May 2004
Called out to a K reg Disco suffering from lack of 'go' since being converted to LPG. Didnt take long to find out why, The conversion consisted of a collar fitted to the throttle intake of the plenum chamber through which the gas is fed. Problem is that the inside diameter of the collar is only around 20% of the original throttle plate area effectively strangling the poor thing. Checked over the rest of the installation and found the filler slung underneath the rear bumper and two tanks slung under the floor on each side effectively reducing the ground clearance by a good 6". (The tank on the left was actually rubbing against the suspension arms!) and the pipework from the filler fixed in the area of the fuel filter so as to effectively prevent the filter from being changed without removing the pipework. The wiring was ghastly with long unsupported runs. All this for £1300, customer off to trading standards! Anyone else had similar problems?
Andrew
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Simplicate and add lightness!! Read more
afternoon all,
i've had to have a sit down, to get over the shock i've just had!!
nice sunny day, but no nieghbours washing hang out, so i had the idea of starting my out-boards up for a little run.
went to garage got 25lts petrol for £22.45 (not so bad) then picked up a 1ltr bottle of outboard oil, £8.00 A LITRE!!!!.
that equates to £40 a gallon! and you don't get to keep it for 6000mls either, it burns as fast as the petrol.
billy. :-( Read more
Hi,
Sorry, I didn't know there was difference, and come to think of it, I don't think Wilkinsons sell outboard oil, just 2 stroke.
Get it while you can, it may shoot up to £11 by next year!
Roberson
When I have the air con switched on there is a funny smell coming out, a bit pongy. Think I readu somewhere about bacteria that breeds in a/con systems?
Or could the pollen filter be blocked?
Any ideas/suggestions welcome.
Thanks,
Gary
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I gather there is also a proprietary product from Comma (available from Halfords) which is an Air Conditioning Cleaner to eliminate bacteria and viruses from a/c systems, in the form of an aerosol which is allowed to discharge in the car while the a/c system is running - takes around 10 minutes supposedly.
Don't know if it's any good.
Oz (as was)
My friends 280SL has started to use an excessive amount of oil.
The engine was re-built last year with a new block and bottom half by a Mercedes main dealer. To keep the cost down they used the original head with no overhaul. The car has only done 55k miles but is a 1984 model fitted with the 110 series DOHC motor.
Does this model have valve stem seals which need replacing and if so how often should they be done? Read more
Valve stems do go hard over time. A pity the head was not 'decoked' at the time. New rubbers and gaskets plus a valve grin in, would have given you years of service. The parts cost £30.
I keep a book in which I list all my cars as I buy / sell / scrap them. Updating it recently for my newest car (95 ZX TD) I added up the costs to date:
Since Feb 1996 (my first car) I have had 6 cars, costing a total of £6195, 1 has been scrapped, 2 sold on (for total of £290), the other 3 I still have (2 on the road). The cars have covered around 133,000 miles in that time. This makes depreciation a shade over 4p / mile. Pretty good, I thought.
Then I worked out the total cost (I also keep reasonable records of money spent) - I find that my cars run at around 17p / mile all in. This means 133,000 miles has cost me around £22,600. Ouch. I'm glad it's bangernomics for me, and not running new cars with dealer overheads to pay for!
Both current cars just MOT'd (0ne on 102k, the other 113k) for a handbrake cable, track rod end, front wishbone, and drop link - all in under £200 - phew, I was bracing myself for it being an expensive month!
No point to this post really, I was just staggered at the amount of money I have spent without thinking about it!
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen.... Read more
RP:
MKII Granada V6 - RESPECT...
Hi can anyone help me?
I've changed the coolant in my astra as described in my Haynes manual, but I can't seem to get enough back in! The manual says it should take 6 litres but I could only get three in and I'm worried that my poor little astra is now running around with not enough.
Does anyone know the actual coolant capacity? Have I done something wrong?? I've got to travel with it soon so I'd really appreciate any ideas anyone has. :)
Thanks,
Salm Read more
With some cars you can get air-locks in the cooling system. Squeezing the bottom hose can sometimes push the air bubbles to the top.
www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html
It's amazing what can be done these days!
teabelly Read more
This idea has been around for a few years now. Personally I think there's huge potential - since algae can be produced in multi-storey high rise facilities, a one acre site could produce an awful lot more fuel all year round than a ten acre field growing a more conventional annual fuel crop like rape or sunflower. Plus, as far as I remember (haven't looked at the link today as I've seen it before) algae thrive on dark conditions with high levels of CO2 - if you could store up your car's exhaust emissions they'd actually be a benefit!
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmmm, doughnuts
Thinking about buying a sports car now to keep for a very long time - my father bought a Triumph Stag in 1972 and still has it.
I would like to buy something in a similar vein but more modern. I am 22 years old but have 5 years no claims on the insurance. The car will be used as a second car (old E30 BMW is everyday car) so doesn't have to have Honda reliablity although I don't want it to be a nightmare like Dad's Stag! I would prefer a convertible, I like big engines and English cars if possible. Four seats are not necessary but looks are very important - nothing too square and 80s!
