April 2004
www.channel4.com/4car/news/news-story.jsp?news_id=...9
Diesel comes of age ?!
"powered by a highly modified version of the V10 diesel used by fellow Volkswagen Group brand in the Touareg off-roader. Insiders say that the new engine has been dyno-tested to 590bhp and an incredible 960lb ft of torque, which is generated at just 1800rpm." Read more
Friend of mine with 98R E300 TD suffered problems starting on a morning(car, not himself!)This was diagnosed by the AA as a leaking fuel pump, due to either a seal or cracked casing. Apparantly, he is informed by the MB dealer that the front of the engine has to be removed in order to gain access for replacement, and the cost is in the region of £3.5k! However, a reconditioned unit from Lucas, including fitting, is £1k.This still seems expensive. The car has some 100k miles on it, is obviously off the road at the moment whilst a hire car is being used.
Do these prices accurately reflect the repair costs, or are other options available please?
He is located in West Yorkshire. Any advice gratefully received.
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Glad it's sorted at reasonable cost. Yet more evidence of the need to sup with a long spoon when dealing with dealers.
I have noticed that when driving at speed 70-80mph I have a small vibration felt through the steering wheel.
Any ideas what it can be? Balacing, tracking or something else? Read more
I do not know how old your car is but after balancing,wheel alignment I would check the driveshafts.
There's an advert in this month's Caravan Club magazine (I know, I know) for a magnet device that fits around your oil filter and claims to hold particles down to as small as 2 microns in the filter, particles which would normally get re-circulated. When you change the oil/filter you slip it off and put it on the new one.
Now I must say this seems perfectly feasible to me, engine "debris" would be magnetic wouldn't it (apart from aluminium bits of course) but would stuff this size do any appreciable harm anyway?
What's the considered wisdom of the backroomers?
Terry
"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand" Read more
"How much of a modern engine's internals are magnetic?"
All the iron and steel bits :-)
To answer the question properly, this means many of the wearing parts, but, more importantly, those bits whose debris is most abrasive. Alloy and white metal (bearing material) swarf is pretty soft and unlikely to cause damage, which is just as well, as a magnet won't catch it. The filter is supposed to trap all the debris, of course, but the fact that a magnet will attract some of it suggests that there is still some room for improvement.
I'm all in favour of magnets, although if you're sticking one to your drain plug or inside the sump, make sure it's well secured! One on the outside of the filter sounds safer to me...
I imagine that Nikasil bores yield some interesting wear products - possibly why BMW have had so much trouble with them?
Bit of advice please! AS you may or may not remember (or care!) I?ve started a bit of motor trading from home. Bought my first car last week, a 2002 Pug 206 1.1 LX. I thought it would be a good seller, but haven?t received a single call yet! It?s only advertised on the Auto Trader website at the moment, so I was after your thoughts on where else would be most suitable to advertise.
Also, thoughts on price would be appreciated, perhaps I?m miles off!
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The usual tip is to put a sofabed into the bedroom you've converted into an office. Then you don't have a part of the property used _exclusively_ for business for CGT purposes.
The requirement for business rates is a rather thornier question.
Ben: No offence taken. Please re-read, focussing carefully on my use of tenses and the sequence of events: 'As I wrote above, you'd have to be pretty foolish with the experience I presume a home trader would have, to buy a car with a blown head gasket. Focus on the words 'at the point of sale'. You're not providing a 6 month guarantee! You're just guaranteeing that for 6 months, any faults present at point of sale will be rectified.'
Hi all
I am after a link which can tell you if you have been caught speeding, just by entering your registration number. A colleague is very interested in seeing it this morning (before 12). Does anyone have it available?
Jonathan Read more
Found it, although the link in the thread appears to be dead - besides which it's after 12pm, so any April Fools pranks are now invalid anyway.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=14415
Saw this little snippet this morning.....
