The grumpy thread

[madrat]

I think 99% of parking spaces are just too small for cars now.

[danthecapriman]

This times a million!

Feel like I've been in hibernation for months now. Love being outside as much as possible and it's just getting beyond a joke being wet and cold all the fucking time.

It snowed here earlier. It's spring FFS

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Same. I love being outdoors even if it is just playing around with the cars or something but you just can’t get out when it’s like this.

It can get a right pain though after a while. Damp cold weather makes my back ache like a bastard and that’s not helped by being stuck indoors for days on end sat around. It’s been aching quite badly for the last week or so as it is.

[bramz7]

 

Oh crap. Ride height adjuster siezed? We went to Reading services and the arse was on the ground. Put it into high and it went up fine, good. Rear end then stayed at high. Great.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Same. I love being outdoors even if it is just playing around with the cars or something but you just can’t get out when it’s like this.

It can get a right pain though after a while. Damp cold weather makes my back ache like a bastard and that’s not helped by being stuck indoors for days on end sat around. It’s been aching quite badly for the last week or so as it is.

It's always like this when I've to do a job on a car that can't be put off. Soaked through fitting the rebuilt calipers on her Qashqai yesterday, heavy snow when I replaced the exhaust and brake lines on her old Felicia and proper soaked to the boxers torrential rain when I changed a front spring on her brother's vivaro a couple of years ago.

 

Yet when it's dry ill happily spend all day doing wee jobs that really don't need done at all

 

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[omegod]

Better than seized down, ride will rattle yer fillings out 

[bramz7]

It bounced my brains out instead.

[Fat_Pirate]

Fuck this weather.  Managed to bash my head on the tailgate of the Mini (was trying to work on it under the garage door to evade ENDLESS RAIN), got a cut about 6 inches long on my scalp.  It didn't bleed for long and I feel OK but Mrs thinks I should endure 4-6 hours of A&E waiting room to be sure, which would fully ruin my holiday weekend.  

[Jazoli]

Here's a moan.

 

I was out in Plymouth with Lady Grumpius this afternoon and we parked in a nice little slanted bay, just in front of Plymouth Hoe (next to the old lido entrance) to eat our pasties.  The bay was narrow, so I parked about 6 inches from the car next to me - not needing to get out.  About 5 minutes later, some Giffer in a Skoda Yeti tries to get into the bay next to me and makes a song and dance of it, blocking me in because of the size of the bay and the angle of his car.

 

I get out (and very politely) pointed out that there was no way I could get out of the space, as he was blocking me in.  It was then I realised that I was right on the white line on the passenger side despite only leaving a couple of inches on the driver side because the bay was so fucking narrow!  Then a tourist has his camera phone out and is trying to take a picture of the size of the bay, with my partner in shot - so I tell them not to take any pictures and to put their camera away.  It's none of their business and taking photographs isn't on.

 

Anyway, the Giffer looks a bit confused.  We point out that we can move on if he lets us out by reversing.  He reverses about 2 feet and we have to point out that we still can't get out.  He insists we can, then we point out that his wheel arches are too wide and are, in fact, the part of his car than is blocking us.

 

He reverses into the road.  We get out of the space and park elsewhere in a sensible bay.

 

Partly my fault, not initially realising how narrow the spaces were.  Giffer's fault for not realising that the new Skoda Yeti he's bought is a much bigger car than he thinks.  Partly Plymouth Council's fault for not re-painting the spaces to be bigger for modern cars.  The biggest cretin here though is the fucking tourist that was going to start taking fucking pictures.  The Giffer was polite, just a bit thick.  The tourist was just fucking out of order.  Cunt.

 

It was probably one of the dickheads who frequent the pistonheads bad parking thread (yes there is one)

[GrumpiusMaximus]

It was probably one of the dickheads who frequent the pistonheads bad parking thread (yes there is one)

If they were (which I doubt, they definitely seemed like a tourist) they're a real fucker for actually taking the picture when I was there.  Arsehole.  My partner was in the passenger seat and she was lined up in the shot too - which I think is absolutely out of order.

