October 2005
Watched a few of these programs. Interesting what they can do to restore some of the classic's.
But I saw them on a few projects cutting spring coils with a rotary cutting disc to shorten them and removing the shaped coil end.
I've always thought this was a no no, as the coil ends are shaped to suit the coil seating on the suspension. Read more
Just returned from a fascinating two-week 'fact finding' tour of Japan. I was mainly visiting components suppliers, but also managed to visit Nissan and Toyota car plants, including a Toyota design studio.
Saw some absoutely brilliant engineering, including some stunning holographic instrument panels which are under development, and white LED headlamps from Stanley Corp. The Japanese also have some excellent car telematics, using their VICS systems. You get (free) real-time road, weather news etc on a colour screen in the car.
I travelled using both public transport and rental car. Public transport, as you would expect, was reasonably priced and superbly efficient - not to mention clean and with a freedom from UK-style anti-social behaviour.
Driving in Japan was not as bad as I had been lead to believe. Most traffic signs are also in English and congestion, even in Tokyo, was not that bad. The Tokyo 'Metropolitan Expressway' (a mostly elevated two-lane highway system) was pretty busy, but away from that the traffic moved reasonably freely, even right in the centre of town. I have seen things worse in Birmingham. Parking was not too bad either, in fact my central Tokyo hotel carpark was never more than about 25% full. Coupled with a fantastic GPS system in my rental car (which showed a 3D-view of the street and even accurately displayed buildings each side of the road!) I didn't really have any problems.
It was interesting to see Mercedes and Volvo making quite an impact on the Japanese market, and I also spotted a few Peugeot dealers! I also found myself behind a Citroen C3 on one of the motorways. Unexpected sightings included an old Xantia driving by Shinjuku station in Tokyo, and a *very* old and battered Volvo 240 estate in the Ginza shopping area! Another curious thing is that Japanese private cars are almost all coloured white, silver or black. In fact about 50% seem to be white.
Hot news whilst I was over there was GM selling shares in Subaru (Fuji) to be replaced by Toyota as a major shareholder. Subaru and Toyota are to co-operate on 4WD developments and apparently the SAAB-Subaru co-operative development is to be terminated. Also the US automakers are suffering big falls in large vehicle (i.e. SUV) sales - which is regarded as favourable to the Japanese who do well in small vehicle and hybrid technology.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the Japanese engineers and managers. It was refreshing to see money been thrown at producing good engineering solutions, good teamworking, and freedom from Anglo-Saxon style moaning about the workforce and pensions etc. (Japanese auto engineers and assembly workers are some of the best paid in the world, but can justify it through the efficiency of their production technology). Interestingly their senior managers don't seem to need mega-salaries, bucket-loads of share options or 'Pheonix-Four' style pension deals to work effectively either! Read more
Interesting points: thanks Aprilia!
Ever vehicle i have owned ,and it is 30 odd now, i have nearly always been able to fix them when something breaks or falls off.
Is this a dying art ?,most cars on the road now are so electronically complex that they are beyond the skills of the average owner to repair.
I will not buy a vehicle with a chip or computer in, they are fine when new and under warranty , but will they get to the age of my Range Rovers (22),let alone the age of my Bedford (49) ?, they will become uneconomic to repair at about 10 years of age so there will be a growing gap in age of cars on the road from elderly fixable cars to brand new cars with nothing in between.
At Royal Mail we have now got rid of our fleet of Escort vans, which were uncomfortable to drive , but virtually bomb proof and have replaced them with Vauxhall Combi vans that fall to bits around you.
The only new vehicle that did impress me ,but is full of whizz bang electronics, is the Range Rover Sport.
We went up to Gaydon for Range Rovers 35th anniversary and we had a ride in this car around Land Rovers test track ,it was interesting,its got this G force do da that means it can go around sharp corners at 100mph plus and that is what we did, with 130mph on the straight.
When he did an emergency stop to show off its brakes my step father blacked out !!.
Glen
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Give me a modern car any day. Better equipped, more reliable, more durable (both mechanically and body-wise), better performance (in all respects), better fuel economy, more comfortable, more safety features, better rainproofed (now that windscreens are bonded), more rattle-free, longer service intervals, less items to service. In fact, better all round. When people say "They don't build cars like they used to" I reply "Thank goodness for that"!
In any case, as you get older you get bored with DIY repairs and maintenance. Well, I did.
