August 2002
Would the world stop revolving should I park my car with the front wheels slightly misaligned. This is becoming a bone of contention with me and HIMBO.
If the world stops then he wins, if not then instead of just shooting him murderous glances when being told to straighten up the car, I'll just murderously shoot him instead.
Rita
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I bought a new Citroen C5 a few months ago. It's black (non-metallic) When it's clean and polished it's really nice and a bit unusual (you don't see many black C5s around!) - but when it's anything less than clean...........!!!
Needless to say it spurs me on a bit to use a bit of regular elbow grease but it's hard work!
I was just wondering if anyone with a black car can recommend a good shampoo and polish (I'm using Autoglym resin at the moment - Ok but nothing special in terms of shine or lasting protection.)
Years ago I used Simoniz 'Liquid Diamond' silicone sealant on a Renault. I seem to remember it did a good job, but haven't seen it for ages.
Also - any good ideas for getting dead flies off the bonnet?
Cheers
Graeme.
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Tim
Just as I suspected! Mind you, I've just bought a used 318i Touring in dark metallic green and it looks the dog's wotsits, and is easy to clean/polish!
Pat
I have a problem. Planning to go and live in France for a year and wonder what to do with our car. Ideally I want to keep it for the next three years. It is a Toyota Avensis Estate R reg 80K worth £4k? and it does everything I want from a car.
Do I?
Sell it and buy a local banger and buy another when I return.
Leave it here and the above.
Go to France and register it with French plates
Go in it and keep it UK registered.
The problem with the last option is that it will incure huge insurance premiums - can you register a car European wide? I know French policies load premuims for non French registeed cars.
Does anyone out there have any experiences/advice to offer?
My preference is to go for option 3 - if I were going for longer I would just sell it - but I would take a big hit in depreciation on a car I don't need to sell.
Thanks
MB Read more
You mean in France you have to register a caravan!? Who said being in the EU didn't have some good points? If that and the roads of France come to the UK as part of handing over control to Brussels, BRING IT ON!!
Tackle anything roadside mechanic in India transforms an accident-damaged Hindustan into the car of his dreams, the latest Peugeot. Result appears very iffy, but mechanic and companions cruise around looking ultra chic.
Works on so many levels (candidate for Psudes Corner)
BRILLLIANT !!!! Read more
Yes indeed. Lets give Ford a bashing now shall we? Whatever
were the designers smoking when they gave birth to the Scorpio?
Now, IIRC smoking that stuff dilates your pupils, nothing else. So giving birth to a scorpio would be punishment enough, under the circumstances.
I remember the Ford prelaunch drive day up at the NEC when they also allowed the dealers to thrash the new wide-mouth escort. We all sat there that evening shaking our heads and wondering if we could get a Nissan franchise.
I have a car that I have discovered has a front friction lining contaminated with grease from the hub-bearing. Having rectified the leak, I'm wondering if it's possible to reclaim the contaminated lining, which is practically unworn. Before you throw your arms up in horror, the car is 73 years old, covers about 250 miles per year, has a top-speed of 35 mph and was braking pretty well before the discovery anyway. I'm sure I read somewhere that it is possible to boil a shoe in water to remove the oil/grease, and that this wasn't uncommon practice years ago as the leather/felt hub-seal were not completely reliable.
Any thoughts appreciated. Read more
Just to confirm the other postings, when I was a lad I'm sure one of the standard techniques for this problem was a good boil in detergent for the affected components.
Regards
John S
A friend of mine runs the same car as me 1996 VW Golf VR6 and has recently fitted new plug leads. He tells me that the car runs much better with improved throttle response and power as a result.
The leads on the car are original VW leads and are marked as having a resistance of 5 K ohms. I have tested mine with a meter and they all give a reading of between of 6 and 6.3 K ohms. Does anyone know if this is sufficiently high to make changing them worthwhile? I haven't noticed any particular loss of performance and have had no starting problems etc. I don't particularly want to shell out the £50.00 plus VAT that a new set of leads will cost unless it is necessary.
