March 2003
Hi,
I am getting a very worrying grinding noise while accelerating in 1st and second, and a lot of vibration through the clutch when bringing up on the same gears.
Any ideas what the problem and solution is to fixing this?
Cheers
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Recently had cause to get a couple of quotes for a VW Golf GT TDI 130bhp. Upon telling them it was an EU import to UK Spec they immediately bumped it up into insurance group 15/16grp, resulting in quotes between 1400 & 2800 per annum. The same vehicle with Churchills as not imorted was £925.
Is this fair that an identical car: Same factory, same spec is charged differently because it was first sold in a foreign country. What about Jersey registered Fords: are these imports? Read more
You could always try selling your slot in the classifieds in something like AutoCar. If the dealer will transfer the rights though...
Is this belt or chain cam? Any assistance would be appreciated!
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All belted Vauxhalls are now recommended for change at 40,000 miles even if handbook in car specifies different. Don't forget to examine the tension rollers and replace them as well if less than perfect.
All belted Vauxhall 16v/24v engines are very likely to suffer valve/head damage if the belt fails. Only belted 8v engines have any real chance of avoiding damage.
It has sometimes struck me that motoring history is full of names that in themselves have such a powerful resonance that I find myself wanting one without even knowing anything about the car.
Any double-barrelled name on a car brings out the Toad in me!
Eg:
Isotta-Frascini
Hispano-Suiza
Laycock de Normanville J-type overdrive
Maybach Zeppelin engine powered 20s special (I see Maybach have made a recent reappearance)
Coachwork by Thrup and Maberley
Lea-Francis
Marles-Weller steering box
Twin Stromberg carburettors
Claudel-Hobson carburettors
Rolls-Royce of course.
On the other hand some names are so offputting I wonder anybody ever buys the car :
Robin
Fiesta (sounds like a contraceptive)
De Dion rear axle (something on the London to Brighton run?)
Gunk (clever name for a down to earth product)
Ka
Remember J Bonnington-Jagworth?s Boggs Super Oaf?
Does anybody else notice names like this?
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What about the Alvis?
They ain't nothing but hound dogs! :-)
(with apologies to Elvis)
Experienced problems with brakes. Symtoms synonymous with air, have changed fluid and bled but still requires extra pump to stop effectively. I understand there are problems with the rear brake adjusters on this model. Could this be contributing to the problem? Any similiar experiences or solutions?
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This car is very reliable and exibits no real faults other than speeding up by itself occasionally once in top gear and warm. This is annoying when changing gear and can be unnerving. I thought it was to do with the engine mangement unit or accelerator chip but the diagnostic machine at the garage does not show anything. Reluctant to change management unit on a hunch! Is there anybody out there who has experienced the same or got some ideas?
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I caused the same symptoms in my escort 1.3 when I cleaned the idle control valve. These valves are prone to becoming contaminated after about 45000 miles upwards. I thought I would be clever and clean it with carb cleaner. Drove off afterwards to test the car after about 5mins the revs started to climb quite high. I had to change the valve in the end. There is also a switch that is fitted to some of these cars I think it is on the clutch pedal I believe this was to stop a rev related problem when changing gear although there is not one fitted to my car.
My car is also a 97. It was running perfectly until I applied my "preventative maintenance". It returned to perfect running after I changed the valve.
We\'ve got a face-lift Berlingo Multispace (2002, 52), and I would like to fit a single CD / tuner head-unit in place of the current low spec tape / tuner unit. Are there any head-units out there that will work with both the stalk, and the central display, or do I have to go to a Citroen dealer ? Does anyone else supply Citroen head-units ? Read more
Jeep has replaced Land Rover as the vehicle of choice for Paramount Pictures' buxom adventurer Lara Croft.
What next? PC games of Tomb Raider where the first task is to repair the broken Freelander? Read more
Well if its bust then why not fix it!
Oops we've had a telling off before for that line of discussion.
Hi, I'm thinking of buying an Octavia diesel,does anyone know of any faults, expensive repairs etc. And would the SDi be any better, cheaper to run than the TDi. I'm not really bothered about speed, just economy and cheap running costs. Thanks in advance. Read more
I was only charged about £40 for my intrim oil service on my 1.4 Classic. First main service £110 , second a steeper £183 but included things like brake fluid change etc....
Excellent cheap to run car, quiet and economical (41 mpg in winter, 46!! mpg in summer 50+ on a lower speed long run).
When youve only paid £9k the most you can loose in 9K. I expect to have the car for about 10 years by which time it will have about 150,000+ miles on the clock, Thats cheap for high mileage motoring.
Hi guys have 10-12k to spend on a 5 door /saloon hatchback 2-3 years old. What do you recommend? must be very reliable - so no ford, vauxhall, peugeot, renault. Must seat 4/5 manual. Running costs should be reasonable in motoring terms.
I was personally thinking of newer shape VW Passat TDI...any suggestions or Volvo S60. Thanks.
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regarding the TDCI, I've just bought one of them and mines fine so far (digits xed) and delivering 45-50mpg. The problem with sites like this is you get to read lots of horror stories and that can be off-putting if you take it all to heart.
Why don't you start by asking what car you'd like if you had never read reviews on this and other sites?
splodgeface
Browse
It is coming up to 77,000 miles now. I have, in the last 6 months started driving it to work everyday which is a 50 mile round trip down a motorway, where before it used to take us the 2 mile round trip to Tesco for the weekly trip. So I think it is having a bit of an unused overuse problem!