Berlingo battles and DRKpers

[Northern_Mike]

Well, Currys turned up and replaced the cooker on Saturday, so that was nice.

If I remember correctly, I think I left the Berlingo with Citronut for some rest and recuperation from it's maladies last Thursday. It is now in a better condition than it was, but as it's still there and having it's ills fixed, I might not have it back for a few days yet. So far, I believe, it's had a new strut, spring, top mount bearing, balljoint boot and CV boot. It's awaiting 2 new rear wheel cylinders, the horn being wired in to a separate switch (the wiring has been arsed about with in the past, it's looking the simplest way to get a horn), and perhaps the sliding door handle being fixed so it opens from the inside. Then I'll be happy with it and take it to be remapped after Christmas when my wallet has recovered from the battering.

I had to use the DRK for work for a couple of days while Mrs Northern_Mike uses the C5. It refused to start in the sub-zero temps, then I remembered it had a choke. Not being used for a long time, the cable promptly snapped at the carb end. Some words were said, so I removed the cable in it's entirety - no mean feat, as it comes into the footwell and along a weird route to a lever down on the floor by your right leg (reachable, because of the low "legs stretched" seating position). As my extension lead has been commandeered for Christmas lights, this had to be done so I could get the dremel near the cable. I shortened it by about 8", and carefully cut the metal sleeving off. Rerouted it for the shorter length, refitted it and she started first time. It's not the most pleasant place to be in the cold, but with the roof on it's not as bad as you'd imagine. It actually gets quite warm after 10 mins or so because of heat soak from the engine and the various holes in the bulkhead. Still, I've ordered one of the little warm air blowers Jim recommended, and it will be getting a proper heater unit installed, along with some decent headlight bulbs and spot lights in the near future. I've also ordered an electric washer kit, so we might actually be able to see properly sometimes.

The C5 just keeps going. It occasionally cracks from the rear. Maybe I'll just leave it with Citronut when I pick the Berlingo up.... I do like it really, I've had to trail about up and down the place, and on the motorways today, and it really is a nice motorway car. Just needs more torque.

[CitroJim]

Gosh, a choke Been a long time since I've experienced one of those.. On a Metro I think although more recently perhaps on a lawn mower

I can imagine driving a DRK this weather is somewhat character-building

[citronut]

CV boot???? what CV boot???? aaah you mean the 1740mm x 6pk long rubbery thing with grooves along its inner surface ,

hope you dont get tooooooo cold in Derk whilst i have Bertie

you forgot to mention my discovery of the air horns in Bertie's N/S front bumper corner,

as i said to you on the phone i wondered if the air horn compressor connected to the slandered horn plug connector was the cause/start of the horn fault ?????,

the air horns were not connected when i first check this out, but someone i presume pre Northern Mikes ownership has fitted an after mere cat conventional horn the the slam panel above the N/S head lamp,

this horn works but not with the horn push on the steering wheel, but every time the side lights are switched on, well not straight away but a few seconds after

[addo]

No relay?

I am sure that sucking 30A through those puny little wires didn't help...

If you test fire the horn on Lexia, do you get 12V anywhere on the supply side?

[Northern_Mike]

I think I have , Addo and it didn't work. It's clearly had a (-expletive removed-) fiddling with it in the past. Lexia reported no errors with Comms 2000 but yet no horn or airbag, and this weird lights/horn interaction. For financial purposes, an auxiliary horn switch will have to do. When the manager gets her first full salary at the end of Jan I'll remove the comms and send it for investigation to the eBay chap. I suspect the wiring is broken, not the comms unit.

[Northern_Mike]

Well, the Berlingo is back. It's feeling much better to drive courtesy of Citronut's efforts.

New strut, strut boot, spring, top mount, bearing, rear wheel cylinders and auxiliary belt. I think that's it. I wasn't going to get it after I woke up late but eventually dragged myself out of bed and made the effort.

