Vampire Diaries

[merlyn]

He isn't on this forum, apparently he tried to join but didn't get accepted.

I smiled for several miles on the way home, it's great to have my car appreciated by a complete stranger!

That's a shame, I didn't know there was an entrance exam? All you need is a passing interest in BXs and a pulse and yer' in I thought - they had me for heavens sake!

I suspect it was a technology glitch, he certainly has more than a passing interest in BXs! Maybe misspelt his email address and didn't get the confirmation email.

[mat_fenwick]

I didn't know there was an entrance exam?

We do have a question to try and catch any spambots; previous ones have included such taxing brainteasers such as "What is the capital of France?" Trouble is, they get cleverer so each registration has to be manually accepted by admin, so if you join up and your signature is a link to some porn site you'll get deleted.

We've had one or two people complain they haven't been accepted, but on looking into it it turns out that the activation email has either been missed or removed by their spam filter. I've just checked, and there are a few users who registered but are not showing as active - I'll go through those and activate if required.

[merlyn]

Car has had first of the scheduled work done today, front brake discs & pads and a replacement headlamp unit. Braking does feel a little better, although it didn't seem like a big problem as it was really. Next job is rear brakes and pads.

And at home, after six months of using a spanner or pliers to turn on the hot water at the kitchen sink, we now have this thing called a tap. It is amazing, I'd recommend them to anyone.


Very happy Jane

[citsncycles]

after six months of using a spanner or pliers to turn on the hot water at the kitchen sink, we now have this thing called a tap. It is amazing, I'd recommend them to anyone.

Just clamp some self grips on there - job done!

[merlyn]

Why is it that every time I take the time to polish another bit of my car I find a different bit of rust? They are all quite small but I am now getting a bit worried now that there may be more that I can't see. When the car has been in the garage for work the only rust that he was concerned about was bubbling up on part of the panel where the fuel tank cover is. I have now found areas on two of my wheel arches and I'm not sure whether I should be prioritising getting them cleaned up. I have budgeted in for the mechanical things that need doing but I know that rust won't go away and will only get worse, especially parked on the roadside. I'm really scared to start trying to attack the rust myself and taking on more than I can handle, especially as I have to do it at roadside and it keeps bloody raining!

Today I put on a new screw cover on the front number plate that has been annoying me (even my son had said that it spoiled the look of the car!). Looking forward to my new wheel trims arriving this week, and the mudflaps too. Hopefully will get them on next weekend and get the final bits T-cutted and waxed (without finding yet more rust I hope).

[Tim Leech]

Dont leave rust!! It only gets worse. Get some rust converter, i find kurust quite good.

[merlyn]

Dont leave rust!! It only gets worse. Get some rust converter, i find kurust quite good.

Thanks for the advice, do I need to clean off what is there already and possibly damage paint in the process or do I just paint it over the rust for now? At the garage they are of the opinion that as long as it is safe and drives ok that I shouldn't really worry about cosmetic rust, only anything structural, but I am worried. Call me shallow if you like but appearances are important and I don't want an orange car with holes in!

[citsncycles]

At the garage they are of the opinion that as long as it is safe and drives ok that I shouldn't really worry about cosmetic rust, only anything structural

That attitude is fine as far as making sure your car is safe, but if you want to keep your car long term, any rust is your enemy. if visible non structural corrosion gets too bad, it could still fail the MOT if it develops a sharp edge.

If it's small areas of corrosion I'd get some aerosol cans made up of the correct colour, then attack the rust with a wire wheel in a drill or grinder, then apply Kurust or similar. If the area you're working on is not structural, any holes you make can be filled, but I'd regard this as a temporary measure until you can get new metal let in (assuming you can't weld it yourself). Caught early enough, 'temporary' can mean several years! Finally apply primer followed by top coat, stone chip or underseal as necessary, depending on its location and your personal preference.

[merlyn]

Just when I was getting focused on the rust issue along comes a new problem! Drove a 20 mile round trip to collect my mum then went to collect.youngest son from scouts. We waited in the car for about 15 minutes and when I went to turn on the engine. . . . NOTHING! No lights on the dashboard, no lovely purring sound, just a deathly silence. The only thing I had running during that 15 minutes was the cool air fan because my mum isn't keen on having the windows open. Got jump started by a scout leader (be prepared and all that, although they were my jump leads, I too was prepared) and then had a little 2 mile drive around and then home. Dreading trying it in the morning as I am expecting more of the same.

This may put some of my other maintenance work on hold, especially as I have to pay for antibiotics and pain relief for my cat this morning who had developed an abcess on his leg after a fight. My mum says things always happen.in.threes, maybe I just shouldn't get up tomorrow!

[Tim Leech]

Strange it had been running ok up until then? Wonder if its a bad earth?

[Defender110]

Cooling fans use a lot more energy than side lights, radio etc. and will quickly drain a battery so shouldn't be left on without the engine running, IIRC from my school days it's the old potential vereses kenetic energy debate.

[merlyn]

Good news is that it started first time this morning, I will check connections tomorrow morning before work because I have a later start.

[merlyn]

The problem with starting and battery power turned out to be a broken connector to the battery terminal. I had a new one fitted when the brakes were done last week and so far so good.

Interesting developement today:

I had to take my travel-phobic cat to the vet today for his boosters, one of those things that I have to do alone because nobody else will travel with him. The fear of motor travel normally causes him to open his bowels in the cat basket (no fun when you can't open the windows because it is tipping down outside and he's a long haired one so it lingers on him for days). Anyway, it would appear that either he likes a petrol engine rather than a diesel or that he prefers the BX to the previous Xantias! He didn't exactly purr all the way there but I returned home with the car and the cat still smelling as they did when we set off!! Result!!!!

[Wooscary]

Excellent!

Our cat loves the BX, he comes running the second we pull in to the street and climbs in once the door opens.

[mds141]

I miss my cat.