Had a pretty good week this week, more time on the bike with some decent pace rides and even talked myself into the strangely enjoyable torture of 1h30min of kickboxing training last night, after over 8 months away from that gym it was damn hard work! Was surprised at how flexible I've managed to stay though?? Hips and legs were aching rather a lot this morning though.

Lets hope the scales of truth show an improvement?

Shouldn't be any air in the fuel lines, that would cause problems in the injection system as it wont be able to compress the fuel to the right pressure and cause late/poor opening of the injectors and therefore a rubbish injector spray pattern and poor fuel burn. would also explain why it spins over prior to starting as the injection system is trying to build enough pressure to open the injectors.
Hand primer/lift pump would be a good place to start, the problem is that the fuel system finds it easier to suck air rather than leak fuel which tends to make it a little harder to find.

White smoke could be a symptom of poor compression as the engine is not burning all the fuel the injection system is delivering. Would expect quite poor engine performance if there was a problem with compression though.

Hmm, how about I sit on the fence a little more??

What andydicko says ^^^^

Only a kilo this week :( I'm blaming working 13hr days this week, not getting anywhere near the gym, only getting in 2 12 mile commutes and a rather large (but bloody good fun) chinese and beer night on Sunday just gone.

The diet is still hanging in there though and we are still heading in the right direction at least :)

Yes, back losing this week! I'm getting closer to my first target of 80kg, started at 89 and now at 82. The England/Wales 6 nations match and the following week on expenses took its toll rather a lot but we're back on the right track again.

Lets hope I can keep it going.

Had a girl who started crying once. Was rather concerning to start with but she soon managed to convince me it was a good thing.

I now normally finish with the line "watch me snore"

Although I work for a port I have nothing to do with the commercial aspect but AFAIK all the major shipping lines are talking about and asking for rate rebates and reductions in fees. The same major shipping lines have, over the past year/18 months been parking ships up left right and centre to try and reduce the number of ships on the sea and consolidate all their costs. I'm sure if you google a picture of Hong Kong and Singapore habours you'll see all the ships parked up awaiting an increase in container traffic.

If I'm honest it sounds rather flimsy to me

HTH

After a great week last week I have a feeling this week isn't going to be too good…

Out for beer and a curry on thurs nite, probably not looking to promising for the Friday weigh in

I must learn to say no occasionally

Why don't you ring the dealer? He might end up visiting a garage or venue near you at some point in the next week or so. That way at least you'll be able to keep hold of your ratchet if they haven't got the o/haul kit in stock.

Just a thought.

5'6 and 13.5st (lardy) but I do snap knicker elastic at 100 paces :wink:

Ahh some form of success achieved!! (for me at least)

87.5 last week and 85 this week get in! At last managed to get out on the bike for a couple of rides and seems to have made a difference. Lets hope it lasts???

However, to every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction and got a couple of invites to go larging it over the weekend and pretty sure the willpower will fail and I'll undo all my work to date with copious amounts of Guiness and kebabs…

The mechanism for mayo after short journeys is simple. All engines have some water in with the oil from air moisture etc. On short journeys the oil can get hot enough to drive some off, but the extremities of the engine – think dip stick tube or rocker cover – don't heat up as much as the rest of the block. Hence condensation/mayo occurs here

What waderider says ^^^^

Short journeys are prime cause of 'mayo' as the engine simply does not get hot enough to evaporate any of the moisture, this then mixes with the oil creating your 'mayo'

Start and end with something that you think will make them laugh then your on to a winner.

I opened up with I'm X the best man some of you will know me some of you may not but one of my tasks as best man is to make sure that we do not have any ex's etc turn up and ruin this day luckily enough however the recent bout of swine flu* has made my life a whole lot easier…

May be a little close to the mark for some weddings but worked for me. Luckily or unluckily (is that a word?) the Brides father was a cartoonist and part time comedian so had a fair bit to live up to but he had warmed them up a little.

*I used foot and mouth for my speech.

Just to put a little bit of spin on it…

You have obviously changed the exhaust to get a stainless one, is it too short? If the exhaust exit doesn't come out far enough the aerodynamics of the car will draw the exhaust fumes back round the boot lid and into the cabin, this also becomes more apparent at speed. Its called the boundary layer effect IFIRC. You tend to smell this as exhaust fumes rather than petrol though but if your midget is running rich you would also get a lot of hydrocarbons coming out the exhaust which could lead you to believe you are smelling of fuel.

Just a thought and something else to consider

Head vgasket failure can cause a number of symptoms including all the ones you have described and others.

Does the engine have antifreeze in it? If it is not up to the right concentration it is possible that the coolant/water froze and therefore cracked the block?

Sorry for not being more concise but it could be caused by a number of things

Is the cooling system pressurising? Does it overheat? Is there a misfire? There are a number of different symptoms that can point to a head gasket failure and without further information I wouldn't like to say whether a headgasket has failed or not.

