March 2001
As oil is the current hot topic, I`ve had an oil filter and change for my R plate Modeo T-Diesel (at Lex Autocentre) and they used Castrol GTX oil .
When I queried this , saying that shouldn`t they have used a specific oil for diesels , they said that GTX had the spec for diesel engines.
Is this true ?
Tez Read more
The Capri 2.8i that I am selling has laid up for 10 years in a dry unlit garage. The wheels have been off the ground and the tyres kept at proper pressure. Will the passage of time have rendered the tyres useless or should they be safe for driving?
All the best Read more
Interesting, Andrew. That's why I mentioned that my garage was unlit, as I suspected that sunlight may be a major factor in the deterioration of tyres that are otherwise stored in perfect conditions.
does any one know of an after fitment speed limiter (not cruise control) for cars, mercedes fit one as standard in 300td! you select a speed and the car will not exceed it. I want to buy one for my Discovery. Read more
For the third time in as many weeks I have had to deal with the situation of the wrong grade oil causing severe running problems with a modern engine. This time it was a Zetec 1.6 Escort which would only run in a series of hundred yard (metre) hops before losing power and stalling. When rested for a few minutes it would start up reluctantly then stall again. I was pretty confident I knew the problem and sure enough, when asked, the customer had done his own service recently using a DIY stores' 20W/50. This caused the hydraulic lifters to jack open the valves causing loss of compression. This was aggravated by using supermarket fuel which I suspect was gumming up the valves. I flushed the engine and refilled with a semi-synthetic 5W/30 finished off with a dose of fuel treatment in the tank and all now seems to be improving. I asked why he used that particular oil: "all oil is the same" was the reply. Give me strength!!!! Read more
No It is just my personal opinion based on my experiences. I take into consideration the feedback I get from my customers regarding performance and economy plus my own findings regarding states of cleanliness and emission levels when tuning their engines.
Had complaints about severs judder on start off and thumping changes between 1st and 2nd on current shape S Class models built late 1998 through 1999. Can anyone shed any more light on this, particularly Andrew Bairsto in Dresden. Apparently the box was modified for 2000 model year and the problem then disappeared. Have driven a car with the fault and confirmed that it does exist.
HJ Read more
Many thanks to Dafydd. This appears to be an excellent site. You have to register, but the process is very friendly and you're in with your first question within 5 minutes.
HJ
I have a N reg Daewoo Nexia that has failed to start 7 times in the past 4 weeks - and has been with Daewoo on and off for a total of 18 days. I have had the ignition coil, leads, immobiliser sensor coil and key replaced, but no result.
It fails to start every two days or so at work when I try to start it (5pm-6pm), but is fine in the morning - even when I left it at work overnight. It has never failed to start at home.
The car does not fail to start at the Daewoo service centre, and they have told me that until it fails they cannot fix it.
My work is 3 miles from Birmingham airport - could this be a reason? The garages are miles away.
Any suggestions as to what to do now? Read more
If it is what can I do about it? The service centre will not replace any parts unless they can identify a fault. How can I prove it is electronic interference?
Hi,
I am a Classic Car enthusiast and would like a few suggestins of how to remove seized nuts etc in a cramped position e.g the REAR of a brake assembly. (or Brake bleed nipples with rounded corners ??)etc etc ?
I know all the normal ways such as correct size spanner !!/ penetrating oil/heat /nut splitter /hacksaw /grinder but what about those inaccessible positions?
Pete Read more
Heating to red heat with the oxy/acetylene torch, and then quenching in water usually allows rusted nuts to be undone, but not easy behind brakes etc I admit. I can only suggest using a very small nozzle on the torch.
regards
John
Quick warning. If your car has alloy wheels and a steel 'emergency wheel', DON'T USE THE ALLOY WHEEL'S BOLTS TO FIT THE EMERGENCY WHEEL. What usually happens is they are so long they go right through the hubs and interfere with the brakes. There shoud be a special set of bolts for the steel emergency wheel. The best thing to do with them is tape them onto the emergency wheel as a reminder.
HJ Read more
It's very easy to get round this problem - make up a tool by cutting
an appropriate thread on the end of a piece of reasonably sized round bar that'a
say 6 inches long. Then lining wheels up is easy.
My Alfa actually has such a 'lining-up' bar in it's toolkit (and it took me ages to work out what it was!). Possibly worth people's while to check the kit that came with their car before starting to fashion their own.
Oh, and I think HJ's original post is not truly accurate. It would be more correct to tell people to make sure they're aware of whether their particular car's spacesaver uses different sized bolts, and in this case to keep them with it.
I think there are plenty of cars which do use the same size bolt for the space saver too.
I bought a Feb. 1998Seat Alhambra 1.9TDI in Nov.2000 with approx.24000 miles on the clock.
On several occassions, whilst travelling at 85mph. there has been a sudden loss of power until the vehicle slowed to 60mph. Changing down through the gears and up again made no difference.
It has been back to the dealer, where fortunately the chief mechanic too experienced the fault twice. Unfortunately the cause cannot be determined despite having been hooked up to the computer.
The garage has changed all the filters and the turbo charger has been checked and appears to be ok.
This intermittent fault is not only embarrasing, it is also very confusing for fellow roadusers as the car suddenly slows down whilst overtaking, it could possibly cause carnage.
I am using the car again but have lost my trust in it. Any suggetions as to what could be the cause? The dealer is willing to help but baffled. Read more
Not quite the same as my VW 1.9TDi (Aug 98), but not dissimilar. After 18 months and 50,000 miles of different remedies, VW and specialist non-VW dealers, the problem couldn't be diagnosed. Most of the remedies in the other replies were tried - nothing. New Fuel Pumps, Turbos, Sensors, Pipework even gearbox!
The only regular characteristic was a total loss of power when under accelaration. Pulling away from Traffic Lights, accelarating to overtake, pulling away from junctions.
Finally, VW bought the vehicle back, once it was decided that a new engine was the next stage ( a hairline crack in the block was suggested by someone).
Do persist in finding a solution, mine got progressively worse over 18 months. I was lucky - it was a company car, if yours is your own I would be very worried about long term problems and saleability.
Good luck.
Can anyone tell me why when I listen to the radio in the car with the engine off, the reception is perfect. However, as soon as I swith the engine on interference kicks in (particularly on the Medium Wave) and the radio becomes virtually unlistenable. I have read it could be something to do with static build-up, but I'm not sure. I've a bog-standard Corsa with a factory-fitted aerial - ther must be some way of solving this problem. Has anyone heard of this before ?
Thanks Read more
No, it's not where I live. Poor reception with the engine off is replaced by a howling noise when it is running - totally obliterating any signal. Definitely a fault!
Regards
john
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The branding is a bit confusing - they are all GTX. However, it comes as GTX 15 - 50 and 15 - 40, and then there is GTX Magnatec (again in 15 - 50 and 15 - 40) which is a better spec (A3/B3).
So it rather depends which 'GTX' was used - you're right, it could be basic, so you need to ask!
Regards
John