June 2003
I\'ve heard complaints of Punto head gasket failure on this site and noticed that they have mainly been the 8v 55 and 75 engines.
Does anyone know if the 1.2 16v thats in the original Punto Sporting model suffers from the same problem as the 8v engines??
Thanks Read more
what is it with volvo and air con systems?? ive just had the evaporator replaced under warranty in my v70 the same problem arose with a 850 i owned previously, talking to the dealer who carried out the repair he reckons a 4 year life is average, outragaeous in a car costing 30k surely its not beyond the wit of volvo to manufacture the damn things out of decent material? any one any idea of how to extend the service life as next time i`ll be replacing it myself as dealers currently charge around a grand for this \"routine\" repair Read more
I think he means muck and condensation on the *outside* of the evap!
I hope you understand this problem to comment on it.
Following application of the brakes, which work fine and efficiently, and when say the car is completely stationary at a junction, in traffic, etc.,and the hand-brake is not applied, and the foot remains on the brake pedal, I can 'feel', on the sole of my shoe which is on the brake pedal, a sutle 'ticking' sound, intermitently.
Any ideas what this could be??
Thanks
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ABS cutting in? My motor does this almost every time, when I reach about 5mph.
I have a 1991 Mk2 1300 Golf 4 speed, which I've owned from new, 48,000 miles so not used a lot lately. For years it has suffered from a clutch and/or gearbox that gets stiffer and grabbier the hotter it gets. From cold it is easy to change gears, but it gradually changes after 15 to 20 miles or so. I had a new clutch fitted a few years ago, but nothing has really changed. It is worse in the summer and after long drives so it seems related to how hot the gearbox / clutch gets. It remains drivable, but is really unpleasant. I've replaced the clutch cable and made sure it is properly adjusted.
Any ideas out there as to the cause and what I can do to fix it? I'm loathe to pay for another clutch replacement until I can get an idea of the cause and the cure. When it's hot the clutch gets harder to operate and more sudden.
Many thanks
Canuck Read more
To close this out, I've changed the gearbox oil and greased the clutch cable. Distinct improvement, but nothing earth shattering. Still it was worth the effort.
Thanks to all those who gave advice. Much appreciated.
Canuck
Help, anybody reccommend a supermini size (eg Corsa) car fitted with AC. Petrol or diesel. Preferably benifitting from low insurance rates and tax. Prefer a 2 to 4 year old buy but will consider new. Prehaps Honest John has an opinion?
Thanks
Blade
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Honda Jazz has A/C, on the SE model at least.
The list price of this new, inc metallic paint is around 10500, but we picked up an 03 pre-reg model with delivery miles and metallic from Ryland Stockport last weekend for 8995, with a fair trade-in on the old car. The only difference from a new-new one is it had a tape player not CD player.
They still have a few left, most in that shocking pink though. Ryland Manchester also had a few in Clover Green metallic.
mike
Sorry - don't know whether this is best suited to discussion or technical so I leave it to the Mods to decide whether to move it.
Our Bar manager has just had to take a lot of time off to deal with the personal grief (and grieving relatives) over the death of his best friend.
It seems said friend was highly experienced in doing up older cars and had all the kit at his disposal. However, last week he was in a hurry to get to the local for a pie and a pint, so he put his current project (Merc 2something SL?) onto the wheel-changing jack and went under to remove the silencer. Suffice to say the jack wasn't man enough for all the heaving and shoving. Result one broken neck and many grieving friends and relatives. It's a silly mistake and sadly one you only make once. And I haven't seen any reminders about it recently.
So a reminder to anyone tempted to go underneath a car that's only supported by a jack - PLEASE don't.
Terry Read more
A question was on a Citroen board a couple of days ago asking if it was safe to go under one when the suspension is on "high" 'cos it's supposed to lock on that position. the answer is, don't go under any car without ramps/axle stands etc - it ain't worth the risk of a tragedy especially for the sake of a couple of minutes or a few quid for the ramps/stands. I always put a pile of bricks there as well - I don't altogether trust that pin that holds the axle stand up - belt and braces I suppose. It's awful when something like this happens, such a huge cost for a small mistake.
The gear Knob on my Rover 200 is loose and keeps spinning when I change gear. Now, whilst i know this is not a major problem, it is annoying!
The thing is I cant find out how to get it off. I cant see any grub screws or retaining devices. The only things I can find are two pieces of plastic, either side of the actual gear stick, which I though may be clips, but dont seem to do anyting.
Anyway, if anyone knows how to get this irritating thing off, please let me know. Read more
Glad you\'re fixed.
Hi everyone,
I have literally just bought my first car, an M reg Peugeot 306 D Turbo, but already i have found my first problem - quite often the gear stick will jump out of third (and occasionally first) gear and into neutral, at seemingly random moments.
The car drives beautifully when the gears are fully engaged, but obviously this problem is making my daily commute (through the town centre) into even more of an effort than it already is! I straight away went out and got a haynes manual, and i think the problem is due to either the gear linkage being worn/bent, or, more worryingly for my wallet, the synchroniser unit.
Any suggestions would be gratefully accepted, aswell as possible costs to repair.
Thanks
Steve Read more
Thanks M.M,
just been flicking through the archives and discovered a few other people with similar problems being advised to do the same, so i think i'll a bit of hands-on diagnosis myself before i part with too much cash. Apparently it could even be a worn clutch cable causing some of my grief?
I'll post an update soon
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to have some kind of heat relective film applied to my side windows?
I have seen it used on some rally cars when racing in hot climates and it looks like a good idea to keep the sun off the kids in the back instead of those silly blinds you can get.
Does any car have heat relective glass fitted as an option, and is this the same thing I have seen on Renaults when they have a silver/purple tint to their front screen? Read more
Yes you can get reflective film to put on the glass, there was a long thread on here about the legalaties of it. Search on tint.
The renaults (had a scenic - purple) and now my laguna (silverish) have heat reflecting windscreens. The film you get will be black or silver. There are firms around who fit it to existing windows.
Hi,
New to the site, so apologies if this is old hat. A couple of months ago I bought an N plate 16V Cavalier LS (£1,500) which has about 90% of its history, supporting a mileage of only 55,000 miles. It is a reliable, comfortable mile muncher.
On a couple of occasions it 'hiccuped' on the motorway (once every 100 miles) for no discernible reason, and then the engine management system light came on (for about five seconds). I read the manual, and ignored it - second time it happened, I took it to a Vauxhall dealer, who charged me £55 to tell me:
"Traced fault to breather system and idle modification to be replaced. Requires: Breather system, air flow sensor, idle modification kit assymbely".
They wanted £550 for the pleasure, so I pressed on.
It now has 12 more months of MOT, so I am prepared to spend some money. Questions are:
Are there non-franchised dealers who will do this, or is it even a DIY job (capable relatives!)?
Does it all need doing, or just the air flow sensor?
I have sorted the problem (the hiccuping got worse) by cleaning the air filter / sparying some carb cleaning fluid liberally around - did 200 miles yesterday without a problem
Ta
Jon
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Thanks very much for the assistance - had a mucky hour taking most of the pipes off leading to the cam cover and removing variable levels of stuff. Nothing was completely blocked, put nothing was 'as new'. At least I now have the confidence to strip it down in bits when the problem recurs, and have a go at identifying exactly where the problem is.
Apart from that, it continues to be an excellent car
Browse
Fair enough! I am trying to persuade a mate of mine not to get one as it won't last 2 minutes with his driving!
Thanks