I do have my brother's Ducati GT1000 sitting in the shed, which is tempting if a little on the tubby side for what looks like a sports/streetbike crossover. I ought to get another bike, it's been a while since I used one regularly (little 2-stroke Honda LS125R which was already falling to bits when I got it years ago, presumably a Honda as in 'under some sort of licence' because I thought they didn't make anything but 4-strokes). Actually learnt late, in my 20's, on a CG125 & an ER5 and still have a couple of bikes to look at getting working, but nothing special (Suzuki T250 & a small Kawasaki). Need to get on with that. They mothball better than cars though, although the chrome on the Suzuki is shot to bits.

My GEMS car has Pirelli Scorpions, the STR version (and an ST on the steel spare which was on the n/s front but worn). The Thor has General Grabber GT tyres on it, and there isn't much of a difference betwween those two. Both are on the Discovery-looking wheels for all but spares.

My rear carpet and soundproofing is sitting in a large metal shed which is only partially shaded. It went from sponge-wet to almost dry fairly decently fast a couple of months ago. With this weather it's now properly dry. I'll refit it before the weather changes and it reabsorbs too much from the air again (hopefully).

Tried an aquavac, doesn't really work if soaked. The Corsa newspaper trick is surprisingly effective got a 1L / 3 cyl silver '53 reg with a permanent bulkhead leak, and tend to drive it around with the Telegraph as front mats - rubber backed mats trap wet.

Corsa has a feel to its carpet as if it's tight across the (rear) footwells but with some form of space under it, under the front there is also space to suck out a fair amount. Have had to empty the cannister and start again. Also bailed it out with plastic takeaway tubs before.

The P38s seem to hold more water stuck in the foam than free and dried out foam is still quite dense, so I suppose it doesn't suck through. Fan heater is not much use on it either although it is a good demister in winter.

Gilbertd wrote:

Problem is, they'd never ask questions on the sort of stuff I know about.....

Mastermind - specialist subject P38. That'd be worth tuning in to.

romanrob wrote:

Never mind Rave - all you need is Gilbert - can we get a download somewhere ?

I think that's the first time I've read something on the internet that made my brain actually say 'wow' to itself.

Morat wrote:

James Bond has to maintain standards afterall.

He did drive a 2cv at one point for a few moments I seem to remember.

One of the P38's I use a fair bit (1998/9 Thor) has a calibrated speedo and a special vehicle plate in the bonnet. It's odd, all matches up but the car is the standard blue (dark interior, grey-ish I suppose - looks black) and looks to always have been oxford blue - outside it's the same colour as my GEMS HSE. Low spec 4L, Lowline BECM, cloth seats, no reverse-dip on the mirrors, badged only 4.0, no SE/HSE etc. Only thing it's got extra is a spare aerial and a couple of drilled holes in the dash which could have been from anything. Always assumed it was configured originally for [whatever reason I haven't figured out] and sold as a lower spec normal car. Nothing interesting shows up in any of its documents.

Toying with the idea of doing the same soon, got a few pump motors with variously either knackered brushes and/or dead cutouts, thought I'd start by putting together a good one and giving it a pump rebuild then look for brushes and cutouts to make a few spares. Got lazy last time and put a new pump in the '97 - it's a good idea to keep a working backup or two and at the moment they're sitting there all useless.

Air adaptive idles - I spent a while playing with mine after I cleaned the old stepper motor and airways. It seems that there is a balance between high figures on long and short term vs (better?) lower figures and the IACV % adjustment. 'Perfect' (say 21) % IACV, warm, all extra kit turned off on mine raises the adaptive figures, up on IACV nearer the 30% and they fall again. However, the actual behaviour of the stepper at light throttle and the % seem to be more important than the figures for the two (short and long-term) adaptives, which also change readily. It's probably important in some way, but it seems to be more noticable to the running to get the Idle % in the right range, or close to it. My car has always driven better with a slightly high IACV % tbh, it's probably due in my case to worn out parts. As the adaptives adjust for various factors including aged components, I'm currently ignoring those rightly or wrongly. It's the fuel trims and actual adaptive airflow that seem to throw a spanner in the day to day running if they go off. I had a sketched out MAF sensor at one point and that kept maxing out the a/f trims. Haven't seen idle trims hit a stop point, but they do seem to move around a lot anyway.

