January 2005
Hi all
My 98 306 xsi boiled over the other day after a journey into London (water was dripping from the rad overflow, so not a breakdown in a cloud of steam but it was only 8 degreess C out).
After further investigation it appears that the fan is not coming on. I left the engine running until the temp gauge read 100C (red line is just over 110C), but I would expect the fan to have cut in by 100.
Any thoughts? Thermostat? Broken fan? Dodgy wiring?
I had the air con condensor, some pipes and both rads changed a few months ago and can't remember whether I have heard the fan since. Could this be related?
Thanks
Greg Read more
**** Poll now closed. Results here:- **** www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=28903&...e This weeks poll, as suggested by Tom Shaw:-
Read moreMy top speed was also in France, late on a Sunday night (no HGVs) on the Poitiers to Bordeaux autoroute.
Hit 140 mph in a VW Sharan V6 for about 30 minutes, also had a ton (literally) of materials in the back en route to factory trials. Fuel guage moved rather quickly!
I felt really pleased with myself for getting away with it - and then got radared by Les Flics on the way back on Tuesday. That was in 2000 - I wouldnt risk anything like that in France now.
Dan
i am a taxi driver/operator. the council have invited the trade to justify an increase in the fares this year. therefore, if anyone could point me in the right direction for an increase in the following from Jan 04 to Jan 05. the topics i thought were relivant are as follows.
cost of vehicle component parts
labour costs
fuel costs
insurance costs
vehicle costs
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You could have a look at civil service and local government staff car mileage allowances.
8< snip 8<
{No naming/shaming - thankyou. DD} Read more
Have to go to Sheffield today to pick up a car. It is a 400 round trip as I live in Farnham, Surrey.
As I obviously cannot drive two cars at once I need to use public transport.
First option train: 4 changes, £32 cost and 4 and a half hours. Sounds good, confer with missus and go to book online. Within 5 minutes the price has changed to just over £60. Enquire why and apparently 6.00pm is a kind of Railway witching hour where prices change. Forget that then.
Second option bus: 1 change £22 cost plus £3 for headphones to watch TV. Journey time 7 hours. Journey time a bit long, but price is right and time is not critical so me thinks go for it. As a precaution check with a human the coach time and he agrees 8.05am this morning as time. Wake up this morning check on internet again and time has changed to 8.35am. Get to bus stop at 7.55am. And wait, and wait, still waiting. Ring up bus company.
First person tells me that the bus time was in fact 7.00am, but there will be another one along in two minutes. Rapidly acknowledges this is wrong info and that the bus has been and gone and it was the only one that day. Apparently the driver was early and did not wait.
Then ring complaints and am told that the bus company is rubbish in her view and that did I know how many buses they owned. Well what do you think 3000?, 1000?, 500?......how about trying 1. Yes bus company own one whole coach as this is the requirement do be called a coach operator. The rest is franchised out in some way. I rapidly lost interest over the next five minutes of the conversation as she explained an utterly laborious and time consuming complaints procedure involving letters, tachographs etc being passed between myself, bus company and the coach operator.
Finally, I was offered a £10 voucher which when it arrives I will give away to the first person on this forum who expresses an interest in wanting it, although I do liken this offer as like off loading something you don't like as a present.
I will never use a bus/coach again and both myself and my wife are now doing what we probably should have done in the first place and jumping in the car to go up there.
If public transport is so good why do the great and the good of this country always use our jets and helicopters to get everywhere? Precisely!
