July 2003
Hey all
Following on from a few previous posts I have had some results from my local ford garage regarding the hesitancy upon hard acceleration in my 1.25 Zetec-SE:
Apparently conflicting fault codes - one is a breather pipe and the other is a problem with speed sensor. They have cleared the memory and have asked me to come back in 500miles (40 cycles?) and have it tested again.
No charge this time - but I'm assuming next time there will be!
Moby.
Moby
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Life it too short to stuff a mushroom Read more
Recently bought a W reg 1.9 TDI 115 bhp with 75000 miles on the clock. Due to a horror story with a car a nearly bought breaking its cam belt on the day of collection (covered in earlier post) I had the new dealer agree to a cam belt change. I have since had some very bad dealings with the dealer that I finally purchased my car from. They have shown themselves to be bodgit and scarper style dealers. The service book has a garage stamp and belt change tick. I am unsure whether the tensioners were changed or not. 3 questions:
1. If I contacted the garage (no garage facilities at the dealer I purchased the car from), would they be able to confirm whether the tensioners were replaced?
2. Has anyone got a feel for what it would cost to replace the tensioners alone (assuming belt has already been changed)?
3. If they haven't been changed, do you think I should get them changed or wait for the next belt change in 40000 miles?
Thanks all Read more
Hello Chris,
VW diesels are an area in which I work. You are wise to get the belt changed if you are in any doubt about it's service life so far.
If the dealer who changed the belt is a franchised VW one, any VW dealer can print off the history. Some may charge a small fee, many won't.
To be politically incorrect, your belt tensioner is built like Rocky. The PC answer is to change it. In reality, what you have is a single, all steel pulley wheel. About 1.5" wide and 2.5" diameter. It is true to say that 1 or 2, with mileages Captain Kirk would be impressed with, have seized. If it was my money, I'd change it every 3rd belt change.
The tensioner costs about £35 from Eurocarparts and GSF. It can be fitted without major dismantling, as all that is needed is to unclip the top cover, with the locking peg in place on the camshaft and the flywheel datum marker set.
About 15mins work. I reckon a good garage will charge you about £100 if you're desperate to do it. Some of the bonkers figures I've seen fellow backroomers post would be up to £300.
The belt change is essential though. You want to know for a fact that it was done.
Lift your bonnet, my friend. It won't bite you.
Look at the LHS. On the end of the engine, next to the airbox you will see a black plastic cover about 8" wide by 1" thick and about 11" tall, held by spring clips.
Undo the clips and whip it off.
Look at the cambelt, now exposed. Can you see markings on the back?
Can you see wear lines where it might have rubbed on that cover you removed?
Does it look spangling? This is what you want.
Armed with the knowledge, replace cover, spring the clips back over, close bonnet and feel refreshed.
Trust in God, and check everyone else's work.
Good luck, mate.
sometimes after starting up the battery light on my 7 month old caravelle glows very faintly for about a minute (even when driving).
I've had the car for a month and during that time have had a towbar fitted. Unfortunately, as the wife uses it most of the time I do not know if the problem was there before fitting.
Wheh I took it in to the dealer they could not fault it as the light was not on ehen they checked it.
Should I be worried about this as Im touring Scotland in a couple of weeks? Read more
VW tdi engines do not have a separate alternator belt. They use a ribbed 'snake' belt which drives the alternator, air con, etc. It is automatically tensioned and, unless something awful has happened, it is always at the correct tension. When checking with the engine running WATCH YOUR FINGERS!!
A friend is selling a Merc 1.8 C class "Elegance" i owner since new 1994 model - gun metal grey, manual gearbox, 64,000 miles full service history (main dealer).
asking price is 5000.
How much is it worth? Read more
From Parkers:
Valuation for:Mercedes-Benz C180 Elegance 4d Saloon
Year/Reg : 1994 /L
Original price : -
Mileage: 90 ,000
Condition of vehicle :
A1 : £5625
GOOD : £4705
FAIR : £2600
TRADE : £3635
But never sell anything as "£5000" seems like you have set by the thousand, so why not 4000£?
