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Now here's where I start praying that my lovely Italian car doesn't get trashed by football fans!! [emoji33][emoji33]
What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
- Thread starter dave
- Start date
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What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
Sta tornando a casa!
A bowls away game last night. Not my turn to drive, sadly, so a passenger with another.
A Citroen C3 Picasso is acceptably comfortable in the back. The automated manual box is a bit lumpy though.
Often too fast for the situation, late braking, passed two cyclists very close, and another on the return journey. Lane discipline poor, signalling late, or not at all. Poor observation when reversing out of the parking slot.
Just a normal average driver then.
A Citroen C3 Picasso is acceptably comfortable in the back. The automated manual box is a bit lumpy though.
Often too fast for the situation, late braking, passed two cyclists very close, and another on the return journey. Lane discipline poor, signalling late, or not at all. Poor observation when reversing out of the parking slot.
Just a normal average driver then.
Sorry folks, I feel another of "those" posts coming on! It's technical though so i think most of you may enjoy it?
I posted in the "smiles" thread about leaving Becky out at my boy's house so I could bring the Jazz back here to my house while they are away on their hols for a service, fault rectification and general "fettling".
On driving away from his house the rattle (loud, very loud) from the O/S/F could immediately be heard on even just the smallest bumps. Otherwise the car drove well until I had to stop on a steep hill and found the hand brake - never a strong feature of the Mk1 Jazz - wouldn't hold.
I got back home around midday and immediately decided to look for that rattle. So, front end up on stands and wheels off - I'm doing a "big" service as well so both wheels need to come off to strip the pads out and clean up anyway. As I'm lying on my side, tapping the hub and caliper trying to locate the "rattle" I suddenly see that the bottom ball joint has a split boot!
So I suppose that means a new arm. I really don't like the look of the state of the ball pin threads (taper pin, like a track rod end) which are heavily corroded - This photo was taken after I'd cleaned the threads up and I like the look of the bolt through the front "metalastic" type bush even less.
Oh, and just look at the state of the rear void bush. (this one on the N/S actually)
well, something is going to have to be done about this so I pull on the pin and, wonder of wonders, it pulls out easily! The first picture above actually shows the thread after I'd spent about 20 minutes with the Plus Gas and wire brush, then working the castellated nut back and forwards, back and forward repeatedly until it wound right to the top of it's thread. Unfortunately it can't come off the end of the thread though because the CV is in the way. Then I realize I won't be able to get my ball joint splitter on to it again because the CV is in the way. Oh S***e! (a word I always think sounds so much more expressive with the "e" on the end?) do I really have to displace the CV and do I need to take the two strut bolts out to get enough movement on the CV? Assuming, of course, that the CV comes out of it's splines? Having turned the air blue for a few minutes and noticing that the boot on the N/S is in just as poor condition and actually has play in it, confirmed with a "waggle" of the wheel I decided to nip down to Steven's Honda garage and pick his brains as to how best to go about it.
Stick a big lever through the arm so you can lever it down - fine, I've done that often enough and I actually have an old Morris Marina rear half shaft with it's end beaten flat (like a tyre lever) and a length of scaffold pole which fits over it if extra force is needed - then take a large hammer (2.5 lb ball pein do? - Yup) and welly into the side of the joint. I've separated track rod ends often that way so I know what he intends.
If I get stuck can you do it for me? I ask. Sure, but I'm stowed out with work so it'll be a good couple of weeks Jock. To cut a long story short, after whacking away at the casting until it must have been crying I was getting nowhere so I tightened up the nut, put the pin back in and took the picture. Then I rang Kenny and asked if he could help and he said ring back Wednesday and I'll try to make room for you Thursday, more likely Friday.
By now I've decided I'm going to farm out the arms. If I was in the garage I'd be breaking out the welding gear at this point. - Even if Kenny can't do them I know a half dozen other garages I'd trust to do a job like this and anyway, I'm messing about with the family vehicles because I find it "fun" and this job is definitely looking like it's not going to be "fun". So let's go looking for that rattle. It has a definitely "tinny" sound and I'm convinced it's something to do with the disc backplates. However, after extensive tapping, banging, kicking of the hub I can hear the noise and it's definitely not the backplate, but, whilst obviously coming from the hub, I can't isolate it. So I strip down the brake. Slider pin bolts out and caliper suspended from the road spring on a piece of wire. Now that's weird. There's a load of copper grease on the back of the pads. Much much more than I would ever use. But hang on, I put new discs and pads on here a year ago when I last serviced it and I haven't used Copper grease on brakes for a few years now - weird eh?
Plenty of "meat" on the pads though, but hang on, no anti squeal shims? I definitely wouldn't have left them out. I gave the pads a good wipe down to remove the copper grease and then degreased with brake cleaner before rubbing down the friction faces to glaze bust them and they came up nicely.
As I was doing this I also cleaned up the caliper carrier and, hold on, there's only one pad locating shim. You can see it at the top here.
A quick check on the other side and it's the same. By now I'm absolutely convinced someone else, who has little knowledge of what they're doing, has been in here since I last looked at the car last summer. The origin of the noise is now obvious, the pads are rattling around in the caliper carrier and behaving like little hammers. Quite why it sounds like the backplate being tapped I can't explain but cars often make inexplicable noises I've learned. The noise only started about 3 or 4 weeks ago so I bet that was when it was "fiddled" with.
By now it was getting late so I called it a day and left the old girl sitting with her front up in the air on the stands overnight - something I don't like doing.
I'll stop now and take up the story again in a minute because this is getting a bit long for one post. Actually, looking at the time, I think I'll resume this tomorrow! Sleep tight all.
I posted in the "smiles" thread about leaving Becky out at my boy's house so I could bring the Jazz back here to my house while they are away on their hols for a service, fault rectification and general "fettling".
On driving away from his house the rattle (loud, very loud) from the O/S/F could immediately be heard on even just the smallest bumps. Otherwise the car drove well until I had to stop on a steep hill and found the hand brake - never a strong feature of the Mk1 Jazz - wouldn't hold.
I got back home around midday and immediately decided to look for that rattle. So, front end up on stands and wheels off - I'm doing a "big" service as well so both wheels need to come off to strip the pads out and clean up anyway. As I'm lying on my side, tapping the hub and caliper trying to locate the "rattle" I suddenly see that the bottom ball joint has a split boot!
So I suppose that means a new arm. I really don't like the look of the state of the ball pin threads (taper pin, like a track rod end) which are heavily corroded - This photo was taken after I'd cleaned the threads up and I like the look of the bolt through the front "metalastic" type bush even less.
