Druidic Dabblings and General Twaddle !!

[V8Druid]

this arrived yesterday as said .... too wet to be faffing with, ... so first job this morning .......... after I'd gotten back from MOT-ing Vicki's car, which passed with flying colours I am well pleased to report

so after a second crack at brekky ..... whipped the old pump out of where it lives .... and took it to meet the bench

relevant bits removed ...

cleaned and refitted to said new one ..

it got installed in its new home ....
ran like a watch and is doing a great job
struggled to get a barrow full of Pam's gardening detritus to co-operate with @Stock 's favourite toy ..... a flame, in the burning bin .... pint of kero and a bottle full of old chip pan oil helped the cause, no end
then got me crawling mats out for a limbo under the P38, to give all the relevant bits some squirt, in preparation for their removal .... just got under there and the bloody phone rings ..... half an hour later I try again .... and no it wasn't Rory, for a change

managed to get quite a few slacked off, including what i was anticipating being the worst of the lot ... the six on the two manifold down pipes ... sweet as , much to my relief ... did not wanna be ripping manifolds off to sort snapped studs ......
Pam put paid to yet another hour .... after lunch and by the time it was starting to get dark, I'd gotten everything loose enough for a rip it to bits session ..... tomorrow, ..... just as it started to lash down, ..... YET AGAIN
forecast is looking favourable for the a.m., apart from -2C so will hopefully have it wrapped tomorrow
New 'puter demanded a re-start last night for updates ..... bloody W10 ... and having conceded to its demands, the damned thing was still getting its head together well over 12 hours later ...... and I was wondering if it was gonna come back ????
presented me with this about 5 o'clock ..... the blue screen of death appears to have a friendlier face these days

not a happy Druid .... so it had to have it

and eventually came up with this ...

so having waited waaaaaaaaaay too long for it to do what it demands gets done regularly ..... it wimped out......... but at least it returned and I'm on it ATM
Alex @Cyberprog may be getting a bit 'bored' with my incessant Q.s as tro how/why/WTF do I do/etc., but fair play, he keeps replying
quite WTF I am gonna do about its inevitable next demand, I'm waiting to hear .....
but it ain't having a lot of luck with these ........ an' you all reckon 'steam power' was suspect

and just to p**s me off completely, yon 'net decided to abandon me , 'til 21.00 this evening ..... Conversation with Josh at SSE in the morning ...... Openreach/BT's shite lines and joints've had a thorough wetting these last 48 hrs or so ...... wouldn't stay up long enough to get a page up ... even at the speed this new weapon functions at
anyway .... early night tonight, after me co pilot had me up at half four last night, howling fit to wake the dead (and sleeping Druids) .... charged down here to find him ........................ sat beside an empty dish, demanding to be fed !!!!!!

 

[Alan caddy]

I would be filling his bowl every night now before bed

 

[V8Druid]

I would be filling his bowl every night now before bed

I do .... he may be old, doddery and fragile, but he continues to eat for Wales

 

[maz]

I do .... he may be old, doddery and fragile, but he continues to eat for Wales

Is that what the missus says about you?

 

[V8Druid]

well I was all set to get the motor done and the bits to bolt these to.....

........ attached this morning ...... 'til a certain party arrived unexpectedly .... and wanted to do 'the rounds' ...

followed by ten minutes in the Ju Cu Bu and then ... a clamber about on her favourite ...

before taking up her usual position ....

was a bit alarmed when she said "Grand dad, have you got the keys ?" ........ 'tain't gonna be long

Granny eventually rescued my morning and they went off for a walk ..... and i got to get on .....
first off ....

after a few minutes with a thin disc on the bolts ...
quick comparison ....

Looked good ......... then half a dozen phone calls later, including a brief one from Mr Mog, I slung it under the car and persuaded it back into where the old un'd come from .... dogged the back end and nipped the front to maintain the alignment for the Y piece and cats ...... and then it lashed it down ... not forecast at all ...... neither was the white shite that's been coming down either, since.

