ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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Mar 18, 2016 13:32:15 GMT
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Its an interesting question and one my friend and I have attempted to drunkenly answer on numerous occasions at various classic car shows.
Its a personal thing I guess, I have just bought a Granada 24v Cosworth which I consider to be retro, because my Dad had a Granada and they are from my youth. To many others however, its just an old curse word car.
The important thing is that Footman James consider it classic and therefore I get very cheap insurance.
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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Mar 16, 2016 12:59:58 GMT
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I'm the opposite, I tend to agonise over purchases for days and then order it on a Friday afternoon, then be disappointed I didn't order it Monday when I first looked because now I won't get it before the weekend
For example, I'm currently deliberating over an aux cooling fan for £18 because I don't know if I want the one with straight or the one with curved blades.
Buying the car was an easy decision, buying parts for it is a nightmare lol
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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Mar 15, 2016 10:24:06 GMT
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Its the mixture of modern technology in a retro body shell I like the most, like the mirror, the dials, the folding mirrors and everything else where your setup has mandated that you use modern electronics but you've integrated it with the original equipment and kept everything period.
I really wish I had the patience, a suitable project and the dedication to do something to this standard, however the very second it was even close to road worthy I'd want to be driving it!
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ianmk2
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Posts: 116
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Mar 14, 2016 17:59:36 GMT
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Thee attention to detail in this build is amazing, I mean - how do you get the interior mirror contact patch to look black from the outside
Me - use a black sticky pad and hope for the best You - fabricate an ingenious solution to use the original stalk
Superb work, it is simply stunning everywhere.
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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Mar 12, 2016 20:33:37 GMT
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I too hate the way in the car modifying 'scene' different always equals good
When someone says they're going to do something different, it normally roughly translates into, "I'm going to do something really stupid and the only reason nobody has done it before is because it's a really stupid thing to do"
It will then invariably be followed up with comments like these from fellow scenesters
"Oh that's great mate nice to see you doing something different" "Not to my taste but good to see someone being individual" "Proper tidy that bruv"
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Last Edit: Mar 12, 2016 20:36:05 GMT by ianmk2
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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Mar 12, 2016 20:19:10 GMT
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....so without any further ado, I set about the thermostat housing three 10mm bolts, quite tricky to get to but nothing too demanding, I remember thinking it would be really bad if , for example, I were to drop a bolt into the engine bay or snap one off, because it has an undertray to stop anything hitting the ground and drilling out a snapped off bolt in that position would be nigh on impossible without taking the radiator and air con rad out So I took extra special care, retained all bolts successfully, got the old thermostat out, nothing visually wrong with it but there rarely is, compared it to the new one, it was a match, so I popped it in, refitted the housing and started it up. Round the front to check all is well, no, all is not well, catastrophically leaking out of the housing, like a fountain erupting from the side of it. Hmm, shut it down, all the bolts are in and tight, maybe it's the wrong stat? So I remove the housing again, it all looks right, except the sealing ring isn't quite as thick as the old one, so without any other option at this stage I refit the old rubber gasket. This is where things start to unravel. First the socket is dropped into the engine bay quickly followed by one of the bolts, damn, under tray off to retrieve those. Get them all back in again and start it up again. Better, but still weeping slightly out of the bottom Maybe if I put an extra tweak on that bottom bolt it will just seal it up....s#%! That's done it...oh wait it was just the ratchet slipping off....no it wasn't, it has actually snapped after all! So off with the housing again, to my absolute relief it has left enough thread poking out to extract it fairly easily, dug out a replacement bolt, cleaned up the seal and the stat housing, refitted again, presto, she is sealed! So did it all achieve what I set out to do, well I'm happy to say yes it did! It idles almost perfectly now, and not only that, it shifts gears much smoother, doesn't thump into drive or reverse as aggressively as it did and is much more willing to shift down when accelerating without having to use kickdown. I think the EGR screwing up the manifold vacuum was affecting the gearbox in more ways than I thought Oh, and the thermostat, well, that worked just fine too All in all, a successful day
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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Mar 12, 2016 19:54:58 GMT
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So I got up bright and early to crack on, lovely day for it too, EGR valve first port of call, two 8mm bolts hold it to the side of the manifold, undid them no drama and extracted the gasket as my template for a blanking plate Success Now, what am I going to make a blanking plate out of, I don't really have a 'workshop' knitted out with useful things like sheet metal, let me think about this over a cool can of Coke for a second Think you know where this is going? Well, you're right, probably not the most structurally integral blanking plate ever, but it's more a proof of concept at this stage, I wil make a better one once my mate is back off holiday and can let me use his garage full of useful things again Popped them in and did it back up again, now, as it happens one dos fall into the engine bay while trying to get the bolts in, and I deemed it too difficult to retrieve, so as it turned out there was only one and not one each side of the gasket as I had planned, but hey ho....it was all done and back together within 20 mins and I was dying to try it out But I wanted to do the thermostat first...while the engine was still cool....
