November 2002
Does the coolant in a car need to be changed on a periodic basis? If so how after how long??
Any other fluids (apart from oil) that need changing in a car?? Read more
I helped my parents buy a new car this week. Opinions on if this was a good deal (I think it was pretty okay, fantastic in general but not bad given the general state of the market) would be welcomed:
The car: new Ford Focus 1.6 Flight. Discounted to £9160. Not available in silver, so they had to get the red one.
The part-ex: 1998R Ford Fiesta 1.3 Encore 3 door. State blue metallic, 64k miles, one owner, FSH, no PAS. £1735 trade in price.
Cost to change: £7425.
Finance at 8.9% APR, a personal loan, not HP on the car. Could have been better but my parents preferred to deal with an IFA whom they know, rather than go directly to the finance company. Read more
Our local Ford dealer has a 'Runabouts' section at the back too, selling cars £900 plus. I was cheesed off to see my part-ex appear there at £1800 more than they gave me for it, especially after I had been told it was definitely going in the auction and that was why I couldn't have the tax disc back. The car I bought was a good price, so overall we did okay - won't be going back though due to the fibs and other problems, like failing to produce the MOT for 3 months.
The car is a peugeot 106 extra time 1997 with only 25000 miles from new. The fuel gauge only works when it wants to so should I just replace the sender in tank or are they prone for something else maybe? If its the sender unit in the tank is this straight forward?
Any experienced opinions appreciated
Pete. Read more
could be a bad earth /contact on the sender unit mounted on top of the tank. Access is under the rear seat cushions. under a plastic access cover. Best to disconnect the barttery first.
Or it could be a fault on the dashboard PCB.. ,,,:-(
madf
My speedo was playing up such that the needle would do a lot of jumping about and at the same time the engine would tend to hesitate for a second or two at the same time. A firm bang on the dashboard over the speedo area would stop the engine's miss and settle the speedo at the same time. A local audi mechanic said there is no connection between the speedo and the engine's performance but I know I wasn't imaginaning it!!!
Subsequently I eventually fitted a second hand speedo which solved both the afore mentioned problems confirming to me that there must be some kind of connection between speedo and engine (perhaps through the engine management? )
Anyway this second hand speedo has started playing up now with same probs as before only today the car actually died on me all together. I restarted the car without fail and it seems fine now,(as long as I give the dash a good firm bang now and again to stop speedo fluctuation and engine hesitation) By hesitation I mean a feeling of slight jerks in the car when travelling at average speed. Also the fuel pump is very loud constantly.
What I want to know is this...
Could the car have died on me because of the actual speedo prob?
What is the connection between speedo and engine?
Also is there anywhere that can repair speedos instead of me fitting yet another second hand one?
And finally why is the fuel pump so loud.
Any experienced opinions very much appreciated.
Pete.
Read more
ses
Only a partial answer but, yes, there could well be a conection between the speedo and the engine. Most modern fuel injected cars incorporate a speed sensor which links to the engine mangement and which directly affects the engine's operation, usually to minimise emissions. If that signal is lost, it can cause significant problems with the way the engine runs, as you seem to have found out.
Regards
John S
Can anyone tell me if the Volvo 740 diesels, 85 onwards i think? are OK. Good or bad. Owners experiences welcomed. Economy running costs etc. Many thanks. Read more
CV,
>>There is a slight diesel leak at the back/rightside of the engine (nearest the bulkhead) which he told me causes the fuel to fall back and reluctant starting.
Just one concern...well lots but just one worth mentioning.
A diesel leak is usually a fairly easy repair in the engine compartment area...and the mess/smell is annoying....so why hasn't the owner sorted it?? Add to that the '86 740TD I looked after suffered poor starting for months and eventually turned out to need an engine rebuild because it had poor compressions. Even a budget job cost £1200.
Given that there is nothing worse than going into the winter with a poor starting diesel why not say you'll buy it if he gets the diesel leak repaired then you can be sure it starts well otherwise. It would be worth paying £50 more after the owner had proved this.
Even a decent exchange starter and new heavy duty battery will cost a good proportion of the cars value so you need to know.
A friend has just bought a similar car for £300 with a years MOT and in smart metallic green with leather interior...hope you were going to be in that sort of price range with yours.
Not my sort of car but they are a somewhat satisfying barge if they are your cup of tea.
