Your fleet running reports

[Mito Man]

Years ago when I went to Halfords to get my AC regassed they had this device which connected to both the high and low pressure inlets so they could accurately gauge how much to put in. Then the last time I went 2 years ago I just had some 12 year old kid stick a bottle into the low pressure and pump away. Still, worked perfectly fine so I thought I might as well just do that myself next time...

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engi ... 64627.html

So ordered a bottle of climate change with the pressure gauge for £60 in February when we last had good weather as my cars were feeling pretty weak. However it’s only this weekend that the weather is warm again. Topped my 3 cars which were all on the low side and they’re way better now.

Proceeded to try and top up the M6 as it has a weird problem which no one could diagnose - it holds AC pressure for months - like up to 6 months then randomly one night it let’s it all go. However I think it finally hit the point of properly fvcked as it was immediately losing pressure today.


Anyway I can still feel a bit of liquid sloshing around in the bottle so I’ll use the rest to top up the X5 when it’s back from the body shop.

It’s well worth it if you need to just top up a few cars.

[16vCento]

Took the Volvo for a ECM upgrade and the Front Seatbelts replacing as part of a recall.

Not sure what the upgrade consisted of but it seems to have found an extra 28hp and 60nm from somewhere, odd that

[speedingfine]

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/21 ... estershire

End of an era..if it sells that is

[DeskJockey]

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/21 ... estershire

End of an era..if it sells that is

Shame. What's the other project?

[speedingfine]

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/21 ... estershire

End of an era..if it sells that is

Shame. What's the other project?

Caterham needs a gearbox rebuild as it's very crunchy and I'm considering Jenveys. But tbh I'm always considering Jenveys

[integrale_evo]

You should definitely consider jenveys

[DeskJockey]

You should definitely consider jenveys

Stick them on both cars!

[KiwiDave]

The stainless TRD exhaust on the GT86 had started giving a nasty buzz when on idle evident either side of the resting revs when the air con compressor kicked on and off. So a brief nasty buzz which sounded like the exhaust backbox was catching on the bumper or something.

Turned out to be internal so last week I left the car with a mate who's both a car nut and an aircraft engineer for him to open up the backbox and see what's going on. Wasn't good news - I can confirm your highly expensive TRD stainless exhaust is actually made of Swiss cheese mild steel bullshit inside and it's all rusted and crumbling away. Options were to tidy it up and run with it, or actually replace it. Replacement TRD exhaust is actually $4k here currently, so about 2k GBP. Fitting any other exhaust option means changing half the rear bumper as it's all shaped around the four pipe system.

So I'm sticking with a rattly exhaust for now and assume at some point it'll all just grenade itself and I'll be left with a stainless box with zero gubbins inside it.

Pretty unimpressed with the TRD quality though - explains why there's hundreds of them for sale on parts sites in Japan with rattles.

[Carlos]

Options were to tidy it up and run with it, or actually replace it. Replacement TRD exhaust is actually $4k here currently, so about 2k GBP. Fitting any other exhaust option means changing half the rear bumper as it's all shaped around the four pipe system.

So I'm sticking with a rattly exhaust for now and assume at some point it'll all just grenade itself and I'll be left with a stainless box with zero gubbins inside it.

Option 3 get a stainless back box made in situ for a few hundred £ ?

[Coaster1]

Pretty unimpressed with the TRD quality though - explains why there's hundreds of them for sale on parts sites in Japan with rattles.

That’s pretty crap. My Integra’s exhaust lasted 130k miles before required replacement.

[DeskJockey]

Replaced a piece of windscreen trim and the driver's side floor mat locking clips on the Galaxy. Then went to look at the O/S inner rear light as one of the 10 or so LEDs has stopped working. Seems you can't replace that part without replacing the whole light unit. Plenty of secondhand ones available but no idea if they're any better (can obviously ask for evidence) and new ones are £150+ it seems. So I think I won't bother just yet.

It'll be getting a thorough going over next Monday, and while it won't be like new, it should look much better.

I also need to book it in for a towbar install.

Zoe is probably back with us end of this week, garage called to say that they had all the parts and would start work tomorrow.

[Beany]

Cleaned, clayed and rainx'd the glass on the car today.

