June 2004
Now I'm in DIY mode I'm considering a job I've been putting off for quite some time - repainting the garage floor. The floor is about 26'x 10' and is covered with a grey 'flexible' type coating which is flaking off in large patches. It has been done for over 20 years and I'd like to cover it with something smart and durable without entirely removing the existing coating if that's possible (clearing everything out's gonna be enough work on its own!). The garage is integral to the house and isn't damp save a small patch near the door. Has anyone got any ideas on how best to do it and what to use?
Thanks all. Read more
I have a 95 Range Rover 4.6.....and the really bad part of the story is i live in France and you cannot beleive how bad the service is over here! Anyway...I have very recently been loosing alot of water and the little garage i use, have taken 4 visits to decide it is the water pump. I have just ordered that and am waiting for delivery. However they now say they think it needs a new head gasket which will take 20 hours labour! I am not sure if it really is the head gasket because the engine is running perfectly apart from loosing water and the water very clearly is coming out of the pump. I have looked in the oil filler and the oil looks fine...Also oil consumption is normal. Oh, for the first three visits they made no mention of the Head gasket, but it suddenly became a very urgent problem when i said " do you think it could be the head gasket?" Until then it had been, no water loss found, maybe a heater leak, and then the water pump.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to verify that the head gasket is gone. Another thought is whether to try one of the " magic sealers" that are around, that seal small cracks in heads and rads. Any oppinions would be very gratefuly received. Read more
4.6 RR suffered from liner chatter/fretting - this is costly to repair and not always fixable. A recon engine is then the only remedy.
--
groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
I've just ordered the A4 1.9Tdi(130) Avant for September. Thank you for the "Go for it" responses.
I've bought a few new cars over the years and always rejected the offer (at a price!) of a paint/upholstery protection system. I was once persuaded to have Scotchguard (£100) on a new sofa and chairs - complete waste of money.
Anyway this super wonderful stuff for the car is called JewelUltra DiamondBrite and costs £299 plus VAT. I've politely told the salesman to poke it up his exhaust, but wonder if anybody has had this stuff applied. Is it any good? It's an awful lot of money. Read more
"WAXING - different to POLISHING"
A fine distinction for most car care products, I should have thought. I know you can buy plain wax (as for furniture) but most car waxes contain some abrasive/polish to help shift the dirt and burnish the paint, which shouldn't be necessary (or desirable) on a finish that's just been sprayed.
Ho hum....SWBO's Omega estate is due for an MOT next week; just noticed that the LED brake light built into the rear spoiler only has a couple of the dozen or so LEDs working. Do I need to get my soldering iron out pronto; or is this OK for the MOT? Read more
Less than 6 lights-almost certainly bulbs.If more,then LED's.
Going on hols to Europe. Need to switch the headlamps to continential setting. I know there is a switch, but no info in handbook...help! Read more
Current Passats have plastic lenses so beware of adhesives attacking them. I bought a pair of universal beam deflectors which were said to be OK but had water soluble glue- dropped off before the ferry.
Turning the height adjuster fully down seems to be ok and has not given offense to anyone as yet.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
My X reg 1.6 8v Astra (13000 miles) suffers from a misfire at around 1800rpm on light throttle. I've heard the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve (EGR) is suspect on these cars. It allows exhaust gas back into the combustion chamner to lower CO emissions. I've heard it can fail in the open position.
Has anyone else suffered with this?
I read in an edition of Car Mechanics that a temporary fix is to fit a blanking plate under the valve. Has anyone tried this? Presumably CO emissions would go up but would it fail an MOT?
Apart from harming the planet with CO is there any detrimental effect to the car from running with the EGR blanked off?
Thanks for any thoughts
Stokie Read more
did this warranty apply in 2002 as mine has just gone again after 70,000 miles, thanks sheil
Hi, Ive just got myself a 306 XNd N reg, and all is good apart from my dipped headlights have stopped working!
I have had a flick through the manual and concluded that it must be something to do with the dim dip facility. Ive had a look at what i assume are relays mentioned in the manual, and they APPEAR to be ok and click away when I switch between full beam and dipped. The dash indicator light for dipped and main beam also changes so I assume this means that the multi switch in the stalk is ok too. This makes me think it must be either one of the diodes within one of the relays of the dim dip resistor? However I cannot locate this unit. Can anyone tell me where to find it? I read a similar post to this on here but the instructions were not that clear to me - can someone please help as I cant drive around at night as it stands!
Cheers
Andy Read more
Have to note having seen this post that the aforementioned car had the dim/dip resister replaced around a month ago, lights suddenly packed in after driving off in front of the volvo!
Got two from the scrappies, first one didn't work, second didn't until i made sure the connection was firm so perhaps the first one did, have advised to try that.
Have been reading around on the internet, a man with an old 505 claims that the resistor just kicks out a lower voltage, which would make me assume that the bulb would go first, as the power it is receiving is limited by the resistor, and therefore it isn't drawing more current from that? Have a limited knowledge of physics so unsure on whether the higher powered bulbs would be drawing more voltage or just using what they were receiving.