Good luck,
MM
My other halfs little Champs-Elysee makes a right royal racket at 4,000 rpm akin to having your had stuck in a bassoon.
This is no vibration felt through the steering or anything like that.
At 4,000 rpm, there is a loud sound which I could only compare to a major exhaust blow but the exhaust is fine and you can only hear it when inside with the doors closed.
I was thinking that since the manual car is not as pokey as my mum's auto, perhaps I am loosing some compression at that rpm but I am really scratching my head with that one!
Any ideas????
Cheers
Jamie Read more
It could also be an exhaust box rusting internally further down stream being blocked by sound absorbing material (internal box pipes rust through)
I am sorting out my Mk2 Escort (RS2000 replica) for it's MOT after it has been off the road for some time. Everything is fine apart from a couple of electrical issues:
- the horn doesn't work.
- the hazard flasher button does not succeed in operating the indicators accordingly. However, the indicators work fine if I signal with the indicator stalk.
Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing this? I believe that the horn and the hazard unit/indicators are on the same electrical circuit. I have checked all the fuses and cleaned up the fuse terminals and that of the horn with emery paper to ensure good contact. I've also replaced the indicator relay unit but still to no avail.
Any help is much appreciated.
Read more
Not sure if this is useful, but on the Mk1 Escort the hazard flasher was an option (not mandatory in 1973) and my car which did have this option has a separate flasher unit just for the hazard lights.
Alternatively if there is only a single flasher circuit:
1. the fault might lie in the hazard switch itself...check the contacts there or try replacing the switch.
2. the hazard switch might be used to ground the hazard circuit to a different earth point...if this is missing/loose the hazards wont work but the indicators may still work.
hth
Ian L.
Has anyone got a good SID display, i.e. without the missing pixels, for a Saab 9-5 at a sensible price? Also need the climate control display but this isn't so urgent (yet!).
Just for interest, I am pursuing the possibility of finding someone to fix them, as there seem to be an awful lot of 9-3 and 9-5 owners having problems with these in relatively young cars. The next possible step is to form some sort of pressure group to get Saab to accept more responsiility for the abysmally short functionm life of these units - which incidentally retail new at c.£400. Read more
Yep, someone else told me about this site. I've tried it but it made only a small difference. I've contacted the owners & they suggested denser foam. It completely cured the problem for my informant. Thanks for the tip anyway.
Husband and boys were out all day yesterday doing this. I had the house to myself. Bliss.
Sorry if that's not what you were expecting.
Rebecca Read more
R
Have a curious mind. Your answer eliminates an on-site emminent person in the legal profession.
Thanks
DVD
Thankyou to everyone who contribuited to my thread regarding killing pedestrians. As you may remember I was gathering information for a presentation for a job interview. Unfortunately I was 'not successful this time' but I must say the local council involved were very professional and had the decency to phone me up to discuss the interview.
They felt the presentation was excellent and congratulated me on my research. They have employed someone with 10 years experience in the road planning field so I can't really argue with that!
There is a silver lining to this cloud in the form of a similar position within the same council in 6 months time, so fingers crossed....
Thankyou all again, your input was a great confidence boost!
H Read more
Hurman. many thanks. I'll check out the link. Leif.
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If your coolant is blue or green change every 2yrs. If red or orange then it is ok for 4yrs.
Brake fluid is specified by most OEMs to be changed every 2yrs. The advice on many brake fluid containers is every year. Me? Every 18 mths. Clutch fluid too, if hydraulic.
PAS fluid should never need changing unless you overheat the fluid or foreign matter enters the system. Always use new fluid to top up if you have to disconnect any pipework and observe scrupilous cleanliness. I have however just changed mine for Mobil Fully Synth ATF (car 6yrs, 120k).
Some gearboxes specify a change, some don't. If no change specified I change every 60k regardless. Currently using Torco Fully Synth MTF - much improved gearbox at all temps.
You should lubricate your door locks with grease every year - more often if you use a pressure or car wash. Spray grease or spray white grease is excellent for this.
You should keep door hinge pivots cleaned regularly and lubricate with a light lubricant - again spray grease is good for this, but remove excess.
Check the service schedule for door check arm requirements. Rover / Honda types need cleaning and greasing at least every year, others don't need any.
Air con gas should be kept topped up every 4yrs - it contains a lubricant. It'll stop working if it gets too low - but best not to wait for this.
Metros and MGFs still need suspension points greasing every year. Expensive if you don't.
Hope this helps.