August 2003
Every now and then, the Mondeo makes a fairly lound clunk sound.
The sound seems to come from the back left of the car.
It seems to only happen when turning right.
It's random and I am not mechanically minded.
Is this an expensive problem to fix?
I have only had it a day.
The mileage is 72 000.
Any advice? Read more
Does anyone have an opinion on what is the best French diesel? Is it the Renault dci or Citroen/Peugeot hdi?
Also, what do folk think is the best diesel engine around at the moment that is installed in a small, medium car?
Thanks
Enigma2
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The 2.0 HDI 110 is fantastic in the Xsara (and also in my C5).
The Xsara will feel a lot sprightlier than the 307 as it weighs less.
Ben
On my 3rd Citroen. Saxo, Xsara, C5.
I own a 98my Passat 1.8t sport and am utterly dissapointed in the quality of the paintwork and the interior plastics.I have never owned a car that scatches so easily both inside and out.I find this utterly dissapointing as VW are allegedly one of the best when it comes to quality issues,has anybody else had the same problems with their VW?
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PU
Just in case you didn't look at them, the links DD gave were to threads which were whinging about poor vw quality.
Jonathan
Folks
I broke my Achilles tendon in my right leg 6 weeks ago and haven't driven since. Plaster comes off in 10 days but my foot will be weak for months. I have to drive to get to work. Some friends recommend I buy a cheap auto and I have in fact got the option of a 1990 MK 2 Golf auto. Question is, will this help or not? I'm not convinced as I'd have to learn to brake safely with my left leg for there to be any advantage. Any advice out there?
Thanks
Baz Read more
>How about a moped?
Which side is the foot brake ?
Some have both the brakes on the handle bars. More often than not, the rev and go type with either no gears or an auto gearbox. More commonly known as chicken chasers.
I own a Peugeot 309 in India. I wish to know the following:
(a) Tyre pressures -Maker says 29 psi front and 33 psi rear, as written in the car manual. But car gets real jumpy at this air pressure. Also, the radials which are necessary to look a bit "flat", do not look so. What would be the correct pressures?
Also, does overinflation cause any affect on the shock absorbers?
(b) Which are original spark plugs for the car? Alternative sparks?
(c) I run the car on LPG. Is it necessary to change the plug to a colder one and reduce the gap by 0.1 mm? Which make and type of spark plugs can you suggest?
(d) Which type of high performance air filter can I put in place of the original one? Where can I buy it from?
(e) After runnig on LPG, the engine oil is very clean even after 12000 km. Do you still recommend changing it?
(f) Is decarbonisation necessary before oil change? What are the products for the same?
(g) Can I use fully synthetic engine oils? Which ones will be suitable? What about Castrol Magnatec? While changing from semi-synthetic Total 20W50 oil to Magnatec, what is the procedure?
(h) What happens if I am told by my mechanic that the shock absorbers require to eb dismantled for repairs/ renewal, and I continue to use them for highway drive at low speed to get some more life out of them? Will I end up spoiling them more than what they actually are, and will a repairs at a later date cause more expense?
Thanking you in anticipation,
Nitin Birari Read more
I am of course not sure about the tyre pressures... perhaps
I should check more.
See if this site helps:-
www.dunloptyres.co.uk/site/tyres/car/pressureGuide/
After reading a few of the other threads I had this thought...
Personally I find the growing me-first attitude on the roads encouraging.
I was driving on a road the other day and a single queue of traffic threaded back for at least a mile and half. Another straight on lane empty (signs saying it closed in half mile or something etc). Illogical. Went in the empty lane and saved at least 30 minutes queue. Why do people do that, enjoy queues (especially being at the back of one)? The person who "let" me in hooted their horn, shocking for someone to not enjoy queuing I suppose.
Isn't it obvious to use the two lanes until the one ends? Why create an unnecessary queue.
Or what about the overly "polite" motorway driver who always pulls into the slow lane. If you're doing 75 stick in the middle lane, why cause yourself the hassle (and danger) of having to pull out again at the next lorry. Or even worse expect the sensible drivers who stayed in the middle lane to let you out of your repeated mistake. Read more
Jeds
Food for thought I suppose.....
H
One of my friends has to move & has got a broken Caterham sportscar that needs transporting from Wimbledon to Barnet to be mended & MOT.
Does anyone know of a firm near there that are inexpensive please?
Sally Peters Read more
Some hire companies have Transits with speccy lift - if your motor is towable?
No idea what rental charges are though.
I've been told that my clutch is getting heavy and will need replacing. What are the causes of this? It's a 1.3 and done 61000mls. The gears are a bit grapply and there is a noise on depressing and releasing the clutch pedal which is quite stiff.
