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The tennis ball with string suggestion reminded me of a friend's dad who had just the same system in place - i.e. stop when the ball boinks the rear window.
One summer we'd been mucking around in the garage, as you do as kids, and someone had been whacking the ball around - à la Swingball. This resulted in the ball getting wound around the timber & sitting a fair bit higher than before. After a few days of noticeable absence, our friend reappeared after being grounded... turns out her dad had reversed pretty heftily into their tumble drier and also wiped out a load of shelving due to us recalibrating his parking sensors.
We laughed like the little gits we were but thinking back now, it was a lovely newish Sierra XR4x4 that got damaged and I bet the poor bloke was gutted.
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Al.
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Maybe fitting some larger diameter, softer compound front wheels might help but I could still see myself picking up my teeth from the pavement if I were to have a go on that. (Granted, it's likely I'd only get on one after several beers which definitely wouldn't help matters!) I'm just glad that the majority of my ill advised "hold my beer" moments occurred well before the advent of camera phones and t'internet!
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Al.
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Apr 20, 2020 10:43:38 GMT
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I'd occasionally add a similar advisory if I suspected there may be corrosion or poor repair hidden by fresh underseal. This was very rare though as you are supposed to test for bad corrosion with finger/thumb pressure first, then if felt to be weak, tested further using the proper MOT corrosion assessment tool (a little plastic hammer on the MOT toolboard!) Nowadays, testers tend to use it purely to cover their asses and it's annoying to see on an otherwise clean sheet car. Advising on brake/fuel/PAS pipes etc that look a bit iffy but are caked in underseal is ok as the tester can't be sure of condition all along their length, but to lazily use the advisory purely because of the presence of underseal on a body just highlights poor testing. Oh, and if anyone sees/hears a tester belting the hell out of their chassis or sills with a big hammer, get them told!
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Al.
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Bit of a tip that you may not know about, and is very useful if the car's in a workshop where you don't want to soak the floor by pouring water everywhere.
If you've got access to compressed air, a good way to test for potential water leaks is by thoroughly soaking the exterior of the car with soapy water then climbing inside, shutting the door/tailgate and gently blowing air, from inside, around areas you may suspect. You'll see bubbles on the exterior to highlight any areas for further inspection. Obviously, if you go mad with the air pressure you may get bubbles where you'd not actually get water ingress but, with care it'll work really well for you.
I used this method all the time when I worked for MG/Rover in the 90's for identifying duff seals, bad body seams etc (some of those leaked like colanders fresh off the car transporter!) and I use it to great effect now I repair Land/Range Rovers.
Hope this was some help!
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Al.
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Haha well that too is true yeah! But it's the things you wouldn't expect on cars that were around 40k new. Like 6 year old vehicles that you've got to physically cut components off as the bolts have become fossilised into place. Top tip: If you thought the older models were unreliable? Avoid anything made after 2010 like the plague! (Probably won't apply to most folk on here anyway) I fix Land Rovers for a living and EVERY FRICKIN DAY I find myself cursing whoever assembled the things without a sniff of anti-seize/copperslip on the bolts. It's a little detail that could easily be remedied. For vehicles that the marketing bumf practically encourages the owners to take them off road it's a massive oversight. In fact in some instances I'd swear that they keep a vat of saltwater on the production line so as they can soak certain bolts prior to fitting! Surely Land Rovers break down so often the bolts don't have time to seize? Most of mine were like that anyway.
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Al.
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I had Fat Willy's Surf shack, Fido Dido and the "Oakley Thermonuclear Protection" stickers which were pretty much de rigueur back then. I had pics of them too but I've lost all my old car photos sadly :-( A lot of guys round my way had "On A Mission" across their back windows in the 1990s I never really got that one. (I wasn't particularly 'with it')!
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Al.
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I fix Land Rovers for a living and EVERY FRICKIN DAY I find myself cursing whoever assembled the things without a sniff of anti-seize/copperslip on the bolts. It's a little detail that could easily be remedied. For vehicles that the marketing bumf practically encourages the owners to take them off road it's a massive oversight. In fact in some instances I'd swear that they keep a vat of saltwater on the production line so as they can soak certain bolts prior to fitting!
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Al.
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Thanks for the heads-up. I was admiring a very similar box/trolley on the Snap On van a couple of weeks ago and guess what? It certainly wasn't £140!!
I'm definitely going to look at one of these for wheeling around the workshop, job to job.
