July 2004
i have a vauxhall omega 2lt 16v GLS...(1997 - R reg). the engine keeps overheating, even with the cooling fan on. Also keeps overheating with thermostat taken out. It only stops overheating when its on constant high rev. I've checked all possible faults....it's not loosing water, new thermostat, water not mixing with the oil. anyone got any ideas????
{made use of drop down menu's that weren't previously available when this post was first composed} Read more
Hi folks
Some advice please.
My sister drove her one year old VW Polo (cost £10,000 new) through a country road in bad weather and unfortunately went through a mass of water not realising how deep it was. The result is that the water came up to the bonnet and drowned the engine. The VW garage said its a write off, and a new engine will cost £4,000.
She is comprehensive insured, yet they turned round and said tough luck, we arent paying you since the water build up was a "breakdow" and caused by an "Act of God".
Now I dont drive but I went through her Policy which stated quite clearly she is covered for "loss or damage" to the insured vehicle.
She suffered damage, so what is the point of comprehensive insurance? Does it mean you must be in an accident with another vehicle to claim? If the vehicle is written off by a driver, why cant they put her back in the position she was before the "damage"?
Any help greatly appreciated.
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trenton -
i am pleased for you & your sister.
persistence pays, never take "no" for an answer without further investigation and thought.
i almost feel smug that i was proved right in pointing you to the abi stance on this issue.
well done.
Sorry, can\'t help with your problem, though I must say it doesn\'t really sound like a clutch problem to me. And you should never get through a clutch in a year (unless you\'re a driving instructor). Sounds a bit more gearboxy to me, but I\'m no professional.
You may find you get a bit more help in the \"Technical Matters\" forum, though I\'d expect one of the mods to move this thread over there before too long.
{Or become impatient and repeat the post in Tech Matters instead of waiting for a moderator to move it - grrr. ;o) DD}
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Can someone plse plse help me. I have a renault megane coupe, 2 ltr 16v (2dr model) T reg, and have a problem with the gear box and or clutch ....
Sometimes it can be impossible to get the car into gear - reverse gear is the worst. If you're lucky enough to be able to get it into 1st gear, then you can pull away and although the gears are still stiff, they get a bit better once you get a good run with the car. It's mainly reverse, 1st second and third - once you get going to get into 4th & 5th then these gears are fine. The problem is intermitant, so one day you will have no joy getting the car into reverse or 1st gear - the next it goes into gear very easily, or you can have spent 10 minutes getting into 1st gear to pull away, and then as you are driving along the gearbox can get better and 1st will be easy to get into - or it could get worse and you have no chance of getting 1st gear. There is no specific pattern when the gearbox is stiff.
This all started about a year and half ago - i originally took the car back to renault who said that i needed a new clutch adjuster. Now EXACTLY the same thing is happening again, but because the part fitted from last time was fitted over a year ago, so the part guarentee has expired. I took the car to my local garage who told me i needed a new clutch at a cost of £450. The car is performing well, the clutch pedal is no different and the bite is still in the same place. The clucth pedal is not heavy and the clutch has not been slipping either. The car has done 45k miles.
Can anyone please give me some advice as to what is wrong with the gearbox ? I'd be so so grateful for any advice before i splash out on a new clucth .... which i might have not needed to do !
has anyone experienced the same problems with their renault megane coupe ?
Cliff, with his latest post on the 'Ugliest Rear End' thread has set us a challenge I think.
I'm sure we can come up with quite a few, can't we? :D
To start us off, what about the Nissan 100NX with those weird deep-set headlights?
Or the frog-eyed Scorpio?
Morgan Aero 8 has a face that only a mother could love. Read more
Is it amphibious? !!!
I've only ever seen one of these things.
Cheers, SS
Hi Golf GTI N plate 96. Electric roof jammed half open and motor control board drawing lots of fuse blowing current . Manually wound window to closed position and replaced fuse. System ok know but a quick look did not identify whether the motor has failed or the control electronics is goosed. Has anyone tried to get into the motor/regulator assembly and what did they find. I imaging VW want an arm and a leg for a new assembly. Regards Peter Read more
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thanks for the help chaps,
no ad or spyware present, and Z.A settinga as should be, so on this occasion after reading the "link", i think i have suffered my first "spimming!!". steps will be taken.......
cheers billy.
I got stuck in the middle of one today - felt slightly surreal - uncomfortable by association, as though when waiting at a bus stop, a stranger next to you decides to moon passers-by.
Anyhoo ...
It must have been some sort of marketing ploy (so that people like me would give them some free publicity). There were six or seven 1 Series (all with the local dealer's logo on the doors/bonnet/boot), first time I'd seen them in the metal, plus a Mini Convertible or two and something else too far back for me to see. They stayed on the road for about 10 miles, then pulled into a layby to spin around for the return journey back towards the town. Have to admit, they do look a lot better in real life than some of the preview photos led me to believe - still a little snouty, but not unpleasing - the lines seem to run more cohesively than those of the Z4, 7 Series or even 5 Series. Not quite as Alfa 147 from the back as I first thought, either. Definitely more distinctive than the Audi A3 (I won't even dignify the looks of the Golf by comparing it here). I guess I wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen in one after all!
