What's made you grumpy today?

[pooroldcodger]

When I used to work In the motor trade back in the early 2000s we had loads of puntos and most of them were the 1.2 8v, partly why I loved the Punto was how sporty feeling even a basic spec was, you could put it in first gear and hit 30mph in a couple of seconds, they felt very nimble, light, minimal body roll. I had a 1.2 8v mk1 which was light as a feather and went off the line like a little rocket.

I remember on one occasion a whole truck of seicento s came one day and we had to get them to the garage for a check over. (The company I worked for bought 1-5 year old cars in bulk and sold them as good used cars) we had great fun driving all these sei’s to the garage in a tiny race across town darting through traffic and down some little narrow alleys

I think the main reason many love Fiat is because of the revvy little responsive 1.2 or lower capacity engines fitted to almost everything fiat made for the last 30+ years

The joint venture with Vauxhall really spoiled the recipe my 1.4 8v In the grande was fat gutless and sluggish, sounded like it was screaming when just cruising on a motorway.

I get the 1.2 8v was never meant to be to be a long distance cruiser and it really was fun little car around town but something went drastically wrong when they dropped the 8v engine in the grande and while people initially liked the looks and they sold reasonably well for the first couple of years, once word got out people stopped buying puntos which given the mk1 was one of the best selling cars in europe in it’s time time, it’s a sad state of affairs that they ended up killing it off.

I hired a "small car" on a trip to Frankfurt a long time ago and to my dismay I got a Punto Grande. We had a Mk2 8v at home which was good fun.
The Grande was like a barrel of lard and on the Autobahn I have never been so scared in my life. It was so slow lorries were flashing lights at me in the inside lane. Venturing in to the outside lane(s) was almost suicidal with closing speeds of rapid German rocket ships coming up behind.

 

[Didge3]

They introduced it in the Punto about 2012 with the Evo, but it was expensive and at the time 104hp was low for such a complex turbo.

130 was reasonable but again made the car expensive for what it was and only in a 3 door.
I concluded from that, that the 1.4 had a higher than claimed CO2 and they didn’t want it being investigated here in Europe so quietly dropped it. And it met standards in the USA and so they left it. This is all completely made up in my mind I have no actual proof or information to that effect.

The multiair 105 wasn't turbo it was N/A, the extra 10hp over a standard 1.4 16v came from the multiair timing trickery stuff. The '135' as it was labelled was turbocharged.
I suspect you might be right with the emissions thing and it being completely dropped in favour of the still pathetic 1.4 77hp affair that carried the Puntos right to 2019.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I hired a "small car" on a trip to Frankfurt a long time ago and to my dismay I got a Punto Grande. We had a Mk2 8v at home which was good fun.
The Grande was like a barrel of lard and on the Autobahn I have never been so scared in my life. It was so slow lorries were flashing lights at me in the inside lane. Venturing in to the outside lane(s) was almost suicidal with closing speeds of rapid German rocket ships coming up behind.

Small cars are fun to throw around a town, perfect for the streets of Italy. But I agree terrifying if you have an S-class bearing down on you at 150mph

 

[StevenRB45]

The TA had the 6 speed box, not sure if it would've been the same ratios (probably with Fiat dipping heavily into the parts bin by that point), realistically all it gave you is a really short 1st gear and then slightly longer 2nd - 6th, 70mph was still ~3200 iirc

3200rpm at 70 is reasonable for the class, the Mazda only spins slightly slower, C3 is a different thing as it has a diesel gearbox as far as I can tell and as result does 2400rpm at 70 in 5th, it also could do with a ratio between 1st and 2nd.

More ratios is not necessarily better anyway it very much depends on how peaky power delivery of the car in question is. I've driven 5 speed manual diesels that needed a 12 speed DSG to stay in the available power band without getting noisy and conversely I've driven 6 speed cars where you end up only really using 3 or 4 of the gears most of the time.

I concluded from that, that the 1.4 had a higher than claimed CO2 and they didn’t want it being investigated here in Europe so quietly dropped it. And it met standards in the USA and so they left it. This is all completely made up in my mind I have no actual proof or information to that effect.

