December 2003
Now that diesel cars are becoming increasingly popular over there, it is important that their drivers are educated about the dangers to motorcyclists of spillage of diesel from over- and careless filling. At the very least manufacturers should spell this out in handbooks, or maybe on inside of the gas cap door.
Spilt gasoline evaporates, spilt diesel doesn't. It's oil, and rubber and oil combined don't have much of a friction coefficient. Fuel spills on corners, roundabouts, even gas station forecourts can (literally) be lethal to a two-wheeler. Add rain, the patch becomes invisible and even more dangerous. Any regular rider will know what I mean.
I mention this because it came up last week in our Motorcycle Action Group where we work with the police, the traffic management czars, heads of auto clubs etc to promote better understanding and road safety, and seems relevant here also.
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My 306 seems to have a bit of a low rear suspension when compared to other 306's. Anyone know what this is due to? Do the torsion bars wear? Read more
Its possible the suspension could have been lowered by a previous owner, if its had one? Does the rear of the car sit level, or does one side sit lower than the other? Because of the design of the rear axle in the 306 (and related cars such as the Cit ZX and pug 205) the bearings in the crosstube can wear sometimes seizing in the axle. This causes creaking and sometimes problems you are experiencing.
The torsion bars themselves wont sag unless the car has had a very hard life. Also worth checking are the 4 rubber mounts the rear axle is mounted on and the shock absorbers.
Ross
There are a few of the above round here being used as taxis. Had a bit of road rage with one today (he cut me up at a roundabout).
He accelerated away from me up the sliproad to the motorway and I just couldn't catch him!!! I was driving my company 2.0 Mondeo Ghia and I just couldn't get near him!!
Assume that since it was a taxi it would be a diesel, but what power and torque it had - I wish my dci Scenic could pull like that!! Read more
Yup. I had a set-to with a couple of lads tailgating me in a Mondeo just like yours in my Pug Partner HDI. I left them for dead on an uphill sliproad and they didn't catch me until I'd settled at seventy-ish on the motorway--they were laughing about it. I think the new diesel in the Doblo is even more powerful.
does anyone know why MEG antifreeze replaced Methanol as the standard product? Read more
I only once used Methanol antifreeze - Holts, on a 1970s Hillman Hunter with iron block and alloy head. The head gasket blew within minutes of changing the coolant. Maybe it was just a minor leak waiting for a flush to blow it wide open, but I never used cheap antifreeze again.
On Renaults I always used their own pre-mixed stuff (Ethylene Glycol with distilled water) On the Xantia Bluecol. C5 hasn't had a change yet, but will probably go for the proper Cit 'Antigel' Just read some of the sob stories about heater matrixes etc - not worth the hassle.
Graeme
Dear all,
A friend of mine is considering purchasing a 2001 Y Nissan Micra 1.0S from a local garage. The trouble is that the car has been for sale at a good local independent garage for 18 months now. The car is in excellent condition, and at a good price. It's done 11K, so probably had a busy first year as a rental fleet car, then bought at auction and has sat around since.
While I realise there are possible problems with a car that's been sitting around, realistically is this going to be an issue on a relatively new car (bearing in mind that slow-selling models of cars often sit around on airfields for months before being distributed to a dealers)?
Furthermore, I have known several people buy cars second hand that have been sitting around for some time, and they seem to have no problems. The advice I have given my mate is that I don't really think it's going to be a problem. The Micra is a tought car and provided it's not just used as a weekly shopping trolley (which it won't be - mate covers 150 + miles per week), then it shouldn't be a problem.
However, I'd appreciate your valued thoughts before he decides to part with any cash, in case I'm trusting my instinct too much!
Many thanks,
Rob.
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I would also give the exhaust a good looking over, as trapped moisture due to short start/stops can cause corrosion problems.
I'd agree with MM, why hasn't a popular small car sold so quickly?
Went and taxed the Dturbo for a further 6 months today, another £97 out of the rapidly thinning student account!
