I’m loving this, all the opinions, viewpoints and options are ace!

I knew coming on here and asking would give me some choices I hadn’t heard of or hadn’t thought of.

The Crisp is still winning at the moment, although I keep getting swayed back to Enigma.

Has anyone got any opinions on Spin?

Why oh why did Martello give me those brands to look at, I have fallen in love with Crisp!!! 8)

Thanks for the help so far folks.

Sorry because it’s road bikes, some people are not big fans are they…

Sabbath are available at Fatbirds which isn’t that far away from me but haven’t heard a lot about them?

Those Legend’s and Crisp’s are things of beauty!!!!!!

And Litespeed frame on sale at Evans!

I did take a look at Moots but they may be a trifle over budget…

Not looked at Litespeed.

And I probably would get impatient if I built it up in my office!

That is one very pretty bike!! You should be properly pleased how that turned out.

There is a small part of me that is telling me to buy a frame and put it in my office and build up slowly buying bits every week… That would improve the grind of work!

I want to lose 2 stone really, just hopped on the scales too, must have over indulged a little over xmas!

Still here

The way things are going today I’m going to be working tomorrow as well, the auditors turning up from Hong Kong next week and dumping a load of requests on my desk yesterday morning means it has been 2 days from hell staring at and inputting data into spreadsheets, very boring, actually I think I’d rather put wasps up my ar$e

I wouldn’t worry about it at all, there is a gauze filter on the bottom of the oil pump inlet which will stop any big bits getting in. The sump will also be baffled so chances are it’ll just float around in the bottom.

If it was mine I’d just be getting a new dipstick from Audi or your local motor factors place or scrap yard so you can keep checking the oil is at the correct level.

You may be lucky and it;ll come out of the drain plug at oil change or you’ll be able to see it through the sump plug when you change the oil but nothing to worry about in my opinion.

Ah they are ‘bolt on’ ones, can’t remember what Zafira ones are like but as you say just replace and remvoe any hassle, Worth £20.68 of anyones money!

Be careful you don’t shear the mountings for the fuel tank straps, especially if they are also siezed, if they start to tighten (bind) up as you are undoing remember to tighten them back up again to clear the threads of moving corrosion and again get the penetrating spray out and lube them up well now before attempting to remove later…

Rear flex pipe may also be fun if the solid brake pipe isn’t keen on coming out of the flexi??

In regard to the sump, cant you weld something on the sump plug to remove and then replace with a new sump plug rather than replace the whole sump? Seems a little extreme, and probably costly for the sake of a rounded sump plug?

Hope it all goes according to plan!

I guess you are talking about the cable stops that hold the h/brake cable on the rear beam, there is a metal bush which is on the cable and this goes into the ‘cable stop’ on the beam. If this is the case they can be an absolute pig to get out as they get siezed solid!! The braket they go into on the beam isn’t made of the strongest material and can’t really be bashed too hard otherwise it’ll move or even worse break off.

Get the plusgas/WD40 out, pair of mole grips and try to turn the metal bushing part of the cable, be careful and take your time, might take a while but the simplest solution I think, without getting a garage or other involved…

HTH

sunday

Damn, Muffin Man beat me to it.

I use a Brian James for transporting my race car and it is excellent!

Same as IW though resale values are impressive, there is a guy in Wales (can’t remember his name though) who buys all of the orders which aren’t purchased but even then I think you’ll pay more or less retail pricing. I spent a lot of time shopping round and I found no way to get any meaningful discounts.

HTH

At my place we have always used TEK seating to supply all our seats. Good service and large range of products, sure they will be able to meet your requirements.

A few questions…

What car?
Are Mr Clutch replacing the DMF or quoting on taking the chance it will be ok?

If you are keeping the car I would suggest replacing the DMF with a standard flywheel. DMFs are pretty rubbish, clever idea but rubbish. A lot of after market clutch manufacturers will supply a new flywheel hence the increase in cost.

However based on your post I would suggest going with your tried and trusted mechanic rather than taking a chance with Mr Clutch.

Just re read and if the cost is in the region of 450 you could be stuck in their waiting room for a few hours…

Haven’t listened to the video but take the aux drive belt off and start the engine (it’ll run fine for a few minutes for testing purposes) and see if the noise disappears. If it goes then you’ll know roughly where to start, if not then start looking somewhere else…

Hienz Heizler also did and Advanced Engine Technology book which was awesome! May be a little heavy going but got me through my HNC and HND in good order.