Oh, and just look at the state of the rear void bush. (this one on the N/S actually)
well, something is going to have to be done about this so I pull on the pin and, wonder of wonders, it pulls out easily! The first picture above actually shows the thread after I'd spent about 20 minutes with the Plus Gas and wire brush, then working the castellated nut back and forwards, back and forward repeatedly until it wound right to the top of it's thread. Unfortunately it can't come off the end of the thread though because the CV is in the way. Then I realize I won't be able to get my ball joint splitter on to it again because the CV is in the way. Oh S***e! (a word I always think sounds so much more expressive with the "e" on the end?) do I really have to displace the CV and do I need to take the two strut bolts out to get enough movement on the CV? Assuming, of course, that the CV comes out of it's splines? Having turned the air blue for a few minutes and noticing that the boot on the N/S is in just as poor condition and actually has play in it, confirmed with a "waggle" of the wheel I decided to nip down to Steven's Honda garage and pick his brains as to how best to go about it.
Stick a big lever through the arm so you can lever it down - fine, I've done that often enough and I actually have an old Morris Marina rear half shaft with it's end beaten flat (like a tyre lever) and a length of scaffold pole which fits over it if extra force is needed - then take a large hammer (2.5 lb ball pein do? - Yup) and welly into the side of the joint. I've separated track rod ends often that way so I know what he intends.
If I get stuck can you do it for me? I ask. Sure, but I'm stowed out with work so it'll be a good couple of weeks Jock. To cut a long story short, after whacking away at the casting until it must have been crying I was getting nowhere so I tightened up the nut, put the pin back in and took the picture. Then I rang Kenny and asked if he could help and he said ring back Wednesday and I'll try to make room for you Thursday, more likely Friday.
By now I've decided I'm going to farm out the arms. If I was in the garage I'd be breaking out the welding gear at this point. - Even if Kenny can't do them I know a half dozen other garages I'd trust to do a job like this and anyway, I'm messing about with the family vehicles because I find it "fun" and this job is definitely looking like it's not going to be "fun". So let's go looking for that rattle. It has a definitely "tinny" sound and I'm convinced it's something to do with the disc backplates. However, after extensive tapping, banging, kicking of the hub I can hear the noise and it's definitely not the backplate, but, whilst obviously coming from the hub, I can't isolate it. So I strip down the brake. Slider pin bolts out and caliper suspended from the road spring on a piece of wire. Now that's weird. There's a load of copper grease on the back of the pads. Much much more than I would ever use. But hang on, I put new discs and pads on here a year ago when I last serviced it and I haven't used Copper grease on brakes for a few years now - weird eh?
Plenty of "meat" on the pads though, but hang on, no anti squeal shims? I definitely wouldn't have left them out. I gave the pads a good wipe down to remove the copper grease and then degreased with brake cleaner before rubbing down the friction faces to glaze bust them and they came up nicely.
As I was doing this I also cleaned up the caliper carrier and, hold on, there's only one pad locating shim. You can see it at the top here.
A quick check on the other side and it's the same. By now I'm absolutely convinced someone else, who has little knowledge of what they're doing, has been in here since I last looked at the car last summer. The origin of the noise is now obvious, the pads are rattling around in the caliper carrier and behaving like little hammers. Quite why it sounds like the backplate being tapped I can't explain but cars often make inexplicable noises I've learned. The noise only started about 3 or 4 weeks ago so I bet that was when it was "fiddled" with.
By now it was getting late so I called it a day and left the old girl sitting with her front up in the air on the stands overnight - something I don't like doing.
I'll stop now and take up the story again in a minute because this is getting a bit long for one post. Actually, looking at the time, I think I'll resume this tomorrow! Sleep tight all.
Good morning everyone. I'll now continue the saga of the Jazz. Well, I had a bit of good luck Monday as I rang the factor just before I started cleaning down and putting my tools away. I was not expecting them to answer as it was well after their closing time but the manager picked up (he was doing paperwork I believe) and I was able to order a shim pack for those front calipers - Pick them up around 10 maybe 11 o'clock as they'll have to come through from Glasgow. I rang at around 9 just to be sure they were able to get them and was told "they're here, come and get them" How's that for service!
And here they are, with one of the old ones at the bottom of the picture.
If you look closely you can see that two of them have a tensioning "tongue" (looped over bit) which puts tension on the pad to stop it rattling against the carrier when the pads are installed. These ones are installed at the top so they press the pads downwards - very logical when you think about it, which makes it even wierder that the two old ones, which are not the spring type, were installed at the top. - I've put one of the old ones at the bottom of the picture so you can compare.
Here they are installed ready for the pads to be fitted
And here are the pads in place ready for the caliper itself to be reassembled.
You'll notice the white grease on the pads. I've been experimenting with ceramic based brake greases and I'm not all that happy with them long term when compared with the old Copper grease I used to use. I find these new greases are quite thin in comparison and, when you dismantle at annual service time, there is very little trace of any grease with the pads often being a bit corroded and tight in the carrier. I mentioned this to Steven when I was last speaking to him and he showed me a tin of the grease he uses. It looked much "thicker" so I asked about it when I picked up the antirattle shims and they sold me a tube of the stuff
So far I'm very impressed and I like it a lot more than the other stuff I've been trying - time will tell I suppose.
So now with the front calipers reassembled I gave the hub and caliper a few good wallops with my rubber hammer and, joy of joys, the rattling noise is gone!
Great, This rattle has been what's been annoying/worrying my daughter in law the most and now that's it sorted! Now for the rest of the service. Oil and filter change went well with a new ally washer fitted to the sump plug and the air filter - that's the ribbed casing on the right of the next picture - is a 2 minute job even including blowing out the casing with compressed air. This filter is strangely small so I renew it every year and it always looks as if it needs it. Maybe one of their motor cycle chaps designed it?
Now with the front brakes, oil and filter changed and front suspension/brake lines/etc checks all done I can put the front wheels back on, lower the car to the ground and fill the sump with oil. As I'm waiting for the oil level to stabilize, before finally topping off to the full mark, I do the spark plugs. This car does around the 8,000 miles a year and uses standard plugs so I do them every second year. It's unusual in that it has 8 spark plugs, two per cylinder! Apparently it fires one slightly before the other to achieve a more complete burn and so achieve better economy? The problem, not that it's a very big one, is that there are 8 coils to go wrong (non of ours have though) and 4 of them are tucked down the back of the engine and quite difficult to access if you don't have a comprehensive tool set. By the way, apparently it's not unusual for the rear plugs to be ignored due to them being "a hassle" The engine will run happily with just the front plugs being changed but it affects economy if the rear plugs aren't firing. 2008 (the year this car was manufactured) was the last year this IDSI engine with the 8 plugs was used, after that they started with the VTEC engine which, more conventionally, has "just" 4 plugs.
Here's what the engine looks like when you open the bonnet
The cover comes off quite easily by removing those two little domed nuts and wiggling it free of the inlet manifold runners
Now you can see the front 4 coils nestling between the inlet runners, held in with just one little bolt.
Looking down the back of the engine you can see why some people don't do the 4 rear plugs. That's the square black top of one of the coils nearest the camera, can you see any of the others? No? That'll be because I haven't yet unclipped and moved the wiring loom to gain access - I hate moving wiring looms as it sometimes results in broken wires.
