September 2003
Have given up on the Almera and have settled on a 1999/2000 Accord hatch with 40-50,000 miles and full history. 1.8 preferably but what about the 2.0? What should I look out for and how much to pay? Best place to find one? All thoughts appreciated! Read more
Hi guys. First I should apologise for my prolonged absence owing to new working circumstances, which still applies. The problem I have is strange, in fact does not make sense to me. My car, most of you would know by now AX diesel, the old type, I mean everything is mechanical (or is it?). ok this is the mystical problem. Every-so-often (I have yet to find either a pattern for this, or even another events which it corresponds to) you can hear a relay clicking in. Once this relay clicks in, the engine revs and power drop, and the voltage in the car drops too, for example the cabin light will suddenly become dim. However, the engine remains idling and does not switch off. This lasts for a few seconds, the relay cuts out, and things are back to normal. OK these are the facts which don?t make sense to me
1) This engine is self-regulatory. I mean the pump is mechanical and there is no ignition obviously. So the only way to drop this engine?s revs is to cut the diesel supply, however in this engine this is done via a solenoid on the injection pump which either fully cuts off the supply or leaves it fully on. So I cannot figure out for the life of me, how can the engine revs drop via some electric signal.
2) This also happens when you are driving. The effect being that once its over, the engine suddenly kicks back to life, of course it drives during this period, but it clearly lacks power
3) "Sometimes" you can "just" hear something resembling a very high speed fan, similar to a turbo sound, but very faint, during this period. Before you say, this is not the radiator fan, the two events are totally unrelated and unsynchronised. I am sure this engine (the TGD) is not a turbo, and certainly not an electric turbo, and anyway if it was a turbo I would think it would increase power, not reduce it.
4) The car has absolutely nothing else (that I know off) which is connected to the engine drive chain, other than those which are running all the time (like water pump, oil pump). For example with my dad?s car, if you try to steer whilst idling, you can just feel the engine rev dropping because the hydraulic pump kicks in for the PAS, but this car does not have any such devices which can cut in to the engine power and are electronically controller.
5) Since this is certainly related to some electrical thing, because of the relay, the only thing that comes to my mind is that this relay turns on something which absolutely SUCKS all the current and the alternator needs to got overdrive and this causes engine to drop in revs. But I know this is very far fetched, but just for the moment, even if we assume it was correct, what can possibly, in a diesel engine need so much current?
Guys, Gods, whoever, I am at your mercy. any ideas? I am not so sure if this is a ?problem? or more like some characteristics of this engine/car. But I am really interested to find out how can a diesel engine, with no electrical component (like pump), loose power because of some electrical issue? Thanks for your time, it over to you?
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Amin, The dashboard glow plug light does not necessarily indicate that the glowplugs are on or off, merely that when the light extinguishes, the plugs are hot enough. After the light goes out, and the engine is started, the plugs remain on in post-heat mode, even though the light is off. The post heat period depends on the resistance of the thermistor sensor in the cylinder head.
I still think you should (carefully) disconnect the glowplugs after starting and see what happens. I have met problems with this part of the pre-heating system before...
Regards, 659.
hi all,
please i am in need of urgent help!!
i found yellow sludge in the water cooler expansion tank. could it be, god forbid, blown head gasket? or is it just a hole in the oil cooler?
cheers Read more
good news!!!
no more mixing, no more overheating. it was the oil cooler after all. must say was a pig of a job. hope it lasts for a long time, as i cant afford this car anymore.
thanx a million for all your help and support. you guys r great.
Feel a tad stupid posting this in a motoring enthusiasts forum but here goes.
As you all know, in the last six months I've had two collisions that were caused by another driver - one just steamed in the back of me, and the other was when a lorry changed lanes without looking. I have never been as scared as when I was spinning and thinking that lorry was going to turn over on me, and the car in the back of me was totally unexpected and hurt a lot!
I would be the first to admit that I've always been a bit over confident, and maybe these events have done me some good, but I think I've gone too much in the other direction now! When I'm driving in town I'm always looking in my rear view mirror and panicking that the person behind isn't going to stop. When I'm on A roads and Motorways, I spend too much time looking at the wheels of the car in the lanes next to me to check it's not suddenly going to move over.
