August 2004
Hi All,
I was just reading the other thread about emergency tyre's and wondered whether people had any experiances good or bad with regards Tyre Weld.
I was just wondering whether its worth getting a can for the wife's car as I would prefer her to inflate the tyre and get on her way quicky rather than the dangers of waiting for recovery/trying to change the tyre late on a winters night!
Cheers
Jlo Read more
Unfortunately SWMBO was involved in an RTA where she and a motorbike came, fortunately at low speed, into contact. The bike hit her car directly on the wheel.
I took it (96 A4) to have it checked out and they said that it was OK and nothing was bent. However I think that they are wrong. Not only is the steering wheel not straight any more (down about 10-15º) but over pot holes and other bumps the car has become very skitish. Also when releasing from full lock, it tends to "hesitate" before recentering - I don't know if this is normal FWD or not.
I put it down to not driving it very often and SWMBO wouldn't notice whether the car had 3 wheels or 4!
Bearing in mind that the Audi dealership has said that all is OK, would a reputable tyre dealer be a good place to get a 2nd opinion? I have a good one around the corner in SW London. Read more
That should read Hi-Q
A friend has a Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 CDi (J Reg) and the thing will not start. A garage has used diagnostic equipment and it states the Crankshaft sensor as the issue. Upon fitting a new one the car will still not start.
We have used the diagnostic connector shorting technique and the blink code read is indeed a crank sensor failure. I believe this code can be set by other issues that force the ECU to indict the Crank but I do not know which ones.
Does anyone in the BR have any advice on what we can try next to solve the problem, (other that scrap the car, which is a serious option if we cannot fix it).
Thanks,
Carse16 Read more
Carse,
Before spending any more cash it may be a good idea to check the basics.
1) When cranking is the engine spinning over ok?
2) When cranking is there a spark at the plug leads?
3) When cranking does the fuel pump run?
4) When cranking do the injectors operate?
5) When cranking is the cam turning?
6) After cranking does the exhaust smell of fuel?
Answering these questions will get you further on your way than checking blink codes.
The blink code on a lot of Vauxhalls indicate crank angle sensor (code 31 from memory) even if it is ok. Obviously, you run the check when the engine is not turning - hence no signal. This fault code usually clears when the engine starts.
I hope that helps,
number_cruncher
11 days ago I made enquiries about a Volvo V70 D5 SE 4.2k miles. registered Jan 2004. Advertised at the price of £18k (seemingly an incredibly low price). The ad' appeared on a very well known website. I received a phone call from the company the following day and was told that the vehicle had just been sold, however other more expensive vehicles were available. At the price it was offered I'm not surprised that it didn't hang around.
Now, 11 days later the same vehicle is still there at the same price etc.
Do these cars exist or are they a type of marketing ploy designed to draw punters in? The reason I sak this particular question is that when I first enquired about the car I was aked about the price range I was prepared to pay which whilst usefull information for the seller, was not relevant to this particular offer. Anyone come across this situation?
Regards
moneysworth
Read more
Your exhaust story rings a bell. I had new shock absorbers fitted on my previous car. About 6 months later it was MOT time and I had this done at the same garage that fitted the shocks.
They failed the car on shock absorbers and quoted £200 more than I had paid previously.
I got my hands on the fail sheet then told the manager that I would send this to the DoT Vehicle Inspectorate, along with the receipt for the new shocks I had fitted only 6,000 miles back. He suggested a free retest as his his chap may have been mistaken but I pointed out that no, I'd be far happier if the failed shocks were replaced at his outlet's expense as that had to be safer than passing some failed shocks......
He agreed and I never used that garage again.
Driving down to Portsmouth, joined the A3 at Tolworth. Next lane over was a yellow E36 Beemer M3, Lexus style rear lights, and weird spinners on the wheels. They were like a second set of spokes, and span independently of the wheels- such that they would take a few seconds to spin once under way, and would spin for a few seconds when stopped. I thought they made a car that had already been ruined look comically ridiculous. Any purpose at all for these? First time I've seen them.
Alex.
--
Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner. Read more
Try these (warning - ebay content!!)
tinyurl.com/6nae3
There's also a guy selling spinners for 99p to cater for the lower end of the market.
Mk1 Punto, metallic grey (ie Silver)
The paint has bubbled up on both front doors, one of the rear doors and the roof. Has gone all white and bumpy and looks awful.
How much would you estimate a respray for these bits to be? Roughly?
I'm not that bothered.. but will soon be looking to offload the car and am trying to work out whether it would be more cost effective to repair or just to let it go for next to nowt.
It also needs a new passenger door as some git peeled it back to break in. I never got it fixed as it was the 3rd time it had been done and my insurance would have gone thru the roof.
Mechanically, its in excellent nick.
85 SX 16V, R reg (98), 50K on clock, drives like a dream.. but I doubt whether I'd get back all the money I'd have to spend to make it sellable. Read more
look for a replacement door off partsfinder.com - specify the colour you want.
2002 02 Toyota Camry CDX manual saloon gold, leather, £7799.
Why so cheap? Just shy of 100K miles, many of them apparently behind a gravel truck, so paint needed on the nose; obviously unloved: tobacco-smelly interior and grubby carpets despite the valet; a few light scratches to the flanks; electric aerial faulty (replacement is a £300 job). Main dealer service history runs out at 71K, that's a lot of miles without attention. Registered to a firm in Plymouth, obviously been used and used.
I love my own 91 V6 Camry, but it's finally showing its age and must be replaced. Is this an opportunity to get a replacement at a keen price, or are those last unserviced 27,000 miles likely to be the cause of future grief? The vendor is the Great Trade Centre.