{references to bus company name removed. DD}
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nd sorry but the one i was one was weird this was like a back lane designed for buses it was strange to say the least looked new it was behind an industrial estate if that helps with local geography...cheers...keo
I have a Ford Focus Turbo Diesel 4 years old which I have always had serviced regularly. The car broke down in England on the motorway with a fire and black acrid smoke - the emergency mechanic told me the engine had seized and it was in complete failure. I need help on this I am not technically minded I want to know if this could happen to a diesel at such a young age after I always have it serviced regularly - there was a problem with the oil warning indicator and I have a strong reason to believe the mechanic removed the oil warning light wire as after I had it serviced the oil warning light kept coming which I told him about ut before I went on the trip he assured me he had rectified this. The emergency mechanic said yes he fixed it by unplugging it. Can someone help me and advise me what to do as the insurance will not pay for mechanical failure and this has been a good family car until the last mechanic serviced it. Thanks Catherine. Read more
Interesting this. i've also got a focus with the TDDI engine and also luckily enough to have the ford maintenance procedure on CD-Rom. Please tell me if i'm wrong but the car was ok before you had it serviced by the Mobile Mechanic (i.e. no oil warning light on in the past????) You said he mentioned something about sump?? Can you think back to what he said more percific. Did he use genuine ford parts in the service?? I.e. ford oil filter??? Is the sump plug in one piece and not covered in fresh oil?? Covered in oil could mean he never used a new sump plug gasket or in a extreme case never tightened the sump plug. What can you remember about the oil pressure warning light being on??? Was it on for long or was it momentary before the engine seized. At motorway speeds with a engine getting no oil supply it would not take long very long before it locks up but that depends on the load and speed of of which the engine was running at. I maintain train engines for a living wich are Diesel so i hope the above information is to some sort of usefulness.
I've just bought a 2 yr old 1.1 mpi saxo with 27K on the clock and FSH. I am only getting 41 mpg compared with 48mpg from my previous Peugeot 106 with similar miles and same engine, the Peugeot also had more zest, as has my mothers saxo.
My driving style is the same and the brakes are not dragging, the air filter is clean and I have no engine management lights up or any misfiring. The car is going into the garage soon to have a new sunroof and door seal under warranty any ideas why the power could be down and mpg down before it goes in so I can point them in the right direction, they need all the help they can get...... Thanks Read more
Thanks 3T, I'm going to try injector cleaner in my next fill up and hopefully after a couple of weeks of my driving style things should improve.
Just been listening to a piece on the radio about car crime (which has apparently fallen by 30%) in the last 10 years IIRC.
Anyway one of the experts was claiming that laminated glass is a highly effective (if more expensive by about 4 times) security measure which could/should be adopted more widely.
I don't doubt this - we specified laminated security glass for a number of the windows in our house. However, the surveyor made the point that it should NEVER be used in a situation which could hamper escape in the event of an emergency.
How are the 2 arguments reconciled then? Thinking about it, I don't fancy being stuck in a car which has, say, overturned and in which the doors can't be opened, struggling to smash my way through laminated glass or watching would be rescuers doing likewise. In cases like this ordinary toughened glass would probably break on impact and at least afford some chance of escape for anyone able and/or small enough to do so without too much effort. Even if they don't break on impact, it's not that difficult to do unlike the case with laminated glass.
Obviously, anyone who's been the victim of carjackers might well be delighted to have laminate all round.
So what's it to be - safety or security?
Perhaps our glass experts could advise. Read more
OK - that much is now clear to my ignorant mind. Is this conversion often done? I must confess that I've never heard of it being offered.
And how does one go about getting it done? Or was the original post just TIC?
Hope you can help as I am distraught after spending over £300.
My partner drives a 97 Seat Ibiza (AEX engine) or at least she did
until a week ago when she blew a hole in the side of the engine.
Anyway to cut a long story short. I was told by a scrappy that the 1.4 AEX Golf engine would fit my car however after spending the readies and buyong a new clutch found that the gearbox doesn't fit.The scrappy surprise surprise wont give me my money back and I amleft with a knackered Ibiza engine and a useless Golf engine.
Do you know if there is anything I can do to make the Golf engine fit i.e change the gearbox etc.
Appreciate any advice you can give
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I've dealt with scrapyards on occasion over many years for parts such as headlights etc.
In every case those running them knew exactly what I needed/required and where to find it amongst their vast stock.
They also volunteered the information that if, by any chance, the part wasn't suitable or faulty I could return it for a swap or full refund.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Hi,
I need to remove and refit the inside rear passanger door panel but can't figure out how to do it ? It's a P-reg Daewoo Espero CDXI.
Any ideas ?
Ta,
Al. Read more
Browse
If the rad etc have been changed, then there is a possibility that the temperature sensor in the rad has not been re-connected, or the contacts on it are bad.