May 2002
I have a 1989 Rover Metro 1l. I needed to replace the head gasket on it. That done, turning the engine over by hand (on the crankshaft), the engine turns almost a full revolution, but jams solid when it comes to closing no 5 valve. Also, the pushrod for no 5 does not rise as high as the other push-rods (even with the tappet open).
what could be causing this to jam? Read more
Bought one of these for £80 from the car supermarket I used to work at-it was a part-ex. No MOT/TAX but has given 9 months of hassel free tough off-roading on our farm and I reckon I've been places in it that would make a Landie get scared (low centre of gravity means steeper inclines etc etc./light body and engine). Electric sunroof great for killing vermin from too! Abuse expected for that remark...How can I cheaply increase the power from the 1.5ltr petrol lump? Read more
Hello. Please visit www.tercel4wd.com for information about this car. There are options for more power from the original engine, mostly carbs, cams and exhaust. The diesel engine is tricky because the bell housing is different.
I do up to 500 miles per week.
The car is a Peugeot 309 1.4i, 1993.
Manual says oil change every 6000 and a service every 12000. Half these for hard use, which includes 'frequent short journeys from cold, or door to door use.'
My mileage is from the following:
-College, 10 miles away on back roads
-Social, various journeys but never under 5 miles and sometimes will be a long-ish drive, maybe 60+ miles
-Pizza delivery - 2 nights a week, 70-100 miles in a night typically. Involves a mix of short and slightly longer journeys, but the engine doesn't cool down much except near the end of the night when business is quiet and I go on few deliveries. BY THE WAY I leave the engine running whilst delivering, say 2 minutes per delivery.
-Does this count as harsh use then? Should I change the oil at 3 or 4000 miles rather than 6000?
ALSO (sorry to go on) - I go to university in september. This will involve whatever small mileage I do there, probably very low, and a 350 mile round trip every so often to go home at a weekend. Wheh should I service it then? I'm guessing oil about 5000 or 6 months whichever first and service 10000/12 months
Sorry to ramble; just want to make sure I get the maintenance right. So far I've changed the cambelt and had an oil change. Last owner (contacted via V5 because I bought it from a trader) said it was 'serviced recently' but a full service will be in June. ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR I should replace/check at 76000? Read more
Others will give you more details about servicing.
Please remember it is illegal to leave your car unattended on a public road with the engine running. It's also an invitation to theft and you may not be insured because in the insurer's view you may not have excercised your duty of care, i.e. you didn't look after the car well enough.
Darcy
RR '96 4 litre SE. A "refer to dealer" alert on the a/c panel takes the form of a book with a ! next to it. This comes on occasionally, sometimes immediately but more often well into a trip. On each occasion there is nothing discernably wrong with temperature control or the ability to increase/decrease it. A rogue sensor maybe? Anyone else had this problem? Only the dealer is likely to charge one arm, one leg just for looking. Read more
Here's a piece from www.rpiv8.com, rover v8 specialists.
4.0 & 4.6 (New shape)Suffer a similar but normally less dramatic problem, although these engines are much stronger, "The Same" Air/ fuel ratio problem will arise with low octane fuels, you will not normally however suffer cracked blocks, but you will cause the Liner to shift from its seat or cause sticky valve guides (partial seizure) and the solution is much the same as the 3.9 & 4.2 above, an ECU re chip will sort it out and more Gems ECU info
As the clutch wears on a mk2 Golf, does the cable need lengthening, or does the slack need taking up?
The reason I ask is, having just changed the clutch, the cable is on close to max length adjustment and the release lever won't have much more room if it wears 'upwards'.
Please, someone please tell me the cable needs lengthing with clutch wear, and I haven't made a 'box out again blunder.
Cheers,
Rob F
Read more
Robert
Usualy, as the clutch centre plate wears, the operating lever moves 'outwards' ie in the opposite direction from the cable pull, and the free play is reduced.
Not sure which system the Golf uses, but:
If the adjustment is located on the outer cover, this will have to be moved to reduce the effective length of the outer.
If the adjustment is on the inner, the adjuster will have to be moved to effectively lengthen the inner cable.