It only takes one person to get too close and I am jittery for the whole journey. I'm going back to uni a week tomorrow, which will involve driving in the centre of Birmingham every day and I'm getting really concerned about it. I don't want this hesitancy to become so much of a problem that it gets me into more scrapes.
I'm not expecting quick fixes but it would be reassuring to hear that I'm not mad! Any ideas?
Thanks
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It's perfectly natural to feel nervous. Fight it by driving as much as you can! Driving should be a safe and enjoyable activity, not a stressful punishment!
And remember, a relaxed, unstressed but aware driver is always better - in every way.
Enjoy driving!
Vagelis.
I have covered this in part in another posting but here goes.
Me-Private buyer , not very knowledgeable about cars.
Looking for a reliable runabout.
Happened to see an ad for an Almera 1999 1.4 2 weeks back.
Him-Private seller,1999,1.4, second owner , 50000 miles
Condition of car=Average.
Went and saw the car last weekend (which involved a 2 hour drive!), offered 2800.This chap wanted 3000 for the car.His initial asking price was 3800 on the ad , which i told him was unrealistic for a car in this condition.
He then told me that he wants to wait for some more time to see if there are any better offers.
Said fine , gave him my number and came back.
Nothing happened for the next 5 days then on Friday recd a call asking me to some over on Saturday and that he had accepted my offer.
Accordingly withdrew the money and went over to his place with a friend.Phoned him to say that we would be arriving.He had wanted a bankers cheque initially.Took the bankers cheque.Then he phones saying that he wants cash instead.Had to run around around borrowing money since Saturday afternoon and cash machines dont permit withdrawal > £400.
Anyway when i reach there and ring him to say that I have arrived, he seems to have suddenly changed his mind.
"Look John Im busy today, youll have to come back some other day"
This despite him asking me to come.
What does one do .I was too surprised even to rebuke him.
Queries
Is it worth phoning this chap again.
Are these cars ie Almera easily available
Any other alternatives to this car ,average budget =£3000.
Thanks in advance. Read more
Thanks for the advise , which is unanimously to tell him to buzz off!
One option perhaps as Alan mentioned is to call him and tell him that if he would like to accept my offer then he would have to deliver the car to me.
Hugo I think the reason why he has probably backed out within a few hours of phoning me , is maybe because he has got someone else coming to view the car??Which seems possible, given his sudden change in temperament.
Next option now , as Hawkeye suggested is to look out for one at an auction.
Actually im not particularly hellbent on an Almera.Its just that there has been a new facelift model since 2000 with a low model image + reliability + very low insurance.Which means there is less demand for the pre facelift models ie 1999 .All of which would keep both the buying and the subsequent running costs down.Plus its a reasonably sized vehicle.Most cars with low insurance groups arent.
I couldnt care less about the image , just dont want something that has the least probability of breaking down.Im in healthcare and need to shuttle between hospitals with just the right amount of time to travel and just make it.A breakdown at that time would be disastrous.
Think its time to start looking at some other cars , possibly
a Corolla or something else.
BTW rented a Nissan Micra 1.2 (new shape)over this weekend.Not what one would call a manly car , but really good even on the motorways and scarcely consumes fuel.Think it gives >55 mpg!! on long runs.Too costly though :(
Question please:
Does a (new) diesel engine have any advantage over a (new) petrol version when it comes to the additional wear caused by short journeys?
many thanks
El Hacko Read more
much sound advice there (as usual), for which many thanks to all postees. Reckon I'll go for diesel when car-change time comes...and (now I'm semi retired) spend more time visiting friends/places not too close to home! When the Lexus goes and I have an oil burner under my bonnet, at least I'll have the pleasure of keeping down my enforced contribution to Gordon Brown's coffers.
EH
How many other back roomers run a 'Commercial' vehicle for private use?
As many of you know I drive a SWB Renault Trafic van 2.4T gross weight as a private vehicle for property renovation, in the same way that some people may get an old banger for the same purpose.
I have problems at tips etc as they immediately assume I'm fly tipping, whereas I took more rubbish in the car and trailer and was never challenged.
