May 2003
Hi everyone,
I drive an F-reg Vauxhall Astra, which causes me no end of grief, being an old car and all. I threw a piston last year, so had the engine replaced with a G-reg 1.4 Cavalier engine.
My radiator is 3 years old, and I've already had the water pump replaced this year when it packed up in October.
So now you know the history, here's the problem: after driving the 30 mins or so to work each morning, I've noticed a lot of steam coming up from under my bonnet. When I opened it to check, I noticed the radiator was really really low on water, but there are no visible signs of leaking. My grandfather tightened up all the hoses/leads etc around the radiator, and there's no visible puddles of water around the car when it's stationary. It only seems to lose a lot of water when I'm driving, so I have to continually top it up. I have no idea what the problem is, can anyone help?
Thank!
Emily Read more
Advert in yesterday's Sund.Tel. offering Skoda Octavia 180 bhp for £15k and 0% finance over 3 yrs. Have read HJ's C by C brkdown and wonder if this is a good deal. Are they running the model out ? Can I get a discount somewhere ? Are they worth the money ? Read more
Yes, No, Yes ( www.ukcarbroker.co.uk/ ) and Yes.
Normally my brakes seem fine but on occasion and when going slowly (approaching junctions etc) I can feel and hear a 'crunching' coming from the front wheels. In addition to this when driving along I can hear a 'rubbing' sound which slows down and speeds up with the speed of the car. Would this be the pads, disks or possibly something else?
I'm going to have a look at it sometime this week, total novice so any ideas would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance for any help.
Sorry, should have mentioned, car is Rover 220sdi. Read more
Sounds like the pads are gone. If it's a metal against metal sound then it's time to change the pads.
It's best to change them sooner rather than later so that they don't score up the discs.
I'm in the market for a Lexus GS300 and have the chance of what seems a good deal. My only reservation is that is it does not immediately have a full service history, although as ever, that may be forthcoming if Lexus have it on their computers.
It only has 45k on it, and I'm satisfied that is genuine, although as it's a 1997 car it hasn't done much.
Obviously a full Lexus history is ideal, and full non-Lexus service history I would be ok about. My gut reaction is that this car is ok given the other documentation I've seen, and a Lexus should be reliable enough; that's the point of the things. Everything else about the car is fine; I've checked it over and driven it and it all "feels right".
I'm saving about a thousand quid because of the current lack of documentation. How much of a flyer am I taking on this, would backroomers think? Read more
I think you're wise to go for FLSH. Lexus's tend not to go wrong, but they're hardly cheap when they do.
Peter
PS You'll love the car!
My ignition light has just started coming on while the engine is running, it goes off whren the revs rise up but stays on on tickover. the rev counter also shows that the car is only ticking over on 250 rpm, normally 850-900 rpm, but the engine sound has not changed. Does the car have some sort of voltage regulator? Please Help. it is a 1994 1.8 td Read more
Try your local accessory shop;they probably know a local auto-electrician who'll recon it.
Anyone here tried using the Philips Blue Vision bulbs?
Would like to know the light ouput as compared to Silverstar or Vision Plus. Read more
Anyone have any knowledge of what the typre pressures should be. The manual figures seem extremely low and after inflating the tyres to those pressures, the handling isn't brilliant. The tyres are 205 55 16 (I think - the standard alloys) and the manual says something like 29 fr the pressure figure.
Anyone? Read more
Phil
The tyre pressures in the manual seem bizarre - quite why the coupe has lower pressures than the equivalent hatch is unclear. There is no significant difference in the kerb weights. For example our 1.8 SXi has a 'normal' front pressure of 2.2 bar (32 psi) and I think has the same 205/60x16 tyres as your car.
Try running the coupe with the 'full load' pressure (2.2 bar) at the front and the same 2.2 at the rear. Don't use the full load pressure at the rear unless it is fully loaded as it make them very bumpy!
Regards
John S
Couldn't help thinking about the breakdown on the M25 thread when I read about the 3 women who were killed on the M25 yesterday. Apparently their car stopped in the middle lane (broke down ??) and 3 of the 4 female occupants got out only to be hit by a van and killed. The one remaining in the car survived apparently. Our claim on life is tenuous isn't it ? Read more
Do motorcycles really have handbrakes now?
Yes, they do. It\'s on the right handlebar. And you use your right hand to operate it. But... when standing still in traffic, motorcyclists are supposed to use their footbrake. Puts the brake light on, and allows for smooth transition when the right hand opens the throttle. Just thought you might want to know!
Any suggestions where I can get a starter motor for a rover 214 online, and at what cost?
Will fit it myself. Read more
Can't say without make, model, year etc. Suspect that by the time I've replied to this you've checked them out anyway.
These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
Trying to change the hall sender on my motor with great difficulty. The Haynes manual is not very helpful. Get stuck on the rotor which I cannot remove (not rotor arm) it moves a certain amount but a long way from coming out. It says in the haynes manual that it is supposed to slide out and to collect the pin afterwards but it does not slide out at all.
Any tips? Read more
thanks for the advice managed to get it off to reveal a broken covering plate which i think was impeding the hall sender.
cheers
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E
Time to see "Honest garage man" then!!
Good luck.
MM