September 2001
Im setting the tappets on a BMW M6 and am after the device that enable's you to remove the shim. Its a hook shaped lever, BMW will not sell them!. Does anyone know who would make them where I could get one from? Read more
I have noticed a drop in performance with my UK '90 Toyota Celica GTi since the introduction of ULS unleaded fuel. Does anyone know if its safe (or advisable) for me to fill up with super unleaded? Is the Government aware that these "cleaner" fuels can actually INCREASE fuel consumption (and presumably their take in taxes). Read more
In the Philippines? I honestly don't know. There are only 3 pumps at the gas station: Gold (leaded), Green or Silver if it's a Caltex station(Unleaded), Red (diesel). These are dignified by fancy names, e.g Vortex or Helix, don't mean a rat's *ss to me!
But it is cheap: a bit more than a pund a gallon your money.
Lately I have been getting a brake light circuit warning on my 95M BMW Coupe automatic. This warning light comes on intermittently and mostly occurs in the middle of the journey.
I have checked that the brake lights and found both are working even when the warning appears.
Does everyone have any ideas what is wrong?
Your help would be most appreciated. Read more
Reply to John's latest message, my car does not have a central brake light.
I have now replaced the fuse as well as all brake light bulbs with the spares but still got no joy.
I probably can rule out a loose connect at the back of the car as the wiring and the earth contact at the back of the car are found to be secure.
This leaves the brake switch be the next prossible cause but if this is the case then I would expect the problem to manifest itself all the time. Unfortunately the problem comes on randomly at any stage of the journey.
Any more ideas?
Channel 4's car programme 'Driven' is back in air tonignt at 8.30 with the usual crew of Mike Brewer, Penny Mallory and Jason Plato. This is just in case you were glued to The Backroom and forgot about it.
HJ Read more
The choice of cars for the multi test was a little strange from my point of view. My girlfriend has bought one of them (different spec though) and didn't even consider the other two. Perhaps they need to set out what kind of buyer they are evaluating the car for - i.e. for us (Dinkys) rear seats aren't much concern and don't have any babies - and use that for scoring the tests. If you remember the test of a Caterham - trying to fit rugby players in and turning a jet washer on it and then saying it was small and leaked a bit - you can see the lastest test was an improvement. I don't really see the point of the comparison tests unless they are approached from a certain buyers POV and it is made clear what that is. What I would like to see are tests of different spec versions of one car or at least looking into the options and the effects they have.
The A2 does look great, but in silver only. I've seen a black one and blue one and they looked very odd.
Piers
It seems to have been a bit quiet recently, so here?s something that everyone can comment on:
At this time of year I start to miss the heated seats of the various Volvos we?ve had in the past. It makes me realise that for half the year, a major priority for me is - how well does the heater work? It?s not a subject the motoring press seems to write about much, so have backroomers got any particularly glowing or chilling experiences to report? Read more
I don't have time to check for keying mistakes unless they're going into print. But here's another cold weather story. Decades ago, before the BPC nicked the name, an outfit in Northumberland called 'Top Gear' got hold of an ex motorway contractor's Mini Moke to do up. It was delivered in mid winter after a 300 mile journey and the unfortunate delivery driver lost a toe from frostbite.
HJ
Has anyone experience of engine preheaters are they noisey difficult to fit etc Read more
Simon,
You are just the chap to give us a long term report then!
David
Anybody got any useful info on the best priced with good performance speed trap detector I have read that there is a new frequency being used on mini gatsos (KU -band) do the detectors pick this up Read more
Thanks for the info
Just a quick thanks to all those who answered my call for help a few days ago: Richard Hall, Ian Aspinall, John Slaughter and particularly Adam Going from Tune-Up who has answered several of my related questions since. My Cavalier is now running like a dream and has put itself off being part-exed for an Astra for another year or so - I am very pleased with the results I have managed myself without an extortionate Vauxhall dealer bill which I could not have done without the help of the above people.
This forum is a brilliant source of help for anyone with a car question and is really kept going by the people who can be bothered to sit down and answer peoples' questions - keep up the good work HJ and everyone else! Read more
Anybody out there purchased one of the above. I fancy the power and am prepared to pay for the tyres, but I would like to run an ex striped one for about 3 years after it's come off its last duty.
I've found a place in Cranleigh in Surrey that sells all sorts of white Vauxhalls and Volvos. None of them with more than 100k on the clock and all priced pretty reasonably for 250bhp (£6k for a T5 and £4k for the V6 Omega's)
Am I setting myself up for 3 years of replacement gearboxes and expensive engine parts or can I safely scare the hell out of anyone in the outside lane.
All help would be greatly appreciated Read more
Dont know about the T5,but i have bought/sold many ex william omegas.Overall not to bad,but suffer from GM indifferent build quality.Some forces disposals are better than others,Thames Valley are usually a cut above,and are usually released with a service record.As ever buy the latest you can afford.
A follow on from the incompetent garages theme is the items missed on the PDI. I have had some minor cases in the past. The most recent being a fuse removed from the remote central locking circuit - apparantly they are removed to prevent the system operating in transit.
The most glaring example I have heard about was a lady who took delivery of her Japanese sports car. She rang the garage to complain that the ride was so jarring that it was unacceptable and much worse than the model she had test driven. Their initial response was that that the suspension was much stiffer and that she would get used to it. It turned out that the suspension is clamped for transit by boat and the clamps had not been removed.
I got that third hand so can't vouch for it - but it amused me. Read more
When I was working for a Volvo franchise a customer collected his brand new 240 Estate and drove it 30 odd miles home. The following mornig he was on the phone saying to the service manager that the steering wheel was turning round and round, not moving the front wheels. A mechanic was immediately despatched to the owners home address only to find that the factory had forgotten to fit a retaining nut on the steering wheel and was therefore slipping on the splines.
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Andy
fantastic choice of car.
My brother has one and it is a complete dream to drive (albeit a donut monster in the wet).
Have you had any problems with it so far (just so I can let him know what to look out for).
Regards
Jonathan