Due to emission regulations becoming ever tighter over the last couple of decades the engine has to 'breathe' back into the inlet system. Due to the constant temperature changes this creates a fair bit of condensation within the breathing pipework and can sometimes lead to the white milky substance you describe. If one of your breather hoses has split you may see this on the drive where it leaks.

I would suggest if the headgasket had failed you would get either leaking coolant or leaking oil from the head itself not a emulsified mixture of the two. You need to have a look and find out where the leak is coming from first.

could be a number of things and would need more detail to give a more educated diagnosis.

Just my two penneth worth.

For some reason my email keeps bouncing back undeliverable notifications from fatclub email address??

Well just to keep up with the theme…

wk1 89
wk2 88
wk3 87.5

Well at least I'm still going in the right direction but would have liked to lose a little more this week especially as I've even hit the gym a couple of times this week. Thankfully though at long bl**dy last after very nearly 6 months off the bike the Dr has said I'm allowed back, woo hoo!!

I always liked

*tell your girlfriend I said thanks*

Coffeeking is right the regulator keeps the voltage at a level the battery can handle and the alternator gives as much current as the battery/operating systems of the car need and then drops off when the systems are switched off/battery charged.

Within the voltage regulator will be a system of diodes which convert AC waveform into DC waveform via full wave rectification. Also within this will be a zener diode which switches the charging on and off when the voltage reaches the specified level (around 14volts). You may find that this is not switching back on when the voltage drops back below 14v causing the symptoms you describe.

Admittedly this is all coming via the internet without seeing anything but may give you a little bit of background and some general reasoning behind stuff.

HTH

If your battery warning light is on the alternator is more than likely goosed. The battery light works by the alternator taking away the earth of the warning light circuit when the fields excite within the alternator to start charging. The fact that the battery light is getting brighter would lead me to belive the wiring to the alternator is fine as the circuit is working. You may just have a some brush prblems within the alternator but not something worth pulling apart unles you know what your looking for.

I would suggest all cars will seriously drop voltage when cranking as the starter motor draws huge current and is the main reason why car batteries are so big.

To accurately test the battery you need to perform a 'drop test' which means putting a large current across the battery and making sure it holds a good voltage and then recovers back when current draw is removed.

In conclusion it sounds to me like you have an alternator problem either brushes or voltage regulator.

Depends on age of car…

After 1993 I would suggest it will cause a problem as the lambda sensor will be sensing too much oxygen in the exhaust and richening up the fuel system constantly. This will eventually cause the catalytic convertor to fail as the fuel/air mixture needs to be kept at 14.7/1 in order to achieve correct burn in the combustion chamber and efficient operation of the catalyst.

If it is before 1993 it should'nt be a problem apart from being noisey and the exhaust popping back on overrun due to excess oxygen again igniting any unburnt fuel in the exhaust.

HTH

Should be able to derestrict it, depending on the age of the vehicle its usually something written into the ECU program and will probably have been supplied this way like new. TBH though I'm not exactly sure of the best way to go about it. May be worth speaking to Main dealer to see how esy it can be done, they may just want to supply a new ECU though which would be a considerable lump of cash…

A remap of the ECU may work but this might just change the fuelling and not affect the the roadspeed limit of the vehicle…

Hope that helps a little?

Had the two top ones out a few years ago, was done at my dentist abut a week apart from each other, no problems at all. The first one I ate too soon afterwards and woke up in the morning with a really nice bloody/snotty mesh in my throar but apart from that it was fine. The second one I had a decent breakfast and left it till the next day before I ate anything at all (I think) much better results. The best thing was the noise as they were pulling it out, truly amazing.

You'll be fine

Start with 1 min rests then shorten down to 30 sec or lengthen rounds up to 2 min.

If you're working the pads make sure you do all your rounds first and then move on to your mate rather than switching the pads over each round, will also give you a much better workout.

Holy crap!!! Just stepped on the scales, I am the biggest I have ever been!! 89kg considering I'm only 5'6" that means I need to shift some serious lard!

70kg is target to start with but would dearly love to get back to fighting weight of 63kg

Got some work to do me thinks

The main thing you need to do is keep your wrist in line with your forearm so all the shock of the punch goes through the arm rather than being absorbed in just the hand/wrist. Make sure you punch 'square' and distribute the punch across all of your knuckles rather than just some of them. The thing you need to understand is that your fist is just the part of your body that makes contact with the puch bag and the acutal punch comes all te way from the feet, through the hips, back, shoulders and then arm first. One way I like to look at it is you need to throw your whole bodyweight but remain stood still…

This is purely boxing/kickboxing style and there may be other techniques used in different martial arts that I am not familiar with.

This seems quite hard to explain via just text but hope it helps a little

Bl**dy good call Dangerboy ^^^

Worlds fastest indian is a superb film!

