April 2002
I am 90% certain that the head gasket has gone on my
petrol 95 M plate Golf 1.6 CL.
It is having a block test today to confirm.
I hear that it is best to have the head skimmed when
replacing the head gasket.
I was going to change the car anyway in September,
the question is, do I fork out the £400 + or trade it in
for another car?? Read more
Before you jump on my head and start shouting that I?ve started a new thread where this topic has been discussed earlier ? I did a search and didn?t find anything. So here goes;
How difficult would it be to convert an automatic car to manual ? ? I know that current autos may prove problematic as all the electronics may be linked. I was thinking more of late 80's or early 90's cars, where the electronics, if at all, were fairly "basic".
Would a conversion prove to be financially unfeasible ? Would you have to notify DVLA and pass a MOT type test etc?
Chad.R
P.S. Specifically, I was thinking of cars such as a MB W124 or a BMW 7 or 5 series (E32/E34), but any general advice would be appreciated. Read more
Chad
Going back a while, I know a number of Triumph Stags that were converted from auto to manual/overdrive, using spares sourced from broken cars.
You need to be sure exactly what items are different, the obvious ones such as flywheel, new pedal box, clutch hydraulics, propshaft etc etc., but there are some things you may miss - eg different trim for the gear lever rather than selector lever. The Stag owners were pleased and the performance and economy benefits were achieved, and the costs were not too bad.
However, things were much simpler then, and these days there may well be more dificult to resolve items including engine and gearbox electronics, and I expect there may be more fundamental differences. Certainly one to be very careful of!
Regards
John
Really how different/reliable/trustworthy ARE these Internet Car Reatailers?
How can www.broker4cars.co.uk offer the Octavia RS @ £14,554 (inc metallic paint) OTR from their UK supplied contracted Skoda dealership whilst www.showroom4cars can knock it out for only £13,995, albeit with a 7 week delivery date!
Although I'm not quite ready to jump in yet I spent almost an hour at a Huddersfield-based Skoda dealership on Friday afternoon drooling over a 'straight out of the box' metallic silver specimen which also included the electric sunroof. I didn't engage in any hard bargaining on the day but the vibe was that he'd be unwilling to drop much from £15,775! This is a company who have a fine, regularly updated website (which first caught my attention), could undercut a dealership in Ampthill for a nearly new 4x4 Turbo by £700 but are still thrifty Yorkshiremen like myself!
OK, it's got to be supply/demand/overheads, etc., etc. and I pride myself on being a 'canny' shopper, but just who/with/what/why and when does one jump in? Has anyone had a really good trouble-free ride with the Online merchants?
PS. Spotted my first 'Superb' in CMK last week. I tried to 'chase' the guy to get a closer look but he got away at the lights. It looked the biz mind... Read more
Cheers Gary,
As your name/company crops up here repeatedly in such a favourable light I'll certainly be in touch when the time is right...
Richard H
Help!
I?ve been losing excessive coolant from the system of my 1997 Audi A4 Tdi.
It started as a small amount about 6weeks ago so I?ve had it in to the main dealer, they say it passed a pressure test and chemical test, but changed the expansion tank and cap, as they thought the seal could have been dodgy.
The problem has become worse, to such an extent I?m loosing 1 litre of coolant every 30 odd miles, and I?ve stopped running the car.
The coolant seems to be coming out of the expansion tank vent, and pooling on the engine protector cover. I guess this is happening because the system is being pressurised by a leak somewhere.
A friend who works for VW say's he's never heard of this problem with this engine?
Audi say the next step is to pull the head.
I don?t want to pay for this and the problem is something else.
Any idea?s?
Cheers, Skippy Read more
Is with Pete here. Completely different beast/league/world, but a long time ago, I had similar problems with my first baby, a sound Hillman Avenger! Best and most reliable answer was to drill a small hole in the thermostat as a permanent bleed. Not what you would expect to do on such a modern car, but needs must, maybe. That, or check your watering can for snails...been there...done that too...!!
Would you recommend the purchase of the Chrysler Neon Auto as a reliable automatic? If not what is the best alternative of similar spec and price? Read more
Had one as a courtesy car the other day. Struck me as pretty bland but reasonably capable. Can't comment on reliability.
Hideously uncomfortable and a bit sluggish after the upright drive of the Grand Cherokee though - joints (mine) objected to bending low enough to climb in! But there's no doubt you get a fair bit of car for your money.
I am intrested in buying a Vectra cdx APPROX 9-12 old as it would be my 3rd and I am very happy with these models. However I wonder will the 2nd values drop with the new models just round the corner
Any viewpoints would be grateful
Tony Campbell (Enfield) Read more
Checkout today's Auto Express.
Look out for an email containing attachments call Error0016. Doesnt seem to do any damage but gets into your email list. It hit mine this morning nd judging by the number of returned emails I have had as undelivered the anti-virus thingys seem to be working. I must upgrade mine now!.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
Andrew. Read more
Don't keep your email addresses in Outlook Express but in a separate list - Excel works well. I understand viruses can't then get at them.
To send a message, click on the relevant address in this list, right click Copy, close list, open Outlok Express, click on Create message, then right click on Paste in the address box.
Very quick car and starts first time from cold. Also starts when hot right after stopping. If left for approx.15 minutes takes up to 30 minutes to start,if at all. When it does start from warm,runs fine and no problem untill next warm start. Any ideas? it's driving me mad!
Thanks
Colin Read more
Had similar problem with the "furio" version which I think was the 1.8 8v version. Turns out it was either a fuel or air sensor (sorry can't remeber which)
IIRC wasn't too pricy at main dealer.
We are seriously considering retiring to Spain.
I have a V-reg Focus tdi Zetec (rhd of course), with 34k, high spec (side bags, ABS, aircon, metallic etc). I paid £12k, from Belgium & have lavished much TLC (& £'s) on it. I love it, apart from its excessive thirst (for an oil-burner).
I'd appreciate expert advice on whether it would be sensible to try to sell it, & buy a lhd Seat there?
My usual practice these days has been to buy new(or nearly) then keep it until it starts to cost serious Euros (!), then get rid. I won't be able to afford frequent changes.
Any help appreciated.
Roger Read more
Only problem with that, HJ, is the small one of financing, on a meagre pension, the shortfall between a new Focus/Seat/etc & a nearly (by then) 3yo 'Belgian' Focus :-(
If I do sell & buy, I'll have to trade-down - any recommendations, bearing in mind the likely value of the Focus - shiny, but f. high mileage(16k/yr)? Presumably Seat wd be first choice?
Also, any comments on Spanish running costs - insurance, servicing, spares, road tax, etc, would be welcomed.
I don't want to let up any pressure on the dipsticks who keep infesting every overtaking place with these highway robbery cashgrabbers. But Martyn feels very strongly that The Backroom is seeing too many separate speed camera/speed limit related postings. So please could Backroomers confine threads on this subject to a maximum of one a day, and if you want to make a new point, simply post it onto that day's speed camera/speed limit thread rather than start a new one.
HJ Read more
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Local garages in Bristol Bedminster charge between £20-£25/hour. probably not alot of help to you but it's nice to know someone somewhere is being sensible.