Getting the front plugs out of their quite deep holes is pretty standard stuff and my magnetic plug socket is a great help. Tackling the rear ones is a bit of a different "kettle of fish". The plugs are down quite deep holes but the brake master cylinder reservoir gets in the way for the No 1 cylinder so you have to fit a short extension to the socket, feed it down the hole and then install another short extension and ratchet on top of that to be able to undo the plug. The other three are easier as there's less fiddling but it's still a bit of a Pfaff! Then, of course, you've got to install the new ones without cross threading them. I must admit not a problem for me, but I've been doing this sort of thing for years, could be quite difficult for an inexperienced DIYer though? Here's the tools I used
Here's all 8 of the old plugs
It's very interesting, or so I think, to compare their "business" ends.
Above you can see two taken from the front mounted plugs and two from the rear ones. Notice that two are more carboned up than the other two. This is consistent with all 8 plugs - ie 4 look as if they are burning a "richer" mix and 4 look "leaner" I'm guessing the 4 "richer" ones are the ones being fired first and the 4 "leaner" are the ones being fired slightly later so are igniting, or reigniting? who knows? an already partially combusted gas? Fascinating eh? mind you I do think 8 plugs for an every day "cooking" engine is a needless expense. Wouldn't begrudge it so much if it were an Alfa engine?
Well, This all seems to be going quite well now, just the pollen filter and the rear brakes to look at and she'll be ready to go down to Kenny's for those front arms.
The pollen filter is one of the easiest I know of to do. Open the glove box and you see this
With your hands pull the bottom shelf towards you and out and now you can see the white plastic cassette which contains the filter element. Hook a finger round the two little tabs, one on each side, and pull.
The cassette pulls out towards you and it's just a matter of lifting the element out, sliding the cassette with it's new element into place until tou feel it "snap" into place and sliding the lower shelf back in until it "snaps" into place - wonderful, nothing except your fingers needed!
Ok, just the rear brakes and a safety check on rear pipes ans shocks etc to do. Jacked the rear end up and, oh dear, the O/S/R wheel doesn't want to spin. That disappoints me because I put a new caliper on that wheel last year as the old one was seized. Surely it's not going to be the same problem so soon? Luckily it wasn't, just somewhat dirty and partially seized pads - disc looks a bit corroded and "rough" though, probably due to the seized pads meaning this brake has been doing nothing for some time? Cleaned up lovely and lubed with the Granville, pads slipped back in just grand. These rear calipers have a flexi spring which serves to lightly push the pads against the caloper carrier and this could do with being renewed as one of it's "arms" is missing - it'll work fine "as is" though, I'll pick up one next time I'm in at the factors. N/S was fine so just needed a clean and lube.
So, all done, or so I thought. Made a nice cup of tea and sat with my "clean" slightly oily rag which I use for cleaning my tools before putting them away, cleaning the tools I'd been using and putting them back in my tool chest. Manista'd my hands and went for a shower, because I was filthy. Came back down and thought I'd better test drive the car to make sure the "rattle" was truely fixed and oh deary me, a terrible rubbing noise coming from, somewhere! My best guess was N/S/F. Oh to hell with it, I've had enough for today, it can just wait for tomorrow!
Well, it's another dry day but quite overcast and rather cooler thank goodness. Into my car doing clothes again and yes there is a wee noise from the front wheel but nothing like the noise I was hearing. Spin up the O/S/R and there it is. Closer examination shows the rust on the disc to be the problem so I dismantled the caliper, pads and carrier then removed the disc and ground away all the crusty rusty bits with a disc (just like I did with Becky's fronts if anyone remembers that?) Reassembled it all and that cured that! Disappointingly the slight rub at the front was due to one of the new anti rattle shims being poorly made. Luckily it was the same as one of the old ones I took of so I just swapped it out for an old one and that sorted that. Both N/S wheels were spun but no noises heard. A wee drive down the road confirmed all was now good with not the slightest trace of that rattle!
I've never been very happy with the hand brake on this car, it just doesn't hold very well. Many people have now told me it's a common MOT failure on them and I'm wasting my time expecting to improve it much. I'm going to have a closer look at it all and the hand brake adjustment when I get that new caliper spring plate.
By now it's lunch time on Wednesday so I give Kenny a ring and he says I's manic stuff Jock, we are unbelievably busy just now. That's the same story I got from Steven, wonder why everyone is getting their cars attended to just now? Anyway he said "how's about next Tuesday"? Oh, I'd hoped I could get it done by the weekend so I can drop it back at their house for Saturday morning when I'll have to go out to water the plants anyway. "Just a moment Jock" and I could hear a conversation going on with Ryan, his son, in the background. "Bring it in very first thing Friday morning and leave it. I'll see what we can do". I really can't ask better than that and I'll be very surprised if they don't do it. Looks like an early rise for me on Friday then?
Just the mystery of the missing shims and the over liberally applied Copper grease to solve now. I feel I should involve Mrs J as she reads endless Miss Marple and Poirot type books.
And here they are, with one of the old ones at the bottom of the picture.
If you look closely you can see that two of them have a tensioning "tongue" (looped over bit) which puts tension on the pad to stop it rattling against the carrier when the pads are installed. These ones are installed at the top so they press the pads downwards - very logical when you think about it, which makes it even wierder that the two old ones, which are not the spring type, were installed at the top. - I've put one of the old ones at the bottom of the picture so you can compare.
Here they are installed ready for the pads to be fitted
And here are the pads in place ready for the caliper itself to be reassembled.
You'll notice the white grease on the pads. I've been experimenting with ceramic based brake greases and I'm not all that happy with them long term when compared with the old Copper grease I used to use. I find these new greases are quite thin in comparison and, when you dismantle at annual service time, there is very little trace of any grease with the pads often being a bit corroded and tight in the carrier. I mentioned this to Steven when I was last speaking to him and he showed me a tin of the grease he uses. It looked much "thicker" so I asked about it when I picked up the antirattle shims and they sold me a tube of the stuff
So far I'm very impressed and I like it a lot more than the other stuff I've been trying - time will tell I suppose.
So now with the front calipers reassembled I gave the hub and caliper a few good wallops with my rubber hammer and, joy of joys, the rattling noise is gone!
Great, This rattle has been what's been annoying/worrying my daughter in law the most and now that's it sorted! Now for the rest of the service. Oil and filter change went well with a new ally washer fitted to the sump plug and the air filter - that's the ribbed casing on the right of the next picture - is a 2 minute job even including blowing out the casing with compressed air. This filter is strangely small so I renew it every year and it always looks as if it needs it. Maybe one of their motor cycle chaps designed it?
