June 2002
After much hunting, have deceided on an R reg astra 1.7 TDS GLS in red, ex Lease car,FSH 58k,
Does anyone have any tips or things i should know about this car,and do you think i am getting a good deal for £3800? have got Details from Car breakdown, but wondered if anyone had anything to add. Thanks people Read more
Can anyone help. Bought a Peugeot 405 diesel estate from a garage whilst on holiday. Had it on the road for 3 weeks and less than 400 miles, requires new engine – apparently pistons damaged by water. We are told L reg upwards can’t just replace pistons so need recon engine. Trying to get money back from selling garage who are being, to say the least, uncooperative.
Is there an expert out there who could throw any light on why this might have happened? The garage where the car sits for possible repair says it could be any number of things. Could something have been bodged to last 400 miles?
For info, water temperature gauge showed very high temperature, fan came in, stopped the car, no water pouring out, temperature dropped after a time, car went into our local garage for repair.
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DEE,
Sadly it is common to hear such a story with this engine type that was fitted to so many cars. They are super engines but need coolant levels regularly checked and the correct cooling system maintenance carried out.
After repair work folks have been known to leave air locks in the system that are themselves capable of causing the sort of failure you mention.
Yes it is possible for the water to get into "the bottom of the engine". Usually it doesn't cause damage there though and a new/machined head (plus gaskets etc) is all that the car might require.
Good luck with it.
David W
Going to france next week - went to check headlights(1998 Laguna) re beam alignment.
All my previous cars have had headlights with prisms on the glass, which you can mask with black tape or orange deflectors. Does the same apply with modern headlights - or is the beam adjustable? There are 5 settings to compensate for load, but no sign of any way to adjust the left -right alignment.
Also does the law require you to carry spare bulbs in France, or is it just advised? Read more
terryb,
Don't kow about the jeep, maybe the whole lamp unit moves when it's adjusted. The few levelling lamps I've come across have the lamp and lens bolted to car. The adjustment is made by moving the reflector.
steve.
Re June 6 02.
Spider engine required-not just crank grind & bearings,but conrods too!! Main agent always used Synthetic oil at service &always carried out at correct milage
Agent agreed that car had been driven & treated in correct way'
"But when warranty runs out,there is no Comeback on manufacturer"?? I just can't understand that when you buy anew car-after 4 years & 41k miles it fails probably due to some inherant fault? AlfaMarie
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Dear HJ
I have just read your updated comments on the mazda mx6. You state that "Timing belt failure means disaster and replacing the belt is expensive".
As far as I understand (and I own one) the engine for this car (and probe) is a non interference engine so even if the timing belt does snap, it shouldn't cause any damage to the pistons or valves.
This may be contrary to mazda's official line, but please feel free to check on www.mx6.com
By the way, I got a full service and a cam belt change for less than £300, so the belt change should cost no more than £150 at a reputable non franchise garage.
Regards
Jonathan Read more
On the subject of Japanese coupés, DW, how's that hurriedly bought Honda Prelude that you look after shaping up?
How sensitive is the oil level check sensor on a 98 Vectra CDX? The warning message flashed up on mine on the M50 yesterday but when I checked, the dipstick showed a deficiency of only a quarter of a litre. I topped up and the warning has not appeared since - about 80 miles. Is the sensor ultra sensitive or is there a fault? The car is still under warranty, so it isn't a problem if the sensor needs changing. Read more
If it happens when the engine is turning quickly, it may just be that more oil is being retained in the head. I'd keep on using the dipstick...
I have recenyly experienced a 10mm diameter hole blown through the centre of the tread pattern of 205 x 16" V rated tyre with less than 3000 miles use.
I thought these tyres were supposed to be re-inforced beneath the tread with either steel wire or rayon to prevent this sort of thing happening and wondered if anybody else had experieced a similar problem with these tyres.
After driving on Michelins for many thousands of miles without problems, it has not exactly increased my confidence in Pirelli!! Read more
I have P6000 205/55 16's on my SEAT Leon, and touch wood, no problems in 44k miles...... How ever I did have a blow out on new Yokahama A520's in France on the way home from Spain in my Primera GT a few years ago at 130mph on the rear, and it took a French Xantia Driver to catch me to let me know....By the time I'd stopped 2 miles drown the autoroute the tyre has bits of wire coming out of it, and was real hot. It wasn't till myself and my 2 cousins unloaded all the camping gear from the boot and changed the wheel that I realised what had happened. I was suffering from a cold, and after hearing a BANG I turned and said "what was that", having a cold my hearing wasn't too good and didn't hear the reply of, "looked like you hit an old engine mount".
Either way, it showed up just how stable the Nissan Primera is!!!!
Neil T
SEAT Leon TDi 150
A friend of mine is buying a new car and believes cruise control is a most desirable extra.
My experience of these devices is limited. SWMBO had an Automatic Talbot Alpine years ago and the cruise control was dreadful. It accelerated and decelerated noticeably when engaged and this surging motion made it completely unacceptable. I had it on a Merc, again a long while ago, and the surging was noticeable on this as well.
I can see it being useful on, say, deserted freeways in Mid West USA but I can't see any chance of using it on our crowded roads.
Are modern systems better? and any views on it's usefulness?
C
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In the Avantime (a manual) it would beep and not allow you to exceed the speed limit if you tried, but if you buried your foot in the carpet (I guess comparable to kick down) it eventually would stop interfering and take off like a scalded cat.
Lee
...Loves Driving, Hates Garages
I have a Mercedes 300CE 1992 (W124) which has done some 160,000 miles and runs very sweetly. However, over a period of a couple of years, the following problem has become more acute, to the point where it is completely repeatable, yet Mercedes dealers here (in Spain) have been unable to fathom it.
If I drive the car every day, there is no problem. It always starts well,rain or shine. However, if I leave the car for a couple of days, and then use it, it starts perfectly, runs for about ten minutes, then the engine just dies when I lift off the throttle. Attempts to restart fail. If I then leave it for about an hour, I can just about get the engine started and idling. If I then put it into Drive, the engine dies again. After another 15 minutes or so of this, the engine will run sufficiently well to get going again - from which point on everything is perfect!
An "expert" on an American website suggested fuel filter, but this fault is completely repeatable - ten minutes into the journey, after starting perfectly, the engine will fail.
The only thing I can think of is something to do with warm-up
sequences in the engine management computer. Any ideas? Please??
Philip Tilson
Colmenar, Spain.
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Felipe -no Email yet-its available.
simon T.
I have a 1992 volvo 440 1.8i which has a fuel gauge fault. The gauge reads zero no matter how much fuel is in the tank. The sender has been tested and is ok. on comsulting the dealer, I was told that the are two problem earth connections on this model which can cause gauges to read incorrectly - these were checked & cleaned to no avail. The dealer also said that the gauge itself and the printed circuit behind the gauge are both known to fail - these were also replaced to no avail. I am sure this is a very obscure wiring fault but can\'t find what it is. Has anyone experienced this fault or are there any more suggestions? Thanks. Read more
We have a similar problem on a Volvo 740 and went through much the same as you. The garage finally considered that the fault lay in the fuel pump/gauging unit pack and as this cost in excess of £400.00 we decided to drive using the trip meter and roughly 30mpg consumption figure. The total cost would have worked out at nearly £900.00 which is more than the car cost me and then I would not have have a guarantee of success.
Browse
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As usual change the cambelt now, OR, do it when the head gasket blows, around 70,000mls.
Still sounds about £1000 too dear!
Mark