Another tool which worked on two so far is the chain-type filter wrench, but I used the kind with a square-drive socket attached to the loop of chain rather than a handle. That way you can get a good bite on it (seem to remember putting a strip of inner-tube round the accumulators first in the end) then use a strong bar in the socket at a right angle to the accumulator.

One of these.

Added a lead to mine (GEMS) on the + side after a load of tests and deciding it was showing a bit of a drop (it's got -I think- the smallest of the possible alternators). Made a much bigger difference than expected.

Got lucky with Halfords and returning the wrong battery, but then again it was on the same day and with the same assistant on the till. They are effectively for 'I want it now' stuff really. I do know of people who keep old Halfords receipts and note the warranty/use-start date of stuff like batteries, but not whether they have any success arguing it out with them.

Those Hankook batteries seem to be the perfect P38 car battery - next time for me will be a 'plan ahead - buy one, delivered' - they are quite popular with a fair few people. The Yuasa in the GEMS gets an infrequent trickle top-up although it's not gone flat yet, every now and then it still behaves as if it's a little empty on cranking. The Bosch ran for years with a small Bosch branded battery in it, maybe they have slightly different requirements, it certainly has a higher output alternator on it.

That makes sense, I thought it was me but maybe not. Their number plate (and other shops) based recommended parts systems also tend not to quite line up with model years vs plate years. My P-reg has a few bits on it that are 1997 specific although it was registered in (2nd half) '96. Most places recommend the square air filter from 1996 for example, when it's got the same as the Thor fitted in-fact.

Morat wrote:

battery that doesn't fit.

My first Halfords battery was a rushed purchase which I didn't think through first - it didn't fit. The poles were the wrong way round, cables would have needed lengthening etc. Took it back and got the 334.

dhallworth wrote:

Yuasa HSB334 from Halfords.

I've been using one of these for a year or so. Seems to be quite a good battery so far, replaced a Banner (Buffalo Bull I think) that stopped taking a charge.

Morat wrote:

Are you going OEM or Audi?

OEM - thought I'd give it a shot. Took the old one out and I think it's a Britpart or similar. I did seriously think about the Audi route. I have a blend motor I (think) I repaired earlier, so it might all come out again at some point anyway if it's on the fritz after a bit. It's an odd heater, there's an added/replacement sensor that vanishes off to the left on those brown hanging wires by the transmission tunnel above that black cable which is actually my replacement OBD port (covered with parts). The O-ring connector's screw is not at all right looks like a self tapper (screwed an M5 in and out just to check the thread's still OK), or did It's the only screw i know I've lost so far - oddly they weren't leaking (well, yet see how my new ones fair). The core went from a drip or two a day to (with less use lately so presumably building up in the boxing and not blowing out the heater as usual) a puddle a day. It's corroded as, surprised it's not gone pop. Been replacing hoses round the engine as well as they were old. Not a boring day tbh.

Not scrapping it, just doing the heater. Core decided to leak.

leolito wrote:

it has lost that mushy smell

Got the rear carpet out at the moment - might give it a good vax-type clean with something like one of those blue things the dry cleaners use to rent out, see how it turns out after that.

Bosch smells of fishtanks. GEMS (used to smell of dog bit that's cleared a bit now) smells of something I can't pin down. It's not a bad or dirty smell, more just of itself - the way I expect it to really, it's a good benchmark for new smells. Also sometimes oil, of course. The most distinctive 'not new car but weird' smelling car I've known was Ford Capris (esp the 2.8 for some reason, maybe a non-Dagenham Ford thing), I can mentally smell it now just by picturing the interior.

