March 2002
Can anybody recall when Vauxhall covered their cars for 36 months? I have a late June 2000 Vectra and am wondering what the warranty is on this car. (I am the second owner). Thanks Read more
My wife has an M (94?) Fiesta 1.1 Azura, 23k miles. It is suffering badly from emulsion on the oil which fills the wire filter on the breather pipe from the rocker cover to the ?air filter?. The filter gets so bunged up the engine eventually dies. A quick clean with a paintbrush and paraffin sorts it out for another week or so.
I changed the head gasket a few weeks back, there was no sign of damage or of a cracked cyliner head, that I could see. And the coolant level seems to be stable. And a mechianic friend tasted the residue and said it isn't coolng fluid as it wasn't sweet (which anti-freeze apparently is). I'm now aware that the emulsion also builds up on the inside top of the rocker cover, so my quick paintbrush clean has to be supplemented occassionally by cleaning that out too.
She does about 4 miles a day in the car to go to work, 2 miles there and two miles back. I know there is significant risk in this, and longer journeys would cause any water in the oil to be evaporated. But can this really be the sole cause of the problem, or is there something else I should be looking at/changing?
Would the problem be any different on a different car? Or, to put it another way, is this engine particularly susceptible to this problem? Or...yet another way...should we be getting rid of it?? Read more
I would have said exactly the opposite-cheapest oil you can buy-with that much water in it,it won't make much difference!
We just bought a s/h Mazda that had been valeted, and the silly b's had spread that plastic 'restorer' all over the top of the dash. I don't care for shiny plastic at the best of times (it gives out the same message as shiny tyres, IMHO) but making the area under the windscreen reflective is just plain stupid. I used alcohol to get it off and it's taken two or three applications to remove it completely. Has anyone else had this experience, or are valeters on the Isle of Wight peculiarly dim? Read more
BOTT
Recently temporarily forced into 'Bangernomics' while I sort out a new motor. Got myself a 1990 Ford Sapphire 1.8GLX. The ign/oil/handbrake warning lights and temp guague have suddenly stopped working. Has anyone any ideas. Bulbs are OK.
Also found a long multi-connector with 15 wires layed on top of drivers kick pad with enough length to reach the dash but there is not a socket that I can see, there is only one connection. Is this surplus or am I missing something obvious?
Andrew. Read more
>>Have one in Hull but do not know where else has them.
Unbelievably - Barra de Tijuca just outside Rio de Janeiro.
Employed the WD40 approach and after a bit of coaxing between the glass/rubber with a fine scalpel blade it began to move. Unfortunately it began to move too rapidly, went fully inside the door, then refused to come back out whereupon I heard the sound of breaking-glass!
I await a call from the Autoglass man in the morning! Arsebiscuits... Read more
Bad luck - but what exactly are 'arsebiscuits'?
Glad you went to Autoglass, the chaps at the *other major group that use their own glass instead of the manufacturers* certainly lack any kind of intelligence, let alone ability to put glass in the right place...
Martin.
Is it possible to get at the bulb for the clock, without dismantling sections of the centre console? Grateful for any advice. Read more
Yep, Rover 600 clock bulbs are something we try to shy away from.
The power window switchpack has to come out and they are murder tight in the console.
Allow an hour for a decent technician to do the job!
Re smeary windscreens, is it really worth while paying a silly price for genuine original eqpt wiper blades, or are the cheapos just as good? Read more
Dirty screens can be fatal in sunshine too, particularly when it's low.
Coming home on Thursday I had the sun behind me and a car coming the other way was waiting to turn right.
The car behind him was blinded by the sun and did an emergency stop at the last moment.
It stopped in the biggest cloud of smoke I have ever seen! It literally disappeared fron sight.
I recon his next stop was Kwikfit for a new set of tyres!
Story in todays paper of a gent who parked his Shogun on Black Rock Sands Portmadoc, North Wales. The inshore life boat eventually put a buoy on it to mark it as a hazard to boats after it disappeared beneath Neptunes waves.
Black Rock is well known for its solid drive-on-able sands.
Moral is, follow the tide down, as we beachfisher chaps say, and don't forget your tide tables or check the local paper.
Also any A55 drivers should be aware of road works along the route. There is a speed camera in the road works at St Asaph.
There have also been Gatso flashes in the road works at Penmaenmawr. I am told this is because, instead of a constant 50 limit through the works, it drops to 40 for a short stretch and guess where the camera is?
I fully see the need to protect workers at road works but the good ol' Welsh Assembly has said there will be no workers there over the Bank Holiday weekend.
I have not seen the above personally, and am relying on what others tell me, so there. Read more
I used to windsurf at Lee on Solent - right by Angie's shack, in case you are familiar with the area.
We windsurfed the aftermath of the hurricane. It was lethal, and we did make it into the papers - it wasn't positive, something about irresponsible surfers.
However, its a stony beach, and the waves were big enough to get to the van. The bonnet looked like someone had taken a hammer to it, the windscreen was smashed, and the car was full of water, sand, stones, and other somewhat less desirable stuff often found in the Solent.
However, as it was an extremely old Transit, I hosed it down inside and out, had the w/s replaced and carried on for a year or two. Fair to say the electrics were never the same again, nor was the seat.
Eventually the bottom rusted right out of it, which I suspect was connected to its lifestyle and the care and loving I never showed it.
M.
I want to buy a non- import 51 reg Audi TT 180 Coupe pref black or silver and am stuggling to get one under my budget of £22,000
Can anyone help? Read more
Dare I suggest, rather, a decent Supra instead of a TVR - the more standard the better, i.e. not messed about. You can go motoring, rather than messing in the garage, or superintending the towing in.
OK, I might like a TVR as well, but Littlewoods is not cooperating!
I have a Lexus Soarer 4.0L previously looked after by Martin Dix at Intec, Andover, but they appear to have moved on. Can anyone recommend someone else specialising in the service and repair of these cars? Read more
Soarer is Japanese home market name for what the Yanks call a Lexus SC 400.Soarer was never imported to UK by Toyota UK.Japanese dont have a problem with Toyota selling topline luxury cars and so the Lexus brand is not marketed in Japan,and the Lexus models are badged Toyota.
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i had a vectra which snapped its cambelt at about 2 years old with relatively low mileage
although out of guarantee vauxhall paid up for the whole repair without any prompting from me...
so if you get a snapped cambelt dont cough up the 2 K they want...
aircon never failed though