The grumpy thread

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 minute ago, junkyarddog said:

....I fucking hate driving other drivers nowadays.

EFA

[junkyarddog]

1 minute ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

EFA

No,I hate driving now.

[wuvvum]

The Scénic failed its MOT today.  Not unexpectedly, although it needs both rear springs replacing and I'd only spotted that one was broken.  I'd already ordered one replacement spring so I went on eBay and ordered another.

Then this evening I went out in the car and the wipers have decided to play up.  The passenger side wiper will occasionally do half a sweep and then stop, but the driver's side won't move at all.  Apparently this is a reasonably common issue with them, but new wiper motors are £££ - 150 quid for a secondhand one which may or may not last, and there are two of them - and I really don't want to spend any more money on the car.  At least they had the courtesy to wait until after the MOT test to start playing up - if I can get it in for a partial retest on a dry day it should still pass, but a car with non-functioning wipers is of limited use at this time of year.

Then I got home to a message from the eBay seller I'd bought the spring from - I'd sent him my reg and he came back saying the spring I've ordered is the wrong one and the one I want is more expensive.  Which is fair enough, but he'd already sent me one of the springs I ordered, I provided my reg last time as well and he sent it anyway.  So I now have to fork out for two more expensive springs, and try and get refunds on the two I've ordered and a return label for the one he's already sent.  And then hope that the correct ones arrive by next weekend so I can get them fitted in time to just need a partial retest.

TL; DR: Why are moderns so needlessly complicated, and why are so many eBay sellers these days completely f***ing useless?

[twosmoke300]

What’s the betting the correct springs are about the same price as they would be from the local factors 

[wuvvum]

I dunno, my local factors is f***ing expensive if you're not trade.

[GMcD]

After months of hassle with Hisense. Telly had a motherboard replacement yesterday to rectify some issues with Bluetooth audio stuttering/ screen flickering.

Fired up this morning.  This circle of doom has been on the screen for the last hour.  Another repair beckons. My F1 couch morning and afternoon is gubbed. 

[vulgalour]

On 11/19/2021 at 2:20 PM, vulgalour said:

I have spent days doing this stupid euro torch conversion on the welder.  I had the option of fitting an OEM replacement torch or getting the arguably better euro torch upgrade.  I'm well out of my comfort zone with this one, but I've soldiered on with it, as you do, in the vain hope I'll learn something.  I've learned my welder doesn't work properly now and I've no idea what's actually wrong with it.  I can get the wire feed to run nice and smoothly right up until I actually do any welding and then it goes all to pot and makes copper bird nests inside the case.

Do I chance getting a new wire feed at £100-150, or do I splurge on a new welder which I can't sensibly afford right now?  Either way I've got to fix it otherwise the car won't go through the MoT given it has no outer arch on one corner at the moment.

 

As suggested numerously, the bird nest problem was down to the end of the brass guide tube being too far away from the rollers.  Once I forced the tube into the correct place, distance-wise, it went very well.  That is, until it bird nested inside the boss that the torch screws into because the guide tube is now too short at that end because I'd trimmed it to fit.  A new brass guide tube will fix that and I'm hoping the kit supplier can furnish me with a fresh one.

I have been able to use the welder for a bit of welding and I have to say that the euro torch conversion doesn't feel like an upgrade.  The welder doesn't feel like it works any better than it did before (bird nesting aside) and I don't find the euro torch any more comfortable or practical.  The switch on the trigger feels too small and too far back so doesn't fall easily to hand. The cable is so much heavier that it feels quite cumbersome. The rigid end of the cable that screws into the boss at the welder end sticks out so far that I have to remove the torch to shut the garage door too, though that's more an issue with my lack of storage than the kit to be fair.

