November 2003
before you all say you should have checked and yes i know i should have, why is it when we see a car we want we go all out to get it?
I bought a 1997 R plate BMW 328i coupe auto with 54k on the clock. I cant get into the "BMW driving experience" so im going to change it. Ive gone to a garage and after a bit of digging around, or the fact is ive been informed that 2 years ago at a BMW garage has had the vehicle in for what ever, it had 82k on the clock. 9 months later it has gone in to a BMW garage and it is recorded as 44K on the clock. This i have had verified. I do not have the service history, it is in the post (the forecourt i bought it from have not repeat not clocked it). is the history genuine?, the garage i bought it from believe so.
Apparently these cars are very hard to clock the garage that worked on it are going to check the original paper work to see what was done to it (im hoping that it was a odometer prob but hold little hope).
I suppose the moral is always be very careful im gonna be 8 grand out of pocket all told (ive modified the car lights, exhaust etc)
Why is it the honest people who get ......
as matter of fact ive been offered 4000 for it i guess i have to take that Read more
I just thought I would post a short? story about Internet forums.
A few years ago I bought a MK2 celica supra, unforunatley driving home one evening the engine went completly dead. I called the AA who arrived with 30 mins, the AA guy asked me to turn the engine over and immediatley said that the cambelt had gone (as I had feared). He also said that I would have definately bent valves and be looking at an expensive repair.
I had the car towed home and it sat in the garage for a month or two while I thought about if I should scrap the car (spares are very hard to find) or repair it. I local garage had replaced the clutch on our other car and when I picked it up I spoke with the mechanic to see what he thought. He picked up this huge reference book and looked it up. The book said "valve damage very likely" at this point I thought I might as be calling the local scrap yard.
I had grown to really like the car and was reluctant to scrap it. I seemed to recall that someone had told me once that a lot of toyota engines were non interference. After a quick search on the web I found a forum for MK2 supra owners (mainly US owners) and posted a question. I had an excellent response and the answer was that the engines are definately non interference and all I had to do was fit a new cambelt. They also gave some great tips on how to do this.
If it wasn't for that forum I would have scrapped the car!
BTW - the cambelt failed due to a seized tensioner pully.
I have another interesting? tale about extremely stubborn crankshaft bolts if anyone is interested, bit of a "top tip" and better off on the technical board I suppose.
I hope I didn't bore you all!
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Have been developing Web Applications since 93, before the www hit the mainstream, and in the past 10 years I have tired of web sites. However, there are just 3 sites that I visit on a daily basis. HonestJohns, The Register and the BBC News.
I've got a jagged three-inch long scratch down a door - it's not too deep but needs sorting. The colour - for what it's worth - is dark blue metallic. Any advice on how to restore it appreciated... I'd obviously prefer to DIY. Thanks. Read more
Hope someone can help me out here. I recently replaced the complete cylinder head and head gasket on this engine 3 weeks ago. The head is totally reconditioned skimmed new valves etc. New head bolts were fitted and torqued to the specified limits. The problem is over the last fortnight a little oil seems to be coming out the left hand side of the head gasket. This is were the main oil feed and return holes are in the block. As this is the timing belt side you cannot possibly see the head and block joint because of the protective metal cover. The oil is not coming from cam seals or anywhere else it seems to me. I was wondering if maybe could i torque the head down a little more to try and seal this up. The engine is running like new. And as some may know the XUD 9 engine is almost always permantly covered in oil in all peugeots!. Any help and advice is appreciated.
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The XUD9 on my Pug 405 had an oil and gas leak from the injector side of the head for at least 50K, did not loose coolant or overheat, kept passing emissions tests, started OK, etc, etc.
It "bubbled" small amounts of gas and oil, rather like lard in a frying pan.
When I scrapped it at 251K it was due to a dead diff, worn door hinges, worn rear suspension bearings, dead sunroof, and the appeal of a one-owner FSH XM 2.5 estate. No doubt it would have run on with the same leak for many more miles.
HTH
rg
8< Snip 8<
How many more times does this need to be published?
READ THE FOLLOWING THREADS
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And HJ has also previously said the following
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That is why this post has also been blitzed.
DD. Read more
There is also a previous comment posted by Mark on the subject of Advertising and Pop Ups as well:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=15595
--
Dynamic Dave
Back Room Moderator
mailto:dave_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk
I have a J reg Citroen ZX which ocasionally cuts out on me while driving and will not restart. I have found success in restarting it if I unplug and reconnect the ignition amplifier unit on the side of the distributor. It then restarts straight away. I have replaced the amplifier and the coil and it still does this. As it only does this sometimes then I cannot take it to a garage, as they can't fix/pretend they have fixed it and I won't know till it does it again. It hasn't really done it all summer, but has started to do it again as the weather has turned a little colder.
