Phil Long’s blog - Teletranone

Gearbox sorted, oh yes! :) 

My car now doesn’t make horrid grinding noises, or anything. 

Initially I was panicked as I put my foot down yesterday after picking it up from the garage, and it didn’t seem to be putting much power. Then, later, I got an almight roar whenever I revved hard - which sounded very much like their was a hole in the exhaust.

It turns out the air feed pipe just prior to the dump( (or recirculation, not sure) valve had come loose. The same happened when Dom and I fitted the induction kit, so I’m guessing that when the mechanics took the gearbox off they didn’t fasten it properly. 

So, this evening I took some time out to sort it, and an older problem, out. Basically, at some point the pipe from the external cold-air feed has come off, so that needed re-attaching. Thankfully the part hadn’t fallen out, and I reclaimed it from the engine bay before taking the car in for the MOT and gearbox recondition. 

Battery out, jug of hot water to soften the rubber from the feed-pipe so it could be squeezed in to another, plastic, pipe and a short while later I had a cold air feed back to the K&N filter. I got the battery back in after some assistance from Dave (I think he helped mainly due to his frustration at how crap a job I was doing on my own ), and then re-attached the pipe that had previously come loose.

Took the car out to go to the chippy, put my foot down. Swoosh, fish, hiss… grumble. Yep, I hadn’t fastened the pipe tightly enough again. Got back, ate my food, and re-attached the pipe (far more securely this time) again by torch-light and took it for another spin - this time on the M62. And this time the pipe held.

It is a fantastic feeling driving that car now. First off, gone is the fear of the gearbox giving out at any moment. It’s nice to be able to hear the car properly - and hear the turbo in action (courtesy of the induction kit, I believe with the standard air box that would be silenced). It’s also got a hell of a lot more power. Perhaps it’s the gearbox able to put the power down better now, or just the fact that it is now getting a decent amount of air in. I’m no car (or turbo) guru, so I wouldn’t know for sure. Doesn’t matter - it’s great, and it gave me the adrenaline rush again that I got when I first put my foot down in it properly after buying it. Seems the turbo kicks in a bit before the 2.5k rpm it was previously. 

However, the story isn’t over yet. There is still a problem that kicks in when the turbo is really being pushed. It seems to stall for about a second, kick in and stall until you let off the power (though it seemed better when I put more power on again - I’ll need to test that properly, I think). Under ‘gentle’ turbo power it’s fine - and still better than it was previously - but something obviously isn’t right. Theories so far are either an exhaust problem - a hole meaning pressure isn’t being kept to keep the internal airflow going. Or, something wrong with the turbo itself (which is my least favourite option). 

If I don’t push it too hard, it isn’t a problem. So… that’d be a problem there, then, Ted…

In other, none-car, news. Yesterday Apple released a new iMac and video iPod. 

iMac wise they have this new ‘Front Row’ think with remote control which looks pretty interesting. Basically you can control iTunes for films/music and also view your photo library through a funky interface. Looks nice, and might work in my room next to my PC for when I’m playing WoW or something. But, ultimately, the iMac isn’t really the thing I want to do that job. The Mac Mini needs to do this too - so it can plug in to a TV and serve as a proper digital hub that’ll work with something more than the iMac’s tiny 20″ screen. A Mac Mini plugged in to a shiny 40″ plasma or something would be fantastic for people who like a decent home entertainment system. 

Video iPod-wise. Disappointing. I honestly don’t see much point in it. I don’t know what the target market is, other than gadget freaks, students, and people who use public transport. I suppose that might be a big enough market for Apple. I just don’t need to carry something like that anywhere I wouldn’t carry my PSP (which has a bigger screen). I’ll have my iPod anyway, so there’s no saving on number of gadgets. 

Further disappointment comes in the form of iTunes 6. All you get in the UK is music videos and trailers in the UK, while the USA has ABC on board (with Lost - which would be great to get first through iTunes). Hopes were, with the launch taking place at the BBC, that BBC content could be possible. It seems not, shame - I could have watched better quality versions of the second series of ‘The Might Boosh” than those streamed from their website.

So, all in all, would I be interested in a new iMac? Perhaps, but it’s not top of my list of priorities. New iPod? Nope, no reason to upgrade from the 60GB one I have now. iTunes 6? Nice to be able to drag my own movies in to it, but there are better media players available. Oh well. Here’s to Front Row on the Mac Mini…

Related posts: