The grumpy thread

[mk2_craig]

Somehow fell asleep on the train in the 9 minutes it took between Birmingham New St and the airport. Only woke up as it was moving off. Missed the next train in the opposite direction from the next station by about 3 seconds.

Bastaad!

[High Jetter]

Snooze...looze? Is that what it means?

[mk2_craig]

 

BACK ON TRACK

[Metal Guru]

9 hours ago, Nyphur said:

 

https://www.forestryengland.uk/article/hamsterley-forest-anpr-faqs

Q: How does the system work?
Upon entry to the site, the system records your number plate. When you’re ready to leave, enter your number plate into one of the machines and it will tell you how much you owe based on how long you’ve been on site. Your number plate will be recognised on exit and the system will know you have paid.

Funnily enough , on a short casual visit, I neglected to access the website and read the FAQs. I knew I’d be less than an hour (and 20 minutes) , so thought it would let me pay for it there and then.

After my initial attempt , while inside my free 20 minutes, any further attempt to pay when leaving as per the instruction , was met with “you have already paid”. I was trying to pay FFS, the machine wasn’t having it.

Stop telling me how it works, I get it, but it wasn’t working properly .

[Remspoor]

Need to move the Westminster because the tree in the ground up the hill from where it is parked needs to be felled. Fucking thing will not go into gear. Enough fluid in master cylinder. Slave cylinder worked. So it looks like the clutch or bearing has gone. I have no time to drop the gear box to have a look.  Looks like I may have to some how push it at nearly 2 tonne possible binding brakes it ain't going to be easy. 😠

[High Jetter]

Will it go into gear with engine off? Is so, try starting it in gear, might shock the clutch free.

[Rust Collector]

If it goes into gear with the engine off as @High Jetter suggested then even if it doesn't free the clutch off you can at least bump it along on the starter to somewhere out the way of the tree.

[Mr Pastry]

^^All of the above.  Warm the engine up first, then start in gear, and if possible drive it around a bit, and it will probably free off.

[juular]

An alternative is to raise the driving axle off the ground, then accelerate up to say 30mph on the speedo, then press the clutch and press hard on the brake.  This worked for us recently in freeing a seized clutch.

[cobblers]

6 minutes ago, juular said:

An alternative is to raise the driving axle off the ground, then accelerate up to say 30mph on the speedo, then press the clutch and press hard on the brake.  This worked for us recently in freeing a seized clutch.

Be sure to film it so that if it goes wrong you'll get a £250 cheque off Lisa Riley to repair next doors fence

[Remspoor]

8 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Will it go into gear with engine off? Is so, try starting it in gear, might shock the clutch free.

 

8 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

If it goes into gear with the engine off as @High Jetter suggested then even if it doesn't free the clutch off you can at least bump it along on the starter to somewhere out the way of the tree.

 

8 hours ago, Mr Pastry said:

^^All of the above.  Warm the engine up first, then start in gear, and if possible drive it around a bit, and it will probably free off.

 

6 hours ago, juular said:

An alternative is to raise the driving axle off the ground, then accelerate up to say 30mph on the speedo, then press the clutch and press hard on the brake.  This worked for us recently in freeing a seized clutch.

Thank you to all the above suggestions. I will try them.  I will film it. But I will not show it shooting off across the road and down a steep hill.

The thrust bearing is carbon So i am also wondering if that has disintegrated with humidity an lack of use. Tomorrow morning it is going to rain so it will be work for the PM Friday is three tree fellers day.

 

[Mally]

Is the pedal heavy to press?

If so all is probably well with the thrust bearing. As said plate has grown into pressure plate and flywheel.

I've started them up in second gear, with clutch pedal down before today, and shot off down the road.

Keep your foot on the clutch and bang the brake pedal hard a few times.

Beware Nuns and Kittens, and put it in neutral as a last resort.

I never ever said or did this of course.

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Mally said:

 

I never ever said or did this of course.

Well you should have! Not uncommon in the 70s & 80s. Also see towing and pushing with a fork, truck, or basically anything available.

[Metal Guru]

9 hours ago, cobblers said:

Be sure to film it so that if it goes wrong you'll get a £250 cheque off Lisa Riley to repair next doors fence

I assume you mean You've been Framed? Lisa Riley was presenting it 20 years ago. Harry Hill had been doing it ( voice over) since 2004.

[RoverFolkUs]

51 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

I assume you mean You've been Framed? Lisa Riley was presenting it 20 years ago. Harry Hill had been doing it ( voice over) since 2004.

Failing that, judge rinder, cat's needed antidepressants ever since it witnessed the event etc etc 😁

[Metal Guru]

Driving back from my mother's house this pm, 100 miles , mix of fast A roads and motorway. Rain all the way , not particularly heavy , but standing water everywhere, especially on new or recently resurfaced sections.
Do we  not have roads with cambers anymore so water drains away? FFS the Romans managed that.

