June 2003
Has any Mk3 Golf owner seen this before please ?
P reg (96) Mk3 Golf 2ltr GTI, 8 valve.
Vehicle fails at random intervals, no spark from coil. Coil lead held to block, spark may or may not return when engine turned over. Plugs, leads, cap and coil replaced. Local VW dealer and local independent unable to diagnose despite having all the fancy gear.
Owner has found that if he unplugs and replaces the plug to the ECU, vehicle will restart immediately. ECU is Siemens 5WP4-256 ( 037-906-125R )
Does this ECU have some form of immobilizer circuit that may be mall functioning and is it safe to do a substitution test with an identical ECU from a near identical vehicle ?
Any input much appreciated, thank you, Pete.
petel@clara.co.uk Read more
Hi, I'm considering buying a 'weekend' car and am wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a insurance compny which can offer competitive insurance on a car which is only covers small annual milages. I'm nearly 25 and have 4 years no claims on a 2 litre W reg diesel Vectra saloon and am looking at getting a mid eighties Capri or 2.8 Granada Ghia saloon, which would cover no more than say 4000 miles a year.
However, I realise that I need to start a new policy with zero no claims. I had a quote from my present insurer who cover me on the Vectra, for £1050 a year on the Granada!! My premium for the Vectra is only £550 a year with breakdown cover and a protected NCB! Maybe it's a silly idea after all...anyone had experience with insuring a second car for sensible money?
Thanks Read more
Have you tried Ravenswood Insurance on 020 8390 4821 / 4825
They were consistantly the cheapest for classic car ins. when I owned a Lotus Excel for a number of years.
Worth a call
Is pushing out gudgeon pins that are interference fit in the little end a diy job, say with a drill press? Any hints, tips or snag advice will be welcome.
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Cyd. The engine is a Mitsubishi, 1.5 12v. and they are most definitely an interference fit in the little end eye. Some engines used to have a split little end with a bolt to clamp the pin in, not to mention the fully floating ones with circlips or brass (bronze?) endcaps. I had not come across this method of fitting before hence my original question. I was an enthusiast once but this is the first engine I have stripped for what must be near forty years and now as a some doddering OAP and all that entails I am very pleased to have an engine that I recognise as such apart from that ridiculous piece of rubber that drives the cam shaft. I must say that diving under the car at my age certainly frees things up. I am becoming so adept at taking the pistons out I am thinking of giving public demonstrations, I am not saying why I had to take them out more that once.
Hi again,
My Exhaust on a ford fiesta 1.8lx has a massive hole about 3/4 the way to the end just before the (silencer?) part.
Do Exhausts come in 2 or 3 part , would i order a middle section, or do you usually buy a complete exhaust ?
tahnks for any help. Read more
Most of the time you'll find that the joint between the rear and centre section has corroded together so that it's nigh on impossible to separate them. A hole in the centre section normally means a new back box as well. This has got to be one of the best designed-in flaws I've seen.
Andy
Still thinking of changing the Xantia in a while, just becuase I fancy a newer car. Thinking about a MK2 Mondeo Ghia X - the family had a 98R 2.0 LX for 4 years and it was perfect, nothing ever went wrong.
Is this generally the story with MK2 Mondeo's? Is a Ghia X a good model to go for? I notice it has a fantastic level of equipment, but will it turn into an expensive nightmare?
Looking at spending up to £3000ish at auction in about 6 months. I imagine I'll be looking at T/V reg examples for that? Read more
If i were you i would look for a 00V 2ltr Zetec- thats what im geting next, albeit an estate.
i have had two mondeo recently, a 97R 2ltr glx, and now 98s 1.8lx. No problems with either, except for the HT leads (on both cars), with thankfully are short and cheap. Oil filter is abit of a pain in the bum to get to if you service at home. I find the seat in the later car more comfortable, and it drives better than the 97R.
If you buy at auction, just be careful to find out if the cam belt has been changed if its done a lot of miles.
Ben
BMW.
Just had my air mass sensor changed on my 318i along with spark plugs. me thinks that plugswere changed unnecessarily as old ones only 7k used. Should I complain and ask for cash back?
Thanks Read more
Fair enough, thanks guys.
Am I being cynical here by thinking that Jaguar took back the XJRR, mucked around with the suspension/handling so much and returned it so that it would not be capable of doing a quicker lap time than the DB7 GT? Read more
yes - think you're correct.
Regulars here will be aware that we have a thread called 'Trade Secrets from HJ's Back Room' in which we are trying to collect a wide array of motoring tips, do's and don'ts.
Since there are now so many new 'faces' round here I thought it was time to highlight the thread again in the hope that more valuable contributions to it will follow.
A quick read of threads I & II will reveal some very useful tips and I'm sure we'd all like to see this develop so we can all benefit from the combined knowledge and experience of HJ's Back Room. Read more
Quite righ Nsar - i didn't bother to mention that since I thought the regulars would know and anyone else would just do a search and get taken there automatically. It's true, however, that quite a few discussion forum 'activists' don't use the technical forum and that's why I posted this reminder here.
Many good ideas appear in the Back Room from time to time yet still some people don't post them to the Trade Secrets thread. I'm happy to do it when I see such third party tips and I think we'd all benefit if anyone spotting a good tip lurking in the plethora of posts in both forums took the trouble to copy them to the Trade Secrets thread, acknowledging the originator if necessary.
Do European car supermarkets exist?
After watching Topgear last night,
they mentioned great deals to be had from dealers off loading cars to car supermarkets. Presumably the same happens on the continent.
I am in the market for a LH drive car and wondered if anyone knows of the equivalent of trade sales or motorpoint in the Bnelux or France region.
Your help is much appreciated.
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I recently took my wife\'s 2 year old 206 back to the main dealer for its first bi-annual service. The oil and filter were changed but the air and pollen filters were not.When I asked about these I was told that they did not require replacement. The service cost £125. I know from experience, with my own car, that the pollen filter becomes sufficiently blocked after a year to need replacing. Could anybody with knowledge of a 206 GLX (climatic control air conditioning) please tell me where the filter is so that I can check it. Read more
I took it out, studied the geometry and got it back in OK. If you mean the engine air filter it get changed when the car is serviced at 12 months/12,000 miles so far as I know.
Browse
Had a similar problem with a renault megane. The RAC chap said it was probably the coil assemblies and that he had seen several similar problems on VWs. In the end changing all 4 coils did the trick.