Barry

Easiest way to test shock absorbers without shaker plates is to look at the top of the shock where the rod comes out. If there is oil on it, you need to change it. Next step is press hard on each corner of the car and bounce it up and down 4/5 times. A bad shock will keep bouncing after you stop pushing it up and down, a good one won’t bounce. 

4 minutes ago, desertdude said:

On a sheep nothing lasts that long and bigger question is will the sheep last that long!

You know what? That joke is getting old. We all know about the jeep overheating thing. I can make More sheep jokes than you can ever imagine. If your jeep overheats you can make the best karak. We all know jeepers import crap cars from the US and restore them. Why don’t you try to post some positive stuff instead of always being a grumpy old negative nelly who got stuck in UAE and has no way out. 

There is a product available called Gunk, google it. You spray it on, it foams up, then you pressure wash it off. It gets rid of all the oil and stuff. I used to use it to prep engines before car shows all the time. 

If you want to save money, but a 5 gallon jar of TFR, spray it on and wash it off. It’s like soap but stronger. 

Champion and NGK are 2 of the biggest spark plug manufacturers in the world. I wouldn’t have any issue using either. It’s not like it’s an every service item, they will last 4-5 years easy. 

4 hours ago, Sidshk said:

After change of Solenoid vibration after 100 Kms is gone and car is quite stable 

But still it Vibrates on Gear and Reverse, Also  hesitates when Fan cuts off 

Engine is misfiring. 

The most common sign for Bad Coil, Any suggestion to check if which Coils is gone ? 

 

 

 

 

Plug the car in. Open up live data and look at misfire indicator. It will tell you exactly which cylinder the problem is on. Basic stuff, any mechanic worth his salt should pick this up first time

Hondas are notorious for using oil. It’s just one of those things you have to accept and live with. 

I’ve seen a couple of RHD AE86 here on classic plates. The full on Euro version, not the Levin with the pop up headlights. That’s one thing I love about UAE, you never know what crazy stuff you will see on the roads. 

Bonus pic

Heres a R5 Gordini Turbo I spotted randomly cruising round Al Quoz

23 hours ago, Mikhail Lukichev said:

Astrophotography!

Awaiting for clear sky season in the UAE!

Photography and, possibly, video production.

Education! Can't stop studying 😃

Wish to have more time for all of these.

Where do you go for a good view of the stars? That’s one thing I miss from home. In the city you’re lucky if you can see Venus and maybe 3-4 bright stars. At home I go out my back door and I can see the Milky Way clearly. On a good night you can get a glimpse of the northern light. 

32 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Never knew Beer can be counted as a hobby too, let me update my list with 20+ items then.

So beer isn’t a real hobby? Can I change my option to movies then? 😂

Paul Walker. I spotted a couple of cars he once owned in a garage in rashidiya a few months ago. 

We used to use it in rental contract cars. Never had any issues using it while following manufacturers service schedule 

This worries me. I have left my wallet and phone in the car on many occasions and left the car open. I just always assumed UAE was safe. Time to change the way I think. Thanks for posting and I hope you catch the culprit.

In no particular order,

1 - Cars. That’s obvious, that’s why we’re on Carnity

2 - Music. I listen to a lot of genres. Play a few instruments too. I’ve been neglecting my playing but I started getting back into guitar and ukulele a couple of weeks ago. Been playing keyboards since I was 4-5 so it’s a lifelong thing 

3 - Beer. I gave up drinking spirits a long time ago but I love to try new beers as much as possible 

4 - DIY.  I love fixing broken stuff. Next project is the water heater in the apartment now that winter is coming

At home I used to enjoy hunting, mostly crossbow, sometimes shotgun and LR. It’s hard to beat some fresh fried rabbit. I used to fish a lot too, easy when the river is a 20 second walk from my back door. Fish from the supermarket can’t compare to a fresh trout or salmon you caught yourself. I used to hike a lot and would regularly spend 3-4 days in the mountains with just me and my dog and a tent. I used to cycle a lot. Used to be into racing too but it’s an expensive hobby. I miss my old life but it’s hard to do these things in UAE

Timing belts don’t settle in. It is a critical engine part. It’s either right or it’s wrong. And I guess in your case the person who fitted it, fitted it wrong. 

