Handyman

Do I detect a whiff of sour grapes in some of these posts?

I read somewhere that ALL new steel has some radioactivity in it and that the remnants of the first world war German Naval Fleet scuttled at Scapa Flow in Scotland were sourced when steel free of radioactivity was needed for special purposes. Perhaps someone with more information on it than I could shed more light on this interesting subject ?

If your talking motorbikes. I have owned a 1954 Triumph Tiger 110 since 1955. Sadly not roadworthy at the moment, but I have high hopes of restoring it, for the THIRD time in all of those years.

Perhaps being well managed, coached, and infused with the current Saints team spirit might well do the trick!

Ditto

I have always found this firm to be excellent in their work and helpfulness.

Have to agree with that! Don't put lethal ideas into single brain celled cretins heads.

Well done. Iv'e got a couple like that myself. Special jobs require special solutions, sometimes not catered for by standard tools. Over the years I have made/collected quite a few "specials"

One very rare occasion when only an offset open end spanner would do the job, I used an oxyacetylene torch to heat one of my oldest ones at the point of bend and retempered it. It worked a treat, though I don't expect everyone to know how to do that or have access to the the equipment to do it.

Open ended 17mm spanners are easily obtainable. I have a few myself, bought separately and not in a set. Try INEXCESS at west end.

I'm no sprayer, but that is called microblister and caused by water not being filtered out of the air supply. Poor maintenance of the air compressor and water separators. Water always gathers in the pressure tank when air is compressed and should be frequently drained. What does that tell you about the firm/operator/sprayer?

The man's an idiot!

As far as I'm aware, any leak at all is a failure. the extent of a leak doesn't come into it. If it leaks at all, then the seals are going or gone and/or there is wear in the shaft (plunger). The shock absorber is scrap.

Obviously be honest about the car with the buyer.

Sell your car privately and get a "no part exchange" discount from the dealer, you win twice that way!

"Juddering" at speed is usually wheel balance. "Tracking"is usually (in my experience) just wheel alignment, but there are other things to consider with tyre wear. Castor,camber,KPI, toe in and toe out on turns and as been mentioned under and over inflation. The first three are, on modern cars, are fairly well fixed but some adjustment on some cars is catered for by shims and other methods of adjustment.This is not usually required except when there has been movement due to a blow on the suspension/steering severe enough to distort the setting. Toe in and toe out on turns is decided by the angle of the steering arms on the hubs and the afore mentioned"blow"on a wheel could be enough to bend the arm on one side putting the alignment out, resulting in tyre "scrub" when turning and leading to excessive wear, even though the straight ahead alignment is or has been corrected.

Unless you are of that age, you don't know that. Please don't tell me you know by observation. There are poor drivers of all ages. I have avoided potential accidents by having quick reactions, and I was told by someone 15 years my junior that my reactions were faster than his. I am older than 60 and I have never been a danger to anyone in my life. I also do not drive like a mobile chicane. Although I observe speed limits, I usually find that I am the one that is waiting for someone to move.

I hope that you are of the same opinion when you reach the age of 60!

A weeping shock absorber is an M O T failure.

Four years ago the M O T examiner told me that our Corsa needed a new clutch,(he was unaware that I had been a motor mechanic longer than he had been alive) Four years later that clutch is still going strong. Don't believe everything that you are told, they may be fishing for unnecessary work!

Shame Markus isn't here to see this.

Yes. We used to avoid the three bearing crank cars like the plague, you could hear the mains (bearings) hammering when slightly rev'd up to check the engine. The five bearing crank was good though. As for the three bearing crank breaking, i never came across one that did, they just wore out their main bearings prematurely.

I think your right. I remember when they came out.

Put a suitable long tube into the tank as far as it will go. Have a container ready at as low a level as possible. Put your finger over the end of the tube to seal it and quickly withdraw enough of the tube to reach the container without the other end coming out of the fuel in the tank (thats why a long tube). You will then have drawn a column of fuel out with the tube. This will be enough to start the flow which will continue as long as the other end is still immersed in fuel. Obviously, the lower in the tank the tube sits the more of the fuel you will drain out. You might have to have several goes at this to get the hang of it. You might have to jack the vehicle up a little to get the last drops out, but usually this is not necessary if the drain is low enough. As a mechanic I have had to drain tanks for years for repair purposes and I haven't tasted deisel yet!!!