I'd imagine it was a bit less cloak and dagger, they'd just released the 105bhp twin air as well and offering two petrol engines that occupied the same place in the market would not have made sense. Especially when the twin air would have smashed the 1.4 in the old NEDC cycle. If anything the problem would be it's much harder to fudge CO2 figures on a larger naturally aspirated engine than the downsized twin. Even if real world the 1.4 would have produced very similar figures unless you drove like a vicar and better figures if you drove like a loon.

Shame as I regard the twin air as a novelty item built mainly for the 500 and I did not get on with it at all the 1.4 could have been a better proposition in the Punto and Panda and I'd bet lighter overall by the time all ancillaries and dmf etc are taken into account.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Shame as I regard the twin air as a novelty item built mainly for the 500 and I did not get on with it at all the 1.4 could have been a better proposition in the Punto and Panda and I'd bet lighter overall by the time all ancillaries and dmf etc are taken into account.

You reminded me of a video I watched recently on YouTube a guy local to me very successful youtuber who normally posts videos on old technology like ibm ps2 or mega drive that kinda era.

Recently he posted a video about cars his parents had when he was a child and he had recently bought himself on… a late 80s early 90s Renault 19, which in an era of three box cars was very curvy and modern. It was a good video, it went on for a long time, talked about the Vauxhall Astra and the Fiat tipo(the old box not the newer things) and how the Renault was actually mould breaking in terms of design and technology. Back in the early 2000 cars where made out of paper and weighed about as much as your average feather duster (about the same impact resistance as well) but with the Renault 19 they started incorporating “safety features” like a rubber centre to the steering wheel for when you bashed your head on it, during an accident. (Pre airbags) in all honesty I always did and still do hate the Renault 19’ horrid car, but he talked about it with a lot of interest and passion and it was an enjoyable video to watch, thinking back to that video, bearing in mind the Renault 19 was a 1.4 with 8v and a carburettor and was designed in the late 80s. I’m pretty sure it still had more horse power and grunt than the 1.4 8v that the Italians fly tipped under the bonnet of the grande.

If and it’s a very big if, anyone is interested I’ll try and dig the video up.

Also what occurred to me your post talking about driving on the power band. Realistically rather than controlling the throttle (and I’m sure someone has done this) I wondered what performance you’d get if the throttle pedal controlled a CVT transmission and pressing the pedal Increased and lifting off decreased the gearing and the engine management controlled the ending from idle when stopped to best power band throughout acceleration. Much like a constant speed propeller works on a plane, you don’t increase the throttle you increase the pitch if the propeller blades to move more or less air to go faster or slower.

Change the gear rather than the revs of the engine. Would make engines last a lot longer and be much more reliable if they ran at a constant speed

 

[StevenRB45]

If and it’s a very big if, anyone is interested I’ll try and dig the video up.

Also what occurred to me your post talking about driving on the power band. Realistically rather than controlling the throttle (and I’m sure someone has done this) I wondered what performance you’d get if the throttle pedal controlled a CVT transmission and pressing the pedal Increased and lifting off decreased the gearing and the engine management controlled the ending from idle when stopped to best power band throughout acceleration. Much like a constant speed propeller works on a plane, you don’t increase the throttle you increase the pitch if the propeller blades to move more or less air to go faster or slower.

Change the gear rather than the revs of the engine. Would make engines last a lot longer and be much more reliable if they ran at a constant speed

Oddly enough my Dad had both the Astra and the 19...and I'm not entirely sure I'd want to watch it .

He had a 9 year, French hatchback period oddly enough, and despite the reputation they proved entirely more reliable than the Ford's and VXs he had previously and significantly less rust prone.

The 19 was pretty much the first car with audio remote controls and if memory serves it had single point fuel injection, auto choke, 5 speed gearbox and catalyst a on the base 1.4 energy engine. So futuristic, much wow! Although 75bhp does mean it got top trumped by the Punto.

