I'll get round to it at some point - Bratislava and Back: Things not to do in a mk2 Clio

[Rust Collector]

5 minutes ago, rob88h said:

I did tell you I was getting 19mpg right?

I'm telling myself it'll be fine, it'll be mostly motorway where I will definitely* get the book figure of 36mpg 🤣

[Rust Collector]

Oh, and @wesacosa I haven't forgotten the check strap you were after, I just didn't shift the XM doors out of my Disco until Sunday. I probably won't have a chance to remove it until I'm back from holiday now, but I'll chuck it in the post to you once removed. Feel free to remind me at the start of August 😅

[rob88h]

To be fair I can’t think of many nicer ways to travel. It’s just one big Radio 4 tuned lounge [edit] Palace on wheels. 
And yes, my 3 mile commute was not the 3UZ-FE’s forte. Have you seen the sticker on the door that’s says if you tow with it you may need to use a tachograph?

 

[wesacosa]

5 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

Oh, and @wesacosa I haven't forgotten the check strap you were after, I just didn't shift the XM doors out of my Disco until Sunday. I probably won't have a chance to remove it until I'm back from holiday now, but I'll chuck it in the post to you once removed. Feel free to remind me at the start of August 😅

ah ok cheers mate, no worries.  If its still in the door they can be a bit of a pain to get out past the door bar if you still have the electric window motor in .   XM looks nice, hopefully see it back on the road soon. They really are lovely cars.  

[Rust Collector]

31 minutes ago, rob88h said:

To be fair I can’t think of many nicer ways to travel. It’s just one big Radio 4 tuned lounge on wheels. 
And yes, my 3 mile commute was not the 3UZ-FE’s forte. Have you seen the sticker on the door that’s says if you tow with it you may need to use a tachograph?

 

I hadn't seen that but it's brilliant 🤣

[AnnoyingPentium]

44 minutes ago, Rust Collector said:

I'm telling my wife it'll be fine...

FTFY.

[Rust Collector]

I think that phrase has lost all meaning to her now 😅

[Rust Collector]

Some last minute pre-holiday prep for the Lexus today.

locate and ‘install’ Bluetooth adapter cassette - check

Buy and fit first aid kit - check

Test fit luggage to find out if 4 cases and a buggy will fit in the boot with space to spare for tools - check

Fuck around with the keys to make one good one - check

Bribe partner with McDonald’s in order to get her to begrudgingly admit that she likes the car - check

I’ve just finished packing the car, just a few bits left to do tomorrow and we are off on Friday morning.

Will the air suspension make it round Europe? Will the 13 year old cambelt chunk itself with spectacular results? Will I ever financially recover from the fuel bill? There’s only one way to find out!

[grogee]

What a great thread! Happy travels. Was sorely tempted by the LS but I've already had a gold luxobarge so it needed to be a different colour. 

[wesacosa]

there more buttons on that arm rest than most of my cars put together

Good luck with your adventure 

[High Jetter]

That last image is pornographic! How many buttons on that arm rest????? Have a good trip, European breakdown cover ticked off the list?

[Rust Collector]

3 hours ago, grogee said:

What a great thread! Happy travels. Was sorely tempted by the LS but I've already had a gold luxobarge so it needed to be a different colour. 

Thanks mate! I've fallen behind a bit on the thread lately as it's hard enough to find time to do the work on the cars these days let alone type everything up, but I do enjoy sharing my capers so should really try and keep up to date.

JRG definitely isn't my favourite colour, but it's one up on resale silver for me. The more I see it the more I get accustomed to it, possibly like some kind of paint colour Stockholm syndrome.

2 hours ago, wesacosa said:

there more buttons on that arm rest than most of my cars put together

Good luck with your adventure 

I'm a bit gutted I'm doing all the driving, as I'd gladly sit in the back, recline the seat and have the massage function on for most of the trip!

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

That last image is pornographic! How many buttons on that arm rest????? Have a good trip, European breakdown cover ticked off the list?