I have considered TVRs (Chimaera/Griffith) but am seriously worried about reliability - opinions? Lotus Elise = great but not quite hairy chested enough! My budget is around 10,000 pounds. If possible can we not have any "22 years old with 10 grand to burn, tut tut tut" type comments as although I know it's not the best way to invest money, it is more fun than any other I know - just genuine advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks. Read more
Sorry to be a french bore but a more up to date translation would be: "Monsieur pas de tune". "Tune" being a pretty good translation of the slang "dosh"
Just swapped a 1997 Jap import Honda Prelude Type-S for a 1996 BMW 528iSE and I have to say, I'm very impressed. (It was a free swap, no money changed hands.)
Having never driven or even been in a decent, modern BMW before, I'd always wondered what the fuss was about, but now I've got one, it all makes sense.
Everything about this car feels seriously solid, the doors close with a determined "DOOF" noise, just to let you know there's some proper weight in them.
The straight-six purrs under the bonnet, everything about the car looks superb, even though it's done 105000 miles.
Mind you, it's not a 105000 mile engine, this is an ex-lease car, and according to the (very comprehensive) service history this car got a new engine at 65000 miles, which, looking at the Honest John review and owners' reviews at parkers.co.uk isn't entirely unknown.....
It's also had two new radiators, a new air-con system, a new clutch, new rear suspension bushes and all sorts of other stuff done to it.
Still, this car feels *good* somehow, it looks and feels the part, I keep thinking I've stalled it 'cause that straight-six runs so quiet and smooth. It floats around the roads (I live on the Isle of Man so we have some fantastic no-speed-limit roads to drive around), it's comfortable, it's posh, it's the first car I've owned which my wife seems quite chuffed with. (As opposed to "we've got a blue car", "we've got a black car", now we've got a BMW.)
It's got a full BMW dealer service history, it's in excellent condition, it's a very different car to the Type-S, but I have to say, I really like it.
I only did the swap 'cause it'd be easier to sell on privately, but it's growing on me so fast I may just have to keep it.
Is this the BMW effect? Am I becoming an insufferable "BMWs are better" bore?
www.maroneyswebhovel.com/images/pic1.jpg
www.maroneyswebhovel.com/images/pic2.jpg Read more
Just wanted to add as an owner of a 100k plus 528 that Alex's experience is probably typical of any high mileage non jap car serviced at dealers and that the initial driving impressions (of which in may he was so enthused by) never go away.
They are, if serviced at independents, fantastic cars. Main dealers do a good job in my experience and the labour is manageable but the parts prices kill the bill. It can be a limo or a sports saloon depending on mood. On bumpy twisty roads the ride quality allows much quicker progress than my wifes choppy nervy z3 on 17" alloys.
However having chopped a range rover in for the z3 recently after a series of multi hundred pound bills for spurious electrical glitches, I know the feeling of a money pit and no matter how good the driving experience (not that good either!)can be soured.
Given the prices quoted by HJ at auction recently you did well to get out when you did. Ian
Went in the garage for one thing today and ended up test driving another car whilst waiting for the prognosis of my car.
Anyway, to cut a long story short:-
Been offered £5100 for my X Reg Vectra CD (yr 2000, 2.2i Auto, with 40,000 miles on the clock) against a 5 month old Vectra Elegance (again 2.2i auto, yr 2003, 53 Reg) with 9,000 miles on the clock, priced at £12,995.
Book price on mine is around £4500 (glass\'s guide, similar pricing with Parkers)
I\'ll soon need 2 new rear tyres, and have a worn rear suspension bush (hence the visit to the garage to confirm, and the reason for needing some new tyres) costing around £230.
Do I stick with my trusty X Reg workhorse that has, up until now only needed a brake light bulb, head light bulb, and an aircon pipe (which split and was replaced under warranty), or is it time to sell it before the onset of further problems?
My insurance is also coming up shortly, and a quick look reveals the newer Vectra is approx £80 cheaper to insure.
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Re the car locking itself again, Do you mean the boot locks
itself again even when you\'ve opened a door?
After RTFM again, I\'ve discovered that the boot automatically locks itself after 5 minutes, or when the car reaches 2½ mph. Apparantely it\'s to stop oiks opening your boot and nicking stuff whilst stuck in a traffic queue. To unlock it again you have to either press the extra button on the keyfob, or press a button on the front drivers or passengers door.
our Corsa does this unless you open either door or the boot
hatch within a short time after opening the car.
As does my Vectra. If you haven\'t opened any door within 30 secs of pressing the plip, it locks itself back up and sets the alarm. Quite handy if you walk off after locking up the car and accidentally press the plip as you put it in your pocket. Central locking is so much quieter than on my old Vectra that you can hardly hear the mechanism working.
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The 'restriction' you can see is the mixer. Common to all cheap mono-point LPG systems.
This type of conversion is/has given the LPG conversion trade a very bad name.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....