Light and Heavy Vehicle Technology by MJ Nunney was also very useful when I was at college (BTEC national certificate) and I (personally) found it a lot more useful than the Hillier book.

More than a few options available…

12 mile each way for me. Have done 4/5 this week and has been a little chilly both in the mornings and on the way home, think Wed night was the coldest one…

Mrs thought I was nuts this morning especially after making 1/2 mile then turning back to collect my helmet which I had forgotten, doughnut!

Roads were in pretty good nick, apart from the cars overtaking and driving through the slush in the middle, horrible!

Seemed to be proper hard work this morning though, pi$$ poor average..

Have just spent a quick 20mins cleaning the $hit off the bike in readiness for the return trip…

Be careful, a lot of motor vehicle electronic systems work on 5 volts…

Do you know if you are getting voltage to the EGR servo? That would tell you if that part of the system is working…

If it is petrol you cold check the voltage to the Idle Air Control Valve which could be a stepper motor and will obviously need voltage to operate that. this may give you some reference as to what voltage you need to use.

I guess the first question is why do you need to check the EGR system?

Agree with others, possible clutch issue and reverse does not have a synchromesh therefore is always more difficult to select than others.

Have you tried it yourself when cold and warm and seen how bad the difference is? Might be something as simple as the gear shift linkage or reverse detent needing some lubrication?

Would suggest speaking to BMW or a reputable non franchise garage they will be able to point you in the right direction.

Sorry I can’t be of more help.

Think of it from the perspective of what would you want if it was your own business? Would you be happy if someone was covering up for a colleagues shortfalls?

Just be honest but do it in a professional and constructive manner, nothing worse than a director seeing an email which seems to be a rant…

I would strongly suggest that the email from the director needs to be answered, you never know they may have been building a case behind the scenes? As a director I would want to know that my staff were pulling for the company rather than hiding something from me, especially in a potential poor staff performance matter.

And you are not being a ‘grass’ just answering questions from a director of the company and based on the fact you are moaning about this colleague means you should at least make it known what has been happening…

HTH

sunday

Based on what you’re saying Taff I’d definitely be starting by looking at the front shock absorbers, unless you find something obvious adrift when you look under the car.

If you are familiar with car suspension systems than you could possibly remove the shock abosrbers and make sure they are functioning correctly before just replacing? Make sure you have some spring compressors to clamp the springs before attempting to remove the shock from the front strut assembly!!

I’d be looking at the shocks too. Good way is to get someone (with a bit of savvy) to follow, or drive beside, you on a dual carriage way and see if the car ‘bounces’ as it hits bumps in the road. If they are really goosed then the car will ‘bounce’ along the road for a fair period of time and is quite amusing to watch. You may not have noticed due to the fact it has become a slow downgrade in performance rather than something breaking and seeing an instant performance loss.

However as SomaFunk and Graham have mentioned there is a possibility it could be roll bar. I’d be very surprised if it had broken but one of the drop links may have failed and fallen off therefore removing the link between both sides of the vehicle and registering the roll bar useless. The bonus about this is you should be able to see the failure quite easily.

HTH

Sunday

Ah some positive views, thanks for all the comments so far.

I’m kinda hoping that my flexibility isn’t too bad, have done a fair bit of martial arts/boxing over the years and still perform a lot of stretching now (had lots of problems with tight hamstrings causing odd problems as a teenager) so keeping on top of flexibility is IMO key to maintaining any type of fitness and comfort.

There is a bike shop in reasonably close vicinity which has got a very good reputation (life cycles in Bildeston) so may be worth going there to see what they say before committing to the full bike fit?

Thanks for the comments so far

Unless I’ve been reading stuff wrong there seems to be a lot of people that suggest/recommend having a bike fit prior to purchasing a bike and, it seems, based on the last 20mins of responses that this isn’t the case?

However I did ask for thoughts and opinions so should just keep my gob shut and read really…

Hmm, thus far based on the opinions above it doesn’t sound very promising?

However based on what you have said the manufacturers size guides (the ones I have looked at) I seem to come either at the top of one size or the bottom of another and was hoping this may take some of the ‘guesswork’ out of the decision?