I do wish I'd just bought the OEM torch, even though it's more expensive and arguably not as good.  Fact is, I could have had the welding finished by now if I'd gone OEM rather than a week+ of stress from this conversion.  Too late now, I'll have to make do with what I've ended up with.  For now I've cleaned up and zinc primered what I can and slapped some gaffer tape on to keep the worst of the weather out.  When the new tube arrives (providing that's easy to replace, of course) I'll crack on and finish the job.  Then I'll probably just buy a new welder.  I'll pass this one on to someone in need providing I can get it working properly, it should be good enough to get someone going and if they have more patience with this sort of project they might even be able to make a really nice machine out of it.

[iainrcz]

So this unreliable heap has struck again*

 

 

* I may be exaggerating.

[Crackers]

Bollocks and double bollocks. 

The 14-day sweat starts now. Passed a Piggy Bank on the A27 with 70+VAT dialled up on the speedo. 

Not sure if the  camera van was aimed at mine or the opposite carriageway, but it was in the central reservation so could have been either or both. Bit gutted that I didn't spot it earlier as I'm usually pretty hot on them. 

Oh well, if I didn't get the speed down quick enough, then fair enough, bang to rights I suppose. If it's a speed awareness course then a bit of dented pride, if it's points and a fine, then fuck. 

[High Jetter]

How accurate is your speedo though? My phone app shows mine is at least 10% under-reading

[Crackers]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

How accurate is your speedo though? My phone app shows mine is at least 10% under-reading

It over-reads by a good margin, I reckon my real speed was somewhere between 76 and 83. I didn't really see what speed I was doing until I had backed off, so it's a bit of a lucky dip as to what comes through the door in the next 2 weeks. 

[fairkens]

Fingers crossed, one thing I've discovered is that it's never too late to brake. Dodged a couple that I thought were inevitable by getting the brakes on

[Zelandeth]

The M1 is apparently closed for roadworks between J13 and 15.

Nice of them to put up any advance signage on the diversion route to expect delays during the closure.  Which of course I discovered approximately 30 seconds after the last exit on the A5 before hitting the queue which I was then stuck in for about 40 minutes.

Two sodding portable variable message signs on there which today were advising diverted traffic to use the right lane which have been there for at least the last week - and when I last went past there on Friday were saying "Think, wear your seatbelt!" which they had for as long as I remember seeing them.  I could be wrong, but maybe something like "M1 Diverted 20-22 Nov EXPECT DELAYS" would have been more helpful for locals...

Got stuck in exactly the same queue yesterday, and just assumed (as is usually the case when the A5 goes to hell) it was there because of an accident on the M1...Was only when I got stuck in it for a second time that it occurred to me to actually look.

[mintwth]

20 hours ago, iainrcz said:

So this unreliable heap has struck again*

 

 

* I may be exaggerating.

Common fault with those frameless mirrors. The framed BRZ version doesn't do it. 

[iainrcz]

I've regooped it with high temp adhesive from work. And now the cunt won't push back in to the mount on the windscreen..

[MikeR]

the rear exhaust hanger on a mk1 focus ...  the twist to fit one ,,

shite init ...

found out today far from home , what the speed bump induced boooiinnngg was the other week , despite a looking over the suspension at the time .

old coat hanger brought out of retirement again  , thats right under the boot lid on the marks from last time ...

[Talbot]

20 hours ago, Crackers said:

ot sure if the  camera van was aimed at mine or the opposite carriageway, but it was in the central reservation so could have been either or both.

99% of the time they are aimed out of the back of the van.  Which way was it pointing?

[captain_70s]

RIP.

0 surviving examples in the UK now. 

[junkyarddog]

I genuinely wish that sport could be banned on H&S grounds.

Fed up with neanderthal meatheads smashing up classics.

[High Jetter]

I thought that 30 years ago. OK, maybe more than that.

[Skut]

Sadly after posting to the grin thread recently I’m afraid it’s the grumpy thread today. Relationship of 7 years has ended. And I have two young children sleeping downstairs who have  no idea their world will never be the same again. 

[New POD]

Wifes car was parked around the corner from our mid week home, and overnight on Friday a young woman reversed into it and kindly left a note.