The C5 is now filling Malcolm's workshop to have the rear arm bearings done, and whatever ills Malcolm finds while he's dismantling the back end.

I can see why Jim likes the A21 so much. It'd be a stunning road for a drive if it weren't for other people on the road. Today it was mainly old biddies out for their yearly drive to deliver Christmas cards. Lethal. Last time I went down it took me about 90 mins. Today it took nearly 3 hours.

[CitroJim]

Excellent Mike

I can see why Jim likes the A21 so much. It'd be a stunning road for a drive if it weren't for other people on the road. Today it was mainly old biddies out for their yearly drive to deliver Christmas cards. Lethal. Last time I went down it took me about 90 mins. Today it took nearly 3 hours.

Yep, that's it!

[citronut]

I can see why Jim likes the A21 so much. It'd be a stunning road for a drive if it weren't for other people on the road. Today it was mainly old biddies out for their yearly drive to deliver Christmas cards. Lethal. Last time I went down it took me about 90 mins. Today it took nearly 3 hours.

when i worked at Whatlington garage ( H G Havaux's ) back in the 80's we had a kiosk Post Office in the forecourt shop,
so every Thursday we were inundated with pensioners, one little old lady used to do a three ( well maybe 10 ) point turn on the road ( A21 ) in front the garage,

this garage is situated just after a very sharp right hand bend, the old lady would not turn her car round on the forecourt were there was plenty of room,

the speed some people used to come around that bend, the forecourt was quite often demolished usually around 1 am Sunday morning by Londoners on route home from parties,

one time a motor cyclist hit the bend just slightly toooooo fast and lost it, you could see the chunks of concrete chipped out of the forecourt, from the bike bouncing across it on its side,

it then moved three cars sideways at the other end of the forecourt,

the pillion was found under the front of a 2CV dead by the paramedics, the rider came back down from London a couple of weeks later
( a friend drove him down ), arms/legs in plaster, he stood on the forecourt arguing with my boss's son saying he was only doing 30mph

[addo]

I missed a spectacular crash by seconds last week; driver swearing blind to the copper he wasn't being naughty. Maybe road chaos is a bit global at present.

[Northern_Mike]

I missed a spectacular crash by seconds last week; driver swearing blind to the copper he wasn't being naughty. Maybe road chaos is a bit global at present.

On Tuesday as we were going up the M40, I was in the middle lane doing about 65 (overtaking something) and I spotted *something* up ahead, that caught my eye - dust. Then it was just a big, big cloud of dust and smoke. I said "sh1t", braked and checked the mirror at the same time, and stuck the hazards on as there were bits of debris all over the carriageway. Turns out that a lorry a couple hundred yards ahead had blown a tyre and made a rare old mess. It was the second wheel on the right hand side of the tractor unit. the flailing rubber had smashed the fuel tank on that side. As was passed him when he was slowing to a stop, diesel was just pouring all over the road.

Would have been a bit more interesting if I'd been alone in the car doing 85 or 90, that's for sure.

Yesterday - Xmas day - the roads weren't that busy at all, but I encountered an amazing amount of utter dickheads, nearly all of them driving BMWs. I didn't go above 65 in nearly 400 miles. I never got in anyones way, and I never held anyone up. I was tailgated, properly tailgated 4 or 5 times. I think these cretins think that by driving 2 feet from my bumper, it's going to make me go faster. It never, ever works.

Other things I learnt - the Berlingo will do 92 miles at 65mph on cruise once the low fuel light comes on. There was no way I was paying 131/litre on the motorway when I know it's 115/litre near home.

It now drives straight and true, and handles much better now it's had the strut and spring etc replaced. The ride is harder though, and it's a bit more "crashy" at the front. I put this down to it having bouncy bouncy worn out old dampers before, and now they're a little less compliant, it's harder. It also seems to grip and turn into bends much better, so much so it caught me out by actually turning the first time I tried it at speed. I expected a bit of understeery wallow, and it just turned.