Hope this helps
Regards
John S
Does anyone know of Vauxhall parts suppliers in the North London - M1/M4 corridor area cheaper than main dealers? (I'm thinking of "eurocarparts" or "German&Swedish" type)
My Neighbour has just bought a '95 Omega 3.0 Elite saloon and is looking to do "minor" DIY servicing/repairs.
Apart from HJ's comments in the Car-by-Car breakdown is there anything I should warn him of?
Many thanks,
Chad.R
PS. It got 89k on the clock and has full Vx Service history with the Cambelt done at 72k. The interior is immaculate with every conceivable extra bar Sat Nav. Exterior is fair - needs a good T-cut/polish. Still seems alot of car for the money - £3200. Read more
Thanks - I'll pass this info on.
Chad.R
OK
Have W Reg Celica (Blue with Grey interior)
needs new parcel shelf
dealer wants 169 quid for one
does anyone know of any scrapyard that will take interior colour code and deliver a good condition shelf from a crashed example ?
and how much would you expect to pay ?
Cheers etc Read more
If you go to the autotrader website there is a facility to search for parts and the breakers will email you the price.
One I have used before is japparts based in stockton on tees. www.japparts.com.
No idea of price, but expect to pay about 70 to 100 (you can usually negotiate).
I hope this helps.
Jonathan
Car is P reg Calibra 2.5 at 81.000 miles.
Does anyone know of any problems or faults with the air con system on this car, which would cause the unit to freeze up to a point where ice cristals come out of the vents into the car. Has anyone seen this before please ?
Air con specialist and Vaux main dealer have both checked over and recharged the system but have no answer to this. They agree something is wrong but do not know what.
Any input much appreciated. Thank you. Read more
Thank you for the information Dave. The owner has not yet come back to me with any outcome but I will post as soon as I know any more. Thanks again.
Volvo 940 with ABS - Spongy break
I wonder if anyone can help me. I renewed the pads in my 940 and as the brakes were slightly spongy {more spongy than in my 740} I bled them.
The result was worse - I could press the pedal to the floor, I went for a test run - clearly not safe.
This morning {Sun 19th may 2002}, I?ve bled the breaks again. Still the same. I am 100% confident that there is no air in the system.
I has a similar prob. a few years ago with a Rover GSI. Even after bleeding the breaks were far too spongy. Upon slackening the retaining bolts on the master cylinder, a quantity of brake fluid ran out - clearly the seals had gone on the master cylinder.
I did the same on the Volvo, no fluid is present at the back of the master cylinder. I?ve checked he whole braking system - no evidence of fluid loss anywhere.
The breaks were q. good before the initial bleeding - no almost useless.
Has anyone one any suggestions. Will it be the master cylinder and if so , then where is the fluid going?
Where is the best place to get a master cylinder {on the Fylde in Lancashire} or should I wait ?till next week.
Could it be anything other than the master cylinder, or could the fluid be passing the sails on the piston of the master cylinder, but not escaping?
How much will a dealer cage, or Volvo / Audi mail order parts supplier for a master Cylinder, or do Halfords stock master cylinders, so should I try a scrap years / Volvo breakers?
Thanks
Paul.
Read more
Paul,
Richard gives good advice. First you need to think am I sure the bleeding operation was 100%, next have I done something else daft. Only then is it time to consider a master cylinder or further faults.
I would only consider bleeding systems these days with a pressure bleeder as Richard mentions. Also are you sure you have followed any special instructions re bleeding the ABS. Might there be an extra bleed nipple on the ABS unit?
Have you got those odd rear calipers with apparently two bleed screws each? I think only one is for bleeding with that arrangement.
Good luck.
David W
Hoping to confirm my suspicions:(In no way related to my intent to swap out the top half of my engine BTW).
I drive a volvo 480 with a rock solid idle at 850. After a recent service, (although like all things maybe it was there prior, l just didn\'t notice?) it appears the idle now slightly tremors between 850 and 900. You can feel that the engine is not idling smoothly through the stick/floor/steering etc.. It comes and goes and l haven\'t been able to pin it down yet.
My suspicion is that the sparks have been replaced with ones that don\'t \'agree\' with the engine yes/no?
regards,
dan Read more
Not sure he’ll still have it or be monitoring this thread nearly 16yrs later (last post was in June 2002) but I always did have a soft spot for the Volvo 480 despite its flaws.
.jpg)
d7
Excellent! Another success for the Backroom.
Regards
John S