August 2003
I just got given an mr2 mk1, the body works in pristeen condition as well as the interior but the head gakset has gone :(
The problem is the guy stripped it down 9 months ago and left it, it was all kept dry and theres just a touch of surface rust in the cylinders, nothing to worry about there though.
Has anyone any ideas the likely cost of a head gasket being fitted? I have the gasket set and the engine is stripped, so it needs fitting and rebuilding back up, any help is greatly appreciated :) Read more
Hi all
I'm in need of your valuable assistance yet again.
As I've previously mentioned on this forum my diff is howling (2.0 litre 1993 Carlton CDX with cat 143,000). I have the chance of a replacement diff (some sortin' out to do yet on just how good it is) but....it's from a 3.0 litre Carlton without a catalyser.
Apparantly the final drive ratio is 3.70:1. On mine it's 3.90:1.
Will this difference be a problem? I know nothing about this sort of thing so am totally in your good hands.
If it's possible to fit this replacement, with the differing ratios, what would change? i.e. mpg? performance? would the trip computer still 'compute' correctly in terms of consumption etc.?
Incidentally, I notice that cat and non-cat versions of exactly the same engine differ in their final drive ratios....why would the cat necessitate this?
Lot of questions I know :)
As usual thanks for any help, advice or guidance
Many regards to all
Bob
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Thought I'd just keep you informed.
I sorted my differential problems out at last!
The howling was definitely getting worse, and after taking advice from this forum, decided NOT to buy one off Ebay (from a 3.0L Carlton....mine's a 2.0L).
I used one of those broker type (no pun intended) setups on the web who, after you enter your requirments, distribute them to various dismantlers around the country. I must admit that I had no real hope of anything coming up trumps (cynical I know...but past experience and all that) but the next morning I received two emails and telephone calls quoting very reasonably for what I needed.
Less than twenty four hours later I received (from Lea Valley Motors, London...highly recommended!!!) a good 2nd hand diff for £120 including VAT and delivery to the North East!
A day and a half later (and one kackered owner) and the car is running as quiet as the proverbial church mouse!
The original diff was well and truly goosed, turning the rubber flexible drive joint by hand when it was off felt all notchy and gravelly....stiffened very noticably after being left for a few minutes too (bearing?)
Thanks to all who helped.
Best regards
Bob
My mum has just been ripped off. She bought a Y reg, 14000 mile Punto 1.2 base model at deleted. There are two major flaws. First, a mate tells me that her boyfriend\'s dad works there and is convinced they don\'t service the cars (I checked - thick black oil on the dipstick.) Second, she was charged just under £6000 AFTER trading in her P reg Rover 111. Granted, the 111 was neglected. Mum was led to believe she was getting £2000 for the Rover. Basically, it seems that the Fiat had a stupidly inflated price tag reduced to a slightly less stupidly inflated amount by thetrade in of the Rover.
Basically, I need to know what the law is on rejecting a used car when there is nothing seemingly wrong with it. All she could go on is the fact that it seems to have not been serviced when deleted claim to service all cars they buy.
If only I\'d gone along!
Cheers
(No naming and shaming, thankyou.)
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Blue - it is outrageous. I knew about the Mias available for (to be specific) £5695 at *a different dealer* ;)
I told her all about it and was told that she was meeting a salesman, who would be better help, and not to interfere. Consequentially Im quite cynically amused but the nice son in me wants to find out if there are any options - I'll give Trading Standards a quick ring to see if they can offer any advice and if not ,at least I tried.
Thanks everyone for the advice!
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
. . . the tyre fitters rang MB, not the main dealers. I've woken up now.
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
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There may be a good reason why the gasket went, ie overheating. Therefore you need to have the head checked, and then pressure check the system to make sure the heater hoses and radiator aren't leaking. Otherwise you'll be doing it a second time.