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L\'escargot.
Gradually the gearbox on my 1999 Rover 600 diesel has become less precise and now the gear stick vibrates annoyingly. It is easy to put the car into third instead of first. Is there some rubber bush or suchlike that can be repalced. Other than that the cars runs well with 186k miles. Thanks Read more
Anyone know of an online wiring schematic for a citreon zx 2.0i 16v on a 94/95 plate?
Ive got an engine out of one with loom and ecu but need to splice into the loom, sadly none of the wires are numbered. Read more
Someone will probably come up with the goods on here, but if not, have you tried
tinyurl.com/9we25
or
www.citroenz.com/forum/
Phil
I have just put my Polo up for sale and have put a page together for it at www.ouritemsforsale.co.uk. Could you have a look and see what you think! Is it priced too rich? I have had an offer of £450 that I have rejected at the moment.
Bill Read more
Yes BobbyG it sold this morning. Young student came round with his father and I got £490.00 for it. He was looking for something a bit different. Mind you the insurance for him was £1100 third party, he was 20, so it puts it into perspective.
Thanks for the nice comments on the site.
Bill
Walking through the pub car park on my way home from the shop yesterday afternoon, I saw a largish chap leave the pub, unlock his Peugeot 306 and open the driver's door. Nothing unusual in that, you may think, but bear with me. The door opened so that it was a whisker above the wall of a small ornamental flower bed. The chap climbed in and tried to shut his door but his weight, having sunk the car suspension, held the door firmly open against the top of the wall. Turning in his seat to presumably get both hands on the arm rest, he heaved backwards and the edge of the door grated reluctantly across the top of the wall until it jammed. Seemingly oblivious to the solution which was to get out of the car and shut the door a bit, he let forth a grunt and a few words that would make even a moderator blush, and flung himself backwards with some vigour. Either his hands slipped off the arm rest or it came away from the door, for his head snapped backwards, clipping the B-pillar and making him shout even more profanely. Now fully aware of how to relieve his predicament, he reached up for the top of the door frame to lever himself out of the car. As his weight came off the seat, relieving the pressure of the door on the wall, the door closed making him bang his nose on the frame. Laden with 4 bags of shopping and thinking of Gerard Hoffnung's barrel of bricks, I carried on homewards.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land Read more
How had the driver got out of the car in the first place?
Or had they put the flower bed by his car after he parked it?
Or had he had so much to drink his weight had increased by many pounds?
Had he got in to the wrong car?
Had his friends been out and moved his car?
Or the flower pot?
I think we need a lot more info here. :)
Hello all,
Audi 1995 Tdi - 188K. Third gear has recently (I mean over the past two weeks) started to play me...I'm 99.9% certain it is the synchromesh.....but suddenly today 5th gear has gone.....It just wont go in.....no grinding nothing, just blocked...
The gear lever just will not move into fifth.
I have checked the linkage etc...everything looks fine....any ideas? I thinking new gearbox......please help.. Read more
Well the box is out.....
There is a large hole next to the spindle about 1" round. I think that part of the syncro from 3rd went bang ! ! !
Anyway, just sourcing a new box (intapart have one sort of..long story)
I've done a spot of spray painting on one door of my car and the colour match is very good, but the new paint work has dried with a matt finish. Any recommendations on making it shiney!
Incidentally it is a 6 year old Peugeot 306, I found a paint code on the driver's door which Halford's found in their computer as Vert Patagonie. They mixed some up for me and the result was awful and cost £9.99.
I ordered from Peugeot and the supplied paint had the same name and was a good match, £7.00 and came with a spray can of laquer.
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If the surface is not rough, just matt, then rubbing compound is a better option than wet and dry paper. This can be obtained from motor panel or paint suppliers or even some motor factors. It's available in different grades, for machine or hand application and they can ususally tell you which grade to use for the particular job. It's like a more abrasive t-cut.
The rear wiper has packed up the motor seems OK but no 12v getting to the motor when the switch is operated, fuse ok. Any ideas which relay controls the rear wiper. If not the relay then any other ideas what could be wrong Read more
Anybody know which slot the rear wiper relay is mounted in on the fuse board..cheers
Browse
Seem to recall a comment on Pimp My Ride (US version) that many custom shops do cut down springs - but should replace them instead for the reason you've just given.
- Gromit