I haven't ever paid for European breakdown cover as it always comes to about £300 for my trip, but it's in the back of my mind that my luck could run out at some point 😬

[Dyslexic Viking]

11 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

13 year old cambelt

 

1 hour ago, Rust Collector said:

I haven't ever paid for European breakdown cover

You are braver than me.

Hope you will share a bit about the trip here as it is always interesting.

[Spottedlaurel]

3 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

I haven't ever paid for European breakdown cover as it always comes to about £300 for my trip, but it's in the back of my mind that my luck could run out at some point 😬

Go to the Lexus UK website and look for their roadside assistance - proper job with AA plus Europe, they'll do it for £155. Yes, I checked with your reg.

Miss SL's BF has just taken it for the same price on his LS400 for their France trip, which starts tomorrow. He's mechanically adept and taking tools too, but he saw sense in taking it out at that price.

Would be great if I was also taking my LS to France very soon, but I'll be slumming it in the RX and in any case would there be enough fuel for three of them roaming around the Continent?....

[Rust Collector]

3 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Go to the Lexus UK website and look for their roadside assistance - proper job with AA plus Europe, they'll do it for £155. Yes, I checked with your reg.

Miss SL's BF has just taken it for the same price on his LS400 for their France trip, which starts tomorrow. He's mechanically adept and taking tools too, but he saw sense in taking it out at that price.

Would be great if I was also taking my LS to France very soon, but I'll be slumming it in the RX and in any case would there be enough fuel for three of them roaming around the Continent?....

I was having pangs of doubt earlier and I'm about 99% sure I'll go with the RAC at this point as I can use my clubcard points on them and they'll cover me on any car - I know they're shit for the UK but their European cover looks ok. I'm also travelling tomorrow, will have to look out for other LS's and hope I get to all the fuel stations first 😅

[Rust Collector]

Dover has been reached in Lexus wafty comfort.

I have purchased European cover for the first time ever, fingers crossed I don’t need it but the Lexus is a complicated beast so I thought better safe than sorry.

I’m amazed by how much luggage the boot swallowed in the end. It’s got 2 large cases, 2 small cases, a stroller, a small tent, a pop up playpen, all the tools I take on trips, a load of miscellaneous child/partner stuff in bags. It was like a game of Tetris getting it in there, but it went. All that’s in the cabin is food and kit that we need quick access too. The double glovebox is a nice touch too, all the important documents have been locked in the small one and the bigger one has been filled with make up and a fire extinguisher.

I really hope the car proves itself to be reliable, as I really love it as a family car.

[Rust Collector]

Post loading partner approval:

We’ve now made it on to foreign turf, time to buy all the flavours of crisps that we don’t get back at home!

[High Jetter]

Careful, someone might put you in the parking thread 🤣

[Rust Collector]

We stopped at Givet for a picnic, we knew nothing about the town but it looked nice so thought we’d have our break there.

Theres a citadel on the hill which appears to be the main attraction along with the river.

I only twigged it was bastille day when I noticed all the shops were shut…

It was a pretty town at any rate. And I saw some chod which was a bonus.

Back on the road and the Lexus has been happy sat on cruise control for miles and miles (kilometres and kilometres?). We’re just having a breather so that my son can crawl around and play with some toys. Picnic blanket at a rest stop under the shade of a tree, watched over by the LS.

Once we get back on the road it should be about an hour and a half to the hotel in Strasbourg. I can’t wait to open a beer and lie down!

[Rust Collector]

6 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Careful, someone might put you in the parking thread 🤣

That one was the result of not making my mind up between parking out the front or driving round the corner… the result: weaving across the forecourt before straddling the lines of 2 bays 😅

[Rust Collector]

There’s been a lack of updates here as my phone shit its battery out due to the heat in Italy plus cheap Chinese replacement that doesn’t appear to have thermal protection… it only works when plugged in now and will probably explode soon, not good!

The Lexus made Strasbourg successfully, then on to Italy with a stop in Lucerne on the way.

No photo of the car in Strasbourg sadly due to last minute hotel shenanigans, so here’s one of me and my son. The part of the city we stayed in was beautiful.