The problem is driving me made as I can't find out whats wrong with it. Why does unclipping and reconnecting the amplifier solve the problem?
Can someone please help as I find it a bit worrying that the engine can just cut out on me whilst driving, but I can't see any way round it without it costing me a fortune at garage, to maybe not even have the problem resolved.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Read more
Thanks guys,
However I do have a few questions.
1. Would condensation in the electrics cut the car off after already driving for quite some time (over half an hour at least, would the water not have dispersed once the engine gets heated up)?
2. Can I use a stroboscope rather than sparking to check the electrics (or do I have to see that a spark is produced)?
3. Does anyone know why unplugging and reconnecting the ignition amplifier makes it start again (does this reset some kind of cut off)?
Hopefully (perhaps not) it will cut out again soon and I can test the electrics and I can let you know what happened.
Thanks
Liam
Hello all. I have a 1999 Xantia 1.9 TD which I'm having trouble starting. At the beginning of the year it was very rough on cold startups so I had the glowplugs changed. After this, all seemed well. Then recently, I've been having problems all over again. I returned it to the garage I bought it from (Peugeot main dealer) and they diagnosed a broken connection to one of the glowplugs, which they repaired free of charge for me. Again, all was well, but this morning I came to firing it up... and it wouldn't!
The symptoms are similar to those experienced when you've run out of fuel. I start to turn the car over and it turns and turns and turns for about 20 - 30 seconds before it considers firing. This is then accompanied by some smoke (hard to tell colour). Sounds like glowplugs again I know, but when checked last week, the garage said they were functioning ok. I also thought there may be air in the system somewhere, but why did it seem to be ok once the garage had seen to the offending wire, especially when I'd been having difficulty each time I started from cold? I must also point out that I doubt they're lying to me because my mum works there!
There are absolutely no problems with the motor once it's running, so I find it hard to imagine the injectors are at fault, but who knows?! Does anyone have any suggestions? Pre-heating relay perhaps?
Thanks in advance if you can help.
Alex. Read more
FWIW we are in "dead battery season" as temperatures drop. Might be worth checking the battery if it's "mature". These machines take a lot of cranking over, especially on cold mornings.
I am keeping a close eye on my XM with its original battery which is starting "uncleanly" at the moment.
Ditto above comment on plugs. Cheap ones are expensive in the long run. My Halfords ones lasted a few months...
Digital multimeters are around a tenner from Maplin and well worth the investment.
HTH
rg
'97 XM 2.5
Can any BR tell me if the wiring for the rear speakers is in situ, on a Toyota Carina E basic XL model,or do I need to run new speaker wires to the rear. This model does not have rear speakers fitted as standard. I was told by someone that they normally run the wires,but then tuck them behind the rear trim,and only use them on the higher spec models where the rear speakers are standard. I cannot seem to locate them. Any ideas. Read more
If.which I think is usual the speaker wires are hidden in the wiring loom.not knowing the toyota cannot specify but whatever side the loom is run on the speaker wire`s should be in the loom you will need to know the code for the cables though in order to find them
If I go to court and pay a fine, who does the money go to? Read more
It would depend on the offence you were arrested for.
Having been sat in the inside lane of the motorway, watching the outside lane of traffic move slower than my lane all because the car at the front of that lane was doing 40mph, isnt it about time we introduced the legal ability to overtake on both sides?
I experienced this in Australia and it works fantastically. Traffic keeps moving, a lot less anger, and more fluid driving. Read more
and one is a buslane for
2 hours in the morning as displayed on large blue signs,
but 90% of people just see BUS LANE painted on the
floor and assume it means all the time and pip and
stick fingers up at me for passing them on the left
as they stagger over the humps.
Please do not tell the world about this. These bus lanes are one of the small enjoyments of motoring in the urban environment.
Using them always makes me smile and yes I get the same sort of responses as you.
You have an even better run at the end of the evening rush hour when the lighting is poor and the sign says 7AM to 7 PM.
And while I am smiling please do not ecourage people to read OS maps so I can navigate through the countryside around traffic jams.
Browse
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Had a very similar prob with a car that i sold,faked service record etc,customer showed me the evidence,we both acted very reasonably and a managed to get a 'proper'car to replace the wrong one.Sold the clocked car for £3000 less.
The dealer should be very concerned if TS get involved.
I would say full money back,or a 'proper' car of at least the same value.