....... looking good for tomorrow though, other than the temp.s ... -3C start and end to it, but a blue sky day, so I am really hoping to get the front bit done, once I get the cross member out the way, after I come up with a support for the G/box
issue with this is the fact that the air suspension moves ... 'swhy i nipped the front joint ... so's i can run it up in the a.m. to get it full up, as I did this morning, 'fore taking it to bits .... same issues with supporting the box ..... needs to be suspended from the chassis, or it all ends up sat on the box support !!!
the cats shouldn't take long -- 's all loose ... once I'm ready to get t'old one out and down

 

[V8Druid]

Is that what the missus says about you?

I won't embarrass you Maz

 

[V8Druid]

well they weren't wrong about the weather this morning .... sun was out alright ....

but minus 3C ..

... but it was gonna have to have it .......

wind was whistling under there today and from the north .......
ran her up, got the air full up and locked the suspension, fore sussing a set of cribbing to support the g/box and proceeded to whip the cross member out ... thought I'd slacked all the fixings off ..... but'd missed one and there is always one ****er ... .... an hour later after I'd managed to grind the head off it in an almost inaccessible spot ...
bought a little 3" grinder a while back ... glad I did ... wouldn't have gotten anything else other than a die grinder in there .. dinky little thing .... won't stick it like a 4", but a hell of a lot better than a file

and no .. that's not my lily white danny
any way .... bar-ed the cross member out after I'd cribbed the box .... and extracted the Y piece and cats ..... bit of a lump !!

new one compared very favourably, so after i'd cleaned the ends of the cross member of half a mil of rust .. ditto its chassis mounts, i offered this slightly lighter lump up

got the right side on the manifold and the tail end on the ctr box .... only to find the left side needed a rotational tweak .... right side back off .... tweak and mount the left, persuade the right side into line and dog it all up ........ followed by some serious persuasion of the cross member back into spot .....
I am by now officially 'kin cold ... frost was back down and had only been hovering around 1C all day ..... but was determined to finish this today .... everything dogged into place ... new O2 sensors installed and ran it up at 2000rpm for 10 minutes to give the cats there inaugural cooking ..... was nice and warm inside the car and didn't really wanna get back out to tidy up .... but was damned near dark, bloody cold and tea was approaching ...... dumped everything in a box, locked up and headed indoors for some heat .......
these two were taking the pi** in front of the Morso

It's still up in the air .... but can sort that in the morning

 

[pettsy]

It's still up in the air .... but can sort that in the morning

It’s a land rover on air, you hope it’s still up

 

[Lancs Lad]

well they weren't wrong about the weather this morning .... sun was out alright ....
View attachment 21260
but minus 3C ..
View attachment 21261
... but it was gonna have to have it .......
View attachment 21262
wind was whistling under there today and from the north .......
ran her up, got the air full up and locked the suspension, fore sussing a set of cribbing to support the g/box and proceeded to whip the cross member out ... thought I'd slacked all the fixings off ..... but'd missed one and there is always one ****er ... .... an hour later after I'd managed to grind the head off it in an almost inaccessible spot ...
bought a little 3" grinder a while back ... glad I did ... wouldn't have gotten anything else other than a die grinder in there .. dinky little thing .... won't stick it like a 4", but a hell of a lot better than a file
View attachment 21263
and no .. that's not my lily white danny
any way .... bar-ed the cross member out after I'd cribbed the box .... and extracted the Y piece and cats ..... bit of a lump !!
View attachment 21264
new one compared very favourably, so after i'd cleaned the ends of the cross member of half a mil of rust .. ditto its chassis mounts, i offered this slightly lighter lump up

View attachment 21265
got the right side on the manifold and the tail end on the ctr box .... only to find the left side needed a rotational tweak .... right side back off .... tweak and mount the left, persuade the right side into line and dog it all up ........ followed by some serious persuasion of the cross member back into spot .....
I am by now officially 'kin cold ... frost was back down and had only been hovering around 1C all day ..... but was determined to finish this today .... everything dogged into place ... new O2 sensors installed and ran it up at 2000rpm for 10 minutes to give the cats there inaugural cooking ..... was nice and warm inside the car and didn't really wanna get back out to tidy up .... but was damned near dark, bloody cold and tea was approaching ...... dumped everything in a box, locked up and headed indoors for some heat .......
these two were taking the pi** in front of the Morso
View attachment 21266

