November 2001
Can anyone out there tell me why bus drivers don't always use these?
There is a stretch in Bristol approaching the Centre which is usually empty while the bus I am on sits in a traffic jam in the adjoining lane.
And I drove across central London on Sunday evening, following a bus which was studiously avoiding the empty bus lane to our left.
I have no objection per se to bus lanes because I am a bus user (and pedestrian) as well as a driver. And I know that some of the rush hour bus lanes are used for parking outside peak hours.
But if it's empty, and the traffic is moving slowly alongside the bus lane, why don't the bus drivers use them? Read more
Anybody know if it's worthwhile importing a used 4x4 from Cyprus?
I was looking at some secondhand Discoveries and Troopers today and when I checked some of the documents, the cars had come from Limassol. So at least it's worth the Dealers time and money. Any advice would be appreciated Read more
I have had a bit of experience with 2nd hand jap imports to new zealand and while some may be fine, you need to delve a bit deeper than you normally might when checking them over. They are notorious for clocking their 2nd hand exports to what they think you want, had 1000's of cars imported with 45-50000km on the clock, yeh right...turns out to be quite an industry winding back speedos.
And because they ditch them at a young age they tend to ignore services, oil changes etc.
I had a few good ones, but their were plenty of dogs around, good looking but dogs none the less....good luck
Hi all
One, maybe two of the hydraulic tappets on my VW are very noisy for a very long time when starting from cold. The noise disappears when the temperature needle is at 12 o'clock, but it seems to take far too long to quieten down.
The car is a 1.3 Polo that has had 5000 mile/6 month semi-synth oil changes for the last 50k.
I don't mind living with it if it's harmless, but will a persistently noisy tappet do any damage?
Rob Fleming Read more
Rob,
I had this problem on my 1987 Scirocco which had covered 94K miles.
Since I was doing a head gasket change I took all the lifters out and using a small syringe, I filled them with Carb Cleaner and left them overnight (each one in its own jam jar to limit the solvent evaporation and to keep them in numbered order).
No problems now with noisy tappets at start-up, although it's only covered 2k miles since this was done.
Colin
(Martyn, this is so "off-topic" that I wouldn't blame you, I just wouldn't know where else to put such a query..........)
However, SWMBO and I fancy a non-work related, relaxing break in England in the March/April time frame. Don't want to stay in hotels, don't want big cities, don't want restaurants. Do want walks, pubs, corner shops etc. etc.
Anybody fancy swapping houses for two weeks or so ( perhaps three) ?
Large ( 7 en-suite bedrooms, games room, English speaking satellite TV, etc. etc.) house in Rio de Janeiro, with maids, driver & cars at your disposal. Not far from the beach, about 10 minutes walk. etc. etc. Actually, just outside Rio, about 15 mins drive from Copocabana/Ipanema. I'll give full details if you're interested. Very safe & guarded gated-community. Pretty good place to be with kids - could be a cheap holiday. (holiday cost of living is about half of the UK, perhaps less).
Anything out of city, two bedroom plus with a decent local pub would be interesting for us. It really doesn't matter where, since Adriana doesn't know the UK at all, so she thinks its all interesting. (I know, but she'll learn !)
No bills involved, i.e. you don't pay my electricity/telephone, I don't pay yours.
Weather here at that time is hot (30's) , but subject to rain. When it rains, its normally warm rain and doesn't last long. Most of the time is hot and sunny.
You'd find life easier with Portuguese, or perhaps Spanish, but it doesn't really matter, since you'll find the locals pretty accomodating. Also, one of the maids speaks English (more or less).
Only possible negative is that if I can't make alternative arrangements, you might get stuck walking two retrievers each day.
Serious question, so save the Lada jokes. Also, more specific conversations are better in e-mail than here - confidentiality and all that.
Martyn - thanks for your tolerance, unless you deleted this in which case - raspberry noise.
M.
p.s. if you're interested, don't let the price of flights put you off. Its a long flight, but very cheap deals are available at that time of year - other friends have flown for 250 quid each, and the driver will collect you from the airport.
p.p.s. If you don't live in the UK, but you live somewhere in Asia I might like to go, I could be interested. Read more
Your threads are more mature or....
Careful.
David
Why do people buy them and why are they the last to switch thier lights on. Read more
I agree, wholehaertedly. Whats wrong with manufacturers fitting auto lights as standard. It surely can't cost that much? Then the plebs with the ' doh... I can see' attitude wouldn't be able to plead insanity.
