July 2004
The more observant of you may have noticed an extra forum has appeared.
Following the success? of Big Brother\'s garage quiz, I have (painstakingly) brought the BackRoom Poll out of retirement.
For the 1st week I have used an old question that Martyn posed as I want to test things to see if there are any bugs before starting other questions - one of which will be the Alfa v TVR vote.
Use this thread to mention any bugs that I haven\'t spotted.
DD.
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Next week I will set off for a long overdue 2-week visit to the Irish Republic, subjecting my BMW 320d to the 4-hour ferry ride from Pembroke to Rosslare. We'll visit Dublin (advised to stop short of actually taking the car into the city!), go across to Galway, and continue the anti-clockwise tour. Would very much appreciate the experience of other Backroomers - do's or don'ts or other advice. I gather fuel is cheaper in this part of the Euro world, as on the Continent of Europe.
Oz (as was) Read more
Just got back after our 950 mile tour of the Republic. What a great and charming place!
One or two hairy moments e.g. when rounding a left-hander on a narrowish single carriageway in the countryside, I was confronted with an HGV coming the other way, using more than his 50% of road. Not a lot of room to spare between him on one side and the embankment to my left, so SWMBO heard one or two words she didn't know existed in my vocabulary. Likewise when I failed to notice a pothole in time.
The yellow dashed line to the left of many roads, providing extra pull-over space to allow overtaking, seemed to work well.
Parking could be tricky, especially as most major towns were severely double yellow-lined. However, I loved the pragmatically casual attitude: we parked in a town (which shall remain nameless), opposite our B&B. Asked about the Pay & Display arrangements, our landlady replied: "Just ignore it. That's only for locals. You (with a GB plate) won't get a ticket. If you do, just tear it up. They won't enforce it because it would cost them too much."
Not the case elsewhere I hasten to add, where I gather defaulters get clamped.
Many wonderful places to visit by car (e.g. the Connemara area and the Dingle peninsula), and one best visited without a car (the Guinness brewery in Dublin).
Many thanks once again to for Backroomers' spot-on comments. More visits needed!
Oz (as was)
Just wondered if anyone could beat the 10 years that the original battery lasted on my Fiat Mirafiori which I scrapped in about 1986.
Pity the floor wasn't made from the same material as the Marelli Battery. Read more
Marelli, as in www.magnetimarelli.com/
Does anyone know which was the last car sold in UK to have a starting handle and approx when were they phased out. Read more
<snip> The metal 2 and 1 digits of the "21" model sat rather awkwardly on the front grille either side of the large hole for the starting handle, which inadvertently created the number "201", which Peugeot finally chose as the official model name.
That's great! I love these snippets one learns here.
Just a FYI - I noticed this last year and seems the same again this year. With some insurers (the cheapest ones, conveniently), my insurance premium is around 10% cheaper if I add SWMBO to the policy. Applies to Direct Line, Admiral and Elephant, though not (for example) Morethan.
So even if your other half never drives your car, might be worth putting them on the insurance just to see if it brings your quote down a bit.
Bizarre. Read more
>except that they ask for my 'marital status' separately
Not really. People can be "married" as in "not actually divorced" etc. etc. But adding your partner to your insurance is a pretty good clue.
I need a bit of advice. I have a 1996 k-series 416 that is for track days. The problem is, before I can fit a tuned 1.8 K-series engine I need to move it. The head gasket had previously gone on the water way just above the alternator. This wasn't a problem for moving it around as I just put some water in and it would run fine for 15 mins even.
Now after 5 weeks I need to start it to move it and its not starting. Basically after some playing about with it we decided to pull it down the road to bump start it, the trouble is it tried to start, but theres also a loud screeching noise. The alternbator belt is tight, but was smelling of burning after we tried this. My believe is that either the alternator is seazed after water has dripped onto it after 5 weeks, or that the water pump it's self is seazed.
Both of these sound likely as when you try to turn the engine over with a charged battery it struggles to turn, and when it does turn once it makes the same screeching noise.
I don't need this engine, but for the ease of moving it to our new house in a few weeks it would be handy for it to have it's own power even though its being towed there.
Whislst on the sunject of the Rover, does anyone else have a problem with a really high biting point and shudder on clutch take up on the 414/416? it is a new clutch that was fitted buy a service centre just before I bought the car (only for £500), but seems a bit wierd to me.
