December 2002
I am now the proud owner of the above vehicle. It has done 74,000 miles and is an automatic, 2-litre 20 valve model.
Does anyone have any top tips regarding when the timing belt should be changed, what would be a good interval for oil changes (mainly urban use, with the odd blast up & down the full length of the M1), which oil to use, etc etc.
I tried the Volvo Owners' Club website but it wasn't very helpful.
Many thanks in advance. Read more
I have noticed when my fan is in the OFF position and i go around a left hand corner a high pitched squealing sound comes from the dashboard area (i cannot pin-point the sound at the moment).
This doesnt happen on every left corner (the squeal comes and goes) and is still noticable when the fan is on but it still only happens when i go round a left hand corner and i dont really fancy taking the dash to bits just yet so......
Does anyone have any ideas or know what this could be?
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Apart from the usual jokes about mice ...
Since you can still hear the noise when the fan is on (though presumably less noticeable), it seems likely the fan has nothing to do with it - probably the noise of the fan is simply hiding a noise coming from somewhere else.
Noises associated with turning corners are usually to do with wheel bearings - a noise while turning left equals a faulty right hand wheel bearing (front or back). Though it could be something catching under the wheel arch.
I've really got to stretch my imagination to think of anything in the dashboard area which could be affected in this way. But how about - dashboard loose, car flexes as goes round corner and dashboard rubs and squeaks against bodywork? Or - engine loose on mountings, pulls speedo cable while cornering, which presses against something behind the dashboard? Or - the sky's the limit when you let your imagination run wild.
Ian
I was wondering if anyone can help me with a noise that has started to appear on my above car, only when conditions are wet.
The car has done 81,000 miles but has been regularly serviced (as per service log and by a Peugeot dealer). The timing belt was changed in August.
When I stop and turn the key to switch off, the engine cuts but a 'ratchett' type noise sounds (as if something is 'running on').
I had a new alternator put on the car (about a year ago), as the other one gave up the ghost, but don't know if would be anything in that area.
Being a bit light.....okay very light.....on knowledge of car problems, can any of you advise what you think it could be?
Many thanks
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Loose or badly positioned exhaust pipe mountings can allow the exhaust pipe to hit the bodywork a couple of times while the engine vibrates to a stop. This "knock knock" or "bang bang" could possibly be described as sounding like a ratchet.
Ian
Having recently become the owner of a VW Diesel, and living in Yorkshire, I have been filling up with Rix Biodiesel which is 95% ordinary diesel and 5% other oil.
Is anyone aware of any evidence regarding the long term benefits or disadvantages in using this?
I have also found a site selling 100% reprocessed waste vegetable oil but have been told that this will not be generally available until the summer. Is anyone aware of any other sources in Northern England?
BobM
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So it boils down to the quality of the biodiesel. I was thinking about trying Bristol Bio Fuel out and at only, say, 1:1 biodiesel and regular diesel as my van is a 2005! Has anyone heard anything about their diesel? They advertise as having all the certificates but it does not harm to ask around....Thanks
Can anyone out there give me their opinion on the V70 estate? Advice and comparisions like manual/auto or old/new shape, what I could be expecting to pay etc would be useful. I have seen some of the archive threads on ex-police models but any more info would be useful. Read more
What did you decide as looking also at the V70 / XC70 and interested to know how u got on.>> Thanks to everyone who took the time to pass on advice
and anecdotes - it is all being thought about and mulled
over, guess a bit of shopping around and test driving is
now in order.
Does anyone know of a forum like this for motorcycle problems?? l have a kx125 that wont go into first gear, need advice.
many thanks. Duggie Read more
The bike has just been bought by my son, we knew it had this problem before we parted with any money, its just a case now of trying to rectify it. Thanks for the replies, the drain plug is definitely something l will look at, l noticed it had a slight oil leak from the plug maybe a different bolt has been used in the past. Thanks again.
Duggie
Hi Folks
Never had any problem until new Bosch fuel pump recently fitted (slanted wiith rubber primer on top), but big problems starting.My mechanic had to reseat the seals and change plastic pipes to pump since they were taking in air to injectors.
Problem now in cold weather, vehicle very very difficult to start in mornings.When I check the primer first thing before starting engine, it fully depresses until "full". Is this normal after standing idle overnight, or should primer be always "full" after overnight flat standing?
Also, when finally starts after twenty minutes, it seems to stutter on two cylinders , then fires with greyish/white smoke from exhaust polluting the air. When running, goes great, starts first time when engine warm/hot.
It is only after engine cold that probems occur.
Any views for a non-technical person, please.
Thanks,
Ric
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TonyH
Thanks for response, I am doing as you say, and will let people know if it works so it doesn't happen to other folks, especially in cold weather.
One point I noticed, the two plastic pipes leading to the fuel pump do NOT have any form of metal circlips holding them tight, they are just pushed as far as they can go! When the diesel engine is running (and obviously shaking), one of the pipes is slowly coming away from the fuel metal pipe it sheaths (if that is the term), and I have to push it back in place.
Ric
Can anyone explain to me the difference between the 115bhp and 130/150bhp versions? Are they mechanically diferent or is it just a difference in ECUs, ie chipped?
Ta
David Read more
When these engines first appeared, I was reliably informed that the individual pump injectors on TDI PD engines have a design life of only 70-80k miles. This information came from a VAG main dealer who also told me the price for replacements is c.£400 each.
Anyone had any experience of this ?
I have a Pug 306 GXL and the offside rear door has decided to dead lock itself permanently. It happened when the car was parked up, the central locking was activated OK but when it came to unlocking, the rear door refused to co-operate.All the other doors are OK, central locking and dead locking working correctly. I have managed to get the door trim off but there is no way to unlock the mechanism. Has this happened to anyone else and how do I get the b****y door open?
Any help would be appreciated.
Bob McC. Read more
Much cheaper from a scrapyard?
Can anyone suggest where I can get a good quality car cover (weather protection ) for a Caterham 7 without having to go to Caterham and pay their ever so slightly over the top price. Read more
Or go to a good camping shop who will either have awning makers on site or wiil have contacts.
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The recommended intervals are what the manufacturers think is the optimum between spending too much on parts and labour, and not having the timing belt go, taking out the engine with it. It is in their interest to extend this interval because this implies low maintenance costs when the vehicle is new, and therefore will make the car more attractive to fleets.
By not changing it now, you are essentially betting the cost of a replacement engine that everything will be fine until you do decide to change it. Probably, nothing will happen, but if it did it would likely be catastrophic.
Every three years/36k seems a little pessimistic to me; I think you're probably safe with 5 years/50k but that's just my opinion. If you know a good garage the labour costs won't be astronomical, the costs of a replacement engine will be. The same applies to oil; a cheap oil change using the right grade of oil (it needn't be done by a main dealer) half way through the manufacturer's service interval won't cost a fortune but will preserve your engine.
My father took the original timing belt on his '91 Audi up to 96k (this was six years ago); a friend of mine has a '93 Accord on its original timing belt at 110k miles. As far as I'm concerned, he's an idiot and maybe this says something about Japanese reliability, but I wouldn't feel safe at that age and mileage.