lesapandre Posted June 20 Author Share Posted June 20 Still-life with Peugeots CaptainBoom, puddlethumper, motorpunk and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 20 Author Share Posted June 20 Quel désastre! W124 has sprung a comically bad fuel leak! It's got an undertray so I don't think this is damage - corrosion or a dried out union - or maybe the pump. Lacquer Peel, Saabnut, Scruffy Bodger and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 21 Author Share Posted June 21 It's squirting out when the fuel pump fires. As usual lots of advice on the web. I'll need to get it on ramps and have a good look. So that's it for this car for a bit. My hunch is a union has failed - but who knows. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mercedes+W123+Fuel+Lines+(Rear)+Replacement/33386 I could have it recovered and looked at by a local garage (it's too dangerous to drive though it runs fine) but it will be €€€'s. So no I will come back for it with some kit after doing more research. New one on me - never had a fuel line leak on anything - but the car is 32. I thought I could smell ⛽️ over a few days. Should have bought the XM 😄 Rust Collector, Saabnut, Dyslexic Viking and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 21 Author Share Posted June 21 My attempt to buy a 2nd hand car at the local garage came to nothing - all the cheap cars had gone - was a nice AX I fancied. Something will turn up - or I will have to get the train home - if there are any. Better the 124 breaks down here than in Lithuania or in Spain - both of which were (are) on the agenda. It's pretty minor but fiddley - struck me it might be rodent damage. The philosopher Montaigne says we have a better time when things go wrong not right - at least some of the time... 🐁🐀🐁🐀🐁🐀🐁🐀🐁🐀🐁🐀🐁🐀🐁🐀🐁🐈⬛ motorpunk, nomiST, mk2_craig and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorpunk Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 paulplom, Lacquer Peel, artdjones and 5 others 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 Ce matin je va a la garage dans le bomb surprise... Gotta get something that works or get it fixed. Anyway I'll have a nice lunch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 10 hours ago, motorpunk said: I'll look and see what Montaigne says about buying 2nd hand cars - some wise words probably🤺 motorpunk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Pastry Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 7 hours ago, lesapandre said: Ce matin je va a la garage dans le bomb surprise... Er, Montaigne would say, Je vais au garage dans la bombe surprise... lesapandre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 I have French 0-Level Grade C - could do better... I realised France was a cool place when our French teacher (who was French) used to smoke whilst teaching us...zut alors. But no smoking aux bomb surprise ce matin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Pastry Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 15 minutes ago, lesapandre said: I have French 0-Level Grade C - could do better... Soz, I wasn't having a go, I got to A level and learnt nothing, then spoke it a bit in real life and learnt a lot, so stuff like that sort of jumps out. Of course it's far better to speak bad French than expect them to speak English - why should they? I hope you can get the motor sorted without too much bother. lesapandre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 Au garage...they are going to look at it...nice man. This is nothing I can tackle at the roadside - the undertray needs detaching etc. No offence taken - I sometimes mangle my French... In the meantime I put the car in a ditch - they have deep 'fosses' each side of the lanes and getting by passing cars can be dicey. Still some good ol boys pulled me out with a tractor. BeEP, mk2_craig, Asimo and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 Good lunch - but these ditches are lethal. Epic car wrecks at the garage - lethal country lanes here... loserone 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2_craig Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 I trust you have bought the LN, cleaned the screen briefly and chucked some french pez in the tank. It’s even the same* colour as the Merc! Lacquer Peel and lesapandre 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 I am driving one of these temporarily. Just had the brakes seen to - these are discs on the front. Sticking calipers. 2.0 petrol engine and 50€ fill-up. 😊 Bit different...very slow and rattly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 Asimo, mat_the_cat, BeEP and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairnet Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 le tow bar le a frame ? repatriate merc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 It's now at the garage awaiting it's turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Jetter Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 8 hours ago, lesapandre said: It's now at the garage awaiting it's turn. Nominated for a shite award. No, no clue which one. Just, mega. lesapandre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 23 Author Share Posted June 23 Well it's the fuel pump. The Benz stood for a decade and I only use it a few times a year - so the poor old fuel pump has had enough. Expensive but better it packs up in a nice French village than out on the Autoroute or a Spanish mountain or on the Baltic coast somewhere. Probably a week or 2 to get it fixed by the time the parts have come. Nice plaque at the garage - they are Citroen dealership. RobT, Lacquer Peel, Asimo and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Biding my time in France. May get the Benz back Wednesday...🤞 Rust Collector, motorpunk, RobT and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorpunk Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 Am thoroughly enjoying your posts. Thanks for sharing. lesapandre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Collector Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 @lesapandre I keep meaning to ask, have you noticed if there is a large disparity in fuel costs between the motorway services and fuel stations in the towns you've passed through? lesapandre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 I've not used any Autoroutes this trip to offset the increased fuel cost a bit - to avoid the tolls. The Autoroutes are usually very pricey - any country/town garage too. E Leclerc supermarkets are consistently the cheapest - I think they have an app - so I would locate the stations on a map or the app and plot your journeys/fills that way. Their hypermarches make a good pit-stop often with cafes etc. There are some fuel price apps for France too - but I'm not impressed with their accuracy. French TV news reckons car use in France is down 30% - it's certainly quiet. Rust Collector and Remspoor 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Collector Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Cheers, I have to admit when I was over earlier this year I didn't even pay attention to the fuel prices on the Autoroutes as I was just trying to cross the country as quickly as possible. I think it was about 1.70-1.80 per litre, and the thought of looking for cheaper fuel on the back roads didn't cross my mind. Thanks for the tip about E Leclerc, I'll have a look for the app and plan some pit stops. I can taste the croque monsieur and fresh orange juice now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 Yes fuel is in the 2.20€ region now. So its worth plotting a route for the cheaper. Either that or have your vehicles ftp...😆... I'm currently waiting for the local bus - one each-way each day... My hols often turn into Trains, Planes and Automobiles... Rust Collector 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobT Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 I've been over twice recently and Total pez prices didn't seem too ruinous, relatively speaking. That was in Normandy. Tried to keep off the supermarket stuff as the Xedos seems a bit fussy as to what it drinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 It is raining 🌧 in N. France today - and car parts take just as long or longer to arrive as in the UK...so I am finishing my roadtip gloomily on Friday on...Eurostar. The Benz is continuing it's holiday alone at a French garage until I come back to collect it. Remspoor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted June 29 Author Share Posted June 29 Montaigne of course has wise words for every eventually. "When I was young I veiled my playful passions behind wisdom: now I am old I disperse my gloomy ones by excess" "My travels only hurt me by their expense, which is considerable and exceeds my resources...I have to make my journeys shorter and less frequent spending only the froth of my savings." 1592 Sunny Jim, Saabnut, RobT and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted July 1 Author Share Posted July 1 Heading for the exit...hoping to retain the froth of my savings...my other car is le train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesapandre Posted July 1 Author Share Posted July 1 Not before spotting this beauty. 2.5 diesel and manual. Barry Cade, CaptainBoom, RobT and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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