Not so easy maintenance!

[Woodchips2]

Last year we moved to a bungalow with timber suspended floors. One corner of the kitchen floor felt a bit spongy and I wondered if there was rot in the floorboards so today I decided to investigate. I took up the laminate floor which was laid on underlay. Below this were vinyl tiles stuck to hardboard. The hardboard had been nailed to the boards but also glued all around the edges. It took me all day to get at the spongy bit and what did I find? The spongy bit was actually loose boards laid over the pump for the central heating :roll: I had previously hunted everywhere for the central heating pump without success but why would somebody install it under the floorboards and then make it impossible to get at if there was a problem :evil:

Regards Keith

 

[Chrispy]

Well I suppose it stoped anyone meddling with it! we have the water stop **** under the floor behind the fridge, luckily the main stop **** in the road works very well.

 

[MMUK]

TBH, it doesn't surprise me one iota. Some of the strange ideas I've come across when developing houses beggars belief.

 

[graduate_owner]

Not quite the same thing, but my first vehicle was an Austin A35 van. To check the brake fluid level I had to lift the carpets from the driver's side, remove two screws and lift a plate out of the floor, then remove the brake fluid reservoir cap with a wrench (which was very awkward because of working through the hole in the floor. Then using a torch, I could see where the fluid level was. So EEAASY.
And of course, topping up the fluid was a joy as well.

To add to the design features, it had side arm indicators which always stuck shut, a heater which was as good as useless, and drop-down windows on which the finger grips had dropped off, so I had to push my hand against the glass and try to pull it down with friction. What a crate!! Oh yes, and it leaked, which meant rain water dripped EXACTLY over the driver's right foot when positioned over the throttle. I never managed to cure that leak.

And those were some of the good points !!!

I really hated that van.

K

 

[MMUK]

Oh yes, and it leaked, which meant rain water dripped EXACTLY over the driver's right foot when positioned over the throttle. I never managed to cure that leak.

So that's where Land Rover got the idea from :!: They've never fixed theirs either :lol:

 

[graduate_owner]

I have an ageing discovery now for towing. It leaks through the sunroofs and it leaks through the Alpine windows. The water runs all around the roof lining and zaps the electrics so the rear washer and wiper stop working occasionally (well, usually actually). And because it is damp, it smells.
But I don't hate it.
K

 

[Student]

Still off topic but I, too, had an A35 where the handbrake came off in my hand and, at one of the early MoTs, the tester put a screwdriver through the floor under the driver's feet (in those days, they just pop riveted a piece of steel over the hole to cover it up). If the A 35 was anything like a Morris Minor, just be grateful you didn't have to change the seals on the brake cylinder. As well as accessing the brake cylinder as described above, you had to remove the front wheel and remove the torsion bar assembly to be able to undo the bolts holding the cylinder in place in the u-shape of the chassis in order to get the thing out.

I also had one of the upright Ford Populars - no air filter, oil changes every 1000 miles and something like 40 grease points; oh, no heater and a vacuum operated windscreen wiper which stopped if you accelerated. It also had the side arm semaphore indicators which caused my girlfriend a bit of alarm when, on our first date, I leant past her and thumped on the door pillar; by our third date, she thumped it for me. 47 years on and we still reminisce about it!

 

[blackrodd]

My ex father in law had a dreaded bedford CA, I think they said it was, you had to get the passenger side floor up to charge or even change the battery and the wisest owners had put a rope handle each side as there was no space to get hands or fingers in the space. Rodders

 

[Grahamshed]

Back on topic, seems perfectly logical to me. If the house gets burgled you can at least feel confident you will still have a central heating pump.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Not quite the same thing, but my first vehicle was an Austin A35 van. To check the brake fluid level I had to lift the carpets from the driver's side, remove two screws and lift a plate out of the floor, then remove the brake fluid reservoir cap with a wrench (which was very awkward because of working through the hole in the floor. Then using a torch, I could see where the fluid level was. So EEAASY.
And of course, topping up the fluid was a joy as well.

To add to the design features, it had side arm indicators which always stuck shut, a heater which was as good as useless, and drop-down windows on which the finger grips had dropped off, so I had to push my hand against the glass and try to pull it down with friction. What a crate!! Oh yes, and it leaked, which meant rain water dripped EXACTLY over the driver's right foot when positioned over the throttle. I never managed to cure that leak.

And those were some of the good points !!!

I really hated that van.

K

Great British engineering for you They don't make cars n vans like they used to I once owned a Rover...nuff said!

 

[Harbo]

What's wrong with Rovers - I had a 2000 for several years - great cars and well ahead of their time with lots of innovative safety features?
Sadly their Achilles heel was rust from the inside coming through the bolt-on panels!
Graduated to it from an A35 van and Ford Anglia 105

Rod

 

[Woodchips2]

I also had one of the upright Ford Populars - no air filter, oil changes every 1000 miles and something like 40 grease points; oh, no heater and a vacuum operated windscreen wiper which stopped if you accelerated. It also had the side arm semaphore indicators which caused my girlfriend a bit of alarm when, on our first date, I leant past her and thumped on the door pillar; by our third date, she thumped it for me. 47 years on and we still reminisce about it!

I also had an upright Ford Popular but changing the oil every 1000 miles didn't concern me as it consumed a pint every 50 miles :roll: I always carried a gallon can of oil.

Bit embarrassing on the girlfriend stakes, the first time we went up a steep hill the car stalled through lack of power and i had to ask her to get out and walk while I went up in reverse gear which was lower than first

Regards Keith

 

[dm65]

I got a brand new Golf on Friday and I can't quite get the interior temperature right :wink:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My heart bleeds for you.

 

[MMUK]

What's wrong with Rovers - I had a 2000 for several years - great cars and well ahead of their time with lots of innovative safety features?
Sadly their Achilles heel was rust from the inside coming through the bolt-on panels!
Graduated to it from an A35 van and Ford Anglia 105

Rod

Graduated? Wasn't that mroe like one step forward and three steps back? :lol:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My father had two Triumph 2000s which were brilliant cars, then "upgraded" to a Rover 2000. It was a total pile of excrement.

 

[RogerS]

I have an ageing discovery now for towing. It leaks through the sunroofs and it leaks through the Alpine windows. The water runs all around the roof lining and zaps the electrics so the rear washer and wiper stop working occasionally (well, usually actually). And because it is damp, it smells.
But I don't hate it.
K

How old is your Disco?