[Richard]

That is cheap, but a bit small for me – and all systems are already with an SSD, I saw a few other ‘reasonable’ deals yesterday, but nothing to match that.

[Richard]

Result! That is about the average cost and sound very fair to me. Hopefully they will know the gas to use, though that is only really an issue with older cars these days. They should also add the right lubrication if the system is completely evacuated, but you should be able to have confidence in them to get all that stuff right.

[Richard]

My question is always, why are they selling it, as it sounds a tasty bundle for an apparently modest cost?

[Richard]

I knew nothing of him, but he was worryingly young, which makes it a sad time for all who knew him. I understand that fell and hit his head during the initial attack, so I wonder if that was part of what killed him. I guess that if someone/thing thought his time was up he got his red card, but it never makes these things easier.

Thinking of this made me wonder how things were going with Bob, well I trust.

[Richard]

I have used a specialist ‘come to you’ person in the past. He appeared to know his stuff, since his continued work flow does depend on getting it right there is some incentive. If all else fails, that is an option.

[Richard]

Yes, sound advice and the article put it very well. Leaks are a right royal pain. They are a bit like wiring breaks that hide within the plastic sheathing and come out only when something shakes the right way. Then the computer reports the end appearance not the cause.

[Richard]

I had damaged cartilage removed  removed from my right knee about 55 years ago, for years after that it ground about so effectively on the granules that on a cool day in a quiet room you could hear it creak and groan like two plates with sand in between them. You can still feel it grind a bit now, but perhaps it is less noisy, or my hearing is less good? Its noise role has been taken over my my cervical vertebra and bone conduction ensures that I do hear that bump and grind, but at least I can move my head probably because of a few hours of spinal surgery.

If there is another issue, such as swelling or arthritis then they might justify specific action(s). The 18 week wait is a bit of a hiccup, I saw my doctor last week about a finger with mobility problems, it was swelling and locking. He turned round and gave me an injection there and then. It is not yet perfect but the swelling has reduced and it is locking less than it was. He reckoned on a 2 ~ 3 week improvement period and contact him after 4 weeks if it was still in trouble. Previous injections in the other hand were not so useful and I ended up with operations on three fingers, So good luck, the loss of weight should/might help knee joints, but the inflammation from the illness might have taken things the other way.

[Richard]

Kwik-fit, or quick and fit, quick is what they often are not and fit is what you have after getting the results. Do go to a specialist, I suspect a leaking hose, they will tend to go porous after a while and leak. Vacuum recovery of the old product is important I am told, but as part of a proper system check.. Done properly it should restore the system. I also used to use the gas canisters while in the Middle East, every one was an equally bad AC person back then! Just do not tip the cylinder up as liquid will smash the pump, it needs to run on gas not liquid.

[Richard]

A bit of a follow up, after an appointment last week at which the results were reported as inconclusive he requested an urgent repeat. We tried but were given a 9th April urgent rerun appointment.. until Thursday afternoon when the 9th at 16:00 hours became 09:45 on the 3rd. A very long scan session and a number of biopsies later we left, with instructions for my wife to take pain killers on arrival home. About two hours later a text message arrived, for a follow up appointment on the 9th for a proper drains up.

[Richard]

I can only call as I find and so far as I have seen that sort of issue is not one we have, which is why I did massage my words with the disclaimer ‘So far most of our local limits appear reasonable‘. It is a few minutes since I was last in Surrey and will probably not visit again. The one limit I did find odd, until I saw why, was one beautiful road surface, straight road with very good sight lines yet a very low limit and strict parking regulation, then I saw, it was near Diana’s old home. There were just no crowds, or other cars to warn me as I passed by.

[Richard]

Yes, that was just one of her misguided policies, my reading was that there was a policy for almost everything, well only a slight exaggeration perhaps. In essence her’s was a policy summed up as to hell with the evidence, just convict anyone you can. There were other less subtle(?) policy steps.

[Richard]

Ed, while I have also moved over to the car is just transport that only needs to get there and back with safety and comfort camp, I am not sure that I can totally agree on speed limits where I live. When I moved in some years ago the ‘main road’ had only the national limit and due to local driving standards a bad accident record. The limit is now 40, and traffic levels have risen on a narrow single, bi-directional carriageway, with very limited pedestrian pavement. The accident rate is modestly better, perhaps more a case of regression to the mean, but driving standards remain ‘variable’. Witness the loon doing 60 plus on almost bald tyres, in a torrential downpour. One dead, one brain damaged, two cars written off he was also badly injured as was the innocent he hit. However most of the loons now do less damage themselves and others due to their lower speeds. The ‘blind’ motor cyclist who travelled down the centre line hatchings to pass the slower traffic adjusting speed behind a car turning right. Their chariot slid under the side of the car, causing disruption and minor damage  but no serious injury. So far most of our local limits appear reasonable, including the ones for a local road scheme  though the duration of that ‘mud-pie-men’ exercise appears over generous and many have been the result of previous serious accident records. As for Surrey, I have little experience apart from being stopped in a routine police road block in a foreign registered car at 3:00 a.m. back in 1975. Happily I had full documentation so was soon on my way once more documentation and the result was smiles all round.

