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16

General Car Chat / Omega replacement

« on: 24 March 2019, 19:12:23 »

My search for a suitable replacement for the beast is getting nowhere using the  saloon/petrol/rearwheel drive/self leveling/1800kgs kerbweight formula, so I'm considering an Audi Allroad ... main drawback is the fact it runs on ship fuel ..

Notwithstanding that, does anyone know anything about these ?? ie major problems/drawbacks, especially regarding suspension, gearbox and DPF

Ta muchly for any opinions ..

17

General Discussion Area / Now that's what you call a BBQ !!

« on: 19 March 2019, 19:14:18 »

At least no-one go hurt.. so far

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-47626902/houston-chemical-fire-to-rage-for-days

18

General Discussion Area / Autobahnstormers

« on: 13 March 2019, 22:16:32 »

Info received tonight ...

"Today we have launched the Club's new, integrated Forum which is accessed directly from the club website and which will replace the existing Forum"

All you have to do is log in to the main website, done it and I'm in .. no topics yet .. but for those who have had trouble accessing the forum in the past it might help.

I understand the idea is :

What will happen to the existing phpBB Forum?

As mentioned earlier, those currently registered on the existing forum at www.autobahnstormers.org.uk/forum will have a couple of weeks to complete current threads, but the Forum will not accept any more new registrations.

After a couple of weeks the whole of the existing Forum will be switched to read-only mode and no more posts, replies or PMs will be possible.

All the posts and the history that the existing Forum holds will be retained and will be accessible to all paid-up Club members.



OOPS .. wrong place .. Mods please move to General Car Chat   

19

Omega General Help / Steering knocking

« on: 10 February 2019, 21:11:23 »

The old dear (car not Chris !!  ) has developed a clonking / knocking from the front left corner when doing slow speed, tightish, constant radius, turns , especially to the right, but also but to a lesser degree, to the left ... most noticeable when turning into parking bays etc. No noises when passing over sleeping policemen/speed humps/potholes etc.

My thinking from reading numerous past threads on here is that the droplinks need replacing ?? and I believe these are always done in pairs ?? Is a full geometry check needed post droplink change ??

Am I on the right track, or is it something completely different ?? I've had a poke around with a pry bar but I have no idea what I'm looking for and what is right compared to what is wrong !!

Any advice, as always, much appreciated

Nige

20

General Car Chat / We know they can't fix cars but ....

« on: 30 January 2019, 21:52:04 »

can they fix this ??

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47062480

21

Omega General Help / Battery replacement

« on: 20 January 2019, 19:28:11 »

The six year old vauxhall battery in the beast (3.2 saloon) is telling me it's had enough ...  if I start the car every day it just about copes ... if I leave it 72 hours then a boost pack is needed ... even when "flat" - 12.1 volts offload - it thinks it is fully recharged - 12.7 volts offload - in less than 3 hours on a 4 amp charger ... which is mathematically impossible.

It was £76.00 (+ VAT) ... but reduced to £49.99 (VAT) on trade club ....  so not done too badly .. 

So, where is the best place, at the moment, to purchase a battery for a 2001 3.2 saloon, and why, oh why, does every battery manufacturer now use a different product code !! you can't even search google easily  as there appears to be no single reference number ..

22

General Discussion Area / Almost beyond belief ...

« on: 08 January 2019, 17:19:39 »

.....  But I guess there is no accounting for total stupidity ... near the top of TB's cull list ?? 



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-46795396

23

General Discussion Area / Some good news amongst the bad ....

« on: 17 December 2018, 13:42:31 »

Bloodhound project looks like it might be saved .. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-46591860

24

General Car Chat / This could have got "interesting" ......

« on: 12 November 2018, 20:20:48 »

We've been in Londoninium over the weekend with the tin tent, left there this morning to come home, putting things away and hitching up was pretty damp inducing, both Mrs E and I got cold and wet .....  so as she does she puts on the seat heater to warm herself up .......... 

We are on the M25, I'm doing 60 mph (max whilst towing) nice and comfortable in lane 3 of the 4 lanes, overtaking  a posse of HGVs who appear to have speed differentials of 0.05 mph and continually overtake each other, when a smell of burning starts .....   followed by a loud expletive from Mrs E as she leans forward away from the backrest ... I glance down and smoke is starting to drift from the area of the small of her back !!!! ...   

