September 2004
Hi all,
can anyone help me here. My 1997 mitsubishi lancer front electric window recently packed up? i took the door apart to find the cables in the window rack all fraid and jamming the mechanism. I have taken this apart and fitted a new rack but with the old window motor. Now when the door was all put back together, when you hit the window switch it sends the window all the way up as it should but then back down by about 5 inches ?
does anyone know if i have missed something here or could it be the actual window motor ????
any help much appreciated Read more
I have a 1993 xantia with the 1.8 8v engine. It occasionaly refuses to start without use of the throttle, and once started will not idle (stalls) if throttle is not used. Leaving the car for a few hours and it will start again normally with no throttle.
Reading from this forum and others I read that the "throttle bypass valve stepper motor" aka "idle stepper motor" on this engine is prone to failure. Does this sound like a likely diagnosis to anyone or should I be looking at something else?
Anyone know if this part is easy to change or best left to my local dealer?
Thanks in advance,
M. Read more
Graeme,
Many thanks for the help, found the part in the end, around 90 from a friendly citroen dealer; works like a dream.
Cheers,
Mark.
The m-i-l needs a car in a hurry. Her current car is old, leggy and has now developed a gearbox fault (pops out of 5th). She had thought of going the trade-in route but I've persuaded her to let me source something from BCA Blackbushe. It seems to make sense for her to let her current car go through the auction the same time she picks up whatever I buy for her on the day.
I've bought a number of times at Blackbushe but not sold. Anyone tried auctioning at the scrap end of the market? Is it going to cost more than dropping off at the scrappy? This appears to be the least hassle option - far less than private sale, ebay etc. Any input welcome.
trevorh Read more
What a coincidence!
Tonight I have just "sold" my van on ebay.
The gearbox requires replacement or attention. It is an N reg Trafic 187K miles MOT til April and not looking its best and I just got £290. I would have expected to get around £650 or so privately if it were "ready for work". Replacing the box and perhaps the clutch would have not left me much more than the £290.
There is a market for the right vehicle out there.
If you do go by e bay, list all the faults with the vehicle down to the last chip in the paintwork. Have plenty of digital photos available to e mail to people with questions and leave your phone number on the listing (mobile phone no) to answer questions people may have.
Go for a 10 day listing. That way serious people who may be looking for that type of car, have done their serches and come up with it, and have several days to ask questions about it etc.
Make it clear that you will string up messers by their privates etc and drag them through the courts. This tends to put off about 95% of complete timewasters, however, despite me including links to previous non payers' profiles in my listings, I still get the odd one.
When you see the bids roll in, check the feedback of the bidders. If you're unsure about feedback, review the situation towards the end of the auction.
All the best
Hugo
Just done a tax computation for a guy who has been allocated a fully funded (petrol) Mercedes S350L as his Company car. The taxable benefit in kind came to £23,508 for this year.
In other words the Revenue are saying that this car being available to you for your private use is currently worth £23,508 per year.
What do you think?
Read more
>>Now that's more like it.....>>
..but how can you afford to live on the remaining £217.40 left after tax each month?
A week last Sunday, I agreed the purchase of a Leon TDI, dutch import from Motorpoint in Burnley.
It was there in the showroom already but unregistered. I paid my £500 deposit and was told that the registration process would only take a few days and I "should" be able to pick it up Friday. The salesman would phone me to confirm.
Friday afternoon came and I'd heard nothing so I phoned him.
The Certificate of Conformity still hadn't arrived from head office (Derby?) so they couldn't register it. He'd chase it up and phone me back later that day.
He didn't phone back.
Saturday I phoned him twice, left messages on his voicemail to phone me back. He didn't.
Sunday I managed to phone him. When I mentioned that I'd left messages and he never phoned back.. he just laughed. He said that the CoC might arrive Monday morning and to phone him about 11 to check.
Today, Monday, I phoned at 12:30. He says he's been "too busy to check yet" and to phone him back in 10 mins. I told him no, he must phone ME back in 10 mins. He agreed.
At time of typing.. it is 13:00. No phonecall.
I am getting more and more wound up! Is this justifiable.. or am I just being too pushy? Read more
Normally not a bad company.
although prices havent been significant recently.
just walk away from the deal - plenty around for seat leons. Most brokers would price match or beat motorpoints import price.
At long last I have decided that my head must rule my heart and the x-type has got to go. I do about 20k business miles each year and coupled with a 3k trip around France a month ago, has convinced me that I need something a tad more economical. My previous prejudices against diesels have recently disappeared after driving various cars which were OK.
I have narrowed down my search to Audi A4 2.5 TDI quattro and BMW 330d (both in tourer form). Given that the Jag is an auto, leather, cruise etc, it's got to have all the toys, and having driven both on extensive test drives recently I am 50:50. one half of me is swayed towards the Audi due to its 4x4 for the odd occaison when it may prove useful, but the other half likes the improved performance of the BMW.
So it's over to you - which would you prefer?
