In the past with RWD and big heavy six cylinder cars on crossply tyres it came naturally.
The youngsters of today think they invented drifting, we were not as fancy but we certainly had fun doing it fifty years ago.
What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
- Thread starter dave
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What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?
The youngsters of today think they invented drifting, we were not as fancy but we certainly had fun doing it fifty years ago.
I would have been 8 50yr ago but I did PDI 131s 132/Argenta and Alfa 75s…plus I owned two 131s which IIn the past with RWD and big heavy six cylinder cars on crossply tyres it came naturally.
The youngsters of today think they invented drifting, we were not as fancy but we certainly had fun doing it fifty years ago.
Good old 1.3 "A" series or the OHC 1500/1750 "E" series? I'd bet the Mobil 1 was a bit "thin" for either of them?
Cross plies had so little grip that fast driving always involved a bit of sideways action. Of course because they didn't grip the speeds were lower but the breakaway point was very gradual and predictable so much easier to control than radials.In the past with RWD and big heavy six cylinder cars on crossply tyres it came naturally.
The youngsters of today think they invented drifting, we were not as fancy but we certainly had fun doing it fifty years ago.
My uncle had an old Austin A55 van which was the "estate vehicle" and I got to drive it whenever we were visiting him. He had quite a large farm estate up near Forfar and I used to hammer it round the estate roads, slipping and sliding all over the place. Learned a lot about car control.
I would have been 8 50yr ago but I did PDI 131s 132/Argenta and Alfa 75s…plus I owned two 131s which I
PDIs? I remember the shock we got when we were forced to give up the DAFs and the boss took on Polski Fiat. An industrious half hour would see a DAF ready for handing over to the buyer. Best part of a day for the Polskis! some didn't even have oil in gearboxes or diffs and you didn't dare miss putting a spanner on every single nut and bolt you could see!
Can’t remember the polski dealer in Leeds, but we got a few traded in and the old guys actually loved them, they all liked the 125 specials and they reminded them of them…used to get some oddities like breakdown wagons
You may remember I've previously mentioned that the Ibiza has a "funny" noise which I've been unable to isolate. It's definitely related to the speed the car is doing rather than the gear it's in and you can hear it even if you throw it into neutral and let the car free wheel. The fact that the new tyres I fitted about a year ago conduct a lot more road noise than the original fit Bridgestones - but they grip and drive somewhat better so I quite like them. Well, I've had the car up on my ramps and up on axle stands. I've tugged, waggled and spun the wheels. Levered and generally tested all the ball joints, rubber bushes, drop links, etc, etc. and found nothing. The only thing I have found is a very small amount of radial play in the O/S inner driveshaft plunge joint - which was noted also by the west country garage - Croyde Motors - when they fitted the new gearbox back in the spring (a story I've previously recounted elsewhere) I've been keeping an eye on this joint and it has developed a smidgeon more play as the year has gone on but it's quite difficult to really say it's worn.
Anyway, I'm not happy with this noise which I feel is not normal and I've been annoying Mrs J when we're out in the car because I won't let her have the radio on so I can listen for the noise. Last week she "blew up" - Mrs J that is, not the car! and said, "Look, if this is worrying you so much why not give your friends at the VAG indy a ring and talk it over with them? So I did and they asked me to bring the car in to them this Thursday just past for them to check over.
They are on the other side of town so it meant getting up at 6.00 am to get the car across to them for 7.30. Had a detailed discussion with the chap I know (who's one of the owners and himself an Audi Master Tech), explained I was anxious because we have a big family wedding to attend down south of London and I want to take the car for ease of movement once down there, and went off to stand in the rain for 15 minutes until the No 8 bus came along - quite unpleasant as the storm was just getting into it's stride, making it impossible to put my umbrella up. 15 minute walk at my end too to get home from the bus stop, I was quite "drookit" by the time I got home. Spent the day hanging around the house phone - I'm not a mobile phone person - and eventually, at 16.30, the phone went to say I could collect the car. Hoping I could get across there before they closed the doors at 18.00 hrs, I grabbed my waterproofs and almost ran up the road, in the rain again, to the bus stop. Ten minutes wait and then got the No 8 again (which is the most direct bus for this route) but it must have been running early because it stopped and waited at roughly every third bus stop. Most infuriating as I watched the time ticking away. The bus got me to the stop which is a few yards down the road from the garage with under 5 minutes in hand so I ran up the road to the workshop entrance only to find them all still hard at work finishing off the day's jobs - I remember that so well, you never got home when you thought you would. Ok when on the shop floor because you got overtime, but when in charge you get nothing!