Now with the front brakes, oil and filter changed and front suspension/brake lines/etc checks all done I can put the front wheels back on, lower the car to the ground and fill the sump with oil. As I'm waiting for the oil level to stabilize, before finally topping off to the full mark, I do the spark plugs. This car does around the 8,000 miles a year and uses standard plugs so I do them every second year. It's unusual in that it has 8 spark plugs, two per cylinder! Apparently it fires one slightly before the other to achieve a more complete burn and so achieve better economy? The problem, not that it's a very big one, is that there are 8 coils to go wrong (non of ours have though) and 4 of them are tucked down the back of the engine and quite difficult to access if you don't have a comprehensive tool set. By the way, apparently it's not unusual for the rear plugs to be ignored due to them being "a hassle" The engine will run happily with just the front plugs being changed but it affects economy if the rear plugs aren't firing. 2008 (the year this car was manufactured) was the last year this IDSI engine with the 8 plugs was used, after that they started with the VTEC engine which, more conventionally, has "just" 4 plugs.
Here's what the engine looks like when you open the bonnet
The cover comes off quite easily by removing those two little domed nuts and wiggling it free of the inlet manifold runners
Now you can see the front 4 coils nestling between the inlet runners, held in with just one little bolt.
Looking down the back of the engine you can see why some people don't do the 4 rear plugs. That's the square black top of one of the coils nearest the camera, can you see any of the others? No? That'll be because I haven't yet unclipped and moved the wiring loom to gain access - I hate moving wiring looms as it sometimes results in broken wires.
Getting the front plugs out of their quite deep holes is pretty standard stuff and my magnetic plug socket is a great help. Tackling the rear ones is a bit of a different "kettle of fish". The plugs are down quite deep holes but the brake master cylinder reservoir gets in the way for the No 1 cylinder so you have to fit a short extension to the socket, feed it down the hole and then install another short extension and ratchet on top of that to be able to undo the plug. The other three are easier as there's less fiddling but it's still a bit of a Pfaff! Then, of course, you've got to install the new ones without cross threading them. I must admit not a problem for me, but I've been doing this sort of thing for years, could be quite difficult for an inexperienced DIYer though? Here's the tools I used
Here's all 8 of the old plugs
It's very interesting, or so I think, to compare their "business" ends.
Above you can see two taken from the front mounted plugs and two from the rear ones. Notice that two are more carboned up than the other two. This is consistent with all 8 plugs - ie 4 look as if they are burning a "richer" mix and 4 look "leaner" I'm guessing the 4 "richer" ones are the ones being fired first and the 4 "leaner" are the ones being fired slightly later so are igniting, or reigniting? who knows? an already partially combusted gas? Fascinating eh? mind you I do think 8 plugs for an every day "cooking" engine is a needless expense. Wouldn't begrudge it so much if it were an Alfa engine?
Well, This all seems to be going quite well now, just the pollen filter and the rear brakes to look at and she'll be ready to go down to Kenny's for those front arms.
The pollen filter is one of the easiest I know of to do. Open the glove box and you see this
With your hands pull the bottom shelf towards you and out and now you can see the white plastic cassette which contains the filter element. Hook a finger round the two little tabs, one on each side, and pull.
The cassette pulls out towards you and it's just a matter of lifting the element out, sliding the cassette with it's new element into place until tou feel it "snap" into place and sliding the lower shelf back in until it "snaps" into place - wonderful, nothing except your fingers needed!
Ok, just the rear brakes and a safety check on rear pipes ans shocks etc to do. Jacked the rear end up and, oh dear, the O/S/R wheel doesn't want to spin. That disappoints me because I put a new caliper on that wheel last year as the old one was seized. Surely it's not going to be the same problem so soon? Luckily it wasn't, just somewhat dirty and partially seized pads - disc looks a bit corroded and "rough" though, probably due to the seized pads meaning this brake has been doing nothing for some time? Cleaned up lovely and lubed with the Granville, pads slipped back in just grand. These rear calipers have a flexi spring which serves to lightly push the pads against the caloper carrier and this could do with being renewed as one of it's "arms" is missing - it'll work fine "as is" though, I'll pick up one next time I'm in at the factors. N/S was fine so just needed a clean and lube.
So, all done, or so I thought. Made a nice cup of tea and sat with my "clean" slightly oily rag which I use for cleaning my tools before putting them away, cleaning the tools I'd been using and putting them back in my tool chest. Manista'd my hands and went for a shower, because I was filthy. Came back down and thought I'd better test drive the car to make sure the "rattle" was truely fixed and oh deary me, a terrible rubbing noise coming from, somewhere! My best guess was N/S/F. Oh to hell with it, I've had enough for today, it can just wait for tomorrow!
Well, it's another dry day but quite overcast and rather cooler thank goodness. Into my car doing clothes again and yes there is a wee noise from the front wheel but nothing like the noise I was hearing. Spin up the O/S/R and there it is. Closer examination shows the rust on the disc to be the problem so I dismantled the caliper, pads and carrier then removed the disc and ground away all the crusty rusty bits with a disc (just like I did with Becky's fronts if anyone remembers that?) Reassembled it all and that cured that! Disappointingly the slight rub at the front was due to one of the new anti rattle shims being poorly made. Luckily it was the same as one of the old ones I took of so I just swapped it out for an old one and that sorted that. Both N/S wheels were spun but no noises heard. A wee drive down the road confirmed all was now good with not the slightest trace of that rattle!
I've never been very happy with the hand brake on this car, it just doesn't hold very well. Many people have now told me it's a common MOT failure on them and I'm wasting my time expecting to improve it much. I'm going to have a closer look at it all and the hand brake adjustment when I get that new caliper spring plate.
By now it's lunch time on Wednesday so I give Kenny a ring and he says I's manic stuff Jock, we are unbelievably busy just now. That's the same story I got from Steven, wonder why everyone is getting their cars attended to just now? Anyway he said "how's about next Tuesday"? Oh, I'd hoped I could get it done by the weekend so I can drop it back at their house for Saturday morning when I'll have to go out to water the plants anyway. "Just a moment Jock" and I could hear a conversation going on with Ryan, his son, in the background. "Bring it in very first thing Friday morning and leave it. I'll see what we can do". I really can't ask better than that and I'll be very surprised if they don't do it. Looks like an early rise for me on Friday then?
Just the mystery of the missing shims and the over liberally applied Copper grease to solve now. I feel I should involve Mrs J as she reads endless Miss Marple and Poirot type books.
Sounds a mission and a half!
My local independent is run ragged at the moment as well. People are hanging on to things longer so spending money on keeping stuff running not new cars. My local is having bother getting parts. He was finding he needed to order things well in advance when normally it would be an on the day or maybe a few days lead in on most common cars.
Wonder how much benefit you get for your twin sparks..hopefully not also iridium for your bank accounts sake.
My local independent is run ragged at the moment as well. People are hanging on to things longer so spending money on keeping stuff running not new cars. My local is having bother getting parts. He was finding he needed to order things well in advance when normally it would be an on the day or maybe a few days lead in on most common cars.
Wonder how much benefit you get for your twin sparks..hopefully not also iridium for your bank accounts sake.
Nope, just plain old "copper core" NGK BKR6E-11 at £2.41p plus VAT to you sir!
