November 2004
Someone asked me this the other day, and as someone who reckons they know a bit about cars and engines, I was horrified to admit, "I don't know". Every diesel I've driven has a red line and limiter at between 4,500 and 5,000 RPM instead of the 6,000-7,000 of a typical petrol engine of equivalent bore/stroke. Many modern turbodiesels are still pulling hard when the limiter calls an end to the fun, so does anyone have any idea why these engines are limited to such low revs?
Cheers in advance
DP Read more
Windscreen washers in my "new" (1995) Volvo 940 packed up.
On investigation I found what seemed to be a sort of silicone gasket between the filler tube and the reservoir.
I cleaned it. It's a filter! Covered on both sides with a layer of black slimy gunge.
This black slimy stuff also covers the inside of the washer bottle.
Any ideas on how to remove it?
It looks like I might have to take the air filter off to remove the bottle.
Volvoman, where are you when I need you? Read more
i'm always going on at my missus for using too much washing up liquid when doing the dishes.
The reason? A sticky residue builds up on the plastic sink and dishes holder which has to be removed using a strong kitchen cleaner and brush.....
Sounds like it's the same with your windscreen water reservoir.
In any case you should never use washing up liquid in the windscreen water as it contains salt. I live on the coast and the salty air causes enough problems as it is without adding more.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
It's simple really... what would you choose: a brand new Avensis 2.0 petrol with leather & xenons or a used 2-year old Camry 2.4 auto with 43k with leather & navi (no xenons though). BTW: is Camry made in Japan ? Read more
Right, made in the UK and suffers build and reliability problems as a result.
Sounds like youve already made up your mind if you think this so why ask for advice?
This might seem a bit of a silly question,but after many petrol cars I'm now on my first diesel. I notice (especially with the dark nights) a fair amount of white diesel smoke/haze on pulling away and when pulling from low revs.
How much smoke should I expect from a diesel? I assume that black smoke is a fueling problem etc but I'm not sure about any other colours!
The car is an 02 Focus TDDI. Read more
No Mondeos are made in Germany;they are all made in Belgium(Genk).
Quick one for you all. My otherwise perfect Mazda6 has an incredibly annoying plastic on plastic/rubber squeak coming from where a load of trim meets near the rear nearside door. I know where it is coming from but have yet to sort it. It needs some kind of inoffensive lubricant to sort it. I did try Vaseline but as expected it dried out very quickly. My dad suggested wiping olive oil on the offending parts but I'm not sure I'm happy with that suggestion.
When my Vectra had a similar issue the dealer used some white, non drying paraffin base cream which was excellent. Sadly, as far as that point is concerned, I don't live near them any more. Anyone got any suggestions as to either what would be good to try or where I could get the above from?
P.s. Trim is not in contact with seats and anything I do use would sit behind plastic trim so no problem if it's "oily" etc...
Cheers, Dan Read more
Silicone spray or silicone grease, depending on the gap etc.
During the recent cool damp weather I've noticed that the clutch is slipping when under acceleration. It is particularly bad when the engine is cold and you accelerate up a hill or from low rpm in high gear. Once the engine is warmed up it all but disappears. I've tried holding my left foot on the brake whilst accelerating and can't get the clutch to slip once the engine has been warm for a while. Evry now and again it will slip when warm but not often. The pic is 53 reg HDI and has covered 40,000 motorway miles (no I don't rest my foot on the clutch). The dealer has told me that the only thing they can do is take a look and that I must be prepared to pay £495 if the clutch is worn. In all my years of driving and many '000's of company car miles I've never had a clutch. I can't go to a 3rd party for a clutch as it wouldn't be covered on warranty. I'm being held to ransom surely. Anybody had a similar experience? Read more
I am now just starting to experience this problem on our 2.0 diesel ('52' 23,000 miles), it does seem worse during the first 20 mins of driving, but even after that it is likely to slip when accelerating to overtake on the motorway. There is also a tendancy to slip when accelerating uphill. We also own a Peugeot 405 which we have had from new (Jan 1996) it has 176,000 miles on the clock and the original clutch. The ony expanation offered by the Citroen dealer to my wife was that she must be touching the clutch when driving, as he couldn't simulate the problem (which she is not). Will be writing to Citroen for comment
I recently bought a second hand MIG welder on ebay. However it came without a bottle or regulator. I have managed to acquire a couple of brewery CO2 bottles and have had them filled at a local fire extinguisher suppliers. What I need now is a suitable regulator. Can anyone tell me if all commercial CO2 bottles have the same threaded outlet and therefore interchangeable regulators, or are the brewery ones different?