PS I thought about putting this in the Unusual Sightings thread, but I reckon these are going to become a very common sight indeed.
--
andymc
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Hi, Re my 02 Mondeo Ghia X, it has metal valves fitted to the alloys, I have a slight leak through the collars of two valves loosing approx 6 or 8 lbs/week. Shortly up for four new tyres, 205/50-17, not cheap, I am told that these valves cost an additional £10 plus each to replace when new tyres are fitted and that they have to be ordered, I am also told that conventional rubber valves can be used, FOC when new tyres are fitted. Can anyone confirm this?
Thanks. Read more
Ditto, Mondeo Zetec, leaking metal valves, all replaced with rubber ones, no further problems.
PP
SWMBO drives a 1994 Pug 306 Sedan, dark metallic green (relevant).
Purchased by us nearly two years ago with genuine 14k miles (we knew the previous 'owner from new'), now with 26.5k.
A great B-road tool for me, as well as a 'get to work and shopping car' for the missus, totally reliable, and as mint as a 10 year old budget car ever will be: Always clean and polished inside out - including engine bay I will admit, where the engine, including alloy and plated parts, looks like it isn't even 10 months old, let alone 10 years - it gleams like a good'un.
You would be correct that we wish to keep the car, as ideally suited to second car purpose.
A few days ago however, whilst the Pug was the only car in the Missus's work car park, and with her having abided by my golden rule of 'park away from where the lazy ones park, and end of line if possible', it was dinged! A colleague of my wife reversed in to the side of it whilst turning round. "I didn't even see it" was the comment, though they have promised to pay for the repair. (Yes, we will give them the estimate first)
The damage starts on the front passenger door about 18" forward of the B post jamb, and reaches a maximum depth of about half an inch at the B post door frame. At this point, I guess because of the relative strength of the frame, the crease comes back out, cracking the paint, crosses over the B post, and then continues for most of the width of the rear passenger door in the form of a large dent with no sharp edges or creases. The latter looks lke it has been kicked fair and square by a yobbo's boot, and the rubbing strip is creased. No paint is cracked.
So bearing in mind on one hand that we wish both to keep the car and that we take pride in it, but on the other that it's worth £1,200 tops and any repair IS going to show when compared to ten year old dark metallic paintwork, well kept or not, what would other BRers recommend as the best course of repair, please?
My take is that the front door panel will either need filler or replacement because of the crease and the cracked paint, but a 'Dentmaster' type repair may be possible on the rear door. In other words, split the repair between a body shop with repaint, and home call visit without. Advisable, or a mistake?
Cheers! Read more
The conclusion...
I collected the car today, in perfect, intense, late afternoon sunshine to show up any paint anomolies.
The result?
Staggered beyond belief!
The repair is absolutely superb, with the most perfect colour and metallic flake matching that I've ever seen, since confirmed under revealing sodium lighting outside our house.
Blending in to the surrounding panels is faultless, there is no overspray on to, or under the edge of, windscreen and rear window rubbers, and no paint 'seams' in tricky confined areas. There are no new squeaks or rattles given that the doors were taken completely apart, shut lines are perfect, and the car was washed and polished for collection.
If I'm going to be really picky, there were a few spots of primer on the rear tyre sidewall, and one light buffing swirl mark on the front wing - original paint - I guess as part of blending everything in.
I know that the car was exceptionally clean and tidy when it went in, but even so, whoever managed to weave this magic on a ten year old car is a true craftsman. Because we chose to keep the original door rubbing strips as they have aged with the rest of the plastic trim, the only obvious sign of repair is the complete absence of light scratches in places like the door handle recesses.
I'm a very happy customer.
Out of this weeks Auto Express...."Trading standard bosses are to investigate how car firms report fuel economy figures......"
Examples given of huge differences between 'Claimed MPG' and 'Real world' MPG include:
Vauxhall Astra 1.7CDTi....56.5MPG Claimed, 37.1 Real, Diff 34%!!
Peugeot SW 2.0HDI 110SE..52.3MPG Claimed, 40.6 Real, Diff 22%
etc etc etc.....makes interesting reading.....any comments? Read more
My 1.8 Focus did 40-45 mpg on a good motorway run, but in town the mid twenties was more realistic. In town the A2 mpg has increased from about 45 to about 50 now its done over 20,000 miles. Motorway mpg is slightly more, but not up to 60+, but I do tend to go over the limit (sorry officer).
The smart does about 45 mpg regardless of where or how it's driven - less than the published figures but 45 mpg is acceptable to us. Best we have had from it is just over 50 on a trip to Scotland.


Radiator!!! yes yes yes