Father of said woman is desperate not to go through insurance, and despite my reservations we went to visit a local body shop who will be replacing bumper and lights and providing a courtesy car.   I'll be grumpy until it's fixed.  Why ?

Wife will using my car until then. 

[Crackers]

13 hours ago, Talbot said:

99% of the time they are aimed out of the back of the van.  Which way was it pointing?

Lens towards me out the back, hence thinking it was aimed at me. But when I passed it, I did look more like the lens was pointing further towards the oncoming traffic, on my right. 

It was where that sign is sitting in the central reservation. 

[Talbot]

6 minutes ago, Crackers said:

when I passed it, I did look more like the lens was pointing further towards the oncoming traffic,

Scamera vans almost always point at oncoming traffic.  That way they get video of the vehicle getting "pinged" for speed at a good distance away, then as the car gets closer, they get the registration clearly visible.  They can then use a sucession of stills from the video to show the speed capture (often at up to 1km away), the registration of the vehicle, and then a good image of the driver.

Ask me how I know.

[Angrydicky]

I've been done by a scamera van down your way a few years ago, then on a recent trip to Amberley, thought I'd been done again. 30mph sign, slowed down, round a bend to be faced with a long downward hill with a scamera van about halfway down. I bet they catch loads of people there. I wasn't sure if I was over when I saw it and braked, fortunately the 14 days went by without a letter. The first occasion I got done was similar, slowing down from NSL, past the 30 sign, round a bend and there it was, 34 in a 30. Bastards. I rarely see them up here, so I guess Sussex (and Hampshire) police must really work them hard.

[Talbot]

4 minutes ago, Angrydicky said:

34 in a 30.

You were unlucky with that one.  ACPO guidelines state that prosecution of any sort should start at limit +10%+2mph.  That means in a 30 limit, prosecution should be for 35mph and above (that's a real 35, not a speedometer 35).  34mph, despite being an absolute offence, should be ignored if the guidelines are being followed.

A letter to the scamera team asking them why they are blatantly ignoring not following ACPO guidelines might have seen that quietly dropped.

[reb]

I'm very lucky in that there's no fixed speed cameras on my commute and nowhere they ever put scamera vans. Not that I ever exceed the speed limit of course...

[Crackers]

2 hours ago, Talbot said:

Scamera vans almost always point at oncoming traffic. 

Indeedy. The only thing I was saying, was that it's location could feasibly have covered either or both traffic directions depending on which angle the lens was pointed through the window. 

I went down there again yesterday morning (at bang-on 70, of course) and made sure to have a good look at the location. Had I not been following another vehicle then I should have seen it a good half-mile off, but I only clocked it with about 200 yards to go. 

1 hour ago, Angrydicky said:

Sussex (and Hampshire) police must really work them hard

They do. They're out all over the county on a regular basis, on the main roads. Annoyingly they're orange vans, not police-liveried, so you've got to actually look for them. Which, on Saturday morning, I wasn't doing. Twat. 

[Fumbler]

9 minutes ago, Crackers said:

They're out all over the county on a regular basis, on the main roads. Annoyingly they're orange vans, not police-liveried, so you've got to actually look for them. Which, on Saturday morning, I wasn't doing. Twat. 

Strange- I thought vans like that had to be liveried up or at least high visibility. Bit of a twat move IMO, but if they can clock you 1km away, I suppose it needn't matter.

[Crackers]

1 minute ago, Fumbler said:

Strange- I thought vans like that had to be liveried up or at least high visibility. Bit of a twat move IMO, but if they can clock you 1km away, I suppose it needn't matter.

They're bright orange, with hi-vis wasp stripes up the back. Probably more distinctive than a Police van, but since we're all so accustomed to the sight of a police livery on Piggy Bank vans, the orange vans don't give you the immediate "Oh shit police van BRAAAAAAAKE" response. 

Not that you would ever* be going fast enough to need that response, obviously.