Some other great films on this list too

You may find that the price of a new/exchange unit will be very comparable in cost when compared to a re-core.

You will be able to find someone who does it fairly locally I suspect but would use it as a measure when checking costs.

FWIW the advent of alloy cooler sections and plastic expansion tanks/ends on the radiator made it much cheaper to mass produce rather than repair/re-core old units.

Days of Thunder, have seen that film too many times!
Bloodsport
Saving private ryan
Predator
Snatch & Lock Stock
The Hurricane
Man on Fire

Maybe not the most intellectual group of choices but I enjoy them.

Don't mean to sound condesceding but it probably will however I write it. So apologies in advance…

Do you know how to punch properly? You can really 'goose' your wrists by punching a heavy bag incorrectly.

As for workouts just vary the speed, strength and punch type throughout the rounds. I'd start with 1'30" rounds X5 to start with and then increase the length/number of the rounds as your fitness levels increase.

Bag work is very good exercise and if you push yourself hard enough even the small amount of workout time that 1'30" sounds will be enough.

Hope it helps a little

Count me in please, need to get rid of the three stone (at least) of excess lard I'm carrying about.

mickyrobbo78 AT hotmail DOT com

Go for it, what have you got to lose…

Find a good well respected club local to you and then go and speak to the instuctors, you'll get a feel for how the club is, speak to some of the students, you'll find 99% of people at martial arts clubs are good people and will happily speak to you and give their opinion. Can be rather intimidating though. Might be good to join the club with a friend so you can learn together and have someone you know there. IMO it is much more rewarding than a gym as you are learning stuff and it is like a personal trainer every lesson.

As to what martial art to try there is so many its hard to decide, all will improve your fitness and confidence in some way it just depends what you want to do with it and what you want to learn about. Thai boxing is IMO the one to do if you think you can take it, they are some hard bast***s. Then you have all the different types of jujitsu which are very very successful but will be a whole different style of learning/teaching.

FWIW I've competed at amatuer and professional level in kickboxing and loved every minute of it, haven't been able to do anything this year due to work and injury taking up too much blinkin time but do intend to go back next year when I get fully healthy again. One of my old coach's was a former Dutch national Thai boxing champion and you might as well have tatooed HARD on his forehead!! Great guy and a fantastic coach though.

Great start to the year, got some results I was very pleased with, trip to Wales and peaks which were both ace, good result at Mayhem then had pilonidal sinus operation in July and haven't been able to touch my bike since…

Great start, really $hit ending

Not sure what you have in the ways of tooling but sometimes you can put a clamp type ammeter around the power lead to the glow plugs. They should draw around 20amps each while the glow plug light is on. Lower amps obviously means one or more of the glow plugs is failing.

However it could be fuel running back but must admit the abundance of smoke when it eventually does start leads me to believe it is not a fuel problem. Defintely start by investigating glow plug circuit/s.

As Nick_Christy says though they are easy to test if you can remove them but try to do it with the engine hot, the last thing you want to do is shear any of them off, with the engine hot it will make it a lot easier.

Hmm, why do I suspect this will turn into a character assassination of the girlfriend….

wouldn't like to be in your shoes at the moment…

If you dont suspect infidelity what do you think??

Strangely enough I do work in an engineering environment. Remember as an apprentice, one of my mentors dropped a large one while we were in a van and it was about minus 2 outside. I had to stop the van get and try to inhale some fresh air!! It burnt my eyes and I'm sure you could *see* it leaving the van.

Will remember that for a very long time.

I'm sure it must have been *muddy* in his pants

Come and work with my bunch… It's like a competition and highly amusing!

Yes I speak from experience, did my XTR one prior to mayhem this year, be careful when fitting the top hats though, IMO getting them right is the hard bit.
If you've got a decent vice to male sure your the cups are 'square' when removing the old bearings you'll be fine. You should be able to do it with a normal punch/drift and hammer, take things slowly and hit each side of the old bearing in turn to ensure they come out of the cup as sqaurely as possible so as not to damage the cups.
Best thing I've found for removing the top hats from the old bearings is something like a DIY filler/putty knife, nice and thin, to slide under the top hat edge, made of decent quality material and will have a handle to 'gently' prise and remove the top hats to re-use on the new bearings. Again with these take some time and prise on both sides of the top hat so as not to damage them.

Hopefully that should point you in the right direction.

FWIW heating or cooling components to achieve easy assembly is very common engineering practice, when fitting bearings which cost thousands of pounds you want to fit it right and only once.

Put the bearings in the freezer overnight before fitting, you'll be suprised how much they shrink and make fitting easier. If you really want to go to town put the cups in some boiling water prior to fitting to heat them up uniformly, should fall together then. If I were you though I'd do one cup at a time to ensure maximum temperature difference between the components.

HTH

Pollen filter might be wet? Drawing air through a wet one of those may cause the car to steam up.

But like others have said make sure all your carpets and mats are dry first.