Car D.I.Y.

[MrGrumpy]

A piston wind back tool is very handy to have, full service time next week on my Octavia which I will be doing myself.

Bought some of Amazon , made of cheese !! Ended up with long nose pliers and some grunt.

Have another problem with restricted performance alarm, now and again appearing on the Disco 4. Never had a cheap fix yet on that car so preparing at worst for cracked manifold or maybe just an air leak from a hose :/

 

[screenman]

Bought some of Amazon , made of cheese !! Ended up with long nose pliers and some grunt.

Have another problem with restricted performance alarm, now and again appearing on the Disco 4. Never had a cheap fix yet on that car so preparing at worst for cracked manifold or maybe just an air leak from a hose :/

Buy cheap buy twice, I think ours came from Mac years ago.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Indeed you do! Too much of a rush at the time

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Subframes built up yesterday luckily I could just get each one in the workshop

Then today put the diff into the rear subframe go the wheels on, then the EXO to make an expensive wheelbarrow, added the steering rack to the front subframe, then the wheels on at which point, the heavens really opened so didn't get a picture, other than after making a shorty

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

My son's got a third party reader for his Skoda - it's a copy of the VW one. It can do all sorts of stuff. He's altered the throttle response, activated the 'clock sweep' on the dash on start up, tweaked his alarm and so on. He's fitted an induction kit in the last week, which means you can hear the turbo spin up more.

I keep thinking about a fault-reader/re-setter

My Octavia's well over 9 years old (June '11 registration, I bought it in March '12)
It's still garage serviced, as it was yesterday
(crikey, that synthetic 5W/30 oil's expensive!!)

Granted yes, I could do the oil/filters myself, but there'd still be the service light illuminated

Plus, there's the peace of mind, that as I ask them to road-test it, they make pick up on an issue that I've not noticed - due to sheer familiarity (maybe due to simple 'wear & tear')

We've used the same garage for over 6 years now, so we trust them
(they also look after wifes C-HR, & daughters car too)

 

[Deleted member 26715]

(crikey, that synthetic 5W/30 oil's expensive!!)

Granted yes, I could do the oil/filters myself, but there'd still be the service light illuminated

Yes oil is expensive which since if comes from the same dinosaur juice which is at an all time low is surprising isn't it.

As far as the service light is concerned that's an easy one, I'd happily bet there's lots of 2nd hand cars out there that have it reset just before being sold having told the new buyer it's been serviced & all that's been done is a reset.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpDGwKAC_nc

 

[fossyant]

I keep thinking about a fault-reader/re-setter

My Octavia's well over 9 years old (June '11 registration, I bought it in March '12)
It's still garage serviced, as it was yesterday
(crikey, that synthetic 5W/30 oil's expensive!!)

Granted yes, I could do the oil/filters myself, but there'd still be the service light illuminated

Plus, there's the peace of mind, that as I ask them to road-test it, they make pick up on an issue that I've not noticed - due to sheer familiarity (maybe due to simple 'wear & tear')

We've used the same garage for over 6 years now, so we trust them
(they also look after wifes C-HR, & daughters car too)

I have a generic code reader for my Nissan and it came with an app called Torque Pro for reading and resetting codes. It won't do an air bag warning but all Nissans have magic button and key switches to run diagnotics and clear codes. I have an occasional air bag light from the drivers side airbag. The ruddy connector is right in line to be kicked by rear passenger's feet. Once a year blast with contact cleaner sorts it.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Yes oil is expensive which since if comes from the same dinosaur juice which is at an all time low is surprising isn't it.

As far as the service light is concerned that's an easy one, I'd happily bet there's lots of 2nd hand cars out there that have it reset just before being sold having told the new buyer it's been serviced & all that's been done is a reset.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpDGwKAC_nc

Thanks!!

If only the Bulb Failure Warning Light would disappear now
(all lamps/bulbs are lit, & have been since it first started to appear)

Diagnostics don't state which bulb it is
I've pulled a few, but they look okay

I guess I to pull some more, or wait for the culprit to fail?

 

[Drago]

I keep thinking about a fault-reader/re-setter

My Octavia's well over 9 years old (June '11 registration, I bought it in March '12)
It's still garage serviced, as it was yesterday
(crikey, that synthetic 5W/30 oil's expensive!!)

Granted yes, I could do the oil/filters myself, but there'd still be the service light illuminated

Plus, there's the peace of mind, that as I ask them to road-test it, they make pick up on an issue that I've not noticed - due to sheer familiarity (maybe due to simple 'wear & tear')

We've used the same garage for over 6 years now, so we trust them
(they also look after wifes C-HR, & daughters car too)

I can heartily recommend the iCarsoft V2.0. Not quite as good as a dealer computer or clone, but it runs them surprisingly close, and its quicker and simpler to use.

 

[tyred]

The wiper arms on my Peugeot had flaking paint and surface corrosion so I removed them today, cleaned/sandpapered them and gave them a coat of black paint. Amazing the difference it has made.

 

[tyred]

I started my 1991 VW pickup for the first time in 18 months today and drove it around the yard a bit.

VW's good old naturally aspirated 1588cc Umwelt diesel. Started first attempt after waiting for the glowplug light to go out but my God was it smokey until it warmed up a bit. Diesel engines have come a long way since the '80s.

I really must look for a replacement front wing and bumper and make a start on sorting this thing out next year.

 

[Drago]

I can recall the Umwelt diesel getting a piece in New Scientist back in the 80's, it was so economical.

 

[cyberknight]

helped to make a few hundred of these yesterday

 

[tyred]

I can recall the Umwelt diesel getting a piece in New Scientist back in the 80's, it was so economical.

It genuinely is if driven properly. They had a very short power band, the secret is to change gear when required and stay in the power band. Try to rev out through the gears like you can with a petrol engine won't make it accelerate any faster - just create more noise and waste fuel.

60MPG+ is perfectly possible in a MK2 diesel Golf and all done without any electronics. Not very good for traffic light grand prix though.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Son in law sent a Whatsapp saying that daughters car has a leaking radiator & should he put Radweld in it, I said NO! Asked why he wasn't putting a new one on, he said they couldn't afford it until payday, so I said I'd buy it & they could pay me back at the end of the month. Found a new one on Fleecebay cheaper than the rest so ordered it.

Got it up in the air & took the under engine cover off, but before draining the coolant I thought I'd just check they'd sent the correct one, I've been burnt that way before, imagine my surprise when instead of a radiator the box had an Air Con condenser inside FFS!

Rang them up only to be told that was the only one they had & it must have been booked into stock wrong, although I suspect they could get one but not for the price they'd sold it for, they're taking it back at their expense so we need to find another.