 

[beko1987]

7 hours ago, Metal Guru said:

Driving back from my mother's house this pm, 100 miles , mix of fast A roads and motorway. Rain all the way , not particularly heavy , but standing water everywhere, especially on new or recently resurfaced sections.
Do we  not have roads with cambers anymore so water drains away? FFS the Romans managed that.

 

M40 was very flooded on Tuesday across Lane 3 and 2 by High Wycombe. 

All our local roads are flooding because the leaves are blocking the drains. I kicked a puddle free the other day and drained a huge corner by work

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, beko1987 said:

M40 was very flooded on Tuesday across Lane 3 and 2 by High Wycombe. 

All our local roads are flooding because the leaves are blocking the drains. I kicked a puddle free the other day and drained a huge corner by work

Well drain cleaning is another matter (could also go in the “things you don’t see anymore “ thread). I think I’ve seen the gutter sweeping lorry about once a year round our town, for just a day, so most of the roads probably get cleaned about every 3 years.

[beko1987]

8 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

Well drain cleaning is another matter (could also go in the “things you don’t see anymore “ thread). I think I’ve seen the gutter sweeping lorry about once a year round our town, for just a day, so most of the roads probably get cleaned about every 3 years.

I take my son out for a walk and let him do it for half an hour! He loves doing it and it's free local fun.

Our local litter picking group tend to sort the drains as we find them which is handy, but the nowhere ones in the dirt parts of my estate tend to get full of mud alot

[Pieman]

16 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

Well drain cleaning is another matter (could also go in the “things you don’t see anymore “ thread). I think I’ve seen the gutter sweeping lorry about once a year round our town, for just a day, so most of the roads probably get cleaned about every 3 years.

Gutter cleaning lorry does come round here occasionally, but can never clean most of the roads because of endless parked cars.

[gm]

i am more than a little pissed off at mx5parts (where i have been a customer for 15+ years)

i spotted a brake disc / pad deal on ebay 

reading the description i noticed 

so i emailed to query the price - fair enough they admitted it was a mistake and corrected it straight away - at £104.95 it’s still a good deal so i placed an order 

this is the updated description 

so i quite reasonably expected ebc ultimax pads to arrive

not this shite

i’ve emailed to complain and request a swap, i note they have amended the description again 

i’d expect this sort of thing from europarts but mx5parts have always been very reliable if slightly pricey 

[cobblers]

2 hours ago, gm said:

so i quite reasonably expected ebc ultimax pads to arrive

not this shite

I have ended up with EBC ultimax pads on a couple of vehicles and they are absolutely dogshit so I wouldn't get too upset.

[gm]

I've used ultimax pads in the past and they've been ok, not quite up to brembo standard but better than the cheapo rubbish they sent me - they're swapping them over but that will take time and the car is currently undriveable as I completely wrecked the pads last week on track  

although that was a lot of fun  

 

[Lankytim]

Ordered a used brake caliper for the Laguna from eBay. It turned up today and the box was absolutely battered to death, the seller had wrapped the caliper in cling film and put it in a thin cardboard box without any other packaging materials. The caliper had had a good go at battering it’s way out of the fluid soaked box and it’s sheer luck it didn’t escape in transit. The caliper itself has signs of being dropped onto concrete floors etc and is covered in scrapes. It’s not even the same caliper from the advert although it should still do the trick. I paid a little extra on this specific item as it looked pretty new in the images but the one I’ve got is pretty rusty and used. 
 

Obv I won’t communicate any of this to the seller and will probably leave pristine feedback. 

[horriblemercedes]

1 hour ago, gm said:

I've used ultimax pads in the past and they've been ok, not quite up to brembo standard but better than the cheapo rubbish they sent me - they're swapping them over but that will take time and the car is currently undriveable as I completely wrecked the pads last week on track  

although that was a lot of fun  

 

I tried all sorts of pads on my MX-5 (it was an NC, however) and I never found one that was as good as Stoptech

 

I hadn't heard of them before, but they were outstanding. Great on road or track, never faded and lasted ages. 100% recommended. They were a bit of a pain to get, but I think Co-OrdSport managed to get them for me

[barefoot]

1 hour ago, Lankytim said:

Obv I won’t communicate any of this to the seller and will probably leave pristine feedback. 

You should post him a box containing nothing but a glass of used gearbox oil marked 'this way up'.

[hairnet]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:01 PM, mk2_craig said:

 

BACK ON TRACK

how on earth do you fall asleep in birmingham

at all?

*blown

[mk2_craig]

Alcoholic beverages and bellyful of food.

[MikeR]

Southport ,

went in today and had a nosey around a shop and then walked back out , into the path of a pavement cyclist who was rolling his joint .

needless to say he dropped his joint all over the pavement , legs and arms all over the place , I reversed back into the shop door way as he tumbled past saying "sorry sorry mate !! )

went back in this evening to a chocalate shop do and on the way back home ,this  guy , spliff in hand , walks off the pavement right in front of us !!!

thank good the wife was high on her G&T who she would of got out and  murdered him as the boot was full of xmas choccies !

[New POD]

50 minutes ago, MikeR said:

Southport .

 

That, my friend was your first mistake