Haven't been troubled by lack of anything I've asked for lately - servicing the Astra and now the Jazz. Hope Kenny doesn't have any problems with the arms for the Jazz - feeling slightly apprehensive now.
It was last December last time I spoke to them tbf, heater fan on the Mazda was a 2 week lead time.
Hopefully better now the world is opening up again but he literally had a pile of parts in his office tagged with customer names at the time as he'd started ordering things as far in advance as he could as was sick of having cars on the ramp he had no parts for.
At 2 quid odd you're significantly better off than me and my 4...yes they last 75k miles or 6 years but the cost of 4 genuine plugs is 89 quid. Might leave them at year 12 tbh...iridiums last a very long time and it'll only be up at maybe 100 odd k by then. Only change them if it starts to have running/starting problems.
Hopefully better now the world is opening up again but he literally had a pile of parts in his office tagged with customer names at the time as he'd started ordering things as far in advance as he could as was sick of having cars on the ramp he had no parts for.
At 2 quid odd you're significantly better off than me and my 4...yes they last 75k miles or 6 years but the cost of 4 genuine plugs is 89 quid. Might leave them at year 12 tbh...iridiums last a very long time and it'll only be up at maybe 100 odd k by then. Only change them if it starts to have running/starting problems.
The Ibiza has these long life plugs, to be changed every 4 years or 70,000 miles I think? I'm now at less than 25,000 miles and 5+ years old. I've been advised to change them, and I do worry just a little that they may be difficult to get out if I leave them too long but I'm tempted to let them go for another year? Haven't asked the factor what he'll do me a set for but it may be "affordable" and there are only 3!
My tame indie takes the plugs out and checks the gaps as part of the service. So although they are old they haven't been in the block undisturbed the whole time.
May be an idea if you're keeping them past recommended.
May be an idea if you're keeping them past recommended.
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I was up with the lark today so I could drop the jazz off at Kenny's garage when they open. That's officially at 8.00 am but they were already moving vehicles around at 7.45 when I arrived. "Give me a ring early afternoon Jock, I'm going to try to get it finished by lunchtime."
I then walked through the trading estate to Jane street, just off Leith Walk, where there's a Honda indy workshop, not Steven's, where I'm not well known where I hoped they might have a used antirattle spring/shimmy thing for that O/S/R caliper. I arrived just as they were unlocking and one of the guys very kindly let me rifle through a drawer of used brake bits, but without any success - nice guys, they didn't have to let me do that.
Then I walked up Bangor road to Steven's garage (Honda Indy) where I handed back the ball joint boot he'd so hopefully given me and he had a search through his used brake stuff and came up with one that looked a possibility.
A rapid 20 minute walk home then just in time to make Mrs J a cup of tea and take it and a biscuit up to the bedroom for 9.00 am - which is my normal morning routine - she can't face the day without a cup of tea and a biscuit!
Spent the morning leisurely tending to my plants and rang the garage at 2.00 pm. "Yes, its all done, come and get it". Great, how much has it cost? "Och, we'll sort that out when you're here" Hmm. Not sure I if like the sound of that? The chap who did the job came into the office while I was there and I asked him how it had gone. The taper fittings on the ball joints, which had given me so much trouble and defeated me, were separated using some type of massive slide hammer which hooks over the end of the arm and is then shocked downwards with the slide hammer. Impossible to use except on a ramp because the car needs to be well clear of the ground. The two bolts through the rear void bushes came out with the rattle gun but the front bolts (pictured in my first post) had to have the welding torch turned on them to crack the rust. After that it was all plain sailing.
Then I had to go and pay for it. £34.50 each for the arms and an hour's labour @£50 Plus VAT of course. So I got change from £150. I think that's a very fair price. - and I know he buys from the same factor I do so the parts will be "middling quality" - I've seen the arms cheaper on ebay, but who knows what you're buying? especially in terms of the quality of the bushes? and an hour's labour to deal with the rusted bolts and taper joints which I couldn't have done is actually a bit of a bargain I think.
The car drove very nicely on the way home and I was feeling in such a good mood I decided to crash on with trying to fit that antirattle shim/spring to the O/S/R caliper. Unfortunately it doesn't fit, looks right but is just slightly bigger all round - probably fits a Civic? The brake's functionality isn't impaired without it, all it does is puts a bit of tension on the pads to stop them rattling in the caliper carrier - which they're not doing just now due to the fresh application of brake grease. I've decided to just let it be and I'll pick up a shim pack when I find a cheap offer. Then, because the hand brake is still not as good as I'd like it to be I thought I'd carry on and check the cable adjustment. I know the calipers are good, one very recently renewed and both wound back easily when I was "fettling" the pads. A couple of years ago I fitted new rear discs and pads to this car and I remember setting up the cable tension at that time. It's still absolutely spot on. The caliper levers just "kiss" the stops with the handbrake lever on the floor and the brakes are fully applied by about 7 or 8 clicks (you're allowed 10 on this Jazz which has a fine pitch ratchet.) It's still not as good as I'd like it to be, It passed it's MOT earlier in the year like this so I'm not talking absolutely useless, just not great if you know what I mean? The caliper levers return to their stops freely enough so the cables aren't binding, but I'm beginning to think a set of new cables might improve things as I've known old cables to bind up under tension when the nylon inner lining is worn, They do look pretty old and they're about the only thing left to try, but I keep remembering that "everybody" says the Mk1 Jazz hand brake is famously poor though so maybe I'd just be chucking my money away doing this. I'll probably wait to see if it fails it's MOT this year and change them at that time if it fails.
So either tomorrow or Sunday I'll take it back out to my boy's house and swap it over for Becky. She will have been sitting out there for best part of a week without turning a wheel and probably feeling completely abandoned - hope she doesn't take the "Hump" and decide not to start for me! It'll be very interesting to directly compare the newly refurbished Jazz with the recently serviced Panda as a driving experience on the country and faster main roads and then back across town to home. The Jazz motor is about 150 cc bigger than the Panda but I suspect the Jazz is heavier - looking forward to the experience.
I then walked through the trading estate to Jane street, just off Leith Walk, where there's a Honda indy workshop, not Steven's, where I'm not well known where I hoped they might have a used antirattle spring/shimmy thing for that O/S/R caliper. I arrived just as they were unlocking and one of the guys very kindly let me rifle through a drawer of used brake bits, but without any success - nice guys, they didn't have to let me do that.
Then I walked up Bangor road to Steven's garage (Honda Indy) where I handed back the ball joint boot he'd so hopefully given me and he had a search through his used brake stuff and came up with one that looked a possibility.
A rapid 20 minute walk home then just in time to make Mrs J a cup of tea and take it and a biscuit up to the bedroom for 9.00 am - which is my normal morning routine - she can't face the day without a cup of tea and a biscuit!
