July 2004
I am installing an alarm into my Octavia, its been difficult to do! I have suceeded after a major fight with the interior light circuit, there is no one point in the wiring to take a single wire to the alarm to say the doors are open etc. I had to attach a relay accross the light bulb (not from light to ground!)to then send 12V to the alarm unit, this bit now works fine.
I am now trying to interface into the central locking, this seems to be a setup of sensors (not switches) and two thick wires feeding the lock motors. A voltage pulse is sent down to operate the locks, I think this reverses polarity to undo. Anybody had any experience in interfacing these into an alarm system (two output wires one to pulse lock the other to pulse unlock). I presume the car setup will be the same accross other VW cars of the era (ie Golf iv, Leon etc..). Read more
Changed the front pads & discs on my late Audi 100 yesterday, and was astonished by the variation in wear. IIRC, new 10mm; replace at 2mm.
Remaining material:
Left inside 1mm
Left outside 3mm
Right inside 3mm
Right outisde 5mm
What should I deduce from this? Or is this sort of differential normal?
Thanks as ever. Read more
I in the Royal Signals in the early 70's in Dorset and my first car was a Viva HB, light blue and very common at the time. In 2000 I was at a reunion in Blandford and who was the car in front at the lights? my old Viva in immaculate condition. The engine gave out on me in about '73 and the local dealers gave me a PX on a Victor. My old friend shot away from the lights at a rate of knots for if I had been able to talk to the young lad driving I would have had to have made an offer. Read more
Alyn
Thanks for the link, it's working great.
Very interesting info!
H
A friend of mine has his 325 serviced for the first time. Car had been driving fine.
When he collected the car the handbrake immediately felt funny - as if it had been adjusted. After a week the handbrake packed up altogether. Back to the dealer to get it fixed under warranty.
The garage made some implied criticisms about my friend's driving style. He took offence thinking they thought he had been doing handbrake-turns or something. He asked what the first service covered - "oh just plugs and oil" came the response. My friend then snapped back so why were you mucking about with the handbrake then?
No reply but the dealer looked sheepish. Read more
I'd appreciate advise generally re converting to and using LPG plus anything specific to do with the Omega 2.2 Read more
Moved from discussion. DD.
Our local refinery (half a mile away) had an 'accident' yesterday.
(As they've admitted it, I used their name in the heading - sorry Mods - please feel free to change if you feel like it!)
The neighbour knocked on my door, and said "have you seen what's outside. I hadn't.
There was a huge pall of sooty 'cloud' sweeping over the neighbourhood. The car was covered in hundreds of glops of oil, and the Mrs was less than pleased, as she had just put out a whole line full of washing ...
Fortunately for me, I'd just washed the car a few days before, and given it a damn good wax cost, and it was parked in the shade of the house, so the overnight 'dew' was still all over the top surfaces. Most of the oil settled on that, so I was able to squeegee it off without too much bother. But the sides are very grubby, and the windows needed a good scrub so we could see out of them.
Now the guys have offered to 'compensate' locals for the inconvenience - well, that's Mrs back at the washtub *ching*, car off for a hand-scrub at the local carwash *ching*, the pool - which looks like the Exxon Valdez came visiting - is going to need another clean *ching* ...
" ... the spray of crude oil was caused when water accidentally mixed with hot crude oil, causing pressure to increase and the safety valve to pop.
This caused a cloud of steam and oil to billow from the stack and spread over the Table View area ...
Enraged residents were found washing their cars and rewashing their laundry on Sunday afternoon.
White picket fences, pools, garden furniture, plants, roofs and walls were sprayed with the oil."
www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=14&art_i...9 Read more
Well the wind is blowing from south today as we are apparently getting rain from Spain ! Lived in CTown for 2 years.
Nothing is interesting if you're not interested.
After buying a Astra at auction 1400 P reg petreol I had the cam belt replaced only to have the tensioner fixing bolt shear later This was a call back on the VX220 crap car they are such flemisly made cars plastic trip falls off central locking problems just bad quality cars Look on better a second hand Toyota than a new Vauxhall £1200 for extra 2years warrenty in case of cam shaft damage occurs during that time shows their confidance in their cars and they will have been servicing the car during that time . Regrads Noddy Read more
For anyone who missed it, it has been of course Independence Day 4th July for the United States and it is a remarkable fact that Thomas Jefferson crafted the Declaration of Indepence at 33 years old when you consider your lot need about 439 pages and an unelected committee of senescent balding seat warmers to regulate the size of bananas.
