Barry

Let's probe @DiamondDallas 😬

Sent. Let us know what you think. 

If anyone has heard of the new drivetribe site. It's run by Clarkson, Hammond and May of Top Gear fame, now of The Grand Tour. I have an exclusive invite code. Requires Facebook for registration though and I don't have Facebook and have no intentions of signing up. If anyone wants the code shout out and you can get exclusive access to the site. First come first served. 

The second and the fourth one are kinda hot 😊

Back home we brake test tailgaters. 

In my opinion, it's never ok to use the hard shoulder for driving. It's for broken down cars only and anyone driving on it to save a few minutes on a journey is extremely selfish. 

Nothing mechanical, only music ones. 

Tyre pressures are usually on a sticker inside the door or inside the fuel flap. As said, it's probably better just to follow what the manufacturer recommends. Although if you're running, aftermarket wheels or a different size of tyres from standard, the manufacturer standards don't apply. 

If you put a couple of extra psi in from standard, it can help to increase fuel mileage but at the expense of grip. Conversely, if you let the pressure down a bit, you will have better grip but less mileage. 

Putting more air in the tyres makes it easier to do huge burnouts too 😊

Be aware that many of the cheaper scan tools will only show generic obd codes related to the engine. They will not be able to read many of the electrical systems of the car. 

The coolant sensor sends a signal to the cars ecu to help it determine fuelling. A faulty sensor can causing misfuelling can bring on all sorts of issues, some being,

high fuel consumption 

fouled spark plugs

damaged catalytic converter 

Flushing with gas is a waste of time. You never get everything out, especially if you're cleaning through the valves. The only real way to do it is to take everything apart and clean all the parts individually using a solvent cleaner like the one below and dry air. Ordinary compressor air is no good as it contains water, however air from a paint booth which is fitted with an air dryer would be fine. It's important to clean the system after changing a compressor. You wouldn't believe how many particles are introduced into the system from a dying compressor until you run solvent through and see the colour of it when it comes out again. Cleaning only one part such as the condenser is also a waste of time because as soon as you recharge the system and operate it, all the crap from the rest of the system will contaminate it again. 

If you're buying a "sheepers" edition, make sure to do a carfax check online. A lot of those "sheepers" editions are write offs, water and accident damage etc brought in from America and rebuilt. You might be able to take a tape measure and find one side of the car an inch shorter than the other or other similarly crazy stuff. 

I disagree. Oil changes are one of the simplest things you can do. Check out this guide I wrote on the advice section,

There are lots of good advices on that section of the forum, have a look and see what you can learn, watch videos on YouTube. You can learn a lot of theory on the internet but you need to start doing things and getting your hands dirty to learn properly. 

If you have a tame mechanic, ask them if you can watch them work and get them to explain things to you. A lot of mechanics won't do this so if you find a friendly one, take care of him. 

I second that the pentastar engine is best avoided. I wouldn't touch one with somebody else's barge pole. 

1:20 this is the reality of it. How do you spell doomed?

Again, pity it's such short notice and I already have plans or I would have loved to go

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/mclaren/97731/three-seat-mclaren-bp23-hyper-gt-confirmed-in-first-image

Driverless cars on the road are a stupid idea but this machine takes things to a whole new level!

http://7days.ae/uae-cops-eye-speedy-robot-bike/96721

The last era of properly built mercs. I used to own a 190E of similar vintage. Fantastic thing. It was like driving a sailboat on the road, just wafting along. Before I came to UAE I was asked to restore a 2 door 500 SEC but I never got around to it. I can only imagine if you had one back in the day it would have been something pretty special. It still is something pretty special today but now it's within reach of the ordinary working man. I love old mercs, have worked on and restored many of them including pagodas, fintail saloons, pontons, 600 SEL with the famous 6.3 V12 engine (had air suspension before it was cool!) 190 SLs, even an original 300 SL Gullwing. One of my favourites was a W114. Half way through the rebuild just after the bodywork was finished, the owner decided he wanted to fit a rollcage, racing seats and full running gear from a 190E Cosworth. That was a fun car!

There's always the option of removing the end of the valve and replacing it with coconut shell 😂

@Rahimdad it could run for a long time and not have many issues or it could run for a short time and have many issues. I wouldn't like to speculate. 

Some of the potential issues of a leaking valve could be,

Intial low power. You're only running on 5 and a bit cylinders rather than 6. 

CO, NOx, HC etc readings will be off. Bad exhaust gas readings picked up by the lambda sensor can cause fuelling issues, leading to more bad running.

Bit of the valve could break off and fall into the cylinder, damaging piston crown and or cylinder wall. 

Bore wash. Because the fuel is not being burnt properly, it can remove the lubrication and cause scoring. 

Again, because the fuel isn't being burnt properly, some of it can end up in the sump mixed with the engine oil. If the oil isn't changed regularly, this thinner oil/fuel mix doesn't lubricate properly and can damage all sorts of things. 

Again unburnt fuel. It can enter the catalytic converter and decrease efficiency. 

There is a chance of head/block distortion if the cylinders are running at different temperatures. 

The timing is 100% spot on. I know because I did it myself and I have 100% faith in my work. After cleaning the lifters, refitting the cams and fitting new timing belt, tensioner and pulleys, I spun the engine twice, checked the timing, spun it twice and checked it again and everything was good. When another professional investigates properly, they will come up with the same diagnosis as I did, main misfire caused by a leaking exhaust valve on the centre cylinder on the drivers side. Some of the other valves aren't good but this one is the main problem which I advised on before carrying out any work. No amount of magic potions or quick fixes will cure this. The only solution is to remove the head and repair the valves. 

Peugeot 305 van

I saw one of these, didn't think to take a picture. Must be pretty rare as I've never saw one before. And surely only having 2 doors defeats the point of a Camry?

This is good. When I came here I was shocked by the amount of rubbish lying around. People just seem to drop everything on the ground even when there is a bin 10 metres away. Sadly though, these are also the same people who would shit in their own garden at home and it will be very hard to train them to civility.