Will I need a completely new clutch? Read more
From reading the threads, it sounds like the release bearing is definitely on its last legs. You should change the whole unit if you decide to go ahead as, if the bearing is worn,then chances are the whole thing is nearing the end of its life. Most motor factors (eg 'German & Swedish') will supply a complete clutch for under £120.00.
One of the reasons why Golf clutches go very heavy as they wear is to do with the geometry of the actuation lever. As the clutch wears and the bite point moves, the movement of the release lever on the clutch housing becomes far from ideal in relation to the cable locator. Adjusting the cable doesnt help too much as the lever still moves through the same arc.
As a DIY job, its not the worse there is, but it can be a bit of a pain. Removing the engine mount and lowering that end of the engine early on in the proceedings helps alot. You need a good tool kit as there are a number of different nut sizes, hex bolts and such like to deal with. Heres one clutch where an alignment toos is important, too. I'd also consider changing the rear crankshaft oil seal while the gearbox is off. Its not much more work and only costs a couple of quid. I did a GTI recently and it took me about 5 hours all in, including oil seal, taking things fairly easy.
What is it with PSA group and electronics? I have or family members / friends have owned numerous 106, 205, 309, 306, 405, Xantia, Saxo, ZX etc. and all are plagued by annoying electrical problems. Everything from engine managment, ABS faults, electric 'toy' problems (sunroofs, windows, mirrors etc.) headlights......the list goes on. As an Electronic Engineer I get out the (increasingly useless) Haynes manual and trawl through the circuits, eventually (well 90% of the time) finding the problem. Most owners, though, have to resort to the dealers who haven't got a clue. Why can't they sort this out? Read more
This morning I'd decided to buy a new Picasso. Then I saw this thread and also spoke to the 'Drivethedeal' salesman, who seemed to prefer the Toyota in preference and all my old doubts were resurrected. I've never been totally confident about moving away from Toyota in favour of Citroen, but I honestly now think my mind's made up. The Corolla Verso diesel is a grand more than an SX Picasso diesel and I think I'm happy to pay it just for peace of mind. They might be equally good but if the Toyota means I sleep easier in my bed then so be it. I even stopped yesterday at a house with a Diesel Picasso in the driveway and accosted the owner therein. It was new in April this year and he was very pleased with it - but even he pointed out the lumbar seat adjustment knob which no longer did any adjusting (cable come adrift).....you just don't seem to hear many owners of Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, having the sort of discussions that I regularly see taking place regarding Peugeot, Citroen and Renault.
I've had a Clio diesel and a Pug 206 diesel and both were OK (ish) but neither dealer impressed me with after sales.
No - my minds made up. It's not going to be French!
I'm grateful to all who contributed to this and my original "Toyota dealer versus Broker" thread.
KB.
Hello all,
Ive got a 1995 Ford Mondeo 24v ( Duratec V6 engine) with 130k miles. When the weather is warm I get quite severe pinking from 3000rpm upwards with high load ( uphill or accelerating ), this pinking seems to coincide with the opening of the secondary throttles. I maintain the car myself and it has new spark plugs, HT leads, air filter and fuel filter. Ive tried running higher octane fuel ( Shell Optimax ) and the pinking is still there. Ive checked the Intake Air Temp sensor and it gives a reading of approx 25kOhms at 20degC which seems to be OK. Also checked the EGR by applying a vacuum to the valve at idle, the engine stumbled then stalled so EGR passages are not blocked.
The MAF and Lambda sensors are the originals but passed last MOT at lambda=1.01 so I assume they are in good condition. Ive also run some Redex injector cleaner through but no improvement.
If I remove the Octane Adjust Plug the engine runs fine and doest not pink at all however I dont think this is a good solution.
Any ideas about what could cause this pinking ???? I dont know what else to check and its getting very annoying.
Any help much appreciated, esp Adam from Tune up, my email is danterry1@yahoo.co.uk
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Hi Dan,
According to my information (CAPS) the ATS spec is as follows.
20 degrees C. 37K ohms - 39K ohms
40 degrees C. 15K ohms - 17K ohms
60 degrees C. 7K ohms - 8K ohms
80 degrees C. 3K ohms - 4K ohms
Suggest you really need to check through temp range.
Suggest you also check compressions, although I suspect the chances of a carbon build-up are slight where the car is well exercised !
Regards, Adam
Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble.
Browse
The clunking only happens when turning right.
I cannot seem to make it happen at will.
There are some sharp turns which cause the Mondeo to clunk.
Othertimes, it can happen as I am taking a slight bend in the road with the steering wheel already at a fixed position.
I cannot determine if it is related to uneven surfaces or not.
There seem to be 2 types of sound.
One sound is a very light, short clunk.
The second is much louder and worrying.
I paid £1200 for the Mondeo. Was I unlucky or ripped off.
I am concerned that it will be very expensive to repair.
How soon should it be repaired (in the middle of moving house, so will have to delay fixing it).
Many thanks
Wayne