I was going to give it a quick hand wash but there's so much pollen and or seemed pointless. Might throw a couple of quid in a local jetwash and just give it a rinse tonight.

[mik]

Wasted two fucking hours today when the petrol strimmer ground to a halt. I had just put more fuel in it but was 95% certain that what I had put in was a fresh 2-stroke mix from this years fuel. So I checked the air filter - all looked OK. Checked the plug. Bit grubby - cleaned it and re-gapped it. Still no starrty.

Decided the 5% of me that was worried it might be stale fuel could have a point - syphoned it out and refilled with fresh. No starty.

Pulled the carb off to check for air leaks at the gasket. Nope. Fiddled with the mix - nope. FFS.

I decided the fuel was working fine, so it had to be the spark - suspected the on/off switch on the control with the throttle trigger might have broken for some bizarre reason. Opened it up - a spring jumped out. Argh!

All looked good with the switch so spent 30mins rebuilding that - working out where the spring (for the safety trigger - which needs to be pressed so the throttle can be squeezed) went and fought with it.

All back on - still not starting. Getting really pissed off now. Pulled the plug out again and decided to swap it for the one in the leaf hoover I’d been using earlier. Started first pull.

Cheap chinese plug - suppled from new - must have failed internally. No indication of any problem looking at the bastard.

Decent NGK replacement (plus spare) ordered.

2 bank holiday hours wasted

[KiwiDave]

Option 3 get a stainless back box made in situ for a few hundred £ ?

I did think about that and got a rough cost which was over a thousand quid. Down here we get 'distance tax' - like because we're so far from anywhere. everything's imported and needs a 'specialist' to do anything that isn't off the shelf and everything custom costs a fucking fortune.

I think I'm just going to run it til it rattles like a fucked fridge and set fire to it in a field.

[KiwiDave]

Cleaned, clayed and rainx'd the glass on the car today.

I was going to give it a quick hand wash but there's so much pollen and or seemed pointless. Might throw a couple of quid in a local jetwash and just give it a rinse tonight.

Do you find RainX any good? every time I've tried it the resultant smeary shit everywhere put me right off.

[Beany]

Polish it up a bit with a damp cloth, tends to do the trick for me.

[Beany]

Polish it up a bit with a damp cloth, tends to do the trick for me.

It was streaky this morning so I take that back. Bleh.

[mr_jon]

Cleaned, clayed and rainx'd the glass on the car today.

I was going to give it a quick hand wash but there's so much pollen and or seemed pointless. Might throw a couple of quid in a local jetwash and just give it a rinse tonight.

Do you find RainX any good? every time I've tried it the resultant smeary shit everywhere put me right off.

Just get the RainX additive you put in the washer fluid, zero effort and works maybe 75% as well.

[drcarlos]

Went to view a Cortina 1600E with a friend last night. Car described as an original honest car that hadn't been welded.

Car turned out to be a basket case (not cheap either at over 11k), passenger side rear inner arch had rotted away at the join and had left a nice 1cm gap all of the way around. The arch inside the door shut showed signs of bog and a poor repaint probably trying to cover some more rust coming through from the other side where the inner arch was gone. Both sills were full of bog and a poor repaint, the rear door had scribed a half moon out in the bog and paint where the doors opened. Smoked worse that Pat butcher. Had been welded at the front outriggers too.

It makes you wonder why people don't honestly describe cars. It's a total project that needs stripping and blasting to get the best idea of the rot, needs a full engine rebuild as either the valve guides or rings are shot. That's before you get to a bit of a poor interior too that also needed work.

It's a good thing it was local to me and he could build in viewing while visiting family as a 7 hour round trip just to view that would have been a bitter pill.

[Jimexpl]

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The compact had its first m.o.t with me and...failed
Faulty adjustment on a headlamp meant that it couldn’t get within the specs.
Ordered another for £28 to be delivered at the end of the week, went to collect the car the following day and the guy on duty in kwik fit had fixed and passed it. The bulb holder on the passenger side wasn’t properly engaged. Result.
Advisory on a diff and gearbox oil leak. They don’t drip, and it’s not noisy, so I’ll just check levels and keep an eye on it. It’s had the same advisory at least twice before.

Still think it’s a great car for the money, given that it owes me less than £1800 after fixing the faults. Just gone over 90k now.
Treated it to a wash and wax.