July 2002

Question Shell Spirax

Dave Y on 15 July 2002

Does anyone know of a source (preferably cheap!)of Shell Spirax oil in the Nottingham-Newark area? Local shop & Halfords no use. Thanks all
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steve paterson on 15 July 2002

Best bet is probably a commercial vehicle spares supplier, or maybe a commercial vehicle workshop has a few old gallons in a corner somewhere.

Question Mondeo H/Brake Adjustment

greaserpv on 14 July 2002

Anyone know where the adjuster for the handbrake is on a R-plate 2.0 16v hatchback is? I expect it's under the exhaust heat shields. Thanks Read more

greaserpv on 16 July 2002

Thanks for that; I had already adjusted the rear shoes on this car, and had noticed the strange arrangement attached to the lever,but was unsure if handbrake adj. is possible.You have answered my question. Thanks again.

Question Child Seat for 1949 Bentley

GP on 14 July 2002

I'm after a child seat for my toddler that will fit my 1949 Bentley. All modern child seats seem to rely on a seat-belt for fixing, which of course my Bentley doesn't have. I'm prepared to install discreet harnesses/mountings to fix the seat, although I do not wish to install modern seat belts in the car. I don't use it a lot but it would be nice to go out as a family in it on occasions. I tried Britax but they weren't much help. Surely children were around long before seat belts! Any suggest would be gratefully appreciated. Read more

Adam Going (Tune-Up) on 16 July 2002

GP,

Definitely only fit new belt(s) !

Regarding fixings, there has been quite a bit of discussion about belt fixings (but as I recall only for front seats) on the Mk.VI both in the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club journal, and on their web site (www.rrec.co.uk). If you are not yet a member I really do recommend you join. If you already belong then search the archive on general discussions or the Mk.VI register section on the web site, or write to Philip Hall at The Hunt House, High Street, Paulerspury, Northants, NN12 7NA.

Good Luck, Adam

Question Rover 214 sli K series...help pse

Alf on 14 July 2002

SWMBO's old model 1995, 70,000mile rover has broken down and despite me being 200 miles away when it happened, naturally it is my fault!

Driving along when suddenly power dies off and engine doesnt respond to throttle, it idles but wont rev up.
Removing air filter improves things slightly but loads of white smoke coming out through the air filter housing, lot of back-pressure. The car is not driveable as you cant rev it beyond idle. The RAC dude reckons its not the cambelt or else it wouldn't start and idle, at least thats some small relief...if he is right.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

Regards,

Alf

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Alf on 16 July 2002

David,

thanks for your reply, managed to get a garage to look at it and it turned out to be the crankshaft sensor (2nd in under 20,000 miles!) and the spark plugs. So all in all not too frightening. I fully appreciate that its difficult to make an accurate diagnosis without the luxury of looking at the car, but I am grateful for your thoughts on the subject.

Regards,

Alf

Question Clutch issues on old Nissan Sunny

j_james on 14 July 2002

Hi,

I have an old (H-plate) Sunny which has been going great for around 10000 miles since I bought it for a few hundred quid last year but recently I've become a bit concerned about the clutch.

* It only bites with about an inch or two travel left on the pedal
* It seems to be pretty much impossible to stall this car!!! It'll take off in any gear although it judders like crazy in fourth (pretty normal I guess...) Mind you the car has always been like that
* Changing gears are not a problem at all though, and it doesn't appear to be slipping (although this afternoon I floored it in second and it seemed to accelerate much more quickly than normal, I must say though I didn't notice what speed it got up to so it may have slipped then)
* It doesn't seem to be stiff or anything.

Is the clutch worn out? It doesn't smell of burning or anything like that, but I'm not convinced about it, it feels really sloppy compared to the works Ford Escort (which is brand new).

If it needs replacement, how much are we talking here?

Thanks in advance. Read more

lezebre on 15 July 2002

Happy to help, j_j, having done this easy job recently.
Just one thing, I said: .... Then turn the adjusting screw or ring in the same direction as you loosened the locknut....
In fact on your car I`m pretty sure that it`s the opposite way becauase the adjusting ring and the locknut are on opposite sides of the crank piece.
Remember you`re trying to loosen things up - you`ll soon have it sussed.

Regards.

