February 2002
A couple of weeks ago I posted a query about my wife's Punto. She found that when she was toodling down the M5 at about 60 or 70 mph the car would occasionally drift to left or right for no apparant reason. A bit like being blown off course in a strong wind but it happens on windless days.
A couple of you kindly suggested possible reasons for this and indicated a trip to the dealer. Well, the car was back at the Fiat dealer yesterday and they could find nothing wrong with it. Mind you, they did fix the juddery wipers which is mentioned on HJs car by car breakdown. They claim that the car is not affected by the other recalls that HJ notes, even though one is related to sterring. I bet the main dealers hate sites like this since they tend to empower the consumer. More of it!
I am now at a loss about what to do next. My wife is not happy about driving her car, especially with our baby in the back. Any idea what I can do next. I have tried phoning Fiat UK but the number on their web site is dead. Read more
can anyone please help my to find the roll center of a swing axle front suspension set for an Allard ??????? Read more
I have forgotten, but when I did know it wasnt that complicated.
The trouble is that with pure(?)swing axles it migrates according to the camber of the wheels.I imagine it must migrate upwards as the camber becomes more positive..
If you can keep the camber from going positive on the front wheels it will never bother you,but half an inch of suspension travel might!
Isn't it difficult to predict how much spares are going to cost?
I had little choice but to go to my BMW dealership for four items in the two years that I have owned my 1992 BMW 525 estate and the cost of every one of these items has been a surprise. (The following costs each include VAT.)
# The four brake bleed nipples which I bought simply as an insurance for when I changed the system fluid cost £13 the set (I expected to pay a fiver).
# The rear screenwasher bottle lid cost 52 pence (I thought I might have to buy the whole bottle).
# Two new gas struts for the opening glass panel in the tailgate cost just over £17 each (I was expecting nearer £45 each).
# A new speedometer head cost £115. (Being essentially a stepper motor, a dial, a pointer and a clock spring, I hoped for no more than £35).
I must admit to hesitating over the speedometer. The pointer on mine sometimes sticks at various speeds, especially on a long journey, which means I have had to guess my speed at some most inappropriate moments. I repaired the speedo twice, it being a five minute job to remove and refit but a very delicate and 'no-rush' item to work on. The bore of the spindle bush had worn slightly, allowing the spindle to kick-over a few thou and drag. I applied a spot of light oil to help centre the spindle in the bush and this worked, but only for a few weeks until the oil drained out. I decided that a speeding fine and points on my licence were not worth the risk so yesterday I ordered a new speedometer. All contributions gratefully received! Read more
I'll just bring my original posting up to date by telling you that when I collected the speedometer from the BMW dealership, the storeman told me that I was lucky because BMW have been bringing down their parts costs and my £98+VAT speedometer was once priced at over £200. Phew!
The storeman said that BMW spares were now in the same price range as most mainstream European cars and considerably cheaper than many of the Japanese. Pleased to see that BMW are getting something right ... but read on ...
Whilst at the BMW dealership I looked over one of the newly launched 7 Series to see if it was really as undesirable as some have said. I thought the back end was much better than it appears in photographs but the fascia and that central control knob were, to my eyes at least, absolutely awful. I wouldn't want a 7 Series anyway but I am now worried that the forthcoming new 5 Series (E60) will be just as bad. Not so worried about the outside, it's the inside that Janet and I will be looking at when we are in the car and we are not prepared to face an aberration of an interior. Looks like we might be buying a so-called 'pre-owned' 5 Series in the shape of an E39, or we may even keep our E34 for another two or three years.
Travelling on M40 Southbound near Gaydon on Sunday a.m. around 10:00 was passed by about 15 vehicles at speed in lanes 2 and 3. all sporting magnetic blue lights and alternate flashing headlights (apart from the 'bike...) Interesting selcetion of vehicles ; Peugots, Vauxhalls, etc., and then, two minutes later by a Seat in same configuration (must have been a delay with the double sausage mcmuffin at the drive thru.)
i) It certainly gave the middle lane dawdlers a shock, and
ii) Local C.I.D. works outing?
anyone else see them? Read more
Our President, Thabo Mbeki, was involved in a shunt the other day, when one of his security vehicles crunched his presidential 4x4 on the motorway.
Made a bit of a mess, with a few whiplash injuries.
How overfull with oil does an engine have to be before it damages the 'cat'? I topped up the 1.8 'R' plate Passat at the weekend, and it's now showing about 1/4 inch (0.5cm) over full on the dipstick, and the 'oil' service indicator is now showing on starting the engine. I remember from reading the manual (!) that it's possible to turn this indicator off, and according to normal service intervals it's not due a service for a while. Any thoughts anyone? Read more
The word 'some' should be in italics. Don't get carried away next time or you'll have to drain the oil back out - into an empty 5ltr oil can with a hatch carefully cut in the side if for re-use.
If you look at the Clarkson Comeback thread you'll HJ warning site could close for lack of funding. The big car companies won't sponsor a site which exposes all their tricks. Personally I'd be devastated without my daily HJ fix. Don't close it down HJ! Read more
No thats not me! Just to say hello to all the backroomers from somewhere in the middle of the North Sea. Its a bit choop.........uugh! Wonderful these new boats.
Andrew. Read more
I am well aware of that, Andrew.
However, he was only a steward, thank goodness he never got to steer the thing!
This month's evo has a test of the new Hyundai Coupe V6 vs the Toyota Celica (albeit the overpriced T-sport rather than the regular 190)
Anyway they reckon the Hyundai is the better car. Correct me if I'm wrong but surely the Toyota will have a better residual value than the Hyundai - or am I missing something here?
Has anybody driven the new Hyundai - what's the verdict? Read more
I have a late 1997 A4 Avant 1.8 se with only 39,000 miles that has been nurtured from new with full dealer history. Only recently however i have noticed a knocking noise from the front suspension- whilst this is not serious ( i am assured by the dealers) it is becoming noisey and very annonying. i have been told that the A4 has a weakness in this area. Has anyone else suffered like this ? incidently i have also had to replace a CV joint which was expensive. Read more
My local garage has had several A4s in to cure front suspension knock. In each case it has been the joints in the multi-link front suspension, and they have all had to be replaced to eliminate the problem. But this has usually been at a fairly high mileage (typically around 100K). Very expensive from Audi, much cheaper from independent suppliers.
Has petrol gone up this week?
Costs almost as much as the smelly stuff now.
No mention of price increase on the news?
Paul Read more
Prices rose on the Rotterdam spot due to the uncertainty about the statements buy both Bush and the Iranian Presidents threat to attack the arab oil fields.
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Up until a few years ago it was rare to encounter a road with serious rutting.
Nowdays you come across it on every journey. Some of them hold over an inch of water in rain, a serious aquaplaning risk.
IMHO, if the authorities are not going to maintain roads then they should go for concrete construction rather than tarmac.