I preferred the later mk1 Megane as it had such amazing technology as wipers that automatically dropped to intermittent when you stopped in traffic..a rear wiper that swept when you engaged reverse with the wipers on (Mazda still don't do that ) and theatre lights I.e. fading down when you lock the car etc.

I think CVT wise there isn't a link between the pedal and revs these days but most manufacturers tend to combine a cvt with an NA petrol so peak torque will be 4k and peak power will be 6k ish so while it seems like it's screaming it's just using what is there. Seem to remember they have some torque restrictions that stop you using torquey engine with it.

 

[puntofan01]

You reminded me of a video I watched recently on YouTube a guy local to me very successful youtuber who normally posts videos on old technology like ibm ps2 or mega drive that kinda era.

Recently he posted a video about cars his parents had when he was a child and he had recently bought himself on… a late 80s early 90s Renault 19, which in an era of three box cars was very curvy and modern. It was a good video, it went on for a long time, talked about the Vauxhall Astra and the Fiat tipo(the old box not the newer things) and how the Renault was actually mould breaking in terms of design and technology. Back in the early 2000 cars where made out of paper and weighed about as much as your average feather duster (about the same impact resistance as well) but with the Renault 19 they started incorporating “safety features” like a rubber centre to the steering wheel for when you bashed your head on it, during an accident. (Pre airbags) in all honesty I always did and still do hate the Renault 19’ horrid car, but he talked about it with a lot of interest and passion and it was an enjoyable video to watch, thinking back to that video, bearing in mind the Renault 19 was a 1.4 with 8v and a carburettor and was designed in the late 80s. I’m pretty sure it still had more horse power and grunt than the 1.4 8v that the Italians fly tipped under the bonnet of the grande.

If and it’s a very big if, anyone is interested I’ll try and dig the video up.

Also what occurred to me your post talking about driving on the power band. Realistically rather than controlling the throttle (and I’m sure someone has done this) I wondered what performance you’d get if the throttle pedal controlled a CVT transmission and pressing the pedal Increased and lifting off decreased the gearing and the engine management controlled the ending from idle when stopped to best power band throughout acceleration. Much like a constant speed propeller works on a plane, you don’t increase the throttle you increase the pitch if the propeller blades to move more or less air to go faster or slower.

Change the gear rather than the revs of the engine. Would make engines last a lot longer and be much more reliable if they ran at a constant speed

I watched that video too, I found it immensely enjoyable. Rather perversely, I find it a bit sad just how dependant society has become on technology for its happiness, yet I find old technology, as featured on channels like the aforementioned Nostalgia Nerd, absolutely fascinating. [emoji85]

With regards to the Renault 19 video, it was very interesting, plus it brought back memories, as my parents owned a 1990 Renault 19 1.7 TXE between 1998 and 2003.

 

[puntofan01]

The multiair 105 wasn't turbo it was N/A, the extra 10hp over a standard 1.4 16v came from the multiair timing trickery stuff. The '135' as it was labelled was turbocharged.
I suspect you might be right with the emissions thing and it being completely dropped in favour of the still pathetic 1.4 77hp affair that carried the Puntos right to 2019.

Before you carry on slagging off the engines in the Grande, it's worth bearing in mind what was to be found under the bonnets of the competition at the time: the Corsa could be had with a N/A 1L 3 cylinder; the Citroen C3 could be had with 8v 1.1 and 1.4 engines; the Peugeot 207 also had the 75bhp 1.4; (and had a quoted 0-60 time near 16 seconds!) the Ibiza, Polo and Fabia had 64bhp 1.2L 3 cylinders; and even the 2008-2014 fiesta, which the motoring press loved to masturbate themselves into a frenzy over, could be had with a 59bhp 1.2!

I've got to be honest, I really don't get all the hatred aimed at the Grande Punto. I used to have a base model mk2b, which I traded in for a high spec Grande 1.4 8v; and in doing so, I went from the model I suspect most of the motoring press would have recommended, to the model they'd tell you to avoid! More than 7 years on, I'm still immensely satisfied, and absolutely dread the day I have to part with the car!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I've got to be honest, I really don't get all the hatred aimed at the Grande Punto. I used to have a base model mk2b, which I traded in for a high spec Grande 1.4 8v; and in doing so, I went from the model I suspect most of the motoring press would have recommended, to the model they'd tell you to avoid! More than 7 years on, I'm still immensely satisfied, and absolutely dread the day I have to part with the car!

