What did you do to your x40 today???

[andyranger]

Managed to drop a wheel wrench on the bonnet of my S40.............

Was the final excuse needed to buy a new bonnet, every cloud etc etc

[baldmosher]

Tried to think about what I could wrap around the little catch behind my snapped driver's handle, to make it easier to grip and pull with my fingertip. It's easy enough in the dry, but when it's raining, it's just slippy. Masking tape or insulation tape might do it? Ideally I suppose I need sticky-back sandpaper, or emery... aha!! I should have some IKEA PATRULL* left over somewhere! That'll do it.

That said, it's due for a service in April anyway, so I'll probably just pay the garage to change the handle, before I get around to sorting it out.

*stepladder safety tape, for those of you unfamiliar with IKEA product names

[Spetsnaz GSh]

Got my car back after my oil crisis on Friday.

Leak coming from the turbo oil feed pipe.

Just happy to have the motor back.

[GaryS40]

Not seen mine for two weeks!

I hope the work that was being done is complete, but if not, at least another week before I get home again.

Gary

[baldmosher]

Swapped my worn out front Mr Wiper aero wiper blades for new AP Racing aero blades. I've used these before. Much neater curved styling than the previous square-box units, and for performance and longevity, they are better too (my last pair lasted 2 years, the arm rusted before the blade failed, and I only swapped them when they got a nick from my chipped windscreen, whereas Mr Wiper did 18 months and got tatty). For £6.95 a pair delivered, don't think, just do...

They don't fit on the rear arm, as it's a push-peg not a hook fitting, so you'll need a 16" Bosch such as this or similar with a selection of fitting clips in the box.

[skyship007]

Baldmosher:
They don't fit on the rear arm, as it's a push-peg not a hook fitting, so you'll need a 16" Bosch such as this or similar with a selection of fitting clips in the box.

That particular wiper seems too cheap to be a real Bosch, the real McCoy costs more:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16-Bosch-S...item19eb0fe75e

I checked out my V40 diesel, mounted the Tom Tom and waved goodbye to the 2 girls who are off snow boarding in a gale. It's so windy that you just stand on the board and get blown downwind!

Got the Twingo 1.2 (16 valves!) petrol burner town car back from the stealer just before lunch. They have fully rebuilt the front suspension (New shocks, springs, track rod end, full alignement and new plastic engine under tray). They did it all for free, after I dropped a TUV inspectors report on their desk listing just what the muppets had sold me.

I think it must have bounced off a snow bank after a loss of control caused by the useless near Eastern superslide special tyres. The previous owner was too terrified to even say why she wanted to sell the car to a dealer. It's got top of the range winter Conti 850's on now.

I've finished restoring the Twingo and the only fault is a slight noise from the transmission. I'm about 90% sure one of the gearbox main bearings is a little worn. The box oil has been changed already, but I will have the box oil level checked next service. That will be a good time to add one tube of Moly box oil additive (Never put an engine oil Moly additive in a gearbox or it might not stay in gear. Box Moly is in a different form and not MoS2).
The dashboard matt black cover (3 place mats glued together) works well, BUT although the paint is touch dry, it sure smells of thinners at present and driving around in a storm with a window open is not much fun!

[coffeejunky]

Originally Posted by skyship007

Baldmosher:
They don't fit on the rear arm, as it's a push-peg not a hook fitting, so you'll need a 16" Bosch such as this or similar with a selection of fitting clips in the box.

That particular wiper seems too cheap to be a real Bosch, the real McCoy costs more:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16-Bosch-S...item19eb0fe75e

Have bought from Amazon and Eurocarparts at that price (£3-5). Genuine Bosch all properly packaged, not made in Asia, from memory made in Austria or Hungary.
Amazon don't really make a habit of knowingly selling fakes, I guess their buying power is huge and their delivery costs very low.

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by coffeejunky

Have bought from Amazon and Eurocarparts at that price (£3-5). Genuine Bosch all properly packaged, not made in Asia, from memory made in Austria or Hungary.
Amazon don't really make a habit of knowingly selling fakes, I guess their buying power is huge and their delivery costs very low.

In legal terms they are not fakes, BUT are re-imports from a Bosch factory that is not in Germany (Sometimes it's dumped defective stock or overseas franchise). It's only illegal to sell them in Germany as they are not certified or even made to the same OEM quality standard as the real Bosch wipers.

Everyone seems to think that when you find a part for sale on Fleabay or Amazon for half the price of the other sellers, that they have found a bargain. That does occur, but it is very rare and it is much more common to find that the El-cheapo part has worn out prematurely, or does not function correctly because although the box might have an impressive name, that does not mean the contents won't be another case of value for money. The bigger the company, the more common the problem.

The big test with wipers is their resistance to being stuck to the screen with tree sap (I forget which tree drips sap in the EU), or ice at present!

[coffeejunky]

I think you make a valid point, but there are sometimes issues as far as getting what you pay for even if you pay more. Price point alone does not mean they will be the best.

I'm happy that anything EU made more than conforms to the EU regulations broadly enough for them to be safe, even if they are not common sense rules that if they smear more than wipe, or start to fall apart, you remove them from the car. Most suspiciously cheap Bosch wipers originate from China, I'd much more trust EU ones over those.

The ones I bought have been fine in the cold we have had and have remained smear free for the last year. The quality was very good, thick steel and no rusting issues yet. You can't expect much more than that from wipers.

I see no guarantee that the ebay supplier you linked won't be posting out exactly the same item? Just because it has OE spec in the title, with eBay sellers I find this rarely means they don't just go and buy the cheapest at the time. Can you corroborate what they send is German made?

[skyship007]

[QUOTE=coffeejunky;1886181I see no guarantee that the ebay supplier you linked won't be posting out exactly the same item? Just because it has OE spec in the title, with eBay sellers I find this rarely means they don't just go and buy the cheapest at the time. Can you corroborate what they send is German made?[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I should have said that link is just an example in price terms, as it matches those sold in Germany that are stamped "Made In Germany". The Austrian Bosch ones are good, but I bought a front pair last year and although they are good OEM standard, they are noisy when it does not rain hard.
I only buy Bosch parts from a real Bosch dealer in Lindau, as I got nailed on Fleabay a few years ago having bought a rear wiper that did not fit, a front one that was a hopeless smear case and a third that was the wrong length. I gave up after trying 3 different Fleabay traders and stuck to buying from companies I know (Or ZF Sachs listed ones for bigger items).