November 2004
Trying to sort out the reasons for my Escort 1.8TD smoking pretty bad.
The car is a 95 1.8TD with 74K miles which appears genuine.
The smoke is dark/black so its a fuel problem.
I change the oil/filter every 4K miles and the oil level hardly moves and so far have never had to top it up between changes so its not an oil problem.
The darker nights now allows me to see "exactly" when it smokes, as I use the person's headlights behind me to experiment!
Its not because of hard acceleration or anything like that, and I definately do not have a power loss problem, the car drives ok.
When the engine is cold - its not as bad.
Flat road, normal cruise speed.......give the throttle a quick press down or squeeze = loads of smoke out the back. Slam the pedal down, again loads of smoke out the back.
It would appear that when the extra fuel is put through the system, the engine cant cope with it and chucks it out the back and keeps chucking it out the back until the speed has increased enough to handle it. This scenario can be repeated all the way up the speedometer range.
Is there a fuel pump issue here? maybe injectors have faulty pressure springs inside them? or maybe the fuel return system is not working correctly? Shouldnt this unwanted/unused fuel be returned somehow instead of being chucked out the exhaust?
I have tried everything on this problem, new filters all round, new oil, injector cleaning additives, checking valve clearances, different diesel from different garages etc..
The car is fitted with Lucas pump/injectors - are they troublesome?
Read more
Before selling my car privately, I was thinking of having a key scratch on the front wing attended to. It's not obvious until you look reasonably closely (I've lived with it for a year), but it's deep enough that T-Cut wouldn't do anything. So I was thinking of trying ChipsAway. I've read differing stories on this forum about their success rate, and the biggest factor seems to be how good your local operator is. So, can anybody recommend a good franchise in the Surrey/SW London area (as close to Kingston as possible preferably)? Hope this isn't abuse of this forum...
Given my description of the scratch, do people think that a SMART repair would be money well spent? Your answer might be influenced by the fact that the car's worth in the region of £10k, and it's a metallic (which I read can be a problem).
Thanks Read more
If it's not visible till you look closely, why not try something like Repro Scratch Remover first? Supposed to work on all colours including metallics and at £9.99 it could be a cheap option. I've seen this advertised by Readers Direct on 01474 327285, but have never seen any reports of a test on it.
When left overnight, or all day for example, my clutch seems to slip when the vehicle is first started and i move off.It only happens in first gear and the problem will go after say 10 gear changes or clutch depressions.If I pump the clutch a couple of times before I start the car its much better...,likewise if i rev it hard on starting, but if I dont the first 5 minutes of travel can be a juddering nightmare...Its been looked at by the garage I purchased it from and also a main Vauxhall dealer but they state its OK! Anyone suffered these sypmtons...im beginning to think Ive got a dodgy clutch foot.
Thanks Read more
And of course the clutch will eventually fail in any car.... it's going to be sooner in your car though! that slipping will eventually bite!
As you reported the fault within the warranty, they are shorely liable to replace parts and cover labour?
BTW have you got any fluid leaks showing up on your driveway?
Cheers,
Martin
The Daily Mail on Friday 5th nov has an article about British motorists. We know all about it, but it is put succinctly, all in one place.
"British drivers suffer the most congested roads and the highest tax burdens in Europe, says a report out today. ...while drivers pay £42billion in tax, only £6.7billion was spent on the roads last year. On fuel alone UK drivers pay the highest tax rate in Europe - more than 75p in every pound spent on unleaded. ...'We pay the highest taxes yet have the most congested roads. The Department of Transport said it had given local authorities powers to ease congestion by introducing pay-as-you-drive charges."
Ouch, Ouch!! Read more
"£42billion in tax, only £6.7billion was spent on the roads last year."
The trouble is "What do these figures mean?" What's included? ( on both sides ) Does this include police, fire service, NHS, legal costs for example? Is there a place to view the data?
Does a 18K or two year service interval seem sensible on this vehicle - a 54 reg Nissan Primastar va (similar to Renault trafic and Vauxhall vivaro) with a DCi 100 engine in?
One car that I had with a FSH from new actually suffered a cambel failure, because there was no requirement to change the cambelt layed out by the manufacturer, so I am a little suspicious of ANY manucacturer's service guidelines.
I am thinking that an annual oil and filter change in addition to this may not go amiss.