Read more
You will get the argon to co2 adaptor at WeldUK cost £15 Hope this helps anyone looking for the same without having to buy new gauges
I have had a number of cars that have rusted in my time but far and away the worst was a Fiat 128 Sport in the 70's - Great Fun Car but the body got more like swiss cheese every day ...
It occurred to me that in these days of galvanised body shells and anti corrosion warranties perhaps the tin worm problem isn't as bad as it used to be.
Two questions.
Whats the backrooms ' worst ever rust bucket' nomination from the past.
Perhaps the more difficult question is what is your nomination for the most likely rust bucket in the future?
Read more
I'm surprised that the MB W210 E-class (1995-2002) hasn't been mentioned yet. From the continuing reports in the MB Owners Club Gazette and on their bulletin board, I'm beginning to wonder whether any of them are free of rust. This month in the Gazette was a letter from an owner who discovered that his W210 was unsafe to drive because of the corrosion failure of a major suspension component, and I've seen other reports of this too; and on the bulletin board is a report from someone whose W210 has had every piece of bodywork replaced apart from three of the doors.
Someone said that word from inside MB is that the bodywork problems were all caused by a new eco-friendly paint process, although there is a different view in HJ's Car-by-Car Breakdown. It has to be said that, after some initial reluctance, MB seem to have behaved responsibly with repairs under warranty, so perhaps the repaired cars won't be rust buckets after all. Goodness knows how many millions they've had to shell out.
...I'm sure it was working last week! This morning, NON! So, my question; is there a fuse in the loop that I could check first, or is it more likely to be the motor? Car is V reg (Feb 00) Oh...when pulling the column stalk to its 2nd stage, the rear water squirter works...which seems to me to point to the motor, but I'm probably wrong. If it IS the motor, are they readily to be had at salvage yards etc? Many thanks.. PL Read more
Blimey - no seperate earth? I assume then that the HRW goes on the blink at the same time?
Morning all,
I am going to have to drive a Transit van next month and when casually looking at the back of my licence, I saw there was no van just car and....er...milk float.
I thought something like a Transit van was in the same category as car but looking at both my Mum and Dad's licences, I notice they have a picture of a van, and a whole load of other stuff.
I have been told (by a cop no less) that I need to ask the DVLA to put this on. I didn't get specifics but he said that this applies to certain other categories too.
Can anyone verify this and tell me how to go about getting van put on the licence?
Many thanks,
--
Adam Read more
Transit 430 is a 4 tonne van which means I am afraid to break the news you won't be allowed to drive as you are limited to 3.5 tonne gross. Even if you are not fully loading the van up.
I am sure it is the same as pensioners ie 70 year olds that don't opt for the Medical to keep all categories.
Only complication to this is if the van has been officially derated and plated to suit.
Browse
.jpg)
Diesels are ideally suited to turbo charging. The deisel combustion process opearates at constant pressure (volume increases), unlike petrols which operate at constant volume (pressure increases). This means you can easily increase the starting pressure of the cycle (which is what a turbo charger does) without worrying about the compression ratio going completely to pot and the head exploding (OK it's not that easy, but the potential is there!).
Most modern TDs run about 1 bar boost pressure. This effectively means you put twice as much air in as running it at atmospheric pressure, and could in theory get twice as much power out. Obviously more power requires more fuel - BUT (and here's the really good bit!) as you raise the boost pressure the cycle efficiency goes UP, and you get more useful power out of the fuel burnt. So, when you chip a TD engine, the boost pressure is increased and the fuelling increased to match. The effect of higher boost pressure is that under the same driving conditions the potential exists to run the engine at higher efficiency and it uses less fuel. Nice! Of course if you chip the engine and then give it a bootful the whole time, economy is likely to suffer....
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....