July 2002
I seem to remember HJ mentioning recently that body coloured side protection strips were now available for the Honda Jazz and was wondering if they are available for the Ford Ka ? If anybody knows of a supplier I would most appreciative. Thanks Read more
My 94 1.4 Metro CVT 5dr. has sprung a leak in the radiator. Fortunately its not like my old 2.1/2L V8 which did same thing but had the oil cooler as an integral part of the main radiator and cost me an arm + leg to mend.
Any recommends pro- con on new v. reconditioned/rebuilt.
Thanks in advance any comment.
Bfn Phil I Read more
Anybody know if is is straightforward to replace the bulb/bulbs which illuminate the heater controls on a 1998 Fiat Punto 60S?
I don't want to damage any of the fragile looking plastic surrounding these items.
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Yep.
Pull of the fan knob. One allen key under the spindle.
Two allen keys under the bottom of the plate.
Have two bulbs ready !
Hi
I have sold my car and the buyer wants to pay with a bankers cheque. Is it safe to hand over the car or should I wait for this cheque to clear?,,,is there any chance of fraud with this type of cheque?
Thanks for any comments
alan Read more
Not as such. I contacted the bankers ombudsman but they said it was nothing to do with them. In the end I gave up.
I agree though, the bank do have a duty of care since it was their negligence, i.e. they lost the cheque book, that led to my loss. The difficulty with the legal case is that all the official banking guidelines state that bankers drafts should be cleared before handing over the goods.
My car was recovered 10 feet out of a ditch - I received £800 for it as scrap so my loss was £7700 plus a lot of heartache.
Oh well. Give someone an opportunity and they will take it!
I've got a legal problem - can anyone help ?
As I understand things, a bona fida mechanic conducting a road test doesn't have to wear a seat belt providing that the vehicle being tested is displaying trade plates. I haven't used trade plates for years, but as far as I know the conditions of issue and use haven't changed since I last used them. All they do is allow (in limited circumstances) an untaxed vehicle to be used on a public road. Nothing else, and there are penalties for abuse.
I work as a mechanic for a van and truck rental company, my employer doesn't have any trade plates as we don't need them. Last week during a road test I was stopped for not wearing a seat belt. I tried to explain but the PC who stopped me was interested in nothing more than his £30 ticket and told me that if I wanted to argue with him it would have to be in court. Now it's occurred to me that if I had been using trade plates, I might have been contravening the terms and conditions of use as the van I was testing was road legal with no reason for trade plates to be displayed. I'd have been using them for a reason other than the one they were issued for. Would it be worth going to court and arguing this point? Also my name has been misspelt on the penalty notice - Poterson instead of Paterson, does this invalidate the ticket? Or should I just stump up@ Read more
It's not just the belts, Brian. It's the whole plethora of improved safety and performance features in the car as a whole that does it.
Personally I advocate a 6 inch spike sticking out the centre of the steering wheel!
I am considering buying a car from the car supermarket, Trade Sales in Slough. Has anyone any handy tips on this or comments, good or bad? I am worried the cars are not UK specification and will create problems later on.
Ian S Read more
I bought a Fiat Punto sporting 1 year ago. The car has been great and came with all the extras aircon sunroof cd changer etc.
I do think they could improve their sales staff. I have used motorpoint and their staff are much friendlier and spend a bit more time with the customer.
One tip be a bit cautious about the cars that are in stock ie on display. Check them out thoroughly Most people will order their cars in advance from the computer lists of cars being delivered these can be secured with a 300 deposit. the cars on display may have been rejected once delivered because of blemishes etc so its caveat emptor check everything especially if they appear to be the last of a particular model they have got.
Better to see that they have 20 of your car and choose one of these.
Last tip the website is very good and lets you see which cars are due to be delivered....
************* moved to Technical Matters by Mark *********
Dear all,
My Daughter will be Seventeen next January and you can all guess the rest. Any recommendations on which wheels to go for. Safety is paramount and ABS a must. I might need her to keep me in old age!!
p.s.Should have said NOT new wheels. Read more
I thought this was a technical message board . or is
it a discussion message board .
We are discussing technical issues.
I want to opt out of my company's car scheme and buy my own. However, I couldn't afford new, either through purchase or PCP, the type of car my company currently provides.
Where can I find a company that will either contract hire or lease me a secondhand car, of say, two years age, for say, two or three years ? Read more
Try Fastrack at braintree in Essex.
