November 2003
Does anyone have any idea roughly how much my insurance might go up if I modify my car to make it go a bit faster? I was thinking of a few tweaks (like changing the air filter) to 'up' the BHP a bit but not by a stupid amount. It is currently a group 15 and I have a clean licence with no accidents ever (touch wood). Cheers.
JC33 Read more
Hi
have a feeling my head gasket has gone and pondering what to do next. The cars been with me 3 years and clocked 75k miles in its life, 98R 2.5 petrol. Car has always had a water loss problem sinse i purchased, not much, about a pint per month, so never bother to chase at dealer. FSH history with Vaxhaull for everything else though.
Now just as i'm about to try and shift car on, for an upgrade to something newer, i get this guilty feeling i shouldn't be selling a car with a water loss problem, so i start looking into causes. Had compression test done and all seems ok, all cycliders(x6) around 16. All hoses look ok, no visible leaks, so thinking its the water pump.
Borrowed the tools from a mate to deconstruct all the gubbins at front end, and new problem reveals itself before i get chance to start.
Now i've got oil in my water system. Not a little. Very noticable when cap removed, this thick film of emulsified oil. Also now seeing a mist of white in the oil filler pipe.
Is this definately now the head gasket to blame. If so what are the options.
Is it possible to pass this problem though with a p/x for an upgrade and go un-noticed. Never p/x before but was considering with the water loss issue, but now a bet wary with oil in water as noticable to anyone removing radiator cap.
That said, do p/ex deals involve this kind of inspection or not.
Thinking if i go to a Large Supermarket, where they simply pass these cars to an auction, they probably dont care... as are giving you rock bottom any way....
Donning flame-proof poncho awaiting responses...
Mak Read more
Not familiar with the Omega at all.
First compression test is not proof positive of sound head gasket (too crude a test).
Best way is to squeeze the water side, most garages have the kit for this IIRC it is a pump and adaptors to go on the expansion tank and the idea is to squeeze it to just over operating pressure, say 1.5 bar (ish). If it does not hold then there is a leak.
Now to finding the leak, made more complicated by the fact you have an oil cooler, a study of the layout and fittings will enable you to determine how to carry out the test with the oil cooler out of circuit (blanked) and then in circuit. Alternatively if you can remove the oil cooler it may be possible to put a squeeze on separately.
Good luck
NormanB
I would have thought
Hi all.
I was hoping to get some advice on a couple of problems I'm having with my Y reg 1.2 8v Punto which has done just over 21000 miles.
The 1st problem is as follows: Recently the clutch has been getting heavier and un smooth, espiecially around the biting point. This is making it a bit of an art to get a amooth change from 1st to 2nd gear etc. I took it to the dealer and they said that there is nothing that they can do under warranty unless the clutch actually fails is this true, It seems a little unfair if it is, as the clutch is obviously on it's last legs. and after 21000 miles clutch failure seems a little premature as most of my other cars clutches have lasted at least twice as long. IS this a common fault with Puntos? Is there anything I can do to get the dealer to address the problem? Or do i have to wait for it to fail (no doubt just outside of warranty) and cough up for the cost of repair myself?
The car has been going through about 1 litre of oil every 1000 miles, I know this is within quoted limits, but is this realy acceptable for a 3 year old car?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers
Ross Read more
I have 1.2 8v jan 2002. My clutch pedal was "clicking/creaking" and had been greased several times by various dealers to aleviate the problem (which never worked). More recently the gearbox became noisy (whirring in lower gears). I took this to Dixon Fiat in Horsforth, Leeds (the only Fiat dealer I've dealt with that I'd actually recommend). Result - they changed the gearbox for a new one without further diagnosis - apparantly FIAT have told them not to bother stripping suspect gearboxes, just to replace them - it must be cheaper in the long run. They also replaced the clutch at the same time ("just in case") even though they were unsure if there was a problem or not. All under warranty. The car has done just over 30,000 miles. I would def. try another dealer and keep trying 'til you get a result.
As far as the oil goes I would say it's def. suspect.
Let me know how you get on.
Mick
Has anyone seen the breakdown rates quoted from the ad on the right? (below top story)
At those prices, think I may give them a spin when my GreenFlag cover expires. The total package including Eurocover costs less than a 10 day add-on for continental cover with my current policy. Read more
I have an 11 year old MX5 and two motorbikes on RAC recover cover for 74 or 78 quid all in.
Honest John mentioned certain brands - Shell and Texaco - being best for diesel engines. Are these the only two - what about the BPs and Q8s etc? And can anyone tell me how much better the two mentioned will be for my brand new 1.8TDci engine?
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I'm fortunate that within 1 mile of my front door I have Tesco, Somerfield, BP, Texaco and Shell all trying to prise my fuel £££ from my wallet. As a result, they are all cheap, so Shell it is. Should the prices change, then I would have to think again.