I agree, it's not a "bad" car. My boy has the 2012 1.4 8 valve Punto Easy which is used as his everyday driver. It bumbles about to his work in the city and goes supermarket shopping etc with a very occasional trip out to Livingstone to visit the in laws. Compared to their "good" car which is a 2017 1.4 diesel Kia Rio he says the Punto is sluggish and, at first he complained quite a lot about that. His previous car had been a 1.9 tdi Fabia which was quite nippy and had loads of torque at low revs. Once I'd got him educated into using rather higher revs if he wanted to go places more quickly he's settled into rather liking it. I find it quite a comfortable car and it goes just fine around the town. It wouldn't be my first choice for one of our trips down to the "deep south" though. It's big saving grace is that I've found it very easy to service and repair also parts are very readily available and pretty cheap to buy.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I agree, it's not a "bad" car. My boy has the 2012 1.4 8 valve Punto Easy which is used as his everyday driver. It bumbles about to his work in the city and goes supermarket shopping etc with a very occasional trip out to Livingstone to visit the in laws. Compared to their "good" car which is a 2017 1.4 diesel Kia Rio he says the Punto is sluggish and, at first he complained quite a lot about that. His previous car had been a 1.9 tdi Fabia which was quite nippy and had loads of torque at low revs. Once I'd got him educated into using rather higher revs if he wanted to go places more quickly he's settled into rather liking it. I find it quite a comfortable car and it goes just fine around the town. It wouldn't be my first choice for one of our trips down to the "deep south" though. It's big saving grace is that I've found it very easy to service and repair also parts are very readily available and pretty cheap to buy.

To be fair jock you do confirm a lot of what we’re saying, it’s not a bad car in a sense that it’s breaking down all the time or bits fall off and litter the motorways of Scotland, but back in the day the tag line was “spirito di Punto” or spirit of the Punto, implying the car had spirit and the first mk1 was great, tiny super nippy no power steering on most so had that 90s car go cart feel. Low centre of gravity etc. I had the 3 door which was even lighter and a friend of mine when I was at school his dad had the GT.

Then the mk2 came out a bit fatter but a bit safer now with supper light power steering, handled great still a fun little light weight car compact but met the needs of people who wanted a small car. Someone did point out recently that newest panda is not far off the size of the old mk1 Punto.

Then without any reason or warning they suddenly dropped the grande in 2005 only a couple of years after a major mk2 facelift and the mk2 had only been on sale a little over 5 years at that point to put that in context the current panda is a facelift of the 2003 so it’s not normal for Fiat to replace a car so soon the mk1 came out in 93 -99 so had a fairly short life too.

So they launched the “grande Punto” as an additional car, they kept making the Punto “classic” as the mk2 became, till 2012. And it kept selling very well they just stopped sales of the older Punto in the uk.

So we had this big fat GM cross Punto that weighed a lot more than the older cars, was a lot softer, saggier and wobbly using Vauxhall under pinnings with small fiat engines it was not a great mix and that’s why the car is known to be so sluggish, it’s not nippy and the fun isn’t there like it was with the mk1 and 2.

There are few reliability points with the simple grandes but they never inspired the “spirito di Punto” which fiat dropped after the mk2 it’s this we’re really talking about. It wasn’t the car fiat expected, they didn’t bother to replace it and then killed it in 2018.

I drive the 1.6 diesel which isn’t slow but still manages to feel a bit fat for such a little car. My biggest hatred of the grade was not the exterior or the engine but the interior which I always felt was badly designed and made from horrible materials, thankfully they updated the interior and replaced the dash door cards and seats with the Evo and later cars.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Driving dads Qubo this evening and the Selespeed system decides ‘gearbox unavailable’ leaving it in 6th gear. Pulled it into a lay-by when safe and stalled it to a stop. Seems to be the hydraulic pump, isn’t making any noise or priming.

