July 2003
As some of you you may know I have a Renault 5 GTS 1.4cc , just out of curiousity does anyone know how much BHP this car has , it just seems awfully quick for an old car . Read more
Hi. I posted a problem a while ago about my Cavalier which had developed some steering vibration after having new shocks fitted:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=i&t=10...4
I had some interesting feedback on the problem then, but it seemed to solve itself after swapping around the wheels and then returning back to the original configuration and I put it down to the driver’s side front wheel not having been put on properly or something – basically a bit of a strange one.
All was fine until the offending wheel was removed when I had the brake fluid changed and then the vibration returned. Swapping over the wheels as I’d done before made no difference this time and I decided to try getting the wheels balanced once more (off car) and it disappeared. All was well until a little while later I changed the oil and filter and took the driver's side front wheel off (being careful to mark the position of the wheel on the hub so as to put it back in the same position) and the vibration came back again, this time quite a lot stronger (always between 60-68 MPH).
I decided to get a torque wrench to make sure the nuts were done up properly and discovered that at the correct torque (81 lb) the vibration is quite strong, but decreases if I increase the torque to 100 lb. Swapping the wheels around has no effect and they all seem to exhibit this strange phenomenon when on the driver’s side front.
So, in summary, the problem is steering vibration affected by taking the driver’s side front wheel on and off, which seems to have got worse as a result of taking it on and off a few times, and which is reduced when the nuts are tightened more than they should be.
The only explanation I can think of is the brake disk (ventilated, ABS) as this is surely the only thing that wheel nut tightness would affect as it is sandwiched in between the wheel and the hub. There is no noticeable judder through the steering when the brakes are applied by the way.
Anyway explanation / solutions / advice would be very gratefully received.
Thanks a lot,
Ben
Read more
Just a little update on this one - thank you for your comments by the way, Victorbox and alqueen.
Discovered a couple of weeks ago that one my my driveshafts was ticking on full lock (noticed due to hot weather and having the window open etc. as I wouldn't normally hear it) and so took it to my mechanic friend who decided it was the driver's side outer CV joint and replaced it. This was last week and it got rid of the ticking but actually seemed to make the vibration worse, oh dear!
He did suggest though that the tie-rod ends were quite worn (as you suggested they might be, Tony) and replaced these today, also noticing that the driver's side wheel seemed to be lacking a balance weight. After being tracked-up and having the wheel rebalanced I took the car for a spin and - hooray! - the vibration seems to have gone.
A bit of a mystery about the balance weight which I think could have been disturbed last week taking the wheel cover off to do the CV joint and then fallen off very shortly afterwards (it was definitely there before!), hence worsening the vibration. The problem originally started after the front shocks were changed and my friend said that it looked like they'd disonnected the tie rods using a ball joint separator (instead of a couple of blows with a hammer which he demonstrated today) which he reckoned had split the rubber covers and possibly worsened the wear on them.
No idea why the problem originally came and went with taking the wheels on and off and was also affected by wheel bolt tightness - just keeping my fingers crossed that it won't come back again!
Oh, and as to my LPG conversion, I could bore everyone senseless with that it required, but I think it would be better to start another thread if anyone's interested.
Anyway, many thanks again to everyone for their advice on this problem - it's much appreciated.
Ben
Someone linked to www.speeding.co.uk
My favourite has to be the roof mounted shark fin, £9.99 (with illegal flashing light) "though I'm sure many of you will conveniently forget to remove it."
Basically, it looks a bit like a BMW sat nav aerial.
tinyurl.com/5a02 Read more
*shame mode*
Yeah it was me that linked to them, I haven't bought any boy racer tat, but have bought tyre pressure gauges from them, if y look past the tat and actually quite funny adverts the site sells some useful accessories at reasonable prices I think.
Oh, forgot, I do have a Boy Racer character hanging in the back of my car, I got given him as a birthday present off a couple of my girlfriends (I definately didnt buy him myself!) and he's great. He has a little pair of sunglasses and his own little baseball cap! Will have to post a picture sometime :-)
Blue
Personally, I've never liked them or their variants (small 'V', so no pun intended, VW aficionados!), but I know plenty do.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3102675.stm if you are interested.
Read more
First encountered the early Beetle in Germany in 1948. Compared to an Austin 8 with which I was familiar, the thing was light years ahead. For a start, it could be driven flat out across the bumpy parts of the airfield where Jeeps had to be trundled slowly for fear of decanting occupants; the Austin would have broken its springs. And it was nippy enough for the time.