It's still up in the air .... but can sort that in the morning

I can relate, was under my truck last night, bf cold used to swear by these for exhaust jobs: https://www.sipuk.co.uk/sip-07204-3-cut-off-tool-4cfm.html . Very handy

 

[V8Druid]

I can relate, was under my truck last night, bf cold❄ used to swear by these for exhaust jobs: https://www.sipuk.co.uk/sip-07204-3-cut-off-tool-4cfm.html . Very handy

yeh got a couple of them .... great for chopping up exhausts, but this was a cross member bolt in an appalling position to get at ... TBH was real lucky it was where it was - t'others'd have been a nightmare ... will get a pic 'fore i drop it off the ramps ..... didn't take many yesterday ... was too intent on beating the dark and was so ****ing cold I just wanted to get done

 

[V8Druid]

It’s a land rover on air, you hope it’s still up

aye ....... it'll be up though ... still locked up, so no valves active, doing the 'I'm gonna self level if it kills me' bit ... total PITFA .... park it on a pea and it'll jiggle about 'til it's on the bump stops. fkn stupid set up .... should've been designed to just sit where it's put. instead of having to wait for it to make air and get its head together every time you get in it..... drive off 'fore it has and it'll go into EAS fault mode and need plugging in

 

[V8Druid]

wasn't the greatest of days to do a lot yesterday ....

but could've been a lot worse ... 'kin cold though and snowed on/off all day
did get a pic .. sort of of the offending bolt location ... 'fore i got it down off its place on high and put the ramps and blocks away

would've taken it for its re-test today ..... but the drive's like a sheet of ice still ... no point in risking it as it's forecast a lot warmer tomorrow

 

[diggerjones]

I do question your need to get it done in this weather. Why just leave it till summer. Then every year after you can lie under it in comfort

 

[V8Druid]

I do question your need to get it done in this weather. Why just leave it till summer. Then every year after you can lie under it in comfort

it's a nice idea Dyl, but it lapses in January ..... used to be beginning of November ........ 'til i forgot about it one year

 

[Jimbo69]

it's a nice idea Dyl, but it lapses in January ..... used to be beginning of November ........ 'til i forgot about it one year

Just “forget” again until the summer My van has went from March til December now. I’ll soon have gained a year

 

[Jimoz]

You missed your chance to get the 6 months extension and you could of completely changed the season! My missus drove hers round on the MOT extension due to corona, it needed some work anyway and while there the guy did a pre MOT check - all the repair work was invoiced so we have receipts if any bumps and insurers asked any questions.

Seeing that blue screen of death made me so glad i've been on Mac for the last 5 or so years. God i remember windows could be a PITA when it wanted to. Like trying to find a driver for a printer or something daft like that

 

[V8Druid]

the '6 month extension' applied to essential use only guys ..... Mate of mine has an MOT shop .... two of his regulars wrote off their fairly new-ish vehicles, 'fore their 1st MOTs (which were due) ..... both were 'wives' driving, going no where 'essential' ..... insurers walked away ...... no valid MOT ... uninsured - end of!!!

 

[Lancs Lad]

the '6 month extension' applied to essential use only guys ..... Mate of mine has an MOT shop .... two of his regulars wrote off their fairly new-ish vehicles, 'fore their 1st MOTs (which were due) ..... both were 'wives' driving, going no where 'essential' ..... insurers walked away ...... no valid MOT ... uninsured - end of!!!

Yup heard the same, insurers issued notice saying no MOT no insurance despite what DVLA said. I find these days insurance takes priority over HSE,council and other regs workwise, they say jump we say how high sadly...

 

[V8Druid]

Yup heard the same, insurers issued notice saying no MOT no insurance despite what DVLA said. I find these days insurance takes priority over HSE,council and other regs workwise, they say jump we say how high sadly...

aye ...... unless you were using it to travel to/from essential work .... you weren't covered and that was the only journeys that were .... plus it also meant that people could re-tax their vehicles, if 'stood up' on a highway they were covered - as long as they had a current VED .... other wise had to be SORNed and taken off the highway for storage on private ground (like driveway) until MOT-ed and re-taxed ...... it was most definitely not the 'extension' it was vaunted to be

 

[pettsy]

it was most definitely not the 'extension' it was vaunted to be

I chanced it 6months on my weekend runabout before it was retested.....but who pulls up white transit tippers