May 2002
Hi
Having just purchased a VW Golf 4-Motion (2000) the gearbox has suddenly become very notchy. I am due to see a VW dealer next week but I was wondering if anyone else had encountered a similar problem with their Gof?
Thanks Read more
309: 74000 miles
Cambelt due at 72000
I'm a poor student! But will it survive a long run ie is it more likely to fail on the motorway? Read more
Have 1.6 16v Ecotec that is 5 years old and done 105,000 miles with no problems. Starts and runs fine but I'm wondering if I should replace the H T leads. How long do they last?
I can remember the subject coming up here many moons ago and advice being given on measuring the resistance of each lead. Do they gradually deteriorate over time, so that you don't notice a loss of performance?
If they should be replaced, then what with? Looking in Halfords today. Choice there is Lemark Hotwires £28, Halfords £30 or Bosch £35. Would probably go for Bosch seeing there is little difference in the price. Any recommendations?
Thanks Read more
If you expect to keep the car for quite a while fit the best you can afford. Original leads on many cars are quite poor.
I've got Magnacor KV85s from Demon Tweeks. £65 a set of four, but the car runs much better on these than it did the originals. I expect to keep the car 5yrs + though, so I will get a long term benefit.
After an incident involving myself and a woman Volvo driver today I think it would be a good call for a Highway Code refresher test to be introduced to all drivers. After turning left onto a street which had cars parked on either side ie one lane only available I saw a Volvo driver reverse out of her drive saw me obviously waiting for her to drive back onto her drive to clear the road but no she continued to reverse then had the gaw to drive head on upto my car. She expected me to reverse directly onto a main road which had a blind corner ( difficult to get out of even if you were front facing) she sat in her car waiting waiting waiting for me to move. I jumped out of the car and asked her what the problem was, she said she would like me to reverse in order to clear her way obviously this would have been dangerous to myself and any on coming traffic she clearly did not have any idea what so ever. Incidents like this no doubt happen 1000's of times a day. Why don't the Police use the money from speeding offenses and retrain people to conduct themselves in the correct way when on the road? Read more
Hello David.
Thanks for asking, but don't ask!
Carole
I have an April 2002 Citreon Saxo VTR, and recently, just after the car was four weeks old, the car was broken into. The drivers door lock was popped and the standard CD stereo was taken. Approxiamately £700 worth of damage in total was done.
First, does anybody know the safest way so that this does not happen again. I have been suggested to have the car de-locked as I have remote central locking. Does anybody know of any other or possibly better ways for securing the car?
Also the car has a metallic dashboard insert that surrounds the CD player, heater controls, ashtray etc. This is a new part, and replaces the original black one, and is currently not available from Citreon. Does anybody know where I can get one of these?
Any help would be appreciated.
Iain Read more
The trouble with de-locking is that it has to be done properly, most people just spot-weld a metal plate to the inside of the door then hide it with filler/fibreglass. Your average scumbag knows that if he puts his screwdriver where the lock used to be and thumps it, 9 times out of 10 the plate breaks off and he can reach through the lock hole and flip the catch.
And what happens to your de-locked car the day the battery goes flat?
As a little aside, I once got called to jump-start a regular customer's car. H-reg BMW 5 series, driven forwards into a garage, battery gone flat. We arrived at his garage and he went to unlock the doors so he could let the handbrake off to roll the car out, only to find that the key barrels on BMW 5 series are not mechanically connected to the door locks, rather they work a switch which unlocks the doors by solenoid, even the one you've got the key in. Flat battery = no doors unlocking.
Solution? Lateral thinking...
Now I hate to stereotype, but the chap in question was of West Indian descent, so I remarked that a nice car like this probably had a decent sound system in it... He unlocked the (mechanical) boot release to expose a brace of amplifiers and subwoofers, so I promptly held my jump leads against the amplifier connections while he unlocked the doors with the key!
Saw the below on AutoExpresses www.
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Drivers Should Pay More For Car Use
Drivers should have to pay to use motorways or busy city roads, according to Government advisers. A team of traffic experts has claimed that charging motorists would be the best way to get them to ditch their cars in favour of public transport.
But the recommendation aimed at cutting congestion has received stark criticism from motoring organisations. The RAC Foundation's executive director Edmund King said he believed the plans would severely affect poorer drivers who rely on their cars for work.
