August 2003
When we eventually all drive around with a fuel cell, what are the risks of explosion? Hydrogen is I remember from a botched chemistry experiment very very explosive.
When all is working ok and all we have is a trickle of water out the exhaust, what will be the effects on an icy road.
If we don't don't have a water cooling system, how are we going to get the heater to work in winter, may be the old petrol burner they fitted to the air cooled VW variants.
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Just heard a tragic news item about a lorry driver who was run over and killed by his own truck as he bravely tried to stop thieves taking his load.
I can genuinely sympathise with the man's family and praise his loyalty to his employers - who I trust will make sure his family are well looked after.
I know some people like to give truckers a knocking but, given their pay and working conditions, I don't think I'd be putting myself at risk in similar circumstances. Read more
There are umpteen threads here detailing the plight of many a new car owner who has:
a) taken a car in for fault diagnosis and/or repair,
b) waited days, weeks even months for the parts to be obtained and the work to be done,
c) been charged vast sums of money for parts & labour and then
d) collected their car only to find the problem is either just as bad as before or a new and equally obvious fault has occured !
Why do garages do this ? Are they all mad ? What is the point of sending a car back to someone when it still isn't working ?
The recent 2TDCi'd Off" thread mentions a problem Mondeo which was supposedly fixed but returned to its owner with the same fault! Are these people just stupid or are they cynically ripping people off and using so called fault diagnosis as a means by which to avoid responsibility and still get paid for work/parts which weren't necessary ? Read more
Would the Which? guide be similar to the extensive one found on this site? I've found the Car-by-Car Breakdown to be really useful, it was what first brought me to the site about 2 years ago. However i never realised this backroom existed - opps. A case of better late than never!
Thanks to kb for the pointer to this thread too, makes very interesting reading.
This subject has most probably been covered a thousands times but I'm new to the site and would appreciate some advice. I have a new 2.5 common rail direct injection turbo diesel (with intercooler) powered Kia Sorento. When should I change the engine oil? Kia reccomend 10,000 miles/1 year but this seems a long time for a new engine. I would have thought that after 1,500 - 2,000 miles I would need a change. Also, do I change to a synthetic/ smi-synthetic oil for longevity (is magnatec the best?). If I do need to change the engine oil should I do the gear box at the same time?
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Thanks for the advice on engine oil changes. Does anyone have any ideas about gearbox oil? I\'ve always understood that new gear-box oil can contain shavings from the cogs bedding in and should be changed fairly soon to stop these metal filings from causing further damage to the gear-box. Again , the dealer told me that 10,000 miles / 1 year is sufficient even, from new.
Hi, I am after some advice. I noticed this morning that someone had left a scrape from my o/s rear bumper going along just above the wheel arch and ending a little way into the passenger door, probably done by someone reversing out of a car park space next to mine (needless to say no note was left!)
I am "lucky" that the paint does not seem to have been removed from my own car, however I cannot wash the scrape off just using car shampoo/water. Can anyone recommend a product that will remove these marks without stripping my paintwork also? I am loathe to pay a bodyshop £100+ for what looks like a 15 minute job. By the way my car is a light metallic blue colour if that makes any difference.
I'm a loser, baby....so why don't you kill me?! Read more
Thanks for all your replies. I will have a look round the local Halfords tomorrow and seek their expert?? advice.
I'm a loser, baby....so why don't you kill me?!
Just found this very interesting link lurking in the Merc V Class thread.
www.topgear.com/content/my_topgear/duffers
(sorry DD, can't turn this into a functioning link)
Basically for all those who don't know, this is a part of the Top Gear website detailing owners' problems with their cars. A brief but enlightening tour of the section revealed some surprises. Didn't check every marque but there were loads of problems listed with VW's, Mercs and Renaults. When I checked the Vauxhall section, however, I was amazed to see but a fraction of the number and IIRC not a single Omega mentioned !
Anyway folks I think it's worth a look through - unless of course you happen to be 'Renault Family' in which case you may prefer the ignornace is bliss routine rather than risk winding up with paranoia, PTSD or both. Read more
Hoorah !!!!!
It works :-)
I have a new Mondeo which was purchased on HP in April 2003. It has been misfiring (Undulating)and revving itself up.
I took it to a Ford Dealer for diagnosis. They put a new injector on after the management check diagnosed this.
That took a WEEK. The problem was still prevailent when I picked up the car. It went back for further checks and Ford have replaced the engine. The problem is STILL prevailent. It is more intermittant than at first but albeit it is still there.
The cut out on a multi storey car park and had to be towed away back to the dealership. Check proced there was a fault but they could not source it.
The engine was replaced (Two weeks) at approx 9000 miles and relinquished back to me WITHOUT an engine number. The dealer thought this was OK and perfectly legal. Not according to the traffic police, the AA, the RAC or the man in the moon. Funnily enough The number has NOW been stamped on.
The customer services centre at Ford say there is NO hard evidence that there is still a fault (Breaking down must be O.K then) Ford say they will not replace the vehicle because the fault has to be induced at the dealership. Everytime I take it though, it makes a liar out of me. Further to this I will have to pay a penalty for the miles that have been put on to the car before a new one is handed out.
THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A FAULT WITH TDCI ENGINES JUDGING BY THE COMMENTS ON THIS FORUM. WHAT IS FORD GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
This is pathetic. Umpteen phone calls, courtesy cars and time off work to sort things outhave gone too far and I will now be taking my own action on this matter. Needless to say, I will NEVER buy another ford car.