Called the RAC and they’re as useless as always of late. Said 45-60 min which I was pleasantly surprised about considering last time they were called out they quoted over 6 hours. Well it’s now been nearly 2.5 hours

Luckily it only happened 3 miles from mums so got her to pick me up and have left the car in the lay-by.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

To be fair jock you do confirm a lot of what we’re saying, it’s not a bad car in a sense that it’s breaking down all the time or bits fall off and litter the motorways of Scotland, but back in the day the tag line was “spirito di Punto” or spirit of the Punto, implying the car had spirit and the first mk1 was great, tiny super nippy no power steering on most so had that 90s car go cart feel.

Then the mk2 came out a bit fatter but a bit safer now with supper light power steering, handled great still a fun little light weight car compact but met the needs of people who wanted a small car. Someone did point out recently that newest panda is not far off the size of the old mk1 Punto.

My biggest hatred of the grade was not the exterior or the engine but the interior which I always felt was badly designed and made from horrible materials, thankfully they updated the interior and replaced the dash door cards and seats with the Evo and later cars.

I do agree Andy, in that it's not at all an "exciting" drive and I wouldn't want one as my main car - A trip down to Devon in it would be tedious in the extreme I'm sure? I suits my boy though in that it was cheap to buy second hand and has plenty of room inside for him, his wife and son, if they need to use it when the Kia is in for a service etc.

Although I've never driven one my favourite looking Punto was/is the Mk2 with it's grill. I never liked the Mk1 with it's "folded over" looking bonnet.

I'd agree also that his 2012 Punto is quite pleasant inside. Absolutely fine for what they need it for.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

What's made me grumpy today? Well my younger boy is going to drive to Devon in a couple of weeks to visit "Auntie" - who is just dying to see them and will spoil the children rotten! He's going in his, nearly 15 year old, Astra estate which makes a lot of sense spacewise compared to their mk1 Jazz. With the car being old and high mileage I decided to do a "big" service and see what else might need "fixing" as i went along. He was supposed to be here around 8.30 to 9.00 this morning but finally rolled up at just before 11.00. which got me off to a rather "grumpy" start.

Historically we've had problems with oil leaking from the cam cover into the spark plug wells which, unsurprisingly, causes misfires and ultimately ruins the coil pack - had to buy a new one last year. The cam cover is a large plastic component with a quite convoluted rubber sealing gasket. Our local Vauxhall indy told me these covers warp and if it leaks it's unusual to fix it with just a gasket so they don't "mess about" they always recommend a new cover and gasket. Having found out how much the cover costs I went out and bought the gasket! The car has been behaving since then but I decided not to buy service items until I'd checked for leaks. There is a very slight external leak at the back of the head but I was delighted to see, after battling to remove the coil pack for a few moments, that the spark plug wells were as clean and dry as you could wish for! The plugs were replaced at the same time as the gasket and coil pack so I didn't disturb them - they will do until the next big service I'm sure. So a wee smear of silicon grease around the coil pack and back in it went, cover replaced and all wiped down with my slightly oily rag to give it a nice "clean" look. - A slightly oily rag brings up black plastic lovely looking!

With the worries about the cover behind me I took a look at the air filter, which I'd also replaced along with the coil pack and other parts because I'd had a spare one in my new parts drawer, and it looked pretty good so I decided to let it stay. I reassembled the air filter and took the car round to the Factors to buy engine oil, oil filter, pollen filter and a fan belt - which i only remembered, as I was driving along, I'd noticed to be internally cracking on the multi Vs. Stupidly we didn't renew it when she got a new cam belt a couple of years ago when the VVT pulleys were sorted out.