Note the work shoes - in my confusion in the morning we left I put the wrong ones on and left my trainers at home.

No scenic car pics in Lucerne sadly as we parked underground

This was nice though

There was a shoe shop right outside the carpark so the trainer situation was resolved promptly and I was a happier man.

We had lunch on an old steam ship and the only photo I took was this one:

Back on the road, and we took a detour from the motorway as there had obviously been a crash but Google maps was optimistically saying we were still on the fastest route despite the mountain pass being empty.

My partner has all the decent pics and she’s out shopping currently so I’ll have a photo dump later, here’s some I do have where we stopped at a canyon/waterfall/train bridge thing. My phone portrays the scale badly, it was huge.

Italy was fucking boiling, and the Lexus was a bit bloated for the apartment car park but luckily I didn’t need to drive much.

We did go up to the mountains to visit some caves, and from where we parked I spotted the yard of an Italian car hoarder.

I’m in love with the 500 estate.

My mrs saw a building atop the mountain and wanted to visit it, so we drove up there to find it was an abandoned discotech that overlooks the town below.

I didn’t get to do much chod photographing because family, but there was loads of old stuff around. The part of Italy we were in wasn’t really embracing moderns at all. Here’s a Panda that I did photograph on a brief break from family.

After a 13 hour drive yesterday we are now in Slovakia. I’ll update more about the journey as there was an exciting* fault developing which I will have to fix before we come home and I have more photos too.

Overall the Lexus has been a lovely thing to cover miles in and so far I’m glad I took it on this journey.

[Rust Collector]

I should add that I don’t think the fuel consumption has been too ruinous.

With lots of cruise control action and looking ahead to avoid braking, I reckon we’re over the 30mpg mark which I reckon is alright for a fully laden house with a 4.3 V8 petrol lump cruising along at 80mph.

[rob88h]

I hope whatever the SL EUX fault is isn’t too devastating… Even though you’ve smashed the mileage compared to my tenure I still feel a responsibility for it. I’m a pathological people pleaser when selling cars sometimes. 🤦‍♂️

[Rust Collector]

3 hours ago, rob88h said:

I hope whatever the SL EUX fault is isn’t too devastating… Even though you’ve smashed the mileage compared to my tenure I still feel a responsibility for it. I’m a pathological people pleaser when selling cars sometimes. 🤦‍♂️

It's nothing awful mate, and it's nothing you would've known from your short ownership of the car so don't stress 😅 You're not responsible for me deciding to take it on a round Europe trip without anything more than a cursory glance at the fluids 🤣

I would've posted about it sooner but it was brake related and started just before we got to strasbourg far enough away from a place I could investigate and fix it comfortably that I thought it might cause a stir if I mentioned that I was driving a fair distance on an educated guess that I'd get to where I needed to be safely.

At any rate, I've been out this evening and checked what was causing loud noises and unnerving vibrations under braking and at slow speeds - the pads on the passenger side rear are down to the metal. The brakes were alright up until I got cut up on a motorway near strasbourg and stood on the brakes. There was a loud clunk and then the car was shaking like a shitting dog whilst making a very loud grinding - it still stopped fine but from that point on the grinding and vibration stayed. I have a working theory that the back pads were low and the braking effort applied when some wanker swerved in front of me made the remaining friction material decide to jettison.

I've driven carefully and given myself plenty of space at all times, and I've gotten to Slovakia without disaster.

Now we are here, I've given a tame mechanic a shout and I should have parts on Tuesday, and I'll replace the rear discs and pads before we drive home. A couple of local friends gave volunteered help as well if needed, but the carrier bolts and retaining pins etc. all released happily enough when I checked them earlier and so I'm happy that I should get it done without too much grief.

It's all good fun!

[rob88h]

Glad you’re all ok and it’s pretty easily sorted. It’s not so simple as to do a quick visual check behind those big alloys, so for all the brakes I ran on faith. I didn’t even know where if the car has a Jack or locking wheel nuts in my time 🤦‍♂️.