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Last Edit: Mar 12, 2016 19:56:41 GMT by ianmk2
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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Mar 11, 2016 21:04:07 GMT
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So I've been using it for work all week and I am starting to have more confidence that it's not going to break every time I take it out, the gearbox has worked faultlessly since repairing the wiring loom, I had planned to drop the box and repair the entire loom because other wires are still in a poor state, but now I'm thinking adopt the "if it ain't broke..." Method
So onto fault #2, rough idling. In fairness the seller was upfront about this and said he suspected it was the inlet manifold gasket, I ordered one but have since concluded that I don't think it is, why? Because it's intermittent, some days it idles fine, other days it doesn't, it's not a misfire as such, it's more of a cough, it definitely feels more fuel mixture related than ignition. I had exactly the same symptoms (tho less severe) on a V6 Mondeo and it was caused by a loose cat on the manifold, since this has its cats under the car and they're new and well sealed I don't think it's the same thing but I do think it's exhaust back pressure related. If it was manifold gaskets leaking it would happen all the time, whereas earlier I started it up at work to come home and the idle was all over the place, stopped it and immediately restarted and it idled perfectly
Which leads me onto the EGR valve, I ordered a code reader during the week and I'm getting code 326 with the engine running, which is apparently due to a sensor detecting low pressure on the EGR circuit. So my theory is that it's getting stuck open sometimes and causing the rough idle, and other times it closes properly and the idle is ok.
So I figure in just going to make a blanking plate and block it off, if anyone knows of a reason I should not do this please speak now or forever hold thy peace.
Another symptom, which I can't quite explain, is that when its idling poorly, and you shift from Park to Reverse or Park to Drive, it really thumps into gear, whereas when it's running fine it's much more gentle, I don't know why this would be, other than its affecting the manifold vacuum to the gearbox
Anyhow, we shall see what tomorrow brings, also a thermostat and oil change on the agenda if that goes well.
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ianmk2
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Posts: 116
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Mar 11, 2016 13:42:49 GMT
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Y Plate Mondeo 2.5 Ghia X for £200
It had 200k miles on the clock, but it was 1 owner from new and had been serviced religiously by Ford main dealers up until 190k! The guy had tried to sell it on autotrader and had no bites, his new car had been delivered so he just wanted rid. His son-in-law put it on a car forum I used and I said yes straight away
It was immaculate and 100% reliable for another 40k miles, I would still have it today but a friend wrote it off back end of last year, I was genuinely sad.
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ianmk2
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Posts: 116
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Mar 10, 2016 20:51:05 GMT
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Thanks for the suggestions and offers guys, I think I've found what I'm after, albeit it's from China! I am slightly at a loss how they can manufacture, package and ship it to the UK for a fiver, but I have ordered stuff from China before and it's always turned up so I've chanced it
Who knew something so simple would be so difficult to come by
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ianmk2
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Posts: 116
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Thanks, appreciate the reply. I've ordered a code reader, it's a Gunson something or other which apparently displays the codes as numbers rather than you having to count the flashes.
Interestingly though I was checking the wiring to the sensors you mentioned and the tps plug has a broken clip, I pushed it on a bit harder and hey presto, took it for a drive and when it warmed up (the time it's usually idling the worst) it idled perfectly. Now whether it will stay like that who knows, but it's definitely a prime suspect now.
Also I attempted to remove it for closer inspection, and noticed there is a little plastic clip inside which engages into the TPS to turn it and half of it is snapped off, I don't know whether that is affecting it too, but lord only knows if I'll be able to get another.
