February 2004
It seems that the car manufacturing world gets more and more convoluted by the day.
We have the likes of Ford owning Volvo Cars, Jaguar, and Aston Martin, and with a stake in Mazda, the Fiesta having some engines with Yamaha cylinder heads, and courtesy of parent Ford, the new V8 engines for the Volvo XC90 and S80 also being Yamaha sourced. We also have a legacy agreement between Volvo and Mitsubishi, which effectively also links Ford to Mitsubishi, an X-Type on a Mondeo floor plan and the new S40 and V50 on the as-yet-to-be-released new Focus floor plan.
That's just scratching the surface of one large car company, and then we have the GM empire, VAG, a tie up between Renault and Nissan........
The one I've just read about though that surprised me was that Peugeot and Fiat are sharing a platform for two new cars, as are Peugeot and Toyota for 2005.
If you're interested, www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com/document/presse_dossie...f, which also highlights a new PSA factory being built in Kolin, Czech Republic. Wonder what the quiet and restrained French unions will have to say about that, as it looks like PSA are about to join what Audi have done for years in Hungary with TT and engine production, and what MG Rover appear keen on doing with the old Polonez factory in Poland.
It looks like the predictions of a few years ago that before long the number of global players would be counted on one hand, with brands little more than marketing tools, is proving correct. Read more
I wonder if anyone could please help.
I am not really technically aware on cars but will explain the best i can. Recently my head gasket went which t this day I am not sure fully why. I was in Scotalnd visiting friends at the time and got a local garage to do the repairs. I have had the head skimmed and pressure tested, and a new timing belt. I picked up the car at the weekend, and noticed that my temperature gauge was going up too high, which also resluted in no heat from my heater. I checked my over-flow tank and saw that the water was being blocked somewhere and forcing its was back out. I took the car back to the garage, who advised me that it was more than likely an air lock, which he 'corrected' I drove back down to Leeds where I live, only to gt 30 miles, for my thermostat to rise/drop again. Eventually I had to be towed all the way back to Leeds via Green Flag, who advised it may be another air lock as well as many other things.
I have asked a local garage to look at my car tomorrow to check for me, but I am just wondering if anyone has any suggestions what they feel the problem may be. I have spoken to the Scottish garage, who advised me he took all the pipes off to clean to try to prevent an air lock. He did advise me if this makes any difference, that my car does not have a thermostat.....And it mustn't have had one since I have had my car (12 months) could this be a cause, as i havent had any probs with over heating before.
It is a 96 N car.....
I hope i have kind of made sense.
Thanks Read more
He was told that.but there was no mention of overcooling which without a stat would happen on a run.
"Apparently, the body retains rainwater around the hatchback so if the hatch is opened after the car has been standing in a shower the retained water cascades into the boot."
So says HJ's car-by-car breakdown for the latest Honda Civic. Any of you backroomers encountered this problem? And if so does it affect 2-dr models as badly as 5-dr? Read more
Maxy - I have the five door and know of the problem.
There is a shaped channel the whole width at the base of the rear screen on the hatchback which retains water after a shower.
When the hatch is lifted the water drains from it onto the shaped plastic covers of the rear lights on which the hatch sits which are at each side rather than into the boot space itself.
I regard it as a minor problem on an otherwise excellent car.
My 106 diesel ain't starting too easily in this cold weather.It turns over OK but was reluctant to fire this morning then fought for life to keep going for 10 secs or so before settling. Is this most likely a glow plug problem and if so are they easy to change on this car???
Cheers Read more
Change your plug, but spend the money, buy BOSCH, you should be able to get a set (being 4) for about £30 if you haggle a car parts place and get trade, if not expect to pay £45 a set.
You can put in cheaper glow plugs in if you want but once you have used BOSCH duran you will never go back.
The cabin heater in my polo has started playing up - it's a 93 L reg with over 110k on the clock, so hardly worth taking to a VW dealer.
I'm guessing the heater control is purely mechanical and simply adjusts an air duct to vary the ratio of air from outside to air from the engine bay.
Is this correct? Is there anyone out there who's experienced the same problem? Any tips on how i might go about finding the cause of the problem and fixing it?
