storm monkey

I haven't had an oportunity to get it to the dealers yet, as it's going to be bit of an expedition. The trailer I borrowed bent, and wrecked my mid undertray . As a last ditch effort yesterday, I replaced the battery, and no change. I'm starting to think it's an immobiliser problem, as the thing just stops and then won't even try to turn the engine, and there are no other noises when the key is turned. Everything else seems to function ok, lights, MFD, radio, wipers etc. Last night's lock out took nearly an hour to clear. Hopefully my local friendly garage will be able to lend me a towing A frame to get it the 40 odd miles to the nearest main dealer.

I had another 2 engine stops yesterday, in my 5 min drive home. I've put a meter on the battery and it is fine. The charge rate from the altenator is fine too, so I am satisfied that it is not that. Intermittent failure of a connection is a possibility, but whatever it is could take a while to find. The MFD and dach warning lights were lit on one occasion, until I turned the ignition on and off again, then nothing for a while. Whatever it is takes 5 mins to recover each time. I would have thought a wiring fault would not be time dependent to rectify its-self, which is why I think this is probably electronic rather than electrical, however I will check the wiring this evening anyway. The only other symptom I noticed this time was a large black puff of smoke on restart, so I guess it is overfueling at some point, either when it dies or when it restarts. I don't get this smoke on a normal restart. To make things worse, I can't even get the Corrado out and use that instead, as the tractor is knackered too, and its in the way :'( . Phil

It is not the battery (I know this because it is my car!). Once left for a while it starter as if nothing had happened. Pleantly of battery power. also a dead battery would not lead to a cut out. Once running, you can disconnect the thing and it will keep running (although not good for it really). Phil

Thanks...... At least I'm not alone with this then!

A few wooks ago, both of my headlight washer covers fell off, within about a week of eachother. I haven't crashed, impacted, tampered with them in any way at all. One fell off in the yard (well out of the way, very private and secure, so not vandalism) and the other went whilst on the move somewhere. The one I've got has small cracks in the clips that mount it to the mechanism. Anybody else had this problem? The car is about 1 year old, so I'm hoping to claim on warranty. Many thanks, Phil

Nah, I was just letting you go on a bit so I could put my foot down:rolleyes:. Glad you got back safe (eventually) Len, and Mike, good video! Phil

Dammit! Can't get YouTube at work. Will have to wait till this evening. It was a great drive, apart from the punctures. Thanks for organising it. As I live up ther now I might even bring a Skoda to the next one! Oh, I realised once I got home should have introduced myself properly, and by forum name. I do post here see.....just not much recently. Phil (corrado!)

you can also get "reactivator spray" from halfrauds that breaks down the top coat, supposedly allowing it to re-settle, and smooth out orange peel. Never tried it, so don't know how good it is. Also a note on the machine polisher heat thingy.......only counts for a rotary (spinny, if your being technical) polishers. Random orbits polishers like the Porter Cable type only spin with light pressure, otherwise they just wibble (again with the technical stuff), and don't generate the heat. Part of the reason why they are much safer in the hands of the partially trained fool (like me). Still gets most of the lighter scoring out though, but will not shift the deep stuff. Phil

Had a similar problem a few years ago. Woman hit me as she went wide on a roundabout exit. She admitted fault at the scene, but then changed her tune. I had evidence that I was stopped, as the scrapes on my wheel trims were straight, not curly, but she didn't give up. After a problem with my useless legal representatives, and just days before the 3rd court appearance, when the evidence would finally be presented, the woman just gave up, admitted full liability, and the case was closed. The really annoying thing was my insurance company kept pushing me to settle 50/50, as it was the "easiest option". Phil

I had the same problem recently (all be it on a bathroom cabinet door). I found 600 was taking its time to shift the peel effect, so dropped to 400. Big mistake. Although generally the appearance is now very good, smooth and shiney, there are a few deep scratches that will not polish out. As for products, I used well wetted and soaped wet&dry, some cutting paste, again mixed with soap and water, then Megs scratchX, then Sonus SFX1 to 3, all with the PC and sonus pads. Painting with cans was a pain in the ***. Balancing too little paint/laquer (rough dull finish) with too much (smooth, but runs all over) was not easy. The laquer can seemed to empty at a ridiculous rate. Phil

Ok, so I've been very hypercritical and bought one. Lets just say it ain't industrial quality, but seems pretty good for the money. Some of the plastics are a bit dodgy, but the main parts of the compressor look pretty reasonable. I hadn't spotted the 3 year warranty, but saw it and figured what the hell, if it is really bad, then it can go back. I fired it up yesterday and it filled up to pressure in about a min or so, and seems to supply air at a good rate. I have some spraying and shot blasting to do this weekend, so we'll see how it goes. Phil

Sorry, forgot you had to register. This is one of the photos...........