It is only slightly less remarkable that my '69 Mustang fast/back reported a while ago (and featured on the HJ photo-site) has today emerged from the shop with its rebuilt transmission following the intercession of Mustang Parts of Oklahoma and DHL.. It's 35 years old so its own independence day is a bit behind old TJ's. Just as size matters, so it is with cubic inches. 351 of them and a hot Crane cam to boot. I just love the way it idles and then rocks from side to side when you tweak the throttle. Got some tappet noise because of the solid lifters as opposed to the original hydraulic ones, but the valves are set right, so that's normal.
It's one mean mother.
After I did the tune-up last week the exhaust rumbles very satisfyingly and the trans does what it's supposed to following arrival of (I pulled the carb and did the valves plus oil and filter change and timing, all very simple) bits from US. My local Filipino tech did the trans, these guys are really ace, I have to say. They grovel around shirtless in high temperatures and humidity but still manage to work miracles with anything mechanical.
Not reg or insured yet but we took it for a bit of fresh air today and it responds as one would expect, i.e. kick down, it gathers its skirts for a minute and then everything in the rear view mirror gets a lot smaller without any apparent effort. If there is any automotive experience as satisfying as the surge of sheer endless power from a big American V-8 I have yet to experience it, and I've owned a few. It will of course be weekend fun not day to day transportation.
A/c is vital here, the old Bendix compressor was clapped out, so a new Nippon Denso is in place, non standard but much more efficient. I still have to get those lovely deep-set gauges in the dash working and find a way of polishing the dulled plastic dial covers (all suggestions welcome). Also the rear brake-cum-indicator red lights are not very safe or visible compared with today's laser jobs and the garage says convert the backup lights to indicators. We already rebuilt the front end with new track rod ends, shocks etc when I got it. Mustangs tend to run hot, so I'll be watching that. There's a lot of engine under there and not a lot of radiator. Had to do with design and appearance considerations I guess.
Will reg it next week and then take it up North on the newly rehabilitated tollway (superb surface built by Leighton Australia) to see what it can do. Just need to find an 8-track player to fill that hole in the dash and some Beach Boys cartridges, dig out my baggies, wax down a surfboard, get that bushy bushy blond hair-do** and we are in serious business.......
Well this is one way for me to voice my religious beliefs about there being no substitute for cubic inches without starting another 4 X 4 thread (exits stage left rapidly).
**No way (Growlette).
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NW:
Qatar Airways have the best deals right now ex LHR to MNL I believe. Gulf Air might be cheaper but there's an annoying layover in Abu Dhabi of some 5 hours. Me I use Emirates because of the Irish pub in Dubai airport......then there's Air Chance of course.....but since Iraq there's a certain chill in the air(puns of all kinds intended).
However that is all irrelevant in the context of progressing Bullitt Mk. 2. Got her 3rd party insured and legal (get the papers and stickers tomorrow) I won't say what it cost in converted Sterling because you would weep into your warm English beer, i.e. not much.
Oh my goodness, the exhaust sound. The thing oozes muscle. It rocks on idle and rumbles menacingly and is challenging you all the time, like well we're sitting here do it FCS and I'm ready. It's smooth and sleazy at the traffic lights and brutal and beastly on the Expressway.
I am in automotive love, inextricably and utterly. Give me a V-8 and I'm done for. Always was.
Growlette with her unerring sharpness of vision says well this is all very nice but what's going to go wrong next?
Watch this space.
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Hi I'am new to this but wanting to share my car experiance's 30years of driving Ford's Vauxhall's Citreon's Passat .The last car The Passat I have at present 1.9 diesel TDI best 40 mpg is this the cost of a Turbo (speeding ticket machine) take it off and give my the confort and economy of the C5 made by Volks Wagen after 2 1/2years and 60,000 miles with a C5 HDI 50mpg driven head with smooth ride the only reason for not returning to Citreon (100% useful electronics at launch they said)was the self leveling suspension making the car comfortable when locked and the battery running down as a result of this. If the C5 had been of the same build quality as the Xantia it whould not have had any competitors .I guess the same air polution that helped the Magane come to market most have had a connection with Citreon and put a spanner in the works .When's Jerry going to ask high mileage drivers to test new cars and take speed out of the judgement . Regrads Nobby Read more
Having said that, I recall that Stanley Unwin once owned a Passat. It's all beginning to make sense now.
Hi all!
I'm about to do a cambelt change on my 1.8 Vectra as it at nearly 41,000 miles, including new roller/tensioner.
My question is: Is it still possible to do without the specialist tools needed, ie; camshaft and crankshaft locking tools, as I don't have access to them!
Any advice appreciated!
Thanks
Gary.
Read more
Thanks Aprilla.
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I usually find most wear on the piston side (inside) of my brake caliper, and sometimes left/right differences like yours. I reckon unless you free everything off once or twice a year, corrosion and dust builds up, preventing totally free movement. Hence preferential wear.