December 2003
I have a'98 Primera SE that has now doen 75000 miles,on semi-synthetic.Should i change it to run on Fully synthetic and if so how should i go about it ?? Read more
My wife drives a 1997 1.3lxi Felicia and it has served her well since new.Recently it has been losing power,as if it is not firing on all cylinders.It has been suggested to me that it may be worn HT leads.If this is the case could i, as a complete idiot be able to change them or is it a trip to the garage?? thanks
Ona seperate subject i recently had to have the battery replaced and have not got the code anymore to sort out the radio.Any advice ?? Read more
You will find it is very easy to repace the plug leads on your Skoda Felicia and they are very likely to be causing the misfire.If you are new to this I'd replace them one at a time so you don't lose the firing order.They are very similar in design to a 4-cyl VW set,if you have trouble getting OE parts.While you're at it it would be a good move to renew the distributor cap and rotor arm,again very easy to do.
David Davies (Tune-Up Raglan)
Or which radio station is best for traffic news?
We (I and guess who) are going up to the outlaws for Christmas, up on Christmas Day morning and back on the 27th. Which radio station would BRers recommend for Northamptonshire? We are going to Harlestone, a few miles north west of Northampton.
At home - just inside the M25 J9/10 I use 1152AM which has bulletins every 10 minutes "on the ones". Not brilliant, but not too bad. Failing that LBC 97.3 FM, every 15 minutes, or there abouts.
Which station would you choose for Northampton area?
I don't know why, but I can't spell this morning. How many h's in Northampton? How many c's in recommend? Have a very good Christmas
Regards Don drbe Read more
Hacko - I find 5 live to be reliably unreliable on traffic. In my transpennine commute days it was unremittingly awful and on a couple of occasions I called in to report that a major delay they were reporting had gone, only to hear it a sometimes more than an hour still being reported.
1200 on O2 is OK but not foolproof
When I get round to it, I propose fitting Osram Silverstar +50% headlight bulbs to my Focus. However, I've heard reports that the increased brightness provokes a lot of headlight-flashing from oncoming cars. If I were to lower my lights to avoid this, wouldn't this defeat the object of the excercise?
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature. Read more
" know they are the same wattage as the original bulbs, but do they generate any more (or less!) heat?"
Same wattage= same heat.
More light because better reflector design, higher manufacturing tolerances mean filament is aligned better..and no doubt better design..
madf
How much are people paying for 5ltr of mobil 1 these days? (in a bottle rather than "fitted" i.e kwik fit etc)
Read more
Roger,
I'm not going to publish his identity in a public forum as I'm unsure as to what attitude Mobil would take to him undercutting the r.r.p by so much (don't forget Exxon-Mobil have retail as well as petroleum and lubricant interests). I got his details originally from the Mobil website, but last time I looked they'd removed details of their wholesale distributors! I've purchased from him on four occasions (3 x 4 litre tubs at a time), but not for a while now. Price was the same each time, £19 including VAT & delivery. He's in the South West - If that's convenient for you then I'll let you have his details via email. Obviously he won't be interested in mail order. I think he was happy to supply me because he had retail customers near where I live so it didn't take him out of his way.
RM
Well it's certainly been a very mixed year for all of us here at Volvo Towers but Christmas is nigh once again and I'd just like to say best wishes to HJ, the mods. and of course to all of you - the people who make this site what it is. We might not agree with eachother all the time but I'm sure we all wish everyone else here well. Take care everyone. Hope to 'see' you all in 2004.
volvoman, skodette & the boyz from Brazil Read more
Heres wishing a very Happy Christmas to all Back Roomers, and everyone who works to support the site.
I hope that all of you who work on cars for a living ensure that you get a few days off, and hopefully there will not be too many technical problems requiring urgent answers posted over the festive period. Normal service will be resumed - some time !
Ho Ho Ho ! Adam.
Sorry about this I feel a rant coming on.
rant mode = on
We've discussed the issues relating to fog light misuse, blue neons, HID, Xenons, badly adjusted lights, bla bla bla.
I'd like to add another to the list.
I cannot recall that in previous years seeing quite so many utter morons driving about in the half light of the early mornings without anything illuminated at all as in the last few weeks. Sometimes it's not even half light.
Clearly as soon as anyone gives them even a half hearted flash the lights get switched on, so maybe it's just a case of their lights are out in sympathy with their brain cell(s).
Can somebody please explain why?
I trust you all appreciate the extreme self restraint to avoid including any references to "pink fluffy dice" in this post.
