October 2003

Tony45

Any way of cutting down the engine noise of my fiesta diesel....? Read more

Sooty Tailpipes

Try mixing 1 part vegetable oil to two parts diesel, then 10% white spirit (Wilkos) of the volume of oil. You will be amazed how this gets rid of the rattle/clatter. The vegoil ignites earlier, but burns slower, rather than a fast violent explosion that shock loads the piston.

np

I read the discussion of U-turning across a solid white line with great interest. I have an additional query that backroomers may be able to help with:

When a carriageway merges from two lanes into one there is often a buildup of traffic. Some drivers avoid the queue by using the outside lane up until the last minute, while others queue politely in the inside. A small subset of the queuing traffic attempt to stop this by moving out into the outside lane but maintaining the same speed as those in the inside, effectively preventing the queue-jumpers.

Last week I witnessed a 'queue-jumper' car cross double white lines to overtake someone who was in the outside lane trying to prevent him.

After consulting the 'Traffic Signals and General Directions' act when I got home, I wondered if the section which reads:

"(6) Nothing in paragraph (2)(b) shall be taken to prohibit a vehicle from being driven across, or so as to straddle, the continuous line referred to in that paragraph, if it is safe to do so and if necessary to do so -


(a) to enable the vehicle to enter, from the side of the road on which it is proceeding, land or premises adjacent to the length of road on which the line is placed, or another road joining that road;

(b) in order to pass a stationary vehicle;

etc."

...allows this behaviour. After all, the chap in the outside lane was stationary when the overtaker passed him and crossed the solid white line. Read more

pdc {P}

Yes but what if the bus is just pootling along at say 20mph, and you made the mistake of electing the bus lane, then you have snookered yourself and can't pull out into the faster flowing lane.

Halmer

Anyone got asny tips on how to get rid of it please?

I assume that I've caused it by washing the screen with WashandWax stuff. Read more

RichardW

I see / go in so many cars with juddering / knackered wiper blades it's rediculous! A new set costs £10 - £15, about 1/4 the cost of a tank of fuel or a small round in the pub so BUY SOME NEW BLADES!!! This is your only view of the road, so make the most of it! I reckon on them lasting about 5 -10k depending on how old your windscreen is (my old BX used to eat wiper blades and a new one was required at least every 5k miles), and the time of year. I do about 20k a year and expect to put on at least 2 new sets every year.


RichardW

Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....

biffo

Im having problems starting my felicia 1.3 mpi from cold, it starts but feels it wants to cut out on me. After a minute it then bursts into normal life and then you can smell strong petrol fumes in the cabin. Does anyone know what this problem could be?. Read more

biffo

Hi again,

Got the problem sorted, sorry I did not post sooner.

The coil pack was at fault, replaced it with a used one from local breakers yard £25 fitted. A new one would have cost £100 .
Car is running great now. Many thanks for the posts.

weatherwitch

One of the replies in the Fuming thread has got me curious. It was about the car being hit by one of the buses in the companies car park.

I rent a cottage on a massive private estate and it's 1.5 miles to the public highway so it is all private land.

If another car was to hit mine how would the insurance stand since it is all privately owned property rather than a public highway or public parking? There are working farm vehicles around, staff vehicles, the landlords own cars and the peasants cars (ie tenants :D ) Am I properly insured or could there be a problem if something happened? Read more

Hugo {P}

k.d.lang is a girl?


Don't worry HH!

Anyone ever seen Jumping Jack Flash?

It was about a third of the way through that film when I realised the character played by Whoopie Goldburg was a WOMAN!


Hugo

"Forever indebted to experience of others"
lucky

My friend has a VW Passat 1.8 turbo (2001) that he has had for four months. In the last six weeks he has noticed an intermittent problem. The car cuts out when the speed is reduced to around 10-20 mph i.e. when needing to brake from a higher speed. This has been happening about once or twice a week for the last six weeks. The car starts again immediately with no problems. The other problem over this period has been, in his words, "the exhaust splutters when you start and rev the engine". He also mentioned "a strange smell coming from the exhaust emissions" but it doesn't smoke. Also he has noticed "a flapping noise coming from the engine at a speed of 60 mph or more".

