August 2008
During a recent MOT it was advised that one of the tyres was "perished". The tester had gone home when I collected the car and the service manager thought it was nothing to worry about.
So I took the wheel off yesterday and in one of the tread grooves, there's an alarming looking open crack that runs right around the tyre. It's a Dunlop SP Sport 2000E, and came with the car new and has done 33K miles in 4yrs - on the NSR of the car, and it still has plenty of tread left.
It's never been over or under inflated and the tyre on the opposite side (same details) looks fine.
Anyone know why it would crack open like this?
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Hi (Im a newbie so please be nice)
Basically i have a large tank of diesel and I want to know if its safe to use it?
A site we have just taken control of has large and full diesel fuel tank, and I want to know if the contents are still useable.
The tank was filled with standard diesel (not red diesel) after the fuel strike as a back up to supply the companies vans if another strike happened.
It is being used to run the building generator without any problems.
But Ive drained a sample off and its a dark brown colour.
(There may have been some red diesel left in the tank when it was filled up with ordinary diesel).
I have found a link to a local company who claimes to clean diesel (mostly for boats), but not sure if they give any guarantees.
So does diesel have a shelf life? has it been contaminated with bacteria? Should I use it mixed with new fuel?
Britmonkey
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Hi Oldnotbold
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and reply.
Alas it was bought for the strike in 2000, so the fuels 8 years old!!!
Im now assured the red diesel was drained off prior to the tanks filling.
The company who are pushing to clean it have said this.
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My advice is: don't be worried about diesel. The ageing process is only the contaminant gathering. Once we get that out (or 95% = of it at least) the diesel should be fine. We can always run a test for you in our own van.
We are proposing a special low price to help the situation for you. Just think what the cost of replacement fuel will be!
Its a 10,000L tank so I guess if it can be made usable, it could be worth 9000 GBP of fuel in our vans to our vans.
Anyone got any recent experience of this? I've done a search but the few threads found are old.
Looking at the Long Stay parking on the BAA website, is it as secure and convenient as the website says? Do the buses run on time?
Is it worth paying an extra £30 (over long stay) to use the business parking? We should (hopefully!) not be on a tight schedule time-wise.
Are the off-airport competitors any good, such as Q-park? I see most of the alternatives take your keys off you, I would prefer to park myself and keep my keys if possible.
Ive only flown from Heathrow once 8 years ago and went by train that time..
Any advice/ info appreciated,
Rich. Read more
Last November I used Purple Parking.
Courtesy buses taking 15 mins run all day to all the LHR terminals. They have a huge place at Southall on the old AEC factory site. You drive directly to there. Upon arrival the car the car is photographed before you leave it in a special bay. You then check it in and get the bus. Managed to halve their standard charge by getting a discount code from a voucher code website. Cost: £40 for a fortnight.
HTH
My car was clamped at the beginning of July as it was untaxed. This was my fault and I have no problem with it, hadn't taxed it since April, had totally forgotten as it was parked in a garage as I was working away. Was the first time I'd driven it and ironically had driven to my parents house to pick up my documents to tax it. I paid the clamping fine and surety and bought my tax that afternoon.Am still waiting for my surety refund (apparantly I have to contact the pound that clamped it but the DVLA won't give me their number and the national number is of no help as they say I have to speak to the pound directly).Frustrating but not the end of the world!However, yesterday I received a letter from the DVLA saying I have to pay fine of £103 for having untaxed vehicle on the road at 13:43 on 02/07/08. That was 30 mins AFTER the car was clamped. Surely they can't fine me again?!?I did try to pay the clampers straight away so I could move the car into my driveway, was only parked long enough for my sister to move her car out of the way.They refused and wouldn't unclamp it until the next morning so I also had to pay to get a taxi to work and back to my parents house again.I know I was in the wrong and I accept that but surely they can't take any more of my money?!?Any help would be appreciated. Read more
also claim back duty to the time when it was last taxed unless SORN which
in this case doesn't help as vehicle on a public road untaxed.
They will claim back duty regardless of if it was SORN'd or not
Hello BR.
In my driving 'career', I've had some Vauxhalls, some Fords, 2 from Austin/BL, a Nissan,
a Smart, a Volkswagen, and a....Peugeot 307. 2.0HDi.
Of them all, I'm reviewing what pleased me and what didn't, and what would make me return to any of the marques if I felt the inclination. Ford, Vauxhall, Smart, Nissan, Volkswagen- I would probably have no qualms about buying another of their cars, as my owning experience was generally pleasant and positive. It would all depend on the actual machine, of course, but I tend to look on these marques in a favourable light
However: Peugeot. The 307 was a big disappointment; cumbersome, skittish handling, shoddy interior, crumbling electrics. We got shot of it prior to anything REALLY serious going wrong with it. And it wasn't particularly cheap, either.
I'm not struck on Peugeot, as you might have gathered. Which, as I've said, got me thinking- what would it take from Peugeot to change my perceptions? Will I see myself contemplating a new Peugeot in 10 years time? Or ever?
