Interested in Honda Prelude for sale privately, told its an import but with "parts cheaper on the net than with Honda dealers".Car is at What Car? trade price guide as opposed to private sale price,do you accept the reduced price and use the saving to allow for any future expense or do I avoid altogether? I do fancy the Honda Prelude, especially 2.2 V tech, it would be my car as opposed to the family taxi. Any comments and guidance greatly appreciated.
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I have a two month old TDCI that now intermittently refuses to start.
When the problem first arose it would start on thev second attempt but now needs a third or fourth attempt to start.

The engine cranks normally but does not fire. There is a beeping sound from under the bonnet and the glow plug indicator light flashes.

The main agent says they can find nothing wrong, having had the car for a day, but there clearly is something amiss.

It makes no difference if the car has been used for a long or short run and otherwise is a real pleasure to have.

Can any of you clever folk give me a clue as to what might be wrong? Read more

My friend Graham has a 1984 Ford Granada 2.3 with 65000 miles on the clock, owned by him from new. He loves the car except for one thing ... it has always suffered severe clutch judder. The main dealer fitted two new clutches and even a new flywheel under warrantee but the problem remained.

Graham eventually decided that the judder was nothing to do with the clutch but was caused by the very tight bend in the operating cable. A new cable was fitted and this solved the problem for a very short while, but soon the constant rubbing of the inner cable on the sheath led to the judder re-appearing. He bought a new cable and pumped a very slippery and clinging aircraft grease through it, then asked the dealer to fit it. This gave a bit longer freedom from judder but he gets only around 12-18 months of smooth driving before the judder returns with a vengeance.

Graham wants to keep the car for a few more years but is getting tired of messing about with the clutch cable. At one time, when the car was a couple of years old, he asked if it could be converted to automatic transmission but we decided against that on cost grounds. Today he asked if it could be converted to hydraulic clutch operation but I felt that this would be quite difficult. I suggested avoiding the sharp bend by splitting the cable in two and having a bell-crank at the point of the bend, but on second thoughts, this would also be difficult and time-consuming.

Knowing that Backroomers never get stumped for an answer, I have decided to throw the question open to you, the reader. Please can anyone suggest an answer to this problem? (So far as I know, the cable cannot be re-routed.) Read more

Which of the 'soft' 4x4's would you recommend for someone with a knee injury?
The requirements are:-
The seat is at chair height, and no climbing up or down to get in or out.
The door aperture is long to allow minmal bending of the knee.
Comfort for 15k miles per year including commutes of up to 1000 miles on a weekly basis, but average of 250 miles per week.
Reliability - This will be a self purchase to last 4+ years
Automatic gears.
No people carriers - we do not need 7 seats, but do need a big boot.
We have looked at the new Honda CRV, and the Mitsi Pinin.
The Isuzu Trooper is too thirsty, and Freelander .... well.. erm not quite right.

Any useful comments or ideas greatly appreciated. Read more

What's the best, easiest, way to remove two caged needle roller bearings, in a steel casing, from a motorcycle swinging arm made of alloy? The bearings are approx 1 inch in diameter, inside a 12 inch long tube (approx) that has a smaller diameter in the centre. I'm worried about damaging the alloy if I use brute force. Is there a special tool for this type of job? Read more