Wednesday 2 October 2013

The second secondary air pump


The door bell just went, and there was a man with a van and my Pierberg secondary air pump, all the way from the USA.

This is the second secondary air pump I have bought in one year, and the last one came all the way from Istanbul, Turkey. The trouble was that it was about a millimetre too large to fit in the chassis of the Volvo, even though it performed exactly the same function at exactly the same voltage as the correct one.

The reason why I have gone to such lengths to obtain a new one outside of the UK, is because they cost about £400 here. The one from Turkey cost about £110, and the correct one from the US cost about £125, including shipping, so the way I look at it is that I have saved about £150, even if I cannot re-sell the Turkish one.

Very few people need one of these things and, up until recently, I thought I could do without one too. All I know is that they blast air into the intake of one particular model of Volvo 850 (just mine) and if they break, then the car tends to fail on the emissions test.

Rumor has it that they increase fuel economy too, but since mine has never worked properly, I'll have to get back to you on that one.

The other thing I know about them is that they give out a very sporty whine as they perpetually run, which I am hoping will turn heads in the street as young women look to see what super-car is coming by, and who the rich old bloke driving it is. I'll get back to you on that one too.

The above photo is the Volvo, parked up in a Capability Brown landscape one misty morning, as close to the job as I could drive it without getting stuck.

I might use that photo if ever I want to sell the old girl and trade her in for a sportier model, but you never know - I may not need to. I'll get back to you on that one as well.

15 comments:

  1. What's that to the right of your Volvo ? it looks like Darth Vada's head ! { I was going to say helmet but thought better of it !! .... although, I've said it now } XXXX

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    1. There's no stopping you, is there, Jack@?

      It's a pheasant feeder. Now I expect you are going to sing us a couple of verses of 'I'm not a pheasant-plucker, I'm a pheasant-plucker's son'.

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    2. I thought it was a secondary air pump that had just fallen off the car!

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  2. Nice car -- I wish we had one like it. But no -- my husband has just spent a thousand pounds to put his red H registered 740 Estate back on the road. Being the only car he ever bought 'new' he has great emotional attachment to it. :-(

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    1. I can understand that, even though I have never bought a new car. I spend £1000 on them, then throw them away in around 4 or 5 years, without remorse.

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  3. Off the subject
    But I just had to tell all that your scotch eggs finally reached Trelawnyd this morning.... And very tasty they were too
    And all wrapped up in a Waitrose carrier bag too!

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  4. It would be difficult not to be sportier than a Volvo 850 Tom.

    On a different note, I wonder if you would mind casting your impeccably tasteful eye over my Christmas card options currently showing on the blog. I like the ones no one else does which is a slight worry.

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    1. That model is 170 HP. The next model up is 250 HP, with the same size engine, but a few more potential problems. I am happy with the slow one.

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    2. I've just looked at the options, and - I have to say - that rather than putting me in a festive spirit, they remind me of the real and constant danger of freezing to death on Dartmoor.

      Don't get me wrong, they are great pictures, but I think we need a robin or something (a light in a distant farmhouse window?) to give us hope.

      The doggie almost did it, but not quite. A touch of green against the red harness might have done the trick.

      Well, you did ask.

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  5. Is the first half of this article written in a foreign language Tom? If not, then it might as well be as my knowledge of what occurs under the bonnet is far less than 0. Probably about minus 25 I would think.

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    1. I bet you know all about tractors, though. The Germans call these Volvos, 'the fastest tractors in the world'.

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  6. Will the rest of the subscribers also be getting scotch eggs once the second secondary air pump flurry is over?

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    1. No. Sorry to be so blunt, but it almost broke me to send the Welsh animal-hoarder 2. They worked out at £5.50 per egg, but - hey - who's counting? (I am)

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