But would it have been any good if the British industry had not turned it down, and it had been thrown together in the UK?
Tomo as was!
My 98 Bravo 1.6 SX headlights / rear lights have just started playiing up fantastically:
Side lights on: everything's fine
Switch on to main (dipped) beam: interior dashboard AND all rear lights turn off (and rear fog stops working too).
Checked for earthing problems; all contacts look V clean & tidy.
Reckon I might have a dodgy switching unit on the steering wheel column; tried cleaning it, but no avail.
Any offers of advice?
Cheers,
Ian Read more
.....they had kept their last car rather than bought their latest one?
I replaced my citroen ZX about a year ago for my current Mondeo. Don't get me wrong, I have had no problems with it at all since buying it but as my yearly mileage is only 6-7k I feel I am not giving it enough use to justify the increased petrol/ins/road tax costs, not to mention the depreciation, considering the ZX had more or less leveled out on that score and had given two years faultless motoring.
I suppose it was a case of wanting something better/nicer to drive but then again is that not always the case...?
I'm a loser, baby....so why don't you kill me?! Read more
I once went from a Primera 2.0 GT to a bottom-of-the-range Megane 1.4 8 valve.
It was quite a shock to discover that the Megane's RH pedal did NOT make the car go faster! (To be fair, I rarely had to visit the petrol station in the Megane.)
I have a problem with my 93 1.6i Orion where once a day it stalls when cold. Usual ritual is to start up the car, reverse out of the driveway & off down the road about 500m. At the end there is a steep hill & the car stalls as soon as I apply brakes or even just clutch. It only happens when cold & only ever once a day - it won't stall 50m further at the next junction. It isn't flooding 'cause it restarts straight away no hassle.
Any suggestions welcome
Thanks Read more
This is possibly caused by sticking valves if you have the 16 valve zetec engine.Try an oil flushing agent (Forte motor flush for instance) and some fresh 5w30 oil and oil filter. If you have the 8 valve version try renewing the breather valve (located at the rear of the cylinder head on the offside).
David Davies (Tune-Up Raglan)
The tailgate of my ?98 306 leaks, and it?s getting a bit annoying. I don?t know where the water enters, but it appears through the rear seatbelt strap hole where it pools next to the parcel shelf before proceeding to flow down into the boot (via the parcel shelf speaker plug). I?ve tried sealant inside the boot seal (by the roof), and also on the rubber gater for the wires from the roof to the tailgate, but no luck yet. Any ideas ? Read more
thanks, andrew.
it was the metal cap that I couldn't get at well enough to prise off (this was several months ago, so my memory's a little hazy). I'll have another go sometime.
you're right about your acids; sealants smell of vinegar not lemons! I'll make sure I get one that's neither anyhow, unless a magnet reveals an alloy roof. You're probably right that that's unlikely; I've never given it much thought.
Cheers,
Ben.
I've seen adverts for replacement tyre valve caps that show whether the tyre pressure is correct. There is a green indicator if the pressure is OK and red if it's not. Has anyone used these and if so, are they any good and where did they get them from? I'm a bit dubious about the adverts you see in various magazines and would rather buy them from a motor spares shop. Incidentally, Halfords know nothing about them.
Thanks in advance. Read more
slightly off the thread but worth a mention, one of the best bits about the bug is the dust caps!!! They are designed that you can check the pressure and top up with air WITHOUT having to remove them!!! they have a tiny valve in the end i guess!!!
When i had the alloy replaced recently they put a normal cap on there and i asked them to change it back to the old one, they are really handy and save loosing them under the car when you are doing the air!
Only trouble is if you get someone next to you who obviously thinks you are very girly not removing them!!!
do back roomers know of other cars with this neat design???
The driver's seat on my C70 has developed an annoying creak when ever your weight shifts while cornering.
I've checked and lubricated the underpinnings and they seem solid enough. I feel the problem may be in the base of the seat - can this be removed easily for inspection? Read more
must be a volvo thing, my boyfriends v40 does the same !
Browse
.jpg)
not sure, but a mate of mine used to borrow his mum's renault 5 when we were 17, and it was a flyer! I seem to recall it had around 80-85bhp, and was significantly quicker than every one else's car (which was an assortment of 1.1 and 1.4 metros, novas and fiestas!)