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5401

General Car Chat / Re: A MASSIVE THANK YOU AND RECOMMENDATION!

« on: 29 March 2010, 20:36:50 »

12 hours to do both hg's

"Awesome"/ "Respect" / "May the force be with you" (delete as appropriate). 8-)

As a mere mortal it took me 3 weeks to do the head gaskets on my V6

5402

General Car Chat / Re: Will our car radios become obsolete in 2015?

« on: 30 March 2010, 11:07:42 »

From what i hear Dabs rubbish, esp when moving.

I don't want to reignite an old argument but the DAB radio I had in my last car was excellent. The only reason it hasn't been installed in my new car yet is the BOSE amp that takes up half the boot. I'm guessing you either havn't heard a DAB in a car or it was a cr*p installation.

...and how do you convert an analogue radio to Dab?

Pure Highway?


There don't seem to be any new DAB radios about so I'm guessing that the manufacturers are betting on DAB+ taking over soon. My understanding is that HiFi quality is possible with DAB but I imagine there will be pressure to squeeze lots of poor quality channels in to maximise revenue. 

5403

General Car Chat / Re: Why are all the best Omega's Silver

« on: 13 March 2010, 23:21:49 »

And can you get a 'Top of the range' Mig without slippy and sweaty leather inside......

Yes, my 2003 2.6 Elite has cloth seats (SWMBO would not have been pleased if I had bought something with hot/cold slippery seats) but it is silver............

5404

General Car Chat / Re: frozen washers solved

« on: 06 January 2010, 16:32:08 »

I think the jets are heated because, as well as having smaller channels, they are open to the atmosphere & so the anti-freeze (alcohol?) might evapporate & leave them more prone to freezing.

Strikes me that the screen wash we are sold in this country isn't really suited to -12 degC. Drivers in Canada/Finland/Russia probably use something far more agressive but have to accept that it will take the paint off.......

5405

General Car Chat / Re: Suggested shorcuts, NEVER again!

« on: 29 December 2009, 10:54:02 »

Why did you take the dip stick tube out? I managed to free my transfer tube from the thermostat housing by waggling it until the corrosion broke up and I could rotate it 90 degrees anti clockwise. After that the bracket was clear of the dipstick tube & I could slide it out.

I must have ached for a week after changing my thermostat (and I don't think I can blame my age as a contributary factor)

5406

General Car Chat / Re: Abbreviations and acronyms.

« on: 23 December 2009, 20:21:19 »

With incandescent lamps there is a trade off between efficiency and lamp life.

A hotter filament gives a brighter/more efficient light but shortens the life.

The best manufacturers manage to get a good combination of life and light output but they are still struggling with the laws of physics.

5407

General Car Chat / Re: TD thermostat question...

« on: 24 December 2009, 22:37:44 »

I've got a drip Andy, I can see it dripping when hot with a maglight

Oops. Can't argue with that diagnosis unfortunately.

5408

General Car Chat / Re: TD thermostat question...

« on: 24 December 2009, 19:53:17 »

I can't speak for the diesel but when I changed the stat on my V6 earlier in the year I got most of the air out after a bit of local driving but I needed to top it up again after a 200 mile motorway trip.

Had me worried but it doesn't seem to have dropped since.

5409

General Car Chat / Re: Windscreen Wipers

« on: 02 December 2009, 10:33:45 »

0.5mm "interdental brushes" (next to the toothbrushes and dental floss in boots/superdrug/most supermarkets) will fit in the jets to get the grot moving.

There is a guide in the maintenance section which mentions cleaning out the tank and the filter on the washer pump.

5410

General Car Chat / Re: Drilling out rivets

« on: 05 December 2009, 09:25:28 »

on the subject of drilling rivits, i'll need to do this to replace a window motor. Is there any alternative to rivets? i don't have a rivet gun 

£10 for a basic rivet gun. Go on, you know you want one.



http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cht135-62-pce-hand-riveter-kit

5411

General Car Chat / Re: Can an ECU "learn"?

« on: 01 December 2009, 14:21:37 »

Could a dying knock sensor tell the ECU it was poorly and bring up a fault then later on die totally and get forgotten about by the ECU?

The two things I know about knock sensors might not be relevant
1. they use the piezo-electric effect (when a crystal is put under strain it produces a voltage) I assume that there must be a little electronic chip in the knock sensor to convert a raw voltage to a digital signal.
2. the knock sensor mounting bolt has to be done up to the correct torque otherwise the sensor gives misleading readings. Could the mounting bolt have come loose (or been overtightened)?

Oh and
3. On Omegas the knock sensor wiring often gets damaged when people are working on the front of the engine.

5412

General Car Chat / Re: Heated screen ?

« on: 01 December 2009, 12:13:16 »

I strongly disagree.

We already have heated rear screen and heated mirrors. Headlights warm up surprisingly quickly with 55W halogen bulb belting out infra red heat (HID's are probably rubbish, thats possibly why they need the washer jets?).

A heated screen would save me from clearing the screen and then having it frost over 2 minutes later when I was already moving

5413

General Car Chat / Re: She Failed

« on: 30 November 2009, 11:21:27 »

Well done. 

Does anyone think the MOT testing stations at Main Dealers are any tougher than independent ones?

If they spend half their time fixing things on 6 month old cars under warranty I think it is inevitable that their first response on seeing something that is not factory fresh is propose fitting a new genuine component. (so getting a car through the MOT will probably cost more at a main dealer)

I think the VOSA inspections of MOT testers are quite strict so there shouldn't be any variation. The differences are probably more down to personalities and how the last VOSA inspection went...

5414

General Car Chat / Re: is this true?

« on: 30 November 2009, 10:05:46 »

Strikes me that the law hasn't changed but the ability of police to access ANPR/VOSA information has.

If the screen in the police car shows them that your car has failed an MOT it gives them a reason to stop you and ask for an explanation.

I suspect that as the original MOT isn't voided by the later fail your car would still come up on their screen as having a valid MOT (because it has).

5415

General Car Chat / Re: is this true?

« on: 28 November 2009, 11:59:53 »

i thought you could mot a car whenever you wanted?

You can.

If you get a new MOT less than a month before the old one expires your new MOT is for 12 months from the date on the old MOT which is a bonus.