July 2004
hi everyone,got an intermittant squeak in the dashboard near front doorpillar only does it in summer guess something expands in the heat.seen some threads about this some suggestions about spraying something?any suggestions please any pitfalls.many thanks.harry m
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The MAF has failed on my 156JTD (covered by warranty - yippee!)
The garage advised that the simplest diagnosis for this is to disconnect the MAF and see if I got my acceleration back. This worked, so a new MAF has been ordered for fitting this week. The technician at the garage mentioned that no harm would come to the car if it were driven in this way for a few days.
Since the car is driving superbly "MAFless", what on earth is the point of the thing? What does it actually do? Am I going to find I have superb performance and a hole in my wallet as gallon after gallon of diesel vanishes through the injectors over the next couple of days? Read more
It provides 'feedforward' information to the engine management system about the
air demand of the engine. This is needed for both
stead-state air-fuel ratio calculation and also transient situations (opening/closing throttle).
It should drive even better when you get the new one
fitted.
Cheers Aprilla. I get the impression it has been "wonky" since day one, as the throttle response at present is the best it's ever been. Can't wait for the new part to be fitted!
Hi chaps,
I have a 1800 Vectra on a X plate (2000) and i have a slight problem with noise.
I'll be driving along and as soon as the engine gets to approx 3000 rpm i will get a fast ticking noise, almost like a tappet is out of adjustment, the noise is only there when my foot is on the throttle as soon as i let go the noise stops.
My Vauxhall dealer said it is nothing to worry about, but then again they couldn't explain it either.
I was wondering if anyone in the back room could shed some light on the situation for me.
Many thanks.
Pastyman... Read more
Hi, I concur with brianrh 100%, I had a V6 Vectra with precicely the symptoms you describe, replacing the corugated pipe with smooth bore piping did the trick.
Regards.
I've got a 2003 Vectra SRi, 2.2DTi and a fabulous car. For those of you familiar with it, it has the stock Goodyear Eagle NCT5 215/50R17 91W.
As the front tyres are coming up for replacement, I would like to find something a little more comfy and most important, quiet.
The Goodyears seem to be an excellent all round tyre, but they are very noisy on certain surfaces.. Anyone know of a quieter alternative in the 215/50 17 sizes? I did try pirelli p6000's on the omega and they were pretty good, but not necessarily ideal.
THanks
SImon
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Simon
I was at Micheldever Tyres about a month ago to replace two tyres on my Alfa 155, size 205/50x15 V Rated. I asked them to recommend a good handling tyre that was quiet. They fitted Continental PremiumContacts which have proved to be a vast improvement.
The cost for two tyres was £162 which included Laser alignment so about £70 per tyre basic.
A friend's daughter aged 19 at University asked me for advice about buying her first car. Absolute top price is £3k. She was staggered at the potential cost of insurance. I suggested a Fiesta, Micra or Nova because of relatively cheap running costs but there is the problem of street cred! Such vehicles do not provide the right image. She may eventually see sense when confronted with the running costs of older Clio's, 206's etc. but I would be grateful for any other suggestions. Are there any cars at this price that combine image and economy? Read more
Might I suggest that she goes for an older Polo, say 1990 odd, that has been reasonably maintained, and stick the rest of the money in the bank?
These cars are tough and you should be able to get a good one for a few hundred. With the small estate boot they can be very practical for all her gear as well.
H
Hi all,
I have a Suzuki Jimny which I bought new, and has now covered 9000 miles. However from day one the gearbox has,to say the least been troublesome.Engaging 1st gear from stationary is a hit or miss,and there seems to be a severe notch between 3rd and 4th.I have had it back to two Suzuki dealers,one of them changed the gearbox oil to a synthetic type to no avail,the other,where I purchased it,just doesnt want to know,and says its driving like every other Jimny.I had driven a "W" reg one of these before buying the one I have,and it was completely smooth.Does anyone know if newer ones have a different gearbox.I have already written to Suzuki,who said their dealer would look into it further....what a laugh,the're just not interested!.Would welcome any comments as what to do next....
JMC Read more
For some reason I don't know.
The hard top version of the Jimny has as you say, has a notchy gearbox and the soft top version is alot cleaner in its gears. It maybe because the hard tops are from Japan and the soft tops are from Spain having different specifications ???????
Right, here comes fair warning......
This is a motoring forum. If you are a car hater and see the car as the root of evil, then you are in the wrong place.
That's motoring. All forms of motoring, but not anti-motoring.
This forum has gone quite far enough down the speed cameras are wonderful and car-type-x is not.
So, don't waste hours of your time typing your epic based on how cars are unwanted, to be banned or anything else because then you'll be upset when I delete it.
Of course you may have your opinions, but if they are solely and repetitively based on banning a type of vehicle, be that 4x4s or anything else I shall simply delete it.
