November 2003
Does anyone know if there are rules about how far away the suspension notice can be from the suspended bay?
I was 'captured' on Thursday, the most annoying thing is that I moved into the bay to make it easier for others to park behind me (empty m/cycle bay, then empty bay,then me in a big van, then the van I moved up to- if that makes sense).
The suspension notice was 25 metres away from the bay, obscured by the van in front of me and there was nothing outside the property itself. Read more
Can anyone explain why manufacturers still fit steering locks to cars. I don't mean the after market anti-theft wheel locking devices but the one that engages once the key is removed.
Surely it cant be to prevent theft? Most car thieves can break the lock in seconds, as all cars are fitted with said device it obviously poses no deterrant.
Have I missed something blindingly obvious?
Leon Read more
I have just noted how quiet the forums are this afternoon. Could it be that many of my fellow contributors are \"Sunday Drivers\". Or is the Pub lunch the favoured way to spend a sunday afternoon?????
Leon
Glued to the PC at 15:45 on a Sunday afternoon...... Read more
I foolishly got the mountain bike out of the garage and went for a very cold, very wet, very muddy ride in the Purbecks. Northerly wind blowing and totally s**den at the 20mile point, I gave up and succumbed to the charms of the National Trust tearooms at Corfe Castle.
The others I went riding with also gave up within a couple of miles.
All of us are experienced riders and had appropriate kit on, but boy, did we underestimate the chill on that wind!
Will be out there at some point this week (when dry) to finish the ride.
I am in the process of buying a "X reg" Focus. The rep at the garage said it was a non turbo 18 diesel. However, the insurance company informs me it is a turbo variant. Can anyone enlighten as to the possiblity that Ford did install non turbo's in the early Focus'
Thanks if you can assist me. Read more
My uncle who drives a Celica says that the average TDCi Focus can give him a good run for his money on the acceleration front.
If he had to buy a family car I'm sure I know which one he would buy ;-)
Blue
Hi All,
Xenon lights seem to becomming more popular now. I notice the bluey white lights in my mirror but how much better are they than normal halogen headlights? Are they worth paying £500-£750 option when paying buying a new car?
I would be interested to here from people that run cars with Xenon's.
Cheers
Jlo Read more
SjB
Funnily enough Volvo's have been renowned for years as having good headlight design. Probably the dark winter nights!
At one time would have said that best set of standard headlights I have ever driven behind were on an S60 with "Xenon" bulbs, ie normal bulbs but with the whiter light that comes with the Xenon gas. Say standard in order to exclude special competition setups.
The statement re the S60 was true until I got used to the current Mondeo with HID on dip and bulbs on main. Anything else now with normal halogen bulbs fitted looks quite yellow by comparison.
Again I don't quite understand why the main is so good either, but it is. Never that impressed with Vectra lights though.
Hi, with all this rain I have noticed a puddle of water near the drivers door kick plate. Its on the inside of the door, the puddle is on the plastic trim which borders the carpet. I can't see a leak around the weather strapping, could it be coming in from behind the trim? It does feel wet at the base of the trim nearest the footwell.
Thanks. Read more
Will do mate, ta for the help.
Jim
As everybody knows the extortionate rip-off prices that franchised dealers charge for serviceing whilst rarely doing the job correctly,could anybody out there advise me on a quality independant vw specialist in or around the Cambridge area.My local VW dealership are a joke,i\'ve already got one mortgage i don\'t need another one to get my car serviced!! Read more
Original post was from 2003...
My 2.5 V6 Omega has an oil leak from the passenger side head that is dripping down onto manifold .It would seem to be coming from the rear of the head somewhere around the DIS unit but I can't see exactly where.The leak also seems to come an go!
I have replaced the camshaft cover gaskets, cleaned out the blocked plastic unit on top of manifold, I have checked the pipes to the oil cooler and it doesn't seem to be coming from there.
I am now thinking that it must be the head gasket that needs replacing although a compression test didnt show anything.
Any ideas?
Also since cleaning the plastic emmission unit on top of the manifold and replacing the gaskets the engine has a rough idle at tick over. I replaced all gaskets with new ones on the inlet manifold and there doesnt seem to be any air leaks. Could it be that now I have un-blocked the plastic unit that this is causing the problem?
Lastly if it is the head gasket any one know where I can buy or hire the camshft locking kit. I have found one for £150 but this seems a bit excessive.
Sorry for all the questions
Ian Read more
Thanks for the quick reply.
I think it was Screwfix www.screwfix.co.uk
Does anybody have any experience of what the 2003 model is like to drive, run and fix. What are cost of ownership like, mpg spares etc etc..
thanks Read more
I presume you mean the new 2004 model specification?
The Primera has always been a superbly built car and even the Japanese concede that the Sunderland factory is as good, if not better, than their own home produced versions.
Actually I like the new styling and something that may be of interest is that one of our local used car dealers sells them for well under £10k (windscreen price).
Right....I know I am using this forum a lot but considering the experts that use it, I feel this may be useful. I am a very careful driver (albeit relatively new). I very rarely go over the limit admittedly for fear of racking up 6 points and losing my licence. However, I have been very worried by recent events whereby a friend has been 'done' for speeding at 34 mph in a 30 zone. I know what you're thinking - oh boy racer but no.l This friend is in fact a neighbour at the age of 69 who has never had ANY convictions in his entire driving career...until now. This posting is going somewhere beleive me....
I don't know how to explain this without advocating speeding (which I will say, in some cases is perfectly safe) but I have seen this product. www.tradingdirect.co.uk/system/index.html
I know it will only provide protection from camera and laser vans but I wanted to ask people's opinions of this product. Could people please check it out and let me know if it really is going to work. I understand that it is difficult to test once you get the product as you can't just go out and find a camera van (but I bet you if I didn't get it there would be plenty!) Many thanks and sorry for the long message.
P.S. No-one need lecture me on the perils of speeding - I fully understand that speed can, in some cases be dangerous and fully intend to take an advanced driving course as soon as I can. Many thanks Read more
Thanks Smokie - I will check it out.
Browse
I believe that the sterring locks in wheels need a good kicking to break them, but they are definately no deterrant to any car criminal anymore.
The only kind of steering wheel lock that works is large and yellow and has "Disklok" written on it.
Blue