I'm sick of reading about Ladas in every single thread. For cryin out loud, can somebody please change the CD (modern day record)?
I dont mind reading about them now and again, but when every thread is turning into a 'Ladas are really good' brainwashing session it gets a bit monotonous.
Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas Ladas
right thats it. enough about Ladas.
end of.
btw, i've copied and pasted this from another thread but thought it needed more 'presence' so started a new one.
I dont want this to turn into another CW/LAC slagging match, just sick of hearing about Ladas. LAC, some of the stuff you say is quite interesting and/or amusing, just stop going on about Ladas! I love my astra but i dont go on about it all day everyday. If you want to talk about Ladas, start a new thread, just dont try to turn every other thread into a thread about Ladas.
Cheers, hope I dont upset anyone or start world thread war 2. Read more
Enthusiasts are OK - zealots can be a pain in the rear end. We just need to strike a balance.
Just think how much inane twaddle I could generate about the Citroen C15 van!
Ian
On my way down the M1 the other day, I saw a large motorhome towing a baby Fiat with the sort of A-frame arrangement that leaves the car's 4 wheels on the ground. The lights were rigged badly so that whenever either indicator was used, both indicators and both brakelights came on in the Fiat. That aside, I wondered about the provenance of such a car when time came to sell it. It would have had more wear on tyres, wheel bearings and shocks than on the engine. Good thing or bad, I don't know. Would a buyer believe the engine had 20K on it when the odo said 60K?
If a car with an electronic odometer was towed like this, would it still read with the ignition off? Read more
David
In 2 words, thank you.
My daughter's Pug 106 had a clutch failure last week due to the operating lever between the cable and the clutch housing breaking across a large hole which is built into the design of the lever for no apparent purpose. It can't be for weight saving because the gain would be about a quarter of an ounce!
Apparently this is a known fault and the solution is to weld a small plate across the hole to strengthen it, preferably before it fractures.
I don't know whether other makes/models have similar daft design, but it might be worth checking and strenghtening where in doubt. Read more
Andrew,
Yes it is possible to change this part in situ, but that serrated roll pin can be very tight!
Consequential damage caused to the radiator etc is also a distict possibility!
David
I certainly do not want to offend David W by this post (maybe he can comment on the situ with Xantias - David?!). I hadn't noticed this before but my mum needed the wheels balancing on her Xsara Coupe plus alloys. The garage who normally service the car (non Citroen) apologised and said they were unable to do it because there is no central hole on the wheels on this car and apparently I believe on one of the other French manufacturers cars (Renault or Peugeot, which one escapes me). What this basically means is that these cheeky buggers are trying to force people to go to a Citroen garage to have tyres fitted at what can only be described as extortionate prices (we spent 55% less than Citroen quoted).
We won in the end as we found a local outfit with the right adaptor to get the wheels onto the balancing machine - this adaptor incidentally costs 700 quid according to said garage and few places have them.
There is no reason for these manufacturers to do things like this other than mindless penny pinching. I didn't speak to my mum for 2 weeks after buying the car in the first place, she's been barred from future French purchases altogether now! Read more
Renaults had no centre hole years ago,because none was necessary......Well.....I lie..there was a little one for the nut that retained the small,simple hubcap,brilliant,on 12s and16s,I believe.
Nothing has changed.
As I recall,when Citroens were the best designed cars in the world,before they became PSAs bargain line,they had a hole in the middle,over which went a nut.
Just the one nut,because one was,and still is,enough.One of the many stupid conventions in car design we appear to be stuck with is heavy steel wheels kept on with 4 or more irritating nuts all covered by a fantastically expensive and ugly lump of plastic.
If the brakes were in the right place(Dont get me going on that one!)all that would be needed is a simple light alloy wheel kept on by one largish central nut,self tightening,of course.
Yes! you're right! just like a lotus elan or MGA twincam.But I do not subscribe to the view that things were necessarily better in the past just because they were in the past.I just get very pissed off with a motor trade that refuses to learn any lessons from the past.The one I dont want you to get me going on is inboard disc brakes.Not to use them is wilful stupidity.
i have just seen on a website a guy who rallies ladas on moscow ice rink, its a massive rink about 5 miles in diameter, every year he wins first prize, beating the mercedes and land rovers drivers. Read more
the dome is staying, but everything else is going, and guess what, its going to be yet another school and cinema complex. how many cinemas does this country need???
Browse
Why can we not have car lanes anyway? For cars wanting to go somewhere? Wouldn't this be a good idea? Cut pollution, everyone knows a car running stationary is pointless, or am I being silly?
Kev