December 2005
Recently I unintentionally left our dividend card at the check-out. I got it back a couple of days later and thought nothing more about it. However when I looked at the dividend total on a receipt a few weeks later the amount was only a fraction of what I expected it to be. Is it possible for someone to take the dividend off a card and then transfer it to their own?
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L\'escargot. Read more
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One of the better Fifth Gear episodes tonight.
Information on the increasing numberplate thefts, and how to prevent your car from having it's plate stolen.
As well as how airbags are made and tested, along with seeing if a 10 yr old Rover's airbag would still work - it did.
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Let themselves down badly with that Merc thing. That was a minimum of twelve months motoring for someone.....Damn I nearly wanted it myself !
As someone who is disillusioned by the complications of the modern diesel engines with their extremely high pressure common rail fuel injection systems and ever higher turbo boost pressures, I intend to switch back to a normally aspirated petrol engine at my next car purchase.
I know there is no equivalent sized petrol engine that can come even close to the torque of a turbo diesel, but does anyone know where I could get torque curve data for various engines. I fancy a Honda 2.0S Civic, but the maximum torque on that engine is at 5000 rpm, and I would like to know what % of torque is available at say 2,500 rpm, or what other 2 litre petrol engine has good low end torque performance.??? Read more
Like any mechanical object some things just wear out. I buy the part fit it job done. Not so easy in these days of specialist tools, procedures, etc.
Even 'quality' cars go wrong.
Steve
I am currently looking to buy a load of reclaimed oak floorboards. They are about 2.5 m long and being oak are quite heavy (I need enough to cover about 75sqm), I was wondering what I could easily hire to transport them. Would they be too long for a transit tyoe thing (and too heavy ?). What about a small flat bed ?
thanks
Mark Read more
I am near ripon and the flooring is down near the south coast.
I am now thinking that it isnt going to be such a good deal - especially since further questioning reveals that only some of it is oak, most is pine. It was a friend of an aquaintance. It sounded a good buy, but I think I will have a look on salvo and see what the actual going rate is for reclaimed flooring.
I've just had my 54 reg Jazz serviced(25,000 miles).The dealer told me that the front discs needed skimming.I bowed to their technical knowledge and agreed.I'm just a bit curious now as to whether this will have been really necessary,given that about 80% of my mileage is on the motorway system.The last Jazz that I had for over 45000 miles and 2.5 years never needed this.I think the cost of the skim was about £50 plus the pads,about £100.
Thanks Read more
You've got to watch those sneaky technicians !!! That's the trouble with the motor industry, everyones screwing everyone and not in a good way.
That's why i'm dissappointed with the wallet skimming comment. Brake lathes are an ideal way to save money for car drivers - if people know the facts and don't think that brake lathe technology is old school technology. Every set of brake discs can be skimmed at least once before they reach minimum thickness (I've come across some garages that fit new ones with every set of pads). I have argued point blankly with some technicians that my brakes don't need replacing and most couldn't even tell me the minimum thickness of them. Also skimming discs is a bit safer when fitting just new pads. I always ask for a quick skim when techs are replacing my pads - i'd much rather have the shorter bedding in period associated with that than waiting for new pads to bed into a partially worn disc - call me a sissy but I like knowing my brakes are as close to 100% as possible. If anyone needs to find a brake lathe check out www.skimmydiscs.co.uk.
Also does anyone actually believe in wheel balancing?!?!
I was talking to a tech about it (it showed up as £7 on my bill) and wanted to see it in action. He took my wheel off, not very happy about doing it, and put it on the balancer - it was no where near balanced. Brilliant - techs thinking we don't a lot lol
Hi there, I have recently put my volvo s60 through the car wash, it had the full treatment, wash wax etc. Now every time i use the widscreen wipers, there is like a film of wax on my windscreen, I have tried, screenwash, widowlene, turps. Is there anything that any one could recommend, as its drivin me nuts! Thanks Read more
Be sure to apply some Rain-X when you've finished. Wonderful stuff. Someone will be along in a moment to agree with me. (runs for cover)...
