November 2001
I have an old but very nice Toyota Supra. The timing belt will be due for change soon. I am being quoted (by a Toyota main delaer) £30 for the belt and £150 for fitting (all plus VAT). The labour charge seems excessive to me. Is there really that much work involved? Read more
i love the snow, i think i love life, but i sometime wonder why i am here, is it not better just to kill yourself, and be gone, for maybe that will help everyone else, i often wonder if life is worth living in this dull boring world of war and despair, but i know that i want to make my mark on the world and before i die i want to be remembered for something, not just another ant doing what he is told by the government, i want to LIVE, i want to be FREE, i want people to remember me for what i did for the world, not just being another number. Read more
thanks richard, i hadnt thought of that.
i am now telling you about the real me, as i will be going to another forum soon.
i am a 21 year old lad from newcastle upon tyne, i am training to be a mechanic at gateshead college, i have been buying and fixing cars from auctions since i was 11, my pets consist of my two cats and my lada riva. i am an mot tester, but thats all i am, but i sometime service the cars at the garage that i work at. i am the founder of the lada enthusiasts club, and the club has been going for about a year, i have fixed and sold on about 60 cars in my lifetime. i hope this answers all your questions, and if you have any more then just ask. Read more
well my cats are house cats, so if they decided to leave, they couldnt.
Alright all, I've actually got a car related problem for once... :-)
My mate drives an M reg Rover 218sd turbo diesel. When he's driving along and accelerates hard (foot to the floor), the handbrake-on/discs worn dashboard light comes on, but works fine in all other respects.
Any ideas why its doing this? Is it possible just the brakes are worn (although i thought the light would stay on permanently)? Read more
Eventually!
The sensor is a really cheap thingie, but they never had in any in stock for months!
I just disconnected it, sealed up the connector under the bonnet with ins. tape, and fitted a new one (which I'd kept for months in the glove compartment) when I flogged the car!
apparently, this was a huge design fault on that particular model.
On that subject, Beemer did have a lot of silly warning things - including the Service lights, which were a pain in the ****.
I suppose a lot of modern "get in and drive' merchants actually need to be reminded that cars need servicing occasionally.
I am considering a new Multipla but noticed in a motoring magazine (shown to me by a Fiat dealer) that the car did 'badly' in a recent EuroNCAP safetytest.
The article and the EuroNCAP website both said that Fiat had responded by announcing 'significant structural improvements' for all new Multiplas.
Can I get Fiat or any dealer to give me more info - no way. I asked for more details of when these imrpovements were to be included and how I could be sure I bought one with them on. Several Fiat departments in the UK and Italy say they don't know and to contact my local dealer who has the right contacts with - 'Fiat'! Of the dealers that can be bothered to respond (1 so far out of 3) the response is either there is no information or, laughably, contact Fiat direct!
Anyone know the answers? Read more
Thanks everyone for posting replies. It just shows that the Multipla dos in fact generate opinion. I suppose I agree with those that say credibility is partly to do with embracing the future rather than following the past.
Not sure I'll say the same when/if I start to drive one though!
Thanks especially to Mark for the article reference. I have seen some of this before and I believe it says that Fiat still said they would imrpove safety by 'significant' changes aftrer 'only' gaining 3 stars.
What I still can't find out is when and what.
Barry
How can a compression check be carried out on a car fitted with a catalytic converter?
I know you simply remove a spark plug, screw in the meter and turn the engine over but surely this can damage the cat as unburnt fuel is blown out of combustion chamber and into the exhaust? Read more
I stand corrected!
Don't suppose you could point your considerable expertise in the direction of the 'Noisy Tappets' thread I started a few days ago (prob now one click down old messages)?
Thanks in advance
Rob
Due to a whining sound from my 1999 17k 2.0 Focus when lifting off the throttle in 5th gear I asked a Ford garage to check it over whilst they carried out a 2-year service. Their response was that it's a gearbox problem and would be very difficult (ie. expensive) to track down. They assured me that aside from the noise it isn't a serious problem and should not cause any grief down the line, so I opted to save my hard-earned and live with it.
I was wondering though whether it would be worthwhile having the gearbox oil changed, possibly for synthetic oil? Read more
An old remedy was any oil mixed with sawdust. Sell within 500 miles.
Just looking at a ZX with "pedal to to the floor syndrome", as bad as I've ever known apart from moving the Land Rover last week forgetting it had no brake shoes or wheel cylinders fitted....we do get so used to a brake pedal with some action under it.
Anyway this is a well maintained car with good brake linings/drums/discs. Calipers fine, as are rear brake cylinders. Fluid was to the top, replaced last year and no leaks anywhere.
Customer says it just went like it one morning.
Eventually found the rear brake lines full of air, bleed through and it's all A1.
So where did that come from all of a sudden?
David Read more
Another stab in the dark. Was the fluid, replaced a year ago, fresh when it went into the system? Even if it was, the hygroscopic properties of brake fluid can allow the tiniest droplets of water to enter the system and these can boil at the caliper cylinders. The resulting compressable vapour can, in some circumstances, allow enough "space" in the hydraulic system to let the brake pedal go to the floor. Has the customer had a recent high speed, heavy braking journey which, if very prolonged, can bring this about ?
Observation I made yesterday afternoon while sitting at traffic lights. Looked around at the seven vehicles I could see around me, suddenly struck me that only myself and one other driver/passenger were wearing our seatbelts.
A couple of these cars were full of children, obviously on the school run, NONE of the children had a belt on. This wasn't on a minor back street either but on a main A road just after a 40 limit down from 70 about 400yds back with no junction back for two miles, so they hadn't just 'popped round the corner'.
Is this another of the consequences of lack of police patrols? Read more
So its not 'cos the average sceptic is so fat they capture passing asteroids..?
At the risk of boring people with timing belts, yet again, I thought the following to be reasonably interesting.
A road test of the Saab 9-5, published in Diesel Car (December issue), talks about the new 3 litre V6 turbo diesel that this car will be fitted with. It's sourced from Isuzu and has an interesting statement about the timing belt - I quote:
"This new engine is a low maintenance unit, with its single belt drive for the four camshafts being guaranteed for 155,000 miles...."
It will be intersesting to see what's actually in the vehicle warranty. Just imagine a trashed engine and a customer being told "never mind, sir - we won't be charging you for the belt!"
Or maybe, just maybe, this sort of life expectancy is feasible on such a conplex engine. I wonder what another part of GM (Vauxhall) thinks of that, with its notorious Ecocrap engine and belt rollers.
What do the usual supsect think.
Ian Read more
I hope the engine lasts longer than it does in the trooper. They are commonly cracking cylider heads alledgedly!
Matt
Browse
I would agree that the price seems reasonable, whichever Supra model is in question. I can't think of too much in common between whatever Supra and whatever Celica, the former being in line sixes and the latter fours, transverse in more recent years.
Toyota agents seem good about older models, (can I give a plug for Struan who have always been good to me?) but no harm in joining Toyota Enthusiasts Club. There are quite a lot of cheaper spares to be had, and plenty of advice.
See club directory on this site.