[Richard]

PM, I suspect that you touched on one of the big issues over buying anything and a car is a bigger purchase than many; that is personal taste and style. Some would possibly like the touch screen being a stand out feature and not all of them have a large well trained dog and a white stick! My last car was something of an urgent purchase as the usual runabout had a fault* that was causing the garage trouble and my need was urgent. *It was an intermittent wiring error and NOT what the computer kept claiming. Having rule out Ford on the basis of previous experience of their ‘stuff’, my choice rapidly narrowed down to who has what and would like to sell me something. The Seat and Hyundai sales points were not very interested and so many fell by the wayside. I did not want a 50 mile drive to a service point and so on. My choice was a bit of Force Majeure in the end so no great mental effort required. I wish you good luck.

[Richard]

Steve, yes in spite of anything else I have said there are some factors of the issue that confound me. Timing is one and not anticipating a brouhaha was another – or was it anticipated? We had weakened our stand by previously buying some of the booklets from Europe, unlike the perfidious French who demanded and got away with 100% French production and sod the EU.

I see that De La Rue are seeking to increase the cost by a legal challenge, – popcorn please.

[Richard]

We all trust that it goes well and you will once more be gracing these pages. Bring better weather when you are discharged!

[Richard]

Bob, the tissue paper gearbox was not the only issue. There was a sort of plastic lunch-box that had north and south connections. North went to the front of the car and engine and south went to the rear. North was joined to south by traces across a board. All pretty dumb stuff, however this managed to develop a fault, So Ford wanted something about £70 for the lunch-box and nearly £300 to fit it. A soldering iron, some heavy duty wire and 10 minutes and el lunch-box was fixed.

The rear brakes we a different issue, wheel cylinders are supposed to contain fluid and resist pressure only moving their piston in and out to activate the brake shoes, not on the Escort, they recycled fluid onto the brake shoes, wheel and anything else in range after much less than 30,000 miles. The Honda that replaced it went for 17 years with fewer replacement parts before it was replaced. Its replacement the Kia has barely done any miles at all but the reasons for that is a completely different story.

[Richard]

Just look at Dagenham, once a major Ford production plant but now I don’t knew quite what is left there or in Hailsham either. I not sure which dog’s basket built the automatic escort my wife wanted, back in 1992. The gear box replacement interval was shorter than the engine servicing schedule, that was the only time we had an extended warranty on anything – thank goodness we did!

[Richard]

Bob, as I understand things the assembly was always going to be UK based as it refers to the implantation of chips, (the biometric part) and a few other finishing issues. The problem is that none of us has the real inside track on the details – including any skulduggery by civil servants (or others).

Yes Ed, that is a major issue for many, we have a reputation for following and gold plating anything we are told without verifying its validity first. I still remain to be convinced that De La Rue failed to price right by accident nor am I sure what other parts of their compliance document were found wanting. Having had a non compliant tenderer complain at their justified rejection in the past, I am sensitive to such complaints. One proposed using a non existent piece of kit from a ‘bridge builder’ who has specifically confirmed, in writing to us that they could not and would not build the interface as it was too expensive in licensing fees and development costs. The non compliant tenderer subsequently folded.

[Richard]

Yes, I had his passing in mind, though could not recall the name, none of these are happy events. Though he did have a fairly good innings having brought pleasure to many, his passing will also affect a large number.

[Richard]

I think you have a good handle on the matter there. Performers can also lead a very disjointed life with one night here another there, always travelling often lonely and eating poor food in poor lodgings, or over eating due to the loneliness. Where those factors are not in play things can turn out very differently and a few actors, who could be subject to the same sorts of issues, have achieved much more ‘normal’ life spans; some quite extended compared to the averages. There could also be other factors in play, some have their own personality and perhaps for some, the genetic and nurture factors cut them out to be performers, but also left them with ticking health time bombs. It is always sad when anyone goes, popular performers tend to get greater notice, but I have seen a number of far younger folk die from such as cancer or latent issues that lurked within. You should also remember that an average is made from those who die early and those who die far later.

[Author]

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