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691

General Car Chat / Oil seal

« on: 29 June 2014, 12:51:29 »

Friend of mine has a '02 plate Toyota Yaris on which the front crank oil seal is failing/has failed as he  has a pretty bad oil leak from that area.Anyone know how complicated a job it is on these cars to change seal?Engine is a D4-D diesel.

692

Omega General Help / Another problem

« on: 16 June 2014, 18:56:15 »

I am under instruction to keep and repair the Omega and now another problem has in all probability reared its head.Last week whilst checking levels etc. I noticed that the coolant level was pretty low,with all the rain of late I couldn't tell whether this was the result of a leak or what so I topped it up with what I had to hand[the cheapo blue anti-freeze].Yesterday whilst checking the level to see if had dropped I found some gunge in the header tank.I've checked the oil level and that's fine with no sign of water,so assuming the gunge is a result of oil cooler letting go.Before I condemn it is there any way this can be tested?Reason for asking is that I've read elsewhere that mixing certain anti-freeze types will also produce this kind of symptom and I don't know what was in it originally.It didn't have any really detectable colour,but it must have had something in it as it's shown no sign of freezing up over the past two winters.Any thoughts?Assuming it to be oil cooler where do I get one from-dealer only or what?Any idea of prices?I assume if they can't be tested in some way then buying used is a gamble at best or a total waste of time/money at worst.Temp.gauge has never registered above 95 and when it hits that figure fans cut in until it registers just under 90[88ish?]All water pipes are hot and rad is uniformly hot top to bottom and side to side if any of that helps.

693

General Car Chat / A retail colour?

« on: 08 June 2014, 09:25:26 »

Was white offered as a retail colour on Omegas or was it only used on police vehicle?I'm thinking here of F/L estates in particular as one of these has now become quite a regular sight going along our street and I'm just curious is all.Not had a close enough sighting of it to know engine size/spec etc.

694

General Car Chat / Dilemma

« on: 05 June 2014, 22:34:31 »

I have a Jaguar which in just over 6yrs ownership has proven totally reliable and has cost peanuts in spare parts as it's needed so few.I decided to try selling it as being such a low slung car it was proving very difficult for Maureen to get in/out of due to her worsening disabilities-and her recent stroke will only make matters worse as and when she is able to ride shotgun in any car.Despite adverts locally,a listing on Gumtree another on E-bay and for the last two months in a well known classic car magazine it has failed in spectacular fashion to attract any offers other than from muppets who want me to give it away.Now my Omega on the other hand is/was better for her to ride in given it's greater ride height.However it needs a new thermostat and transfer pipe plus coolant,it also won't start when hot which I'm told points to a failing starter motor,so one of those needed.The cam belt was last changed[as far as I can tell] was last changed at just short of 80,000mls and it's now showing just over 133,000mls,so new cam belt kit plus fitting needed.Then last night on the way to visit Maureen in hospital it just died on me just as it did not long ago when crank sensor packed up.I couldn't try to re-start it straight away due to it's hot starting issue,but it started and ran fine a couple of hours later after visiting time was done with.I hope it doesn't need another crank sensor[this one if it does has lasted less than 500mls and yes it was genuine G.M.]so a possibility that it needs a new one of those too.Given the cost of all these parts plus fitting[which I don't at present have and can ill afford]do I
A]Declare the Omega off road,send back the free tax disc and keep it until such time as parts are gathered and meanwhile return Jaguar to the road or
B]Return Jaguar to road and sell/scrap Omega and look for a more Maureen friendly vehicle?
As it stands I don't feel I can trust Omega to get me where I want to go and get me back again,if I did have the above faults fixed would I ever have complete faith in it again?
Just don't know which way to jump at present,hence the dilemma.

695

General Car Chat / X-Trail

« on: 15 May 2014, 21:27:03 »

Only seen pictures of the new one so far,but from those it seems the X-Trail is an almost exact copy of the Qahquai.So what have they done just stuck X-Trail badges on a Qashquai and called it a new model or what?Not that I would have one but I do think both cars look far better than the old models.

696

General Discussion Area / Update 2

« on: 13 May 2014, 06:47:30 »

Went up to see Maureen in hospital last night and although there is no firm date yet set they are talking of sending her home sooner rather than later.So she's managed to do a few scrawled drawings and get through to me how the furniture will need to be re-arranged to enable things like a hoist for getting her in and out of bed to be got in.When the day arrives when she does come home then the hard work will begin of me learning how to do the necessary things to care for her.But at least she'll be home,dead chuffed!!!

697

General Discussion Area / Good days telly

« on: 27 April 2014, 09:55:03 »

For me at least there's summat decent to watch for a change.World Superbikes from Assen is on Eurosport 2 now and later on there's MotoGP from Argentina on BTSport.Excellent!!

698

General Car Chat / The point is?

« on: 27 April 2014, 09:37:45 »

Saw a small hatchback yesterday-didn't catch what make/model,you know the kind of thing massively lowered,big tailpipe and bigger wheels,fair enough it's each to their own and there are plenty of similar about.But this one was making noises like it was backfiring every second or so,this it seems is the latest thing,but what is the point exactly?How is it done?Obviously it's an age thing but I just don't get it,if my cars backfired I was on the case to make it stop doing so,now they're deliberately making them do it!

