February 2002
My rear wheel drive car has become very "camber sensitive", ie lock needs to be applied to stop it moving down the camber of the road whether it's near side or off side, and particularly noticeable on the motorway. It doesn't "pull" to the side. Is this "tramlining", and does anyone know how I can reduce it?
Thanks, martin Read more
Nothing to do with motoring, as such you better read it quick before Martyn notices, but this really amused me this morning.
It comes as a result of George Bush and his statements about the three countries as an "Axis of Evil".
ANGERED BY SNUBBING, LIBYA, CHINA & SYRIA FORM AXIS OF JUST AS EVIL (Cuba, Sudan, Serbia Form Axis of Somewhat Evil; Other Nations Start own Clubs)
Beijing - Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be way eviler than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of in his State of the Union address.
Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil... in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil... we're the best."
Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.
"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So you can only have three. And a secret handshake. Ours is wicked cool."
THE AXIS PANDEMIC
International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as within minutes, France surrendered.
Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs. Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the Axis of Somewhat Evil, forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the Axis of Occasionally Evil, while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the Axis of Not So Much Evil Really As Just Generally Disagreeable.
With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda applied to be called the Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host the Olympics; Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Nasty Thoughts About America, while Spain, Scotland, and New Zealand established the Axis of Countries That Be Allowed to Ask Sheep to Wear Lipstick.
"That's not a threat, really, just something we like to do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.
While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axis, although he rejected the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay," accusing one of its members of filing a false application.
Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chadguay denied the charges.
Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately, world leaders said that's only because no one asked them. Read more
Mark,
Thank you - I haven't laughed so much in weeks!
Martin.
I am thinking of buying a 1.5 SE Almera, does anyone have any opinion on them. HJ says in his book that the only bad thing about them is the the British tax payer had to fork out for it to be built in the Uk.
Has anyone had the new model since launch about 18 months ago, I would really value your opinion.
With thanks,
Chris. Read more
The motoring equivalent of processed cheese on white sliced. Does the job but completely forgettable.
Based on a 72 hour hire in Ireland
I had a slow punture on one of my back tyre and i had it checked in KwitFit and they showed me a nail was in the inside of the tyre but they said its not worth fixing...i was wondering if he just wanted to rip me off and buy a tyre from them...btw it cost me £144 for one tyre (ouch) Read more
Paul
I had occasion to return a tyre to Dunlop for examination a few years ago when it showed signs of failure after about 1,000 miles.
The report was in my favour but I only got back, IIRC, about half the purchase price in spite of the minimal wear.
Regards
Brian
Whilst pumping up my tyres the other day, I noticed thatone of the fronts is badly worn whilst all the other 3 are still in very good condition. (The car is rear wheel drive).
I bought the car 2nd hand from a dealer and it has only covered 17k miles. I presume that this is a problem with the tracking (unless someone can tell me otherwise) and I have not hit any curbs/big potholes etc.....
Should I be able to return to the dealer and complain that the car was sold to me with incorrect traking (I bought the car 6 months ago and have done 6k miles myself)? Read more
I'm inclined to agree with Mike. But if my memory serves me correctly, with a rack and pinion system TOOT can be wrong if the track rods are different lengths
Any comments on the practicality of buying a Daihatsu Terios 4WD - any experience of driving / owning one (with the New Toyota-derived 1300 engine Sept 2000 onwards? Read more
Regarding 4 x 4 magazine I found the info mostly useless in last months they tested the Sante Fe and said it was Hyundais first four wheel drive ,in fact they have built hundreds of thousands including the Galloper and many vehicles for its parent company Mitsubishi.They had so many technical facts wrong that it made the whole magazine suspect
Don't get me wrong, I think identifying roads that are dangerous is a good thing, as there is obviously something wrong in the design to cause more than average crash numbers. But the A537 Macclesfield to Buxton is a windy road, loved by middle aged bikers, and it's they who are the majority of deaths on this particular road. Surely some roads are more popular because they are challenging to drive/ride?
Is this European name and shame idea one that the backroomers will endorse, as I have seen some quite vehement arguments on here against the EU in general?
www.eurorap.org/
Jonathan Read more
>>Only traffic going up the hill can use the centre lane. (I think this is the stretch your on about , near A350 turn off ?).
I think that's the one. If you take that turning and then turn left at the next junction it takes you down into OSM ?
Request for help and advice, Kreg Fiat Uno bought a few months ago 36000 miles and it would appear to be genuine. Recently the clutch appears to slip occaisionaly. I did have a leaking clutch cylinder replaced recently. Could the two be connected and what sort of ajob is replacing the clutch on one of these I would like to do it myself if it's not too difficult.
Thanks for any help previous advice has been much valued. Read more
Highly unlikely that fluid from leaking slave cylinder will have got to the clutch plate. If there does turn out to be oil on the plate, it will be from either the crankshaft rear oil seal or the gearbox nose seal, though given the mileage (if genuine) this is also unlikely.
Go under the car and remove the sheet metal blanking cover from the lower section of the clutch bellhousing ( three bolts ) If there is oil there you will find it. If not, consider clutch change before risk of scoring the drive plate.
Our 11 year old (91/H) BX 19 TGD estate is coming up to 114k miles and needs a major service, cambelt change etc. It's been maintained by the book since new and still does around 8k miles a year as a second car but with the capacity to fill in long distance as required. Only major problem is it ships water into the footwells, clean so probably from round the sceen or the scuttle.
If I carry on looking after it how much longer can it be expected to last?. What are the killers eg hidden structural rust that would make further repair uneconomic?.
Thanks in anticipation. Read more
If you can stop the leak it has years left in it yet. Have you checked that the wiring from car to door isn't fouling the door seals? Mine leaked this way in huge quantities. All I had to do was bend the wires the other way. Our local recycling centre/dump is a BX estate-fest at the weekend as everyone takes their hedge clippings, old washing machines etc. down there. They are the ideal second "shed" for carrying junk. As David M says, there is still a market for diesel estates, probably for this reason.
Keep yer knees dry.
Chris
how do I prevent the windscreen wipers leaving marks on the windscreen. do the blades need changing more frequently and if so how often? Read more
Hairline scratches probably caused by wiping the window with a cloth whilst also wearing a diamond ring on your finger - very easy to do if your ring just happens to glance across the surface. I've always wondered about the strength of the screen thereafter as this is the method used by glaziers to cut glass. I guess that the problem is worse on toughened windows.
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The Monterey (4x4 rebadged Isuzu Trooper) did exactly this at one point.
Towing a large caravan became very interesting...It set up a nasty yaw motion. (serves you right for towing, says HJ)
It turned out that the front wheel taper bearings needed "nipping up" (tightening a touch). This sorted it.
However..there are as many potential causes as there are characters in this forum...
This worked for me. More suggestions will follow, no doubt.
rg