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Strange - I thought us motorists already were charged (a) Road Fund Licence (b) duty/VAT on petrol (c) MOTs (d)general tax (e) etc. etc..
Sometimes I think that I am really naive. Read more
At the last general election the was a one off pressure group chappie standing in my constituency on a Pro motorist platform. Nobody voted for him. Old habits die hard.
Intend to replace the coolant in my 1999 (i.e. new spec) 406 2.0 LX petrol this weekend. Had a quick look over it to know what to expect before I scooted off to buy the antifreeze. Bedamned if I can find the cylinder block drain plug or the thermostat housing bleedscrew.
Haynes don't cover this vehicle yet - anybody out there know where they've hidden the drain plug and how many bleedscrews there are (I can only find the one on the heater outlet)?
Maybe I'll have to go to the (quick intake of breath...) dealer :-(
Cheers
Phil T Read more
Thanks all for your responses. I do have the Haynes manual for the earlier model and it does tell me how the system *used* to be drained down (as per John D's post). However, things have changed on the new model - most notably in relation to the location (or absence) of some of the bleedscrews - The thermostat housing is completely different on the 138bhp engine.
If no-one's got any first hand knowledge of the 1999 variant I think I'll entrust this job to my friendly local independent PSA specialist. Whilst I don't object to paying him to do a professional job, it's frustrating that I can't do a relatively simple task myself due to lack of technical information. Maybe Haynes will be reissuing the 406 workshop manual soon - I did send them an enquiring email, but no response :-(
Thanks again
Phil T
Last week
For 'stealing' abandoned golf balls 6 months prison
This week
Driving without a full licence
No MOT
No Number plate
Faulty Lights
Defective tyres
Defective brakes
+ 3 other offences not detailed
9 in all
Ran over and killed a 9 year old £200 and a year's ban Read more
I agree with DVD - once ownership is abandoned by the golfer, best title to the balls is that of the landowner, as for anything abandoned (treasure - or as it used to be 'treasure trove' excepted) in the absence of a better claimant (eg the original owner of a ladder stolen and abandoned by the thief in your garden, who would still own it, not you).
He seems to have 'appropriated property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it' as per Theft Act 1968 s.1 - but where is the required dishonesty for a theft?
I assume this was inferred from the fact that the diving took place furtively at night, rather than overtly (animus furandi anyone?)
Seems to me, if the jury were not misdirected on that point he will stay convicted, but I cannot imagine the sentence standing (necessary to protect the public? Other courses of action would not be appropriate? Hmm!)
Wouldn't the obvious eventual solution for the future be for the lakeball collectors to approach the club and get permission - probably for a small share of the proceeds which would then be reflected in the resale price - which would avoid the need to dive at night and would also avoid the whole 'theft' issue?
If the permission ism't forthcoming - then yes, this will be theft. But probably still not 6 months worth!
Calling all Citroen Experts!
Friend of mine is fixing a BX and needs to know how much LHM fluid to buy to refill an empty system. I have looked in oil guides and no capacity is quoted.
Can anyone enlighten me?
Thanks in advance
Charles Read more
By the time you've bled the brakes, you'll need five.
The emissions figures for my 12 year old, 140,000 mile Audi were CO 0.09%, HC 78ppm. Minimum even for a post 1992 vehicle is 0.3% / 200 ppm, although my car gets tested on the older standards (3.5% / 1200ppm). So presumably the catalytic converter is working just fine. Judging by its external condition it has been on the vehicle for a very long time, and could even be the original. Do 'cats' usually deteriorate gradually, or fail suddenly without warning? At this rate, it seems that mine is more likely to rust through than fail internally. Read more
Mine's done 255,000 miles, Volvo Torslanda, 1993. No problem at the last MOT.
I've been told, I think in an earlier thread, that CATs are stainless steel so don't rust, but either a) become poisoned because of a worn engine, or b) become physically damaged inside through impact or shock of being suddenly cooled in deep water.
I have also heard that there are ordinary ceramic-based CATs, which are vulnerable to sudden cooling, and tougher ones that can stand total immersion.
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P,
That Peugeot 305 1.6 (as with all Peugeots) is classed as an interference engine where damage is likely to happen. You were lucky then.
David