October 2002
I have been reading the past posts on the problems with cambelt tensioners on Fiats, in particluar the 1.4 gets a lot of mentions! Has anybody experinced problesm with the 1.2l engines. I have also seen mentioned that in some cases the wrong size pistons were fitted to these engines. I assume that this would have been immediately apparent, but did this realy happen and what was done to sort it out. Fianlly I am looking to buy a 1999 1.2 SX brava, Tried the car last night. From cold the automatic choke, whilst working, would vary the rpm of the engine, as it was warming up. It was not a smooth transition from high to low rmps. Once the choke was off the engine would tick over nicely, all be it what sounds like some tappet noise. Should this concern me on a 1.2? The car has done 23K miles and has a full service history with oil changes about evry 6K.
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I have been reading the past posts on the problems with cambelt tensioners on Fiats, in particluar the 1.4 gets a lot of mentions! Has anybody experinced problesm with the 1.2l engines. I have also seen mentioned that in some cases the wrong size pistons were fitted to these engines. I assume that this would have been immediately apparent, but did this realy happen and what was done to sort it out. Fianlly I am looking to buy a 1999 1.2 SX brava, Tried the car last night. From cold the automatic choke, whilst working, would vary the rpm of the engine, as it was warming up. It was not a smooth transition from high to low rmps. Once the choke was off the engine would tick over nicely, all be it what sounds like some tappet noise. Should this concern me on a 1.2? The car has done 23K miles and has a full service history with oil changes about evry 6K.
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I have recently come across a car with badly scratched nearside windows. A quick search on the Web shows that there are two or three companies that can, in most cases, remove these scratches. Has anybody had any experiences, good or bad, in getting scratches removed?
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Golf 1.8 MK111 Driver Monotronic single point injector.
After a local VW agent rebuilt the gearbox due to failed diff cluster bearings the noticed the throttle body to manifold rubber gasket was slit and changed same. Since this the engine feels a little rough both cold i.e. in choke mode and when running at normal temps the engine continues to feel slightly harse when on the cruise.
The garage had rechecked the engine and run some diagnostics but no fault found. I've run a tank of loaded injection cleaner and different fuels. Tick over and starting are perfect, and fuel consumption as before 34/37 mpg. Lambda probe tested OK and all pipes etc are correct. Any ideas welcome Thanks Peter
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Check that the injector unit bolts are tightened evenly and to the correct torque. Sounds like this is problem, if the new gasket isn't seated properly this would also cause a problem.
A colleague has just had to wait seven weeks for a small part to repair the differential of her Vauxhall Frontera. The actual repair at the garage took about 20 minutes. The garage said it had to be imported from Europe.
I believe there was an article on a recent "Watch Dog" about Rover's difficulties in supplying car parts after it 'rationalised' Unipart. Rover has, apparently, been having to cannibalise new cars still on the production line to meet warranty commitments.
Is the UK parts industry in crisis? Read more
I find if you use a specialist rather than the average local main dealer you can usually source the required parts very quickly.I am often surprised how quickly i can source parts for some pretty obscure Japanese cars when other people struggle and or wait ages for UK spec Renaults,Audis and Rovers etc.Seems strange to me the disdain that a lot of outlets have for their parts dept when the margins they work on are far higher than selling the new cars.Allways makes me laugh when you ask a dealer parts man for a rough price for something,they rarely can,ask a car breaker the same question he can tell you exactly how much and how many and where it is in stock everytime.
Blimey ! eight hundred quid to replace my compresser ! can`t think why , it can`t be much different from the one in my freezer and I can get three freezers for that sort of money .
And also a hundred and eleven quid on a re-gas that contained a
sealant that lasted six days . I should have known better . It sort of reminded me of the forlorn hope that a raw egg would cure a leaky rad. and a pair of tights will replace a fan belt.
Yeah , right ! Read more
Yikes, You should have picked one up at a breakers! :)
My Vauxhall dealer only charged £65 for a re-gas and I was told I was conned as non-auto re-fridgeration companies charge less!
What does it say to us ordinary members of the general public, that HJ has been spending all this time at the auctions recently and is still to find a bargain for himself?
