January 2004
The Focus is going for it's first service tomorrow. Following the advice on HJ's FAQ I asked them to change the gearbox oil. They said there isn't a drain plug, and that modern cars these days don't need that e.t.c
Am I being lead astray here, or are they right?
Anything else I should ask them to do/change that isn't standard?
Thanks Read more
Hi,
i'm new to this excellent forum and wondered if anyone could help me with a persistent driver's door rattle on my Jan 2000 318 se touring. my local dealer has looked at it a couple of times to no avail even changing rubber seals around glass but it seems to be coming from inside the body of the door - the glass is not loose or rattling itself...more likely acting as a sounding board!...any ides how to get the door panel off so that i can have a look myself?
one more request..can anyone recommend a good specialist servicing centre in west london area?
thanks for you help Andy Read more
thanks scotsman...i'll give it a go soonas i have some spare time in dry weather
rgds andy
I'm off to buy a baby's car seat soon as the arrival date is closing quickly! I was wondering what peoples preference in seat was. I know some of the standard advice (eg. new, make sure it fits in your car etc.) but am still trying decide what else to look/pay for. One of the things I'm thinking of is getting one of the two way seats suitable from newborn up to about 3 years, rather than getting just a rear facing seat and buying another larger one later on. They seem to be a bit bulky but I was planning on keeping it in the car all the time. Thoughts? Read more
I can't find the report that I discovered online 18 months
ago, but basically there are two types of ISOFIX systems. Those
with just two anchor points, and those with three. The safest
ones are those with a top teather providing the 3rd anchor
point. As far as I recall, the two anchor version can
result in injury to the child caused to the top of
the seat moving forward in an accident. My car, an 02
VW Passat, only has 2 anchor points, so I chose not
to choose ISOFIX.
There is an American article here www.car-safety.org/latch.html about ISOFIX (which they
call LATCH, who cares about international standards?)
I have an ISOFIX car seat and without doubt its more stable and safer than any other (seat belt) car seat I have ever used. The car seat is always rock solid and does not move about like seat belt anchored systems. Even with a two point anchoring system it much better than any seat belt anchoring system that I have seen or used.
I am having a replacement rear axle fitted to my car to solve uneven tyre wear and knocking noises.
The dealer says I am ok to reuse the old tyres which have 2mm more wear on the outside.
I am not sure if reusing the tyres would put a strain on the new axle, or if roadholding would be compromised by the uneven wear.
Should the tyres be replaced or not? (Forget the economic decision, merely the mechanical and safety aspects).
Many thanks
Ben Read more
It's done. Why worry about wasting a bit of money when loss of safety and long life of components is the alternative?
Alfa ads in the last few days have advertised a 5 year warranty and 5 year Roadside cover.
Can't remember hearing about this before so is it across the range or just the cars in the ads ? Read more
As ever, its the individual dealer.
My local BMW dealer is very good - prompt, keep their promises etc. Another dealer treated me like something the cat brought in because I was there on a Saturday in scruffs carrying my son. Result: sale went to local dealer.
Likewise, when buying SWMBO's car, one Merc dealer was informed and responsive and got a sale. Another was not the slightest bit interested and didn't get the sale. The first Merc dealer then changed hands, lost lots of staff (including the salesman I spoke to) and suddenly lost interest in me regardless of how smartly dressed I was. So, no E-class for me (although the car was also a diappointment).
I'm losing coolant slowly so had a garage do a pressure test and no leaks were detected. On the equipment that does the test is there a gauge that can be monitored to see if the pressure drops? Because if so, then if the needle drops there is obviously a leak somewhere. Read more
Pleased to have help. have the cam belt changed and a new tension idler at the same time. 142K I would also have the cam shaft oil seal changed and very close inspection of the crankshaft oil seal. while its all open. Regards Peter
Hi all,
jiust thought I would let you know about a problem I had with the tyre pressures on my Mondeo.
Every week the pressures would drop around 5-8 psi per wheel,thought I had better get it checked and took it to local tyre fitters.As soon as they clocked that it was a Mondeo they said, there all
like that if they have got alloys,"you need the metal valves replced with rubber."
The reason being that the original ones start to rust which leads the air to escape.
The car in question is a mk2 1999 year.
The cost to do the job £24.
Read more
Mine are exactly the same.
I particularly noticed the pressures of the front tyres dropping by about 4 PSI per week after having new tyres fitted. Should have gone back to the tyre place to have it sorted out, but never got around to it.
Did take one of the front wheels off and put it into a bath of water. The air was coming out from where the valve screws into a metal tube, which, in turn, screws into the allow wheel itself. I think it was also leaking here, too.
I have tried to find out more about this type of valve arrangement but the manual is silent on this subject. I wondered whether some sort of sealer needed to be applied when the assembly is screwed back together? That, it would seem, would solve the problem.
My previous car, which also had alloy wheels, used rubber valves, which were changed as a matter of course at every tyre change, and I never ever had any problems with them.
Changing the metal valves to rubber ones does seem to be a good idea, the only thing that does concern me, though, is the fact that should rubber valves be fitted to an alloy wheel which is designed to use metal ones? Will this arrangement have any safety considerations?
It's not very good that these metal valves leak like this. Does it happen on other makes of car with them, or is it just a case of Ford have got it wrong yet again!
Perhaps someone who is more familiar with these metal type valves than I am could please answer these questions. I'm sure that many others, including myself, would be very interested to know.
Many Thanks,
Galaxy
Hi
which is the best leather conditioner?.. Are there any that are non greasy and dont leave a 'fake' sheen on new leather?
thanks
alan Read more
"stuff at a saddlers"
Quite agree. Saddle soap is an excellent way of removing the crud from leather without detergent. It even smells right!
Problem Mondeo
Handbrake on drum braked rear axle slightly sticky i believe this might be the shoe springs being \"shot\" and not pulling the shoes of the drums any ideas / reports before i rip it apart. Read more
I agree with linac eng, leaking wheel cylinder, broken springs tend to make the brakes grab rather than stick on, although a sticking handbrake cable is feasable, as water can get in the bottom end of the cable and corrode it if the rubber boot is damaged on the cable end.
My near side rear tyre has gone from 3.5mm to zero in 7,000 miles. Any good suggestions anyone?
Car. MB E 320 CDI estate 2001 vintage 87,000 on the clock.
Tyres Pirelli P6000.
Tyres installed and full tracking - camber, toe-in, castor and all the rest of done properly at a well-known company in Micheldever Hants, no complaints there at all.
Mileage since last replacement 22,000. They normally last 30,000 I will try to get a full tracking check carried out, any ideas where I can get that done locally? (Esher, Walton, Cobham area of Surrey)
advance thanks!
Don drbe Read more
I guess it's not impossible that it was a dud tyre ? some flaw in the compound on manufacture? Have you asked Micheldever? Why not return to them with the question and get tracking etc. fully checked again?
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The IB5 gearbox is fitted to:
1.4, 1.6 & 1.8 Foci
The MTX 75 is fitted to 2.0 & all Diesel engined Foci