Recent content by Motu

I've been vegetarian for 50 years now, I did morph into vegan for awhile but got a B12 deficiency, so back on eggs and dairy, but not milk. NZ is not big on processed foods and I stay away from any that are, just veges and fruit, nuts grains etc...did have a tofu based sausage tonight in my...

We get a Government pension at 65, so I've had 2 incomes for 9 years. Married pension is not 2, but about 1 1/2. Not well off financially, so time to tighten the belt.

I'm 72 and went to a 4 day week 4 months ago, and am finishing up at the end of August a few days before my birthday. 56 years as a mechanic, I'm over it.

They are closing 3 instant coffee factories in New Zealand, the one in Dunedin has been making instant coffee since 1925. Did you know instant coffee is a New Zealand invention ?

The R20 in our 2006 Honda Stream has always had 5w-30.

I used to see young mechanics putting red rubber grease, which is castor based on oil seals. It's ok for rubber they'd say...but oil seals are not rubber ! It will gum up and ruin the seal. Castor oil was used in engines like speedway bikes because they ran on methanol because they will mix, it...

When I bought my Limit caliper the battery lasted about a year, every battery since is lucky to last a couple of months.

The CD Stromberg came about because SU refused to supply carbs for the Triumph 2000, probably a supply issue rather than being grumpy as the TR used SU's. Triumph went to Stromberg to supply the carb they needed. Unlike a motorcycle vacuum carb, the SU and CD Stromberg had no emulsion tube for...

Standard Triumph were the controlling group in British Leyland, I guess being there first they looked down on the others, so we got the TR7 as the sports car. They dropped the Leyland van and BMC had the van market, the J4 becoming the Leyland Sherpa becoming the Leyland DAF becoming the LDV van.

Normally a Standard Atlas, Leyland Atlas or Leyland 15 or 20, never seen one branded as a Triumph. Leyland owned Standard Triumph at that stage, before they got the rest of the British motor industry dumped on them. Same running gear as a TR4. As an apprentice we maintained a fleet of Leyland...

EGR on a diesel is almost opposite of a petrol engine, the EGR is wide open at idle on a diesel and will generally be shut under high load when exhaust temps are highest.

We have Magnatec 5-30 Professional in our bulk tank and it goes in nearly all common rail diesels, but the oil sites recommend 15-40 CK-4 for these so would go with that. But, with 5-30 being the original fill I don't think it really matters.

Never seen them crack a head without being cooked...but that's a bit chicken or egg. With the black smoke at idle I'd be looking at pump timing.

What colour smoke - black, white ? Why was the head replaced ? Cracked I presume, so that means overheated prior. Was the precomp chamber volume checked and compared between heads ? Has anyone fiddled with pump timing or touched the max fuel screw ?

It's Fit in Japan, China and North (maybe South) America, and Jazz in the rest of the world. The Jazz has l/100km, the Japanese Fit has km/l.