 

I remember how I felt when a friend of mine sent me a link to a Facebook group (I'm not on Facebook) and there was a picture of me with a caption about how they'd seen 'Seth Rogan' having a fag outside M&S Food in Dartford.  I may have a passing reference but I felt utterly violated.  Fortunately said friend also got it taken down by Facebook.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Easter holiday project commenced...

 

Clear out considerably shaded area of garden, edge up and lay membrane, chip up the mount Everest of cut shrubbery and trees, create safe yet useful play area. 

Rain...rain and more rain. Chipping in the rain, soaked though... Keep going... Ground coverage is averaging a quarter per day... This is slow... Free* petrol chipper seems to be getting rough... Day three, eat this log... BANG! Stops, all oil pisses out the crankcase, metal is hitting... Operation halts. More rain, chipper in bits, rattled itself apart, inaccessible bolts fell out. Wrestle with blade to get it off crankshaft, 2 hours in the rain later and a lot of heat, blade off, back casing off, refit bolts with thread lock. Blade is bodged, welds have broke... Get welder out, grind weld grind weld... Rain, weld, clean, refit, more welding to busted metal seams... More rain, tool box has puddles in it, sockets sitting in 20mm of water... Put chipper back together, runs sweet as a nut, another day of chipping ahead, fuck it off, build a bird house.

Easter holiday project 80% complete. Fail. Can't wait to get back to work for a well earned rest.

[MarvinsMom]

This fucking weather is really beginning to piss me off now.

Since it snowed in Feb and earlier in March it’s been almost unbroken rain ever since. I think in the last month or so I can comfortably count on one hand how many dry days we’ve had. Fucking wet cold miserable little shit hole cuntry we got lumbered with!

 

This time last year it was nice, like an actual spring day. I remember taking the Volvo out after it got its first MOT in a few years and it was lovely out. This year it’s like the middle of winter still.

 

 

well you know there is a reason why britain is a green and pleasant land? it rains here, it rains here A LOT!

 

but the last few days/weeks/months are now starting to get on my wick..... i know its a bank holiday weekend, and the kids are on holidays but fuck me, its been wet every day.

 

surely that means that we are going to have hosepipe bans in August?

 

yes?

[dollywobbler]

Better than seized down, ride will rattle yer fillings out 

 

Sadly, they're rock hard when fully high or fully low.

[captain_70s]

Rain? It's fucking snowing again here...

[bramz7]

Sadly, they're rock hard when fully high or fully low.

I can 100% agree with this. Supposedly it might not be too tough a fix but given my luck with Citroens I'll leave it to the garage to sort.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Maybe the "tourist" was going to complain to the council about the small parking spaces?

 

Ben

Highly unlikely given the level of mirth he seemed to have for the whole situation...

[myglaren]

20180402_205849.jpg

 

Oh crap. Ride height adjuster siezed? We went to Reading services and the arse was on the ground. Put it into high and it went up fine, good. Rear end then stayed at high. Great.

I think you'll find that the link from the ARB to the height corrector is faulty - usually it is the 'dog bone' plastic link that pops out of it's socket, due to either corrosion and deformation of the socket or the accretion of crap forcing it out.

Sometimes a clean up will fix it but not always.

Mine did that and it was the clamp and arm on the ARB that had rusted and snapped.

Quick and cheap fix except for re-setting the ride height that can be a time-consuming fiddle.

 

Not to teach you the obvious but don't go under the Xantia without ramps or axle stands to securely support it - they can drop like a brick with no warning and squish you flat if you are under there.

[beko1987]

I think you'll find that the link from the ARB to the height corrector is faulty - usually it is the 'dog bone' plastic link that pops out of it's socket, due to either corrosion and deformation of the socket or the accretion of crap forcing it out.

Sometimes a clean up will fix it but not always.

Mine did that and it was the clamp and arm on the ARB that had rusted and snapped.

Quick and cheap fix except for re-setting the ride height that can be a time-consuming fiddle.

 

Not to teach you the obvious but don't go under the Xantia without ramps or axle stands to securely support it - they can drop like a brick with no warning and squish you flat if you are under there.