\rant mode = off
Eye thenk yew!
Read more
Hello I'm back.
Yep, was driven back from Aberdeen Uni today, and cars had snow on them and hills had snow on them, but we [as I usually find] missed it. Grrr
By the by, what is the best combination of heater controls to keep the screens clear? Aircon on/off, non/recirculate, hot/cold, etc?
Merry Christmas to all by the way
Kev
Have noticed that more and more roundabouts in my area seem to be getting "protected" by these high set concrete kerbs that are possibly, say 2 feet or so high.
My question is - are these built to protect the pavement at all cost - I know from personal experience what damage these can do to a car at a slow speed, at a fast speed I reckon they would rip the whole axle off!!
My dad, whilst driving in France, misjudged the slip road off a roundabout, was only in second gear in his Peugeot 306, and his inside wheel clipped the kerb. If this had been a crash barrier
a. He would have seen it better and
b. His car would have suffered some scrapes down the wing.
Instead the wheel hit the kerb and was pushed back into the engine bay damaging various parts of bodywork and engine, and triggering all the airbags!
What are the accident statistics etc for these kerbs, do they absorb energy just like crash barriers? Does the car bodywork remain untouched - but apart from its chassis? Read more
There is a roundabout I use each day on the way to work that has pretty high concrete kerbs, complete with plenty of scrape marks. What I find most worrying is that you encounter a large number of drivers who consider roundabouts to be a straight line here, yet when you are on the inside you tend to like to keep a goodly gap from the 'barrier' to make sure you don't hit it... I've started intentionally hanging back from other cars just to make sure I don't get pushed over on to it these days - at least with a normal kerb you have more of an exit route when you encounter an idiot.
I have a 48,000 VW Bora 2.0se,fsh,esr,cdmulti,climate,alloys etc and I am at the moment looking at vw dealers and brokers.
A vw dealer today was approx £700 more than the exact same vehicle on drive the deal.
I don't know if I am correct or not but I assume the vw dealer tried to get the price down as low as he could but reduced the part ex on my bora to compensate.
Does anyone have any advice that might be usefull to me, the part ex was for 2 months ahead as I want an O4 plate.
On parkers I should be getting £5,545 not including the above extra's.
Don't know what the best thing to do, like the idea of going to a dealer, just don't like him ripping me off with my part ex. Read more
B,
It all comes down to the actual trade-in figure offered. If you are confident of exceeding that in a private sale then go for a broker at maximum discount.
Do bear in mind that your old car will be "a year older" at the time the new car arrives and booked at less than current figures.
Also that often private cars will stick this time of year unless you pitch them at the trade-in figure, not the private sale figures which are ofetn unrealistic.
Last of all at some point it is worth going to the dealers just to save trouble. My personal opinion is that once the dealers get within £500 (price to change) of the cheapest broker offer it would be well worth thinking of going to them.
Often when I help folks buy cars we end up getting something private where the guy took a chance on not trading in to get a better deal and then finds selling at the Parkers private guide price is not so easy.
One a while back was where the owner didn't trade in to save £500 on his new car, and because he was"insulted" by the trade-in offer of £1200. So he put his old car up at £1600 advised by Parkers for a private sale. It stuck and stuck with him reducing the price each week but never finding a buyer. The advertising costs mounted up and after a month the tax ran out so no-one could legally test drive it. Then he had it over Christmas/New year so it lost value in the guides by the year turning.
It was sitting on the grass outside his nice house and annoying the neighbours. Eventually we bought it for £700!
It isn't always that bad but that has to be a risk in the back of your mind.
M.M
Wierd thing happened. The headlights on my '99 Mk4 golf (main beam) stopped working. £50 later I was told both bulbs had blown. I thought this was very odd - why did they both fail at the same time? But was told there must have been a power surge.
Spoke to someone else with a similar age Golf and was told exactly the same thing had happened. Is there anyone else with a similar experience - I think this is very odd. Is there a design fault with this, which could be potentially dangerous if both lights automatically fail when driving?
Thanks
Read more
Depends if they are of the Xenon variety.....HID bulbs, that is.
--
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/problems.msnw?Page=1 - Pictures say a thousand words.....
Browse
The Primera engine (SR20De) is exceptionally clean running and if serviced regularly will not burn oil or gum up. I have seen one taken apart after over 100k miles and it was like new inside. Not a trace of gum or soot.
So long as you use a good quality oil and change regularly you shouldn't have a problem.