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ianmk2
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Posts: 116
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I am a mechanic, & got myself into trouble trying to help a mate out, setting the valve clearances, on his mum's old Mini. With me under the bonnet, relaying instructions to my (clueless but lovely) mate, he managed to knock the thing into gear, unknowingly, & upon the next turn over of the engine - managed to pin me against the garage wall !!!!! Amazingly, i managed to escape with just bad bruising to both lower legs, & the Mini escaped complelely unscathed !! You can imagine the panic in my mate, though i'm not sure whether he was more concerned about the damage to the car, or me ? Ha, memories, must be near 30 years back now..... That could have turned out a lot worse! A good friend of mine managed to run himself over with his own car once, he'd just bought a Honda Civic EE9 and a previous owner had fitted an alarm with remote start (Not the Clifford one, a cheap knock-off) Naturally he was curious whether it had any protection against starting while in-gear - I think the Clifford had some convoluted shutdown and lock the car with the engine running procedure for remote start to activate. Anyway he was obviously sat there with nothing to do so figured he'd try it, now me, I'd have tried it while I was sat in the car, but not he, so he's activated it, and the car has lurched forwards - well that answers that then....then it lurches forwards again, (towards his pristine VW Beetle that we'd just spent 2 years restoring for his Wife's 30th Birthday) it obviously has a 'feature' where if it doesn't fire the first time it retries. Now I don't know what happened here, I can only guess it was one of those brain fart moments when you have to make an immediate decision and get it epically wrong, or for a moment he believed he was Clark Kent, but noticing it was going to hit the Beetle on the next go, he dives infront of the civic to physically hold it back...well that wasn't happening, so it tries to start itself again, pinning him between the Civic and the beetle. Luckily it then gave up after the 3rd attempt or I don't like to think what the results would have been. It Put a big dent in the bonnet of the beetle where his elbow went through it, and some bruising to his knee, but other than that relatively unscathed. We did have a laugh about it when he told me.
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ianmk2
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Posts: 116
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... I had to whack a screwdriver through the base of the filter to turn it off. This^. Tried a few times, never worked. All that happened was sheared-off tin and a big mess. I then had to deal with sharp edges and soggy filter paper and had to whack the rest of the filter loose by working the rim of the filter with a chisel. I used to change oil at my brother’s place a couple of years ago (room, tools…) using an oil drain can like this: First attempt: No problem in the beginning, but it was a windy day and while the oil was draining it ran thinner and thinner, and the wind blew the oil all over the place leaving a mess on my brother’s driveway. Second attempt: Good weather, no wind and I was prepared and covered the surround of the oil drain can with old newspaper. When removing the sump plug, it escaped my fingers and fell in the hole in the center clogging it up. So the oil ran over the rim instead of into the can, soaking all the newspaper and leaving an even bigger mess… That's exactly how I expected it to go with the screwdriver method, and glad I didn't try now. I've also used one of those containers before and never had any success, the bit the oil drains into is far too shallow. A friend of mine leant me his Draper oil drainer and this is a fabulous piece of kit, if I hadn't already spilt half of it out of the punctured oil filter there would have been virtually no mess whatsoever...
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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Nice motor, I know they're very marmite but I like them (and marmite) I bet they ride and drive like a dream
I've just picked up a Granada with the 24v BOA engine. Considerably more miles than that though! Like 200k more
Got a few minor running issues I need to address but it's a sweet engine.
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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One of the replies to my text requesting an oil filter wrench was "I normally just whack a screwdriver through them". I was aware of this method but didn't want to leave the car undriveable if I mangled it and still couldn't undo it
I have a history with oil filters though, I had one come undone on me after doing an oil change on a Mk6 Escort I had in my twenties. I realised when the smoke was coming through the heater vents...when I stopped on the hard shoulder I can only describe the smoke cloud as impressive, it was pouring out straight onto the cat. Fortunately it didn't catch fire and the filter was still there, just loose. I tightened it up, checked the oil, not even touching the dipstick, but there was enough to make oil pressure so I nursed it home using as little revs as possible and topped it up. Starting to think I should amend my self appointed 4 spanner rating to a 1-2
Anyway plans for this weekend, among other things, oil change on the Granada.
I feel the same about Saabs as you do Volvo, my sister and brother-in-law are Saab nuts, and I honestly don't get it, so far as I can tell every one they've had has been a money pit. But then my family, and I dare say my friends too, think I'm a bit bonkers when it comes to cars too.
