The Joy of Running an Old Shed
Discussion
Toastovhudds said:
Love a good shed thread.
I'm a recovering shedist and have been clean about 12 years now. Last one was a Cinquecento sporting that I got for £350 and had 18 trouble free months with. Few things needed tending to 3 month before MOT time so stuck a note in the window saying for sale. Day later sold it to some woman in Asda carpark for £200 and walked 2 miles home with my carrier bags.
Cars since then have been on the drip. Anyway, I need some pointers from the beards as I'm currently cutting about in a leased V90 CC but my work situation has changed which means my commute is now gonna be 500+ miles a week. Way, way, way over my mileage allowance.
So the plan is to dive into a shed again for the daily commute. Unsure as to what will probably be best for me though. N/A Jap petrol or Diesel.
That sort of mileage is what makes diesel excel!I'm a recovering shedist and have been clean about 12 years now. Last one was a Cinquecento sporting that I got for £350 and had 18 trouble free months with. Few things needed tending to 3 month before MOT time so stuck a note in the window saying for sale. Day later sold it to some woman in Asda carpark for £200 and walked 2 miles home with my carrier bags.
Cars since then have been on the drip. Anyway, I need some pointers from the beards as I'm currently cutting about in a leased V90 CC but my work situation has changed which means my commute is now gonna be 500+ miles a week. Way, way, way over my mileage allowance.
So the plan is to dive into a shed again for the daily commute. Unsure as to what will probably be best for me though. N/A Jap petrol or Diesel.
Volvo S60 D5 is the default answer, but you might fancy something else. Mercedes E-Class? Something like a Mondeo or Vectra diesel would be really good for what you want. Enough miles not to worry much about DPF, so that leaves more (and newer) options
Lugy said:
Could be D day for my beloved old 9-5 later, straight to an MOT after work tonight. If it can scrape a pass then I'll maybe spend some money on it*
*I might have said this last year at this time.
Great news, after a bit of fuel pipe replacement and a new drop link the 9-5 has an MOT again!*I might have said this last year at this time.
Coming back in to this from my newer 9-3 it feels pretty sketchy though, feels like the subframe bushes might be giving up. Still pulls strongly though
.PartOfTheProblem said:
My guess is a fuel pump issue, has the filter been changed recently?
I'd have to have a browse back over the service history, but I'd guess the last few services (whilst being owned private) haven't done the fuel filter. Could be worth a punt changing it. Ordered one of these ELM327 OBD readers tonight, should be with me next week so will see what fault code it brings up. It should still bring up old codes right, even if the EML has now gone out after restarting it?
Demelitia said:
Worth removing the calipers off the carriers or taking the pads out of the fronts to eliminate them as the source of drag and noise? Might give you a clearer indication of which side you’re looking at.
Good point, I could hear the pads catching slightly on one side so that's potentially why one isn't spinning so freely. I'm just trying to count up what tools I'm going to need (and how to say them in German) to do it all as I've only got a tiny socket set that goes up to 13mm and the newly acquired Poundland ratchet screwdriver set.
Also will have to do it on the side of the street with the scissor jack. Isn't ideal but it'll have to do.
STIfree said:
So an update from the £870 Mondeo.
With an upcoming drive to Munich (and spending the whole Christmas period there) I knew I had to get some winter tyres. £175 for 4x Redalla 235/40/18's on MyTyres.com, got them fitted locally for £30.
Because I've only owned the car a week and I had a 1000 mile journey pending, I thought it best to give it a run out to see if I could spot any issues. A 2 hour motorway round trip to Leeds and back showed no problems, although the average MPG had gone from 58mpg on the summer tyres to 50mpg on the winters.
First time I've driven to Munich without an estate, was a little worried about luggage space but the Mondeo has a massive boot and swallowed everything.
Set off for the first part of the journey, a little over 4 hours to London to spend a couple of days.
But 2 hours into the drive, as I slowed down to 50mph I started to hear a droning noise, almost like a wheel bearing but initially, I was thinking it was the new winter tyres, maybe they'd warmed up and now were causing a bit of road noise? Soon as I sped back up to 70mph+ the noise disappeared. Soon became apparent as I got closer to London that it was definitely a wheel bearing. Great, a noisy wheel bearing 2 hours into a 16 hour drive.
Managed to pick a new rear wheel bearing up from Eurocarparts on my drive between London and Dover a couple of days later. Fortunately its a complete unit, no need for a bearing press to fit it. So I can potentially fit it myself once in Munich with the limited tools I have available/can purchase from Lidl.
But two minutes from arriving at the hotel in Dover, "headlight failure" pops up on the dashboard. Not to worry, I've got a few spare bulbs in a kit in the boot... oh wait, under all my luggage. After a right faff unloading everything, got the bulbs out, headed to the front to remove the cap behind the headlight to find you have to drop the whole unit forward. Pish!
Quick run over to Poundland for a screwdriver got me this. Not bad for £1!
Headlight unit dropped, realised it was a H7 bulb and I only had H1's. 45 minutes running around Dover looking for somewhere to buy a bulb because I'd rendered my car undrivable by taking the headlight unit out, I finally found a lightbulb kit in the petrol station, £13!
