November 2004
I would like to replace the parcel shelf speakers but was wondering if I will need to buy adapters or a set of 6 x 9's will go straight in.
The standard speakers look a funny shape.
Any ideas? Read more
A friend of mine has a VW Bora - seems a nice enough car however now one of the brake lights has gone. Look in the book to find what bulb to buy and it says that all bulbs should be replaced by the dealer.
Is this a scam so the dealer can charge £15 for a £2 light bulb?
Or is it really impossible for the user to fit a replacement?
What happens in France when you are supposed to carry spare bulbs if:
a) the manual doesn't tell you what bulb to buy.
b) you can't fit it yourself anyway.
By the way, anybody know how to do it? Read more
The bora manual 'recommends' that bulbs are changed by a dealer, but if they are 'ordinary' bulbs, they can be changed like any other ....
But, particularly with the fronts, there is precious little room in which to do it - I think of myself as being of 'compact' build with small hands, and when I changed mine, it was a struggle.
If you can find a lady with long, strong fingers, you've cracked it !
Today is my car's annual £25 oil and filter change. Other than this I never EVER do any other maintenace on my car. I only cover around 6k miles a year.
I see garages offering "full" services for anything around £60-£100 but this seems to me little more than the oil and filter change plus a brake/tyre check and anti-freeze drain/refill.
Am I effecting the long term future of my car with this attitude? I check my tyres obviously and would keep the oil/coolant topped up (not that the levels ever seem to change!)
Other than the cam-belt (due for replacement soon) is it worth changing any other consumable component on a car as a precaution? Views please...
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Quite amazed that seemingly intelligent people on this forum seem to believe that there will be no come back if their poorly maintained vehicle is involved in an accident. If the said accident is a fatal or near fatal then the one certainty is that the vehicle will be removed for a full examination and if it transpires that the vehicle was in dangerous condition and that the defect was a contributory factor then the owner can expect a very unpleasant court appearance. The courts tend not to favour the accused in such cases.
The fuel gauge on my 2.0i Sport Frontera (1998) has packed up - problem is, which end do I start looking?! The tank (sender) end or the dash end? I have checked all of the relevant fuses, and all are OK. Can anyone offer me any advice? Thanks in advance! Read more
Not sure about the Frontera but from experience on Cavaliers the
sender sits at the front side of the tank facing the
engine under a round plate
Victorbox,
on later Cavalier's they moved the sender unit to the top of the tank, so it could be accessed through the rubber bung under the rear seat. My J reg (91) one was on the side, as you say, but my L reg (93) was on top.
Gulf outside Dorrington on the A49 5 miles south of Shrewsbury have unleaded at 81.9 and proper fuel (aka diesel) at 83.9 cheapest in the area by a few pence. Read more
81.9 for petrol or diesel at Sainsburys Coventry.
Hi All,
I have a problem with my R75 in that the N/S rear brake disc is badly scored (for whatwever reason - stone in pad maybe). The pads are obviously bought as a piar & will be replaced at te same time, but my question is this - can the disc itself be replaced singly or do they have to be replaced as a pair, ie both rear discs at the same time?
Many thanks,
Neil.
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The same way as a Peugeot 406 has it's handbrake setup...
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
Hi all - I'm sure most of us have wondered at some time about the enigmatic and elusive DD so Imagine my surprise when all was revealed yesterday afternoon. I was just returning from a game of tennis when I saw a rather dodgy looking character lurking at our front door. He left before I got there but on entering thouse house I found his calling card. (apologies 'cos I can't do the fancy font thing)
"Dynamic Dave's mobile valeting service"
"Get your motor looking as good as new - call Dynamic Dave on ......."
Well I knew this moderating lark didn't pay all that well but didn't know things were quite that tough :) Read more
Perhaps someone has cloned DD?
I knew it was a mistake getting rid of the copyright symbol that I used to have next to my username.
Just learnt from BBC TV that the Iran Khodro Company has stopped production of the infamous Peykan, based on the 1960's Hillman Hunter 1725cc and Iran's "people's car" for almost 40 years. Tehran's city sprawl has long been a sea of orange Peykan taxis driven by maniacs, much like the battered Fiat 124's of Cairo.