699

General Discussion Area / Profit drop

« on: 27 April 2014, 09:29:15 »

Ford have reported a 39% drop in their first quarter profits apparently due for the most part to poor performance in North America which unsurprisingly they see as their most important market.That seems to me to be one heck of a drop.Wonder if their top men will now expect a massive bonus payout ?

700

General Discussion Area / Update

« on: 21 April 2014, 21:30:53 »

As some on here will know from reading my post "safe in hospital?"earlier this month,Maureen[aka the dragonlady]suffered a severe stroke.Firstly the negatives,2 weeks ago the doctor spoke to us and told us we may wish to "prepare for the worst"and put an end of life plan in place.This was decided upon by myself,Mo's two daughters[one of whom is listed as next of kin]and her granddaughter.The first MRI scan-done whilst her brain was bruised and swollen- appeared to show about 25% of her brain to be shot,a second scan is due this week when hopefully a clearer idea of the damage will be gained.Whilst I still have this at the back of my mind I'm concentrating more on the positives.Her physio is still on going-both physical and speech,although some things she says make no sense she is coming out with more understandable words on a daily basis and her speech in general is clear and not slurred.She is fully alert and knows any visitors who go and see her,and she remembers appointments,family birthdays etc.Her swallow response is also slowly improving[although her drinks still have to be thickened and her food pureed]and she is able to feed herself.Her right leg[or use of it]is slowly improving,although at present she only gets the occasional tingling feeling in her right arm.She can sit upright for short periods and as long as she can see her reflection in a mirror or other such surface she can correct herself if she begins to lean to one side.So all in all I think there are more positives than negatives and although she has a long road yet to travel I remain convinced she will at some point return home,needing care yes-and if it comes to that I will without question pack in work to do the caring of her.Plus of course she has not yet given up the fight.Anyway she's likely to come home purely out of spite[she never did like to see me happy!]lol

701

General Discussion Area / Class 4 NICs

« on: 21 April 2014, 20:57:00 »

For a variety of reasons[long story]I find myself having to fill out a self assessment tax return.I can follow all of it apart from the class 4 National Insurance Contributions bit.Paperwork I've found from an accountant[a few years old]show that he came up with a figure and then calculated 9% of this to arrive at a figure that was payable by me.Now I can follow the maths bit of that,what I am lost on is how the original figure was arrived at as this figure[used to then calculate what I needed to pay]appears nowhere else in the paperwork nor does it seem to bear any relation to any other figures shown.So my question is how do I arrive at a figure to calculate 9% of so I know I'm paying the correct amount?

702

General Car Chat / Recall

« on: 13 April 2014, 07:37:59 »

I see that BMW are to recall 156,000 vehicles[no specific model was mentioned so presume it's range wide]due to a problem with some bolts which could lead to engine damage.However this report stated that this was in the U.S.A,so do they use different bolts there to those used elsewhere,or do no other markets matter to BMW?

703

Omega General Help / Starting problem

« on: 07 April 2014, 22:45:21 »

Went to pick up step daughter for a hospital visit with her mother.Anyway the journey is about 25mls each way,approx 60% of which is motorway with ordinary town roads at each end.Car started and ran perfectly all the way there and when I arrived I turned it off,went to restart it a couple of minutes later and it was just as though the battery was flat.The engine turned over very slowly or only sort of part turned over but not fast enough to start.After about 20mins.went to try it and it started with no problems.Temp.gauge when I turned it off was showing 90 degrees[but it's got a lazy 'stat],this has happened on two previous occasions when I've stopped for fuel after a long run,but on both these occasions it's turned over just fast enough to start.From cold/cool the car starts and runs perfectly.No codes are showing,the coolant is up to the mark so no sign of coolant loss.It seems to me to be heat soak causing this problem but why? and how would I cure it?Anyone else experienced this type of problem?

704

General Discussion Area / Safe in hospital?

« on: 01 April 2014, 21:56:29 »

A week ago yesterday the dragonlady trundled off to hospital for her regular INR blood test at which time she told them she'd been losing a little blood.They admitted her straight away for observation and a camera examination,due to delays this camera job wasn't due to take place until tomorrow afternoon.In the mean time they stopped her Wharfrin tablets but gave no kind of substitute such as aspirin or anything.Early hours of this morning she suffered a severe stroke,so it's fingers crossed here that they have "saved" enough of her for her to be able to live some kind of life.One nurse has said that in all probability it was taking her off the Wharfrin that brought the stroke on.I thought you were supposed to be safe in hospital!!Anyway sorry to introduce something of a downer on here but I do feel a little better for having "let it out"

705

General Discussion Area / On the news...

« on: 24 March 2014, 23:06:09 »

...this morning,an item about a church raffle.This apparently took place In America[where else?]church held raffle where one of the prizes[the prize?]was....a full on assault rifle!!!To enter you had to be at least 18yrs old and attend the service on the day the raffle was drawn,and that's it!It seems people came from hundreds of miles away to enter!!Only in America!!!!