945 Niggles

[Laird Scooby]

The solution would be to have a pipe at the end of the journey Rick - if you got there that quick it wouldn't be as much of a wait!

I've had a few bargains from Aldi although i take the view that it's a cheap tool so if it lasts more than a few times of use then nothing is lost and all else is a bonus. That said i bought some ratchet ring spanners that have worked well for quite some time now, a recoil 10m airline (although the recoil is a bit vicious!) and a few other things i've been pleased with. Like you i have come to the conclusion that the Europeans don't put up with cheap tat the way we have.

Just booked the dreaded MoT for mine so the witching hour is 2pm today - either way i'll be £55 poorer and either a pass or fail certificate richer. Going to take a few basic tools with me just in case my exhaust repairs have "settled" so i can tweak them back up tight if needs be. Fingers crossed time!

What's a Diabolic Nurse? I'm meant to see one every so often at my surgery but they don't appear to have one!
That's meant things get missed so i end up taking ridiculous amounts of antibiotics for infections that should have been found ages ago!

Perhaps i should invest in a chainsaw and take it with me to the surgery each time, just to make my point!

[bluebrickrick]

Hope it went OK at the MOT Dave - this evening, Radio Norfolk said expect down to minus 5 overnight over your way, so hope there is no laying underneath required...

I had always worked on the principle of buying the best tools I could afford which until a few years back included power tools - with my restorations I tend to be particularly heavy on angle grinders and had used Bosch on the basis they were durable, well made and when the constant rust powder breathing caused the inevitable, easy to repair with parts being reasonably priced - until the last time I needed a com and found it was priced more than their new bottom of the range grinder do I decided not to bite, told the local agents they had lost not only me but the business I worked for as a customer and started buying cheap makes, they are not so comfortable to use and do not last long but are cheaper than repairing a Bosch ! Then I bought my first Parkside from Lidl and nearly 5 years later it is still running - go figure

Did I say diabolic ?? should have been diabetic I don't think mine would turn a hair, if someone walked in with a running saw - a heart of gold which turns to steel if you stray off the path !

Can't drive any of my old girls without a pipe on, its just not cricket ! (still looking for some of those rear end signs saying DONT RUSH ME I'M FROM NORFOLK, IF I LIKE I'LL TAKE ALL DAY)

Oh Father Jack may still have his headlight washer arms intact if you get stuck but they will probably need cleaning and spraying, I may go over during the week so will try to remember to have a look.

TTFN & keep in the warm if you can

[Laird Scooby]

It did indeed go ok at the MoT thanks Rick - passed with flying colours! I was a tad dubious about the emissions as when i first got it, the Throttle Position Switch was slightly out of adjustment and wasn't switching to idle when the throttle was released.
As such i reasoned it had to be either extremely lean now (which could send the HC sky-high) or extremely rich. As it happened, it was 0.32% CO and 84ppm HC - both very respectable figures and borderline pass for a cat test, despite the fact it doesn't have a Lambda sensor or a cat!

It probably is a smidge lean on idle but it seems to be fine at higher engine speeds so all good on that front!

I've always worked on the same principle but balanced it against how much use it would get. For example, if i only needed to use a borescope once, i'd buy a cheap one for a fiver from ebay - if i was likely to use it every day then it would be a lot dearer and (hopefully!) more reliable.
Recently though i've worked on the principle that i'm not using any of my tools every day in a work environment, they get broken out only when the weather is dry (except in emergencies) and when i feel up to doing anything. As such, i now tend to buy Silverline for the stuff i know i'll be using (most of it is guaranteed for life anyway) and usually the cheapest i can find on ebay as long as it's reasonable quality for whatever else.

I knew exactly what you meant when you said diabolic - it raised a smile (and an eyebrow) when i was in the West Suffolk last week and asked if i was in the Diabolic Hoof Clinic!
My vet isn't too bad on the whole now he's worked me out - only taken him 3 years! For example, if my bloods are fairly good normally he doesn't mind if they're up a bit for xmas or during times of stress (comfort eating) or if, like recently, i've been trying to pinpoint a trigger food so been eating naughty stuff.

I think i'm going to be ok for headlamp wiper arms thanks Rick but if not i'll definitely let you know thanks!