Yep, mine did this, it's great fun bouncing along the road isnt it!

 

My dogbone had popped off too as the corrector seized. The quick fix was to drown the whole lot in plusgas and hope, which worked for mine for a while until I could look at it properly.

 

I got the back end up on ramps, and undid all the rods and greased them. Then, with the engine on, and a can of spray grease manually moved the levers whilst spraying everywhere and eventually it did free off. Quite odd moving the lever 2mm and watching the car lower towards you!

 

I then put the rod back on incorrectly which caused it to sit lower at the back than it should. I had always meant to have the corrector fully off and properly strip it, as it didn't look like too bad a job, but never got round to it. If you do un-seize it temporarily, regular citrobatics will help, as will weight. Put some paving slabs in the boot for a while, it's why the front one rarely seizes, more weight over it.

 

Get the back brakes bled too. My Xant wasn't too bad, Chompy and Vulg had fettled the brakes before I think and they were full of fluid, by when I did my XM loads of air came out, then mud, then green fluid, then the rear behaved alot better (it's corrector used to stick too, but was fine after I laid under it at arms length and fired plusgas all over it). The rear of the system is a dead end so manky fluid doesn't help.

 

http://www.eastment.net/hcrefurb/index.htm

[beko1987]

Oh, and one of the internet bodges is to cable tie the dogbone back on... I never liked that idea as I would prefer it to just pop innocently off, rather than snap as it's fixed...

[artdjones]

That's a great guide by Jim Eastment but it's usually the linkage that the hydraulic valve is bolted to that siezes the worst.As Beko says, sometimes soaking it with release fluid will free it off,but long term it's better to take the whole linkage off soak it then work it back and forth until it's free and smooth all through its travel.It should stay ok permanently then as long as it is lubricated once a year.

[bramz7]

Oddly it rose fine this morning after eventually sinking back down over night.

[beko1987]

Quick, fire wd40 all over it!

[chaseracer]

Or, even better, a proper lubricant! 

[beko1987]

Depends how quickly you need to get up the road before doing a proper job in more clement weather!

 

Or make the mistake I'm sure we all do of forgetting the bodge then remembering in a few months when/if it does it again...

[Guest Hooli]

Some old boy in a Corsa C who looked about eleventy-hundred years old was driving along the A280 Long Furlong at under 20mph yesterday. Nice bit of jerky steering and lane drifting while doing so. Even the tractors that use the road were overtaking him.

 

Surely when you get to a certain age, can't manage a major A-road driving at a speed barely in double figures, and can't keep the car in your own lane it's time to hang the keys up, though fair play to the old soldier his Corsa didn't have any battle scars!

 

Ahh I remember that road well, one day a year when there is no mongs on it it's great fun.

[dozeydustman]

Ahh I remember that road well, one day a year when there is no mongs on it it's great fun.

 

 

It really is a pleasant road to barrel along when it's free of idiots, you don't need to get up to the 60mph limit to enjoy it as it's got some nice sweeping bends. Certainly better than going along the A27 through to Worthing and then join the A24 at the bottom end! There are some good driving roads around the South Downs area.

 

On a separate matter, West Sussex Highways have announced they're resurfacing the A27 as it's really badly potholed and in response to a local public campaign from what I have read in the local rags. The short stretch between Emsworth and Chichester is all they're doing. That's the least pockmarked bit of that road between Arundel and Hampshire! Grrrr.

[danthecapriman]

On a separate matter, West Sussex Highways have announced they're resurfacing the A27 as it's really badly potholed and in response to a local public campaign from what I have read in the local rags. The short stretch between Emsworth and Chichester is all they're doing. That's the least pockmarked bit of that road between Arundel and Hampshire! Grrrr.

I haven’t heard that until now but I’m glad they are doing it, even if it is just that stretch.

The A27 there is terrible. The tarmac top surface is just peeling off in sheets down to the original concrete surface beneath. Makes for an awful drive! It’s bad enough that I swerve around trying to drive around the holes. Anyone following me would think I was drink driving!