It’s best to go to someone who knows what they are doing and make sure the timing marks are aligned. It will cost you 2 hours labour max. The sooner you fix it the better. I recommend good garages to you on Whatsapp. I don’t know why you didn’t go to them. Too much kandoos yaar?

@Gaurav can testify what happens when someone puts a timing belt on wrong. 3 years ago I repaired his pajero. Someone put a timing belt on wrong. Both cams were one tooth out. The engine ended up with bend valves, loss of power and a poot poot doof doof noise. I fixed it. Because I know what I’m doing. Pay small prices, expect small rewards. People avoid me because I charge big. I don’t charge big. I charge what I’m worth.

Stupid people who think they know about cars are the bane of my life. They also pay my rent fixing the mistakes they made. 

9 minutes ago, Frederic said:

Thanks Barry. 

I’ll go for a balancing tonight to start with, but I’m also more thinking about a worn CV axle. On the last drive when making a full turn right I started to hear a slight crunching sound every now and then. Could that be the culprit ?

It does not change with revs, and the vibration itself is pretty high in frequency, bit like holding a beard clipper in my hands instead of the steering wheel 😆

Yes, a worn CV joint will make a clicking sound on full lock. Go into an area where you can do a full circle left and right on full steering angle. If you hear a clicking when driving slowly, you found the problem. Congratulations, you solved your own problem and you’re a mechanic now. You’re certificate is in the mail 😬

20 minutes ago, Frederic said:

I’m gonna sound very blunt and rude now but as much respect I have for these guys I see 80 percent of them driving as they should, while the other 20 percent drive like they stole the bike and think they are in a video game. In no possible way is any job worth risking your life for and if you don’t ride defensively in UAE on a motor bike you’re signing your own death warrant. 

For some reason whatsoever many of them can’t seem to grasp when they are driving in the blind spot of the car in front of them, or overtake from the craziest angles and speeds. Sorry for these people I have zero respect 

I completely understand what you are saying. I used to think the same way as you do. In my line of work I speak to everyone from the generals to the ground troops who are fighting the good fight.

The majority of bike delivery riders come from third world countries. They came here to work so they could have enough money to send back to their wives and children so they could do stuff that we take for granted like go to school, go to the doctor, sometimes just to have money to eat.

For most of these guys, if they make a late delivery, they don’t get paid. That means they wasted an hour of their time dodging traffic in scorching heat for nothing. Some of them do ride crazy but it’s because of the pressure their employer puts on them. It’s not the fault of the riders, it’s the employers. You only have to look at how the employers send them out with no safety gear. These guys are just trying to support their families with a Damocles sword hanging over their head. If their delivery is 2 minutes late, their children might not eat that day.

If it’s a tyre balancing issue, it usually kicks in at a certain speed then gets worse the faster you go. It doesn’t tend to disappear when you go faster.

Same with wheel bearings. It kicks in at a certain speed and gets louder the faster you go. It doesn’t disappear when you go faster. 

I had a Lexus in a couple of years ago that did exactly this. I couldn’t find the problem so I told him to go for alignment. He didn’t come back to complain so maybe I guessed right but he didn’t come back so I don’t know but I don’t think it’s an issue with wheel balancing or bearings.

Question, does revs affect the sound? Or just the speed you are travelling?

I feel sorry for these guys. I know they are pushed hard and forced to make deliveries on time and ride like idiots sometimes but,

These guys are sent out on crappy 125cc bikes that are barely capable of keeping up with traffic and they are forced to drive the crappy little bike as fast as possible so they can get paid. They aren’t given any safety gear by their employers other than a helmet. I understand it’s too hot to wear a full power ranger suit but these guys aren’t even given basic stuff like gloves, boots, knee and elbow pads, back protectors. Most of them ride round in t shirts and sandals.