My 2003 5 door mondeo, when it rains, gets a soggy carpet in the rear offside footwell.
Ford cover water ingress for only 1 year!!!!
I took the door trim off and found the membrane to be intact. The black seal around the edges of it seemed to be all there. The section under the loudspeaker mount had no sealant and so I added some (carpet still gets wet).
I've had a quick look at the door seal and it appears okay. The drain holes in the door are all there and not blocked.
I can sometimes see a puddle of water on the rubber seal on top of the door cill.
My guess is that the water in the door, as it drains out of the hole (nearest the hinge) tracks inwards rather than down and outwards, giving me a very wet carpet.
Does anybody have any ideas?
Thanks Read more
Update and for future reference.
I have finally fixed the leak.
The black sealant (not tape) from OE had a very small pinhole along the bottom edge, allowing water into the cabin almost instantly when it rained.
My guess is that the pinhole used to be a blister in the sealant (from OE) that over time, with the assistance of thermal expansion and contraction, grew to span the width of the black sealant. Any probing and prodding will have only made it worse.
I left everything in place and added copious amounts of B&Q bathroom sealant along the bottom edge and up the sides. Overnight rain and the garden hose would not get it to leak.
Whatever happened to the Hobbs Mechamatic gearbox? No fluid drive, no power loss, brilliant concept.
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L\'escargot. Read more
Never owned a car with overdrive but did drive a brother's Triumph 2000 with overdrive on 3rd/4th.
At the time, 1960s cars had 3 or 4 speed gearbox - using overdrive as effectively gave you...
I am going for an interview for a new job which offers very exciting job prospects. Only one problem, getting to work would involve commuting on the M25 every day.
Does anyone have any advice about how long it might take to get from Junction 25 round to Junction 4 of M4 (Stockley Park) in morning and evening traffic?
The route planning websites say around 40 minutes. However, that's assuming the M25 is empty!
My current commute is rather fun, being 25 minutes of free flowing traffic on B roads, with no real delays in rush hour.
Does anyone commute on the M25 daily? How is it? Does it add so much stress to your life that it's not worth the extra 10k a year I may get in salary?
Cheers. Read more
In the end I was driving thought the middle of Hounslow and onto the M3 at Sunbury Cross to avoid the M25
around Heathrow. (sounds a mad route but it worked)
I have advised serveral of our contractors to go from Heathrow to the A 316 before the Sunbury Cross and they have been well pleased to avoid the M25.
M3 J1 to J2 is always incredibly qiet.
study the back routes before you need them,
And I would say try them out when not under stress.
Over the years I have employed this to great advantage.
Some routes, even local routes do not always work in the reverse direction.
Sometimes it pays even to start of in totally the opposite direction.
Ive been offered a volvo 850 at a good price, the only concern i have is that the lambda sensor light is permanently on, does anyone have any experience of this problem and the possible causes? many thanks.
Duggie Read more
Volvo Lambda lights go on for any one of dozens of reasons, ranging from trivial to very very expensive.
At best, a momentary circuit blip at some time has triggered it, and clearing the On Board Diagnostic unit will simply put the light out and indicate that there is actually no underlying fault at all.
At worst it might be a failed Air Mass Meter. These cost hundreds. When they fail the car goes into a "limp home mode". It may appear to run all right, but won't be running optimally and may well fail the MOT.
There are lots of other sensors, some cheap, some less so. Sometimes the sensor itself can fail, sometimes it is telling you that some other fault has triggered the sensor.
You really need the codes to be read and then interpreted by someone who understands the implications.
At least the seller has left the bulb in place to warn you - worst case is when they suspect something wrong, but disguise it by simply removing it.
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...yes but, what did the hotel do to mitigate their losses?
Did they try to re let the rooms and table? did they succeed?
It always amaizes me when servce providers do this. I know if I did this for good reason and then received that kind of bill, regardless of whether they had any rights to do this, that hotel would NOT get my custom in the future.