The old girl drove well but the clutch feels heavy and is biting about 2/3 of the way to the floor. I think it's telling me it's just getting old, I know how it feels! The rest of the service and inspection went well. There's a slight weep from the front crank seal and a slight dampness around the O/S gearbox driveshaft seal but I've noticed them before and they are not a big issue yet. Brake pads are all about half worn, the fronts were replaced last service, the rears seem to be just lasting for ever! The discs have all seen better days with general wear and some grooving, definitely to be replaced when these pads are done, if not sooner, but, again, they'll do for now. All 4 wheels spin nice and free ( I pay a lot of attention to anti seize when installing pads and rarely have problems with binding brakes.

All in all things went well, and I was very pleased to see no oil down the plug 'oles! However one thing really did annoy me. Last year he'd been very busy with his business He's self employed and hasn't qualified for any of the government assistance schemes so trying to make money any way he could. He needed a couple of tyres in a hurry an bought them from one of the "Quickly Fitting" organisations. He'd rung me to tell me what he was doing and I told him to get them to do an oil change too to tide him over as he'd not let me service the car yet. The Astra (Z16XER engine for anyone that knows them) has a shallow drain plug with not a lot of thread. Recessed into it's head is a female torx and it has a rubber sealing ring - which I renew every time. Because of the rubber ring there's no need to do any more than "nip up" the plug. Well, this one took my smaller power bar to break it free - I was actually worried it was either going to round out the female Torx or break the Torx bit it was so tight. However in the end it came free with a loud "crack". I feared the worst for the threads so was surprised when it started to spin out with just my fingers, but my suspicions were confirmed when it tightened up after about one turn and had to be wound out the rest of the way with a ratchet. The plug threads and the threads in the ally sump looked good so I cleaned everything up and installed a new rubber ring on the plug. It started back into it's hole just fine, but again, after about one and a half turns it tightened up significantly and had to be wound home with the ratchet. Oh dear, I though, this is going to strip! So I used my 3/8 "T" handle, so i had a bit more "feel" and firmly nipped it up. Seems fine, threads don't seem to have "given" so I think I'vw got away with it this time. Next year could be entertaining though? Oh, and the two wheels that had the new tyres? had to get "big Bertha" out to slacken the wheel nuts. He has one of those extending wheel nut wrenches but there's no way it would have shifted them. The Neanderthal element seems to be still alive and prospering?

The only thing I chickened out on was that, at the end of the day, I realized I'd not fitted the new pollen filter - just couldn't face it! Couple of weeks before he goes though, which is just as well as I found a track rod end - O/S - with just a wee touch of play in it. I'm going to ask the wee garage out in the village where he lives for a price to do both and set the toe afterwards too. Wonder what they might take to do the pollen filter?

A wee PS to the sump plug/oil change aspect. Although the oil had, I presume, been changed, I doubt if the oil filter had been touched. It's the paper element type and was pretty disgusting with a fair bit of slightly sludgy gunge dripping off it when removed. I'm thinking I'll let them go south and back and then do another oil and filter change when they return.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Sorry, forgot to mention above, I told you I'd bought a new fan (aux) belt for her but didn't mention the fitting. This car has an alternator, air con compressor, water pump and tensioner in the aux belt run. - d'you remember when all water pumps were "fan" belt driven? The tensioner is a spring loaded roller type and you have to relieve this tension when doing the belt. The recommended way is to remove the wheel arch liner and possibly the air filter box for access. The Haynes manual says the arch liner is held in place by those funny wee plastic clips which have a middle spindle you push through to relieve their tension. Don't know how often I've lost the centre spindle or had them simply disintegrate if they are very old (nearly 15 year old car here folks) so, as I had the complete air filter box removed earlier, I wondered if it could be done from above between the inner wing and front of the engine.

So I took the air filter box out again. The book recommendation is to compress the tensioner and slip something like a wee drill or allen key into it's locking hole to hold it retracted. I think this would be difficult from above but, luckily, I found my 14" power bar with 19mm bihex socket (offers more possibilities to engage the tensioner compared to a single hex in this enclosed space) easily allowed me to rotate and compress the tensioner and simply hold it there by hand whilst fiddling the old belt off and the new one on with my other hand. Access is quite restricted but I found it not really all that difficult, and I didn't need to disturb the wheel arch liner at all. To my surprise I later found, whilst checking the steering and suspension, that his liner is held in place with Torx screws! however some of them looked very rusty and I think removing them would have lead to tears!