Last week I saw a crashed delivery bike on a bridge. No rider to be seen. The emergency services were checking over the sides looking for the rider. I didn’t stop but best guess he hit the edge and went over and fell 20 metres to his death. Yesterday I saw a bike and rider lying on the road with people standing around. From the way he was bent in half backward, his head was touching his heels, the poor guy was dead. 

I see stuff like this at least once a week.

Next time you order something, think about the poor guy who has to deliver it. If your food is 10 minutes late it’s ok, you won’t starve to death. There are people out there dying every day who are getting treated like disposable labour rather than human beings just to deliver your falafel sandwich.

34 minutes ago, Frederic said:

@Barry Remember the business you wanted to start ? Here you have it  

Let’s do it. Bring your cheque book 😂

I think it could be done better than that though. The generator should be inside the van. Towing a trailer around uses more fuel and will eat into our profits. 

If you’re going to buy a jack, spend a bit extra and buy a pair of axle stands also. They aren’t expensive and they could save your life. Folding ones are available for people who are short on storage space, like this,

I borrowed a trolley jack and axle stands a couple of weeks ago to do a small job for a friend. I jacked the car up and put a stand under to support it, then went under the car to do what I had to do. I left the Jack there as I usually do and when I came out from underneath, the jack had sunk to the floor. If it wasn’t for the axle stand, the car would have come down and crushed me. Not the first time this has happened to me either.

Supporting the car when it’s in the air is more important than getting it in the air. Don’t mess around with jacking up cars because accidents can and do happen.

On 9/22/2019 at 7:44 PM, Gaurav said:

Brilliant idea, but first decide who will pay for such service and then you will be in chicken and egg cycle.

The books/apps are paid for by whoever wants to buy them wether that be a dealer or end consumer. 

In the UK we have 2 books available. Glass’s Guide and Parker’s Price Guide. 

These are annually released books that show the guide price for all second hand cars graded on mileage and condition. Any decent second hand car dealer has both these books and uses them to price cars when buying and selling. 

It has to be more reliable than pricing cars based on dubizzle where dealers post fake cars that aren’t for sale to artificially inflate prices. 

Something like this could really shake up the market here although I admit it would be a hard sell. People are too brainwashed and set in their ways to accept anything new. 

Based on the J70 chassis and available in petrol and diesel V8

The 4.5 litre petrol engine only manages 202 bhp but it produces 317 lb ft of torque. Not a massive amount but respectable even if it is a low figure for this size of engine. What is impressive is that the engine produces this torque at 1,200 rpm. I imagine this engine will be super reliable due to its low stressed engine. 

Despite the size of the 4.5 litre engine it still manages 25 mpg which is impressive. I’ve had 2 litre cars which struggled to achieve this. 

Despite all the efforts Toyota made to build a fuel efficient, reliable overlander, they still managed to fit a set of seat covers that look like they came out of the cheapest accessory shop in Satwa. 

The kicker? The Landcruiser Namib is only available in South Africa. 

36 minutes ago, desertdude said:

Unfortunately they make it only in RHD and don't export it.

 

A lot of people in my country import them to strip the V12 and stick it into Supras.

Japan is weird. I love some of the cars they make but the market is weird. The JDM Mercedes are left hand drive, I’ve seen some being shipped to here. The consensus there is that if you have a LHD car it means you are rich so Stuttgart send the LHD cars to japan who send them back to UAE when they are finished with them. Same car, same specs, but the radio doesn’t work. Most cars you can reprogram the radio to a new country but in japan it’s locked because they don’t want it being reprogrammed to listen to police frequencies. Yakuza, ya know?

Post your car related childhood memories using pictures. 

Here are some of mine,

Twin Weber carburettors on everything, EFI is too new fangled and will break down

Tiger stripes are cool, especially if it’s a Ford

Rear window louvres OMG omg omg!

Leopard print seat covers. I bet they smell like expired fish, family friendly forum so no explanation 

CB radios. After Smokey and the Bandit everyone seemed to have one. Good way to talk to and meet random people before the internet 

Slotmags. If you didn’t have slot mags on your car you’re not in the scene

Insane body kits. Bigger wheel arches means you have a bigger .........