Spent the morning leisurely tending to my plants and rang the garage at 2.00 pm. "Yes, its all done, come and get it". Great, how much has it cost? "Och, we'll sort that out when you're here" Hmm. Not sure I if like the sound of that? The chap who did the job came into the office while I was there and I asked him how it had gone. The taper fittings on the ball joints, which had given me so much trouble and defeated me, were separated using some type of massive slide hammer which hooks over the end of the arm and is then shocked downwards with the slide hammer. Impossible to use except on a ramp because the car needs to be well clear of the ground. The two bolts through the rear void bushes came out with the rattle gun but the front bolts (pictured in my first post) had to have the welding torch turned on them to crack the rust. After that it was all plain sailing.
Then I had to go and pay for it. £34.50 each for the arms and an hour's labour @£50 Plus VAT of course. So I got change from £150. I think that's a very fair price. - and I know he buys from the same factor I do so the parts will be "middling quality" - I've seen the arms cheaper on ebay, but who knows what you're buying? especially in terms of the quality of the bushes? and an hour's labour to deal with the rusted bolts and taper joints which I couldn't have done is actually a bit of a bargain I think.
The car drove very nicely on the way home and I was feeling in such a good mood I decided to crash on with trying to fit that antirattle shim/spring to the O/S/R caliper. Unfortunately it doesn't fit, looks right but is just slightly bigger all round - probably fits a Civic? The brake's functionality isn't impaired without it, all it does is puts a bit of tension on the pads to stop them rattling in the caliper carrier - which they're not doing just now due to the fresh application of brake grease. I've decided to just let it be and I'll pick up a shim pack when I find a cheap offer. Then, because the hand brake is still not as good as I'd like it to be I thought I'd carry on and check the cable adjustment. I know the calipers are good, one very recently renewed and both wound back easily when I was "fettling" the pads. A couple of years ago I fitted new rear discs and pads to this car and I remember setting up the cable tension at that time. It's still absolutely spot on. The caliper levers just "kiss" the stops with the handbrake lever on the floor and the brakes are fully applied by about 7 or 8 clicks (you're allowed 10 on this Jazz which has a fine pitch ratchet.) It's still not as good as I'd like it to be, It passed it's MOT earlier in the year like this so I'm not talking absolutely useless, just not great if you know what I mean? The caliper levers return to their stops freely enough so the cables aren't binding, but I'm beginning to think a set of new cables might improve things as I've known old cables to bind up under tension when the nylon inner lining is worn, They do look pretty old and they're about the only thing left to try, but I keep remembering that "everybody" says the Mk1 Jazz hand brake is famously poor though so maybe I'd just be chucking my money away doing this. I'll probably wait to see if it fails it's MOT this year and change them at that time if it fails.
So either tomorrow or Sunday I'll take it back out to my boy's house and swap it over for Becky. She will have been sitting out there for best part of a week without turning a wheel and probably feeling completely abandoned - hope she doesn't take the "Hump" and decide not to start for me! It'll be very interesting to directly compare the newly refurbished Jazz with the recently serviced Panda as a driving experience on the country and faster main roads and then back across town to home. The Jazz motor is about 150 cc bigger than the Panda but I suspect the Jazz is heavier - looking forward to the experience.
I'd decided yesterday that, having spent the best part of a week servicing, sorting and generally fettling the Jazz that I was going to call it a day for now and do the anti rattle shim/spring on the O/S/R caliper when I found a kit on offer at a good price. Going rate on ebay seems to be around the £8.00p for a kit for both rear calipers - which is how they come.
Then this morning, after waking early from a bad dream where I was back in one of the garages I'd worked in and every time I looked in my tool box there were more and more tools missing! I woke up when I was looking into an empty tool box and wondering if they were going to take that too! One of those "silly" but, at the time, very distressing dreams! Anyway I was lying there feeling relieved it was only a dream when I suddenly decided that it was daft not to finish the Jazz off properly and just buy a set of shims for the rear calipers from the factor. - although I only needed one shim. After all I've already laid out £145 on the suspension arm replacement and around £90 on oil, filters, spark plugs (all 8 of them!), front caliper shims, and other sundries so it's a bit silly not to spend another £8.00 on the rear shims isn't it?
Today's Saturday though so factors are closed at midday aren't they? Better get a move on then. Phoned my preferred supplier, who supplied the front caliper shims, only to be told, Sorry pal, we don't even list them. Then tried the other big supplier near me. Yes they can do them but it'll be Tuesday or Wednesday to get them. Price? around the £8.00 plus VAT. I can live with that but I want them NOW so I can reclaim our Panda from my boy's kerbside. Tried Halfords, not with any great hopes, but sometimes they surprise? Not this time though. Then I tried Euro Car Parts who are about half an hour away - more if the traffic is bad. spoke to a central office, not our local branch, but he assured me they had them and that they would be waiting for me under the car's reg No. Time was marching on now so I grabbed my credit card and jumped in the car. Good traffic conditions and I got there in about 20 minutes, only to find a queue of chaps right out the door - all socially distancing with masks on (luckily I remembered my mask as you have to have one to go in the store). It took a good half hour to get through the door and there was only one person serving. However he was a very pleasant youngster who told me was new to the job! He couldn't find my stored order on the computer but took the vehicle details and went off through to the warehouse. Some time later he came back and said he's got them and asked me to pay. I was nervous about doing that before seeing them so he called one of the warehouse men through with them so I could see them. They were Pattern made and not exactly like the OE still one on the N/S but the brand was PAGID and the pack said Honda Jazz and Rover 25. I decided to take a chance and paid up. This is only about the 2nd or 3rd time I've ever used Euro, previously I've been slightly disappointed because they didn't have the brand advertised and I've taken another, very suitable but different, branded product. No problem with anything, just came away with something other than what I'd set out to buy. Pagid is a big name though and I'm very pleased with these shims. I must say also that the young man serving me was very helpful and pleasant to deal with - An asset to their company I'd say. I paid £11.99 for it which is probably what I'd have paid any of my preferred factors after the VAT was added in so I'm happy enough. Oh, and noticed their hours of opening - 4 pm on a Saturday. That could be useful!
Here's a picture of the shim/spring which Steven gave me with the Pagid one on the right.
The one Steven gave me so nearly fitted but it was just bigger all over by about one or two MM. I had the caliper off again within minutes of returning home, the new "springy thing" fitted and all ready to roll again within the half hour.