BTW, anyone got a spare 1.8 K-series engine they want to get rid of?? :-)
Neil T
Mondeo Ghia TDCi 130 Estate, SEAT Toledo 20VT Sport, Various Montegos... Read more
Disconnect the alt/belt.then try and turn alt pulley by hand.if stiff thats your prob.if loose which it should be may be the water pump in which case beware as it will destroy the cam belt.Clutch mechanism on these are hydraulic and so when new clutch is installed bite point is higher than part worn.also if clutch not installed correctly will cause judder.assuming no oil leaks.Cant answer last question.
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Was mech1
Not sure this is the best place for this question, but someone on the forum always comes up with some good advice, so why not ;o)
I am toying with the idea of buying a bike for my 40 mile commute down the M4 each day.
Do any forumites have any general experience/advice on bike choice?
Not looking for an R1 or out-and-out speed machine. Just something that is relatively cheap, 2 or 3 years old and easy to ride, as well as being reliable.
A bike that fits this criteria and manages to retain some street cred would be a bonus of course!
I suppose I would be looking at the 600-900cc range, though not sure if a 600 would be much fun on a motorway for 80 miles a day??
I prefer a naked bike style - any ideas?
Is insurance on bikes really so prohibitive these days for a clean licenced 35 year old?
Cheers
Piglet Read more
I'm sure it will be enjoyable whatever the outcome :o)
At the moment it is all general thoughts really as I have never been on anything over 125cc (many, many moons ago).
I will be taking my test in Septembber, so would be looking to buy something to ride on the dry/warmer days through winter. Hopefully, come the Spring I will have more experience under my belt and may well decide to stick with what I have, or try something else if I am looking for a different experience.
An old work colleague rides a Ducatti, so that's one test ride booked in , tho he doesn't know that yet ;o)
Seriously though, the original purpose was to break up the daily grind of 40 miles each way on the M4 when conditions allow.
I'm sure I will change my mind at least a dozen time before I get around to buying something. I'm equally sure that whatever I do buy I will have a hoot for years to come :o)
Cheers
Piglet
I am miffed that the tyres on my S3 Audi Quattro are almost at the limit of legal tread depth after just 9000 miles from new in fourteen months. The rear end is worse than the front. Running on 225/45 R17 91Y Bridgestone Potenza RE 040. Definitely not happy to replace with these. Any suggestions for a sport tyre that will give at least 15000 miles with good grip?
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Interesting handling if you did....
Andy
Having looked at some of the replies to the similarly named reliability thread, I was almost struck dumb with horror at how incredibly dull some of the cars were, which people felt they had been forced to in a quest for reliability.
So I thought it would be interesting to look at it from this angle, and see what we find.
It doesn't have to have been fast or handled brilliantly, it just has to have entertained you as well as been a method of A-B travelling.
For those of you who don't believe that a car should be fun, there's no need to answer this thread ... although I'm sure you will anyway ;)
Here's mine:
Most fun - Alfa 145 Cloverleaf
Not the quickest car I've owned, but very good proof that that's not what it's all about. Put's a smile on my face when I see her, put's a smile on my face when I drive her. Perfectly capable of giving you an entertaining drive within the speed limit and without endangering myself or others.
Least fun - Vauxhall Astravan
And I've owned a Volvo 440, so it must have been dull! Read more
Least fun - 1990 VW Polo 1L Hatch. Austere interior, feeble engine, wasn't VW rock solid, got a £600 repair bill just before going on holiday, great.
Most fun - 1972 Rover 3500S. Now gone but the pick up in 2nd and 3rd was always a joy, nose slightly up as the engine snarled making it feel like it was going much faster. The pitch in the turn and driving the car with a couple of fingers on the 18'' steering wheel, arm resting on the open window.
I have done 17000 miles in my Golf 1.6SE and I`m getting nervous as to when the service reminder on the computer will start to flash (or what ever it does). The Golf is 16 months old and I am wondering when will it be ready for a service? Read more
It has happened, the computer has told me its 1900 miles until service, so that means 19000 miles between services, that seems reasonable to me, booked her in for October with free courtesy car.
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No the bikini will do just fine.
;-)
Adam