Cheers!
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Al.
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I've been lurking & following this thread with interest. I've not had much to say to be honest but I can chirp up with regards to IPA.. When ale was shipped from England to Colonial India, it'd often spoil due to the long journey times. They sussed out that adding more hops preserved the ale, thus the hoppy IPAs came about. There's loads of them to sample! Anyway, great thread pal. Very interesting! *Pops head back below the parapet*
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Al.
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If there's room, can you not just bypass the iffy solder and just go point to point with lengths of thin wire?
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Al.
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Jun 29, 2018 18:26:35 GMT
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If it's already got an aftermarket unit in there then 99% certain it'll be standard ISO plugs back there so your new DAB unit will plug straight in. (Occasionally the permanent battery live and the ignition fed live will need swapping over but that's easy enough - most looms have bullet connectors to facilitate that. You'll more than likely need a DAB aerial as most new DAB head units don't come with one. Screen mounted antennae are a bit naff and only tend to work properly if the wind is blowing in the right direction and the stars are aligned. You can get a splitter for about a tenner that will plug in behind your radio and split your existing aerial to give a DAB signal (active ones are better that use a 12v feed) they work ok but quality varies. Best of all is an active roof mounted DAB antenna, I always use those and never have issues. (About £20-£30) Hope this helps.
Edit: Oh yeah, and I agree 110% with DiscoStew about Halfords' standard of fitting.... I used to fit car audio for a living and after having to rectify so many of their howlers for angry customers, I wouldn't trust Halfords to fit a dustcap to my wheelbarrow. :-)
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Last Edit: Jun 29, 2018 18:30:55 GMT by BigDaftAl
Al.
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For a great low cost solution Solvol metal polish works really well and it's the kind of stuff most of us have lying around. Seal them afterwards with a decent wax but be prepared to do them every few months as the UV light will keep on doing its thing.
A proper kit will have a better UV protectant for longevity but for me, it's no big deal to keep on top of them with Solvol, half hour max.
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Al.
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Jun 21, 2017 20:58:47 GMT
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Hopefully I don't insult your intelligence here but... The fuel isn't 7 years old is it?
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Al.
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Hence my use of the word "proper." The specific timing pin kit for this engine includes the proper locking pin for timing up the bottom end and also locking the flywheel.
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Al.
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May 18, 2017 20:47:54 GMT
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timing pin is the last thing you want to use when removing a crank bolt. Every one of these I've changed (which is quite a few) I've used the proper flywheel locking pin. It's the right tool for the job.
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Al.
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May 18, 2017 20:12:51 GMT
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Yes, it's a pretty common issue on this motor. Be aware, the crank bolt is effing tight, so you're best to lock the flywheel with a proper timing pin.
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Al.
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Even if you've decided not to buy it I'll stick a reply here anyway, maybe it'll help someone in the future... :-)
If it starts well enough with a sniff of easy start, try a couple of firm taps to the area down in front of the o/s/r wheel where the low pressure pump lives, if it starts better after that it's a duff pump (very common). As has been said though, reading the fuel pressures is vital for a proper diagnosis as a duff high pressure pump isn't too uncommon (especially if it's been mis-fuelled in the past).
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Last Edit: Mar 7, 2017 19:39:33 GMT by BigDaftAl
Al.
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Feb 28, 2016 18:23:27 GMT
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I took the 31x10.5x15 General mud tyres off my truck (a Nissan D22 with Shogun/Pajero rims) as although they looked ace, they were awful on the road, noisy, slidey and very unstable. After lots and lots of research I went for General Grabber AT2 all terrains, they are fantastic on the road (including 90mph motorway blasts) and brilliant offroad, obviously they aren't going to match up to MTs on the gloopy stuff, but on the green lanes of Mid-Wales they were unstoppable. (Two Disco 2's got stuck whereas I didn't!)
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Al.
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Oct 10, 2015 13:10:41 GMT
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Another +1 for Bilt Hamber, I've had great results with their clay bars. I also highly recommend the Meguiars 'Quick Clay' kit, very good stuff.
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Al.
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Sept 13, 2015 18:21:26 GMT
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Have you actually used ebay in the last 2 years as sellers haven't been able to leave negative feedback for any reason for at least that long Yes I use eBay all the time, have done since 2001. I mistakenly said negative feedback when I meant an unpaid item strike, how awful of me.
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Al.
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