In 1978 I was posted to Tehran by my US employer to open up an office and one of ther tasks was buying a car, of course a Peykan. They were brought in from UK in kit form and supply was rationed, so all sorts of permissions had to be obtained
from obstructive clerks in all sorts of hot sheds where one had to line up for hours to get the various bits of paper stamped. My secretary was a very resourceful lady and after a day of this she turned up with a cushion under her black chadoor and wheedled her way to the heads of lines by tearfully explaining she was 8 months gone and about to faint in the heat.
You got were you were given, no choice of options or colour. We lucked out however, and were allotted a Javanan -- a twin carb Persian Version of the Peykan with built in headrests in the seats and some rather poorly glued wood replica on the dash and a 5 speed 'box. This model only came in battleship grey.
On the first evening I was driving back to my apartment when the entire LH wheel and hub fell off and vanished under a bus along Takht-e-Jamshid Avenue. There was no concept of a warranty or returning the car so Youssef the driver did what everyone else did and took it one of the workshops which lined so-called "Peykan Street". That little problem fixed, we drove it to Isfahan one weekend, about an 800km round trip and it used all its engine oil. Twice. Conventional wisdom was that every Peykan owner had to fix all the faults himself, after which the car ran fine. Which proved to be the case.
With the Shah gone and my position at some risk as the Revolution gained momentum, I was hauled out to Bahrain. No US auditor wanted to come to Iran at that time to check all the assets, so I gave the car away to Youssef. I bet it's still doing duty somewhere.
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www.bilhistorie.no/e70/lav35.htm
Check out the RoStyle wheels - happy,happy days.
I?m hoping to pick up my new car on Saturday, but for the dealer to tax it he needs an insurance certificate or cover note. My insurer said it will not fax such a document to the dealer, and that?s the law.
Is it? Bit of a devil if I needed a replacement car quickly due to a crash or suchlike-I?d have to wait for snailmail to deliver!
Any comments?
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My company Norwich Union offered me the option of special delivery for and extra £5. I took it.
I had the cert delivered straight to me and took it to the dealer. They would have sent it straight there but I was concerned about the post arriving before anyone was there.
H
OK
So in August I sold the Volvo S80 to buy the Trajet for SWMBO. I took over her CR-V but couldn't get comfortable. I want to change it for something I can drive without getting back and neck ache in three minutes.
In the meantime in April father buys Subaru Forester, 1999 V with Auto. Bit basic but drives really really well. However he decides he wants something similar but with more kit, more room and less agricultural. I find new shape Forester Turbo Auto with leather for him. The dealer offers poor p/x against old Forester but superb deal against CR-V.
So, Honda goes, new Forester arrives and I will drive old Forester until I choose a leased car. Then I start nagging the Back Room about Saabs, BMW X3s, Volvos, and Audis. About to choose an amazing deal on BMW X3 when..............
Father: - I'm not sure I like new Forester
Me: - Why?
F: - The ride in the old one is better
M: - So?
F: - Tell you what, you take the new one and I'll keep the old one and when I go on a long trip and want heated leather seats and cruise control, I'll borrow it. OK?
M: - Err OK!
So, one year old Forester Turbo Auto with Leather Pack on my drive, 10,000 miles looks like it came out of the showroom yesterday and even SWMBO likes it. Lovely comfortable seats with great, slightly raised position and dead easy to get boys in and out for school. And fast!
Am I missing something?
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive? Read more
Yup, having driven a 3.0 X3, which was nice but clearly at lot heavier and clumsier than the Forester, I'm happy!
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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...And if the parcel shelf is as flimsy and flexible as it is on many cars, spend a little time and money making it more rigid. For twenty quid and a few hours of your time, this can often bring a benefit (much 'tighter' more controlled sound) far greater than fitting hugely expensive speakers but allowing the shelf to continue flexing. After all, why bother upgrading speakers at all if they are not fitted to realise most of their potential (without the more extreme effort of making sealed enclosures, etc)?
I have done this a number of times on hatchbacks that I and friends have owned, always to great affect. Usually involves a couple of hours spread over two evenings, some fibreglass mat and resin, a transverse strip of 1"x1.75" timber (pine is fine and not too heavy), and depending how fussy the owner is regarding finish, some felt and Copydex(tm), or simply black spray paint.
HTH.