May 2003
Hi
My mazda mx5 is idling a bit rough. I had a look at the air intake around the butterfy and it is filthy ! What is the best way and or product to use to clean this area without damaging the butterfly or cat.
thanks
alan
Read more
I'd be grateful if anyone knows the answer to this one. On my wife's new VW Polo is the following correct?
When the front wipers are operating and you select reverse gear the rear wiper gives one wipe only. If reversing in the rain this is pretty useless. Do all new Polos only wipe once or is there a fault? VW dealers (as always!) seem confused. Thanks for any info. Read more
My new V70 also gives one rear wipe, but then five seconds later, if you're still in reverse gear with the front wipers on, another wipe, and so on.
Works really well.
i have a v reg corsa 1.0litre that sends vibrations up through the steering column on tickover or when i set of in 1st gear its worse in 2nd gear is it because of it being a three potter.I seem to remember somebody mentioning a support tube i may be wrong any clues
regards Nobby Read more
Really sad I know but has anyone else noticed that the car featured on the Peugeot advert set in India showing an old car being 'bashed' into a shape resembling a new Peugeot ?0? also changed from being an RHD to LHD in the process ?
Anyone else spotted any major continuity problems with car adverts ? Read more
Yes, I'm sad:
Remember the one for Woodpecker cider where the Escort submerges in front of the bus shelter? That does a flip from RHD to LHD as it approaches.
Or the Jaguar X-type "Just stay in its tracks" one - cheap how an ad for a British car has to have people speaking in English, but dubbed, when they're driving LHD vehicles on the right hand side of the road. The co-driver of the snowplough has even been given a Scottish or Irish accent!
hi all am looking to buy a set of torx bits/sockets and was lookng at buying a draper "professional" set at around £35 any one any views on the merits of this brand? as i have heard conflicting views on the quality of them{im not of course expecting snap on type performance at this price but require somrthing fairly reasonable}or am i better going up market a tad? thanks Read more
Look at this months Practical Classics there is a review of socket/torx sets by various manufacturers.
The Halfords professional that I have used, have been good.
They used to do a life guarantee on sockets, I dont know if they still do. No hassle exchange, on one occasion because there was not a single socket available, it was robbed from a professional set!
pmh (was peter)
I must be getting old or something but in the past most new model launches or facelifts represented an improvement aesthetically so far as I'm concerned. True, there was often lots of room for improvement and things have changed a lot with respect to design techniques however I look at most new cars now and usually find I prefer the styling of the older models. Is it just me getting old and boring or do others share my views ? Read more
Yes all car companies use the same CAD systems. Put the requirements in (4 people, xx cubic feet of luggage, xx wheelbase, drag factor of less than xx etc etc) and is it any suprise that the computer coughs up the same answers.
HOWEVER some have been brave
Ford - Roundly ridiculed for the Sierra - looks ok to our eyes now, Scorpio - Ugly disaster, Focus accused by some for its sharp edge theme - not mentioned now - its a company look and doing ok.
FIAT - Multipla, there was the design and rule book thrown out the window - works? who knows
Renault, Createur d\' Automobiles, the new Megane with its back end, Avantime, Vel satis, new Espace. All very different looking beasts from the norm. And the Laguna - a thing of some beauty.
Applaud the brave manufacturers for trying I say.
Does anyone know of a vw specialist garage in the reading, berkshire area (no main dealers, thanks!) Read more
Have a look on the good garage guide on this website.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/directories/good_garages/DirG...m
Got an email from drivethedeal.com stating that renault are gonna put up their prices soon across certain models in their range, is this true? Or just drivethedeal trying to stimulate sales, why would renault increase their prices? Read more
see the latest adds in the daily paper and they are dropping some model prices
K2
Hi all,
Just wondered if anyone else had been told to *%&) off after attempting to help another motorist.
Last night I followed a oldish Toyota down a speed-humped road. I noticed that the back end of the car continued to bounce about 4 times after each speed hump was driven over!
At the end of the road I filtered left and they were going right so I gestured to the passenger to wind the window down and told them that their dampers were probably needing replacement because of the bouncing etc.
Their response - not repeatable!! And this from a middle-aged woman (not that means anything)
Anyone else tried to help someone but get this type of reaction??
Read more
On the way back from work last year I flagged a chap down on the A1 by in Citroen BX whose offside rear wheel was blatantly loose. He replied frostily to the effect that he couldn\'t feel anything wrong and scorched off. By the time I had got 10 miles further on I found a 3 wheeled BX missing a chunk of rear wing and with the bumper trailing on the deck. I didn\'t stop again.
Also flagged a chap in a Ford Sierra down years ago outside Leeds on the M1. His near side rear tyre was flat but not shredded. When he opened his window to converse with me the blast of raw alcohol was overpowering. I pointed out the tyre problem. \"Can\'t deal with it now\" he slurred, \"Got to see a man about a dog\". And he took off down the hard shoulder.
Also a while ago I had a hired Tranny headed for South Wales. I was following a truck far too closely when it emptied the contents of its radiator dramatically under the truck and therefore over the front of the Tranny. I tried to pull out and flag them down, but the truck was empty and the Tranny full of Mum\'s furniture. By the time I had crept abreast of the truck, it slowed suddenly and pulled over. I followed it and got out to explain to the driver. I had hardly started when he interrupted, swearing at me to the effect that he could quite well see what had happened and now to go away and mind my own business.
It\'s a thankless task\' trying to help ...
H.
A mate of a mate has a Rover 214i (the eight valve version)and has offered to sell it to me. He says its in sound nick but has been told that the cam belt and alternator belt need changing????
It's an M reg with 76,000 on the clock. The bodywork is perfect and it drives very nicely. He wants just over a grand for it which is a little more than i want to pay for a first car (i'll probably smash it up) What should i offer?
Read more
He's no mate trying to sell you such a load of unreliable junk as an M-reg Rover. I wouldn't give anything for it, it will not be worth the hassle.
You may learn quickly about car mechanics, but do yourself a favour & buy a reliable make such as a Nissan or Honda.
.jpg)
I wrote a "weekend workshop" article about this for Rover Torque (the Rover OCs mag) because the Rover turbo engines suffer from this problem too. Like Andrew I remove the tb from the car and use an old toothbrush with carb cleaner. The first time I did it (the tb was very grim) i also polished up the edges of the butterfly very lightly with duraglit. I clean the tb on the car with brush & cleaner every time I change the oil now and remove it for a thorough clean at each 24k service. Makes a huge difference to running and economy.