Switch off the heated seat PDQ, and accelerate a tad to clear the HGVs, but being aware of doing anything daft with 1600Kgs of tin tent on the back, get clear of the outer truck and move into lane 2 ....  still 2 trucks to get past ... smell is not getting worse .... smoke appears to have stopped, but the seat back still feels VERY hot .. Mrs E is perched on the front edge of the seat by now .....   so I continue past the last two trucks and into lane 1 .. trying to decide if I need to stop on the hard shoulder (the most dangerous part of any motorway) ... but we continue as things are not getting worse ........

Eventually get to the next services and pull in to have a proper look ... there is a nice 50p sized scorch/burn mark, although the leather is not quite punctured, right on one of the seams where the small of her back would have been... so I think that seat heater is FUBAR... I'll work out how to isolate it tomorrow

Alls well that ends well ......  but .... if it hadn't of "gone out" so quickly...  or it had ignited fully / faster ... it would have been very tricky getting somewhere safe to evacuate .... especially as there was 60 litres of LPG in the boot at that moment ....   

25

Omega General Help / Oil sump

« on: 29 October 2018, 14:03:40 »

Are the oil sumps the same on all V6 models I've found this one on the bay of fleas but want to ensure it fits the 3.2 V6     

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-OMEGA-V6-MODELS-ENGINE-SUMP-IN-GOOD-USED-CONDITION/332832510348?hash=item4d7e5d118c:g:SaAAAOSw-btaoq31

Nige

26

Omega General Help / Key fob repair

« on: 17 August 2018, 10:53:51 »

One of the buttons on the fob has stopped working .. so needs repairing ..replacement of tiny switches beyond the ability of these fingers like pigs tits !!

Anyone know if Martin still does this, and if so, any contact details ?? I seem to have lost the link I thought I had saved !!

27

General Car Chat / Audi A8

« on: 06 August 2018, 15:54:42 »

Was chatting over the weekend over the odd beer or three with similar tin-tent users, discussing what I would replace the omega with when it eventually reached the point of no repair, remembering my requirements of:

Saloon, petrol, at least 230 bhp, min weight 1900 Kgs, self levelling suspension, ability to fit a towbar, preferably the ability to LPG and still have a reasonably usable boot,  rear wheel drive (4 wheel drive considered)

and the suggestion was made that an Audi A8 would fit the specs .... now I know nowt about these  ... any one any knowledge of them regarding reliability, running costs etc etc .. ?? would be looking at something around 4-5 years old, so 2014/2015 reg

28

General Discussion Area / Network help needed :(

« on: 25 July 2018, 23:05:03 »

Despite numerous searches and various "fixes" the problem still exists and I'm stumped Wondering if anyone else has or knows of a solution.

Problem is easy to explain .... windows 10 on all devices, before the last upgrade (1803) my simple WIRELESS network of 1 desktop PC (with printer attached), 1 tablet and 1 laptop all worked well as a "Homegroup" shared the relevant files and printer, and worked as it should.

All 3 devices have now "upgraded" to 1803 and I cannot get the network to function as it should, and did previously, as "homegroup" no longer exists ...

What it does is relatively simple ...  the first device switched on, regardless of which it is, will "see" both the other two quite happily once they boot up, and share files with them as it should .... but the other two will only "see" themselves on the network, and nothing else.

This is a pain as if the main PC is on first, as it usually is, then documents cannot be "sent" to the printer from tablet/laptop as the main PC is not visible, but they can be printed from the main PC as they are visible on the tablet/laptop ...

So "network" is no longer a "network" but is "hub and spoke" with the first device as the "hub" .....

Don't know if anyone can shed light on causes ??

29

General Car Chat / Loctite

« on: 25 June 2018, 20:23:15 »

The bottle of locktite that, as if by magic, left the air force at exactly the same time that I did has finally run out

It was the 648 variant, and I just wondered if the knowledgeable folk on the forum would recommend another bottle of 648 or is some other variant considered better ?? It is used 99% of the time as a thread locking agent on bolts, and occasionally as a "backup" on self tappers.

Any thoughts gratefully appreciated   

30

General Discussion Area / Driving in France.....

« on: 23 June 2018, 20:27:56 »

Anyone intending to travel to France is reminded that from the 1st July 2018 the speed limit on most A & B roads will be reduced from 90 km/hr (56mph) to 80 km/hr (50 mph)

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/driving-abroad/speed-limits-in-france/

Also, the "Crit'Air" emissions system has been extended to cover 8 cities, not just the previous 3, and more are expected to follow. Failure to display the "vignette" can lead to large "on-the-spot" fines.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/law-change-for-uk-drivers-in-french-cities/