Cheers
Rich Read more
Hi Rich
I've just bought a VW Polo 1.4CL 95N with 43000 miles on the clock. Before purchasing I spoke with the VW specialist who services my Golf VR6 (very well) about problems to look out for with Polos this age. He said two things - the heater and excessive wear on the inside of the front tyres. As regards the tyre wear no matter how well a garage tracks the steering it will always happen - its a fault in the basic suspension geometry. If the heater becomes a problem its generally a sign that the water pump's damaged and about to pack up. Might be worth someone looking at it before the engine suffers.
Good luck
Voodoo
I have a Japanese Import 2.5TD Pajero on a K plate (1993). Recently the brake warning light has flashed on for a short period of time and then goes off again. Saturday I had to brake sharply and light illuminated and stayed on. There is no loss of brake power. What could be causing this? Brake pads possibly although I am not aware of any sensors on front set. Brake fluid level is fine. Read more
Reservoir and connections are all fine and there is no loss of fluid. It's looking like a bad connnection at the moment but eraliest I can get it in for repair is next week.
I have put 17 inch alloys (205/40/17 tyres) on my VW Vento auto instead of the stock 14 inch (185/60/14) wheels. I have used a tyre size convertor and this shows an increase of just 3.2% in the overall circumference. Will this have an effect on the gear change for my auto box? Read more
No. A tiny bit of wear on the 17's and they'll be within the allowable size range of the 14's anyway.
Regards
John S
I currently have 215 50 R17\'s on my Primera (standard size wheel for this car). Would the rims take 235 45 R17\'s (tyre circumference stays the same - checked this). There is loads of clearance etc.
Main reason is that the 235 tyre is about £40 each cheaper than the 215, and I get much more choice. Currently have Dunlop 3000A\'s.
Can rims take a slightly wider tyre ? Read more
I am not positive, but I would say that 215 is the limit for those rims. I dont think that you could squeeze 225 on that rim. I have 17 x 7 rims and 205 x 40 x 17 rubber and have the same problem as you. Damn expensive tyres.
I have used a site in the past to check alternative size tyres with different wheel sizes to use while at the same time keeping the circumference the same.
Can anyone remind me of the url please.
Regards Mal. Read more
www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=tyre+s...r
Lots to choose from.
Time was when French cars rightly had a terrible reputation for being prone to corrosion.
As a case in point, I recall going on holiday in 1980 with a Belgian friend and his family, when we drove in their eighteen month old CX from Brussels to Saint Jean de Luz. The two things that stand out from the journey were the wonderfully comfortable and relatively quiet motorway ride (light years ahead of Dad's then new, admittedly only four on the floor, Volvo 244DL), and the appalling body corrosion (whereas family Volvos, kept for ten years and more, have had zilch corrosion). The driver's door actually already had a fist sized rust hole in the outer panel, and the tailgate lip was already a nice furry finish!
Yesterday however, after washing SWMBO's nine year old Pug 306 Sedan, I decided to give the body and underside a good once over, specifically looking for corrosion.
What did I find?
Plenty of fine surface scratches, as the paint seems to mark just by looking at it, but not a single area of corrosion. Not even the rear passenger door and leading edge of the wheel arch, both of which were lightly creased and the top coat of paint cracked, when scraped against a post by the previous owner a number of years ago. Lifting the bonnet, and looking at the chassis member box sessions, even the vertical ends of the innerboard plates still have sound, solid, paint, with a crisp edge to the metal, despite not an ounce of wax in sight of this particular location. Looking underneath, there is ample corrosion protection and everything is completely sound, including minor brackets and componentry.
Sure, as I've said before, the inside of the car has the fit and finish of an Airfix(tm) kit assembled by a five year old (though nothing has actually broken or stopped working, to be fair), but regarding body protection, it looks like the French have been up there with the best of them for some time now. Admittedly I've never seen a rusty bodied 306, but is Mrs SjB lucky that the entire car has withstood corrosion so well, or did this turnaround really happen a decade ago?
Read more
My 1989 Renault 21 had no rust on it when I got rid of it in 2000. I was amazed. The engine was still going strong too (2.1 D with 140k on it) The interior was falling apart mind and the dashboard bulbs had given up
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