April 2003
Car bumpers and side mouldings are usually painted, no doubt by popular demand, but even where unpainted rubber or plastic inserts are provided these are almost universally positioned so that the painted surfaces are the first contact points. Could it be that the manufacturers like the idea that their products will suffer premature depreciation, through no direct fault of their own? A car can be hailed by the motoring press as a triumph of good quality and practicality, and yet will inevitably suffer unnecessary depreciation through everyday minor knocks and scrapes, which could easily be prevented. Does anyone else feel as I do that there is some element of confidence trickery here, or should I just ignore the damage like everyone else, except perhaps the trade-in dealer? Read more
Hello people
Have any of you had any experience of the load areas in the 960, 850 & V70 volvo estates? I note from the tech spec the latter two are 6 inches shorter in length than the 960 but the same height & width? Is there a radical difference? The reason for the question is trying to convince a 960 driver that yes we will be able to fit his dog cage along with some pre-war breakdown paraphanalia in the back of one of the newer models.
As always any feedback would be appreciated.
P.S. Contacted Volvo already but thought I would try this route to get 'real' feedback. Read more
>>As for the V70, we'll have to see but I might just go for a test drive, why not ??.
Why not indeed, if you want space though why not try out a second hand Merc E Class estate.
Cheers
VD5D.
Have a K plate Escort Ghia, with creaking from the front offside suspension and serious steering wander when declutching/accelerating. Anyone know which particular bit to look for first, obviously something under there must be broken? Will get the wheel off tomorrow and have a butcher's, but would be good to have some ideas first. Read more
Check rear engine mounting
I'm sure this has happened to many others. Bought a new Citroen Picasso from a Citroen main dealer and had the spare wheel stolen after about two weeks - very easy - thief simply lifted the spare wheel carrier out of its holding hook and hey presto I'm about £200.00+ down.
To add insult to injury the dealer said it's a common problem (has been for years), particularly on French cars. Why wasn't I told when I bought the car - I would happily have paid to have the (now fitted) dealer available security device fitted? Call me a cynic but could it be to do with the earnings potential for dealers!!
Anyway - wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and successfully or otherwise argued the case with a dealer for a part or total contribution toward the cost of replacement?
Silver
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Some Renaults used to have the spare under the bonnet as well. It was a sensible idea since you were more likely to keep an eye on the pressure as you checked your water and oil weekly - we all do that don't we... Yes!!
Also I found on my old Renault 5 that if you turned the wheel upside down, an old biscuit tin fitted perfectly. I could then keep a few tools in it.
Later Renaults then slung the tyre under the back, where it was prone to theft and getting filthy. My Megane has the tyre back in the boot again, presumably because there wouldn't be room under the bonnet on a modern car - more gadgets etc.
Does anyone know whether a) It is possible to fit cruise control to a 2001 new shape Mondeo and b) where the best place to have it done is?
Just back from Canada after hiring a car with it and found it superb.
Thanks! Yoby Read more
Yoby,
Sorry to take some time to get back on this.
Re Easycruise in Kidderminster.
It certainly appears that they know what they are doing but….
They are actually agents for ROSTRA products from USA. So you might find a supplier closer to you.
They have actually stopped offering cruise control because of the excessive cost of insurance to allow them to test drive and set up the car. If you are willing to drive the car while their installer tests and sets up the servo unit to give the best response then they have a guy who will help you out, but he is not insured.
If you have a car with a throttle cable and plenty of room under the bonnet then fitting will be possible. Eg Mondeo petrol looks as if fitting would not be too difficult.
If you have a drive by wire throttle, eg Mondeo TDCi diesel,, then you have to faff about making up bracketes so that the cable from the servo motor pulls on the device at the throttle pedal end. Just that exercise could take best part of the day.
They do have a number of control options, the best ones look to be stalks with micro switches, though there is a device which fastens to the wheel and operates using RF signals.
Also looking at their literature it seems odd why they recommend a cut out sensor for clutch operation when fitted to diesel engines plus 12 cylinder and high performance petrol engines. I would have thought a clutch sensor was a good idea on any manual, and is certainly the case with the OEM Ford setup.
Hope that helps.
HJ you might like to amend your FAQs re cruise control in the light of this.
Cheers all,
FiF
I have a 1996 2.016v Omega and it has developed an erratic idling fault to the point where it nearly stalls then races up to 2000 revs. The idle control valve has been removed, cleaned out and re-fitted. (could this still be faulty?). The breather pipes are clear.
