October 2001
I own a Fiesta Zetec S which is 2 months old and has now covered 1500 miles. When the clutch is not depressed the engine is noisy, however when the clutch is depressed the engine noise is minimal.
During the 1500 mile complimentary check I mentioned this fault to the mechanc. On collecting the car I was told that there was no fault, and that the noise was "gearbox thrash". The garage said that there was no fix for this condition, and as it isn't a fault Ford will not rectify under warranty.
The mechanic also said that 9 out of 10 Fiestas have this noise.
Has anyone else ever come across "gearbox thrash" on a Fiesta? Can the noise be fixed?
Any advice most welcome. Read more
Recently bought a very nice 1994 80 sport SE 2.0. No handbook available. Can anyone tell me where the switch for the ABS resides? Many thanks,
Peter. Read more
It is an easy job to wire a switch in series with the ABS fuse and make the system switchable again.
I went on the Audi quattro day at JP's Bedford track last year and the Audi lot had rewired the fleet of A4 1.8TQ's for exactly that.
Colin
The Haynes manual for the Omega says that there is a sensor to detect when additional load is being placed on the engine by the power steering pump - i.e. on full lock. This is only for V6 cars fitted with the Motronic 2.8.3 ECU and gives a few extra rpm to the tickover to prevent stalling.
My question is - where is this sensor located? The manual makes no reference to its location. Read more
It's usually on the pump or pipe to rack
Anyone know of any common problems which would cause fuel starvation on a 1996 520i SE Touring?
Yesterday I drove the car about 10 feet and jacked it up to check the front tyre and brake wear. Then it wouldn't start, misfires with occasional bouts of running on all cylinders for a second or two. Have taken out and cleaned all six plugs, all looked OK, so seems like a fuel system problem. Is there an inertia switch somewhere and if so how do I re-set it? HJ's book mentions fuel pump relay problems in several places, where do I find it (the relay not the book)? Read more
Had a similar problem on my Corsa the other day. For various reasons, it was moved a few yards a couple of times on the drive - not a usual occurence. Next day it just didn't want to start. The occasional cough and splutter, but that was it. In the end it started with full throttle to weaken the mixture and about 20 or 30 seconds continuous cranking, keeping the starter running during the times it fired. It eventually ran, but only with a few revs on and sounded very rough, as though it had only 2 or 3 cylinders. Once it warmed up it was fine, and has been no trouble since. I beleive this is the only way to start them under these circumstances. Hope it hasn't damaged the cat!
Regards
john
Does anyone want to share reminiscences about student transport? I was thinking about Swansea in the early 60's, we were driving around in a Jaguar SS 100,(£80) Fiat Topolino, Austin Big 12 Convertible,(£45) etc, all bought for a song and taken for granted at the time..talk about 'wasted on the young'!
Peter M. Read more
Just to bring that into more recent times,about nine years ago I read nothing but praise for the Corrado G60.
Indeed I see that they still make premium money.
I read all the road tests,even drove one briefly,and spent nineteen grand of my employers money on the thing.
I really wanted a three series coupe,but dealing with BMW dealers was just as impossible then as now.
After a week I listed twenty two unecessary design faults.
I reported them ,as asked,to VW,their reply was condescending.
At the same time ,or thereabots,I bought a Clio diesel as a runabout,new and cheap.
It had 4 unecessary design faults.
To return to the Corrado,for that sort of money is it too much to ask for a sunroof that doesnt buffet violently at certain speeds?
And that closes on the key with the windows?
is remote central locking unreasonable?
Should the paint be so soft you cant risk the thing in a car wash?
Should the ABS have a noisy orgasm every time you start up from cold?
Is a second gear that engages smoothly,every time,rocket science?
Does the engine really need a total fuel cut off at 6000 rpm?
Is a supercharger that only produces power over 70mph of any use at all?
What happened to variable speed supercharger drives as fitted to Daimler -Benz aero engines in WW2?
What about the Perbury-Hayes drive?
