August 2003
Just been giving my white Xantia a bath and on the whole, it\'s come up quite well. the nearside wing and some of the door panels are a bit dull, so I was going to use T Cut on those, However, I hve noticed small specs of what looks to be tar on the painwork below the outside rubber trim. I assume this must have been as a result of driving on newly resurfaced roads.
They seem difficult to get off without smearing all over the paint and there are so many of them. normal hand washing won\'t shift them and I\'m dammed if I\'m to be attacking each one with a toothbrush!
Would T cut help here or would that make matters worse?
Any other hints (acid bath, flame thower etc ;) )
H
moved from Tech Matters Read more
I recently had a rear brake cylinder seal go & so i replaced both rear cylinders & shoes.
About a week later the ABS warning light came on so i thought i would replace the front disks too. This hasnt cured the problem, & now ive discovered i have no rear brake lights at all!
Ive checked the fuses, bulbs & pedal switch, & all are ok.
The ABS light only goes out if i start the engine with my foot on the brake, but as soon as i release it, it comes bak on!
Any ideas pls?
Andy. Read more
How you getting on speedemon11? Any progress?
Hi all,
A friend of mine is having a new Focus TDCi delivered on Sept 1st, he\'s tarting it up along the lines of the ST170.
Amongst the bits he\'s adding/changing is the front bumper air intake grille which is situated at the bottom of the bumper between the front fog lights.
The standard grille consists of a horizontal bar with a criss cross backing.
The ST170 grille which he is fitting as a replacement is basically just a honeycombe version of the above, but the Ford parts computer specifically states that it is not suitable for fitting to diesel vehicles, we assume because of the amount of air it allows to pass through it.
Will there be a very noticeable difference in the air that flows thru the two different grilles? If so, is he likely to do the engine/cooling system/turbo any damage if he goes ahead and fits it?
I\'m worried he may invalidate his warranty but the dealer seems happy to supply the bits.
Over to the Ford experts.....
PP Read more
(Moved from Technical Matters to Discussion)
I viewed a Toyota carina e 2.0 executive (k reg) for sale today. It has 110,000 miles with a part service history. The oil is an ok colour (i.e. dark brown but not yet black).
It costs £400 and has had a new radiator, alternator and battery. However, it has no MOT or tax. When it was last mot?d before being garaged for 6 months it needed new bushes and the ABS needed attention and cost £160. It also has mot certificates for five years which is how long she owned it.
I understand that it was owned by a bloke?s daughter who moved and now has her own company car. The bloke in question is in an electric wheelchair and cannot walk hence the fact he cannot sort the car out. His wife cannot drive and daughter lives in Derbyshire now.
The only problem with the car is it has left wing damage after hitting a lamppost (and is only a slight dent). The car also rattled when I started it but then idled ok.
The father also did not clean it either, since he is in a wheelchair.
Is this car worth the risk? Apart from the startup rattle, it is ok. Also, what does the rattle suggest anyway?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Read more
[snip] removed as no longer relevant
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{P} = advertising profile is ON. Backroom photos groups.msn.com/honestjohn/pictures
Anyone else having trouble getting onto this site? Doesn't appear to be working.
Regards,
Alf Read more
I couldn't get on to it either, Alf. I was thinking of getting a Picasso prior to getting the Toyota, recently ordered. I also sent an email to Joe Blunt, a moderator with his own website, and haven't had a reply to that.
Maybe it's gone south for the summer.
KB.
Well you can see that I really am bored this evening - so kicking around late here decided to add in a search facility to this forum. We already had it for another product, so I only needed to adapt it back to this site - so no I can't code that fast!
Anyway, you can see it on the RHS column just above help.
I expect it might have some terrible bugs in it, but have fun anyway.
Just don't cane it too much doing searches on message bodies for funny combinations of strings - unless of course you really want that kind of query.
Remember for that kind of search it really will have to go through all 100Ks worth of posts!
Feedback welcome...
Have fun
Oh, and BTW, if you see a big difference between numbers of posts for a particular person and that shown in their profile, it's because the archive forum uses their name as a text string - it came from the old open source phorum data imported, whilst the profile uses the user id in the newer posts of this software.
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Stephen Khoo
www.khoosys.net Read more
Stephen,
Top man, for a thinking forum user the lack of a user defined and accurate search has been an absolute pain.
Right from the begining when this new forum was being tested the "Dig" search was an issue...but one that was kindly tolerated by most.
I've tested this new one of yours and it seems to find nearly everything, the ability to narrow the search is invaluable.
Well done.
M.M
Back in the early eighties I had a Mitsubishi Colt 1400 GLX that was a great little car. For it's time and market, well engineered, well specified, and able to run rings around anything that came from Dagenham or similar.
On a flight to Sweden a few days ago, idly perusing one of the motoring monthlies, I noticed that every single current Mitsubishi model bar the Evo warrants nothing more than one star (Poor) or two (Reasonable). Not a single Good or even a Very Good, let alone an Outstanding.
I haven't driven a Mitsubishi in the intervening twenty years, so have no experience to draw on beyond not liking the exterior styling. Are they really as dull as ditchwater, or is this an isolated bad opinion? Read more
The Magna's a nice car. Drove one in Oz 3 weeks ago.
I have a 1995 Vauxhall Omega 2.0I Auto. When driving along the engine justs dies. But when stopped it will start again with no probs. Any Suggestions ??? Read more
Gaz,
you should be able to tell if you have a breather problem as excessive pressure can be detected in the crankcase. With the engine running take the dipstick out and see if you can detect pressure by either listening for it or putting your thumb over the end of the tube.
When we eventually all drive around with a fuel cell, what are the risks of explosion? Hydrogen is I remember from a botched chemistry experiment very very explosive.
When all is working ok and all we have is a trickle of water out the exhaust, what will be the effects on an icy road.
If we don't don't have a water cooling system, how are we going to get the heater to work in winter, may be the old petrol burner they fitted to the air cooled VW variants.
Read more
Just heard a tragic news item about a lorry driver who was run over and killed by his own truck as he bravely tried to stop thieves taking his load.
I can genuinely sympathise with the man's family and praise his loyalty to his employers - who I trust will make sure his family are well looked after.
I know some people like to give truckers a knocking but, given their pay and working conditions, I don't think I'd be putting myself at risk in similar circumstances. Read more
Bear in mind that the next of kin are entitled to make a claim upon the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board as the death was due to a criminal act.
See www.tinyurl.com/ji3c.
If you recall recently HMG proposed at £35 surcharge on the offence of speeding (and on other fines) to help fund this scheme.
Further you may recall the Luton incident when a female was killed by a yob taking her car. I could not update the thread because it is locked but can tell you that Beds Police did catch the person responsible and have charged him with murder.
Again worth pointing out not to go into fine detail about this case which may harm a prosecution when the purportrator is caught, the sooner the better. Another one for a suspended sentence IMHO
DVD
Browse
A long deceased friend of mine, who was in the forces during WW2 used to polish his old Rover with diesel. He said that's what they used in the army and it both protects and shines. Don't think I'll chance it on my C5 however......!
I always use white spirit for tar and suchlike - works perfectly. Good also as a pre-cleaner on a long neglected car before putting on a new coat of polish.
I also believe that the old chauffeurs used to put a spot of paraffin in their washing water to avoid streaks.
Graeme