January 2004
Having seen various posts on trouble cleaning glass and where to buy the recommended products, I thought I'd let backroomers know that Machine Mart sell a kit for just under £22. In the kit is the powder (jewellers rouge?), 2 lint free bobbins & taper/arbor for your electric drill and some lint free finishing cloths. I've used the polish on my windscreen and kitchen windows applied by hand and the results are great. I've finally managed to get rid of the dreaded Rain X. Best of all it took less effort to get rid of it than it took to apply it!
Happy New Year!
Steve. Read more
got this weird water leak , its a zetec engine, had new water pump, but still leaking water from somewhere, its not head gasket and I\'ve tried everything to help but cant find the leak.....help Read more
cars not misfiring,the car is well sound,inside and out,no rust either on pipes,its got big bore exhaust and alloys,thats the only non ford bits....if that info helps???
I am hoping to buy a MKIII VW Golf GTI, hopefully M-reg onwards and 16V. Has anyone got any advice on what to look out for, and comments on effects of high-mileage (i.e. 100K+ on R-reg etc)? Any help would be appreciated, I've got 3-4K to spend, depending on selling/trading-in my P-reg Hyundai accent Read more
1: Check thermostat is working correctly (I have had 2 on my VR6)
2: Check coil pack has no cracks in it (£200 from VW)
3: If you are buying a three door, check that the hinges are ok as the door is very heavy.
4: Dont buy a 8 valve GTi unless you like driving slowly everywhere.
5: Check the rest as per usual.
The Recent snowy weather ( in North Yorkshire) I had to stop all of a sudden for a rabbit, ( this is true, and i will get to the point), this caused the car to slide, but i could control where it was going. I noticed that the brakes made a funny noise (sort of rumbling sound) and the brake pedal was sort of vibrating and pulsing, the car has just past a MOT, and it has ABS to which the ABS light goes out on start-up as it should, the car stops fine under normal breaking conditions- is this normal??? I thought it might be the ABS trying (but cant) stop the car sliding on snow.
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1983 (A) Vauxhall Astra 1.3L
1993 (K) Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0i GLS
1999 (T) Renault Laguna 1.6 Alize Read more
Hi Everyone
Thanks for the replys, this is the first car i have driven that has ABS brakes, and its reasuring to know that this is how they function
i dint relise how usefull they can be, a point that was hammered home to me in my cavalier, when someone decided to stop all of a sudden after a mssive downpour on really smooth tarmack, the cavalier DIDNT have abs,, wheels locked up and the heavy wieght cavalier was sliding about all over the place,
Going down a contry lane one night in the Laguna, there was a bend that i coudnbt see, braked all of sudden (white knucles on the sterring wheel) ABS applied and brought the car to a stop without me slidding into a ditch.
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1983 (A) Vauxhall Astra 1.3L
1993 (K) Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0i GLS
1999 (T) Renault Laguna 1.6
I've had the misfortune to scratch a front wing on my 4 year old metallic silver BMW323i. The damage is not serious, i.e no bare or deformed metal. To repaint the wing I've been quoted almost £300 by a BMW dealer and £140 at a Nationwide Crash Repair Centre. Does anyone know why the big difference. Cost is not the main issue for me. My main concern is to get a repair that looks as good as new and which doesn't get marked down as "accident damage" when I come to sell the car in a few years time. Any advice or experience from others would be appreciated. Read more
I'm in the east Glasgow area. Thanks to all those who have contributed. I have a protected no claim bonus so I'll probably get BMW to do the job and pay the £100 excess.
My 97 Vectra diesel has just developed a non starting policy when cold.
I came to start it at work yesterday at about 4.30pm,(outside temp about 5 degC) and it turned over but wouldn't fire.Normally it starts on the first turn of the key.I tried it a few times,but still the same problem.So I called out my breakdown service,(see end of thread) and waited for them to come.After 40 minutes,I tried it again,and it fired up,albeit it reluctantly.So I cancelled my breakdown call out,and went home.
Came to start it this morning at 4.45am,(outside temp 1.5degC) and it fired up straight away.Went to work,and when it was time to go home at 1.15pm,the same problem as yesterday materialised.
This time I called the breakdown co out,and waited for them to come.When he arrived,a couple of turns,and away it went.Now,he said that the glow plug light hadn't come on,and then said it should do,however,according to the Vauxhall handbook,the glow plugs on these engines only come on if the outside temp is very low,which I told him.But he was adamant.He also said that it was having trouble starting because of cold diesel!!!!!
So what could be the problem,and has anyone else had this trouble?
As for the breakdown company.......Their yard is only 800 yards from my works yard,but it still took them 45 minutes to attend!!!!!! Read more
Like the original poster of this thread the car starts right on the button if it is cold enough for the glow plugs to light up.
would it not be possible to set the operating temperature of the glow-plugs a little bit higher,?.
billy.
Heard today that HMG will make it compulsory for all new bicycles
to be fitted with bells.....how we have well and truly lost it. Read more
Mind you, I fail to see who is going to police
all this as traffic police seem to have become an endangered
species on the roads today, not that that seems to have
any acknowledged link to the increase in road deaths last year,
traffic wardens, apparantly.
Has anybody used or bought one.I believe they come in 50mm wide self adhesive strips that you cut to length and can be used for bumpers or side body panels.Are they effective and easy to apply and if so where can you purchase them. Read more
Sorry-I failed to mention that they are made by a company called E-tech,although I suppose other companies may make them.
Does anyone know how to replace the bulbs in the ventilation control panel and fan control on my 1998 Saxo VTR. I have taken out the radio but still cannot get to the bulbs.
Thanks in anticipation.
Bob McC.
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nope dont know but on the same subject,
on mine (a 99 model) every so often when i turn the lights on the dash lights wont come on with it, any ideas on that??
For thos here who don't appreciate how big and potentially complex a cambelt job can be, I suggest you pop over to tdiclub.com and have a nose around.
This .pdf document details a US A4 - which must be some sort of Golf pics2.tdiclub.com/pdf/a4timingbelt.pdf
I would say it was very similar to the engine in the Bora.
This webpage details the more common 1Y engine found in many VAG variants here in the UK www.tdiclub.com/articles/A3-TimingBelt/
Be warned...the documents are fairly big in size, so 56k'ers beware..
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....Read more
Thanks to DL
Well, if ever there was a warning not to DIY, this is it! Imagine the consequences of just getting a little bit wrong! One of the few jobs I would entrust to a VW dealer despite the cost. Or better still buy a car with a chain drive camshaft.
Browse
JBJ,
Not just the kitchen windows, all my flat windows. It keeps them cleaner and I can admire the view even when it's raining hard.
Steve.