Any advice would be appreciated. Read more
Do not go for third party leads, if you require a sensibly prices OEM set goto German & Swedish or Euro-Parts and buy a set. Also buy a complete set of Bosch Wiper blades at the same time to off set the postage. Regards Peter
Some of you may be feel familiar with my friend's recently aquired '94 Omega 3.0 Elite and the problems with a leaking rocker cover gasket.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=4&t=61...5
He has had both rocker covers and gaskets replaced at local garage (from the good garage list). At the same time he took the opportunity to replace the HT leads and spark plugs and have the auto box's oil changed. The rocker covers/gaskets were sourced from Vauxhall's and the HT Leads and sparks were from Autovaux. All parts were supplied after the engine number was given so he's confident they were correct. However after the work has been carried out the car seem to suffer from a slightly lumpy and noisy idle.
The Lumpy Idle;
The lumpiness is enough to gently vibrate the car and is felt inside. My first impression was that it was misfiring. One thing that stuck in my mind was that the mechanic apparently said that the 2 HT leads (for each bank) weren't marked with a side. On visual inspection they seem to fit neatly with no excess. Is this the case and could this be the problem?
The noise ;
I can only describe as a "clacking". The exact source is difficult to identify, when you listen it seems to be coming from the various wheels and pulleys that the cambelt goes round - why would they start making a noise all of a sudden? (cambelt been changed at 40K and 78K, current mileage 93K). It also sounds similar to "noisy" tappets. Would replacing the rocker covers have something to do with this?
Before the work was carried out the car idled very smoothly and near silent when the bonnet was closed - it was hard to tell from inside the car whether the engine was started or not.
I feel really sorry for him - he was so looking forward to getting the leak fixed and "enjoying" the car. He's not looking for someone to "blame" - he just want's to get this sorted.
Any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Chad.R Read more
Chad,
I've got to the bottom of this - however will be starting a new thread as I think the answer warrants it rather than being burried in an old thread.
Regards ........ Robert
I was just wandering if anyone had a way of parting with their motor easily. I've tried advertising on the auto trader website/local papers and cardata who say they will sell your car within a week but now its been nearly three and I've only had one time waster, I've been trying to sell for three months and still no joy. The added problem I've got it's a bit of a boy racers car so only a certain sort of person would be interested. I've thought about garages and auctions but I know I wouldn't get the money for it at these places, so any suggestions would be gratefully recieved
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Confucious he say "Any car is only worth what someone will pay for it."
i was just wondering about the subject of cats.
In my haynes manual for my K reg Escort it states that all carbed escorts do not have cats fitted. But im sure mine does.
Its a K reg 1.4 CVH engine. Does that mean i can remove the cat from the system? I have heard that for K regs you are allowed to remove it and that it is law for a cat from L reg onwards???
Whats the MOT situation with this?
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Andrew, do you mean K -reg is a grey area for all makes and models, or just this one?
There have been extensive threads on this before, and the reluctant conclusion was I think that with a few very rare exeptions for special cars, K-reg cars have to have a CAT. Or has something changed?
Also, I don't think you can simply throw it away, doesn't the Lamda probe have to go somewhere?
Help! I have promised my wife a 3 series BMW for
her birthday. We have narrowed it down to a 318tiSE
Compact.
THe final decision is new or used. It would appear that
nearly new is not far off the same price as brand new.
We have looked at imports but the price difference again
is not massive and I am not sure I trust the specs.
Is this a case of pay up and shut up and buy a new one?
P S Any saving gets spent on the house!
Meldrew
(I just do not believe it!) Read more
Same here! I got my BMW 320D SE from Belgium in January 2000 and saved £4500. Looking to change for a new one now but savings are not as good this time round with my Belgium dealer. Can you let me know where you are getting yours from? It looks like you have a great deal!! Or if anyone else has any good contacts, please can you let me have the details!
Browse
Ho hum, I forgot to mention that these minor contretemps usually occur when HIMBO is at the front of the house as I access the drive. I have a minor right turn to park the car parallel to the house and it is laziness on my part that I don't always park tidy. As someone once made a fortune out of saying, amongst other bon mots, "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom".
I'm pleased that the majority opinion seems to be in my favour. There is justice in this world after all!
Rita