and today i have mostly been...

[benczuk]

They currently have a 40 mile speed limit on a stretch of the A30 over Bodmin Moor where they are finally dueling it. It is enforced by average speed cameras.

On a motorway Average speed cameras (at 50) are a pain, but you can usually just sit there holding the speed pretty well. This section on the A30 is a right pain as it includes some massive down hill sections and trying to maintain a steady 40 is impossible even in a low gear without staring fixedly at the speedo and riding the brakes. Can't be safe, but I'm sure the people making the money form it don't really care about safety.

[steve_earwig]

Sorry to digresss. Yoyo a-gogo, I now have a stack of I think 2300 Eurines and the rest in weasels (my wife did the counting and seemed happy). I could buy a coupé for that! But I won't be allowed/wouldn't be able to drive it because of my back/they're all ultra-high mileage now anyway.

He was still a bit iffy about the clutch and wanted a receipt, which I don't have 'cos my mates did it off the books. I told him I had pictures but he didn't seem interested in seeing them. I did print him off the list from here of all the work I had done with totals ( viewtopic.php?f=5&t=15963&p=164035&hili ... lt#p164035 ) and I think he was happy with that. What did occur to me was I had the brake fluid changed for the last MOT* but we didn't think about the clutch, it shares the brake reservoir like the 406s so I suggested there might be some air in it. Feck knows.

Oh, and I forgot to say, the guy they brought with them on Sunday evening was a mechanic. I leant them my strongest flashlight to look over the car but he didn't spot the rust coming through the l/h sill or, now I think about it, the weeping front shock. Oh dear.

I tried to tell him it wasn't the car for him, what you want is an original 4.1 I said. But he had to have it. My conscience is clear. Sort of

ANyway, as you were. It occured to me that the sort of driver most likely to end up on a speed awareness course is an Aldi driver, so maybe that's why you upset them all.

[Doggy]

It occured to me that the sort of driver most likely to end up on a speed awareness course is an Aldi driver, so maybe that's why you upset them all.

We haven't upset them all, (there's only so many hours in the day and so few of us), but I try to help when I can.

[Welly]

Wiggy - I've often felt like over-proving something when selling a car but the fact is they turned up because they liked the look/description of it and they have decided for themselves that they wanted the car....your conscience ends there really. For all you know it'll end up being converted to a V8 RWD for drifting.

Equally it might end up with a Transit Banana engine and used for muck spreading over the Fields...

My guess is that it'll spend the rest of its days in a workshop trying to diagnose that pesky Check Engine Light

[steve_earwig]

What check engine light? I haven't seen it for years

Guy who's bought it's a young lad, works as a builder (finished the economics faculty, speaks English and German - another life wasted ), he had a Mazda Tribute before but he wrote that off avoiding another driver (ended up in a ditch, which ties in with what I've heard of them, try to take them off road and it rips the suspension off), so not his fault (honest) but he needed something to replace it. Must be 4x4 because he lives at the end of an unmade road (sounds a familiar excuse). I suspect he had to borrow off his pa to pay for it. So if it goes wrong (if? Hahaha) like as not he'll be up sh*t creek.

[Bailes1992]

Last week I said to my Mother about her Jimny coming up to 2 years old and how it's almost due it's second service. She gave me a confused look and said "Second service? But it hasn't had it's first?"

So que my job on Saturday was to do 2 services in one go.
I popped into Suzuki as I like to use genuine oil filters and the guy there offered to print me off everything that required doing during it's first two services. Well it turns out they use special running in oils in all the transmission from the factory that has to be replaced after the first year and then every 2 years after that.
Car on drive...


First thing I noticed, I wonder how long that's been empty?


Air filter swapped out...


You have to use Iridium spark plugs in these, very small electrodes and £13 each!


Engine and diff oils draining...


Front diff oil...


Engine oil was er... black!


This was the plug out of the rear diff!



Rear diff oil...


And fill to spill...


I must admit it was a very very easy car to work on. Shame it drives like a billy goat.

[Welly]

Good work with the gear oils, I'll bet there's plenty of Jimmy's out there with the factory oil still in them.

[steve_earwig]

That wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I thought for a moment there the rear diff oil had a cloud of emulsion floating about in it, then I realised it was just a cloud

While I'm thinking about it, I saw a suggestion on the TOC RAV forums (it's not all ra ra ra best car in the world ra third engine ra service second to a nun ra) which said that, if you're draining the oil out of a transmission/diff or whatever, it's a good idea to make sure you can undo the filler/level plug first. I believe someone on there drained the oil out of their diff and then couldn't put any more in... Well, it's a thought, aint'nt it?

[Welly]

....buying a car for MIL

Been looking for Hyundai i10 Auto's there's not many around so you need to be quick. Just put a deposit down at a Hydundai dealer in that St Albans and I'm taking the Train on Saturday to pick the car up; all as yet unseen apart from the web site pics.....

£6,000.00 car, 4 years old 16K miles one owner and the same dealer supplied and serviced from new.

WCPGW

[mjb]

one owner and the same dealer supplied and serviced from new.

WCPGW

Worked well for my coupé... oh wait...

[DaiRees]

I must admit it was a very very easy car to work on.

Hasn't it got a transfer box then?

[GingerMagic]

Today I haz been playing around with brake lights....

I was following the missus home a few days back and noticed that a brake light was out on the Picasso, so as a dutiful husband I forgot to tell her until the night before we were meant to go on a lovely* holiday* to Pontins. I had a look at Halfrauds website where their bulbs were only* £bumrape each..!!!

Decided to cheat and nick one from my 406 ( all the bulbs have already been borrowed from spare lenses ), and swapped it back when a 10 pack of Lucas bulbs arrived through the post today, for a penny pinching £3.

As you were.

[OllieNZ]

They currently have a 40 mile speed limit on a stretch of the A30 over Bodmin Moor where they are finally dueling it. It is enforced by average speed cameras.

On a motorway Average speed cameras (at 50) are a pain, but you can usually just sit there holding the speed pretty well. This section on the A30 is a right pain as it includes some massive down hill sections and trying to maintain a steady 40 is impossible even in a low gear without staring fixedly at the speedo and riding the brakes. Can't be safe, but I'm sure the people making the money form it don't really care about safety.

I went through that on the way to vist the outlaws. I couldn't agree more total pita, I ended up staying around 30 as it was easier to manage lol

[steve_earwig]

Who needs heating when you have lots of cats?

It's hard to spot Camilla because Charlie is lying on her. Teatime is getting fat, sorry, cuddly. When you pick him up he feels like an old comfortable jumper, although I think my wife still finds him a bit frightening. I thought old toms were supposed to stink and spray piss everywhere, he's not like that at all. Thinking about it, that's our two youngest cats and possibly our two oldest - Mary-Jane is at least 10 and Teatime's teeth are far more worn that hers, so he's probably even older.

My god, I'm starting to look like my grandfather

[Welly]

Who needs a job when you can chill out on a settee with cats?

I'm in a right two-and-eight this week stressing over work bollocks and buying that £6K car blind for the MIL.... I'd do anything to be able to relax like that at the moment