craigowl

Only joking with you Mawrick, anyway. The (Scottish) nationalist party are always saying "look at Norway - we could be like them - they have oil of their own, too!" :bad-words: :lol:

Is it not mainly an environmental thing? The gases are truly noxious and carcinogenic (dont get them in the car!). I would be embarassed knowing my car was belching out that stuff into a country known for its almost pristine natural beauty and clean air. (Just my opinion). Maybe you are in the oil industry? :eek: :wink:

We were with them for decades and never had a problem with them. They once met us on the pier at Ardrossan after cylinder head gasket started to fail on Polo on Isle of Arran and took us and car home to other side of Scotland. Annual fees expensive though. Because I was fussy about my cars (all new in those days) and spotted problems early, felt I was subsidising those who run about in junk heaps and dont care. Too big for their boots now? When I retired we joined civil service motoring association outfit at a much lower price. Brittania, IIRC. When C broke down in High Street due to fuel pump failure, one of their co-operating garages was with me in 20 minutes with trailer, correctly diagnosed fault and took me to local garage I use. There is better value for money out there. Dont know about tyre problems, though.

Come on guys, calm down, calm down, will yer. Not worth getting to a state where steam is coming out of one's ears. Your pooled knowledge is vital on the forum to others whatever conflicting views you may have. I once asked on the forum if anyone personally knew of catastrophic damage to a VR6 engine due to chain failure - no one did at that time. I understand the theory - I know what could happen. If I am caught out by having this chains damage happen - so be it. Being lucky enough to own another car I will not be curling up and dying. As for the headlight switch, I bought the in-line parts in Maplins the other day and will do this mod. So, at the end of the day, we non-experts make our own decisions and opt for whatever measures we feel are value for money or may prevent a Corrado conflagration on the motorway. :)

I think my aux pump only comes on when engine is hot. No? e.g. if you turn ignition after stopping on a run you can hear it. Not 100% certain of that at the moment, though. June 1995 VR6.

Awesome quality - - everything! Well done!

Relax - dont throw £one grand at it. VW say chains do not have a recommended mileage for replacement. I believe if car is/has not been making a noise, and has been oil-changed as recommended, forget it, particularly if you are not in the habit of thrashing the engine. As for being futureproofed, do you seriously believe we will be able to run about in 2.9 litre "old engine technology" petrol cars at a cost you can afford in a few years time? I reckon we will be taxed off the road. Sad but that seems inevitable IMO.

Give us a much bigger pic of circled area, man.

As I understand it, the aux pump is to keep coolant circulating when engine is "very hot". Continued circulation of coolant prevents "hot spots" from forming, and consequent risk of the head warping.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_String_Band I was 20 in 1965, so know of them. Fairport Convention and Pentangle were other great UK bands in the genre. Never bought any records by any of them, but an older couple we had round for drinks on Saturday night were overwhelmed when I hauled out four vinyl LPs (one of 'em Mono) of their favourites, the Corries. Didnt have the heart to tell 'em I went right off them about forty years ago! Good instrumentalists, though. A lady from Edinburgh that worked for me some years ago was a neighbour of Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band. Next door to me here in Linlithgow, former neighbours knew guitarist Davy Graham. Not a fan of novelty/humerous songs like Hedgehog - I'd rather hear something that makes me cry into my beer :cry: . Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, must be one of the greatest creations the UK/England has produced. Nothing less than them will do for me where humerous songs are concerned.

Still using originals - 15 years old. Flawless running. IMO faffing about with aftermarket sooper dooper leads is a waste of time and money. Just a phase you'll grow out of, as I did!

Can accept your view that this could be seen as an over reaction. :shrug: Takes all kinds... Wonder what motivates Majik?

The US car industry is in a mess (anyone see that documentary on Detroit "motor city"? - post apocalyptic :shock: ) So those selfish, overpaid "mad men" in advertising must think they have been a bit cute in targetting a non-US car.

Bad taste :pukeright: Modern consumerism, anything old can be gleefully trashed. Are they racist - why not use a Packard or Buick?

Passed MOT today. Time for a celebration!

