June 2003
Hats off to the Haynes Manual marketing department for this!
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/2985968.stm Read more
Hi There,
On the way to work this morning managed to drive over a fence post that was lying on the road. Hit it at 100kph with the front left wheel, but not the back.
When I reached a stretch of really smooth tarmac and going at 70kph I can feel a \"roughness\" through the steering wheel, in tune with the wheel rotations.
I\'ve checked the wheel at work and there\'s no visible damage to the tyre or the outside of the alloy, which still has its outer balance weight on.
I can\'t check to see if there\'s supposed to be an inner balance weight, and if its there or not.
Would getting the alignment / balance done cure the problem or have I damaged the structure of the tyre? Have I screwed up the wheel geometry and landed myself a big bill?
The car is RWD with PAS, 205/60 tyres
TIA
Dorian. Read more
The alloy is now in the garage's hands who will send it to one of the four alloy wheel repairers in the country(!).
For now I've borrowed a spare from a workmate, unfortunately its a 195/60 whilst mine are 205/60. Makes the handling interesting...
I've asked two tyre fitters if the tyre could have been damaged and both of them said "no damage, theres no bulging on the sidewall". Doesn't sound very scientific to me, and as I like to give my car a bit of curry every now and then I reckon two new tyres will be required soon - at NZ$200 a piece :(
Help, i have a '96 2.5 v24 ford probe, wont start, no spark and i think its the immobiliser failed, can anyone offer any advice .
i have taken out the 'black box ' circuit board out from centre console for inspection and found some form of corrosion/malfunction. ford have said £60 for new component, had new engine last year so can therefore rule out distributor failure. your opinoins/advice would be well received as soon as possible.
thank you
XXX
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You need to get the immobiliser repaired or by-passed first.If this does not cure the problem ,then I would think the distributor is faulty.The 2 components in the distributor are available from Ford (coil & igniter unit)about £80 each.
Often when I experience frustrating behaviour from other motorists (including speeding past my house), I look to the offending vehicle and discover to my disappointment that it's a BMW. Disappointing, because I'm a BMW driver too, and am aware of the rather tarnished reputation that exists in the motoring community.
Some time ago I therefore started trying overtly to show courtesy to other motorists wherever relevant, in order to spread the message that "we aren't all loonies, we just have an average share of them."
Am I fighting a losing battle?
Oz (as was) Read more
Andy P, if it isn't all german models yet, the trend is growing:
I too remember the ad where the yuppie doesn't buy the Audi cos it's 'not his type of car mate', mentioned by J Bonington Jagworth, but have you seen the latest TV ad for the new Audi A3? All 'self-confidence' -or is it aggression and menace? The strap line is "New Attitude"...
Ho hum... sounds more like it's falling into the trap of "Same Attitude (as that other German '3' car)"
I have been quoted the figure £14140 otr for a 307 SW 110 Hdi 5- seater,brand new,for a 53-plate,is this a reasonable price or can someone suggest somewhere else I can look for a more competative quote?
Many thanks for your suggestions.
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Thank you for your response.This price is otr, including metallic,delivery,number plates,tax and first reg fee.
Just off the A3 in London the council has put up some trial markings. They are a red circle with a white "zero" figure in it with a couple of red lines in front of the red circle.
What are these for? Read more
They're round for another reason as well - it's easier to see if the road surface is shifting under the weight of all those over-loaded trucks! We have some circles here which are distinctly egg-shaped!
Oh dear, oh dear.
I saw my first one on the road today and from the rear I must say that it makes the BMW7 series look positively sexy!
It is all well and good having expensive and flash ads but the car's rear end is truly hideous (it might be better with 2 exhaust pipes) Read more
Apparently a large number of Honda customers like the trademark 'conservative' styling. That's given as the reason for the bland styling of the last incarnation of the Prelude, when compared to the (much tastier imo) previous generation.
I'm not sure if the new Accord constitutes conservative though!
Ed.
just wondernig if my choke pull down unit is connected right.
The vacuum tube from the base of the carb comes to the lower port on the unit. The upper port on the unit connects to the green ball and the inlet manifold (via the one way valve).
The one way valve is set so as to allow vacuum to bleed into the manifold piping from the vacuum reservoir, ie the vacuum in the green ball cannot be higher than that of the manifold
the reason I ask is that the unit seems to leak vacuum like a sieve but still operates correctly, odd and I can't work out whether its broken, fitted wrong or fine
many thanks
Drew Read more
OK well I've had a good think about this and have swapped the valve direction round so vacuum is retained in the sphere.
My reason is this:
for a hot start (after the engine has been off for an hour or so) the pull down unit will need to operate pretty much straight away to prevent over choking and stall. The sphere therefore retains some vacuum to help this and ensure the pull down opens to its second position quickly.
for a cold start, the vacuum in the sphere will have decayed allowing the pull down to operate at its first position for 10-20 seconds whilst the vacuum is restored.
This is what Andrew said above but I have now seen it in action on my car (only yesterday though) and it seems to be true so far.
ta
what is the general relibility of the focus from any owners?
i'm considering one out of warranty you see, also looking at new astra and new corsa.
i'm struggling to get ABS on any of the 3, haven't test driven any yet but like the interior and exterior of all 3.
wasn't overly keen on the dials of the focus like...a bit cheap looking!
looked at the car by car beakdown so i'm now after some owners views?
thanks Read more
unfortunately the price of used focuses is way more than the astra which is putting me off the astra.
considering how focuses their are on the roads, i'm dissappointed.
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