And how come a MK2 Golf coupe weighs about four hundredweight more than the saloon?
The build quality was certainly no better than the Renault 21 that preceeded it.
That only had three major design faults,and for ten grand I forgave it.
The dreadful old pug 405 barge that I tend to inhabit lacked only electrically heated mirrors and a decent engine.
I remember when I bought it,it was so well recommended that I didnt bother to test drive it.
Was this not the much vaunted XUD turbo?
So how come we have this flat spot all the way to 2250 rpm?
I mean for Gods sake ,you dont have to know much about compressed air supply to solve that one,especially as the pressures are trivial.
Interecting thread on renault Espace. I own a renault scenic new shape 1999 has completed 19k and renault serviced, only item replaced under warranty was the coil. Any disasters out there for waiting for me?????. Read more
I believe the megane/scenic has a coil on top of each spark plug - you have 3 more to go!
Andrew
I cannot understand nowadays why anyone would want to buy a brand new car, even though prices are starting to fall. I mean, would you buy a house if you knew that it would only be worth half of what you paid for it two or three years later? (and plenty of cars cost as much as houses up here in the north!)
I think there are only two reasons people buy new, the 'prestige' of owning the latest no plate (which now look all the same) and the 3 year warranties offered on most new cars now. If you have the money to throw away simply to be seen by your neighbours with the newest plate fair enough, and a long warranty can offer peace of mind, but where as 10 years ago £1 - 2k bought you next to nothing in terms of a car with a future today with second hand prices hit by new car reductions you can buy plenty of L/M/N/P reg cars with years of service still ahead of them.
I would be interested to see other peoples views on this, thanks. Read more
Interesting to compare that to the 45p per mile (each) that it costs to get from home into town.
And then they wonder why more people don't use public transport!.
By the way, For Bill Doodson's benefit, I recon the motorbike costs 10p per mile, all in.
Re -Volkswagon Polo 1Litre-5 door,no power steering 1998
A noise starts in the engine compartment only when the engine speed reaches 40mph.The car must have been siiting overnight or all day at work.
To stop the noise ,which is like a whine not a mechanical noise,you must bring the car to a stop and then take off again,this usually stops it but you may have to do this at least once more.
Once gone the noise will not come back again until the car has been sitting for some hours.Decreasing speed,touching the brakes,knocking it out of gear ,changing the air vents etc ,does nothing.If you don't stop the car the noise will stay there regardless of what speed you do.
Can you help? Read more
Thanks for the info will let you know if I find The answer
Does anyone know of a really good wheel alignment centre in the Middlesbrough area? It seems from my experience and from reading comments on this site that most places do a bad job. Read more
Keith,
At some ATS stations they have tracking equipment of good quality known either as Supertracker or mastertracker. (can't remember which)
They are not at every centre but I'm sure you will have one in your locality.
This equipment also clamps the steering wheel to ensure it is still aligned correctly after any adjustment.
Alvin
The "stab" as in stables and the horsebox is pulled by a K reg Toyata Land Cruiser 2.5TD.
Saw your comments on injector pump failure (Fiesta Oct 6)and wonder if adding 1 cc of SAE 30 to each 1 L of diesel fuel whould not solve this problem. Comments (but not as to the greeness) would be appreciated.
Nick Read more
Re: Sulphur Jet City (DT Oct. 6) - Honest John's reply is quite alarming since we always buy our diesel at Tesco and had (until now) been reassured by the sign on the pumps saying that the fuel "conforms to BS EN ..." . I felt that by conforming with British Standards, all aspects of the fuel were 'trouble-free' - including any question of "lubricity" - apparently you believe that this is not the case. What do Tesco think about the possibility of millions of regular clients acting against them through Trading Standards for £1,000++ damage to engines?
Browse
My wife has a 1.25, since June '98 bought with 4k on the clock. It has now done 16.5k and the noise you mention has been ever present. I had a late '80's Orion that did the same. No faults with either car. The easiest solution is to turn the radio up.