It drives much better overall, even if it STILL MAKES THAT BLOODY CLONK/TWANG when loading the suspension when turning right , onto a roundabout , for example - and it still only makes it once. This is nothing to do with Malcolm's work as it was the other side he was working on!

[Northern_Mike]

As for the DRK. It's sat on the drive. I've now found the correct bits to fit the front of the hood to the windscreen, which is a bonus (previously I'd been velcroing them on!) Haven't been out in it this week, I'll likely take it for a spin tomorrow. I meant to order one of the little dash heaters that Jim (and others) have just to take the edge off the misted window, but I forgot, and now it's just too cold!

[daviemck2006]

The better grip and sharper turn in is likely due to the toyos that you bought Mike. I found on both the c4 and the c5 that when I played around with my alloys that the toyos gripped much better than the pirellis. Ok they were 225/40/18, I had two toyo proxes and two pirelli p zero. The toyos are vastly superior tyres, in my opinion anyway.

[Northern_Mike]

The better grip and sharper turn in is likely due to the toyos that you bought Mike. I found on both the c4 and the c5 that when I played around with my alloys that the toyos gripped much better than the pirellis. Ok they were 225/40/18, I had two toyo proxes and two pirelli p zero. The toyos are vastly superior tyres, in my opinion anyway.

I think it had.. Bridgestones on it before, from the C5 that I had last year. They'd gone round the edges and I got an advisory on the MOT for it. I went for something with good wet grip, rather than anything else, as it rains so much here, and a Berlingo will never be a quiet motorway cruiser, so noise is pretty much irrelevant.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the only fit use for any Pirelli I've ever come across..

[daviemck2006]

I only had them as they came with the wheels. The ex has pirellis on her 107 when we got it and couldn't keep the thing on the road in the wet, beside the snow. I just did not move in the snow until we put on vredestein winter grips on it, and didn't bother taking them off in the summer, as by then I had sold the wheels with the pirellis on without her knowing. My lug is still sore and that was 4 years ago!!!!!!!

[Northern_Mike]

I grew up in a combination of the Rossendale Valley, where it rains a lot and the roads are crap. Greece, where the roads are just slippery and nasty, and lethal when it rains and lived in Brazil for a while too. I'm not unfamiliar with driving in the rain, or on a wet road. I rode a motorbike for years and had no car, and I generally managed to stay upright on it, even in the snow. I had a couple of falls, but they were my own fault for being a fool.

Imagine my surprise then, when I took my MX5 over a road I'd driven over literally 1000 or more times, for the first time, and it was raining. I got to a bend that I've driven at least 500 times (I drove back and forth over that road to work for a couple of years, bike and car) and it simply spat me off the road, narrowly missing a poor lady in an oncoming Audi, and writing my Mazda off with the impact with the banking and giving me a rare old rough ride for a while.

Now, I will freely admit that I was perhaps a little at fault - unfamiliar car, wet road. Reasonable visibility. I could have been more circumspect.

However, I was only doing 65-ish, and it's a sweeping left hander, that I would believe is possible at higher speed, wet or dry (like considerably higher) in such things as a Xantia TD, Lada 1200, Skoda Estelle, Mondeo 1.8LX.. BX 17D.. Jeep Cherokee.. You get the picture.

The difference? The Pirellis on the MX5. Utter rubbish. So bad in the wet as to be dangerous. I know this, because when I got my insurance payment, I went and bought another MX5, threw away the tyres and put 4 Avon ZV5s on it, and then next time we went up North when it was raining , got someone to go ahead to check the road was clear , and went round the same bend, in colder, wetter conditions, faster with no drama whatsoever. Not so much as a tiny slide. Nothing.

Shortly after that , we bought a really nice Puma for my wife, and that also had P-6000s on it. You could put 1/3 turn of lock on it on a wet roundabout and it would simply plough straight on, even at low speed. That got Toyos on it and it stuck like s**t to a blanket after that.