What do you think?
Hugo Read more
Does a 18K or two year service interval seem sensible on
this vehicle
No, it isn't sensible on any car, particularly if the owner is not mechanically aware as faults can arise during this time that may become lethal if not spotted.
This is apart from the obvious dangers of old oil etc.
Doing the rounds of the local VW dealers on Friday to find a replacement for my mum's Corolla I was asked if I would consider a new Golf V 105 TDi S without aircon. This would be the older pre aircon car but desirablke nonetheless. Seems the dealer has bought 50 of them from VW. Any idea of true woth for Januray registration. Cheers Read more
Fail to see how it's desirable personally. If your mum plans to keep it for years and she doesn't require air con then fine, but if you're going to be trading it in in 3 years time I would steer well clear as the residuals will be affected by the lack of air con. It's pretty much expected in the 21st century
The Bose Suspension
The proprietary Bose suspension system couples linear electromagnetic motors and power amplifiers with a set of unique control algorithms. For the first time, it is possible to have, in the same automobile, a much smoother ride than in any luxury sedan and less roll and pitch than in any sports car. The Bose research vehicle provides superior comfort by gliding smoothly over bumpy roads and superior control by keeping the car body level during aggressive maneuvers.
tinyurl.com/47wc3
Especially Impressed by demo movies on right of page..
Looks like roadhump's days are numbered! Read more
Thats too hard to fathom, so I won't be:)
Hi guys, really hope you can help....
I have a Ford Fiesta 1.1 that suffered from what the garage told me was an overfuelling problem. Not knowing a huge amount about cars, they fixed it for me,putting in a new ECT sensor and MAP sensor etc. Total cost - including labour etc, over 300 pounds. Now, I collected the car last night and it was running fine until I got up this morning, went to start the engine, and lo and behold the problem seemed to still be there. It would not start. What im wondering is, when I go back to collect the car on monday, what if the problem hadn't been overfuelling in the first place and Ive spent all that money on nothing. Can I claim the money back for the first repair from the garage or will they feed me a bunch of tosh? Im beginning to think I may have been ripped of for repairs I didnt actually need. Thanks, Read more
Change of title required maybe to Ripped off for sure subtitled "How do I get my 300 pounds back"
Pity Kev wasn't able to post prior to AntO32 going to collect this morning. Be interesting to know what has happened.
Phil I
A friend with a 3 week old Primera found it losing coolant in a big way from the radiator. They are not car literate and were initially fobbed off by dealer with the line of, "stone damage, not covered by warranty....... happens regularly!"
Well if it happens regularly it can only be a design fault, therefore should they go after dealer on 'fit for purpose'? Have other people come across this with the latest Primera?
Whilst the dealer still has the car, I have suggested they threaten to get an independent expert inspection on the grounds that dealer may then become more co-operative.
Next question is if it had suffered major coolant loss and lost a head gasket as a consequential event, ( ie VERY expensive) does this constitute accidental damage under an insurance policy?
The owner is just a normal commuter driver, no off road or track day use.
Any comments please? As next meeting with garage is early next week.
pmh (was peter) Read more
You are in a bind.
You could try and get legal over this, but you are likely to be having more trouble than the cost of replacement as well as losing goodwill. Going down the route of having an external specialist examine it will cost, but may be worth it. As Aprilia says, not always possible to say definitely if it is a manufacturing defect.
Suggest you approach Nissan UK with the service manager's comments, and hope for a goodwill payment.
Not wishing to sound unsympathetic, but if it isn't your car and you get involved you may finish up losing a friendship.
Hi,
Im considering buying an Alpha 156 2.4 JTD wagon at the moment, and was wondering if anyone has had any experience (good or bad) of these diesels.
I know Alphas have a reputation for being niggly cars, but are the newer models??
Grazi!
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Remember, fun is the key, but remain seated at all times or you may die. SHABBA! Read more
I did 500 miles in a JTD 2.4 140 saloon approx 12 months ago, it was noticably less gutsy at low revs than my TDCi 130 Mondeo however it was still pretty sporty in character, burbly exhaust note, lovely hand stiched leather etc etc. Reckon I could live with one.
Browse
Itchy - any luck with that pump manual?
I have been told to replace the CVT Valve - its part of the emission control system - no idea what it does though!!!!!