Hope it continues to treat you well and gives you the right amount of fun 👍

[mk2_craig]

9 hours ago, Rust Collector said:

I spotted the yard of an Italian car hoarder.

With white Uno content. Insert Princess Di-related observations here. 

[Rust Collector]

Lake Balaton today, and we too the C3 Picasso of shame. However, I've ordered the discs and pads from the local motor factor's and they'll be here tomorrow. €76 all in which is suspiciously cheap, but my partner assures me the chap said 2 rear discs and a set of pads. I guess we will find out if that's the case in the morning!

[Rust Collector]

Unbelievably, the parts were correct and the price was right. If you're ever in Bratislava and stuck for car parts then I can thoroughly recommend Premos auto factors in nearby Pezinok. They were really helpful (unusual for my partner to describe fellow Slovaks as friendly!) and the shop is just stacked with parts and consumables. 

To keep the cosmic balance in order, the replacement process was a cunt of a job as one piston didn't want to return home and one caliper bolt on the other side decided it wanted to take some ally thread with it. It also pissed down with rain, just whilst I was working.

I was ready to throw in the towel when a neighbour arrived home and asked if I wanted help. I jokingly said only if you fancy helping remove a seized bolt and and pushing in a jammed piston. Luckily he didn't understand and so he was happy to join in. Even more luckily, he was a compulsive tool and parts hoarder too, and he opened his garage to reveal a hefty arsenal of stuff. we managed to free off the caliper bolt with some penetrating fluid and patience, revealing it took some of the hub with it. I chased the bolt threads with a hack saw in a vice, then he took over with a screwdriver and a hammer worthy of a communist sculpture and proceeded to chisel out all the foreign material in the threads. He even tapped some warped threads back into shape, which was way over my 'fuck it' threshold. I chased the threads on the hub using a good bolt. I'm glad the chap was so picky about making good the old bolt as it did go home reassuringly.

For the stuck piston, we tried everything. I broke all the clamps I bought earlier, the pry bar didn't seem effective, and everything that the neighbour and I cobbled together (a crude screw press, some kind of scissor lever made from spanners and a circular tool) didn't work. In the end, I decided to give up, and then in frustration I put the old disc back on, packed out the gap in the caliper with the old pads, jammed the pry bar in one last time and gave it the old fat cunt heave. Unbelievably, the piston decided to go home. Problem solved*.

So to Andrej, a man who was a stranger until today, I give my eternal thanks and a couple of cases of beer. What a legend.

I'll put some pics up once I can steal my partner's phone for a bit tomorrow, but the old pads were all toast. It drives beautifully now and I can fully enjoy the car again.

As if the day couldn't get any better, a rather pretty lady and her mum turned up as I was packing away and stopped for a chat. They were coming back from a dog walk and so I got to cudle a chocolate lab and some sort of hound. The triple bonus was that I left the front door open, and the lab ran inside the apartment to the delight of my partner/frustration of my mother in law. I was absolutely buckled over laughing as I could hear the commotion coming from inside.

Back to the car then. I'm happy that it's ready to drive home this weekend which is good. Once home, I'll replace the caliper bolts as suggested by lexus,  look at refurbish the caliper, and look at doing the fronts and changing out the fluid. I should probably do the cam belt too! 😅

[Rust Collector]

Pictures as promised, think these had all their use and then some 😅

The worst offender:

The discs:

It’s difficult to photograph, but the completely worn pad has taken an impressive amount of material off the disc:

This material is now dispersed colourfully around the affected corner:

Either way, we have shiny newness on both rear corners now:

Happy days!

the C3 Picasso can hopefully be put away now.

Last year we did a repair to the IMA system on the Insight, this year we’re doing rear brakes on the Lexus… I wonder what we’ll be doing on next year’s holiday? 🤣

[mercedade]

Fantastic work, and hats off to Andrej.

Next time you stamp on the brakes, that piston might* jam again, so avoid the emergency stops (this happened to my Saab, new caliper time in the end)