May 2002
Can anyone offer advice on AUDI A4 V6 2.4 My brother in Sydney is thinking of purchasing such spec... Anyone familiar with it and its performance etc... or is there better purchase out there in oz ?
Regards Ken Read more
The needle on my Veglia 405 Tachometer has gone crazy, and swings in and out of the 8000rpm band, then back to zero.
Sender?
Head?
Bad earth?
All of the above?
None of the above?
Anyone got any clues?
TIA
Rob Read more
I had a problem of the same basic description on a previous car I owned.
Cause was a dodgy HT lead inducing a current into the tacho feed wire that ran close to it.
/Steve
A couple of weeks ago Brill posted (via Lee H) a photo of a logo, in the shape of a letter "A". Many of you will remember the suggestions as to what it was. The answer was, of course, Armitage Shanks.
Then followed some quite detailed debate as to what model it might have been - single seater with porcelain bodywork, large exhausts, starting handles etc. I've done some further digging and, during a visit to Leyhill prison in Gloucestershire (actually a visit to the arboretum, farm shop and museum) I found that one has survived.
You can look at it www.geocities.com/iancook2000/fiats_2> here. THere were a couple of other things of motoring interest, which I have also posted.
Ian
(Crikey I hope this active link thingy works again this time!) Read more
Ian
My guess that it was an open top single seater was not too far wide of the mark. I got the bodywork material wrong though.
as ever
Mark
This is what HJ's car-by-car breakdown has to say about the UK Honda Accord 98 onwards.
<<<< What's Bad
Reports of problems with manual gearboxes. Serious problem with the printed circuit boards that control the automatic load compensating headlamp beam adjusters of Type Rs which may become the subject of a safety recall. >>>>
Can anyone elaborate on what the "problems with manual gearboxes" actually are? I've got a 2001 Accord, got it at 12 months old with 10000 miles and right from day one going into first hasn't always been perfect - but not a problem.
Sometimes you really have to give it a shove to get it into first from standing still and/or try several times, occasionally letting the clutch out and putting it back in again before it goes into first. And this morning (for the first time) it made a very brief crunch noise going into third even with the clutch was pressed down to the floor.
It's coming up to its 18000 mile service, so I'll mention it then, but my fear is they'll just put it down to my imagination or something or tell me there's nothing wrong.
Any more details in advance would be appreciated.
Alex. Read more
I asked this very same question last year(!) and got nowhere fast. My problem is that it's very difficult to get into second or third without the car lurching forward. Even letting the clutch out veeeerrrrry slowly still makes it lurch slightly. Clutch as well?
Andy
Hi
My brothers car withstood what appears to be a sustained attack by some baseball cap wearing scumback, however there is now a louder windnoise at motorway speeds and there are signs that there was an attemp to lever the top of the drivers door. The seal has a small puncture and the door apears to be sitting very slightly proud.
Is there a science of bending the doorback to its original position, or is the noise likely to go away with a repair to the seal with some silicon sealent?
Also do I have to replace the whole door handle or can I get the small circular bit of trim covering the lock itself. Read more
Cockle isn't too far off the truth with this repair method. With this type of door, I always found it best to wind the window down fully, place my right knee at the base of the pillar at waist level and then pull the frame into position. Practice by doing it several times, pulling a little harder each time until the door is in the right place - don't be too brutal with it as you are probably only looking for a few millimetres.
I wouldn't de-lock any car fitted with superlocking (aka deadlocking or double locking). Where I work now we have a large fleet of Ford vehicles and they have a history of failing remotes. If your car is superlocked and the remote fails you will need the key to open the door. Also depending on the car model (eg Range Rovers and Rover 800s) you will need to input a code via the key to release the engine imobilizer. Personally I always carry my spare remote with me at all times. Remember, the point behind superlocking is to render the usual non damaging methods of illicit entry impossible.
I'm looking to buy a mazda 323 zxi v6,saw a very good car the other day,but as soon as you start the engine their is a very loud top end rattle,mazda uk inform me that a kit can be fitted to cure this is this true,would any damage have been done by this rattle.
stuart Read more
Stuart
A friend where I used to work ran a Mazda Xedos V6, and it was a beautiful car. The one thing he was dreading, though, was having the timing belt replaced because (in the Xedos) the front wing has to be removed for access. I don't know whether the 323 will have the same access problem, but it's worth checking this out.
Ian
Have just had it confirmed by a reader that pre tax prices for Audis at least have been raised in Holland. Buying at the new pre tax price, then paying UK VAT, the reader could only save £204 on an A4 TDI. Am not running this as a news item until I get further confirmation, but this could mean the end for a lot of imports from Holland and Denmark.
HJ Read more
To Import - ant, the same reader wrote that pre-tax prices for LHDs are now virtually the same in Holland as they are in Germany. As I wrote, I'll check with Audi tomorrow.
HJ
Whilst doing some more fantastic modifications to my soon-to-be-featured-in-a-magazine Citroen AX, I managed to snap off the rear view mirror. Oops. So now I'm left with the mount right in the position I want to stick the new one I've got.
How can I remove the pesky mounting point? All the solutions I could find involed hairdryers - I live in a house full of blokes, so hairdryers aren't really available :) Read more
Those suction things never stay up. Proper mirror with the proper stick-to-glass adhesive is the only real answer.
Could try drinking the Tesco value vodka then breathing on it :o)
Terry
My 90 H Astra nearside front wheel has started making a kind of "throbbing" noise when i drive along. It is not a grinding noise but sounds as if something could be rubbing intermitantly.
Could it be the wheel bearing? if so how much to replace,and can i fit it easily or do i need a garage to do it? If not the bearing what could it be?
Thanks guys Read more
Keith is right, it's not a DIY job. It should be about 1.5 hrs labour plus parts.
MIke
New car 2k since purchased in Feb 2002. Ok except the following.
At speeds of 30 to 40 mph over ridges and trenches in road I hear a dong type noise from the rear end of car.
2 dealers have checked it over and cannot identify source.
They have only checked hatch, rear seats, spare wheel.
I suspect possible fuel tank, loose or baffles inside it or fuel float?
Possible noisy shocks, bushes on rear suspension or anti roll bars on car have so far been dismissed by dealers.
They advise drive car for few more miles to see if develops.
Any one else similar experiences? Read more
Quite right Martin.
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Oop,s my mistake, premium was 94RON.....Our Holden Barina (ie Vauxhall Corsa) had a switch to change between 91 and 94RON.
The Barina was our mistake.....fine for city traffic but a disaster for wide open country roads. Thinking about it in hindsight, we should have bought a banger to last until we had some experience of road conditions and the very different type of driving before choosing a car. Our second car was a Subaru.....a much better bet in country Australia.