Black smoke from a 106?

Hi,

We are still trying to pin down a cheap runabout for my step Daughter to that end my (mechanic) mate looked last night at the L Reg, 1.1 (I think) 58k Pug 106 that is owned by her cousin's wife and has sat on his drive for the last 3 years.

Apparently it's in fairly good shape bodywise and interior (nothing growing through the seats like the last car he looked at for someone) but he suggested something might be up with the fuel management (black smoke from exhaust etc) and if so the fix *could* be costly (injector pump head (?) .. especially compared with the value of the car), more so if it's also polluted the cat?

He also mentioned he doesn't think he had the interface for that model for his Suntune thingy so might have to stick it into the Mail Dealer for their diagnostics (he also said the diags were 'very basic' on that model of that age).

The current suggestion is for my mate to put it through the MOT for us (he doesn't do MOTs himself) to see if there is anything else (apart from emissions, predictably) it fails on and if they are expensive jobs then at least the current owner would know what to put on the eBay advert? He was looking for a couple of hundred for it but would be 'very flexible' if it sorts her out with a car and get's it off his drive. ;-)

So, is there a typical / known / common fault that would fit the above smoke please, is there a known / vfm cure or do we 'move along' ?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. We previously thought it was a 2d but is actually a 4/5d and the previous owner was my rele's sensible young missus so I don't think it's been thrashed, by her at least (thinking engine wear / rings / valve stem seals etc here but wouldn't that be white smoke?)

Reply to
T i m
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"T i m" wrote

Could be injector pump or timing, it could be overfuelling, or there is a mechanical issue with the engine but whatever it is, it won't be worth fixing on an L-reg 106 so I would move on.

In any event, a car which has sat on a drive unused for three years is going to give you no end of grief.

Reply to
Knight Of The Road

Everything you've said screams "move along" to me. ;-) It's not like there's a huge shortage of secondhand small cars.

Another Tim

Reply to
Tim Downie

;-)

Cheers guys.

I guess the only things I thought might be in it's favour were that it's a small 4dr that's pretty clean and more importantly a 'known quantity' (ie within the family so no cut-n-shut job etc).

FWIW *I*, would probably actually do any work that needs doing (in my mates garage and under his supervision) and therefore the labour won't cost anything (as such).[1]

So where does one look for something small in the sub 500 quid bracket where you can get any comfort factor re it's history?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. When I spoke to the owner the second time re the MOT idea he sorta hinted it could cost her nothing ..

[1] I'm going to be upgrading his PC soon as his AutoData system is going 'online' and I'll be doing it free as usual. ;-)
Reply to
T i m

There's a lot of Tims around here, but you wouldn't happen to be the one who asks for advice and then totally ignores it, on a range of topics from snake oil to spring lengths, would you?

It's a lemon. A dog. A nail. In fact, it's a small yellow fruit attached to a canine with a length of pointed steel.

The cat (no, not a metaphor) will almost certainly be buggered if it's belching s**te out the back, and before you ask, no, "cataclean" won't fix it. So you've got whatever is buggered plus what else has been buggered as a result to buy and fit. That's before approaching any of the other potential disasters from lack of movement for three years.

Christ, there's been similar age and size of cars in actual working order with tax and test on them go through Freecycle, why persist with the notion of resurrecting this piece of unloveable crap?

Reply to
Stuffed

The message from "Tim Downie" contains these words:

You try finding small automatics with power steering. Like hens' teeth, they are.

Reply to
Guy King

Guy King ( snipped-for-privacy@zetnet.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Quite.

But there's no mention of this 106 being an auto - but there is mention of it being a 1.1, whilst an auto box was only available with the 1.6 engine.

Reply to
Adrian

Punto (Bo!) Selecta?

Reply to
SteveH

Like the Fiat Panda, you mean?

Or the Ford Fiesta, Nissan Micra, Renault Modus, Vauxhall Corsa...

Reply to
Paul Cummins

Pass. But to make that huge outrageous assumption you would have to be aware of the outcome wouldn't you? [1]

Or are you suggesting one should simply accept the first answers given on the usenet (specifically a *discussion* group) as fact?

We will see (but thanks for your colourful feedback). ;-)

Understood (and if the source of the 'belching s**te' turns out to be a £5 item then a new cat could be a small price to pay for a (potentially) then fully MOTable 4dr economical runabout?

Never heard of it so ...

So no one has ever cheaply 'used' a vehicle that has been standing for a while?

And you know they are all in better condition than this 106?

More assumptions I guess. Unless your by your definition of 'persist' you mean the ohsodifficult task of getting someone else to MOT it?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. FWIW I've had a quick scan though all the posts you mention and your only contribution seems to be to my Snake Oil thread (my title remember) where you sited:

"

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Scroll down about 3/4 of the page to the fuel additives section."

Now that from what I can see that seems to discredit similar devices to the 'Fuel Cat' (but not that product specifically so could be an entirely different product for all I know) re increased mpg or engine power, whereas I was only interested re the use of unleaded fuel in a non 'unleaded' engine? No wonder you thought I ignored your advice (which I didn't and I thanked you for it).