This cars starting to pee me off a little now.
Next day, ferry at 8am, Dover - Dunkirk, then sat nav is saying 10 hours to Munich.
Managed to do the whole drive with only 5 minutes of stoppage time for a quick wizz.
Most of the drive through was heavy fog, wasn't ideal
But even that wasn't without its issues.
I'd noticed before, at full throttle, the car pulses forward. It's almost like it drops boost pressure for a quarter of a second then comes back in, its a pretty fast pulse and not too severe so hadn't thought much of it.
Until I had to pull out of a services sliproad.
Full throttle through all gears to get up to speed as quick as possible, pulsating away, it threw up an engine management light and shot me into limp mode. Had to pull into the next layby and do a quick restart to clear the limp mode and EML.
Finally made it to Munich 9PM local time.
50mpg over 920miles doesn't seem too bad, I definitely think it could of done more on summer tyres and without the shagged wheel bearing.
Had the car jacked up today at the back, pulled on both rear wheels but neither seem to have any play.
Drivers side wheel spins freely for some time but does have a slight deep sounding growl.
Passengers side wheel makes no noise but only spins 1 rotation before coming to a halt.
I can't seem to work out from the inside which side the wheel bearing is noisy. So I'm a little stumped. Any idea's which side could be the culprit from those descriptions? Or another way to check?
Also, any ideas what this weird pulsing could be under full boost?
Re the wheel bearingWith an upcoming drive to Munich (and spending the whole Christmas period there) I knew I had to get some winter tyres. £175 for 4x Redalla 235/40/18's on MyTyres.com, got them fitted locally for £30.
Because I've only owned the car a week and I had a 1000 mile journey pending, I thought it best to give it a run out to see if I could spot any issues. A 2 hour motorway round trip to Leeds and back showed no problems, although the average MPG had gone from 58mpg on the summer tyres to 50mpg on the winters.
First time I've driven to Munich without an estate, was a little worried about luggage space but the Mondeo has a massive boot and swallowed everything.
Set off for the first part of the journey, a little over 4 hours to London to spend a couple of days.
But 2 hours into the drive, as I slowed down to 50mph I started to hear a droning noise, almost like a wheel bearing but initially, I was thinking it was the new winter tyres, maybe they'd warmed up and now were causing a bit of road noise? Soon as I sped back up to 70mph+ the noise disappeared. Soon became apparent as I got closer to London that it was definitely a wheel bearing. Great, a noisy wheel bearing 2 hours into a 16 hour drive.
Managed to pick a new rear wheel bearing up from Eurocarparts on my drive between London and Dover a couple of days later. Fortunately its a complete unit, no need for a bearing press to fit it. So I can potentially fit it myself once in Munich with the limited tools I have available/can purchase from Lidl.
But two minutes from arriving at the hotel in Dover, "headlight failure" pops up on the dashboard. Not to worry, I've got a few spare bulbs in a kit in the boot... oh wait, under all my luggage. After a right faff unloading everything, got the bulbs out, headed to the front to remove the cap behind the headlight to find you have to drop the whole unit forward. Pish!
Quick run over to Poundland for a screwdriver got me this. Not bad for £1!
Headlight unit dropped, realised it was a H7 bulb and I only had H1's. 45 minutes running around Dover looking for somewhere to buy a bulb because I'd rendered my car undrivable by taking the headlight unit out, I finally found a lightbulb kit in the petrol station, £13!
This cars starting to pee me off a little now.
Next day, ferry at 8am, Dover - Dunkirk, then sat nav is saying 10 hours to Munich.
Managed to do the whole drive with only 5 minutes of stoppage time for a quick wizz.
Most of the drive through was heavy fog, wasn't ideal
But even that wasn't without its issues.
I'd noticed before, at full throttle, the car pulses forward. It's almost like it drops boost pressure for a quarter of a second then comes back in, its a pretty fast pulse and not too severe so hadn't thought much of it.
Until I had to pull out of a services sliproad.
Full throttle through all gears to get up to speed as quick as possible, pulsating away, it threw up an engine management light and shot me into limp mode. Had to pull into the next layby and do a quick restart to clear the limp mode and EML.
Finally made it to Munich 9PM local time.
50mpg over 920miles doesn't seem too bad, I definitely think it could of done more on summer tyres and without the shagged wheel bearing.
Had the car jacked up today at the back, pulled on both rear wheels but neither seem to have any play.
Drivers side wheel spins freely for some time but does have a slight deep sounding growl.
Passengers side wheel makes no noise but only spins 1 rotation before coming to a halt.
I can't seem to work out from the inside which side the wheel bearing is noisy. So I'm a little stumped. Any idea's which side could be the culprit from those descriptions? Or another way to check?
Also, any ideas what this weird pulsing could be under full boost?
Jack the car up & whilst spinning the wheels. Grab a hold of the rear shock or spring and you will feel the roughness of the bearing through them.
STIfree said:
Excellent shout. Lots on eBay for under a fiver. Bluetooth to phone I'm favouring, but any particular one you recommend?
The Peugeot DW units see, to be on the whole very reliable. I like the spec of yours. Almost bought one but my facelift was only a grand more and half the cost to tax.