What do y'all reckon on risk vs reward here?
MWH
Read more
>> >> Also consider one of the 2000-on Nissan Maxima QX
I agree that the styling is rather dated and in many
ways the car is really a small late-90's American car which
just happens to be very well put together in Japan.
The late Camrys really are a much better looking car and
I may well be tempted to get one in a couple
of years time.
Well the Nissan is hardly an Italian classic is it Aprilia? Sober and discreet, yes; stirring, hardly. It was great, first time around, as a Peugeot 405.
I think the designers tasked with styling the Camry have done very well since the G3 model, which was hugely influential -- look at any Japanese or Korean sedan of the 1990s -- it defined the design vocabulary. Look for example at the narrow chrome line that defines the windows (daylight openings, I think we should say now). It has been very widely copied.
In the UK, where the Camry was so poorly marketed by Toyota GB that they have given up importing it ('they've stopped making it,' as some sales dork told me today), we have no idea how important this flagship sedan is in setting the tone for a full-sized, range-topping saloon.
The launch of the mid-life refresh of the G5 Camry is causing quite a bit of excitement in its most important market, the United States. The exterior has been lightly touched up but the most important change is the introduction of the lightweight five-speed auto. I think it goes into the V6, which will retail for less than $25,000. At this money, and with finance in the 2-3% bracket, it's no wonder this car is popular there.
That's less than we pay here for an Avensis with the same drivetrain, and financing it is a lot more punishing. No doubt as long as Gordon rules the roost at Number 11 that is the way it will stay.
MH
Got a V11 in the post this morning to renew the tax on my motorbike.
I thought my bike was registered on 06/09/2001 and hence didn\'t need an MoT to renew the tax this time round. However the V11 indicates that I need an MoT certificate.
So I took a look at a document www.dvla.gov.uk/forms/pdf/v112.pdf \'Claim for exemption from MoT testing / Declaration as to age of vehicle\', and found this:
\"Note: Because it is impossible to discover the precise date of construction the date of manufacture is always taken to be the last day of the year in which a vehicle was constructed. The vehicles first annual MoT test will be due at the end of the third year from its date of manufacture.\"
So, given that my bike was constructed in 2001, according to the above it doesn\'t need an MoT until 1st January 2005!
Comments please.
P.S. I\'ve subsequently realised my bike was registered on the 1/09/01, so I would have expected it to need an MoT on the 1/9/04 to tax it.
Read more
It is three years after the car is first registered. However, if you don't have it tested immediately whenever you are due to start, or in subsequent years, then the new date applies afterwards.
Imported vehicles' first MOT tests are due three years after the date of manufacture.
I've always taken my cars for their MOT test two or three weeks before the certificate expired and, on completion of the test, informed the tester the date from which the new certificate should run.
The start date has always been allowed from the expiration of the current version by the tester; not surprising, as it can be done for up to a month ahead as detailed on the back of an MOT certificate.
MOT test checks list:
www.motester.co.uk/cog.html
(This spurred by somebody suggesting that I might like to tow a particular trailer.)
Why on earth is there no MOT for trailers? Large numbers are driven around (not by members of the BR) on ancient tyres with flattened edges, and rusted up brakes.
What is there to suggest that it is appropriate to let these things out on the road without being inspected annually?
Read more
Hi,
The trailers behind HGVs are identified by a plate, usually rivetted to the chassis, and are subject to an MOT. They are tested in conjunction with whichever tractor unit takes the trailer to the testing station.
number_cruncher
I was invited to a Jaguar driving day yesterday - drove an XJ8 4.2 - very quick, but seeing 6 mpg on the computer and a range of 250 miles on three quarters of a tank makes me come out in cold sweats!
Then drove the new S type diesel in Sports guise and what a motor. I can honestly say you do not know what's under the bonnet. It pulls very strongly, has seamless auto gearchanges and is whisper quiet. Bonus is on our 20 mile run it returned 45 mpg. Sand coloured leather with black is not a good combination though!
Most annoying aspect on both cars was the front parking distance system. Everytime you stop - traffic lights, traffic queues etc it begins working so fills the car with annoying beeps! Not knowing the car we didn't know how to turn it off, but if you can't don't choose it as an option!
A friend then took out a XK8 cabrio - he says wouldn't have one if it was given, awful road manners and an even worse handbrake mechanism - even the Jaguar rep advised him not to use it. Read more
Browse
.jpg)
>>>>>>>There is a sealant product for bicycle tyres that you put in before any puncture. My moutain bike riding friends swear by the stuff. No idea what it is called though.
I think what they're talking about is "Slime" or something similar. Its appearance lives up to its name and you aerosol it into your tyres and in the event of a puncture it automatically seals the leak. It's designed as a permanent installation. Slime also does special tubes in various sizes already "Slimed" for pushbikes and off road m/cycles.
When we go out on a ride, the designated ride lead for that day must carry a can of tyre inflator and sealer. We have needed it once on a Harley Softail narrow front tyre which is prone to flats on our bad country highways and it worked fine. You should have seen the mess when the tyre came off tho'!
The one I carry is Johnsen's (sic) Tire Sealer and Inflator (sic) from (unsurprisingly given the spelling) the US. Costs about £1.87 here.
Some years ago I used to do a lot of off-roading in a Mitsubishi L200 Strada 4WD truck. I had a flat once when we were battling up some lava-flow somewhere and used the stuff. The pressure was enough to get the tyre pressure adjusted at a gas station on the way home. That stuff was still in the tyre when I sold the truck 2 years later!