If all you can do is blindly type pages and pages about why speed is bad and cameras are good, then the same will apply.
If this upsets you then please feel free to e-mail me at mailto:nasty_moderator@like_I_give_a_s***.com or take yourself off in a huff to www.I-hate-all-cars.com
And;
yes, this is an unreasonable stance
no, I will not change my mind
no, I don't really care what you think about it
yes, you may leave the backroom in a sulk never to return
yes, if you can convince HJ, he may decide to overrule me
no, you have no right of free speech since this is not your website
yes, it might be the beginning of censorship
And if I missed a question, just assume that you probably wouldn't like my answer and then lets go from there.
And, by the way, do not even waste your time commenting on the moderating policy of this site, since I shall delete that as well. Feel free to e-mail Me, Dave, Alan or HJ at the usual addresses and we shall address your comments. Read more
I shall make one last attempt to explain, after this you\'re on your own and if you don\'t like what\'s going on, then you need to find somewhere else to be.
As a Moderator I am mostly not interested in what your opinion is. Partly because I\'ve heard them all before, and partly because we like to give you the opportunity to say them, whether or not we agree with them.
However, I truly have no hidden agenda, so if it seems to me that you are monopolising the backroom in much the same way as a cracked record would, then you probably are.
Any opinion which is monopolising and boring, whether that be NW or Bogbrush or any of the remarkably broad spectrum in between will attract my attention.
If it does, and I believe it unsuitable to this motoring forum, then it will be deleted.
It is a motoring forum. Machika (I think) has a very valid point - all aspects of motoring need to be discussed, even the less attractive side. But if you wish to incessantly complain, whine, and preach on the same point of view, then again you will be deleted.
The Backroom is what it is because of the way we run it. Within reason you can say pretty much what you like, but don\'t go on about it. Certainly don\'t use intimidating, swamping or bullying techniques because you will spend hours typing them and I will spend seconds deleting them.
If you hate cars that much, then go somewhere else. If you don\'t hate cars that much but people seem to think you do, then re-examine how you present your case.
It probably comes to this; I\'m a fairly reasonable kind of middle of the road sort of person; if you don\'t irritate me or bore me then you\'ll probably be left alone since I am also lazy and I\'ll probably assume that if you\'re not boring or irritating me, then you are probably not boring or irritating anybody else.
The Backroom will not change, and unless either I quit or HJ fires me, then the policy will not change.
So you have three choices;
1) leave
2) get over it
3) be happy with it
There is nothing else.
Has any body any info on the new shape shogun? Spoke to a service manager at dealer today and he says he has seen a few with snapped timing chains!(big bill).I am thinking on buying one so would like to hear if it is a common failure or not. thanks for your help Read more
has anyone any views on this 4x4 as i am on the point of making a deal on one!
My daughter wanted a Ford KA so we visited Ford Directs web site and entered our criteria - KA under £5K and came up with 33 . I rang our local Ford dealer at Yeovil and they said to visit them and they would find a KA for us. When we spoke to the salesman he could not find any KAs less than £5,500 on his data base. I then showed him the site we visited showing 33 KAs less than £5K. We selected 5 KAs and their registrations from the web site, he went and searched again and could not find any matches. He had no reason for this but they were all shown against the Yeovil branch on the web site. At this point we conceded that we would not get one from this branch and went home. Has anybody else had this experience?
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Ford Dealers have access to a Ford Direct database of vehicles for them to purchase to sell on to the public.
The Ford Direct website only lists vehicles which dealers are selling.
Another point that is not always made clear is that there are two types of Ford Direct vehicle.
Stage 1 - Prepared by a Ford conditioning centre, usually ex Ford Motor Company or rental cars etc.
Stage 2 - Dealer prepared, typically a private trade in or auction sourced, and in my opinion not normally up to Stage 1 standards at all.
Both Stages come with minimum 24 months unlimited mileage warranty and vehicle specific RAC cover.
I too have found the Ford Direct website to be very inaccurate with what is available where and at what price. Always best to speak to the dealer directly.
PP
Hello everyone, I'm new here, my question is about classic car insurance and No Claims Bonus discount.
I have a 1977 Escort that I have always insured as an 'ordinary car'. A friend suggested I go for classic car insurance as it will be cheaper although the mileage will be limited, which doesn't concern me that much.
Anyway, whilst phoning around for quotes, I was talking to one well known insurance company and they said that if I went in for classic car insurance and then in a year or so decided to go back to 'ordinary' insurance, my NCB would have to start from scratch again. I always thought that once you had built up the NCB it was there for good.
Can anyone enlighten me on this - thanks. Read more
Found out about this from Lancaster Insurance. I spoke to a very helpful chap who said that what I was told was basically nonsense, although went on to say that some classic car insurances don't have NCB, but NCB can be applied at no cost.
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Hah! I did wonder whether someone would succumb to the temptation ...
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andymc