A few weeks ago I drove my car (a 1996 Seat Toledo 2.0 16v) through some salt water. I know it sounds bizarre, but I was going to Brancaster Golf club in Norfolk, and it gets cut off by the tide unless you time tour arrival properly. The other blokes I was with were mostly in big 4x4s. Someone with \"local knowledge\" said it was fine to drive through the flooded roadway, althought there must have been at least 6 inches of water, and at least 100 yards of it to drive through. I got through it no problem.
Shortly afterwards, my ABS warning light came on. There was no change in braking performance, and the light then went off a day or two later. I know I shouldn\'t have ignored it, but I kind of thought that it was a little bit of water in the sytem somewhere and it had fixed itself.
Well, the light has come back on, and now there is an intermittent fault with the brakes, in that the ABS has kicked in a couple of times when it shouldn\'t have (ie under gentle braking).
Can anyone offer a view as to what is wrong, and what I am likely to be in for when it goes to the garage? Read more
Check the reluctor rings on the CV joints - check for any cracks or irregular teeth.
This was a common problem with the Rover 400 series; would cause the exact same symptom you have here.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
I have enormous problems trying to clean my windscreen of a waxy substance. I don't know if it is the rain repellant liquid or something else. The thing is I have tried virtually everything and it does not make any difference. It is so bad that driving in rain at night on a motorway nearly caused an accident.
I have tried all these on a regular basis:
MER, VINEGAR, WHITE SPIRIT, GLASS CUTTERS OF VARIOUS MAKES, AUTOGLM PRODUCTS ETC. I have also cleaned the wiper blade. Incredibly all of the above have made no difference. I read on this site someone using toothpaste but I could imagine it would scratch the screen.
Any ideas???
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Won't Cif be mildly abrasive? Doesn't that type of cleaner work by being slightly gritty?
I've found Ajax glass cleaner (not sold specifically for car windows) to be fine. Although I use a shampoo that contains wax, I haven't found it leaves a lot of residue on the windows.
I have a 1997 VW Passat 110 TDI, and it has recently developed a slight fault with the screen wiper controls. When pulling the wiper stalk to operate the washer jet, it should automatically wipe whilst the jet is on, and (on releasing the stalk) continue to wipe 3 more times to clear the screen.
Last week it only automatically wiped whilst the jet was on - it stopped the wipers in park position immediately on releasing the stalk.
This week it does not wipe at all whilst the jet is on. The wipers still work in all other respects - i.e. off, intermittent, on slow and on fast.
This is inconvenient, but I could live with it if necessary, but: 1) is it simple to fix? and 2) will it pass MOT like this?
Thanks. Read more
Thanks to all who replied - I'll find the relay box tonight & have a fiddle with it.
Ok, again I admit I am seeing Britain through the BBC?s eyes (I have been to the UK in real life once). But this show has me mesmerized! I know it?s obviously fiction, but if even the smallest aspects are realistic it?s very different than the USA. It?s funny too because I was in the UK to attend a business meeting in Slough!! :) Because of that this show has really caught my eye! There was a Scottish girl in that Slough office I visited that was quite flirtatious with me also lol! Wow I love ?The Office?!!
Am I allowed to post things like this that are not car related?
Sorry if not but......
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I'm sure you once mentioned seeing a car in Swindon, so we'll let this pass on this occassion, but I'm making the thread Read Only to stop everyone jumping on the paper delivery lorry, er, I mean bandwagon.
ND.
I took a VW piston which had failed to the Engineer/owner of a engine services company in the Bath area to have it measured, because the piston measured .8mm less than the measurement stamped on the top. If this was correct, it would be like putting a standard piston into a cylinder that had been rebored twice. whereupon I was told "We dont measure across there, we measure across there, pointing to the other side of the piston, the side that was damaged. It was at this point I asked him if the piston was not round, whereupon he said in a much louder voice " We dont measure it there, we..... Read more
Thank you for your thoughts so far.
Further to my report about the failure of the VW piston. If the piston is oval with both axes in spec., large axis 79.5mm small axis 78.7: large axis in line with thrust, small axis at 90deg. to it: there must be another reason for its failure, the other three pistons being undamaged.
How about lack of lubrication? Ther was no bore washing by the injector for all four were tested and found to be OK.
Looking inside the piston, four oil ports can be seen in the piston wall leading to the bottom ring, and these are clear. The bottom ring is partly seized in its groove. The two top rings have no oil ports at all and so must pickup lubrication from the cyliner wall. Can this be correct?
The two top rings are seized in their grooves, the lower one off centre. Original machining is visible on much of the undamaged area of smaller diameter.
There is evidence of overheating in the damaged areas of the piston but two observers noted that no coolant was missing either before or after standing overnight in the workshop.
Your observations would be appreciated
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I researched along these lines and found several BR threads recommending Liverpool and Victoria Insurance who quoted me zero increase on a 20 bhp increase on my 90bhp Picasso turbo diesel using a tuning box. Not the most difficult decison to make!