[1] Anyway, of my recent posts:

M&S Tyres: I have just received a reply (as in 'this morning') from Marangoni (as per my request for 185/80/14 tyres re "Waddya think of mytyres.co.uk" thread on 04/06/2007 and as per suggested by SteveH) where they say:

"Thank you for your enquiry. You may or may not be aware that the Meteo Grip E+ is a tyre to be used in only the harshest of winter conditions. These tyres tend to only be available within the UK in Scotland however, should these be the tyres that you require we can look into sourcing these for you."

Also, I believe The Wanli S1010 may be a cheaper substitute and I've have also only just got confirmation that said are NOT 'van' tyres (in that they said by phone that 'because it doesn't mention that on their web site they *probably* wouldn't be' (but added I could get a full refund if they weren't suitable)?

'Soopa Toobs' also do a very radical 185/80/14 remould but they may not clear the arches / inner wings with their extra sidewall tread and heavy (noisy?) pattern.

'Coilovers': I believe Rally Designs and similar coilover kits to be suitable and apart from choosing the actual spring am probably going for that option, subject to confirming the space around the new tyres (see above). I also needed to know the free movement of the damper (now understood to be 4.5") the load on the spring (need to get car on the weighbridge to do that) and the specifications of the chosen spring (to ensure it doesn't get coilbound on full compression) before I could get close to knowing if they would be possible / practical for my car and my (fairly unique) needs.

'Snake Oil' : I have since enquired about getting the hardened valve seats fitted in the existing 1300 XFlow and the new exhaust valves the job would be about £150. I'm not proceeding until I've stripped the

1600X flow I have as that may have already had the job done (I bought it ages ago but never fitted it).
Reply to
T i m

Out of interest did they do ps on the 1.1 at_all and if so were they common would you know Adrian (ie, is it likely this 1.1 has it)?

Our old 2L GL Estate didn't have ps and I can't ever remember it being an issue, so I think it must depend on the make / model if ps is an essential or not?

All the best ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

Similar to any half decent, cheap 'small car' according to my mate who is looking out for a couple for his customers.

All the best ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

T i m ( snipped-for-privacy@spaced.me.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Tim...

FORGET THIS SHED OF A 106. IGNORE IT. BIN IT.

Reply to
Adrian

I nearly bought a Punto after a 'hard to please' mate hired one on holiday in Scotland and loved it.

I think something came along cheap via the family (1.4i Belmont) so we never got to try the Punto ourselves.

All the best ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

I quite like the Panda's, especially the 'Fire engine'd' ones in fact had one for a few months.

I passed it on to a biker mate for the winter and he painted it Army green. ;-)

It ended up at Duxford Aerodrome and was used for running about 'on-site' and eventually had a Tank 'accidentally' drive over it on an open day! ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

I hear what you say Adrian but it's not totally down to me.

Step daughter needs a car quick (Astra diesel has probable cracked head).

Her cousin has one (it didn't really matter what it was within reason) and it could potentially be free to her (plus work 'unknown' till after MOT).

They are going to have it put through the MOT and what if it passes and is a 'nice drive', would it still be a 'shed' or could it be cheap basic 'transport' for someone with little money or car interest for a couple of years?

(Respectfully) If you or anyone here who lives a reasonable distance of Nth London can actually offer anything better ('known, (potentially) free, clean, legit, low mileage etc') that's reasonably economical and cheap to ensure then please let us know asap!

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. Her Dad has offered her his old Caviler (only now she's trying to sort something out herself) that 'only needs a couple of hundred spent on welding' doing to it?

Reply to
T i m

"T i m" wrote

If it has been stood for three years, it is going to continually break down. "Laying up", unless done properly, is just about the worst thing you can do to a car.

Reply to
Knight Of The Road

T i m ( snipped-for-privacy@spaced.me.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Exactly.

It's been sat for three years. It's going to need more spending on it than it's worth, even before you factor in the fuelling problem. Even then, it's going to be trouble while you work the disuse out of it.

Can you REALLY not find anything viable and local between Loot, fleaBay and the ads in your local post office window...?

It goes from bad to worse...

Reply to
Adrian

gotta 106 that was sat for 2.5 years. Needed a new battery and passed MOT immediately BUT then spent money on 4 new tyres, new cambelt, brake fluid change etc etc... but was fine despite standing for aeons.

Reply to
Yanislav

Could you explain why please Vince?

Understood, especially if in a hostile environment (on the coast etc).

I'm not sure if or how motorcycles compare on this matter but from my personal experience most of my machines have been 'revived' either from being discovered in garage or as a heap of bits under a tarpaulin in someone's shed / back garden and have gone on to give sterling (reliable) service with little in the way of any major further strip down etc.

The only bike not to be so reliable was the regularly serviced and ridden 35K BMW R100RT?

I'm not suggesting that 'leaving' a vehicle unused for many years is a good thing, just that I've not experienced many issues from doing so outside some cold seized components (often easily freed) and some perished wiper blades, hoses and tyres etc.

Might it also make a difference how said vehicle is then used .. if as a local runabout maybe it wouldn't exhibit any deeper potential issues compared with say using it as a long distance slab cruiser or towing a caravan?

FWIW she is still driving the Astra with a (probable) cracked head ... it just does a liter of water per short trip.

All the best ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

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