Dealer name deleted. No naming and shaming please. DD.
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When/if you speak to an organisation on the phone and they say "Hello, this is Joe's Ford in Bigtown, my name is Kevin, how may I help you?" make a note of the date/time and name and you may be able to get a record of the call from them, IF they have recorded it. It is also legal for you to tape record telephone calls, so long as you tell the person you are calling that you are doing so.
Hi all
Further to my previous posts regarding the viscous coupling fan on my 1993 2.0L cdx Carlton.
Driving in town over the last few hot days I?ve noticed the temperature guage creeping alarmingly up towards the red segment (never quite got there yet but far too close for comfort). This isn?t happening after sitting in traffic for several minutes (it never gets that busy up here!), rather it?s just normal, quite slow, driving in lower gears for maybe 5 to 10 minutes with frequent pauses (pedestrian crossing etc).
I tested the viscous coupling operation, off the car, using a hairdryer?.after it got quite hot (uncomfortable to hold) it stiffened up rather well I thought. So I figured it must be working ok.
My question is, given the dubious nature of this viscous fan (or are they all like this?), is it relatively easy to fit a standard electric fan? I?m thinking of rigging it up with a manual switch ?cos I don?t trust thermal switches either!
Do I hunt around for something big enough to fit over the existing radiator shroud (quite big) or attach a fan unit directly to the radiator somehow?
Many thanks for your help.
Regards
Bob
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Bob,
You could try the 'newspaper test'. Roll up a newspaper into a slightly loose cylinder and hold one end against the fan with the engine hot and running. If the newspaper stops the fan turning the viscous coupling probably needs replacing. If the fan shreds the end of the newspaper the coupling should be OK.
Viscous couplings don't always fail suddenly. The fluid in them sometimes seeps out bit by bit, almost unnoticed, until there isn't enough in there to do the job. Sometimes this can be seen by dampness on the body of the coupling which tends to collect dirt.
Am I being unrealistic in my expectations of fuel consumption from a 1.8 Focus? For some years I have driven Vauxhalls. two 2.0L Cavaliers and more recently a 2.0SRI Vectra. My first 2.0L Vauxhall was pre cat and I always returned in the region of 8.5 miles/litre (39 - 40mpg)on a mixture of motorway cruising at 85 - 90 and driving to work on semi rural roads. A 2.0 with Cat then followed which did typically 8m/l (36mpg) then a Vectra with between 30 - 34 mpg and now a focus with 30 -33mpg. The focus is a nearly new model bought from the local Ford dealer and has covered 6k miles. The tail pipe looks quite black and in the good old days of carburetters I would be looking to make some adjustments.
The car appears to warm up very quickly and drives perfectly well.
As I mentioned it is 'nearly new' so may well have sat in a field for a while. Has anyone any suggestions as to possible faults which could develop in these circumstances. Do lambda sensors deteriorate if not used? Is it worth having my ECU interrogated or is this what I should expect from this model.
Thank you for your help
SR Read more
Marc,
I didn't know for sure that the tracking was out until I had it checked when I bought the new front tyres, but I had my suspicions:
1. The front tyres appeared to have worn in a feathered fashion, worst of all on the outer shoulders.
2. When braking I had always felt a slight turning movement on the steering wheel. After having the tracking adjusted this effect disappeared.
However, I have to say that the front tyres still wear in a feathered fashion, particularly on the outer shoulders. Apparently Mondeo's are noted for doing this, as a search on the subject on this website will verify.
I strongly suspect that this effect is caused by suspension problems. I don't consider the standard suspension to be anywhere near firm enough, not compared with other cars that I've driven. Also, I suspect that I might well have a defective shock-absorber on the offside, which is causing strange tyre wear patterns. I reported this 3 times during warranty but was told it was OK. Either it is OK or they just didn't want to do anything about fixing it.
I have never had 4 wheel tracking done, only two, which proved to be quite a long way out. As far as I'm concerned I hadn't done anything to the car to cause it to be this far out, which leads me to conclude that it wasn't (or isn't) set up all that well at manufacture. Perhaps 4 wheel tracking might reveal some further secrets. Perhaps I might have it done when I buy the next set of tyres.
I hope this info is of some help to you.
Galaxy
Then here's a little something to help pass the time during the long rainy summer holidays
phantomgames.net/cgi-bin/play.cgi?server=http://ph...0
Jonathan Read more
what happened to being driven up the motorway by your parents and shouting "beetle" every time a veedub was passed and hitting your sister at the same time?
Shouting "SNAP" everytime you saw a car the same as you were riding in.
Throwing other peoples shoes out the window, ooops I still do this after a few.
Browse
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Bear in mind that the next of kin are entitled to make a claim upon the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board as the death was due to a criminal act.
See www.tinyurl.com/ji3c.
If you recall recently HMG proposed at £35 surcharge on the offence of speeding (and on other fines) to help fund this scheme.
Further you may recall the Luton incident when a female was killed by a yob taking her car. I could not update the thread because it is locked but can tell you that Beds Police did catch the person responsible and have charged him with murder.
Again worth pointing out not to go into fine detail about this case which may harm a prosecution when the purportrator is caught, the sooner the better. Another one for a suspended sentence IMHO
DVD