If I go to a car boot sale in it I suspect I would be immediately accused of being a shifty dealer and charged twice the pitch price.
Life is hard.
There must be hundreds of thousands of UK residents driving transit sized vans or bigger for purely personal use. Indeed a friend of mine is into tractor ralleys and has an HGV which can transport two vintage tractors in one go.
Do you run such a vehicle privately and if so, what advangages and grief do you encounter?
H Read more
"Hugo - we can only send you a postcard if you give us an address to send it too ;-)"
The BR are my witnesses
Mark's got it, I've asked him to forward it to you.
H
I've had a problem with my Citroen ZX 1.6i (Jreg, 1991) Since I bought it 6 months ago, and it's slowly getting worse. The specifics of the problem have baffled everyone I know. Mechanics say I should get a full service first. (Damn money chasers!)
So to the problem....
When ever I take the car to just under 3000rpm (Around 2800-2900) The car will either misfire, or backfire. At any other engine speed it's fine. And when I keep it out of gear it will happily go to the red line with no problem. It's a strangely specific problem.
Another thing is the power steering occaisionly cuts out with out warning leaving me to perform a 3 point turn with no PAS, then it comes back on after a few seconds.
Any ideas would be really useful,
Thankyou in advance,
Colin Bell Read more
Full service seems to tbe the first step, especially if it's due.
Alternitively, you could go for doing this yourself. Change the plugs, oil, filter and air filter and fuel filter and test those leads and coil etc. See if that cures the problem. Also a fiver spend on some injection cleaner won't go a miss.
H
Can anybody tell me who offers the best breakdown/roadside assistance?
I have looked at the AA, RAC, Green Flag etc. I thinking more along the lines of RAC, as the offer a No Callout Bonus.
Any thoughts?
Cheers Read more
Direct Line also have a no-callout discount. I'm with them but only because I got 'automatically' switched from Green Flag in the past (hmm... very peculiar, as others have noted, because GF still seem to operate as well) and I've never yet taken the time to study and compare all the alternatives.
Price and 'features' aside though, if I remember correctly, in the last survey done by Which? magazine, performance/satisfaction-wise the AA came out top, others were in the middle, and the RAC came a miserable bottom.
I think those might be the same positions as in their survey-before-that too.
My wife has a thing about tyre pressures. She has a habit of looking at the cars in our drive (the kids have cars too) and saying "that tyre looks a bit flat" and to save me saying that modern low profiles always look a bit flat I always check with my (cheapo) digital pressure gauge. (Actually, I don't, I usually say it looks OK to me). Anyway, today she filled up at Sainsbury's and said would I check her nice new (expensive) front tyres so I did. Programmed in the 2.4 bar at the front, 2.2 at the back, waited for the machine to ping etc. Then we drove home, - "does it feel as if the tyres are a bit hard?" says I on the way home. "yes " says she - so I checked them at home with my cheapo meter. Not 2.4 or 2.2 says the meter. More like 3.3 and 3.1. (Isn't that about 45 lbs per square inch I think, when it should be low 30s). So I checked my car's, which should be 2.3, and my (cheapo) meter said 2.3. Went to local garage with my car and their gauge said mine were 2.3. Conclusion? Sainsburys overinflated her tyres to the tune of about 15 psi. Unless of course my (cheapo) gauge and the local garage are underinflating them by about 15 psi ---- but how do I know? Read more
Is there any way of finding out what the tyre pressures should be when alternative tyres are fitted to a car?
My Focus would normally be fitted with Pirelli P6000, but before I bought it the dealer fitted cheaper Kumho Ecsta tyres as the existing ones were very worn (yes I did see them first and they were evenly worn but with only about 3mm tread left).
The Kumho tyres specify a maximum pressure which is lower than the car handbook recommended pressure for full load for the rear tyres (by about 5 psi).
When I last checked the Kumho website, they did not have any information about the tyres (under construction).
I intend to replace them with Pirelli P6000s when the Kumhos wear out, but they're not wearing out fast enough!
Well I didn't take the 2001 SE Exec. Too many gaps in history and odd tyres too. Think I'll try to get the later 2002 Sport model with a budget of up to £10k. Mind you I see the Almera Pulse is now down to below £6700! Confusion reigns!