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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Ah you mean lift one from another model of car that had one fitted OEM and modify to fit? I like the idea, and it's an excuse to get creative (and wander round a scrap yard)
I also like the idea of an F-16 nav light! Does it not tend to light up the whole car?
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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I don't get the rust thing either, I first came across it at Bug Jam when I was a wee youngster my mate was explaining "Rat look" to me, I didn't get it then and while I've grown to accept it on some bus's and bugs, these days its more often a Mk3 Polo with a sanded down bonnet - That still looks rubbish to me (I'm not even a 'dubber' but I do like to gate-crash their events each year because they put on a damn good show) I do however think this looks pretty cool And this Rolls is bad ass as F...the burnt out look, it could definitely catch on
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Last Edit: Mar 8, 2016 17:54:39 GMT by ianmk2
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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I am after a 3rd brake light as a safety thing, but I don't want the LED style that every single one on ebay seems to be
I know exactly the type I'm after, it is rectangular about 6 inches by 4 inches approx. and sticks to your back window (important as its a hatchback so no parcel shelf to mount it on) it takes a conventional bulb and the back bit is adjustable so it shines straight no matter what angle its mounted at, anyone know what I mean, where sells them, has one lying around they don't want
These were literally stuck to every car back in the 90's but now all I can find is the 48 thousand super bright LED style, which I don't really want if I can help it.
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ianmk2
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Posts: 116
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I've actually had this daily since 2010, but from 2012 to 2015 I had a company car so its only recently been recommissioned. It has always been a troubled ownership experience, but I stick with it because I like it, and because i'm so deep into it financially that if I sold it now I'd be giving it away for free and then some
I just seem to fall victim to freak turn of events that seem like the universe conspiring against me, but are really just me ballsing up, or past mistakes coming back to haunt me. For example, about a week after the oil change incident, it was running better than ever (at least I was telling myself that) when things went awry again. This time it began the previous night, when I left my wallet in the pub. The first time I've ever lost my wallet and it not just been down the back of the sofa or in a coat that I forgot I'd been wearing. So after 45 minutes furiously searching I conceded that it was not in the house and rang the landlord, he confirmed he'd found it and I could retrieve it later that day, phew, at least I didn't need to cancel everything. I could do without it for work for one day anyway.
On the way to work I get a flat tyre, oh, now it makes sense, the universe has made me lose my wallet prior to sending me the flat tyre so I can't go and get it fixed, I see the game here. So I limp off the motorway, with it more or less completely flat and blew it up at a petrol station, it seemed to hold air so I carried on. 10 miles later I'm at work and its pretty much flat again, so obviously a slow, but not that slow, puncture. No matter, I'm here now, I'll pop out at lunch time and put the spare on and get it fixed over the weekend.
Lunchtime comes, out in my shirt and tie, jack it up, can I get the wheel nuts undone? not a hope in hell, jumping up and down on the puny standard wheel brace actually cracked the end of it and it started to slip off and round the nuts off (I know I sound a bit limp wristed here, can't undo an oil filter, can't undo wheel nuts, but I'm really not lol)
SO long story short I end up having to borrow an air compressor from someone in work, borrow some money, drive very hurriedly to the nearest Halfords, buy an extendable wheel brace and change it in Halfords car park.
As I'm on the way back to work, reflecting on what kind of absolute moron would do them up so tight, I remember the last time the rear wheels were off was me replacing the rear discs and pads, a job that went off without incident, but I did it at a friends house and did the wheel nuts up with his breaker bar! At the time I didn't even think I was putting much force into it at all (y'know, being mindful that I was using a breaker bar and not a wheel brace) but it just goes to show. I can still hear my dads words ringing in my ears too "always do your wheel nuts up with the wheel brace you carry in the car" I really need to embrace torque wrenches.
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ianmk2
Part of things
Posts: 116
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I'd like to share a recent experience with you to see whether it is just me, or whether others are affliced by this ham-fisted oafishness when working on their cars.
