taurus
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Definitely agree with comments re. the tyres.
Personally I'd drain the tank, add fresh fuel with a generous dose of Redex in it and see how it goes. I've had carbs that gum up and have had to be stripped and others that just clean up fine with fresh fuel and Redex. I'd always try the simplest method first.
Can you get it to crank without any sparks first time? That will help get oil around the engine before anything is put under load.
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taurus
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Fred - slight play doesn't mean it needs doing that soon - I've run them for years with slight play noted. I'd only worry if it gets worse. It's too cold to be mucking about with this kind of lark at the moment. If the garage was concerned they'd have said, if it's the one I'm thinking of.
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taurus
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I remember selling my last Escort fitted with one of these abominations and swearing never ever to buy another Ford. Even with genuine Ford rachets they lasted only about 6 months or so.
Fiddly to replace but not really difficult. I never took the seat out but then I was a bit younger back then and could twist and wriggle with more elegance. These days it would resemble a stranded walrus in the throes of agony if I attempted it.
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taurus
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Those voltages are spot on so it sounds like your alternator is fine.
Messing with the sparky stuff is usually OK so long as you don't upset the magic imps that make it happen.
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taurus
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That looks pretty simple to do - the bit needed is only 29p on their website www.maplin.co.uk/p/ts7810cz-1a-positive-fixed-voltage-regulator-to220-case-n38caAlternatively the ones for minis are available on ebay - they use two connectors and the earth is via the mounting bracket, which could be adapted quite easily. Fred - if you've got a multimeter check the voltage across the battery with the engine running, it ought to be around 13.5-14v
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taurus
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I'm a bit confused reading recent posts, are we saying the photo of the metal boxlike component with three pins is the voltage stabilizer or not? The ones I've changed in past looked similar to that.
The gauges all reading high happened on a few of mine and swapping the stabilizer always sorted it.
Strangely Haynes kept printing a page on voltage stabilizers mounted on the back of instrument clusters long after manufacturers stopped using that system. I rang them up about it and they admitted it was just a cut and paste included in new manuals and they hadn't checked properly.
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taurus
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Jan 31, 2018 16:34:17 GMT
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Last Edit: Jan 31, 2018 16:36:32 GMT by taurus
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taurus
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Jan 23, 2018 13:41:16 GMT
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I had a concrete garage with a flat roof once. Never ever again. Everything was constantly wet with condensation and the roof always dripped. I couldn't leave anything in it and working was horrible.
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taurus
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Jan 19, 2018 21:18:57 GMT
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Standard silicon is very heat resistant. I did a temporary bodge on an exhaust just get home and it lasted for months. I assumed it would burn off or melt but it stayed fine. I’ve also stuck a hot water urn together with it and that lasted years.
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taurus
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Jan 13, 2018 22:47:32 GMT
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I've got 5 beehives in the garden. This year's project is to build myself a top bar hive, but I like the idea of converting it to take standard frames. It would make it interchangeable with my British Standard hives.
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taurus
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Jan 12, 2018 22:46:19 GMT
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I bought a Laser hand pump one, it was rubbish so I made my own pneumatic one. Its a garden spray bottle acting as a vacuum tank and a vacuum generator from work (just a venturi really), an air switch and some pipes. It works very well indeed, you connect to your compressor, flick the switch and the oil ends up in the bottle. I always warm up engine oil before changing, its quicker that way. What happens if you cross the streams?
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taurus
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Can these pumps insert oil too? Like a diff for example? I bought a sealed one years ago and it was diabolical No - they work on suction generated in the extractor body.
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taurus
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How long are the hoses on the one you have? I’ve got a discovery 3 so it’s quite high off the ground. I’ve read horror stories of the extraction tube becoming separated from the put and sinking down the dipstick hole, is this possible with your kit? The hoses come in two sections - and you get three! There is the one that connects to the pump body then two alternative extensions to stick down the dipstick tube, one thinner than the other. Whichever two you use together gives you about 3 metres. For a Disco you might need to raise the pump slightly, just put an upside down bucket under it - it'll work fine. There is no way the tube can sink into the dipstick tube - the end has a thick connector piece that simply wouldn't fit. Plus, once you've inserted the tube it hits the bottom of the sump so you can't push it in more than that. For a Disco you'd be using the thicker tube anyway and that doesn't bend once it hits the bottom of the sump. The thin one might - our daughter's Aygo needs the thin one and you can push that in a bit too far but it can't disappear into the sump.
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taurus
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Jan 10, 2018 15:09:04 GMT
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I now always use a flip down face mask. Much easier, especially if you wear glasses. It also protects your whole face rather than just your eyes.
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taurus
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Jan 10, 2018 15:06:43 GMT
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I've used one for a while now - wouldn't go back to do it the old way crawling round under the car on a wet winter's day. I've heard people say that they don't get rid of all the oil but I've not had that problem. I change my oil every 5k and since this makes the job so quick and easy I'm all in favour of more frequent oil changes. This is the one I have www.amazon.co.uk/Sealey-Manual-Vacuum-Fluid-Extractor/dp/B000RA16CO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1515596551&sr=8-5&keywords=oil+extractor+pumpNot a bad price on Amazon at the moment. I got mine from a boatyard as it was cheaper than from an auto place. They are widely used for marine engines as access is limited. The two sections of the pipe can be a bit of a pain to join if they are cold. Don't overpump them, just enough to keep the oil flowing. The usual trick is to run the engine to warm the oil up as cold oil is harder to suck out. They are also very neat when it comes to pouring the old oil into the container - no spillages unless you're really clumsy. I've done oil changes without even changing into the overalls, they are that quick, clean and simple to use.
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taurus
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The battery in my current (no pun intended) daily is now 19 years old so I reckon I’ve nearly had my money’s worth out of it.
A few things I’ve learnt over the years....
My CTEK charger is great for topping up batteries but I don’t leave it on maintenance charge for too long. Better to connect it up either overnight once a month or for 30 minutes a day.
A handy bit of kit for resurrecting very flat batteries is a 400Ma gell cell charger. Cheap as chips and great for priming batteries that show very low voltage.
Batteries contain magic imps that obey no laws of physics or chemistry. They can work fine at 8.00am and then all escape by 9.00am. They will usually time their escape to coincide with the most inconvenient moment.
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taurus
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Does the window still wind down?
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taurus
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,084
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Dec 18, 2017 21:25:19 GMT
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I've used Sikaflex marine sealant and found it very good. Strong but flexible, it's designed to seal fixings into marine hulls so works very well on anything which needs to flex slightly. It is impervious to just about everything.
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taurus
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Dec 11, 2017 16:15:40 GMT
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You'd have thought someone who worked in the legal profession would either learn how to spell correctly or proof read what they're sending.
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taurus
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Or an even simpler possibility - if the battery is getting old it will struggle to start. Cold weather mean diesels work harder to start.
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