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1

General Car Chat / Re: Breakdown cover

« on: 23 November 2023, 14:42:13 »

Gem motoring assist has worked for us over the years. Two people, whatever normal car or bike we happen to be driving.

Guess it depends on the agent used. Called them three times in probably 15 years. Normally quick response, but often prefer to drag it onto a flatbed rather than fix it.
Omega - carried home, even when I put the new crank sensor in his hand. To be fair it was blocking a dark narrow lane and stopped over a puddle)
Wife’s Pug - exhaust put back in place with zip ties. Probably because he couldn’t get the recovery truck into the multi-storey.
 Nissan Patrol, recovered 30 miles after misfuelling (not by me)

I think the price even went down this year by a couple of quid

2

Cars for Sale & wanted / Re: 2.6 Elite estate in silver - needs welding so spares or repair

« on: 13 November 2023, 23:19:49 »

Admin please lock this thread as the car has now been collected. Thank you.

3

Cars for Sale & wanted / Re: 2.6 Elite estate in silver - needs welding so spares or repair

« on: 26 October 2023, 19:26:15 »

Plundering for parts is why I posted it here. I’ve benefited in the past by other members supplying parts to me from breakers (not to mention the wealth of hints, advice and practical help) helping keep this and its predecessor on the road.

James I’ll pm my number so we can arrange for collection, but I think we can safely say the vehicle is now sold :'(

4

Cars for Sale & wanted / Re: 2.6 Elite estate in silver - needs welding so spares or repair

« on: 25 October 2023, 00:13:19 »

It started fine on saturday and I've done a couple of short runs to Wickes etc.
Some more things to note:-
The heater is full blast max heat.
There is rust in the roof gutters.
Rust spots on roof between windscreen and sunroof.

£275 is what I was hoping for, but I'll try and run it past a scrappies Wednesday to see what they offer and take it from there.

To the person who sent me a pm, your inbox is full.

5

Cars for Sale & wanted / 2.6 Elite estate in silver - needs welding so spares or repair

« on: 20 October 2023, 15:31:34 »

Timely prompt from the DVLA reminds me that its decision time on my Omega. Part of me would like to hang on to it as a hobby/workhorse but as I can't weld and no longer have the enthusiasm or the need for a second car she sadly has to go.

Offering it to the helpful Omega community first but interested parties will need to be quick as tax expires at the end of the month and offroad parking is not an option.

Must be worth £275 for parts and Cats alone.

RK53 ZWT c 137,000 miles. Cloth interior.
Barely used since last MOT on 9/11/2022
Advisories relate to:-
Sills ('Don't bring it back next year without replacing them'),
Front wishbones corroded (ATP items fitted by me 2015, polybushed 2017)
Rear suspension ball joint dust cover deteriorated.

Faults (that I can remember - she's not been used in months)
Typical corrosion to rear wheel arches and tailgate.
Windscreen cracked lower corner drivers side
Passenger door lock a bit sluggish
Head unit replaced by previous owner for non Bose unit, CD and cassette no longer work
Speedo/Rev counter sometimes do not play. Spare dashboard components supplied by Bigriffin but never fitted included in sale)
Handbrake cable snapped (New replacement in boot)
A/C has lost its gas.

Work done
Oil and filter every 6-8 months until Feb '21
Crank sensor Feb 21
Brake pipes replaced, Front discs and pads, Cat back exhaust Sept '20
Cam belt, crank seal, atf and filter by Serek, March 2017 @114,400 miles
Cam cover seals Sept '16

In the boot you will find
Brand new HBV carried as a travelling spare
Towbar that I bought from Bigriffin but never got around to fitting
Aforementioned dashboard components
2 spare wheels (steel) and tyres

Please let me know asap if there is interest. The battery has been removed and stored with occaisional charge since early June. I'll try and fit it Saturday and give it a run.

Steve











 

6

Omega General Help / Re: Eternal car - making life hard?

« on: 30 September 2020, 17:29:37 »

For closure I offer the following:-

The parts specified by DG were ordered late on the 17th and delivered from Poland early on the 23rd via GLS/ Parcel Force.
The centre sections were in one piece, no sleeving required.
Only three hangers recieved.
Two large packages, all ends double/or triple protected. Inevitable minor dents to the shell of the back box.
Twin tail pipe arrangement though you have to get on your knees to see them from close up because they dont protrude.
Fitted by local garage who needed to drill the studs out and nut'n'bolt the flanges together.

So far only used around town but no obtrusive noise to report. Hopefully get above 20mph soon and see if that changes.

Thanks again for the help.
Steve

7

Omega General Help / Re: Eternal car - making life hard?

« on: 17 September 2020, 21:32:50 »

''Drop Hide Lose'' 

Not heard that before but I like it.
Do Hurry Lads is what Ive known them as  - until now.