On travelling at around 30/40 m.p.h it tends to hold back then pick up then hold back and so on.
The fuel pressure valve fitted to the end of the fuel rail "hisses" as if its leaking air? The car also "pinks" on acceleration too. so does anyone have any ideas before i burst into tears? Read more
I'm not in the least mechanically minded so apologies if this sounds like a really stupid couple of questions.
Firstly, am I right in assuming that this commonly used term "cambelt" is in fact a shortened way of saying "Camshaft Drive Belt"? (As found in my service guide)
Secondly, is replacing this (whatever it's called) a specialist Ford job or can I expect my local backstreet garage to be able to do a competent (and more than likely, cheaper) job of it?
The car is a 1998 Fiesta LX 1.25 with a Zetec engine.
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Just used the site for my parents' Focus and priced up differences for the nightmare pre-disposal service that's still 30 months away - new timing belt, a/c check and 4 year/50k.
Timing belt quotes varied from about £150 to £200, as you'd expect them to. Servicing varied between £99 and £170 - more variation but labour tends to be more expensive in London.
However the a/c check that I added varied between £17 and £170 (!) Most in London were very cheap, and in Wales prices were consistently around £80. I don't know what this difference means but it'd be interesting to see what happened if you booked the car in for a £16 a/c check.
Hi,
I have a 93 1.4i astra. Everytime I set off and accelerate any more than slowly my car just doesn't want to go and when you let your foot off the accelerator a bit it jerks, if you put your foot down even more it does the same but keeps jerking till the engine is revving quite high. The problem was really bad ie it was jerking in every gear and even when not accelerating.
I have changed the spark plugs, changed the fuel filter and ran a bottle of engine cleaner in with my fuel. I think the two latter things have helped to solve the problem and now it only does it when my engine is cold, however sometimes when I drive it late at night when it has been stood a few hours, it is quite bad.
Any suggestions?
Many thanks in advance.
Jim Read more
There's a good chance that a new set of plug leads will cure this problem and while you're there renew the distributor cap and rotor too.
David Davies (Tune-Up Raglan)
Is any old black tape suitable for masking headlamps for continental driving. It has been suggested that some tapes can absorb enough heat to crack the glass or melt the acrylic on some newer headlamps. Bought masking material is not very expensive, but is the silver backing and special (removable) adhesive worthe the cost? Read more
Yes, beambenders fly off in the rain but Lucas and the AA do black beam converters (you can get them in the AA shop at the Eurotunnel terminal) which have silvered reverse side. Less light is lost, they provide templates so you know you are covering up the right bit and you can peel them off and use them about ten times - not bad for £3-99 a pack
I posted in the Back Room a couple of weeks ago with regard to buying from a Car Supermarket.
I've have taken the plunge, put the deposit down and am due to pick up the car on Friday.
Again I've had a bit of look through the archive in an attempt to find out what I need to consider before the day and what I need to do on the day.
I have got an insurance cover note winging it's way to me as I speak. I also know that on the day of collection I will have to go out and get the car taxed.
Can anyone advise me on how the actual buying/transfer of ownership process goes and anything else I need to be aware of on the day.
I was able to have a poke around the car I am buying when it was sat on the compound but I am going to give it another more thorough going over on Friday (make sure everything is working etc). But am I able to do this before I hand over the bankers draft?
Also, does anyone know if new Ford Focuses (or Foci!) come with locking wheel nuts as standard?
As usual any help/advice is much appreciated.
Phil Read more
Also forgot to say as it is a 2003 03 UK car I will pick up the remainder of Ford's warranty.
Browse
"Don't turn this into a boring 4x4 and People Carrier vs Car driver rant"
Erm...I didn't - I was merely stating in a subtle manner that you shouldn't!
"If your happy to park next to a people carrier full of kids then fine go ahead and leave plenty of space for me in quite part of the car park!"
I actually park in a remote part of supermarket carparks as well, and it annoys me big time when I come back and find some clown parked so close to the side of my car that I can hardly get in. I was waiting in a car park today for the wife and watching the way some people go on was unbelievable - one woman in a small car got so close to the car beside her, she had three attempts at getting out of her car before giving up and scaling out the passenger side. Another guy grazed the bumper of a Focus parked next to him while he was reversing out. He calmly lit up a cigarette and drove off without so much as a sideways glance - I left the number plate details on both cars, but they will probably have no joy as it was in a car park!