Question Mondeo 1,8TD diesel fuel pump change

jvarvik on 14 July 2002

Hi!
Te diesel pump (Lucas)in my Mondeo 1994mod is US and I try to install an "new" pump from an 1996mod. Byt, the electrical conections are not the same on the new pump, on this one there are 3 more cables then on the old one. I think it is on the shut off vale the difrents are. Do you now any sites were I can find out how too do this change?

Sorry for my bad English.

Jack Read more

Dave N on 14 July 2002

You may have trouble here, as the pump is electronically coded to the engine ecu, which is in turn coded to the PATS (passive anti-theft system). Any new pump will need to be coded to the ecu, and trying to code a later pump to an earlier ecu may give you more than a few headaches.

Question New Mondeo Headlamp adjustment for the c

PeteC on 13 July 2002

I know that I can mask the headlamps (got a template mailed out from Ford Tech Support), but can't I just use the L/R adjustment to give the same throw as a continental car? If the lamp units are the same as those on the continent, lateral adjustment should do it, shouldn't it? Of course, if the units are different over there I'll just have to get out the insulation tape.

Anyone out there in the know on this one?

TIA
Pete Read more

PeteC on 15 July 2002

Thanks JC, now I've taken the time to look at the reflectors, I can see the asymmetry you're talking about.
Thanks again,
Pete

Question Brake pad wear light: sensitivity

dave18 on 13 July 2002

Front brake pad wear warning light has just come on in my 309. Definately pads because its a seperate light to brake fluid light.
How sensitive is it? The brakes are still 'sharp' and only squeal at very low speeds ie 10mph, in a car park etc. They do make a faint grating noise when applied hard.
Do I have a couple of weeks? 1000 miles? Read more

dave18 on 15 July 2002

How long should they be 'bedded in' for? Was told 200 miles, don't want to do damage (I had 'cooked' the last ones.)

Question Buying a car which has been laid up

Ross D on 12 July 2002

Hi all.

I have a found a car which I consider to be a bit of a bargain. It has been garaged and un-driven for the last 2 years.

Apparently the starter motor has gone on the car, Is there any way to get the car started ie bump starting, or does this require the starter motor to be functional.

When a car has been laid up for this long what sort of work Would I have to have done before I could drive it. Timing belt etc.

Is there any danger in itsel to turning it over after such along time?

Ross

The car in question is a VW with a 16v engine. Read more

Dizzy {P} on 15 July 2002

Yes, well done Ross. I'm absolutely sure you have made the right decision regarding the rebuilt Corrado.

Incidentally, after telling you about the Peugeot 305GT that I bought as a rebuilt write-off, other faults that I found started to flood back to me. Here are just two of them:
1. The steering column was bent but this fault had been hidden by leaving the column centre bearing assembly loose. After tightening the assembly screws, the steering wheel needed a lot of effort to turn it accompanied by some awful graunching noises!
2. On one front wheel, three of the wheel-to-hub screws were broken. The stubs of the broken screws had been left in the hub and some 'new' shorter screws had been wedged into the couple of threads that remained usable above the broken stubs. I still find it incredible that I drove the car about 30 miles home without the wheel coming off.

I wish I had reported the criminal that rebuilt the car to the 'authorities'. I certainly would do now but I didn't then because I was frightened of losing the £2500+ that the car had cost me. I think the fact that the long-established dealer that I sold the car to didn't spot the faults either shows how very deceptive outward appearances can be. I had, of course, corrected the obviously dangerous faults like the broken wheel screws.

The dealer left the car where I parked it on his forecourt and he marked it up at £750 more than he paid me for it. The car was marked 'Sold' the very next day, still parked in exactly the same place that I had left it! A few days later, the dealer demanded that I provide him with the service record to confirm the mileage, but there wasn't one and the 14,000 mileage shown on the clock might well have been false.

I hope others will learn from my mistakes of which there are many more as yet untold!.

Forum untaxed vehicles

CM on 12 July 2002

around me in SW London, there has been a spate of new clamps being administered by the DVLA (the local council doesn't clamp yet!). Is this a new scheme against untaxed cars by the DVLA or has it been running for a while. Read more

Ben {P} on 15 September 2003

Yes they often park one just down the road from BCA Newcastle.