Any ideas as to the cause of these symptoms?

Thanks
Lucky Read more

lucky

Thanks for the reply Chris. I have heard a lot about these coil failures on VWs.

My friend did in fact take the Passat to the main dealer the other day. Guess what - they could not find any faults. And of course, on the test run, the car did not stall at any time. However when my friend drove the car from the dealer the car cut out during the journey home!

The problem is intermittent but he is worried about the car stalling at a crucial moment. Question is why can the dealer not find a fault? I assume they have all the diagnostic equipment to detect faults. Also what should we do next - approach the main dealer and insist this is a coil failure? Would it be covered under warranty?

Lucky

Peter C

I have a 93 318s coupe with 97000 miles.For the last 10000 miles or so it has a buzzing sound from the gear lever in 5th.If I put my hand on the lever it goes away. Any ideas? I wondered if it is something in the lever mechanisim that can be replaced. At the local dealers discount rate for older BMWs of £60 per hour I am reluctant to go to them first.

Cheers

Peter C
Read more

Peter C

Thanks very much for your help with this.

Peter C

Pete

Can anyone familiar with the Mk2 1600E (67 to 70) please advise if the two rear chassis sections, (from the rear of the cabin floor, over the axle, to the rear vallance, on each side of the vehicle and incorporating the spring hangar mounting points) are identical or handed?

We are also told that there is an additional section which fits inside these sections to add strength. Can anyone confirm this or refute this please?

Thank you, Pete. petel@clara.co.uk Read more

jc

Most 1600E had what you call 2-dr. seats;they had a lever enabling you to fold the backrest forward as in a 2-dr. car.They were fitted because there was no sense in making two different ranges of seats for what was relatively a small number of cars.

steveh67

can anyone enlighten me. we hear that 100k is supposedly high mileage but then and again others beg to differ. can any of you experts out there tell me what is considered as high and very high mileage for a diesel engine. steve. Read more

Simon Collier

Over the years I've had a few diesels, always 'old' and always over 100k. The majority have been the Peugeot/Citroen 1.9.

Talbot Horizon with above engine - 90k, superb engine, died of rust
BX 1.9 - 180k but did need a new head along the way, engine still going very well when sold
Xantia 1.9TD - 135k - dodgy central locking, but engine good.
Old '96 A6 2.5TDI 140hp 6 speed. Wonderful car, faster & more economical than the Xantia & a joy to own, until I crashed it at 160k a couple of months back. Glad it was the Audi and not the Xantia...
'95 Xantia 1.9TD LX - 160k and used for daily commute Oxford - Solihull (140 per day). This has had new front discs, 4 sphere's and rear height adjuster this year. 2004 should see it top 200k

Cyrill666 {P}

Hello,

I've noticed recently that my 1999 2.0 di Vectra produces smoke when under reasonable load, i.e. accelerating to join a 70mph traffic flow or perhaps pulling away quickly. (The car does have 111k on the clock)

Firstly it's worth pointing out that I've only noticed this in the headlights of the car behind - and therefore only noticed it recently (dark mornings/evenings) - may have been happening all the time.

Secondly it's not noticable during the day, and therefore not serious.

Thirdly have yet to notice it when starting from cold.

Fourthly it's due an oil change (7k since the last one) and this will be done this weekend.

To my question - is this anything to worry about? Or should I just keep an eye on it for now?

Kind regards,
Cyrill666
Read more

Malcolm_L

I too noticed what I considered to be excessive smoke from my Passat 130 TDI, again in the following cars headlamps.
I thought it was greyish/blue rather than diesel black so I swapped cars with SWMBO and followed her whilst she accelerated at smartish rate in 3rd.
I wasn't happy at the amount of emission so I mentioned it at the next service, they didn't find anything but I then noticed my fuel consumption dropping slightly and even SWMBO thought the car wasn't right.
It went in again and came out with a new turbo-charger, thankfully under warranty (50k at 27 months).

Hope yours isn't this serious but you know your car better than most mechanics, if you see something that isn't normal chances are it isn't.