March 2005

Forum diesel
wantone

98p ltr diesel ultimate? (peterborough).
is it really worth this much!!
keep putting it in but its got me scratching my head. Read more

Zippy123

We found the 1.9 105hp Touran TDI actually cheaper to buy than the 1.6fsi petrol because of an offer VW were doing and as the dealer wanted to shift some TDIs for his bonus he lopped more off it so it was cheaper than the petol model (we asked for qoutes on both).

The dealer was even cheaper then the internet offers on here and elsewhere!!!!!

We even got a free 6 disk multichanger fitted due to a factory error :-))

Demon

Another week another problem. 1994 Mondeo 1.8 TD, on Tuesday I started experiencing difficulty in gear selection, particularly 1st and reverse. I drive forty odd miles to work and back and on that morning, after about 10 miles I heard a kind of clicking/snapping noise from around the clutch pedal area as I was switching into 5th. It was only the one snap and although it was a bit disconcerting I thought nothing of it as it didn't seem to affect the car in any way. However when I got to where I work, which always gives me a good twenty minutes of heavy slow moving traffic where you're lucky to get into third, getting into first gear from neutral seemed to get more and more difficult, to the point where I was really having to force the stick. And switching up from there wasn't as easy as it should be either. When I got to the car park and needed to reverse, it was as equally difficult. When I got back to the car at the end of the day, it was back to normal, until I'd been sat in traffic for a while, but then the cruise home once I was out of the jam was fine. Exactly the same Wednesday and this morning, so I guess it must be a heat related issue. Although difficult to select, the gears aren't making any crunching or grating noises unless my foot isn't far enough down on the clutch, but I seem to have to put my foot right to the floor to change. Does the snapping sound suggest the cable is on it's way out or needs adjusting (apparently it's not a self-adjusting type) and that as it gets hotter, standing in traffic without the wind blowing through, it's expanding making the problem worse, or is it something bigger and the snapping is just a coincidence..? Haven't had the chance to check yet but can tomorrow. Any ideas...? Thanks (again!) Read more

mjm

Ford used to fit a plastic adjusting cam to the pedal end of the clutch mechanism to allow for clutch wear. The teeth on it used to wear and the pawl would sometimes slip over them, and give exactly the problem you have. Basically, you run out of pedal travel. As you have found, the pawl will sometimes catch properly and return the pedal action to normal.
I do not know for certain that this is the problem, but it sounds familiar. The good news is that it is a good bit cheaper than a new clutch.

Bushell

Hi

I have a problem with the above named car. The engine runs but only at tickover.

The car has only done 11500 miles. I diagnosed an ECU failure, the man who came to collect the car to take to the garage stated "its computers gone, its not going anywhere". I have had a similar fault on a high milage Merc Sprinter van (312000 miles). The local Ford agents have said that the EGR valve (exhaust gas recirculation valve) is at fault. When I took the van to the Merc dealer they said that the EGR valve had gone, they changed it and it made no difference, they then changed the injector pump, it made no difference, they then changed the ECU, success but only with bills for £3261.00 Happily Merc paid for a goodly whack of this.

My question is, would an engine run if the EGR valve was stuffed? Is this a common way of trying to fix faults by changing the cheapest components first and hoping that fixes the fault?

Cheers

Gordon Read more

Bushell

Thanks for the replies. Having read what you have written I think I will stick with my original diagnosis. Ford have been in contact today, they said that the car might be ready on saturday, if that is the case, it has only taken three weeks to fix it!! It's a good job it is nothing complicated. So much for customer service. I will keep you posted.

Cheers

Gordon.

Retro

Got GT4 a week or so ago and completely hooked.

Loads of different cars and the tracks especially Le Mans and Nurburgring are superb and very authentic.

Recommended. Read more

Garethj

Sometimes it sees 2 corners, a 4th gear one which leads to a 2nd gear one whereas it looks to us like one corner which tightens up and in practice you'd be better off braking and doing it all in second as you found out.