Warmth is definitely a priority for me, the hound is happy the 760 passed the MoT as it means she gets her walk most days - tonight she repaid me by eating a rancid rabbit which meant on the homeward journey not only were the windows open because of the smell but i couldn't have the heater on for the same reason!
Other than that i do my absolute best to stay warm - not looking forward to -7C as i suspect it will get down to here tonight! Generally it's 2-3 degrees colder here than the rest of the village and on a par with Santon Downham that was one of the coldest places in the country in previous years!

[bluebrickrick]

Congratulations, other than the hound dismally failing the emissions test

Mine is now booked in for Friday morning so fingers crossed here, picked up some new wiper blades on the way back, I'll leave him the numberplate bulb to find as I suspect they need a percentage of fails, hoping the intermittent passenger seat switch failing to trigger the seatbelt warning is behaving as sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't...... Other than that, its a new vehicle to him and me both so if I've missed something lets hope he does too !

Long time since I was at the West Suffolk, a friend from college ended up as one of the pharmacy team for a few years, I do my penance at the N & N, where, just like the docs, they have a blind spot, there is much talk regarding loss of weight and none at all on gaining height until I attain the 14'7" that their much mentioned chart infers a person of my mass should be..........

Looks like it will be even colder tonight, the boglands were white & crisp this morning, just like you over in the frozen tundra lands

OK on the wiper arms, I shall not make it over before the MOT and afterwards, well who knows what may need prizing off by my frozen digits.

Chairs & bares

Rick

[Laird Scooby]

Thanks Rick - fortunately the hound has recovered and her breath is back to normal.

Good luck for friday, i don't think a seat belt warning system is part of the MoT so you should be ok either way.

They've got one of those weird charts in my local vets as well, i should be a similar height according to that one too!

We've had -6C over here, same as Santon Downham which is only a few miles away anyhow. It was -5C at about 630-700pm last night, i've got one of those clock/thermometer things that looks like a railway station clock and that was showing -5C. Still is in fact!

[Joe of Loath]

Originally Posted by bluebrickrick

Always feel the drivers and passengers carpets if footwell liners are fitted, passengers side wet, walk away its the heater core, drivers side wet, expect to have trouble, IF you can find a valve expect to loose knuckle flesh.

A little off topic, but any tips there? Have coolant in my driver's side footwell. Not a lot, but enough to squelch.

[Laird Scooby]

The first and most obvious question is have you lost any coolant? If not, are the doors shutting properly, are the sunroof drains ok and a few other thoughts come to mind. If memory serves there's also a scuttle drain on the right that can block quite easily resulting in rain water finding its way into the drivers footwell - can't remember enough about that one to give a better description though.

Fortunately (for me anyway!) i've never had any wet carpets in any of the Volvos i've had so not able to help much i'm afraid. One thing i can say is don't assume it's coolant just because it's wet - there could be umpteen other reasons for it.

[Rversteeg]

Coolant is a bit smelly and tasts sweet.
Replacing the heater core is a lot of work, but not particularly difficult. For my 940 LPT with MCC it took my about 10 hours. Next time it would be quicker though. There are excellent description available on line. I wouldn't be afraid to do it again.
Rain water ingress can be much tougher to find as it will usually not drop straight down. Check the bulk head transits just underneath the bonnet hinges. Remove the plastic lining of the footwell side. Behind this you will find a plastic cover that can sometimes leak as well.

[Joe of Loath]

It's definitely coolant, it feels slick, and I poked it and licked my finger (brave considering I've never cleaned the car!) and it tasted sweet. Was hoping it was water from the leaky and rusty sunroof (that I've since riveted a plate over), alas. Hoping it's just the heater control valve as the passenger side is dry.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Joe of Loath

It's definitely coolant, it feels slick, and I poked it and licked my finger (brave considering I've never cleaned the car!) and it tasted sweet. Was hoping it was water from the leaky and rusty sunroof (that I've since riveted a plate over), alas. Hoping it's just the heater control valve as the passenger side is dry.

Sorry to say it won't be the heater control valve as that is on the engine side of the bulkhead as are the connections to the heater matrix. I take it you have air-con in yours then? It's sounding very like the heater matrix, you may get away with some Radweld or similar and running the heater at maximum temperature for a few days to ensure it has circulated and found the hole - i had that with an Audi i bought many moons ago and Radweld fixed it.