I know there are BackRoomers who've been around a bit longer than me, and doubtless have fallen out of love and back in again with certain marques- what prompted them to leave their harsh metal mistresses, and what did it take for them to return?
tt Read more
Falling in love again...?>>
One's more than enough.
Even more expensive than owning cars....:-)
As Screwloose outlined yesterday. DPF and short trips don`t go well together.
What`s the answer for those of us still running diesels without DPF?
Hold on to the current car? even taking an approach that would see a major expense such as a new engine- or other several thousand pound repair- preferable to a new car with DPF?
Our non turbo, non common rail, non DPF Punto 1.9D, has spent the last 6+ years on cold running stop start community work. Despite a typical 30+ or so, stop starts a day- never showing a water temp reading in winter, it`s fine after all this time. Doing 53/4 mpg in that use too.
My point is, that it seems as though the car with DPF is now determining what use it can reliably put to and that the diesels efficiency in ultra short trip,cold engine-stop-start use has just been wiped out by DPF.
I suppose solutions will be found, but it seems as though there is an argument, as never before to put money into that "working tool" of the stop start , pre DPF, diesel and not let it pass out of your hands, until better solutions, such as pure battery short range cars are cheaply available.
Further thoughts on solutions.
Looking at our own needs, my wife`s Punto could be replaced with a *simple* battery car of the same size, with a speed of 40 mph and range of twenty miles at 30mph. There would need to be a boost to 50mph for a couple of miles, per charge.
That could be charged at night on economy 7, and would just need a charge point in the office carpark, to give a 30 minute boost. (as a safeguard)
Heaters. Why can`t the off car electric energy solution take the brunt of energy demands for these?
Why can`t a solution as in an electric storage heater store heat from the mains and then use a simple on-board fan to distribute heat during use.? Small interior space, little weight.
Surely the answer to short journey, stop start, second cars is somewhere here, rather than with DPF diesels?
Your thoughts?
regards Read more
Why would someone own a diesel, DPF or otherwise, if the requirement is short trips?
Diesel costs £6 a gallon and a DPF diesel variant will almost certainly cost significantly more than the petrol equivalent.
A lot of modern diesels are nicer to drive than petrol equivalents, but that doesnt stand up against reliability concerns and sheer expense.
i have just changed the clutch on my micra k11 but cannot get the drive shafts back in bacause the grooved ring the drive shafts slide into have moved, al thats showing is a bar with two cogs that slide up and down on it? the clutch mechanism works, gear did move but have now become stuck? how can i realine the grooved ring back up with the dyive shafts and also free the gearbox?
i was quote £300 to change the clutch, its only cost me the parts so far and if possible id like to keep it that way with your help, can you please help. thanks. Read more
Yes, as Mike says, the differential gears have slipped round, and dropped out. You'll need to gain access to the differential to put them back in. I don't know the layout of these gearboxes - if you're lucky, there's seperate access to the differential. If you're unlucky, you'll have to strip the entire gearbox.
For future reference, on FWD gearboxes, after you've taken one driveshaft out, slide a short piece of broom handle in to prevent the gears moving, only then, take the second driveshaft out. Keep the broom handle in place until the other side driveshaft is back in place.
Check it out here...
www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/226374/...o
ad.html
{link to rival website made non clickable}
I have to say it looks promising. The interior, to me at least, is a lot more inviting than the Mondeos or a Passats for that matter. As expected it's not as good as the Mondeo to drive but that wont matter 95% of the time anyway...
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Well they were allegedly going to call it a Vectrum - until some British guy helpfully pointed out.....
BBC reports
West Mercia Police were involved in an average of eight crashes a week over two years in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.
There were 844 accidents between 2005 and 2007, figures have shown.
The force said the fact a crash is recorded does not mean a vehicle actually collided with another one or that the police were at fault.
It is compulsory to refer cases to the Independent Police Complaints Committee when there has been a serious accident.
Seven such collisions were referred to the IPCC between 2005 and 2007 - two are still under investigation.
Undoubtedly Zero NCB
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some years back (when the cars were white, not silver) i had a chap posted to my team, that i'd been trying to prevent for some months as he was a 'character'. Before long he informed me of some damage he'd caused to one of the cars. I thanked him for doing it properly and informing me, then went out to examine the damage, which was a long single scrape along the offside... i noticed some 'white stuff' at the front part and asked him what it was.
his response? .... " Well obviously i tried to typex it, but as it went further back the scratch got too deep"
I take the DIY wash and hose down approach to car cleaning.
WInterior -£80hile waiting at a main dealer I noticed their valeting proposals and made a few notes
Described as
Mini - £50 Wash n wax, clean door shuts, vacuuum interior and boot & clean dash
Standard - £80 includes wheels hand cleaned & washed
Standard + wax - £96
Full - £150
Interior - £80
Spruce & shine -£30
Are these typical prices outside of the carpark crew ? Read more
On teh contrary, I would love everyone to put up their prices, it makes me look cheap. Im only a bit above what the E.europeans charge but i go to peoples houses, so im almost level pegging anyway. Suits me :-)
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I just move front to back etc on the same side.
Is there a vent for the fuel tank under that wheel arch?