Apparently it was all down to the shitty contractors the council used to resurface the road a few years ago. I think they’ve gone bust now funnily enough.

 

The ideal solution to the A27 between Chichester and other side of Arundel would be to get rid of all the roundabouts, replacing them with motorway style slip roads and junctions. That gets rid of all the traffic problems at each roundabout. Then get rid of that stupid single carriageway section around Arundel, make it dual carriageway all the way to the existing dual carriageway near Poling. Job done! No more traffic and a lift for air quality locally and the economy (less idling queuing cars and slow traffic).

 

It won’t happen of course!

[purplebargeken]

I'm just going to apologize generally about the shitty wet weather.

 

I bought a floppytop didn't I. 

 

My bad. Soz.

[dozeydustman]

Here you go, Dan

 

https://www.chichester.co.uk/news/transport/full-a27-resurfacing-announced-after-125-potholes-found-1-8411764

 

I am aware the surface is terrible there, but the holes aren't as deep as those along the stretch from Chichester to Fontwell. Quite often see a car changing a wheel at either Tangmere garage or Fontwell petrol station because they've hit a pothole.

 

A27 has been truly awful of late because of the bridge replacement at one of the roundabouts. Doesn't even need slipways, the outside lane of both carriageways made into a flyover over the Stockbridge, Selsey and Bognor Road roundabouts would help a lot. A proper relief road along the coast running from Littlehampton to Bracklesham would take a lot of pressure off the '27 as well, and another one running between the A285 & A285

 

But that would upset the few old farts that live in Chichester, who would then oppose the change anyway. Because giffers.

 

Something for around Arundel is on the cards, though living nor far from Fontwell I naturally heard nothing about the public consultation until after it had closed 

 

http://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/a27-arundel-improvement/

 

Biggest problem with infrastructure in general in this country, not just the roads, is it was designed during Victorian times and is being used by a population which has almost quadrupled in size since!

[danthecapriman]

Here you go, Dan

 

https://www.chichester.co.uk/news/transport/full-a27-resurfacing-announced-after-125-potholes-found-1-8411764

 

I am aware the surface is terrible there, but the holes aren't as deep as those along the stretch from Chichester to Fontwell. Quite often see a car changing a wheel at either Tangmere garage or Fontwell petrol station because they've hit a pothole.

 

A27 has been truly awful of late because of the bridge replacement at one of the roundabouts. Doesn't even need slipways, the outside lane of both carriageways made into a flyover over the Stockbridge, Selsey and Bognor Road roundabouts would help a lot. A proper relief road along the coast running from Littlehampton to Bracklesham would take a lot of pressure off the '27 as well, and another one running between the A285 & A285

 

But that would upset the few old farts that live in Chichester, who would then oppose the change anyway. Because giffers.

 

Something for around Arundel is on the cards, though living nor far from Fontwell I naturally heard nothing about the public consultation until after it had closed 

 

http://roads.highways.gov.uk/projects/a27-arundel-improvement/

 

Biggest problem with infrastructure in general in this country, not just the roads, is it was designed during Victorian times and is being used by a population which has almost quadrupled in size since!

Agree massively with that last bit! We can’t keep expanding and leaving aging infrastructure to deal with things. Roads, schools, hospitals even drainage can’t cope anymore with double or triple the demand put on it.

 

I think the biggest pot hole on the 27 I’ve found so far was right outside Arundel train station on the bit just as you go up the hill. It might have been patched by now it’s bloody huge. I hit it in the van a while back and it certainly woke me up! If you hit it in a car it’s a damaged wheel. Hit it on a bike... not nice.

[dozeydustman]

I think the biggest pot hole on the 27 I’ve found so far was right outside Arundel train station on the bit just as you go up the hill. It might have been patched by now it’s bloody huge. I hit it in the van a while back and it certainly woke me up! If you hit it in a car it’s a damaged wheel. Hit it on a bike... not nice.

 

 

I know the one, they've been doing a little bit of work around there recently but I don't think they've filled it in yet. I cracked a wheel on the Saab there before Yuletide, still waiting for highways to get around to contacting me regarding refunding my cost of a new* alloy and tyre.