We had quite a detailed discussion as he worked away on the vehicle (not mine) and he said he'd had one of his top men on it who had examined it and driven it and could only comment that the tyres were very noisy - some of the most noisy he'd ever driven on! - but he couldn't find anything else. So, after lunch, my friend had himself put the car up on a ramp and gone over it before taking it out for a drive down to the city bypass and back and couldn't hear anything untoward, except those noisy tyres. When asked specifically about the driveshaft joint he said yes, there is a little play in it but he's seen a lot worse and, although he'd be happy to change it if I want, he thought I'd just be throwing my money away. Apparently they all exhibit some play of this sort but as long as it's not allowing the shaft to throw off centre then it's not worth worrying about - and mine shows no tendency to run out of true - Also, apparently, it's quite difficult to get just the joint so they often end up doing a whole shaft which is around £600 from VW plus the labour of course! Anyway, he said to go away and think about it but that if it was his car he'd just get on with driving it as it is.
So I've been mulling this over for the last day or so and I realize that although I can hear this noise it hasn't got really any more noisy than when I first thought I could hear it on the drive back from Devon in the spring. I could do a shaft myself so I rang the main dealer to get some prices and availability only to be told the inner plunge joints had been on back order "for ever" and they had no idea when some might be available. And the shaft? available to order, probably deliver in 24 to 48 hours and yes, about £600 - I didn't ask if that included the VAT. Rang several local factors but none even list it. I'm kind of half way between grumpy and smiley on this one but I think I'm going to just keep running her as she is - got a wee while before the wedding - and see how it develops. I can just hear myself saying to a customer with a problem like this "just run it for a while sir/madam and we'll check it out again in a month or so but do get in touch if it gets noisier sooner". Mrs J, of course, can't hear the noise at all and scornfully says to me not to worry about it because my friend, who knows a lot more about the car than you - ooh that hurts - says it's Ok and just to keep driving it! Does the woman have no sympathy?
What did put a big smile on my face was that they refused to make any charge for checking it over! "We didn't find anything to fix so how can I charge you?" he said. "Yes but you spent time on it didn't you" I said. No, no, he wouldn't have it. So I left a tip for the tech at the reception desk. I am a customer there, the car got it's cam belt done last year, but even so I thought that was pretty outstanding customer relations.
Anyway, I'm not happy with this noise which I feel is not normal and I've been annoying Mrs J when we're out in the car because I won't let her have the radio on so I can listen for the noise. Last week she "blew up" - Mrs J that is, not the car! and said, "Look, if this is worrying you so much why not give your friends at the VAG indy a ring and talk it over with them? So I did and they asked me to bring the car in to them this Thursday just past for them to check over.
They are on the other side of town so it meant getting up at 6.00 am to get the car across to them for 7.30. Had a detailed discussion with the chap I know (who's one of the owners and himself an Audi Master Tech), explained I was anxious because we have a big family wedding to attend down south of London and I want to take the car for ease of movement once down there, and went off to stand in the rain for 15 minutes until the No 8 bus came along - quite unpleasant as the storm was just getting into it's stride, making it impossible to put my umbrella up. 15 minute walk at my end too to get home from the bus stop, I was quite "drookit" by the time I got home. Spent the day hanging around the house phone - I'm not a mobile phone person - and eventually, at 16.30, the phone went to say I could collect the car. Hoping I could get across there before they closed the doors at 18.00 hrs, I grabbed my waterproofs and almost ran up the road, in the rain again, to the bus stop. Ten minutes wait and then got the No 8 again (which is the most direct bus for this route) but it must have been running early because it stopped and waited at roughly every third bus stop. Most infuriating as I watched the time ticking away. The bus got me to the stop which is a few yards down the road from the garage with under 5 minutes in hand so I ran up the road to the workshop entrance only to find them all still hard at work finishing off the day's jobs - I remember that so well, you never got home when you thought you would. Ok when on the shop floor because you got overtime, but when in charge you get nothing!
We had quite a detailed discussion as he worked away on the vehicle (not mine) and he said he'd had one of his top men on it who had examined it and driven it and could only comment that the tyres were very noisy - some of the most noisy he'd ever driven on! - but he couldn't find anything else. So, after lunch, my friend had himself put the car up on a ramp and gone over it before taking it out for a drive down to the city bypass and back and couldn't hear anything untoward, except those noisy tyres. When asked specifically about the driveshaft joint he said yes, there is a little play in it but he's seen a lot worse and, although he'd be happy to change it if I want, he thought I'd just be throwing my money away. Apparently they all exhibit some play of this sort but as long as it's not allowing the shaft to throw off centre then it's not worth worrying about - and mine shows no tendency to run out of true - Also, apparently, it's quite difficult to get just the joint so they often end up doing a whole shaft which is around £600 from VW plus the labour of course! Anyway, he said to go away and think about it but that if it was his car he'd just get on with driving it as it is.
