October 2002
i've got a cavalier gli, 2 litre h reg, guess that's 1990 - 1991, the speedo keeps screaming at me, doesn't matter whether it's from cold start or while driving at any speed, it just decides to start. really nasty grinding high pitched scream. had it into the garage and they can't say what's causing it. has any one got any ideas on what may be causing this screaming noise?
thanks Read more
I once owned a Rolls-Royce 20/25, 1929 with aluminium body. I would like to know whether it is still extant and, if so, who ownes it now. Registration number UV7777. Peter at 23 Dunbar Road, Leicester LE4 9JL - petershanti@ntlworld.com
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Can anyone suggest / recomend an Audi specialist in the bristol / south gloss area?
Needs to be someone with experience with newer models (A6 quattro)
Thanks Read more
Inthis weeks Auto Bild there is a concern about spare parts for reasonable new vehicles.VAG said it was not producing certain parts for cars over 4 years old and BMW over six years old.Zenon headlights pre 93 are no longer available for BMW ,they can be sourced from Hella but a cost in Germany of 2000? you must buy two.If you have a BMW / over 5 years old with a few faults unless you can source parts at a scrap yard then it is cheaper to scrap it and buy another with a mot ticket. Read more
Landrover and Rover are one of the worst culprits for not supplying parts .Rovers and Land Rovers over 6 years old it is almost imposibble to get origenal parts.There are Newish Land rovers in my local garage waiting for small parts for over 6 months .I was going to change my Explorer for a new Disco but the local head mechanic said no buy a Hyundai or a new Explorer.
Thea have built a new repair shop just for Land rovers and its full.
Read the article in todays Sunday Times motoring supplement. I know they're trying to compete with the Saturday Telegraphs motoring supplement, but this was a bit below the belt. The article seemed to be based on zero technical knowledge, so I felt compelled to write the following in complaint:-
Sir, whilst we all appreciate efforts to expose sharp practice, please ensure you base these efforts on a sound knowledge of the subject matter.
Air con doesn't work by 'mixing gases', but by the condensing and evaporation of a single gas, utilising the heat energy from the cabin to change the state of the refrigerant from a liquid to a vapour, thereby removing heat from it. There is no pumping out of the gas, or mixing of gas with warm air. The system is sealed, and gas isn't 'used'.
When servicing a system, no 'airlock' is generated, I believe you mean a vacuum is generated. If air is mixed with the refrigerant, as you imply, then the system will not perform properly as air is a non-condensable gas.
As for 'twiddle with your controls', I'm not entirely sure how you believe this is achieved. Cars with climate control monitor the interior temperature using variable resistance sensors, so the only way to 'twiddle' is to change the resistance of the sensors for a given temperature. Are you implying that those involved in sharp practice go to the trouble of adding resistors to the circuit, thereby fooling the climate ECU into thinking it is seeing lower temperatures than it really is? What about those vehicles that don't have climate control, maybe they are shown a vent temperature using a specially rigged thermometer? All manufacturers publish a specification for the performance of the system, and it is usually along the lines of:- engine speed at 1500rpm, temp setting LOW, fan speed max, this should then produce a temperature of between 4 & 6 degrees at the centre vent. I would imagine people know if the system is performing, not by the temperature the system says it is maintaining, but if it is comfortable or not.
It's a shame you seek to trivialise the thermodynamics involved in air conditioning, a bit like saying an internal combustion engine only needs a bit of fuel and a spark, to justify your claim to be championing the consumer. I trust you will now be issuing a correction, as you have had to do already regarding the running costs of the Volvo, and the 0-60 time of a 1969 Ford RS1600?
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"don?t think even trading standards or the motoring organisations have clocked onto this lark yet."
Probably 'cos its not a "lark"
My car is a peugeot 306 xl. Petrol with Cat converter. It has had an intermittent fault which has just resurfaced after a year of it being fine.
It just revs itself when I don\'t have my foot on the accelerator - it\'s like I\'m reving up at lights to race off! I took it in for an engine analysis and I\'ve been told it\'s probably a faulty ECU as it reported 12 faults which didn\'t actually exist.
Does anyone have any advice on this - could it be bad connections in the ECU or should I just get it replaced? If I get it replaced - am I likely to get one from a scrap yard?
Any advice would be welcome - if it\'s polite! Read more
there is a known problem with these engines i asumne yours is a 1.4 the ecu is reporting a fault code that cannot be cancelled. this is caused by a dodgy dry coil which causes the ecu to fail.
try changing the coil assembly first as this may cure it. you have nothing to loose. if not try contacting atp electronics (www.atpelectronics.co.uk) for a price to have your ecu repaired.
they are really good.