If you want £5000, price it at £5195 and the buyer can feel good that he got £195 off and can boast about it in the pub.
Can't tell you if £5000 is high or low for this car though someone else will...
Can anyone out there tell me who sang the theme song to the Focus ad where she's driving and he's in the plane ? This is a man's world / thing ??
Thanks Read more
"I'd noticed they omitted the puddle bit too, I think Ford are worried that they would do the same."
Is this because if you did this in your own Focus most of the water ends up in the footwell - apparantly a common porblem
I was caught in traffic the other night and found that my throttle would rise as i depressed the accellerator but would not return to normal. Releasing the clutch allowed the engine to take the revs down. I pulled over and found that under the bonnet was extremely hot. The fan was not running but the car temp gauge was never above its normal setting (I have since heard the fan cut in). Has anyone any ideas? ever experienced the same symptoms? I have now lost confidence in the car. I went to my local rover garage who said they would chareg me £56 just to connect the diagnostic box to the cars engine management. I think this is complete robbery (they also said they would need the car for the day to perform this test, I assume to try and justify the price). Would appreciate any advice. Does anyone think I have a serious issue? Symptom has not reoccurred.
Thanks all... Read more
Replace it with the 52mm alloy one. You will also see an improvement in throttle response with this.
There have been various recent recommendations re tools for removing oil filters.
This is a list of what my nearest Halfords have in stock plus their prices, rounded up, as a target.
£4 Simple chain wrench
£6 Chain wrench for use with a socket & drive
£9 Oil filter pliers
Professional tools range
£13 Steel band for use with a socket & drive
£15 Steel band with tightening screw within the handle
£17 Spider for use with a socket & drive
In case your car requires it
£3.50 Drain plug hex key - many sizes in stock for use with
a socket & drive
They did not appear to stock
The fabric band type for use with a socket & drive.
Happy unscrewing to you all. Read more
My 20 year old fabric oil filter strap is still strong enough to make my motor-bike wobble on its stand while tring to undo the oil filter. Then the filter caved in. I had to take a small cold chisel and a 4lb lump hammer to shift it.
For me, the amateur, fabric rules!
H.
Does anyone know if there are any known problems with the Vauxhall Zafira cutting out. My neighbours got one and it is always cutting out - on motorways, around corners, anywhere.
I think it has been looked at by a main dealer but it still does it.
Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received.
Jus Read more
Have a 2002 1.6 Zafira, I was really struggling to keep the engine running when crawling in heavy traffic. Cold weather and cold engine, but kept dropping below 500 rpm.
oops just noticed this thread started in 2003.
I have read that in April 1997 the 2.0 xsi engine changed from an 8 valve to a 16 valve. Does anyone know if the 8 valve was still available after this date?
The reason I am asking is because I am looking at an xsi at the moment which is an S Reg, meaning it was built in 1998 however the owner believes that it is the 8 valve version.
Any help would be much appreciated. Read more
novice - you can tell unequivocally which engine you have from the VIN, which should be etched on the windscreen and the tailgate glass if they are both original - or it will be on the Reg.Doc. or in the car handbook. The first three characters are VF3 (for Peugeot), the next six are the model code, and the last eight are the vehicle number. Your model code should be 7CRFX- for the 8-valve or 7CRFV- for the 16-valve.
Hi,
Have a problem with my escort 97R, it hesitates between 2 to 3k revs when cold and accelerating, this happens intermittently, I\'ve changed the plugs but this is still happening, occasionally it happens when it\'s hot but not very often,
Any ideas?
thanks Read more
James, you don't make it clear if you have changed the HT leads as suggested?
Browse
Hi,
I have exactly the same problem with my 1.25 '97 fiesta. I would be interested to know the outcome of your investigation.
My fault appeared over night after disconnecting the battery for a long period. Car was fine before, but is now really gutless.
If you have any info that may help me, I would be very grateful to hear it.
Fiesta man