ap0gee1978

There will be a number* of Briskodians who have wondered** where I've been these last couple of years, and I can now spill the beans in a revelation that's surely outweighs the significance of today's impending birth of the 3rd in line to the British throne... :p So between another baby, starting my own business and - as of today - no longer having any Skodas parked on the tree-lined avenue that leads up to Ap0gee Towers***, I've really not had the time to contribute to the site, and while I stepped down as a mod a couple of years ago, I reckon I should probably bow out properly now. So cheerio to Colin, Ken, Jason, Stu, Mo, Ross, Sarah, Welshy the Troll and anyone else I swapped posts with over the years who's remained faithful to the Brisky Way - this place was a big part of my life for quite some time. And for everyone still participating, I hope you get as much from the site as I did, and give yourself a pat on the back from me every time you help another member out in some way! Bye, then... :'( * Probably very small ** Once, perhaps, when they were really bored *** OK, weed-strewn driveway

Me? No. Why have missed something, or have I misunderstood the stuff sent out by the unions? It's good money, even for shift work, don't get me wrong! But it's not like you could set yourself up as owner-operator like someone with an LGV or PCV licence could if they wanted to. Perhaps that's why: golden handcuffs? Having said this, an old acquaintance of mine was left in a right state mentally after a suicide jumped out in front of the train he was driving - perhaps there's an element of danger money involved...

Maybe that's including overtime, as I've see GBP44k quoted. That's the most you'll ever earn, though - and with little by way of transferable skills learnt on the job, prospects once fully qualified can't be brilliant...

Turns out our payrise this year is funded by strip-mining personal bonuses. So those technical staff like me that are considered capable of making a measurable individual impact on company performance are paying so that those that technical staff who don't don't quit. As a result, my payrise will come from whichever of the three companies that have offered me a job make me the best offer. Changing employer is the only way I've ever achieved a meaningful payrise these last dozen years...

I think the word you're looking for is 'carrier', not 'bracket'??? Wheel size aside, if you have everything there to fit the brakes to a Mk4 Golf, they will go straight onto a Mk1 Fabia

There's been a guide on fabia-vrs.com for yonks FWIW. @ Wagdog: If water DOESN'T come out of the bottom of the doors after it rains, you've got a problem with the drain holes. Sealing the doors should make the water run out over the sill and onto the ground, not past the door card and onto the carpet. If NOTHING comes out when it rains, your door is full of water!

Two minutes on youtube looking for turbo spool videos will show you how long they REALLY run on for (a matter of seconds). Plus, the fully-synth oil doesn't carbonise with the heat so apart perhaps from coming to a screeching halt at a motorway services (even that's pushing it!) you'd be better finding something else to spend your money on! The next full tank of diesel at this rate... :wonder:

Didn't I say that the other day?! :p

Stopped off for a sly bacon sandwich and this little fella wanted in on the action: I know it lacks any kind of technical merit, but it was a pretty cool moment all the same...

Well if it was as un-economic as the opposers say, those in Whitehall be be glad for the get-out while simultaneously planning how best to spin the news in the manner of our current government's predecessors: "What's that? You don't want triple tuition fees, means-tested Child Benefit, increased VAT or higher NICs? Look, we stopped the sell-off of the forests; you can't have EVERYTHING, you know..." A hollow victory indeed...

Big shout out to ALLARD, who sorted me out with the correct O-ring! Got the tapemeasure out, and the 'N 905 216 04' TPS supplied was indeed 55x3 as rwbaldwin had indicated. Googling N 905 216 04 only shows it listed against the ALH engine, however. The Seat and VW dealers near me also came up with a part the same size. :wonder: So, from left to right, we have the old O-ring, the one Allard supplied, and N 905 216 04: And if we put the old one and the Allard one side-on, we can see why I needed a new one!!! The Allard O-ring is 65x3, and is clearly a much closer match to the knackered one I removed. I haven't driven the car yet to tell if the joint is still weeping, but it stayed nicely in place in the groove on the face of the EGR, and sat a little proud of it to mate with the face of the turbo. On that basis, I reckon it's the correct part, and I can only assume the listing on ETKA is wrong. BUT, knowing the correct size, you can get a replacement from somewhere any online hydraulics supplier (or even Allard!) for a fraction of the cost from elsewhere.

