from what directly in front of them.