The bulbs have been in since July 2006 without previous problem.
Here was the link re: the 505: www.vectorbd.com/peugeot/archive/98_4/0318.html
Do pug main dealers still sell the resistor? Never found one on a car newer than a ph1 in the scrappy despite much looking so I'm led to believe i've just compounded the problem by using another 10 year old resistor!
I am trying to share/use my Epson USB printer connected to my main 'Home' pc when I am using my Laptop. All the stuff I find on google/Microsoft say this is easy when both machines are running XP Pro. IE You set up the printer properties to allow sharing and then 'Add a printer' on the Laptop and then select the networked printer option. However guess what - when it searches no printer is found,. I get the name of the computer with the printer attached but no printer showing. I've mucked about with Workgroups and ensured that File/Print sharing is enabled but whatever I do I cant find the printer - its really frustrating as this is meant to be one of the benefits of a wireless (Belkin) setup. I've got this horrible feeling that I am missing something really simple.........any help would be really appreciated Read more
There are, of course, similar hard drive caddy products from many other manufacturers.
A good place to pick one up cheaply is at a computer fair if one is held conveniently close.
Hi All,
I have recently bought a Ford Mondeo 2.0 Diesel Engine TDDi Duratorq, 2001 model. It's a German made. I was impressed with the car's handling performance, spacious and well cladded interior from the loud diesel engine noise compared to my previous Toyota Corolla 2.0 Diesel Engine 2001 Model.
I now have a few minor complaints, which some of you may have already encountered.
P1. Rattling noise from side door and now somewhere below dashboard (CD player's location). I went for my first service at 1,500km on the clock and they fixed the noise problem. But the rattling noise is coming back. The car is only about 2 months old, bought in April 2004.
P2.Few days ago, when I turned my key to position 2, prior to cranking, all illuminators lighted up as usual. Upon cranking, all illuminators will go off except for the engine illuminator which was not usual. I checked the User's manual and it says it should go off and if it wouldn't, it indicates an engine malfunction and recommends that the car checked immediately by Ford Agent. I read from a Subaru Impreza GX (2003 Model) car user's manual and it explained the exhaust emission problem when the engine illuminator wont go off. However, this is Ford. Maybe different case. Before I send my car to the agent, the car went back to normal. Illuminators all go off upon cranking, including the previous engine illuminator. Anyone experiencing this as well?
Also, maybe some useful advice from you kind people would be good especially when you are living in cold temperate countries in Europe. I am living in Brunei, hot and humid climate (Tropical). I've heard that the rubbers used in previous Mondeo models seem to be not durable to the weather here compared to Japanese cars. Not sure about this model. Insulation and cladding rubbers in engine become brittle and breaks easily, even in BMW and S-500 Merz.
Also, I try to service my car (changing Engine Oil and filter) for every 5,000km distance travelled. Book recommends 3,000 miles which is more or less 5,000km. And it recommends engine oil of grade 5W-30, but I cannot find such grades locally. I have chosen to use Castrol Syntron Fully Synthetic 5W-50. Or is this not suitable for Diesel Engines?
Turbo-timers recommended? This car is turbo-charged stock.
Hope to hear some useful experiences/advice from you guys.
Read more
I wouldn't say that turbo-timers were "fancy", but they tend to be popular with the racer image crowd. That may not be a totally fair thing to say, but the only people I knew with turbo timers had them fitted to sports cars, along with the big alloys, and loud mouthed exhaust can. Aftermaket Blow-off valves fitted to stock spec engines also fall into that category.
Of course there is no reason why the timer couldn't be useful as a pure convenience item. I can imagine that after finally reaching your destination it would be annoying to have to sit in the idling car while you counted off the seconds in the recommended minute. Are you sure they can even be fitted to diesels?, I only ask because I have never seen a diesel with one.
The price you are paying for oil seems about right for UK prices, but then UK prices are double what you could buy it for in the USA so I have no idea what point I am trying to make with that statement. The best you can do is shop around, maybe try non-conventional sources like a supermarket or machinery supply place.
Our car (Peugeot 306)has just failed its MOT. One of the points it failed on was the front brakes they say that one of the discs is cracked in two places. The garage say that they consider the car unsafe to drive and have a legal obligation to not allow it to leave until the brakes have been fixed. For this they will charge £200.
Can they do this?
Read more
2. WHAT IS UNROADWORTHY ?
A vehicle may be considered unroadworthy if it is in such a condition that its use on the road would involve a danger to someone e.g. the driver, passengers, other road users or pedestrians.
Common defects which may make a vehicle unroadworthy include worn suspension or steering joints, poor brakes or corrosion surrounding load bearing parts of the vehicle.
From www.car-crime.com/roadworthy.htm
Browse
.jpg)
I suspect they are a chum of markciximi (from the Law Firm in UAE spam thread). Very similar set-up non-descript post.