November 2004
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
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.
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?
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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?
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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.
Hi,
After an interpretation on a restrictive covenant . . hope there's a legal eagle out there who may be able to help.
Have a Peugeot Avant Garde motor home on order for next year. Have had a few 'comments' from our neighbours regarding restrictive covenants. The offending section is contained in the Convenyance document between the original builders and the first owners, although I guess they also apply to me . .. ?
"No caravan house on wheels or boat or trailer or tent shall be placed, parked or allowed to remain on the property hereby conveyed or any part thereof without the consent of the vendor."
The question, I guess, is who is "The Vendor" now? The verse above is between the builder and the first buyer of the property. As we now own the property (and have no vendor), who is this passage referring to?
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>>Remember that lawyers like getting paid for their time and they're far more likely to get some cash for an hour's constructive advice than they are for a protracted neighbour dispute that achieves nothing and gives them no job satisfaction.
Very good advice indeed, and worth bearing in mind when dealing with any professional who charges by the hour - accountants, architects, surveyors etc. - and indeed plumbers, tailors & builders.
Clear simple instructions giving rise to job satisfaction and a happy customer. It keeps the fees down, too! (Which means you're more likely to pay, so the service provider is happier.)
Just wondering if tyre pressures were an average of 2PsI down on recommend 30PSI, how much this would effect fuel consumption and would the effect become less when traveling faster. Read more
Don't know how about mpg, but it certainly affects the handling on our C5. I knew there was something amiss today when out in the car as the handling was terrible. Sure enough, the front offside tyre was 0.5 bars below what it should be. The rest were also low, but not by the same amount. Why the offside one should have lost so much I don't know, as it never has before and I will have to keep a close eye on it in case there is a slow puncture. Anyway, after getting the tyres to their correct pressure, the handling was fine.
38k on the clock, T-reg 1.8 Vectra 16v. Goes like the proverbial (well, for a 1.8l repmobile, it does), but has developed an occasional misfire - not really noticable above 40mph, but below that, noticeable (when occuring, which is not all the time) when doing any constant speed in any gear.
Instinct was to give it some new plugs & leads & rotor arm... until I saw the 6-point bolts holding the top onto the engine... and realisation dawned that rotor arms went out with the dinosaurs. Engine cover put it well beyond the realms of a kerbside job with a small handful of sockets.
Anybody have any other ideas?
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Well, four years and 32k further on, I have a diagnosis.
Ihad the cambelt changed as the tensioners were noisy, and it was changed by a Vauxhall enthusiast (sic!). He raved about the engine being bullet proof (despite cambelt tensioners that need changing every 40k and all the other notorious faults mentioned on this thread. Whatever...
Apparently the hydraulic tappets soot up - as does everything on this Ecotec engine as posts above relate - so oil doesn't get through the little holes, so there is no compression.
One day this will apparently refuse to start... until then, sixteen of them at £25.38 each looks somewhat expensive...
Browse
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?