VEHICLE EXCISE DUTY INCREASE FOR 2008
FLORA POIL , Motoring correspondent
With the new format tax discs comes a new Government scheme to extract even more cash from the already hard-pressed motorist. As anyone who has purchased a new disc in the last few weeks will have noticed, the disc expiry now has the exact date, rather than just the month and year of expiry.
This has given the Department for Transport a new opportunity to make a little extra income; every four years, there are 366 days instead of the usual 365. The DfT have indicated that they will be seeking an increase in the duty payable for the next leap year in 2008, as there is one extra day.
?It may seem to some to be a small matter? quoted one source ?but although it is only one day, this represents several million pounds in revenue that is not being collected?
?It is time that road users got used to the idea that the highways are not free on February 29th, which is what they have been until now? he added.
The amount of the increase is yet to be specified, but the Government source, who did not wish to be identified, indicated that the simple formula of adding one days? tax to the current fee would probably not work, as it would represent a fraction of one pound for private vehicles, and this was too difficult to administer.
?An increase of at least one pound would be easier for all concerned? he said, ?but we are not sure at this time whether our computer system is formatted to accept single number increases ? we may have to go up in multiples of £5?
That is, of course, if anyone is still permitted to use the roads by 2008??
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I thought it was quite good. The only worrying thig is that somebody from the DVLA might read it and it might give them an idea...
At least it wasn't one completely in the realms of fantasy like, for example, "MG Rover confirm launch date of 45 replacement".
;)
just bought a carina e 1.8 runs great but the tickover is to high it is about 1500rpm when cold and between 1000 to 1200 rpm when warm. the thottle doesnt seem to be sticking it is closing ok onto the stop.
the temp gauge seems to vary a bit it seems to be running cool.
some times it will go upto almost halfway then it drops to about a quarter the way up the gauge and seems to stay there.
would the high idling cause a mot fail
many thanks in advance
ps does any one know how to take the radio out. and is it coded it is a standard toyota rad cass. the year is 1996
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The three most likely causes of your engine fast idle trouble are as follows (not necessarily in order of probability)
1. Carbon/ gum deposits in the throttle body. Can sometimes be cleaned with carb spray.
2. Sticky idle control valve. Again, it is sometimes possible to clean the plunger with carb spray.
3. Defective coolant temperature sensor. This can only be checked using the correct diagnostic equipment. However, you can check its electrical conections, along with those at the idle control valve. It may be possible that the ECU is defective, but treat this as a last resort.
Try e-mailing carmexhelp@aol.com if none of these work. This is the e-mail for the magazine Car Mechanics where readers can get help with car problems.
Also, consult the Haynes manual for the carina if none of the above work.
Hi all!
I'm after a small runabout for around 1200 pounds for the mother-in-law! I'm looking for something like a Punto.
My main question is are there any tips anyone can give when buying from an auction.
Many thanks
Gaz. Read more
Stokie - i know you were planning to do a bit of home trading - can i take it from this post that it's not exactly been plain sailing? Interested to know how you're getting on - as you've seen from my other post, i'm not exactly on the road to early retirement myself....
A slightly basic query but one on which I've seen divided opinions.
I don't normally carry any vehicle documents around as I understand, if asked to produce them, that I have the option of taking them to a police station within a set number of days.
If I'm planning to be away from home for a few days, does it make sense to keep the documents with me or would it be safer to leave them at home? It would be pretty inconvenient to curtail a trip in order to return home to produce them at a police station within the required number of days.
If it makes sense to take them with me, which items should I have (licence, insurance certificate, registration document)?
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Thanks for all the replies. I didn't expect my post to provoke such a discussion. For what it's worth, I decided to bring my documents with me but they certainly aren't being left in the car. Some interesting and useful info here. The point about, human nature being what it is, police not taking any further action when the documents can be produced, is one that hadn't occured to me.
Browse
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I just had to go looking for it.
"During initial testing the 112 hp concept car reached a maximum speed of more than 155 mph while fuel consumption on the combined cycle was an incredible 113 mpg."
www.rsportscars.com/foto/04/ecospeedster02_01.jpg