September 2007
i am considering buying a basic mig welder for small diy car jobs once in a blue moon..mainly thin gauge/small jobs nothing big and no frequent use
budget £100-200, would be happier with nearer £100
i see you can get gasless machines, to me they sound worth considering as chances are i would be working outdoors in the breeze and theres no chance of running out of gas when the shops are shut. are they worth considering ? if not why
would i be better getting one that does gas and gasless so i have the best of both worlds?
im keen to get a machine with a non live torch ..is that best?
i see specs such as duty cycles and such...what features and specs should i seek ?
anyone have any experiance with the diy brands ...any company better than others for spare parts or repairs etc
****PLEASE DONT TELL ME TO BUY A ££££££ SNAP ON WELDER AS I CANT AFFORD MORE THAN THE STATED BUDGET, id just like to get a decent budget model Read more
I just briefly read in a magazine about a company who can fit 'speed governors' to a young motorists car by parents who want to prevent their youngsters going too fast.
Basically they re-map the ECU so preventing the youngsters vehicle from going over 70mph without restricting the performance elsewhere thus making the young driver not realise it's been tampered with.
Will it ever take on?
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-) Read more
The latest news here in New Zealand tells us that the government are considering compulsory 3rd party insurance as in UK. The newspaper poll I saw had 95% in agreement. This should help reduce our young driver / powerful car problem. Most of the cars in New Zealand are used imports from Japan, and almost all of these have a 180km/h (112 mph) speed limiter as standard. It is of course possible to disable the speed limiting electronically, but the cars come with it built in. This is not at present a requirement, and it is not checked at the six-monthly check equivalent to the MOT.
I live in Christchurch, the city mentioned in an earlier post, and there is definitely a problem with young people and the car culture here. Young people have always craved speed and excitement, and I was no different to anyone else in my youth, which was about 30 years ago. The difference now is that the cars available have about ten times the horsepower that we had in our cars back then. I hope that compulsory insurance may put the brakes on some of this activity, as the number of young people being killed here in New Zealand while taking part in it is much too high.
A motorcycle which sounds like one of those 50cc learner bikes is interfering with the reception on my tv. When it passes my house, about 3 times a day, the screen is corrupted into an annoying mass of pixels which lasts for about 5-10 seconds.
Is there still a law that you must not have any equipment that interferes with radio or television receivers ?, if so and I manage to get the number plate of the offender what are my options?.
Mal. Read more
Re-siting the aerial at the back of the house, or which ever way is further from the road, and so that the structure of the house screen the aerial from the road can be worthwhile too, if a continuous coax run doesn't help.
today, went to lower the front windows ( electric ) on my 1995 306 td and nothing happened, changed the red 10amp fuse still no joy, any advice please?? plus... as im on here, my radio lost its code its the original 306 one they chuck in when new but i dont have the code, any help there as well??
much apreciated
gary Read more
done as above re contacts, and now working fine! thanks for the help mate.
Serviced both cars on the drive this morning, saving around £350
Been doing this since my first car in 1966.
Anyone else from the same generation or older still doing ( and enjoying) this?
I find I have to chose warmish days or i`m in trouble after a couple of hours and cant grip the tools.. :)
Regards Read more
I started servicing my own cars back in 1972, and I'm still doing it. I can count 23 cars of my own in that time, plus 7 motorcycles. I started doing it because I found I couldn't afford to pay someone else large amounts of money for work I could do myself. I have paid for specialised work like cylinder head planing, but the general servicing and repairs can all be done with the help of a manual to guide you.
In the last month, I've replaced a Mini front wheel bearing, done an oil and filter change on the Mitsubishi VR-4, and sorted out some electrical issues on the XJ12. Paying someone else to do that sort of thing for me, just seems lazy. I've never bought a huge toolkit, just built it up piece by piece as I needed it. I lived in the UK from '97 to '02 and had to recreate my toolkit from scratch and service the cars outside. That was interesting, and there was no shade tree either.
Can anyone tell me how to remove the engine cover. Does it just pull off or are there nuts/bolts.
s Read more
Thank You Screwloose
Can anyone tell me what Glass's says the trade in value of an Oct 2006 EOS 2.0 Petrol is.
Dual zone A/C, Leather, 6 disc changer, sat nav, 17" wheels, HS. Dealer is about 25% away from what Parkers claim! Read more
It only had three faults - one of them twice!
Hi all
I've finally figured out why I was getting flashed by other drivers - the brake lights aren't working.
I've checked fuses and bulbs (didn't think it would be a bulb as all 3 lights are out and there's no warning signal on the dash). I suspect switch, but would like to make sure there's nothing else I should check or try prior to getting and fitting. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be grateful.
Also, is fitting a relatively simple process? I haven't yet got a haynes but that will be bought along with the switch. I'm looking at GSF for the switch unless there are any better palces other know about - again, all comments welcome.
Thanks in advance.
s Read more
Thanks again Screwloose, missus is (hopefully) collecting the switch from audi dealer tomorrow, was worried it would be one of those fiddly jobs that take up a whole afternoon!
My local VW dealer has invited me to attend an exclusive half day rally school with British Rally Champion David Higgins if I buy the latest Hot Golf they are promoting.
This Golf is adorned with:
Colour Coordinated rear spoiler
Colour Coordinated side skirts
Six spoke alloys
Stylish Graphics
Unique seat featuring David Higgins' embroidered autograph
So is this Hot special based on the R32? Or the GTi?
Sadly it is based on the 1.4S with a raw 80bhp and costs £12,799
Style over substance methinks; and you can't even get those twinkly blue lights for outings on the promenade.
Read more
WOW, do they use this special 1.4 Golf for the half day rally school?
When you say stylish graphics, is that the words Rally emblazoned down the sides?
;-)
SWMBO was out with a friend in our Navara and had a CD playing on the CD player. They also both had bottles of water in the cupholders. The CD ended and they attempted to eject it forgetting that the full cupholders were in thy way. Result CD is now jammed in the player and will not eject.
The question is - is this an affordable repair - should I get the dealer to do it or a car hifi specialist. Would it be cheaper / better to just replace the radio / CD player.
Any views much appreciated Read more
Hi,first of all buy a c02 fire extinguisher,believe me you will need it :) Many a carpet has caught fire in the car when welding underneath.... Go for the gas type,with .6 wire,buy the biggest one you can afford as you will find plenty of use for it,and get a head shield not a hand shield as this leaves both hands free for keeping things steady,and if needs be you can shield the area if a breeze gets up,and never get a live torch,they are a disaster,use argo shield light gas as this contains more c02 which cools the welding area resulting in less chance of blowing a hole,and the area has to be spotless and paint grease free for a good weld,regards James.