Very nice, Alex - like them a lot! Fragile, delicate sounding females, who may also write outstanding songs were epitomised a long time ago by the incredibly talented Janis Ian. Bound to recognise "At Seventeen" - Sums up teenage angst in a masterpiece. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClgfwBMsB1w WIKI Music career At the age of thirteen, Ian wrote and sang her first hit single, "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)," about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers: the girl ultimately decides to end the relationship, claiming the societal norms of the day have left her no other choice. Produced by George "Shadow" Morton and released three times between 1965 and 1967, "Society's Child" finally became a national hit on its third release, after Leonard Bernstein featured it in a TV special titled Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution.[2] The song's lyrical content was taboo for some radio stations, and they withdrew or banned it from their playlists accordingly; in her 2008 autobiography Society's Child, Ian recalls receiving hate mail and death threats as a response to the song, and mentions that a radio station in Atlanta that played it was burned down. In the summer of 1967, "Society's Child" reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. Apparently "Society's Child" was too hot for Atlantic Records as well at the time. Ian relates on her website that, although the song was originally intended for Atlantic and the label paid for her recording session, the label subsequently returned the master to her and quietly refused to release it. Years later, Ian says, Atlantic's president at the time, Jerry Wexler, publicly apologized to her for this. The single and Ian's 1967 eponymous debut album were finally released on Verve Forecast; her album was also a hit, reaching #12. In 2001, "Society's Child" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which honors recordings considered timeless and important to music history. Her early music was compiled on a double CD entitled Society's Child: The Verve Recordings in 1995. Many of these songs are extremely sad; a common theme is feeling badly treated by one's parents. Her most successful single in the United States was "At Seventeen," released in 1975, a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty, the illusion of popularity, and teenage angst, as reflected upon from the maturity of adulthood. "At Seventeen" was a smash, receiving tremendous acclaim from critics and record buyers alike — it charted at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female beating out Linda Ronstadt, who was nominated for her Heart Like a Wheel album; Olivia Newton-John; and Helen Reddy. Ian performed "At Seventeen" as a musical guest on the debut of Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975. The song's album, Between the Lines, was also a smash and hit #1 on Billboard's Album chart. It was quickly certified Gold and later earned a 'Platinum' certification for sales of over one million copies sold in the US. Another measure of her success is anecdotal: on Valentine's Day 1977, Ian received 461 Valentine cards, having indicated in the lyrics to "At Seventeen" that she never received any as a teenager.[4]

Grateful thanks to the electrical wizards :salute: (pleeze to make sure you keep zose droopy sleeves out of way, yes?) :wink: Clever diodes in switch - sure - but plastic is made of dried snot from Westphalian cows.

I believe there is a spare connector hangs about in the UK VR6 which is spare. Often reported on here - others will come on and confirm, I am sure.

"....abused by a thousand owners..", too.

Waste coffee grounds - ah all is clear. Thanks for that phil.

Yes, I saw that but missed the start. Rather him than me - what a hellish journey as the power kept failing in dense traffic. Car looked cool, though! Missed how the energy was generated - how did coffee work?

Something controversial here. and now.................................... Wonderwall (good - honest!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx7XMOTbo20 Big bands are great, though. These grow on you. :wink: Great songs, too, from 80s and 90s. Can't stop playing the album I got a few months ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yYqtBXh ... re=related Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun has awesome orchestral arrangement. The comments by the irritated Cobain groupies on youtube are so predictable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuTbB-d12A0&feature=fvw When I was 12 :ignore: This guy was hotter than Elvis. Diana was No1 for weeks. That sax riff emanated from tenement windows everywhere :lol: I think he was about 17. Canadian/Italian. Great writer - wrote "My Way" for Sinatra.

A good tip to see how your brakes, bearings etc. are behaving is to carefully touch the wheels or discs after you get out after a journey of any length. The brake(s) or whatever that is/are behaving badly will be much hotter than the others. Sometimes you can detect a smell like horsesh!t :) either coming in the car or when you are standing near one with burning brake pads or linings. After decades of sniffin' I can tell the smell immediately! :cuckoo:

Mine were binding more after the car sat around through this winter. A previous MOT mentioned it, too, as an advisory. I have had all calipers replaced. They were the original 15-year old ones. Expensive, but you cant expect them to go on forever. You will be warping your new discs with the scorching heat and fuel consumption suffers, too. Peugeot 205 we had for 19-years had the problem regularly. Garage cleaned them up well each time but the problem kept returning. You may have to keep fixing them yourself (life is short!) or pay someone to do it. If you can afford it and they are the originals I would replace them.

You haven't had the front grill off recently, have you? A couple of years ago, when I reassembled the front end after replacing some cooling system parts, one fog light wasnt working at the MOT - he failed it after putting in fuse which blew. I took grill off and repositioned wires to all lights more carefully and no trouble since. I think a short was going on somewhere.