We've just started using the new toothpaste we got last week. Not being especially brand-loyal, we got some Aquafresh and some Macleans that was on offer. So we started with the Aquafresh stuff, and it tastes of... LEMON?!?! Never mind, we thought, we've got the Macleans as well - we'll use that. But no, THAT TASTES OF LEMON TOO!!!!! I fear this may be a sign of things to come, but honestly what's wrong with minty flavour? Neither toothpastes give any sign of tasting of lemon on the label...

Oh, I don't know - I was on more than that when I was (technically) a civil servant. My wife gets more than that in the public sector, and my ex (another civil servant) was on nearly that when we went our separate ways seven or eight years ago. When you remember to include all the GPs and consultants in the NHS, I'd say GBP30k is a reasonable average. But point taken!

You really don't see how your tax-dodging is exactly the same as the behaviour of the MPs and the fat cats, do you? Legality and morality are two completely different things - after all, everything all those MPs claimed on expenses was (at the time, at least) legal and positively encouraged. Likewise, how is what you're doing any different Philip Green claiming non-domicile status? The simple fact is that, like them, the more you earn, the less prepared to are to give something back to help those less fortunate! As for 'market forces', all I'm trying to do here is warn you that no-one's indispensable before you have an argument with your employer that you live to regret! I'd be surprised if there were many more than a hundred people in the UK that do what I do as well, but I don't go round thinking that I can issue my employer with ridiculous ultimatums - who do you think you are? Mariah Carey?! Do and say what you want with your employer as far as I'm concerned, but don't forget that the moment you storm out shouting 'Well you can shove your job...' you will have lost any chance of getting a decent reference so will be highly unlikely to get a similar job again! As for your right-on politicking, do you not realise that Bill Clinton (liberal, apart perhaps from his moves to ban gay marriage) and Tony Blair (a text-book neo-conservative, right down to his belief that God should be his only judge on military action) are polar opposites? Blair never built a caring society; he built the illusion of one based on money raised by strip-mining national assets and then borrowing stupendous amounts of cash when the assets ran out! It's all very well being flash with the cash, but when's you've only got cash because you're living beyond your means, then you have to accept it's unsustainable. But then what they appeared to be doing was always more important for New Labour than what was actually done. Presumably because the likes of yourself lapped it up and asked for more...? Ever the optimist, Dave! No doubt lol will soon be along to advise you to get a VAT receipt for the shots of petrol whisky chasers

I reckon you could get the Mk1 MR2 on classic car insurance: http://www.lancasterinsurance.co.uk/qualifying_for_classic.htm (This is the first company I came across, so you should shop around if you think it's suitable...)

Hear, hear. Likewise on the jobs front, if a job in the 'leisure / recreation' sector of a piece of FC land isn't profitable, why should it be saved in place of a nurse or bobby in an urban area?

No, it's a guide for what to check! Painful as it is on the eyes, it's probably good enough to show up all but the tiniest HG leaks...

I just get a whole new bit from TPS - the skodashop sells them for a little over a fiver: http://www.theskodashop.co.uk/product/Fabia_6Y_%3E07_Rear_Wiper_Blade_Hatch_%26_Estate_6Y0955425 ...although other suppliers are available of course!

Now that's cleared up ( ) I think we can see from here: http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/43733-312mm-brakes-pictorial/ ...that the ATE caliper itself might actually be smaller than the Lucas one! As I say, though, other than the bigger disc on the 312 being a better heatsink to stave off brake fade, I don't think my OEM 312s stop any harder than when I had fast road pads on my Lucas calipers with 288mm discs!

I've found this gives a reasonable good way of screening out possible HGF: http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/HOW-TO-TEST-FOR-A-FAILED-HEAD-GASKET_W0QQugidZ10000000001891247 ...although you may need to have a lie down after to get over it ALL BEING IN CAPS!!!

That's the idea on ones like this: ...but clearly you don't get the side and (probably more importantly) neck protection of a full seat. OTOH, the material on the one above looks to be a good match for the Recaro the littl'un uses ATM!

I've a feeling the calipers you're on about won't fit a 288mm disc, BTW http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/145980-im-a-confused-18-year-olds/page__view__findpost__p__1827733 http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/23472-what-about-fitting-280mm-fs-iii-brakes-into-tdi100/page__view__findpost__p__306125 AIUI, FSIII are to 256mm and 280mm discs what ATE are to 288 and 312mm ones...

:+1: I have a 500MB limit on my phone which I sometimes use as a 3G modem, and the only time I ever got anywhere near it was when I downloading XP service packs using it (don't ask!) If you were really stuck, you could use Opera for web browsing with Turbo switched on although TBH as has been said unless you're streaming media you should be fine with 3GB...