Has anyone had a new bike and not almost immediately wanted to replace stuff for things more shiny :-)

If all of your other radiators are hot all over then suggest that this one just needs bleeding (removal of air as per hydraulic brakes) and problem will go away. If it is just a bleed its a simple fix and should take him minutes.

If you have a radiator key it is a job you can complete yourself fairly simply. (youtube or google for more detailed explantion)

HTH

Sunday

I’m guessing the travel costs might make it a little prohibitive :-)

Thanks for the offer though, I’ll keep on with my pig-headed stubborness 8O

Paul, I live in the best mountain bike area in the country, sunny suffolk :D

Tongue firmly in cheek of course

I understand the boiler is pretty much a relic and does need replacement but do not want to do this until I replace the kitchen next year and replace with new, I’m sure you understand not wanting to move things all around once I’ve (well the O/H probably) decided where things need to go…

Must admit it does look like a bit of a pig to get to but on the plus side unlike some trucks and most cars at least I can see it and the manual I’ve got with the boiler does detail how to replace, in fairly broad terms at least.

It is also the original heat exchanger (cylindrical type) so replacement will be of the modified plate type by the looks of it means modified pipework too and around £160 is purchased off t’internet.

Going to have a look and see if I can get it off and give it a clean out in the week before biting the bullet and replacing, yes I’m a tight ar$e.

@ Totalshell I appreciate and understand your concern but without meaning to sound condescending I’m fairly hopeful my ability and experience will allow me to complete this, although probably with a few choice words involved (note to self, make sure the O/H is out)…

@ bear, the whole valve was replaced, the drayton motorised unit is the one which has been replaced.

Must admit the gas side of the boiler has not been touched as I am presuming the problem is more on the water side than the gas as the gas side of the boiler seems to be working ok just tripping out when it goes overtemp…

Thanks again to everyone for their help so far, it has been ace!

Thanks for all the replies folks, it is amazing the information that is available on STW!!

Diverter valve has been replaced, recently, as it wasn’t closing properly causing the radiators to heat up when the hot water was used.

Going to see how much I can get a replacement heat exchanger for before just replacing. Might also do a ‘test’ fix and see if I can clean it out and refit to see if it fixes the fault…

The standard mountain bike rider tight ar$e when it comes to anything apart from bicycles :-)

@Paulsoxo,

Mine has got the filling loop and as you have also said it is a sealed system, pressure gauge is reading fine at just over 1 bar, a nice big one on the front, even the O/H has noticed that!

Heat exchanger inspection on the way I think…

Thanks Winston,

Are you talking about low pressure on the water side or within the pressure vessel inside the boiler?

If so could I do this with my track pump? I’ve seen a schraeder valve on the pressure vessel so I might check this tomorrow?

Must admit mine (the boiler) is a few years old, at least pre 2000 (based on the paperwork I’ve found since owning the house) I would say and thus far has been amazing.

I need to replace the kitchen next year and was planning on replacing the boiler at the same time, finances don’t allow doing both yet hence I would like to keep mine going for a while longer.

FWIW I have only heard good things about bosch worcester

Update:

Just had the hot tap running in the kitchen and it happened 2 in 5 mins…

Water running hot lovely then boiler goes out, water gets cold and boiler re-fires heating water up again, cycle repeats.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Sunday

Paulsoxo and Bear,

Thanks for your help, looks like I’ll be putting a call into worcester bosch in the morning then…

Sunday wobbler

I tend to spend more time in the shower than the amount of time that other hot taps are running so thinking this is why it isn’t presenting itself in other taps???

Definitely something worth looking at though

I don’t have any problems with water pressure or volume which may be something I’d expect if I had a blocked filter? However where exactly would I be looking for the filter that may fitted in the inlet elbow, would this be located around the boiler?

Thank you for your input

What did they leak test it with? Should have used nitrogen to leak test and also ensure that it holds pressure for a considerable period before putting any gas in. For the gas to leak out in a week there has to be a hole somewhere!

The main problem if you are a tree hugger is the environmental impact of R134a (the gas that is used) its massive!

I’m no expert on Fiat systems but judging from your explanation I would suggest that the coolant temp sensor may be at fault, therefore causing the engine management system to think the engine is hot and reduce the amount of glow plug ‘on time’.

If you know someone with access to diagnostic equipment, plug it in and have a look at the coolant temp to see if it matches with what would be expected, ideally with a cold engine of course…

HTH

Sunday