Ka Diary
– 69,317 – 10/05/2005 – Ikea
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K |
ermit’s
seventy thousand mile service is fast approaching. I booked this with Bert Eyre & Sons around when he was in for his last oil change in late March. At the time the mechanic did query if we’d
cover nearly six thousand miles in just a few weeks. We mentioned that we were going
to Italy, he raised an eyebrow then remembered what other adventures we’d
alluded to involving the Ka, shook his head, and asked if we had changed
anything since the last time he’d seen him.
“Not yet but we’re getting cruise
control soon.”
There
are three things that I’d like to have checked at the service. To the derision of some of my Usenet chums
I’m sure, I’ve caught him making a sound like he’s pinking. It’s the closest sound to pinking that I’ve
heard in a while. Pinking, or
pre-ignition, is basically a premature explosion caused by the petrol in the
cylinder burning too quickly. The noise
is caused by the shockwave of the explosion reaching the rising piston. It’s bad news for engines and I should have
it looked at. It might be something
else, but since it only occurs under moderate to high load (measured by Calculated Load of course) conditions
at low to moderate engine speeds, I’m thinking of the worst. I’ve not heard an engine pink for a long
time, partly because diesels don’t pink and partly because modern petrol
engines don’t tend to knock.
The
other issue is that we appear to have an oil leak from the rocker cover. It looks as though oil has been spilt,
except if this was the case the last time the oil was changed I’d expect most
of it to be washed off over the last five thousand miles. I’ve checked his fluid levels and there’s no
appreciable drop in the engine oil level and nothing untoward with the cooling
system. I’ll have Eyres arrange it.
Finally,
I would also like to replace those metal black covers on the quarter
lights. These have been rusty for a
while but in the last few weeks they’ve gotten really bad. It’s not a difficult procedure, just fiddly
and you need three or four arms too.
I’ll talk to Eyres about it!
Kermy
is also due to go and see Rebel Power Pipes, the PowerFlow dealer.
That exhaust has
been great over the year. It’s been
great because we’ve had to do nothing to it: it’s just worked. Over the year the sound has mellowed a
little and the chrome pipes at the back have become a little tarnished. I suppose this is to be expected over twenty
seven thousand miles and I’ve not polished the tail pipes, merely gone over
them with a sponge when I’ve washed the
Ka.
The
cruise control has been in almost
daily use. It’s perfect for my commute
to and from the office along the motorways and dual carriageways and the memory
presets are ideal for the two sections of roadworks I go through every day. Using the cruise has highlighted the large
number of other drivers incapable of holding a near-constant speed. When I drive through the roadworks the
cruise control does a very good job of maintaining a constant speed. Quite often another driver will overtake us,
presumably with their speedometer showing that they’re driving at or just above
the speed limit, pull in to the inside lane and then decelerate. When I catch up and if I have the
opportunity I’ll overtake, since I’ve not changed my speed. Repeat as many times as the other driver
wishes to change his or her speed.
On a more annoying note,
the cruise control command module
has repeatedly been coming loose. I
will need to apply something to stop it from coming loose because as it stands,
this ruins the system. Given how
expensive the system is, to have the three grub screws coming loose is very,
very disappointing.
The
title of this diary entry is “Ikea” and the reason for this is because Charlie
and I have been, to borrow a phrase from Harry Enfield’s “Loadsamoney” song (if
you don’t know the song you’re too young).
We’ve been “doin’ up da house.”
This has involved trips to Ikea, fair enough, but trips back with the
car laden to the roof. Still it’s given
me the opportunity to pick up some bargains.
It might be a coincidence that our newly acquired chair for the office /
gaming room (yes! I have a gaming
room!) happens to have cream leather on it, but it was a half price
ex-demonstration example. I love
ex-demonstration Ikea furniture, it means that we don’t have to build it when
we get home. In any event our second
bedroom, which was once the home for dozens of boxes full of junk, now contains
everything that we need for a home office.
Although
some observers appeared impressed that we managed to put a reasonable amount of
furniture into Kermit (an office chair, a wardrobe frame, a bookshelf, a
bedside table, three shoe racks, an armchair, a shelving unit and my briefcase)
the Ka still feels slightly compromised when being used to haul bulky
stuff. The boot opening is a little bit
narrow and the rear seats won’t fold flat against the rear seat squab so
getting a tall box in the back can prove difficult. Although physically smaller, my Cinquecento made a better van.
The day after Kermit’s
seventy thousand mile service it’s the first show of the summer season, “Fiesta
In The Park.” We went in both 2003 and 2004. I would like
to go, I’ve been invited by a couple of clubs but I’m going to give it a miss. Part of the reason why I’m not going is
because I have worked hard to bury my disappointment with the Ka Klub and I’d
rather not unearth these feelings once more.
If Fiesta In The Park had a greater range of trade stands and I was
looking to buy something then it would be easier to justify but as it stands,
there are far too many people I was once proud to call my friends that I expect
will be going and I just don’t want to see them so soon.
With
Fiesta In The Park happening this means that summer is right around the
corner. Kermit’s air conditioning system is still going strong over four
years since new. I reckoned I’d have to
get it re-gassed last year and I was wrong, so surely he’ll need it doing this
year?
I
watched an episode of Fifth Gear recently.
Now I tend to avoid watching Fifth Gear because I find Vicki
Butler-Henderson’s approach to reviewing cars incredibly frustrating and I
usually argue or shout at the television (usually to Charlie’s amusement). At the end of the show they demonstrated what
happened when a large off road vehicle collided in to the side of a similar
aged “normal” car. Oh and the off road
vehicle was being towed at sixty miles per hour. It demolished the Honda in question and was certainly a very
sobering article. The solution if
you’re in a small car? Either don’t get
hit by something significantly bigger than you or limit offroad vehicle speeds.
Besides
the horrific damage that was caused, I don’t think this is anything new. After all just think of the damage caused
when a bus or heavy goods vehicle runs in to the side of a normal passenger
car.
Finally,
Kermit’s new personalised grill
has just arrived. Charlie and I will
openly admit that whereas we can justify almost all of his other modifications
on a functionality basis, this one we can’t.
We bought it because it looks good.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a little bit before you see if
because as I write this, it’s in the post office awaiting collection.