Since about 2003 I haven't really serviced or worked on my own cars much, that was the point where I started having Modern, and latterly Company cars and a combination of laziness, wanting to maintain a service history and the fact that they simply didn't break that often took over. Howver, prior to this I was out every weekend tinkering around, even to this day I am always first to volunteer like an excited child if any of my friends are working on anything car related, anything with an engine and I am most definitely 'in'. So I am not a novice, I am not expert "Haynes manual level 5 spanners" but I am pretty a confident 4, I have done engine swaps, rebuilds, gearboxes, clutches, head gaskets, timing belts\chains and even a complete nut and bolt restoration on a VW beetle. Yet whilst able to undertake reasonably complex tasks without too much issue, whenever I attempt simple, routine maintenance I somehow manage to turn it into a comedy of errors resembling something out of a Benny Hill sketch
So, having recently acquired another old car, I am starting to get back into it, I actually look forward to doing things, the feeling of fixing something yourself is hard to beat, its addictive, once you've fixed one thing, you want to fix lots of things. Quite apart from that, it saves you money, so you feel 'up' financially too "My God if I had paid a garage to do that job it would have cost me £150, so now I have £150 to spend on something else" is how my logic generally goes
Anyway, this new found enthusiasm for DIY mechanicing led me to service my 'Daily' I won't bore you with what it is (because its not in any way to be considered retro) but its now old enough that service stamps and garage receipts aren't really going to affect resale and, in all honesty, I have no intention of selling it for a long time anyway. So I popped down to Ford and picked up the necessary bits and bobs and scheduled it in for the weekend, I mean, an oil and filter change right, thats well within my sphere of ability!
I'd elected to do it at my mums house (this would later prove to be fortuitous in more ways than one) partly because there is more room but mostly because my tools are there. I've jacked the front end up to give me easier access and, thinking I was going to get ahead of the game, tried to undo the oil filter first. Why? Well, I wasn't going to be in that trap where I had run the engine up to temperature to thin out the oil but then couldn't undo the oil filter and couldn't grip it properly because it was melting my skin off, so the cunning plan was to make sure I can undo it - tighten up again - run engine to temperature - drain oil - change filter - refill - Profit. Nothing can really go wrong here.
So I grab the filter and twist with all of my might, but I cannot budge it, not even a little bit. Slightly annoyed (but not entirtely surprised because it had previously been put on by a garage) I consider options - Text mates for the loan of an oil filter wrench, or get stronger immediately. I try option two a couple of times, thinking the building rage at being defeated by such a simple operation will help me move it, but no. I text my good friend about a loan of his oil filter wrench, go and fetch it in my mums car and crack on. You have probably seen the type, its like a claw and you slot it over the filter, it grips it and then you undo it with a spanner. So I put the wrench on and boy does it take some force to move it, no wonder I couldn't undo it by hand! But eventually it undoes, I nip it up again by hand and fire up the car to run it to temperature.
By this point it's spitting with rain, so i'd opened the door, turned the key and then closed it, I then stood in the porch infront of the car, satisfied, smug even, that I had prevailed over the rogue oil filter. This is where things take a turn for the worse. I notice a steadily growing pool of oil emerging from underneath, what the? Have I not done it up tight enough, I dive (dove?) underneath to check, what has actually happened is having used so much force to undo the filter with the 'claw' I had punctured it, not massively so as you'd notice it, but a pin hole that was nevertheless allowing oil to escape at a reasonable rate. I leap to my feet, dash round to the drivers door to turn the engine off immediately...what the f@#*, the door is locked! "This seriously cannot be effing happening!"
What had happened, I quickly realised, was that being jacked up, the wheel slightly off the ground and the engine running, drag in the gearbox was causing that wheel to turn, this made the car think it was driving away and activated the "lock you in" feature, so now its running, its locked, my keys are in the ignition and its haemorrhaging oil all over the floor. I haven't even got the bonnet open, because earlier when I had to abandon to go and fetch the oil filter wrench i'd shut it again.
Luckily, and this is why doing it at my mums turned out to be fortuitous, thats where I keep my spare key, and even more fortuitous than that, the spare key was exactly where I expected it to be, which if you know my mother is unusual. While she will swear absolutely blind that she never moves anything, it was entirely likely that the day before I needed it for the very first time, she'd have had a spring clean and decided the draw that spare keys have been kept in for the last 35 years is no longer suitable and moved them location so secret an FBI manhunt would fail to uncogver them.
So not EVERYTHING was against me, I managed to shut it down before it ran too low, without having to put a brick through the window. Then I did the rest of the oil change, rolled the car back and spent a further hour cleaning the exxon valdez sized oil slick off her drive.
Total time taken, about 5 hours.
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