September 2003
Any ideas as to why my incar heater does not get hot (it gets mildly warm)
I confident that I do not have a air lock, or a blockage in the heater matrix.
This has not suddenly happend, it has been like this since I brought the car 3 years ago. never really bothered me, I just put it down to the cool running temp of the car but I no longer think thats the answer and the wife is driving it now so I'm getting stress!
The car runs at 80-82°C on the dash.
MM - you wealth of knowledge would be appreciated.
Cheers
H Read more
Does anyone know where I can get part numbers and pricing for the 17D Isuzu engine fitted to my friend?s 1996 Opel Combo he runs here in Jordan? Either online or without obligation by email? The dealer here does not have the right parts catalogue.
It is the same non-turbo engine used by Vauxhall.
Would Vauxhall part numbers be recognised by an Opel dealer abroad?
Thanks in advance, CMark. Read more
Judging by the info. on www.opel.de the 'combo' is a corsa based mini-mpv/van thingy in a berlingo 'multispace' style. I'm 99% sure GM part numbers will be universal; so autovaux for one should be able to help
Hi,
I've agreed a purchase on a 2000 Audi S3 - mint condition - everything I've been looking for.
The young lad selling it said he had finance outstanding. He seemed a very open, honest and genuine bloke but one can never be too careful.
I wish to purchase the car with a banker's draft but am wary of him pocketing the cash and me left with the outstanding finance.
How do I go about ensuring the finance gets paid off? Do I get the draft written to his lender instead of him?
Thanks,
Guy Read more
The S3 is in the repair bay having a new dual mass flywheel fitted(£1400!!!) fortunately all covered under Audi's used car warranty.
Guy's driving around in a blue A2 FSi.......which he's *really* enjoying. Especially driving around with the window open at 45mph....but that's another story altogether :-)
--
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/problems.msnw?Page=1 - Pictures say a thousand words.....
My drivers side seatbelt has accumulated some ingrained muck that is leaving a mark across all my shirts when Ive been driving for more than a few minutes!
Ive tried a couple of upholstery cleaners from Halfords to try and improve things but to no avail.
Does anybody know of something that will do the trick?
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Try Auto Glym Tar Remoever. You can get a small bottle, along with car shampoo, polish, interior dash cleaner, glass polish and bumper care. If this doesn't work, the steam cleaner's your next option.
Am about to but a new A4 1.9Tdi SE. With options, local Audi dealer is around £21k and discounts seem a swear word. HJ links to ukcarbroker.co.uk which can provide me with one for £18.8k plus options so say £19.5k. Local dealer was trying to sell me a 3 month old ond for £19,995 !
Has anybody ever dealt with these ? Their patter appears good - they don't take any cash as apparently they order from any Audi dealer so my contract is with the dealer. Seems like I can't lose but I am a little cautious ! Read more
I bought my car (not an Audi) through them with no problems at all. Their only involvement was to pass my details on to a dealer.
The only risk is you don't know in advance where the dealer is located. In my case this was about 25 miles away but they said they fulfilled orders from all over the country. I can only see this being an issue if the car is a complete disaster and you need to reject it. Presumably you can take the car to any Audi dealer for warranty work.
By now we all know that an engine lasts much longer if used on long trips rather than short runs, but what exactly is the reason?
Take an extreme example:
Car A does a 4-mile round trip to the shops every day.
Car B does a 40-mile commute everyday on fast roads, and passes the shops on each journey.
Car A therefore does 1,000 miles pa, all cold, BAD; Car B does 20,000 miles pa nearly all hot,GOOD.
But all long journeys start off as short ones, so if Car A has suffered wear from running cold with petrol washing the oil off the bores, so has Car B for the first part of each trip. Physical wear cannot be reversible however long B's trip.
So is this theory of dry bore wear really true? Isn't it much more likely to be the case that corrosive chemicals accumulate in the oil in the condensation in a cold engine, but are largely driven off again when the oil gets up to full temperature?
So the wear caused to engines used on short journeys results from them running and sitting in a corrosive oil/water cocktail, not from the 'choke out' effect?
Any experts care to comment on this?
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"By now we all know that an engine lasts much longer
if used on long trips rather than short runs"
Yes thats what we all say but exactly how do we
know this?.
But are all 'short runs' harmful to the egine?
I drive about 6 miles to work in heavy traffic and the engine gets pretty hot, with the cooling fan regularly cutting in. (the run time is abut 20 minutes)
You could argue that the engine would not get as hot on a longer run, say, down the motorway with constant airflow through the rad.
....or Pew-gott as it will undoubtedly be called:
tinyurl.com/ozxl
Three initial thoughts:
1) Lots to go wrong;
2) Never write an article when you can just scan the publicity handout into your Word doc;
3) It must have been a good lunch.