Read more
Had a look at these on Sunday - quite like them and I've always been a fan of Honda engines - but not recent styling. Probably worth a test drive eh?
We have a problem with my wifes car which to date local garages have been unabke to identify.
The car is an N reg Escort 5 door 1.4 LX which has covered 38000 miles from new & is mainly used for short journeys of 3 miles or less at a time, not the best way to run an engine.
When occasionally used on longer trips once the vehicle has done 12-15 miles it developes an irregular stutter. This has been happening over the last eighteen months, however during the recent spell of hot weather the engine has been stuttering as described above when run from cold.
Also occasionally the engine will rev at between 2500-3500 when the vehicle is at rest without the pedal depressed & sometimes cuts-out with the pedal at rest when approaching roundabouts. The vehicle has been taken to four garages & the plugs, leads & electronic coil unit have been replaced but the problem continues & the garages are unable to help.
It has been suggested that engine sludge is the problem but lubricant does not help.
Can anyone help.
Read more
Andrew.
I am unable to access your website. Is it a temporary situation?
I have an '03' plate Renault Scenic. The last time I washed it I found a tiny blister on the 'plastic' front wing. When I was washing it, it popped, and the water got underneath the laquer. After some other warranty repairs that needed carrying out, they (Renault dealer) also looked at the blister. They dismissed it immediately as a stone chip that had caused the problem? It is a very strange place for a stone chip anyway, and prior to that, it was a very small blister that popped. They (Renault) will not move on their descision. My argument was if this was a stone chip, why has the same not happened on the bonnet where there has been un-treated stone chips for months?
Can someone help me out here in which way to take this? I don't want to get into a major legal battle with Renault as thats a waste of my time and energy. Why is such a large company like Renault with all their multi-million flashy ad's quibling over a tiny blister on the painwork??
I have called Renault head office already, and found that to be futile.
Help!! Read more
Why is such a large company like Renault with all their
multi-million flashy ad's quibling over a tiny blister on the painwork??
If they repair every paint blemish that a customer complains about, then that multi-million pound company soon wouldn't be a multi million pound company anymore. Lets face facts, they assume it was caused by a stone chip, you have no other evidence to say otherwise, apart from the ones on the bonnet haven't gone the same way.
It's a tough call. The corrosion warranty won't apply as the wing is fibreglass, not steel, so therefore the damage is purely cosmetic. If it's not in a very noticable place, and the damage is small, then just buy a touch up pen and paint over it.
There was recently an interesting thread on the different speed limits that apply to Light Commercial Vehicles as opposed to vans that were originally born as cars and simply lost some windows along the way. (www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=23988&...f for those who are interested)
We'll be trucking on down to the Alps on Boxing Day in the L200 and I was wondering if similar limits will apply "en France".
I'm particularly aware that my usual approach to driving down to the Alps (find fastest French driver and follow at a 1/2 mile distance) is not likely to work this year as (a) The truck won't do those sort of speeds and (b) les flics are getting rather hot under the collar at Jean Etrangeres* sticking two fingers up, Agincourt style, at the speed limits.
Can anyone advise on the speed limits applicable to a pick-up woth a GVW of 2800KG when on the Autoroutes please?
Ta!
ND
(*Johnny Foreigner) Read more
Just for reference. If you key in a URL (i.e. a website) into google, you can use the Translate button to automatically convert it from another language to English.
There's a similar feature in AltaVista and a variation at babelfish.altavista.com/
I have a 4 year old Civic, so it is out of warranty. It is due its 36k service soon....which is £178 at the Honda dealer. For that I get Oil/Filter, brake fluid changed and 40 or 50 checks.
I could do a service myself replacing all fluids/filters/plugs etc for less than half that. What I wont get is the "checks" and a stamp in the service book.
Can anyone comment on the value of dealer servicing or suggest alternatives?, I am in based in the West Midlands.
Thanks in advance
Steve Read more
In my experience, if a car is say up to six or seven years old, then a full history will really benefit in terms of ease of sale if not necessarily value. Thereafter, I would say its the overall condition that is just as important as the stamps in the book, although its alwasy nice to see a book full of stamps or a file full of receipts.
If the 4yo Honda will be kept for another couple of years then go to Honda, or a decent independent who knows Hondas and can stamp it up for you. £178 isn't too expensive for an annual service is it.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
Its the anti-trap function tripping in. As you have replaced the motor into a new mechanism then the funtion will require a re-set, now unfortunatly in a Mitsubishi this can be a long job requiring the door to be stripped back down.
Try this first.
Wind the window all the way to the top using only the manual (1st click) switch.
press and hold the switch in the auto position (2nd click)for a few seconds.
If that doesn't work you will need to:
Remove door card
Remove motor from mechanism(probably need to remove mechanism from door)
Using window switch wind the motor up for a few seconds so that it has gone further than it has been before.
This un-sets (if the word exists) the motor.
Now reassemble and use the first method.
Have fun.
(Glass-Tech)