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treks

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Everything posted by treks

  1. treks

    Unicorns

    treks replied to Barry's topic in General Discussions

    There weren't all that many XR8's sold here. They were made on special order, and at the time, their high price counted against many orders being placed. Nonetheless, I did own an XR6 for 26 years, during which time I went somewhat out of my way to keep it in excellent condition. Point is, when I sold it to a local collector, it had less than 80 000 km on the clock, and I got more than 10 times more for it than I paid for it in 1981. So yes, if you can still find them in good nick, there is some money to be made.
  2. treks

    Unicorns

    treks replied to Barry's topic in General Discussions

    We have had millions of Mk4 & closely related Mk5 Cortinas here, but this is the first example of a two-door model I have ever seen. A true unicorn, this.
  3. treks
    It happens. I can't tell you the number of times I have seen engines destroyed by over heating, while the owner/driver insists that nothing drastic had happened. Some people just don't monitor instruments while driving,and many more don't understand what their instruments are telling them when they do decide to look at them once or twice a year.
  4. treks
    This is almost certainly the A/C drain- no vehicle that I know of drains excess water/coolant in just this exact position. Sometimes when the A/C ices up heavily it can take several hours for the ice to melt and drain. Anyway, even if the coolant does not contain antifreeze it will have a distinctive smell, whereas A/C condensate will have no smell, just like regular water.
  5. treks
    Now this is what a Jeep should be.
  6. treks
    All I can say is that if I had ten bucks for every time I've had to reprogram/initialize something because a customer thought that disconnecting the battery would somehow "fix" fault codes or "reset" the ECU, I could have retired several years ago.
  7. treks
  8. treks
    I don't hate BMW cars- I only hate the drivers of BMW's who are trying to prove something- like for instance their firm belief that they are somehow not bound to the rules of the road, or that their cars are immune to accident damage even if other makes are not, but worst of all, I hate BMW drivers who refuse to allow traffic from the side to enter the traffic flow. Its like there is something wrong with BMW drivers in this country.
  9. treks
    I cut my teeth on twin and quad carburetors, but sadly, that skill is no longer in demand. I used to also rebuild slushboxes as you call them, but I have not so much as touched a spanner in almost a year, and with some luck, I never will again. However, as per your OP, I would dearly love to be able to compose music, and particularly guitar music- and off course being able to play the guitar like David Gilmour or Mark Knopfler. I even went for lessons once, but I just don't have what it takes.
  10. treks
    For me it has to be the Lambo Countach LP 500, because it was the first super car (by the standards of its time) that I ever got to drive on the open road. This happened many, many years ago when I was still an ignorant apprentice, but now that I think back on it, I am wondering why the uncomfortable seating position, poor visibility out of it, the very heavy clutch and mushy gear shift did not put me off super cars in general, and Lambos in particular, for life back then. Nonetheless, even though I have lost my enthusiasm for cars long ago, I must admit that my first experience with a super car was my coolest experience with super cars, ever.
  11. treks
    True, but the second kind (on the right) don't do well in countries where the road surfaces are divided equally between tarmac and potholes.
  12. treks
    I tend to disagree with @Barry on this. No good (read, professional) technician can fix anything, and nor should he try. It may be true that most automotive technologies are common to all cars, but there are sometimes vast differences in how some technologies are implemented on different makes- two examples being the way PID's are set up differently for ABS brakes and active suspension systems between cars of European, American, and Japanese manufacture. Having made a very good living out fixing peoples' cars for nearly forty years, I can confidently say that there is no way one person can know everything about these differences, and in my opinion a technician who says that he can fix anything, should be treated with a good measure of circumspection.
  13. treks
    The thing about mirrors is that are only useful if people actually use them. In some parts of the world, side mirrors appear to be optional extras in the same way that direction indicators are, since nobody seems to look into them, or use direction indicators to signal an intention to turn or make lane changes. I've lost count of the number of times I've nearly been sideswiped by idiots that thought their side mirrors were there only for cosmetic reasons, or a diabolical plot by car manufacturers to make it more difficult to fit into tight parking spaces.
  14. treks
    You think? Somehow I don't think they will understand how our cars work, and I'm pretty sure not many of us will believe that they have really mastered the art of deep space travel at several multiples of the speed of light- or understand how they do it. Then again, not many of us understand how some of our cars work, either; especially Jeeps and Land Rovers...
  15. treks
    See if you can contact @Barry through the forum here, and twist his arm to run a diagnostic for you. He has a professional-grade computer, and he know how to use it, so he might be your best bet.
  16. treks
    Richard is right- this is very unlikely to involve the ECU. Best thing to do is to have a diagnostic scan done to get the codes.
  17. treks
    The problem with this kind of driving behavior is that the idiots don't learn until they are in a crash, but another problem is that the crashes these idiots cause often kill innocent road users. In my opinion,driver education should be made a compulsory subject in high schools, and if you fail the exam, you can't get a licence for at least 10 years. If you pass the exam after 10 years, you should only get a restricted licence (like in New Zealand), for at least 2 years, but with the provision that if you are caught for reckless driving, drinking and driving, or texting while driving during this time, you lose the restricted licence, and can never retest for a licence- ever again. Moreover, if you have a full licence and behave like an idiot, you should lose your licence for life.
  18. treks
    I agree that diagnostic computers can make life a lot easier, but for compression testing, a compression tester is the way to go unless you are waiting for a car with an HCCI engine. These have compression sensors in the cylinders, so I would be interested to see your screenshots.
  19. treks
    Easy. Most Launch (and other) computers have the ability to reset the KAM memory, but if you get it wrong, you lose all programming for the basics like idle speed, fuel trim look-up tables, basic ignition timing settings, and a lot of other things besides. However, I did not have the software to reprogram the KAM memory, so I had to deliver the car to dealership 60 km away, and provide the client with a rental vehicle for two days. Good thing he was a long-time customer, but he was still not happy about the affair.
  20. treks
    Speaking of young mechanics who think they know it all - I had one about three years ago who erased all the programming from the ECU on a new BMW, instead of erasing some ghost codes like he thought he was doing. And worse, all because he thought he was clever and thought he knew everything about using a diagnostic computer- even though he had no reason under the sun to go anywhere near the car that was in the shop to have a flat tire fixed. Pity the law prevented me from docking his pay for what it cost me to have the car reprogrammed at the dealership. I did fire him though...
  21. treks

    Visa amnesty

    treks replied to Barry's topic in Off-topic

    Good for you- I'm glad you got this sorted out!
  22. treks
    Which is no doubt why they have decided to waive registration fees for electric cars; it won't cost them any revenue.
  23. treks
    I would not take things that far- I would simply push it through my front door into the lounge, let the air out of the tyres, and use it as a multi-level coffee table. Or use it as tool shed,or as something to store my cats' food in.
  24. treks
    Rant? I don't care, cars are still no different from washing machines.
  25. treks
    For me it's easy to choose. I don't hate cars as such, but to me, anything with wheels is no different than a washing machine or fridge. Therefore, a Lambo or a Rolls is just a washing machine with more bells and whistles than say, a Camry that only has the basic functions you'd expect to find on a budget washing machine. Nonetheless, I made lot of money over four decades fixing cars, so there is that. But to Barry's question- If I had to choose the most hated car on Carnity or anywhere else, my choice would be based solely on these criteria- 1) how difficult a given car is to work on 2) how difficult it is to find parts, and, 3) how often it breaks down Thus, based on these criteria, Land Rovers and all French cars would win hands down, every time.
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