September 2002
Next Saturday Lotus have an open day for the public. Their web site gives directions from various round abouts etc and they tell you to follow the signs . I would like to know their address so that I can plan my own route as I shall probably have a car full of fighting teenagers and will no doubt miss any signs to the factory. I suppose I should add it is the Norfolk factory not Malaysia.
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Any pointers where the fuel filter is on a 86 Golf GTI 8v???!! I've temporarily lost my Haynes manual and its been a LONG time since I last changed it!! Also is it still best practise to remove the fuse of the fuel pump and run the car till it stops?
Many Thanks
Tim Read more
Spot on, Ben. Dont worry about depressurising the system as long as it has been standing for a few hours the residual pressure will be minimal. Just be prepared for spillage. You may have a problem with undoing the banjo unions, the trick is well fitting spanners on the filter and bolt heads(19,17 and 22mm), arrange the spanners so that they can be simulaneously be squeezed towards each other so that you can crack the joint without straining the pipes. Use NEW copper washers. However you may be lucky and find simple push on pipes secured with hose clips!
Truly, honestly, would you go to the bother of changing the cam belt on a seven year old, absolutely guaranteed 15,000 mile, Peugeot 306 with the 1.8 XU7 lump?
Yes, I know what can happen if it fails, but can age alone affect the belt as much as oil weeps (there are none), Ultraviolet light (obviously, there is none!), and usage can?
I will do the (more fiddly than on some engine installations) job if there is tangible benefit or proven reason to, but not if based on a 'just in case with no proof' hypothesis, hence asking for a second opinion.
Cheers as always,
Steve Read more
Okay, I'm convinced.
No nice ride out on the Honda Hornet for me this weekend! ;-)
Cheers guys,
Steve
Just picked up my Vectra 2.00 CDX estate from its 40K service, which involves a cam belt change. I specified, when I booked the car in, that I wanted the tensioners changed at the same time and this was duly done, but on the old Vectra, like mine, Vauxhall don't quote a price for the complete job and the guy who took my booking didn't know how much the tensioners would be although he accepted that to change the belt without changing the tensioners wasn't a good idea. When I picked the car up, the service manager touched on this point, saying that a lot of customers, even when the dangers were explained to them, opt not to have the tensioners changed on cost grounds - they actually came out at about £70 - but then complain when they fail and their engine is wrecked. However, he tells me that on the new Vectra, customers are not going to be given the option as the kit for changing the cam belt comes complete with tensioners which is as it should always have been, surely. Read more
Hi,just out of interest I had the belt,idlers & tensioner renewed on my Vectra 7k ago (4 months),but when I pulled the cover back today I noticed very tiny hairline cracks where the belt goes around the cam sprocket. It was done at a main VX dealer, so I am assuming the job was actually done, is this usual after such a short time. And being a Vectra you know why I'm so paranoid. Thanks in advance.
Can anyone tell me how i can gain extra bhp and increase the performace of my zx Read more
Rich
I've just bought a 93 ZX 1.9D non-turbo. I'm in the same boat as you - in that I'd love to improve the performance of the diesel ZX. Thing is, I may be alone here, but I think the ZX diesel is incredibly heavy for its size (probably down to the engine weight), and I'm probably going to go for a petrol model next. As I wanted a 3-door, I'm almost certainly going to be looking for the Holy Grail unless I win the lottery. My advice is, if you're happy with the ZX, stick with it. The 1.9D was the only one that Parker's Guide didn't list lots of faults against, like injection or turbo problems. Rgds Dom F
I've done a bit of shopping around for prices for a 100k service and cambelt/waterpump change on my Vectra. I've found that I can save nearly £120 on UK Vauxhall dealer prices by using the Opel dealer in Bruges, and that's after I've added the daytrip fare. Plus there's the chance for a bit of sight seeing and shopping. Has anyone bitten the bullet and saved money by getting their car serviced in Europe? What was your experience? Read more
eurostar is the best way across the channel
Crazed: Did you really mean "Eurostar" ? If so, since when do they take cars? Eurotunnel Shuttle do take cars.
