August 2008
A car (newish small Renolt) passed quickly by in a 30 limit, around a sharp blind 90 degree LH turn, out of sight.
Clunk! POP!! Silence.
A quick jog around the corner revealed that matey had oversteered, hit the kerb, come back off the pavement onto the road, swerved around a parked car, and stopped, again partially on the pavement.
A youth was just getting out.
It was his car.
It had a chewed up (rim damage) & probably scrap nearside front alloy.
It hav a very dubious looking tyre, pinched by the impact.
Smoke and small flakes of stuff billowed from the drivers door as he emerged.
On opening the passenger door, the outside of the seat was seen to be ripped along the side at upper arm level, and a flaccid airbag waved folornly in the breeze. Rather more smoke from the explosion and more bits of stuff billowed out, it looked as though he smoked 80 a day.
That'll learn 'im. He wouldn't change the tyre on the spot, but drove off after being exhorted to take it easy on that tyre.
Pah. Read more
Just popped out of the office for a bite to eat when I spot a black cab, the driver of whom had one of these bluetooth ear phone wotsits glued to his ear. On the other ear he was holding a mobile phone whilst trying to enter a supermarket car park.
oh, and he had two passengers in the back.
The Muppet! Read more
Should I admit to this? I was once in Italy in a rental Punto and a stunning looking woman driving from Florence to Venice. My efforts to make the journey more memorable for her had to pause whenever we passed slower moving lorries on our right, and I did once get flashed out of the left most lane by an Alfa 164. She seemed to give her leg a little wiggle when she deemed it safe to continue. It ended with her clutching my right arm and planting a big kiss on my right cheek.
In my defence I always had one hand on the wheel and one foot on the accelerator.
I am not sure if she was as nice as her non-PAS 1.6 MX-5. Sadly it was a late 88bhp one, not one of the early 110bhp ones.
Should one have been pinched for speeding, at a speed of (say) 140MPH on a quietish dual carriageway (not while actually overtaking something) is there anything at all that would mitigate, or even excuse, this (apart from being a policeman)?
I haven't been, BTW. Read more
Would these allowances be made (in your opinion of course) had the miscreants been Mr Cameron, Mr Osborne or any other Tory shadow minister (I'm afraid that I don't have any of their names readily to hand)?
Hi,
My car's started to make a whining noise that gets higher in pitch the faster I go. It starts at around 30mph and gets pretty much unbearable at around 50mph - the motorway is horrible!
It sounds like it's from one of the front wheels. At first I thought it was the passenger side but now it seems like both.
I haven't seen anyone about it yet, just wanted some idea of what it was before I go in touch with someone.
Anyone had a similar problem? Or have any idea what it could be?
Oh, and if it helps, my car has just gone through 60,000 miles!
Thomas Read more
Ah... now I have that non-specific engine warning light on as well. Does this mean something fairly serious is amiss?
This question concerns a 1999 UK Ford Focus 1.8 Petrol model.
I know from various sources how bad it is to get engine oil etc onto the timing belt and tensioner etc, e.g. from the Hayne's manual and various internet articles.
On the one hand the thought haunts me that there could be oil on my timing belt from a rocker cover gasket oil leak and so this could reduce the life of the belt or if it slipped on the idler pulley could cause great engine damage. On the other hand I think about all the car/vehicles on the road today that have timing belts and especially the older ones which are probably contaminated with oil etc from leaks of one kind or another but they don't seem to worry about the financial consequences of a belt failure.
What are your opinions on this quandary ?
Read more
Oil on a timing belt is to be avoided at all costs. Why don't you take off the belt cover and inspect it for contamination?
659.
My estate Mondeo has developed a problem with the rear tyres, having now replaced 2 sets of tyres in 6 months, both wearing heavily on the inside edges.... there appears to be no movement in the joints or bushes, can anyone shed some light on this !
slt Read more
Hi Teccy,
Had the same problem with 02 tddi estate taxi 0n 170,000 miles.Bushes all shot on rear but you couldn't tell until you removed the spring to release the tension on the arms.
Tyres were lasting 4weeks.Got complete 2nd hand back suspension from 24/7 spares for £145 plus delivery.
Fine now!
Stan.
Hi
My alarm seems to have reprogrammed itself, and the fob does not turn it off anymore. I've fitted new batteries to the fob, with no difference.
When I unlock the door of the car with the key, the alarm goes off and only resets when I turn the key in the ignition - A pain for the neighbours at 0430 when I go to work!
Is there a way to reprogram the fob/alarm to sync them together, or do I need to disable the alarm and look at buying a new one.
If it needs reprogrammed, where do I find the method? I've tried numerous google searches with no luck, and dont have the owners manual for the car.
If it needs to be disabled, how do I do that? I've looked at the fusebox, but there isnt a fuse labelled up for the alarm.
Many thanks, and any help will be appreciated.....
MM Read more
Some gorgeous metal here ~ tinyurl.com/59o4gw
Read more
The NSU Ro-80 was some car (for its time) The Wankle rotary engine was unreliable but smooth ... There is an NSU Ro-8o on eBay in mint con dition ~ tinyurl.com/55hhce
Hi,
My car came with 17 inch 205/45 tyres. Do I always have to use this size or can I fit 205/40, 205/50 or 195/55 size tyres which are about a quarter of the price?
Thanks
Read more
It's a good idea to have the rolling radius of the wheels on driven axles as near identical as possible. Apparently Subarus are sensitive to any anomalies in rolling radius, one of their few over-sensitivities. But they used not to have a central differential. Whatever the car, different sized tyres on a driven axle will make the differential work all the time and wear it out.
astra 1.7 td starts normally but as you drive off it dies momentarily then picks up again.
It will drive normaly through the gears and pull normaly but if you stop the car and turn off the engine and then start it, the same thing happens again.
There is a slight leak from one injector where there appears to be deisel bubbling and wondering if this could be the cause.
Any advice appreciated
regards
Adrian Read more
i have a similar prob on my 17dti sportive but with no solution mine feels like it has no turbo for about 2 miles then clears until i re start it is this how yours behaves?
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And another fisherman's tale at wherever these types meet.