Could be way off here, but if it goes 1-2-3-Lockup wouldn't that do this because lockup would then bypass torque converter+4th straight into direct through the box? Mine'll (the GEMS 4.6) try to climb a hill in 4th and/or locked up sometimes, I just kick it down or go into 3rd on the gear lever. The 4L Bosch is more keen on changing down at upward inclines. To be fair to the GEMS it's pretty good at switching between lockup and 4th most of the time (the rpm behaviour on overrun tells you if it's locked up yet or not).

BrianH wrote:

leaking waterpump on a BMW

That's the original reason the Bosch was given a dose of Radweld I'm told. It seems that everyone else who's driven it since sneaks a bit in 'just in-case' - The odd thing is, some people swear by it. It might be OK in a Morris with a basic cooling system and a slight leak in the radiator but even then it's a temporary measure surely not intended to be left in and added to (doubt it goes away until it's flushed out).

leolito wrote:

The instrument is useless

Genuinely a placebo I think. Or at least a vague indicator (there's no linearity to it, is there, basically could do it with a blue, green and red light for 'too cold' 'OK' and 'too hot' - or have the Peugeot type system where a light comes on and says 'STOP' when something's not right). Probably one of those things that makes people feel happier as it says it's OK most of the time. I think you're right though, it'll be overheated before the dial tells you.

My GEMS used to run at a (nanocom, cleaned comm's ports and plugs along the way, new coolant sensor for the ECU side) temperature of 72 degrees. It was doing odd things to the fuelling. The 94-ish seems a little hot, but I've yet to try a new radiator in it which I will do when the fresh hoses go on I think. Can't hurt. Also the viscous fan might be OK, might not. Need to wait for Summer with it at the current set of temperatures from the new thermostat - could be that it was fine last year but overcooling anyway. An added gauge is a very good idea. I have a laser thermometer thingy for work, but it's not going to help sitting in traffic on the motorway! The condenser fans are random on mine. The GEMS put them on itself at least once (that I noticed) when I first had it, and presumably before the old thermostat went up the swannee, after a long drive in the Summer and then stuck in a queue.

tanis8472 wrote:

i had to cut mine at the bottom to get it to seal properly and also gently bend the lip out slightly.

Bought a new one last year - it came pre-cut in the two places, measured it and it's the right places so either it'd been intended for use and prepared or (JLR bagged, eBay 'unused') came like that. I fitted that and added a smear of dinitrol round it. Re-tested the sunroof drains yesterday - fine there. When I hosed it down it's (most obviously anyway) pouring in through the upper seal and/or the two air exit-vents so I took them off and cleaned the foam etc, checked the little flappy slots were in-place (on those soft foam seals - will replace them in the summer) and had another look at the upper edge with some shoe polish to see where it seals or not. The water comes in the seal and fills the plastic wiper-motor cover rather than up and in the vents I think. Discovered the upper catch U-shaped bit wasn't tight so I've tightened it up and waiting for the rain. I haven't bent out the flange yet, and I think the lower bolts and all that rear hollow bit do need looking at.
Plan is to dry the whole car out either in the shed (currently my brother's girlfriend's 206 is in need of that - I stupidly told her I'd 'fix the roof' and there's a Freelander over the inspection pit and the Bosch has its MOT today... and I'm -futile really- trying to de-leak my old Corsa C: I don't get bored which is nice) or the Summer then to do the whole thing. Want to sort the headlining out as well, it's clearly been wet at the rear for years looking at its frame.
Really useful stuff there, cheers. I will run through the list as a handy guide. Took it into town yesterday evening but it wasn't that wet, also had had a hose in the drains etc first so a bit wet already. The metal, where it laps, can hide a fair bit to resurface later on. Would quite like to seal it all up once it's definitely dry 'inside' and see how it goes.
Despite the rain it's not actually been all that bad on the whole, leak wise. It is clear that the welded-on 'round things' under the boot sides trap water (haven't looked at what they actually are. One rusted and fell off so I welded a piece in to fill the hole) with the insulation in-place and that just acts like cavity wall fill sucking in water like vermiculite. With it all out of the car it's much easier to work on the small bits that need doing. Might even run a hoover properly over the carpet before it goes back in.