I was told by someone recently that it can be a good idea to disable a diesel car's EGR valve in order to reduce engine wear, increase power and reduce particulate output but at the expense of higher NOx emissions. I gave this a go on my 2000 Vectra DI, fitted with a tuning box, and it certainly made a difference. The engine revved much more freely and pulled better, but was a little noisier that usual with more of a diesel clatter on acceleration. However the engine management light comes on occasionally with the egr disconnected. I pulled the pipe off the valve and bunged up the pipe with a screw.
Is there anyway of stopping the light from coming on and the reduction in power at this point? Just curious really, I will not be leaving the EGR disconnected permanently.
Thanks Read more
I've had a mass of problems with the brakes on my R Reg Peugeot 406 Diesel Estate.
In just over one year, I have had the front disks on my R reg Peugeot Diesel Estate replaced 6 times due to wheel judder:
Date Mileage Work carried out
12.03-01 72657 Changed front disks and pads
31.08.01 80821 Changed front disks and pads
12.12.01 86837 Changed front disks
15.04.02 91590 Changed front disks
17.05.02 92816 Changed front disks, flanges and bearings
28.06.02 94276 Changed front disks
The work on 17.05.02 cost me £510 and achieved nothing - after 1000 miles, again I had wheel judder on braking.
On May 1, 2002, the vehicle received its MoT test from the local dealer. Brakes, steering and suspension were fine. Less than 600 miles later, it was back in the dealers workshop on May 17, because of wheel judder. This time the front hub bearings and wheel hubs were replaced because ?that?s the only thing we haven?t tried yet?. Including replacing a drive belt, the total bill to me was £510.
I've spoken to Peugeot Customer Service and got nowhere. Their response was as follows:
Peugeot will not refund the money as it "could be a problem with vehicle causing the disk wear" (or words to that effect)
The disks currently fitted (on 28.06.02) are Girling
The disks fitted 17.05.02 and on 15.04.02 were Bendix. These ones lasted between 1000 and 1500 miles before replacement. The dealer had reported to Peugeot that there was a "material problem" with these disks. This problem was unspecified. Was it manufacturing, design, material, finishing, storage or what? With modern manufacturing standards and regulations surely this should be impossible?
The disks replaced on the dates below were Peugeot supplied parts:
12.03.01
31.08.01
12.12.01
The disks I've got now have done just over 1000 miles since the last change.
I've asked 'Honest John' about this via email and he suggests
"The problem is most likely to be dirty or corroded caliper pins. These are the pins on which the calipers travel in and out to clamp the discs. If the calipers stick slightly, the pads remain in contact with the discs and wear both out very quickly. Franchised dealers rarely bother to clean these pins as part of a routine service."
I've no way of knowing what happened here or if Peugeot suggested this.
Peugoet don't seem to understand the concept of identifying the root cause of a problem - anyone had any similar problems and/or have suggestions on who I can contact in Peugeot who might be more clued up and responsive than P. customer service?
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I had a similar problem on an 850 cc Mini over forty years ago. I thought that it might be the brake shoes snatching but it wasn't that. The wheels were re-balanced but it wasn't that either and the wheel bearings and CVJs were 100% perfect. Braking at low speeds in traffic was OK but braking at high speed caused vibration. Very puzzling indeed.
One day I was driving home from work grinding along through heavy congestion at a snails pace when I dropped something into the passenger side footwell. As the car was travelling so slowly I bent down to pick up the item. As I bent down my eyeline ran along the bonnet and the bonnet seemed to be going up and down!...
Browse
Have gut feeling you are right on the button there John S. Have always liked my breakdowns right in my own garage which I consider the really best place to have them. BtB Worst I can recall was in a pool motor (Opel Manta) one cold wintry, snowy, rainy, gale force windy day shortly after the M40 opened. Left Birmingham 05.30 to go to creditors meeting in London, broke down (motor stopped dead - no obvious ignition fault) walked what seemed like 2miles to phone only to find not yet connected to system. Walked back to car. Decided to climb embankment to find phone book (some chance there only building in sight was shuttered pub with no sign of life at all.) Back to car to thumb ride to somewhere (anywhere except where I was would do) and kindly Shell Tanker Man went past and screamed to standstill 2/300yds up the hard shoulder dropped me off at Garage in High Wycombe. Took further 2hours to organise collection of Manta.
Went back to Brum on train from High Wycombe spent next 3 days in warm bed with hot woman.
Happy Days Long gone thank goodness,
Phil I .