So what have you done with your Aston today? (Vol. 2)

[tonycordon]

MOT on Tuesday, taxed from today. Drove it the long way round to get our Covid vaccinations (and the long way back!). As we came out of the vaccination centre, one of the very helpful volunteers ask me if could remember where my car was (large carpark).
I replied 'Yes, I can see it.'
'Oh, which one'
'The silvery grey one'
'Oh, that's the nicest car in the carpark!'

[N7GTX]

baconsarney said:

N7GTX said:

Today we passed the MOT test.

Iain have you done the NC500 ?

Congrats on the MOT

Yes done the 500 twice but not in the AM.

[hornbaek]

NC500 in a couple of old Astons and some other stuff:

[N7GTX]

Thursday, after returning from the MOT I wanted to tax the car. Except DVLA had completely wrong info for the car so sent the V5C with a letter from the Aston compliance officer to prove date of manufacture, registration etc. That was 15th Feb and V5C not yet received.

So a simple call to DVLA to tax the car? Oh no. Dial the number to be told we are too busy - Covid of course gets the blame - and phone shuts off. Try again and again and again. No luck. My wife tries again around 5pm and after a 28 minute hold finally gets through. More delays before the handler confirms the details have all been corrected. Apparently the V5C is waiting to be sent out. So I finally tax the car. I can take her for a drive over the weekend.

Hold on a minute. Having replaced a number of parts during the week I thought it best to check things over just to be sure. Get the car jacked up and find one of the 2 new oil pipes - they wont leak sir - is leaking from an O ring. I'd only driven to and from the MOT place, a total of under 10 miles.
Had a pair of spare O rings (correct part number) so managed to fit a new one. Comparing the new with the original and they are identical in dimensions and the old one (a few days old) was not in any way damaged, flattened etc. so not sure how long this new one will last.

So, in answer to the thread title, the short answer is NOTHING.

[BlackTails]

Yesterday: went for a pointless but long drive. There were a lot of cars out; road surfaces in Surrey are on average poor; and I’d forgotten just how savagely the power comes in when you bury the accelerator in second. And third, and fourth...

[RMDB9]

Today: a pointless but nice drive with no particular logic or route, just to keep the old girl's joints moving.

[ds666]

N7GTX said:

So, in answer to the thread title, the short answer is NOTHING.

Hope you get this sorted , sounds really frustrating 👍🏻

[N7GTX]

ds666 said:

N7GTX said:

So, in answer to the thread title, the short answer is NOTHING.

Hope you get this sorted , sounds really frustrating ????

Thanks, yes very frustrating. Funny how it happens on a holiday too....

[Emilio Largo]

Nothing beats the first drive after the 6 1/2 months hibernation period

If only the air condition would be so kind and just WORK after two attempts of fixing the leak. So off to the main dealer next week for ANOTHER go under warranty - hopefully just in time before their AM main dealer contract will - sadly - be terminated.

Edited by Emilio Largo on Sunday 4th April 14:38

[JohnPM]

Released it from a 7 month furlough.

[N7GTX]

Just been on a run up the M1 to test everything on the car. Going south in the opposite direction, spaced apart, was a selection of AMs - total of 6 in all.

[oilit]

Gave them a wash, then a 20 mile blast to remove any excess water sitting around, first blast of the year!

[ds666]

N7GTX said:

Just been on a run up the M1 to test everything on the car. Going south in the opposite direction, spaced apart, was a selection of AMs - total of 6 in all.

Good you got it sorted .

[N7GTX]

ds666 said:

N7GTX said:

Just been on a run up the M1 to test everything on the car. Going south in the opposite direction, spaced apart, was a selection of AMs - total of 6 in all.

Good you got it sorted .

Hopefully, yes. Just need to check there are no leaks from the oil pipes at the engine end.

[N7GTX]

N7GTX said:

ds666 said:

N7GTX said:

Just been on a run up the M1 to test everything on the car. Going south in the opposite direction, spaced apart, was a selection of AMs - total of 6 in all.

Good you got it sorted .

Hopefully, yes. Just need to check there are no leaks from the oil pipes at the engine end.

Finally, the oil pipes are not leaking. Phew.

but

The sport switch on the auto box did not switch on.
So a bit of faffing around to find the bulb in the warning light bar was kaput. Spare fitted and now all good. Kickdown was also not working but that was due to the thick carpet preventing the pedal pushing on the switch on the floor. Adjusted and repositioned so okay now.
Just waiting for the aircon man to come and regas the system after replacing the intercooler radiator as the receiver drier sits on top of it.

[cornershop]

Back from BR, fixed, with a new coil pack and plug on #2

Gave it a good wash with BH Autofoam and whatever the BH car shampoo is called.

[Eeyore9]

Just got her back after wheel refurb and calliper repaint although somehow and I really really don’t know how but they painted the callipers the wrong colour! Il post pics soon. Got to go back to have them redone and to sort out the horrible vibration on rebalanced wheels.... one out of three is supposedly acceptable these days!

[ds666]

cornershop said:

Back from BR, fixed, with a new coil pack and plug on #2

Gave it a good wash with BH Autofoam and whatever the BH car shampoo is called.

I haven't used snow foam on mine since I found out about the issues with snow foam on the ceramics ( or indeed water ) . Something else to worry about .

[cornershop]

ds666 said:

I haven't used snow foam on mine since I found out about the issues with snow foam on the ceramics ( or indeed water ) . Something else to worry about .

Yes, well I just used it on the bodywork. Wheels cleaned ‘manually’ with sponge and BH shampoo, then rinsed with low pressure from a hose not the Nilfisk.

The Autofoam works really well through a pressure washer. I had a few days of crusted on Saharan sand on the daily driver that dropped on us last week. Foamed on, left to dwell for a few mins and lightly pressure washed off. I was not going to bother washing it using shampoo as the bodywork was that smooth to the touch after the foam, but I chose to do so in the end.

[LTP]

ds666 said:

I haven't used snow foam on mine since I found out about the issues with snow foam on the ceramics ( or indeed water ) . Something else to worry about .

For an instant I thought you were referring to ceramic coatings, then I realised you meant the brakes. It may not be of interest but I always bag my wheels before I wash the car to keep them dry so the brakes don't stick on - which they do if I put it away wet, even though I don't use the parking brake. The reason I bag the wheels is I live surrounded by lanes where farmers often run tractors so the car can come back dirtier than when it went, especially if it's recently been raining.

My wash routine is: wash the wheels with just hose, brush and car detergent; take the car out for a short run, using the brakes heavily plus a bit of handbrake to dry the brakes out (which is in line with the owners manual); return; bag the wheels; pressure wash the rest of the car; snow foam; pressure wash again; wash with soap and a mitt; rinse with pressure wash; towel dry; air blast on grilles, badges, brightware trim and shuts, mopping any running water with a towel; unbag the wheels; put it away.. So apart from the initial detergent wash my wheels and brakes don't see any of the other products I use on the car.