I'm currently considering buying another car.
My original plan was to spend around 3-4 grand on something secondhand. The problem with this is that I just can't seem to find anything I like! My criteria are as follows:
Lowish insurance group - I can't really afford to go above group 7 insurance as it's well pricey round here.
Interesting to drive.
Toys - power steering, central locking etc.
Reasonably quick, 1.4-1.6 engine would be ideal.
I had settled on a Rover 216, but concerns about build quality are throwing a metaphorical spanner in those works.
However, if you can convince me that I am better of buying new then the same criteria apply. It strikes me that new car prices are dropping at such a rate that spending a few more quid may be a better choice, as secondhand cars are going to be worth nothing soon. What new cars do you recommend?
Please help, I'm tearing my hair out here! Read more
Fell to bits {see above - feel}
FFS strikes again !!!!!!!
Paul {Forest of Bowland}
I've just spotted a Merc 300d on the list at one of the nearer auctions, and I have a reason for being interested in this particular model. However, I know pretty much nothing of Mercedes cars, or of cars from this particular time (registered 1987) and I couldn't find the 300d listed in the car-by-car breakdown on this site. Perhaps it's a variant of another type of Merc - if so, could someone tell me which one to look under?
Otherwise, the only other information I have is that it's carrying 296000 miles - probably means it's less likely to have been clocked!
My reason for being interested in this car is that I'm thinking of trying out a bit of a project. I already use biodiesel in my existing cars, but I've read many times that the 300d is particularly suitable for converting to run on straight vegetable oil. (Anyone unfamiliar with this idea can check out the biodiesel forum at biodiesel.infopop.net before trying to have me committed.)
I guess that I'll be taking the attitude that this would be a hobby car, not for daily commuting (at least initially), and that it could be used to experiment on. However, while I wouldn't mind the idea of the experiment not working and returning the car to previous setup, I wouldn't want to buy the car to find that while the engine was okay, the suspension and, oh, I don't know, something else expensive, would need to be sorted at double the cost of the car. So if I decide to go ahead with this, what should I be particularly looking out for (especially in terms of "walk away now"), and how much is this car worth if it's in reasonable nick? Read more
Yeah, my biodiesel supplier had to register with C&E as a fuel producer, and he has told me they can be very tight - he does things absolutely straight down the line with no messing about, as it wouldn't be worth the risk. Round where I live (in the wilds of Co. Antrim) using agricultural diesel in cars is rife, and fuel smuggling is done on a massive scale. Most recent estimates are that 50% of all fuel sold in Northern Ireland is illegal, i.e. either agricultural diesel which may or may not have been treated to remove the dye, or petrol or diesel smuggled up from the south. Of course, anyone who uses the former is setting themselves up for a major engine rebuild in a few years anyway - the method for removing the red dye involves putting (sulphuric?) acid through the fuel, which is not exactly friendly to any metal components.
I suppose if I chose to risk it, getting dipped on veg-oil wouldn't be a problem for me because there's no real way for a C&E on-the-spot tester to distinguish between biodiesel (for which I always carry my most recent receipt showing where and when I bought it) and veg-oil. But I'd rather do it the right way round - after all, the cost is still only 28p a litre and I don't like it when people evade their road-tax, so why should I have double standards about paying the fuel tax - even if I do think it's a nonsense.
In any case, I'm starting to lean away from the idea of this particular car at the minute - I've seen another on Autotrader for £995 which is an automatic and a year younger with half the mileage, and there are a few more like that knocking about. I might just try the bangernomics idea for a little while to see how it goes. Should be good for a laugh if nothing else!
I have just had a Saab performance upgrade kit fitted to my 2.0 Saab 9-5 which consists of a new ECU plus a set of different fuel injectors. I plan on keeping the old ECU and injectors in case I decide to migrate back to the original setup (e.g. on change of car). My question is, what is the best way to store the injectors to avoid any problems when they are refitted (if ever)? The storage period could potentailly be a year or so.
(Before anyone asks, yes I have told my insurers!) Read more
Smear a little vaseline on screw threads and injector nozzles before placing in plastic bag, clean them thoroughly in petrol before refitting.
please advise a good product to protect alloys from break dust.
Richard Price Read more
Confirm that. I'm on my third set, my son's on his first set.
Superb pads.
I know these things.................
Browse
Nah, there are two lots of screaming in my car, the speedo and the other one coming from the general direction of my boyfriend, and that one is caused by my driving. But the stereo normally drowns his screams out,lol.
Thanks guys for the advice, gonna check that bushy thingymajig thing and the cable in the morning, (well a guy I know will cos I ain't got a clue what anything under the bonnet looks like)
Huggles
LQ