March 2006
My astra diesel 1.7 has just come back again from going into vauxhall. We need to get 2 new front tyres have the tracking done and have been told the bushes are noisy on the front drivers side. I'm going to get the tyres today and have the tracking done today but I can't afford to get the bushes done until next month. Will this cause any problems or does it all need to be done at the same time?
Thanks Read more
Sitting in rain at a temporary traffic light when I noticed that the road I was waiting on had a new surface. The roadworks were for kerb replacements, surface water drainage improvements and lighting (A361 between Swindon and Highworth near the Honda factory).
Then it clicked...the drains were the pierced kerbstones with integral drainage channels rather than cast iron inset drain covers. All well and good but the kerbs with the drains were on the higher side of the carriageway and the surface water was draining away from the kerb and pooling on the other side were it had already built up to a significant depth.
Why do we spend money on these useless repairs?
Any other examples out there?
StarGazer
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Being hammered around here at the moment - end of financial year, new lamposts going in, minor surface repairs - traffic lights everywhere.
if i try to go into 4th gear at 30mph the car judders, if i am doing 40mph no problem, does anyone know what might be causing this? car runs great otherwise 2002 model Read more
I have a 53 astra diesel estate 1.7 and it does exactly the same. I just thought the car didn't like doing that speed in 4th gear if I put it into 3rd gear its fine. I'll watch this thread incase there is a problem but I don't think so.
Given previous topic, this is one of the key reasons I was keen not to hand over my licence.. due to go to San Francisco over Easter, and have hired a (6 cylinder, presumably) Mustang Convertible from Hertz.. £170 for the week. Anyone driven one? was this a wise decision? Driving down through Big Sur and then up to Yosemite.
Tim{P} Read more
Been there done that. Agree with what has gone before that the handling isn't up to much. Think in terms of Ford Capri so far as handling goes. Not too bad in the dry but beware in the wet. More at home in the traffic light grand prix than country lanes. Bug Sur (or Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)) is a bendy road so you can enjoy powering out of the corners, not that the Mustang has as much performance as you would imagine. Don't forget that you are on holiday, chill out, enjoy the ride and drive the dream.
Now we have a hose pipe ban and a possible total ban(drought order) I'm looking at using forecourt jet washes for the first time.
My question is, I plan on using my wash mitt rather then the rotary brush, will I have time to do this? I.e. does the timer on the clean water jet start when its used or are they on a timer??
Ideally I'd like to cover the car in foam, then rub it down with a mitt and wipe the alloys. Then, wash off with clean water but I don't want to run out of time!!!
What sort of programs do they have? Local ones to me are Tesco and BP.
Cheers for any help. Read more
Have to run off a significant quantity of water in our kitchn before the tap runs hot. Will save that to top up any remaining catch off the roof into the rain butt
Can anyone recommend a good rust treatment, the kind you apply after getting rid of loose rust, then paint over. I have tried several, including 'Rust doctor' and lately 'loctite', but don't think I have found the best. Read more
Full details of Hydrate 80 & all their other products here www.bilthamber.co.uk/
May I ask the wisdom here assembled a question?
I was taught to use the gear box for routine slowing down and to use the brakes only as a last resort. In the words of my still-respected instructor, "Use your brains, not your brakes."
I recently read in an IAM newsletter a statement that said the exact opposite. I have always respected the IAM but to read that contradiction of the way I was taught has left me in a quandary. I am still in the learning phase of my driving career, having only been on the road for a matter of months (some 600 or so) so I would welcome any advice.
eProf
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For steep enough hills, definitely use engine braking, but to maintain speed, not slow down. I drive down Reigate Hill semi-regularly and the number of drivers (i.e. almost all) who sit on the brake pedal the whole way down amazes me.
By being on all the time, they forget they have effectively switched off their brake lights and you really need to leave a huge safety gap in front of you.
For me, engine braking seems easier in a petrol car. On the aforementioned hill, which has a 40 limit, my petrol MX-5 will happily sit in 4th with no throttle and not accelerate. My diesel Octavia still seems to want to speed up even when in 3rd. Both have 6-speed boxes.
James
Because I neglected HJ's advice to change the transmission oil when I got it - I didn't even look - my chav Ford Escort's gearbox became noisy a couple of K ago, grumbling final-drivishly around town in the higher gears. For a while the sound would vanish at open-road speeds, but last time I went to Sussex there was a full-blooded howl on the power at 70, which only diminished a bit on the overrun.
Last week I ordered a second-hand gearbox from an internet breaker, £100 delivered for a 60,000 mile box. It arrived when it was supposed to at the garage round the back where the Aussie mechanic put it in with a new full Ford clutch kit for £225.
The car had become rather tiresome to drive. Now it is nice again in its chavvish way. It cost £250 a couple of years ago, and has had one front suspension arm and the cambelt, total cost about £400. It isn't super-economical but it isn't thirsty, about 30mpg in London and pushing 40 on the road. It isn't fast but it's quite brisk. I wish I had HJ's access or Murphy the Cat's transport budget, but being who I am I am enjoying cheap real-world motoring, something that is getting more difficult if you aren't an engineer. My days of doing radical auto surgery in the street are over thank goodness. Read more
> Ah yes i remember now Lud here in Sudan they have
there own form of chav too, but mainly confined to old
Bedford & Austin trucks!
I approached a ornately decorated Austin truck and started taking
photo's the proud owner/driver was chuffed i said ah Austin very
good British Truck, to which he replied yes but it
have Mercedees engine!.... You can't win 'em all!
Ah yes, proper true third world radical cobbling. Actually that reminds me of a story from about 1960, hitching in Spain, can't remember what make the lorry was but the driver, a political dissident and heroic drinker, emphasised the origin of the replacement engine: Perkins. Very good English diesel, he assured me feeling perhaps that I looked a bit too arty to understand.
Hi All,
I've got an Audi A4 which about twice a year refuses to start. It's a 1.8 non turbo petrol car from '96. The symptom is that the engine seems to have no compression and turns over really quickly. I know it's got hydraulic cam followers and I've been told that sometimes they can cause valves to stick open slightly , hence the lack of compression.
When the fault occurs, the only way to solve it is continued cranking until (after several flat batteries) the engine splutters into life.
Apart from this sporadic problem the engine runs quietly and without problems.
Please any ideas, suggestions????
Cheers Chris
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Check that the oil in the sump is to the specified viscosity, and not too thick. Hydraulic tappets can pump up under certain circumstances and hold the valves open.
659.
Looks like our area is going to be faced with a Drought Order very soon. It looks like a total ban on the use of water for a wide range of activites including car washing.
I have been thinking about how to get round this, having just brought my new car (first new car). Possible options are driving out of the area to use a jet wash, or washing in the small hours!
They do say except for reasons of safety and hygiene, I have e-mailed them to clarify this.
The order should apply to everyone including hand car washes, valeters and dealers.
james Read more
>>A water transfer system would be a straight forward engineering project similar to the North sea gas distribution of many years ago.
If the water companies had done as they were hinting about many years ago and replaced all the old pipes with new,and done it rather than talk about it.
maybe we could all wash our cars down without fear of drought, they are all talk and no do
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Steve
Browse
If the bushes are shot then there is no point in doing the tracking as there will still be movement in the components.
If the bushes are renewed/disturbed then the tracking should be re-done.
So the logical sequence should be Bushes - Tyres - Tracking.
However if cost is an issue then you could go Tyres - Bushes -Tracking but bear in mind that the tyres could be subject to unecessary wear until you get the rest done.
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