Now for the drive out to my boy's house in the Jazz. The engine ran like a wee Swiss watch - as Japanese engines tend to do. You have to rev it considerably more than the Panda though if you want to get a shift on, typically Honda. It pootles along at low revs very happily and is easy to drive in town, just nothing very much happens unless you drop a cog or two and boot it. The Panda is almost exactly the opposite, pulling strongly from low revs but runs out of "puff" a bit if you really try to wring it's neck, that's fine though as it suits my driving style just grand. The seats are more form fitting than the Panda, you feel you are sitting in them rather than on them as in the Panda. However the Honda seats are more difficult to get in and out of compared with the higher standing Panda. The Jazz is less good at swallowing imperfections in the road surface, tending to crash and bang it's way over the cobbles and potholes whereas the Panda suspension is considerably more compliant I find the Panda is particularly good on "sleeping policemen" as it induces much less pitch than any of the other cars in the family. There are lots of posts on here which criticize the Panda steering but driving the two cars back to back really highlighted how poor the power rack on the Honda is. It lacks self centering almost entirely and is really quite heavy compared to anything else I've driven lately. It will hardly even centre if you try to let the wheel slip between your fingers after making a tight turn and you have to feed it back till straight! Because of this you find yourself constantly making little correcting movements when out on the open road which I find almost intolerable and very tiring - for this reason alone I wouldn't buy a Mk1. The Panda is a delight in comparison, (I'm told much of it's due to the Mk1 Jazz having very little camber which was supposed to make it easier to drive around town - I'm also told they increased camber in the Mk2 and it's very different to drive). I like the way the Honda is put together though and I'd love to try a Mk2
So there we are. I set out last Monday thinking I was sorting a rattling splash guard on the Honda's O/S/F hub and that I'd be returning the car that night. I've ended up with the best part of a weeks project doing a complete major service and brake overhaul, getting Kenny involved in changing the front suspension arms, and boy did they need to be done with both bottom ball joint boots seriously split and the N/S ball joint having considerable free movement too, to say nothing of the condition of that void bush. I think it may not be long before someone (me?) is going to be getting involved in replacing some metal brake pipes, although they are faring quite well for their age mostly. I think, because I smear them with copper grease each service, especially around the tube nuts where the corrosion always seems to start?
One really good aspect of this is that the service is now "time shifted" to mid summer so from now on it'll fall due in the good weather!
Then this morning, after waking early from a bad dream where I was back in one of the garages I'd worked in and every time I looked in my tool box there were more and more tools missing! I woke up when I was looking into an empty tool box and wondering if they were going to take that too! One of those "silly" but, at the time, very distressing dreams! Anyway I was lying there feeling relieved it was only a dream when I suddenly decided that it was daft not to finish the Jazz off properly and just buy a set of shims for the rear calipers from the factor. - although I only needed one shim. After all I've already laid out £145 on the suspension arm replacement and around £90 on oil, filters, spark plugs (all 8 of them!), front caliper shims, and other sundries so it's a bit silly not to spend another £8.00 on the rear shims isn't it?
Today's Saturday though so factors are closed at midday aren't they? Better get a move on then. Phoned my preferred supplier, who supplied the front caliper shims, only to be told, Sorry pal, we don't even list them. Then tried the other big supplier near me. Yes they can do them but it'll be Tuesday or Wednesday to get them. Price? around the £8.00 plus VAT. I can live with that but I want them NOW so I can reclaim our Panda from my boy's kerbside. Tried Halfords, not with any great hopes, but sometimes they surprise? Not this time though. Then I tried Euro Car Parts who are about half an hour away - more if the traffic is bad. spoke to a central office, not our local branch, but he assured me they had them and that they would be waiting for me under the car's reg No. Time was marching on now so I grabbed my credit card and jumped in the car. Good traffic conditions and I got there in about 20 minutes, only to find a queue of chaps right out the door - all socially distancing with masks on (luckily I remembered my mask as you have to have one to go in the store). It took a good half hour to get through the door and there was only one person serving. However he was a very pleasant youngster who told me was new to the job! He couldn't find my stored order on the computer but took the vehicle details and went off through to the warehouse. Some time later he came back and said he's got them and asked me to pay. I was nervous about doing that before seeing them so he called one of the warehouse men through with them so I could see them. They were Pattern made and not exactly like the OE still one on the N/S but the brand was PAGID and the pack said Honda Jazz and Rover 25. I decided to take a chance and paid up. This is only about the 2nd or 3rd time I've ever used Euro, previously I've been slightly disappointed because they didn't have the brand advertised and I've taken another, very suitable but different, branded product. No problem with anything, just came away with something other than what I'd set out to buy. Pagid is a big name though and I'm very pleased with these shims. I must say also that the young man serving me was very helpful and pleasant to deal with - An asset to their company I'd say. I paid £11.99 for it which is probably what I'd have paid any of my preferred factors after the VAT was added in so I'm happy enough. Oh, and noticed their hours of opening - 4 pm on a Saturday. That could be useful!
Here's a picture of the shim/spring which Steven gave me with the Pagid one on the right.
The one Steven gave me so nearly fitted but it was just bigger all over by about one or two MM. I had the caliper off again within minutes of returning home, the new "springy thing" fitted and all ready to roll again within the half hour.
Now for the drive out to my boy's house in the Jazz. The engine ran like a wee Swiss watch - as Japanese engines tend to do. You have to rev it considerably more than the Panda though if you want to get a shift on, typically Honda. It pootles along at low revs very happily and is easy to drive in town, just nothing very much happens unless you drop a cog or two and boot it. The Panda is almost exactly the opposite, pulling strongly from low revs but runs out of "puff" a bit if you really try to wring it's neck, that's fine though as it suits my driving style just grand. The seats are more form fitting than the Panda, you feel you are sitting in them rather than on them as in the Panda. However the Honda seats are more difficult to get in and out of compared with the higher standing Panda. The Jazz is less good at swallowing imperfections in the road surface, tending to crash and bang it's way over the cobbles and potholes whereas the Panda suspension is considerably more compliant I find the Panda is particularly good on "sleeping policemen" as it induces much less pitch than any of the other cars in the family. There are lots of posts on here which criticize the Panda steering but driving the two cars back to back really highlighted how poor the power rack on the Honda is. It lacks self centering almost entirely and is really quite heavy compared to anything else I've driven lately. It will hardly even centre if you try to let the wheel slip between your fingers after making a tight turn and you have to feed it back till straight! Because of this you find yourself constantly making little correcting movements when out on the open road which I find almost intolerable and very tiring - for this reason alone I wouldn't buy a Mk1. The Panda is a delight in comparison, (I'm told much of it's due to the Mk1 Jazz having very little camber which was supposed to make it easier to drive around town - I'm also told they increased camber in the Mk2 and it's very different to drive). I like the way the Honda is put together though and I'd love to try a Mk2
So there we are. I set out last Monday thinking I was sorting a rattling splash guard on the Honda's O/S/F hub and that I'd be returning the car that night. I've ended up with the best part of a weeks project doing a complete major service and brake overhaul, getting Kenny involved in changing the front suspension arms, and boy did they need to be done with both bottom ball joint boots seriously split and the N/S ball joint having considerable free movement too, to say nothing of the condition of that void bush. I think it may not be long before someone (me?) is going to be getting involved in replacing some metal brake pipes, although they are faring quite well for their age mostly. I think, because I smear them with copper grease each service, especially around the tube nuts where the corrosion always seems to start?
One really good aspect of this is that the service is now "time shifted" to mid summer so from now on it'll fall due in the good weather!