So I've been mulling this over for the last day or so and I realize that although I can hear this noise it hasn't got really any more noisy than when I first thought I could hear it on the drive back from Devon in the spring. I could do a shaft myself so I rang the main dealer to get some prices and availability only to be told the inner plunge joints had been on back order "for ever" and they had no idea when some might be available. And the shaft? available to order, probably deliver in 24 to 48 hours and yes, about £600 - I didn't ask if that included the VAT. Rang several local factors but none even list it. I'm kind of half way between grumpy and smiley on this one but I think I'm going to just keep running her as she is - got a wee while before the wedding - and see how it develops. I can just hear myself saying to a customer with a problem like this "just run it for a while sir/madam and we'll check it out again in a month or so but do get in touch if it gets noisier sooner". Mrs J, of course, can't hear the noise at all and scornfully says to me not to worry about it because my friend, who knows a lot more about the car than you - ooh that hurts - says it's Ok and just to keep driving it! Does the woman have no sympathy?
What did put a big smile on my face was that they refused to make any charge for checking it over! "We didn't find anything to fix so how can I charge you?" he said. "Yes but you spent time on it didn't you" I said. No, no, he wouldn't have it. So I left a tip for the tech at the reception desk. I am a customer there, the car got it's cam belt done last year, but even so I thought that was pretty outstanding customer relations.
So you didn't have the fun of wet roads and cross ply tyres.I would have been 8 50yr ago but I did PDI 131s 132/Argenta and Alfa 75s…plus I owned two 131s which I
You didn't need power steering as the tyres didn't drag or grip the road.
The dealership I worked for in the 1970s had an Austin A55 Van as a tow vehicle Jock, though when a salesman drove a Renault 16 down the drive of a new house through the open garage door and halfway through a brick wall at the end of it , they borrowed my Land Rover to tow it out. He alledged the brakes failed, but pedal felt good to me, so may have been the "liquid lunch"
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@ Puggit Auld Jock Re noise, if related to road speed and you are not 100% convinced it is the tyres, are the back tyres the same make if not swap then over front or rear to test.
If it was me I would put it on a wheel free ramp or pit with the suspension supported so driveshafts are in same position as when on the road and run it up safely in gear whilst listening from underneath. I have done that many times and found wheel bearings, drive shaft centre mount bearings at engine block, noisy diff etc.
Alternatively I sold mine, but you can buy a set of microphones that you position on suspension to locate noises it is connected to speakers on a panel and as you drive you can activate different ones.
If it was me I would put it on a wheel free ramp or pit with the suspension supported so driveshafts are in same position as when on the road and run it up safely in gear whilst listening from underneath. I have done that many times and found wheel bearings, drive shaft centre mount bearings at engine block, noisy diff etc.
Alternatively I sold mine, but you can buy a set of microphones that you position on suspension to locate noises it is connected to speakers on a panel and as you drive you can activate different ones.
Thanks for the suggestions Mike. Unfortunately the car's got a complete set of same tyres, but I did try swapping them front to rear and side to side just in case it made any difference - it didn't. Tried doing the "wheel free" powering up thing - like you I've done it many times in the past and it's a good way to find out many things like wheel bearings and drive shaft problems. Unfortunately the ABS/Traction control won't allow the front wheels to be driven like this. I think it's looking to see if the rear wheels are turning too and it just shuts the engine down and, so it would seem, puts the front brakes on too. Haven't found a way yet to turn the traction control off. Bl***y modern cars!
Love the idea of the microphones, not heard of that one before, but maybe a bit of an overkill for just sorting out this one problem.
If it really is a problem, and not just me being oversensitive, then continuing to run it should give a result. Just hope it doesn't decide to manifest itself on the M6!
Love the idea of the microphones, not heard of that one before, but maybe a bit of an overkill for just sorting out this one problem.
If it really is a problem, and not just me being oversensitive, then continuing to run it should give a result. Just hope it doesn't decide to manifest itself on the M6!
