August 2003
As I've sung the praises of a certain High Street tyre fitter for changing oil, I'd better report what happened today. Prompted by HJ in today's Telegraph reminding us to change synth 1000 miles after changing from non-synth, I went into the cheapest source of Mobil 1. With manager's permission, I went along to the fitting bay to have a look, and am glad that I did. Young and inexperienced fitter was draining the autobox, not the sump. "No, that IS the sump", he said. "Well", said I, "when did you last see engine oil that colour?" Problem: sump hidden by protective panel and the sump plug is well concealed at the front of the engine.
All ended amicably and anyway I didn't lose my rag. They had to go out to the local accessories shop and buy 4.5 litres of auto transmission fluid and also 4.5 litres of Mobil 1 (because the pump on their large tank of Mobil 1 packed up). They readily admitted the mistake and I said that we all make mistakes, the key thing being to learn from them. I ended up paying £20 for 7.5 litres of Mobil 1. As usual, their attitude was good, so I will use them again. But you gotta watch 'em like a hawk. Read more
i have a mk2 xr2 to which i have fitted a 2litre zetec from a mk1 mondeo along with its engine management loom and ecu, everything is finished but there is no spark at the plugs, i have tried another coil pack which has made no difference what i would like to know is what does the ecu rely on during cranking to fire the plug, is it simply the crank position sensor or or other sensors involved?
hope you can help, or a have some ideas, i have checked and double checked the loom connections to the ecu and its sensors and my friend whom i consider good at electronics has also checked everything and says he cant find anything wrong. i know the best thing would be an auto electrician, but i am skint, and know its probably something simple.
thanks ppl
scott Read more
Hi I have the same problem!! What was the out come of your problem??
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Hi,
Does anyone know if the Peugeot emblem on the front of an early Peugeot 406 will fit an early Peugeot 306 they look the same shape but im not sure if its the same size.
Thanks
Pug306xldt Read more
Why not check the part numbers at a dealer?
Open to the floor:
Which one to go for? Which has the biggest discoubts?
I've sat in one Galaxy at Motorpoint today - 1.9 Ghia 115PDi plus a few options (cruise, metallic) for £17999 - that's a smidge under £7000 off list.
They are apparently EEC and UK sourced. Read more
Just happened today. A big leak started and within 5 minutes had emptied the expansion bottle. Called the 'very nice' man as up in Glasgow 400 miles from home. It looks like its coming from the join between the head and the water pump. He seemed to think Radweld might fix it. I'm not sure about that, having heard horror stories about it.
Should I try the Radweld, or try and get it home to London where I can fix it taking plenty of water with me. Read more
OK but take plenty of water with you when you drive back and keep an eye on the temp gauge.
The reason why I was given a Xantia recently is that the water pump failed and took the engine with it!
I had never seen a piston split into 3 before!
Sleep well
H
Mrs V's family are here for a couple of weeks and we've just been up to the local High Street. Now I know I tend to knock things about this country but it was very nice to hear them commenting on how friendly drivers are here to pedestrians. Yes, people actually stop to let you cross the road even when they don't have to and you're not at a designated crossing point. This seems to be something alien to much of the rest of the world and it's something we can surely be proud of. Despite her initial paranoia about all the cars (yes there are probably more in SE London than the whole of Slovakia) it wasn't long before my S-I-L was crossing the roads with confidence and allowing V Junior #1 to push the baby along in the pram. It's nice to have something pleasant to say about driving in the UK for once - perhaps we are guilty of seeing only the negatives sometimes. Read more
Sincere thanks Matt35 - thankfully he's a tough little boy so we're hoping he's going to come through OK. He's had a lot to put up with in his short life but he always makes people smile and we're making sure we spend as much time with him as possible - hugs, kisses and cuddles abound in our house right now and long may it continue. I'll deliver your hug personally tomorrow morning when I go to see him first thing.
Hi - I'm just about to buy my first car and have decided on a Fiat Punto Mia. I found the perfect one yesterday, except that it had some 'stone chip' damage to the bonnet of the car, near the badge, which has caused some paint damage and a small dent. The salesman, after some discussion, told me that he would try to get it repaired as best he could. I'm just concerned as to whether this can be done satisfactorily and whether or not I should just forget this car and look for something else. It is ok in every other way.
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I travelled from the North East to pick up from TS in Slough, if you take someone with you then it's quite a fun day out if you build a *huge* pub lunch into the day :-)
We flew down and it only added £150 to the cost of the car, but when we were saving £3K we really didn't care! :-)
Blue
Does anyone have a good link to similar motorcycle sites. I have a triumph sprint RS with poor lights, and want to upgrade them?
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Thomo try Ronnie Cramer's site: sepnet.com/cycle/ that should give you some ideas. Especially the cult film section, although that may not help you with your bike's lights.
Incidentally I find US bike dealers far more switched and tuned in to bikers than UK ones. For the most part they do try harder. And these days with FedEx and DHL (my old outfit) shipment is a piece of you know what. My bike community is a pretty diverse lot make-wise and we get eeeevrything from the US, quick, simple, well-priced, pay on the Net, delivered to your door, all that, people who understand what you want and are nice to you.
UK seems to lack the latter in everything from banks to airlines.
Wondered for a minute if we were going to get a son of BR for mad hairy bikers with tattoos. Ah well Big G dream on.
What me, start one? It would look like www.motorcyclephilippines.com : nice biker babe pix by the way.
After a previous posting I've decided on buying a Mitsubishi Galant estate. I looked on Autotrader site for prices and found the above company offering a 2001X Galant with 49000miles for £5000. This is considerably cheaper than other dealers but they claim low overheads and big turnover allow them to seriously undercut rivals. All cars are RAC inspected and this one would have remains of makers warranty. I know the saying " if it's too good to be true it probably is", but am I being too suspicious of this price, or does anyone have any experience of this company? (They're just to west of London) Read more
No, £5000 is the price for that car, although there is an "admin fee" of £138 on top. I rang them this morning to check.
Can anyone recommend a car for a 6'2" tall 17 yr old boy. Cheap to insure, up to £6K to spend. Minis etc obviously out and he won't hear of a fiesta (or skoda!). Any ideas - what was/is your first car, what insurance group is it etc, etc?? Read more
Good call twarde,
I just got my first car at the age of 20, a 306 D Turbo (same as twarde's son but with sporty bits for no extra insurance), upgrading from my mums fiesta.
It looks great, goes faster than all my mates cars and is only group 5 to insure - less than astras, escorts, golfs etc.
The only problem is bits have a habit of falling off occasionally, but so far its all accesory related rather then engine related, such as the electric window clip breaking etc, and even then, these non-crucial bits provide a good start to DIY car maintenence, my Haynes manual is well and truly covered in grease already!
Browse
. . . the tyre fitters rang MB, not the main dealers. I've woken up now.