Is it not the case that most of us would be better off to visit a dealership with lots of choice, pay a bit more, but get on with putting our efforts into earning a living, surely we'd end up better off.
(Please ignor this HJ as I'm enjoying reading your reports) Read more
>>would it be any cheaper in Manchester, or Preston<<
I haven't been to either of these, but experience of other BCA sites says probably. The problem as a private buyer with a particular car in mind, is that you can take a day out with associated travel expense and come back with nothing. I have twice gone North and returned with a different car to those I was really interested in (and got great value both times), but then I'm not very fussy about our second car.
>>Are the additional toys of an exec going to keep the residual up <<
I think that as a rule, extras don't return the money but affect the saleability. So a Jag should have leather, or if you are selling a car with a/c against ones without, yours will sell more easily.
PB.
Ever since I have had my 1997 Vauxhall Corsa 1.2i, I have experienced quite a lot of misfiring and stuttering when using the Corsa on a damp, cold morning.
The car starts perfectly every time I start it, but on a cold, damp morning, it stutters along for the first 10 minutes or so of my journey to work. It really hits acceleration and makes the car shake a lot. But after 10 minutes or so the car runs perfectly again and is very responsive.
Are there any checks or replacements I can perform to alleviate the problem? I recently replaced the spark plugs, but the HT leads are 5 years old now - could they be replaced? Would spraying ignition sealer? Just to re-emphasise, starting is not a problem.
Many thanks!!! Read more
Thanks for all the advice, people.
I came to the conclusion that it would be best to replace the HT leads, which looked a little worn after 5 years of working fairly close to the exhaust manifold.
So far so good - fired it up this morning (after rain fell overnight) and ran smoothly from the offset!!!
I bought a 1 year old 4000 mile Fiesta 1.6 Ghia 2 weeks ago. Drives very nicely, rather like a gokart and very nimble.
I tested 3 others and this was the quietest: one was appallingly noisy under breaking and all had gearbox chatter in neutral and whines at speed .
Upon investigation, I found that the aluminium housing on which the gearlever is mounted protrudes into the cabin: about 26cm ahead of the gearlever and just beyond the end of the end of the plastic transmission tunnel. I also discovered that the steering wheel column exits through the floor in a 6cm diameter hold which is plugged by a plastic/nylon part of the steering rack.. The key point is that neither has any form of soundproofing on them so they act as perfect conductors of noise from the engine compartment and gearbox. In addition the soundproofing over the exhaust under the rear seat and in the rear wheel arches is .. negligible ... so no wonder I could hear the brakes being applied in one of the cars I tested.
It's a great car but really Ford should and could have done a lot better..
I hate all noise in a car so I have covered both with soundproofing felt and added further soundproofing to the car (with a kit from HJ's recommended www.noisekiller.com/). Total time taken about 2 hours and have just tested it on the local motorway and high speed country roads. Although still not perfect, engine noise is much reduced, the gearbox chatter is less and I can no longer hear the exhaust booming or the brakes being applied.
Seems so simple.. I fail to understand why Ford produces a very good car and then spoils it..
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Please forgive this off topic post. I will certainly not object if it's removed.
However it's probably useful from car insurance perspective too because the principples will be the same.
I just bought some house insurance.
They started the policy with 5 years NCD even though I only have 1.
I called to tell them their mistake and a girl who's name I have, told me that I would be give the NCD as a good will gesture and that she had noted this on my file. I asked for confirmation by fax.
The fax has come from another Customer Service manager and simply states that "the policy has been issued with 5 years NCD".
The implication is that "the policy has been issued with 5 years NCD despite the face you haven't got 5 years NCD" but it isn't explicitly noted in writing.
I don't want to bother these poeople all day. I've got names and times of phone calls.
If a speeding motorist [1] hit's my house, am I covered?
[1] ;-)
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These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads. Read more
Yes TOTH, I see the point you are making - dotted
'i's and crossed 't's.
I could be out 60k if an uninsured yobbo in a Jumbo jet knocked it down!
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These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads.
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If you can feel a definite scratch with your fingernail then replacement glass is the only answer. Rubbing compounds (try metal polish or jeweller's rouge)will possibly remove light scratches like those left by wiper blades but watch out for hte 'frosted glass' look!