Since launching the 'Trade Secrets from HJ's back room' thread in August I've noticed a number of really good tips which have appeared in other posts I've read by way of advice. I don't want to keep 'nicking/borrowing' other people's ideas so could I ask everyone to remember to copy any tips/ideas on that thread so we can build it up to become a really useful resource for everyone. Thanks to all who've contributed thus far ! Read more
I would suggest if you see one you would like in that thread, that you did keep "nicking/borrowing" but simply attribute it to the original author.
I cannot copy replies anymore than anyone else, and if I move them then they will be lost to the original thread.
So many times I have read posts about greasy wipers, the difficulty of shifting road grime, the relative merits of whosever gloop you buy to put in your washer reservoir and so and so's (expensive) glass cleaner. Not to mention that jollop that's supposed to repel rain, and goes all greasy itself when you apply it. Case of the cure (if such it is) being worse than the disease.
Me too, I fell for all the lines and I must have wasted plenty on all this stuff over the years and more often than not, like many of the posters, still dissatisfied with the results.
Where I live you can actually see the pollution most days and the winsdshield is always grimy, the wipers messy as well.
Simple really, today I just went back to the age-old remedy: a bottle of rubbing alcohol from the supermarket and a clean cloth. Instant brilliant shiny glass, barely needed to polish it! Follow up with some dishwashing liquid in the reservoir. I always used to do this, why did I get seduced by some junk I saw in a shop or read about in an ad?
What other moneywasters lurk in all those colored containers on the accessory shop shelves?
Now I just know someone is going to tell me why this is all wrong and why I shouldn't be doing it....
Years ago, there were only two cleaning things the informed motorist like my Dad used to bother with, Simoniz wax in the yellow tin, and Solvol Autosol chrome polish in the black and gold tube. Both of which still readily available I'm glad to see. Which must say something.
I believe Solvol went off the shelves in UK some time back, and I recall finding it again in a Halfords somewhere on one of my visits. Grabbing a tube I mentioned to the cashier I was glad to find this again and she told me this was what she was hearing all the time and the stuff as selling like hot cakes. Read more
Ian Cook: You might be happy with nasties in your
washer bottle but was that you I followed the other day
(at a respectable distance) when you used your washers, missed your
screen and splattered mine?
No, it wasn't me, DVD. I'm sorry but I hadn't considered the consequences of washing the car behind.
Whilst logged in, what about wiping the windscreen with a freshly cut potato - a get you home measure for having no wipers (something to do with the starch, apparently). It's reasonably effective but needs re-doing every few miles (used a lot in the days of old Fords with vacuum wipers).
Ian Cook
Hi, I've just bought a '93 ZX Reflex 1.9D, and found a huge pile of dashboard lights in the glovebox. Read many stories today of dash lights regularly failing on the ZX. I didn't get a handbook on it, and I'm trying to get a Haynes manual, but in the meantime, does anyone know how to fit all of these? Have any of you done these before. Many thanks, Dom F Read more
Maybe they fail more often because, unlike other cars, they're on all the time. You may also find that you have a bad connection, mine seem to fail them resurrect themselves at will.
Humpy
Hello
A friend of mine has a 1.4 CVH single point injection escort. He has the problem that his car is very reluctant to idle. To date the following have been replaced:
stepper motor (with a scrap yard item)
map sensor
temp sensor.
Recent tests on a ford ecu computer showed no faults (s**s law played its part that day i'd suggest), but our questions lie mainly with the stepper motor given it's origins.
Has anyone had any experience with these engines? Any help will be well received!
Cheers
Tim
p.s. single point injection on a CVH engine is blatantly a bodge to pass the initial catalyst legislation......... Read more
Tim,
Most common problem on Ford single-point systems is the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS), or Potentiometer as Ford insist on calling it, situated on the side of the throttle body unit at the end od the throttle shaft. This can be checked with a voltmeter, but an oscilloscope is best. Early (black) ones were very troublesome, later replaced with a red one.
The base idle speed (throttle position) may also need setting up.Switch ign on, hold throttle open, and gently push stepper motor rod back into unit. While it is fully withdrawn disconnect harness multi-plug to stepper motor. Release throttle and start engine. Base idle speed can now be set using small allen screw underneath throttle stop arm, setting to around 800rpm hot.
HTH, Adam
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Very much appreciated. Bog standard Escort without GPS (one of the poorer members of the forum). Will have a look at the yell site.
Thanks.