Built this for my son...In general happy with it.
However my tyre pedantry cannot quite cope with the fact the wheels only fit one way and have one moulding so the paddle tyres are the wrong way on one side and there's nothing you can do to fix it.
Makes absolutely no ****ing difference...but it's there.
However my tyre pedantry cannot quite cope with the fact the wheels only fit one way and have one moulding so the paddle tyres are the wrong way on one side and there's nothing you can do to fix it.
Makes absolutely no ****ing difference...but it's there.
Car quietly awaiting it's Mot/service tomorrow morning..
The slightly worrying rattle front left disappeared when the wheel key was removed from the back of the glove box.
Nice driving it without any crap in it on the way down 99% of all rattles gone.
Should pass...but 10 years old and 90k up so nothing is guaranteed.
The slightly worrying rattle front left disappeared when the wheel key was removed from the back of the glove box.
Nice driving it without any crap in it on the way down 99% of all rattles gone.
Should pass...but 10 years old and 90k up so nothing is guaranteed.
Well out of my comfort zone..
Looking for a VAG vehicle..
Likely a Fabia or Ibiza.. nothing around locally..as I need a DSG: auto
Thought I would go to a local VW centre..
Turning into their yard I realise there is a SEAT place next door
Can get me one shipped over from Cambridge for a £99 deposit..
Looked on the web when home its an unusual 'lipstick colour'..FR sporty trim.. but the interior looks more mk2 fiesta than a modern car
I now realise Ive not bought anything
Non.Italian apart from 2x sub.£200 clios in @15 years
It'll be an experience..
Weirdness.. the SEAT dealer seems to be @15% cheaper than a village carsales lot
:shrug:
Looking for a VAG vehicle..
Likely a Fabia or Ibiza.. nothing around locally..as I need a DSG: auto
Thought I would go to a local VW centre..
Turning into their yard I realise there is a SEAT place next door
Can get me one shipped over from Cambridge for a £99 deposit..
Looked on the web when home its an unusual 'lipstick colour'..FR sporty trim.. but the interior looks more mk2 fiesta than a modern car
I now realise Ive not bought anything
Non.Italian apart from 2x sub.£200 clios in @15 years
It'll be an experience..
Weirdness.. the SEAT dealer seems to be @15% cheaper than a village carsales lot
:shrug:
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Looked on the web when home its an unusual 'lipstick colour'..FR sporty trim.. but the interior looks more mk2 fiesta than a modern car
That is very much the Seat position of the VAG group ladder of identical cars..
Nice exterior, but crap interior slightly cheaper than VW...You need to move to Audi before they let you have both a nice interior and exterior.
My stuff, MOT passed Yay! Advisories for corrosion underneath Boo! Though not very surprising at all..
Slightly more annoying was doing my walk round and discovering tyres not rotated as requested. Then being told they had been...then pointing out the tyres with more tread were still on the rear. Then being told one more time they had been...the pointing out the brake dust was still on the front wheels. After that they did rotate them "again"...oh aye maybe you've both rotated them.
Not a big thing but you can tell by looking at them..they've got 3d sipes which are straight at 8mm then go wiggly as the tyre wears to maintain grip as gauge is lost. But it got done in the end..
Edit: Gah! Just looked at the bill...thought it was a little high plugs have been changed. So there's 66 quid in parts alone...did discuss it with Michelle on the desk did tell her they weren't due until 2023...but they've been done.
So one billable thing done I didn't want doing..and another that I did that wasn't. May have gone down in my estimation a bit. Tbf plugs are good until the cars 16 now so soddit they are done for the rest of it's life as far as I care and the money is neither here nor there.
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Given that My Punto is 10 years old this year as well. I was surprised it passed the MOT.
Similar issues, corrosion around exhaust which given its on its original i can accept that. Not like when I was a kid and my Dad would spend every summer welding exhausts on much younger cars.
As for the garage experience I've found myself a nice little village garage who seem to actually know what they're doing. They actually got annoyed with me when I wanted a service and I bought genuine VW parts from the dealer ship because "they only use genuine parts" and were insulted at the insinuation that they wouldn't.
Golf is due a service now and its MOT at the end of August so I may book it in and get everything done along with the back tyres which seem to be cracking, Supposed to be about 3 years old but guessing the large chain tyre company that fitted them decided to use old stock because the date markers on them put them at the same age as the car which will be 6 years this MOT
They have been good in the past, first time they've dropped a bit of a clanger to be fair. It used to be there was 3 people working there, One partner was the car dealer/buyer for the used car side, his daughter runs the desk and the mechanic was the other partner in the business with his name over the door as well.
They've hired a new guy (they're usually stowed off these days)...and oddly enough it seems to have been him that worked on mine. Given the mechanic who is a partner in the business came out took a look at it and went "right I'll do it make sure it's done!"
Tyres don't seem to last these days, age cracking seems to come around surprisingly quick, although them apparently being on the shelf 3 years won't have helped! Rarely concerned about wearing them out as they seem to delaminate prior.
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Hi Charlie, hope all is well with you and yours?
We've had small Skoda/Seat models - mostly Polo platform based - in the family for many years and I have to say that, "in the round" I rather like them.
Are you buying new? I only ask because the newer EA211 engines, (I think they started appearing in the Ibiza late 2015?) which use a cam belt, seem to be proving pretty reliable (Oh, I shouldn't have said that should I? mine's got one in it) The engine which preceded it used a chain and tends to suffer badly from wear in both the chain and it's guides with predictable consequences. There also seems to be a bit of a question mark over their pistons although I think the piston problems were resolved in later years. The EA211 family of 2 and 4 cylinder engines have their turbo tucked down the back of the engine whereas the earlier, chain cam engine, (I forget it's designation number) had it's turbo on the front so it's very easy to tell them apart.
You may have heard of Low Speed Pre Ignition and the problems some manufacturers are having with it in their small Direct Injection Turbo Petrol Engines (lot's on the 'net and you tube if you want to research it) However the EA211 series engines don't seem to be afflicted. I don't have any experience of the DSG boxes and earlier versions seem to have problems but I think they are as reliable as any other manufacturer's offering now. I do know they appreciate an oil change from time to time. Our Ibiza has the "starting level" 95hp 3 cylinder which I was expecting to be quite "pedestrian" in terms of performance. In fact it's pleasingly "sprightly" with quite a lot of "go" available from quite low revs. I'd been thinking I'd probably need to buy the more powerful version of this engine which gives another 20hp or so to get me performance similar to my old 1.9 TDI However it goes much better than I was expecting, doesn't have the ultimate grunt of the diesel but I'm very happy with it. The engine is complicated compared to our wee FIRE engines, but then they pretty much all are these days regardless of which manufacturer you choose.
After 5+ years of owning one - mine's a 5 speed manual - there's still some things I don't know about it but I've now serviced it twice so I'm going up the "knowledge tree" so do feel free to ask if there's something you think I might know.
Kindest regards
Jock
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