Usually when I tax the car, I just simply hand over all the documents and the money. No different this time, but the cashier at the post offcie I was in returned the DVLA reminder to me along with the new tax. This is something that I have never had back before, the PO usually keeps this I thought. Have things changed, or was this an error on part of the cashier? Am I likely to suffer any repercusions due to this? I would have challenged him about it, but there was such a huge angry queue behind me that I thought it were best left alone!
Ross Read more
I did wonder about the mileage issue, at no time did the cashier type it in and I had filled the information in on the form!
Well thats my problem solved then, thanks to all who answered!
Ross
Quite disappointed that I have to ask this, but there is a reasonable chance that I'm about to be made redundant and unfortunately I still have a fair wallop of outstanding credit on the Fiesta.
I'm not sure what I will do about it, but the worst case scenario, which hopefully I won't have to do, is that I would have to try and sell it.
Supposing I choose to sell it, how would I go about it? I would be replacing it with a car costing £2K or less so a trade in at a dealer is unlikely as there aren't many dealers round here that deal in old and new metal from the same forecourt.
So that leaves a private sale, what are the pitfalls of trying to sell my car with finance outstanding? Would the buyer have to settle the finance with Ford and pay the difference to me? Obviously the credit would show on an HPi check.
Any general advice about how I would go about this would be appreciated.
In case anyone doesn't know the car is an 03 plate 1.4 Fiesta Zetec A/C.
Any general advice appreciated!
Blue Read more
Thanks for the replies people, most appreciated!
I work in the call centre industry so there is still fortunately plenty of other positions to fill, so I should be ok, fingers crossed, touch wood etc. etc! :-)
Blue
Ladies and Gents,
A colleague is looking at changing his 2000(V) Astra 1.8 Sport with 30K for a 2001(52) 325Ci, with 24K, leather, heated seats, etc etc etc.
The Beemer is priced at £17,995 at an independent, and he is expecting to get around £4000 part ex for the Astra.
I think I know what the answer will be, but does anyone think that aiming for a cost to change of £12,995 is reasonable? I've had a gander at Parkers and the asking price of the Beemer does seem reasonable, so there may not be that much room for negotiation.
Cheers all. Read more
Cheers. I'll pass that on.
Nice to see you're back, if only for a short while. Down to business then - a couple of weeks ago I posted this thread:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=17796&...f
Some good responses (which were appreciated), but nothing definitive so far regarding the likelihood of increased wear & tear on the clutch (or anything else) if I chip my car from 110 to 130. Are the same clutch components used in the 130 or 150 bhp engines as in the 110 TDi? Do you think any components are particularly "at risk" if I go ahead with this, eg clutch, turbo, injectors, anything else?
Thanks in advance.
andymc Read more
Wow, really quick reply, thanks. Must admit that I'm trying to train myself out of the bad habit of riding the clutch at junctions, so I should probably be more worried about that! Quite right about the insurance, if the premium goes up by more than £50 I won't be doing it at all.
Anyway - I don't mind being bored, I want to know as much as possible about it all and I'm probably not alone in that. Good to know about the over-engineering, sets my mind at ease - I have a Passat 110 carrying 104k miles that I was thinking of chipping as well.
By the way, your input was missed in another thread on the same subject ...
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=15919&...f
andymc
Hi
The clutch is gone on my 93L Rover 414 SLi. I've searched for a new clutch on 247spares.co.uk and got a quote for about 50 quid incl VAT and delivery.
Would a local garage be able to get it cheaper?
How much should I expect to pay for the work?
Thanks in advance,
mustard. Read more
Browse
>It is pumped from the tank to the engine and not by a vacuum.
Whilst this is true for most modern diesels (eg HDi) it is not so for the majority of older diesels that are running about. These have only the lift pump in the injection pump at the engine, and as a consequence most of the fuel system is at less than atmospheric pressure. This is why air problems in diesel fuel systems cause bad / no starting.
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....