Anyone who has been reading my post in Discussion will know that my aunt has just bought a 1995 Mk5 Escort 1.6 LX.

We're very pleased with it so far considering what she paid, but unfortunately we can't get the driver's seat height adjust to work, it's stuck in the highest position so my aunts legs are touching the steering coloumn, obviously we need to get this bit sorted ASAP.

The handle feels normal, not too loose, not too tight when lifting it, but the seat just won't budge. I've checked and there's no rubbish like a can of de-icer stuck under it. Has anyone any ideas? I know it's a difficult one to deal with via a forum but I was wondering if there was a common fault on the mechanism?

The car seems to have a low coolant level as well, but she has already arranged for a tame mechanic to give it the once over for any work that needs doing and there was no sign of mayo in engine when my Uncle inspected it, so hopefully that'll turn out to be something innocent. The car runs fine anyway, and I don't think headgaskets are prone to failure on the Zetec, fingers crossed, hopefully just a small leak from a pipe.

Also, the rear wiper doesn't work, I haven't had time to try and diagnose it yet, the only thing that I noticed was that when my aunt used the front windscreen wash, the wipers didn't move, she had to switch them on herself. Could this indicate that it is the control stalk that is at fault? Or are the relays kept somewhere else?

Any help or advice greatly appreciated as always...
Blue Read more

Just been watching the new movie, and was a bit disappointed by the product placement of the cars - am I right in thinking the main car chase was an advert for Cadillac & Ducati? Bit of a dig destroying that BMW 7 Series, and surely it wasn't a co-incidence that they sent a Ford Explorer cartwheeling.

Bit like the Bond movie where the product placement was a bit OTT, IMHO.

Still, great movie.

Lee.

Lee
MINI adventure in progress Read more

Does anyone know what the symptoms of a leaking inlet manifold are? I've been told that I've got one by VW dealership. What would be the symptoms?

cheers.
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SWMBO would like to go 4wd on the school run and the BMW compact is struggling with the 3 wheel baby buggy! joking apart it is needed to be a big estate and general family workhorse all in one.

Would like some opinions on the economics of buying a 99/00 sturbo for £10-11k or a newer £14-15k for an early tdi sport xtrail as plugged by HJ!

on the basis of the forester returning 25mpg and the tdi giving 35mpg over 48k miles, estimating the future value to be £3.5k for the subaru and £6k for the newer nissan, depreciation is about the same. total cost difference is about 5k about the same as the difference in purchase price. Are they figures broadly correct? Forester seem to hold their value incredibly well but will this carry on as they get older?, dealer prices seem to vary wildly, do they just pitch them high and expect big negotiations. Imports can be had for £17.5k and they still want £13k for a 3yr old 50k car.

Any opinions on the cars themselves? I figure the sturbo is faster better handling but less cargo space whereas the xtrail is newer therefore less problems, better looking (!) and more economical . Thanks, Ian Read more

Are there more problems in getting spare parts these days? I've contributed to the thread on the Mercedes E-Class cooling hose problem (parts not available for weeks), also just read the HJ Car by Car; he says of the Nissan Primera II that 'spares shortages can put cars off road for three months'. My wife runs one of these and odd part we've needed has been available straight away, although we've never needed much.

Are people experiencing delays in getting parts more generally?

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