Anything out of gauge is a right PITA for all of these outfits, whose margin on each box is peanuts. I want to get some motorcycle forks re-worked and my chosen workshop suggest I pack them up and send them by courier. No thanks, they'll wait till I can deliver by hand.

8

Omega General Help / Re: Eternal car - making life hard?

« on: 17 September 2020, 16:28:25 »

Ordered as per DG’s bill of materials 

I already have a stack of washers on my thermostat bolts

9

Omega General Help / Re: Eternal car - making life hard?

« on: 17 September 2020, 11:26:38 »

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-OMEGA-B-ESTATE-2-5-3-0-168-208HP-1994-2001-Exhaust-Central-Silencer-/150480036622

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-OMEGA-B-ESTATE-2-5-3-0-168-208HP-1994-2001-Exhaust-Central-Silencer-/150480036657

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-OMEGA-B-ESTATE-3-0-3-2-208-218HP-1994-2003-Exhaust-Rear-Silencer-/183817625306

 

Thanks DG. Do these come with a personal recommendation or just as a helpful alternative. I was going down the Eternal route as I know they're tried and tested here but your suggestions might save a few quid.


Steve

10

Omega General Help / Re: Eternal car - making life hard?

« on: 17 September 2020, 11:18:13 »

Brilliant, just what I wanted to hear confirmed.

I wonder if Eternal employ a full time sales dissincentive officer or it just happens by accident

Thanks

Steve

11

Omega General Help / Eternal car - making life hard?

« on: 17 September 2020, 10:27:11 »

I'm in the market for a cat back system for my 2003 2.6 elite estate.

I could not with any confidence pick the correct parts from their ebay shop so messaged them with the query.

On the plus side I got an instant (automatic ?) reply ....

''Thank you for your enquiry.

We need to know the following details to provide you with the correct exhaust pieces:
- your car's registration number
- the actual year and month of production(not 1st registration)
- your car's body shape and number of doors
- engine capacity
- power output in kW or HP - this information can be found in the registration certificate - vehicle details - field P.2 Max net power (KW)
- if it has a cat fitted
(some of these information can be found in your vehicle's logbook)

Our staff is currently working from home office, we are doing our best to assist you during the pandemic. It may take a bit longer for us to reply, we appreciate your patience.''

How will I find the exact month of production? I kind of understand the potential need for it - my old Carlton was a 'changover' model, seldom did I get the right parts first time despite what the microfiche said, but enough of you guys have fitted eternal so it must be a reasonably common set up.

Any pointers?




Steve

12

General Car Chat / Re: 'professional drivers' .....

« on: 27 August 2020, 21:14:16 »

Puts me in mind of a nautical ditty

This is the story of John O’Day
Who died maintaining his right of way.
He was right, dead right, as he sailed along,
but he’s just as dead as if he were wrong.


Yes, on the facts as presented the tipper driver was an impatient idiot. We’ve all been guilty of misjudging a situation, but how we recover from it is the difference between idiot and muppet.

The crowd I currently drive for are one of those ‘compliance first’ outfits.  We’re limited to 52/53 to save a bob or the planet, not sure which, and anything regularly over that attracts the stern word. I tend to set at 48/49 on the basis that anything and everything coming past gets out of my ‘zone’ quicker. Not long ago but on a different contract I was one of the regulars on the early morning wacky races home from Cairnryan on the infamous A75; definitely no place for setting a speed any lower than paddy truck max plus 1. Not saying it’s right, just the way it is.

As for knights of the road? I think that went out the window when the availability of a never ending supply of Eastern European license holders turned truck drivers into a commodity to be bought at the lowest possible cost.  There’s still some of us that try, but after a typical days 8 hours of being cut up, slowed down, baulked and generally having my chain yanked it gets a bit hard.

Steve

Steve

13

Omega General Help / Re: rear park sensors speaker

« on: 18 November 2019, 21:17:41 »

Rattle? I’ll let you know when it starts, but after 4 years so far I think it’s settled somewhere quiet.

Mind you, I’ve normally a set of golf clubs and other random ballast in the boot so who knows

Nice to give someone an alternative option surely, especially as they, like me, might not relish disturbing trim and the potential for eternal rattles and squeaks that might bring.

14

General Car Chat / Re: So what have you done to your car today?

« on: 18 November 2019, 10:51:55 »

Yesterday I washed last winters crud off, having been shamed by a certain storeman turning his nose up at the mildew in the crevices.

15

Omega General Help / Re: rear park sensors speaker

« on: 18 November 2019, 10:46:17 »

Failing all that palaver cable tie an old tweeter behind the nsr light cluster cover, and find the wires that feed the speaker as they exit the control unit that lurks there.