Anyone fancy a cheap s500?
Please view this ad:
2001 Mercedes s500 £750,
https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/200...
Please view this ad:
2001 Mercedes s500 £750,
https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/200...
Ste372 said:
Re the wheel bearing
Jack the car up & whilst spinning the wheels. Grab a hold of the rear shock or spring and you will feel the roughness of the bearing through them.
Great advice. Although I'm unsure if I can fit an arm behind the wheel whilst it's spinning. Also, my only method of lifting the car up is with the scissor jack which is super sketchy. Jack the car up & whilst spinning the wheels. Grab a hold of the rear shock or spring and you will feel the roughness of the bearing through them.
v15ben said:
Nice winter patina on my shed now.
Anyone else got a lovely clean winter shed?
Good efforts! Mondeo is looking equally as pitted. Done around 1500 miles in it over the first 2 weeks. Not washed it yet and wont get washed until end of January when I'm back from Germany. It's not permitted to wash your car yourself here due to environmental concerns with the dirty water entering the drains, making the cheapest car wash place around £20 for a basic wash!Anyone else got a lovely clean winter shed?
rich12 said:
Anyone fancy a cheap s500?
Please view this ad:
2001 Mercedes s500 £750,
https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/200...
If it's as good as he says, why is he selling it after a month and a half for next to nothing? Please view this ad:
2001 Mercedes s500 £750,
https://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/200...
STIfree said:
Good efforts! Mondeo is looking equally as pitted. Done around 1500 miles in it over the first 2 weeks. Not washed it yet and wont get washed until end of January when I'm back from Germany. It's not permitted to wash your car yourself here due to environmental concerns with the dirty water entering the drains, making the cheapest car wash place around £20 for a basic wash!
Couldn't get my head around that one for a while! Always passed those huge Mr Wash places and wondered why there was so much business.
Can understand it but it would make life hard! I give mine a blast of the powerwasher at work but no detergent once a week or so. Just to knock the general road crap off it. Every once in a while I'll wash it before going home properly but after fifty miles it's manky agan.
STIfree said:
Ste372 said:
Re the wheel bearing
Jack the car up & whilst spinning the wheels. Grab a hold of the rear shock or spring and you will feel the roughness of the bearing through them.
Great advice. Although I'm unsure if I can fit an arm behind the wheel whilst it's spinning. Also, my only method of lifting the car up is with the scissor jack which is super sketchyJack the car up & whilst spinning the wheels. Grab a hold of the rear shock or spring and you will feel the roughness of the bearing through them.
Demelitia said:
STIfree said:
Ste372 said:
Re the wheel bearing
Jack the car up & whilst spinning the wheels. Grab a hold of the rear shock or spring and you will feel the roughness of the bearing through them.
Great advice. Although I'm unsure if I can fit an arm behind the wheel whilst it's spinning. Also, my only method of lifting the car up is with the scissor jack which is super sketchyJack the car up & whilst spinning the wheels. Grab a hold of the rear shock or spring and you will feel the roughness of the bearing through them.
Anyone running a Rover 75 as a winter shed?
Mine passed the MOT no advisories at all a few weeks ago.
Now within a week the headlight bulb has gone ( a bugger to change), thermostat borked, using a lot of water and the EML goes off/on at random times.
At £400 for a year of trouble free motoring I suppose I can't complain.
Mine passed the MOT no advisories at all a few weeks ago.
Now within a week the headlight bulb has gone ( a bugger to change), thermostat borked, using a lot of water and the EML goes off/on at random times.
At £400 for a year of trouble free motoring I suppose I can't complain.
STIfree said:
Demelitia said:
STIfree said:
Ste372 said:
Re the wheel bearing
Jack the car up & whilst spinning the wheels. Grab a hold of the rear shock or spring and you will feel the roughness of the bearing through them.
Great advice. Although I'm unsure if I can fit an arm behind the wheel whilst it's spinning. Also, my only method of lifting the car up is with the scissor jack which is super sketchyJack the car up & whilst spinning the wheels. Grab a hold of the rear shock or spring and you will feel the roughness of the bearing through them.
2004 focus MK1 1.8 petrol here. I will hold my hands up, bought over ten years back for smidge under £5k but has done everything asked..long runs, short runs, skip trips and shopping. Tempted to hold onto it even if I get a newer car next year. It's been that good touch wood and I think the good mk1 versions left are bargain value for shedding.
VR99 said:
2004 focus MK1 1.8 petrol here. I will hold my hands up, bought over ten years back for smidge under £5k but has done everything asked..long runs, short runs, skip trips and shopping. Tempted to hold onto it even if I get a newer car next year. It's been that good touch wood and I think the good mk1 versions left are bargain value for shedding.
Esp the ST 170'sOxford1971 said:
VR99 said:
2004 focus MK1 1.8 petrol here. I will hold my hands up, bought over ten years back for smidge under £5k but has done everything asked..long runs, short runs, skip trips and shopping. Tempted to hold onto it even if I get a newer car next year. It's been that good touch wood and I think the good mk1 versions left are bargain value for shedding.
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