General Rescued Panda!
- Thread starter pooroldcodger
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General
Rescued Panda!
I reclined the driver's seat, but now the lever doesn't seem to be connected to anything, so I can't tilt the seat back back up again. Is there an easy way to fix that?
Seem to remember that trying to push the seat upright and a bit of jiggling engages the mechanism.
Regarding your aerial Fizzles original fitment aerial is also broken and a non standard metal aerial has been fitted up the side of the windscreen pillar
Reception on that is terrible though it could be more to do with not being able to turn the stereo signal to mono as there is lots of hiss and crackle.
I was wondering how good the original door hinge aerials actually are when they work, or would it be better to fit a decent aftermarket aerial instead?
BTW any classic panda plastics that aren't black look wrong to me
Regarding your aerial Fizzles original fitment aerial is also broken and a non standard metal aerial has been fitted up the side of the windscreen pillar
Reception on that is terrible though it could be more to do with not being able to turn the stereo signal to mono as there is lots of hiss and crackle.
I was wondering how good the original door hinge aerials actually are when they work, or would it be better to fit a decent aftermarket aerial instead?
BTW any classic panda plastics that aren't black look wrong to me
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From the looks of things, I'm sure you'll both be fine...!
This is a really smart looking Panda... -- I envy you...!
Thanks. As I mentioned above, it needs some welding in the usual places, and the passenger side door is a bit moth-eaten, but the rest of the car seems to be in pretty good shape, so I have high hopes. I just hope the rest of the codger fleet doesn't cost me too much in the next few months so that I can get Belladonna done.
That is: BMW e38 728i Sport (1999)
Vauxhall Astra CDi 1.8 (2000) Mrs Codger's car
Punto 8v 2001 (daughter's car)
2 of the above to be mot'd this month
That is: BMW e38 728i Sport (1999)
Vauxhall Astra CDi 1.8 (2000) Mrs Codger's car
Punto 8v 2001 (daughter's car)
2 of the above to be mot'd this month
Thanks!Good luck...!
A question if I may?
Belladonna has not had a proper run for about 6 months - just started up and driven around a small private road in first and second gear now and again to keep everything moving. Since I've had her I have started her up 3 or 4 times just to move her about on my drive, and starting her up is difficult. She turns over smartly, and starts to run, but then dies. There is fuel in the tank. I have tried not touching the throttle at all, and also just using a bit of throttle as the engine starts to run. But today she wouldn't carry on running. If she had a carb, I would say she was flooded.
So I took the easiest spark plug to get at (number 1) and it was very oily.
Now I am not too surprised that she wouldn't start as it is noit good for any engine to get started up a few times and not properly warmed up, but what would be the best course of action first of all? New plugs, air filter, clean throttle body?
How does the choke work on this engine (999cc)?
I'd give it a good service. Doesn't have a choke as fuel injection,cold starting is controlled by the idler valve within the throttle body.
How understanding are your neighbours :devil:
Surprising what can be done when stationary.
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I could pick a time when they're out! I must have read it somewhere, but aren't long engine runs when stationary not a good idea? I've don't know why that would be, as long as the fan is working, but is there anything to avoid doing?
Some say that it causes moisture build up in the exhaust which will rot it out, but I think it's more if you're planning on laying it up for several years in a garage and just start the engine once every few weeks / months.
Disconnect the exhaust from the manifold back and then rev the nuts off it!
Then you'll see what your neighbours are really like :devil:
Well I had to move her today as she was a bit in the way, and having twanged my back last week, I couldn't risk pushing her up a slope. So I decided to have another go at starting her up. Today she fired up second time, and although misfired a bit for a few seconds she then started to run more smoothly. At first if I revved her up she missed a bit, but then as she got warmer, there was just some hesitation rather than missing. But then as the temp started to come up towards normal I noticed some steam around the bonnet. At first I thought it might be due to melting snow etc., but looking under the bonnet it was coming from the top of the radiator / radiator cap area. Coolant was at minimum, so I switched off, to be investigated once I get stuck in to sorting her out properly. Hopefully no harm done.
as a general rule of thumb, if the in car heaters are working the engine should be fine. given that the electronic fan works on the main radiator.
the steam could be snow or water stuck in the fins of the radiator. should not be too much of an issue if you keep an eye on the temperature gauge. mine runs at 90 bang on. never over, never under. thermostat works perfectly. (unlike the cinq 899 engine.. that had a new thermostat and still dropped down to 70.c at speed.. sigh)
harm will only be done if you see the engine overheat on the temp gauge.. anything over say 100 is in the danger zone. the fan should of cut in by then. its a common thing for the fire engine to have a symptom known as a lazy water pump. hell mine was made out of plastic! soon got replaced along with a new cam belt and tension puley.
temperature gauge can also read off if the earthing point near the battery is bad. you find that everything tries to earth through the temperature gauge heh.
heh my fuel level was earthing through the roof light causing it to dim and brighten as you rocked the car side to side.
got to love it.
the steam could be snow or water stuck in the fins of the radiator. should not be too much of an issue if you keep an eye on the temperature gauge. mine runs at 90 bang on. never over, never under. thermostat works perfectly. (unlike the cinq 899 engine.. that had a new thermostat and still dropped down to 70.c at speed.. sigh)
harm will only be done if you see the engine overheat on the temp gauge.. anything over say 100 is in the danger zone. the fan should of cut in by then. its a common thing for the fire engine to have a symptom known as a lazy water pump. hell mine was made out of plastic! soon got replaced along with a new cam belt and tension puley.
temperature gauge can also read off if the earthing point near the battery is bad. you find that everything tries to earth through the temperature gauge heh.
heh my fuel level was earthing through the roof light causing it to dim and brighten as you rocked the car side to side.
got to love it.
The temp guage didn't get past about 70c.
ahh should be fine then. they are quite accurate thankfully, given the earths are nice and clean.
Ok good! I am itching to get stuck in sorting her out but have 2 daily driver cars to MOT first and Mrs Codger will kill me if I start spending time and money on Belladonna and then find I have big bills to pay to get the other 2 cars through (with some justification I suppose!)
Well both daily drivers have now passed MOT (hooray!)
So when things thaw out a bit, I can start having a look at what I've got myself in to_
Belladonna - wise.
So when things thaw out a bit, I can start having a look at what I've got myself in to_
Belladonna - wise.
This weather is no incentive to working on cars is it?
Everything feels cold, hard and brittle, and more likely to break and fall off - and that's just me before I even touch the car!
Anyway, a couple of questions if I may gentlemen.
There is what seems to be a pipe missing from the exhaust manifold. I believe this should be a warm air intake - is that correct? What type of pipe do I need to replace the missing one? Where does the other end connect to (I assume the air filter?), and what would the effect of it being missing be?
Secondly, I want to drain and flush the coolant and system out. Are there any tips on this, and especially on bleeding the system afterwards so as not to cause any new problems?
All advice gratefully received and soaked up like a J cloth
Everything feels cold, hard and brittle, and more likely to break and fall off - and that's just me before I even touch the car!
Anyway, a couple of questions if I may gentlemen.
There is what seems to be a pipe missing from the exhaust manifold. I believe this should be a warm air intake - is that correct? What type of pipe do I need to replace the missing one? Where does the other end connect to (I assume the air filter?), and what would the effect of it being missing be?
Secondly, I want to drain and flush the coolant and system out. Are there any tips on this, and especially on bleeding the system afterwards so as not to cause any new problems?
All advice gratefully received and soaked up like a J cloth