I made one for the Corrado from fiberglass. It took quite a while, but was pretty easy really. I lined the boot with plastic sheeting, then lined the area with glass matting. Then mix the resin and pour/brush in. The hardest part was getting resin into the top surface, as gravity is against you when its in situ. Once a thin layer was set, the blank came out and was thickened with more mat and resin. A lot easier this time as you can rotate the thing. Finally, I decided where to mount the front MDF plate and trimmed the blank to suit, and attached with more fiberglass mat and resin. Final finish was to stuff it with loose packed rockwool (helps keep the sound "tight") and cover in black carpet. Total cost probably about £25. End result here..... Linky Phil

Many banks will ask for a few days to clear bankers drafts now, so check with your bank before handing keys over. Also, for your "title" photo, take an arty picture, an angled shot or close up of the front corner looking up. It will stand out far more in the lift of cars on autotrader than the standard side on shot. Phil

I really hope the liters/min figure is a misprint. 27l/m is about 1 cfm, which won't run the smallest of air accessories. Assuming they mean 270 l/m, then its not a bad spec. With all the accessories though, I cant help thinking it will be low quality junk. A true "professional" spray gun will cost that alone! Phil

Not that I ever had a problem with next doors parking, but there was once a picket fence between our 2 drives. When we both re-laid our drives, we decided to ditch the fence (too many door dents!) and went for some raised edging stones, the 3' x 2" x 8" ones, sticking about 4" up on the dividing line. This clearly defines the driveways, provides a barrier to parking over the line but doesn't make car access difficult. Just a thought! Phil

Spoke to my brother the other day, and he got excited as he hit his new all time best journey average of 58mpg. Not bad for a 170Tdi A3. He recons he averages high 48mpg overall. Wish I got that out of my 140 Octy. Phil

I always wanted a Corrado VR6. I've had mine for about 4 years now!

The quality and thickness of leather will be worlds apart. Cheap sofa hide on a car seat wouldn't last more than a year or 2. Phil

I knew a kid called Benjamin Decey................Think about it! We also have a guy here who is a bit of a Starwars nut. His kids are called "Alderon" and "Arcadia".........poor beggers! Wife also taught a lad at school called "Jedi Starbuck". You simply couldn't make em up! Phil (For the slow ones, the first kid was Bend Easy).

Angle looks a bit too flat to generate any down force anyway. All you'll get is poor rear viz, wind noise and less rear tire wear (as they get lifted off of the road!). Wind noise might be good though, so you can't hear the laughter. Phil

Second hand A6, around the 2l tdi mark, often go for little more than the similar spec'd A4's do. Much larger and more refined car (old shape anyway), with the added bonus of actually having rear legroom. I loved ours, but it was getting on a bit. Phil

Yep, and they tend to remove debris pretty quickly:D Makes sense to me:thumbup: Phil

I'm all for it, but it needs careful consideration. You run the risk that, if people are given work in order to continue claiming unemployment benefits, that they will simply not bother looking for a job, knowing they will be given one on a plate. In my view, whatever jobs are selected for the scheme, or the hours or pay, should provide an incentive to get a proper job. I'm not saying I have the answers on how to achieve this, but the thoughts going through the long term unemployed minds should be "Oh bugger, there going to put me on the work scheme, better get a job then!", not " oh look, easy employment!" I'd also like to see unemployment benefit levels linked to NI contributions. E.g, if you have never worked, you get bugger all. Might deter the lazy ones and still provide for those who have worked. Also, I think the "those who don't" v's "those who can't" discussion is a different thing altogether. The long term unemployed are not the same as those on disability benefits, and need to be treated accordingly. Those who cheat either system, should be dealt with harshly. Phil

You're shopping in the wrong places:eek: A basic TRV is about £5.99, and new radiators range from £15 (yes....£15) for a 400X500mm single panel, up to £48 for a 600X1000 double paneled one. Simple flow valves for the other end of the rad will be about £1.50 each. Phil