Speaking with the voice of experience - OUCH! - you need to be very careful working with tensioners like this - ie without locking them out using a pin of some sort - Of necessity they contain pretty strong springs and if the socket looses it's purchase on the tensioner when your finger is between the belt and one of the pulley? Well, OUCH is to put it mildly and it can get quite "messy" - Never never leave the key in the ignition when doing anything with drive belts. (extremists will say to disconnect the battery, but I just like to live "dangerously"!)

It just occurred to me I've been going on at some length about a Vauxhall here. Hope this hasn't been boring you, but there's a lot of Astras about and I just thought it might benefit someone?

 

[StevenRB45]

Due at Centre Parcs on Monday.

Last night was up watching Clarksons farm with a beer about midnight, heard my boy grumbling initially then losing his **** on the monitor, which is odd as he's sleeping through these days.

Went in..temperature of 39.1, great! So Calpol and cuddles until his temperature was down a bit and he'd calmed down (also did a lateral flow on him, mercifully negative).

He was a bit happier, but he'd not really touched his tea earlier so thought, I'll give him some milk...he had that was seeming settled so picked him up to go to bed.

Got to the door of his room, lights are off but I hear the unmistakable sound of a burp with substance. Oh dear and sure enough, vommed over my shoulder, and down my back.

So off we went for a shower at 2am...he eventually went off and at least my wife was here to help clean up.

Last time he was ill she was on nights and I had a lovely moment when he vomited on me, his bed, himself and had diarrhoea. One of those times where you look at the situation and think "well where the hell do I start normally any one of these things needs sorted immediately?

She was surprised this time when I didn't flinch as he chundered down my back...being 2 am she may have got the explanation "well at least he didn't vomit into my mouth this time"

 

[portland_bill]

The old girl drove well but the clutch feels heavy and is biting about 2/3 of the way to the floor.

Vauxhalls of the first FWD Cavalier era had clutches that could be replaced without removing the gearbox. That would be useful if that car is the same. Are you aware of these Jock?

I'm guessing the threads of the drain plug have stretched a little, so it'll always now be tight.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Vauxhalls of the first FWD Cavalier era had clutches that could be replaced without removing the gearbox. That would be useful if that car is the same. Are you aware of these Jock?

I'm guessing the threads of the drain plug have stretched a little, so it'll always now be tight.

Thanks for that PB, you got me all excited for a moment there! I had forgotten about that little "trick" until you mentioned it. My Mk2 Astra 1.8 SXI estate (another of my cars I absolutely loved) was like that and I did indeed do a clutch on it in exactly that way - you removed the cover from the gearbox N/S end and screwed an adaptor for a slide hammer into the end of the shaft which then allowed it to be pulled out of the centre of the driven plate which was then dropped out the bottom of the bell housing. A wonderful idea! I remember the factor telling me under no circumstances to remove the wee clips holding the cover assembly in compression until after the whole thing had been fitted and screwed down tight. Apparently he used to get DIY types removing these clips thinking they were some sort of "in transit" feature and then trying to return the clutch kit when they found they couldn't fit it! Unfortunately the box has to come out on this one - just checked the Haynes to be sure - and I think that may include the subframe from the look of it? I think if it goes it'll be time for an in-depth assessment of the old girl, fairly high mileage, brakes will need comprehensive rebuild soon, a number of small oil leaks - crank front, g/box drive shaft and of course, although the plug recesses are dry just now there is that leak starting at the back of the head from that damned plastic cover again. There's some rust in the sills and around the front of the rear wheel arches too. Maybe she's just staring to hint "retirement" might be an option?