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"The 206 may be largely unheard of here but in Europe, it?s considered to be one of the benchmarks in its class. Its overall performance, fuel economy, styling, interior packaging and overall build quality are all very much at par with the world?s best. "
He he! :-)
Blue
Just changes the radiator in my 1998 2.2 TD Renault Espace and the coolant that came out was the red colour one (plus some brown silt). I have flushed the rest of the system as much as possible and the question is whether the red anti-freeze is the one to stick to. I bought blue ethylene glycol stuff before I started the radiator change but I have read that the blue and red ones are not compatible. On the basis that I could not have flushed the system/block perfectly I suspect the red anti-freeze from my local motor factors or even Halfords is the one to go for?? Is that right??
thanks
Ian Read more
You can't mix the two.
You need an 'OAT' or 'HOAT' type antifreeze - I think Halfords 'Advanced Formula' antifreeze will be of this type. Its around £16 for 5l (I think) - not too bad.
Click on by if this doesn't mean much to you, but it makes an interesting comparison for me when I read UK posters' views.
Living as I do in Asia I am always in awe of the respect for detail and doing things right which permeates the various regional cultures, and the auto industry is no exception.
Got something to crow about. As a result of new excise tax regs favoring locally built cars vs imports, tax on which is set to rise drastically, prices in the Land of Sun and Fun will come down about 3% next week .
Along with that and discount for cash I shall be driving away next week in a nice new Philippines built Ford Lynx 1.3 (Mazda-derived engine) fuel-injected with M/T, silver-gold metallic, proper full size car and the normal goodies for about GBP6,300 in recently appreciated Pounds against the Peso from the Growler Inc offshore slush fund my accountant doesn't know about and my ex-wife only suspects exists but can't prove.
That price includes comp insurance for one year at GBP314, 1 year's reg at GBP 28, 2 years' Ford Breakdown service, 2 years or 50,000 km warranty, a warning triangle, a birthday card annually and a first aid kit. Here the car is insured not the driver so the unexpired portion of a policy is saleable when it comes time to part.
Growlette my partner has had a trouble-free Lynx for nearly 2 years so I feel confident.
...and guess what? It has a proper cassette player......now where are my Willie and Waylon tapes...... and to top it all the delectable Gladys my saleslady threw in a bottle of Wynne's Bin 444, my favourite medication for all occasions whether it be to celebrate or to provide balm for the soul in times of adversity..
** all conversions at PHP89.00 = GBP1.00
www.ford.com.ph
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I will post a pic of da Lynx. I will ensure Catrina is in the frame to make it worth looking at, I mean it's only a car anyway.
The battered old Honda goes in tomorrow for some fancy work to make it saleable. I don't know who if anyone here follows Asia-Pacific history but the days of martial law in the Philippines are surely well known (some would say that was the best era) but there is a Swiss guy who used to do all the work on Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos' fleet and still does for Imee and Bong-Bong, their wealthy and to-this-day contentious progeny.
Anyway he lives down the road from me, we drink at the same German pub, and he says he'll fix it up.
My friend is thinking about buying a new Audi A3 and I would be very grateful for any advice I can pass on to her. She has been offered an A3 2.0 Sport FSI for £19355 incl. met paint. If she signs before the end of this month she has been offered a further £1k discount and £1k trade in on her Peugot 306. Her 306 is Dec 1993, 1.6XT with only 16000 miles and is in excellent condition.
I would welcome any views on whether this is a good deal or not. The dealer has suggested that if she sold her car privately she could expect to get £2,500.
Also are there any positive/negative views on the new A3?
Thanks in advance. Read more
Thanks for the advice and suggestions - I'll pass this on..!
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MM,
thanks for the advise,
Had a very quick look last night, (I changed the stat about 9months ago)
1: The heater hoses are hot both in and out.
2: Have checked the blower in car, not too sure what you mean, she blows enought out of the vents, so I assume its not blocked.
3:were would it be blocked with leaves, or the fact that it does blow into the car through the vents a go enough sign?
4:The linkage fault, I go as far as pulling the clock out last night, I could see the wire on the hot/cold dial, as I turned it from hot to cold the wire moved with it freely. Do I have to remove the heater matrix to check the actual operation of the tap on the heater matrix, the old haynes does not show it.
5: not checked for a split in the pipe, but I cay say that when the fans are on flat out I only get air coming the vent that I specified on the dial, I can feel any other air from other vents.
I can only conclude the wire from the dial to the heater matrix is not working correctly, how easy is this to check. Is it a full matric removal?
Cheers
H