May 2002
I have a 1.9TD Xantia (42,000 miles, 30,000 of those in London) on which the clutch action is slightly stiffer than normal and it has an unavoidable judder when pulling away from a standstill, no signs of slippage though! It has been like this now for about 10,000 miles. Can anyone suggest the likely cause ? And how much a repair would cost? Would it be best looked at by an independant citroen specialist or a Citroen main dealer ? Is something which should be addressed sooner rather than later? Read more
All the critics slag-off this car. But looking at the second hand prices I am wondering if it could in fact be a good buy. Presumably mega-reliable and very comfortable. Does anyone have experience of life with the Legend? Read more
Your message is a year old now but I have lived with the same Legend since 1993 when I bought it with one owner who had not used it hardly at all. Now has 140,000 miles and so far its the best car i have ever owned including half a dozen Jaguars/Daimlers and a Rover V8 .wonderful performance from 170bhp v6 2.7 engine and so far only ignition igniter, front HT leads and a couple of steering ball joints have been the only expense. Currently uses virutally no oil despite frequent high speed motorway driving and pottering around locally ( same tyres as a BMW 7 series). My car was manufactured in japan and was a 1990 model.
Just now considering buying another, the latest is more positive than heretofore because subsequent editions were definitely not as good to drive but they have improved that now. I shall be sorry to sell it frankly.
I promise this is not laziness, but I'd like to act quicker than waiting until I have time to browse the web properly, or waiting until I can buy a secondhand car guide.
A colleague is selling a J reg (1991) white (needs a good t-cut by the looks of it) 1.0 base model Fiesta three door. 80k miles. standard stereo, 12 months MOT. She recons VGC, as a seller always does, but I honestly think "Yeah. Okay. Average."
Ideal first car for my newly qualified driver of a wife, in which case what guide price, or likely bag of nails?
I had intended to buy her something more recent, but this opportunity cropped up unexpectedly today.
Of course I will inspect more thoroughly before proceeding, but guideline advice would be appreciated, as I have plenty of knowledge on some cars, but none of it on early 90's Fiestas.
Many thanks,
Steve
Read more
Take a very close look at the area inside the rear wheel arches, around the fuel filler, and where the boot floor meets the arches and inner wings. This is a major rot area on older Mk3 Fiestas.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
Any views on SHELL Optimax would be welcome,I drive a SCENIC 1.6 16v Auto, 5000mls on the clock and have seen my fuel consumption go from 32ish to 37ish, performance has also improved, slightly,any downsides? apart from the price.
Read more
Richard,
That's interesting - if I remember correctly, you have a 20V 2.3. I used to run my 90 20V on super unleaded - it definitely ran better.
Our 80 16V runs better on Optimax:
- quieter on low throttle settings,
- better acceleration
- BUT I haven't checked the consumption.
However, our A4 2.6 V6 doesn't run any better or any worse, which I think might be because this is a 'softly tuned' engine. I also keep records for this car (over a high mileage) and there is no change to the consumption.
Martin.
El Dingo (Martin).
I have a pug 205 and filled it up with texco petrol, since then my car has stalled for no reason and is not holding contant revs. I would have put it down to my car but my mum also filled up at the same station and he ford focus is suffering the same problem. I have a tank full of bad petrol, what should i do???
Read more
I had trouble with a very slow pump at a Texaco garage which then added injury to insult by not cutting off and dumping fuel all over my feet.I complained to Texaco who sent me my money back immediately and said they would invesigate.I expected that would be the end of it but two weeks later got another letter saying that a problem had been found on the pump-it had been fixed and I got my money back again.I don't know if it was anything to do with it but 3 months later the station was no longer Texaco.
This might be a bit premature since it's only just on the market, but does anyone have any experience of, and opinions on the new Civic diesel engine v the competition, in particular Ford and VW? Read more
Civic Diesel is tested in this month's (May) 'Diesel Car', who found it had comparable performance with other 100bhp diesels but with a frugal thirst.
(Look for Diesel Car in larger newsagents/WHS)
A friend has a Ford Fiesta 1.3 that won't start.
It stinks of petrol and must be over fueling.
My question is this:
I'd like to recomend the Tune-up guy from Southampton to visit her house and do the job. (Her AA doesn't cover Homestart)
However if it's a weird and complex sensor fault will he be able to locate the problem without the diagnostic kit?
My gut feeling is to avoid Ford. Can an independant mechanic diagnose these problems?
I'd like an answer back on this quick.
--
Parp, Parp! Read more
Looks like it's time to walk away from this, TTH, and
let the lady solve it herself - after all, she knows
best and it's her money. In my view you can't teach
people experience - they have to learn for themselves, and pay
for the privilege.
Absolutely right!
I didn't really feel able to make a forceful recomendaiton so just left it at what I'd already suggested.
Fortunately she was absolutely right. The garage diagnosed the problem as a disconnected vacuum pipe and replacing it has solved her problems.
I'm assuming they mean a pipe that advances the igniiton and that the ignition may have been retarded too much. Not sure i beleive it but if it solves the symptoms I guess that must be it.
Thanks guys!
--
Parp, Parp!
Just bought an R plate Rover 400 (1400cc)
One key and two fobs supplied (only one fob works).
Two questions if anyone can help please:
1) Do I have to get a second key cut/supplied by Rover Dealer?
2) I've changed battery in dud fob following handbook but no luck. Is there any way of re-programming without paying over the odds at Rover dealer?
Thanks in advance.
Read more
Yep, spot on Nick. We do this daily and most spring back into life.
Sometimes locking the car with the key and using the UNLOCK button to re-sync the plip works if all else fails
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
Coming down the mountain at the weekend, I managed to overheat the brakes to such an extent that I lost virtually all braking.
I stopped the truck in snow, which cooled everything down again and managed to continue the rest of the way, admittedly gingerly, without issue.
Its in the shop being fixed, but I am curious. The guy who is looking at it tells me the pads and discs are fine, although he'll replace the pads anyway, but that he has to drain and replace all the fluid - loads of air bubbles apparantly.
Could I have got the brakes so hot the fluid boiled, did something else happen, or are the two things unrelated ?
Its not really an issue, since it is hardly an expensive job, even on the Dodge, but its never happened before and so I wonder what lead to it this time.
Mark. Read more
Is that US or Imp. gallons? I think there would be a market here, judging from the popularity of big 4WD's here. I think that as traffic density increases, people look for something that is less easily intimidated and allows a view over the rest.
A friend of mine imports larger non-UK variants of Japanese pick-ups and does well.
Yikes! Just noticed in the German Swedish & French parts catalogue that a replacement headlamp for my 406 is £95+VAT and you don't appear to be able to buy the lens separately! My giddy aunt that's a helluva price. Anybody tried those clip on plastic guards to protect against stones? Do they work and how do they 'clip on'?
Thanks in anticipation
Rich Mixture Read more
After shelling out over £250 to have the shattered headlamp unit on my Golf Mk4 repaired by our local VW dealer I didn't waste any time in getting a pair of headlamp guards (£28) fitted to prevent a recurrence!
.jpg)
In which case you have to spend another £200-300 labour to remove the gearbox again, fix the crankshaft leak and fit a new clutch. Doesn't make much sense to me.
Haven't tried it but I believe it is virtually impossible to properly clean brake pads or clutch plates which have been contaminated by oil. And if the clutch plate is contaminated, then you know you have a leak so attemting to clean it and then refitting everything, without fixing the leak is doomed to failure.