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Im also guilty of this and its been revealing. Certainly diagnosed my Bravo not that long back. Not for the faint hearte though.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Ive found that even idling you get c. 30mph. You can only jack one wheel at a time which adds to the risk and excitiement. The car then just thinks wheel is spinning. You may need to switch TCS off. You dont want more than idle or you cant hear the wood from the trees. It sounds to me like a bearing issue, you can hear it but its not bad enough yet to let you find its root cause.
I bought the microphone set from a Ford garage that was closing down at auction, quite a good bit of kit but as I never had need for it I sold it on.
Annoying about "the computer says no!" bit when trying to diagnose faults.
It was the same when trying to deglaze brake pads by holding brake and accelerator, simple fixes but no longer possible.
Whilst I have done one wheel only it multiplies the road speed due to the diff, so could be interesting flat out in top gear, especially if it fell off the jack!!!
No, I was meaning on a garage ramp with both driving wheels off the ground and evenly supported safely.
I do try to make "balanced risks" generally.
Still it is annoying modern ECU controls make it hard to do simple diagnosis.
I have even found when wheels off the ground and checking for oil leaks etc. after oil and filter change, if one wheel happens to turn a little whilst in neutral due to oil drag in the gearbox it can throw up a ABS warning. Modern cars can be a pain at times.
There have been occasions when a family or friend's vehicle has failed MOT on brakes and I've ended up sorting it out. Sometimes new brake parts are needed but the problem then can often be that linings/pads don't have enough running on them during the mile or so journey back to the MOT garage to bed them in and so the car fails again on braking effort - hand brakes in particular. Although not especially good for them, I have been known to do left foot braking whilst applying throttle at the same time with my right foot in an attempt to "scrub" in the new friction faces. Can't do that anymore now, not on the couple I've tried it on anyway, because the electronics cuts the fly by wire throttle input when it detects the brakes are applied. As I said above Bl***y modern cars!
Yup. I can achieve this at home by jacking the car up one side at a time and sliding the ramps in under the bottom wishbone/track control arm with a wooden block between the arm and ramp face thus leaving the wheels free. Very stable and never had anything move at all. Nearest equivalent I can manage at home to the chassis jack on the MOT 4 poster. and it maintains the "ride height" of the wheels/suspension/driveshafts at almost the same as when the vehicle weight is on the wheels. I've actually very seldom done this because I worry slightly that the bottom ball joint is being loaded in an unusual way by doing this, but I've not, so far, had any problems with it. Spinning up one front wheel at a time in this way can also be a good way of finding an out of balance wheel.I was meaning on a garage ramp with both driving wheels off the ground and evenly supported safely.
I do try to make "balanced risks" generally.
Still it is annoying modern ECU controls make it hard to do simple diagnosis.
I have even found when wheels off the ground and checking for oil leaks etc. after oil and filter change, if one wheel happens to turn a little whilst in neutral due to oil drag in the gearbox it can throw up a ABS warning. Modern cars can be a pain at times.
Much can be achieved with a bit of ingenuity and "needs must when the devil drives".
Something hard to see happening in a modern workshop environment.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Was that the Gen Ford garage.?
Boll0x to crossplys!So you didn't have the fun of wet roads and cross ply tyres.
You didn't need power steering as the tyres didn't drag or grip the road.
The dealership I worked for in the 1970s had an Austin A55 Van as a tow vehicle Jock, though when a salesman drove a Renault 16 down the drive of a new house through the open garage door and halfway through a brick wall at the end of it , they borrowed my Land Rover to tow it out. He alledged the brakes failed, but pedal felt good to me, so may have been the "liquid lunch"
On spending 10 months in trying to establish wether i pay £150 to update mopar/uconnect or find another option “android units don’t support navigation models” I’ve found Stellantis have no support yet and mopar/uconnect is more or less dead.
I feel us consumers of “fiat” who have spent our hard earned money have been cast adrift by all these big corporate companies to fend for ourselves. Sobering thought
I feel us consumers of “fiat” who have spent our hard earned money have been cast adrift by all these big corporate companies to fend for ourselves. Sobering thought
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Yes I agree. They were 'of their time', and it was different. May be good for training today but day to day, No way Jose! May be mandatory reintroduction for cars with 0 to 60 under 10 seconds should be imposed. It would thin out the blankety blanks on the roads.. Mind you last time I was further north and it was frosty, there was a Porch Cayenne parked neatly in the middle of a little wood, on a nice bend in the road. It was apparently un damaged. The joy was the woodlet was surrounded by a 4 foot wall, no gate. I reckon about a dozen trees would need felling to extract it. I would have refused permission and made them lift it out with a helicopter.... and billed them for damage to the trees. Some people dont need crossplies.Boll0x to crossplys!