I think you're spot on with the stretched thread theory and I'm sure it's going to be the softer threads in the sump casting. If we're lucky they won't have sheared but simply stretched/deformed a little and then they'll probably go the distance if I'm gentle with them. Whatever, I'll find out sometime in September no doubt if I do that second oil change then. Mind you it is situated very accessibly, right in the bottom of the sump pan so an ideal candidate for one of those reasonably priced "tap it out to the next size and use a bigger plug" type repair kits. I'll not be loosing much sleep worrying about it that's for sure - Just a wee bit, no, quite a lot actually, annoyed at the idiot who did this! Over the years I've probably had that plug out maybe 8 to 10 times and it's spun out and back in with my fingers every time!

 

[Cheest]

Went fishing this morning. It was problems from the start. New monofilament line snarled up and I lost 50 foot of line. Get the swivel knotted back on and three casts later, the knot came undone and my brand new bright green Jitterbug lure landed somewhere in the bright green underbrush. Got things finally fixed, sans the bright green Jitterbug because I won't be able to see it until fall. The fish were flipping me off. Said screw this and rode the Ural into town for breakfast and coffee. At least that was tasty.

High point of the morning was another Ural heading into town as I was heading out.

 

[StevenRB45]

Garage got back to me with the quote for a major service + brake fluid, gearbox oil and coolant change on the Mazda (all scheduled for year 10 sadly). 453 quid including an MOT and VAT at which point I thought "you know I'll ring the main agent who used to do it see what they would charge".

After some back and forth a price of 250 arrived and I'm thinking "wow that's surprisingly low"..except of course I forgot they've gone from being Hodgson to being Stoneacre. So despite the service schedule including all of the above they've quoted for none of them just oil and filter.

You know what I remember why I voted with my feet now...useless gone off a cliff nevermind downhill, so glad I'm not in warranty and tied to them.

 

[portland_bill]

One thing lockdown has highlighted is how quiet a neighbourhood can be. So much unnecessary noise. I am however, quickly developing from miserable git, to angry and intolerant instead. There are two particular dogs that need shooting, or better still, two pairs of owners that need shooting.

Yesterday, just before 3pm, a Halfords 'Mobile Expert' van arrived opposite, parked on the footpath, and sat with his engine running, while the driver played on his phone.
Potential offences:
Driving on the footpath.
Idling the engine for longer than necessary.
Using a mobile device while in charge of a motor vehicle.
(If dealt with by fixed penalty notices, that'd be 12 points, and £400. So would have to go to court for consideration of a ban.)

Social offence: Irritating the hell out of residents with the drone of the idling engine.

After 30 minutes of this irritation, and him wasting his employer's money, as well as the environmental effect, I wandered across, in his blind spot, and arrived beside him, took him by surprise. (win)
I asked him straight, why was he here.
"Waiting for my client"
"You don't need to do that with the engine running". No aircon, so no excuse there.
"I'll need it running when I'm working on the car, fitting two tyres, to keep the compressor running, and the tyre fitting equipment."
I pointed out that as his client was not there yet, the engine was not required, and explained, firmly, that he was committing three offences. He thought that with the vehicle in neutral, and the handbrake on, he was ok to use the phone. Oops. Straightened that one out then, or so I thought.

Engine did go off.

At 4:00pm, his client arrived. Not here, but about 75yds up the road, behind him. So he reversed his van, quite quickly, all the way up to the client's house. That's another offence then, reversing further than necessary. (Another potential £100/3 points)

Didn't take him long to fit two tyres, and he was back, opposite, at 4:23pm, again leaving the engine running, while setting the satnav in his phone, again hand-held. Learnt nothing then. He then got out of the van, leaving the engine running, while he disappeared into the side door to tidy up inside. Windows open, work phone now in a bracket just inside the window, and his personal phone on the seat, within reach of the window. Easy to walk up to the offside, and take them both.
I challenged him again about the engine running, and again use of the phone. At least he hurriedly shut the side door and drove off.
Getting out of a vehicle and leaving the engine running, is another offence, "quitting a motor vehicle". Dates back to early cars which may run off on thier own. Still on the statute books, only acceptable justification is 'for diagnosis purposes'. So beware when scraping the ice off in the winter, if the car is on a public road.

We'll see what feedback we get from his company. Already got a nice acknowledgment, showing concern, and passed to his depot. The fun continues.