Forum Rockingham
ajit

Was looking at some drive days at Rockingham. Although the duration is stated as 3 hours, actual drive time is 25 min.

I have been to Thruxton and found it good value comparativly. Is there anything that I am missing out in Rockingham ? or has anyone been on any of the courses Read more

tyre tread

I live very close to Rockingham and have been on several occasions including to watch a friend do one of their skid courses.

I have also done the supercar event (including Diablo, Jag XKR Supercharged, Exige, and my favourite the Noble GTO) at Mallory Park and twin engined karts at 3 sisters in Wigan and taken the P5 Rover around Colerne Airfiled circuit, Round Castle Coombe up Prescott Hill Climb and they are all wonderful experiences.

What you always must bear in mind is that they are commercial ventures so, unless you pick a really bad one, you will generally get what you pay for.

Most are trying to strike a balance between sending the punters home happy and therefore getting recommendations and making money.

I haven't heard (or seen) anything bad about the Rockingham experiences and, especially being local, I'm sure I would have heard if there were problems.

Quite apart from anything else there are rumours of Rockingham going bankrupt and closing so you really should go and see it even if only once.

WhiteTruckMan

Hi all.
I want to find out if there is a time limit on having remedial work done on a car due to a factory recall. Cut to the chase:

I have a 95 Jeep cherokee 4 litre, owned for the last 14 months. bought privately with full t&t from a local chap, sadly now deceased. Mot'd end feb after a 2 month sorn period on my drive and the tester was a liitle puzzled about the the amount of flex in the steering box mounting. No bolts were missing/loose/broken, and it looked like factory original standard, so he passed it. I mentioned this a few weeks later to No. 1 son, (a fitter for a large aftermarket equipment company) and he said he believed there was a recall for this very thing. thinks there was a re-inforcing plate fitted. Something to do with the change from LHD to RHD not being a proper job. anyway, a look on this site confirmed not one but two recalls for this very item. A trip to my occasionally helpfull jeep dealers seeking a free remedy produced a reply on the lines of "what? free work on a 10 year old motor? sorry guv, its gonna cost you!"

I dont want to get involved in a 'name and shame' game because in the past they have been genuinely helpfull, but am I in my rights to demand this modification be done gratis, irrespective of the age of the vehicle? especially as it is a safety issue?

Thanks Read more

machika

I think the question to be answered is, who is responsible for making sure the recall was carried out? Does the owner of a car have any responsibility for finding out about recalls, or is all of the onus on the manufacturer to make sure the current owner knows about it in the first place? If it is a safety issue, I would have thought that the manufacturer couldn't afford to have any cars on the road with a potentially lethal fault.

Imagos

I always give the utmost respect to the deceased on their final journey, but how do you deal with a funeral cortege on a duel carriageway?

While overtaking a slow moving procession on a single carriageway is an absolute no no for most people including me, a duel carriageway situation is slightly more perplexing.

Ran into a line of Funeral cars today travelling a a very sedate speed in the inside line, I felt very uneasy overtaking them but i was left little choice. Several miles until next exit on the road and virtually all other traffic totally ignoring them and overtaking i felt i had to pass.

Afterwards felt very disrepectful.

How do other BR's deal with this situation? Colleague of mine absolutley will not overtake a cortege come what may. Read more

v8man

When my Dad died I had trouble keeping up with the hearse and I was driving a 3.5litre car! His final journey was at the same pace as his own driving. He would have been proud.
--
\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"

Twizit

Brand new car picked up yesterday. Wake up this morning and noticed what looks like bird p** on the bonnet - you know the splat near the top and a few nice trails down towards the bumper...

Went out straight away to clean it off and would it shift? No way. Have tried all sorts, including so called specialist bird p** cleaners! It ain't shifting.

Car was parked at night time so as all birds were sleeping it could only have been "dropped" at dawn - I can't believe it could have etched itself in a matter of 3 hours max!

Any suggestions? I've tried searching for this but have already tried all suggested methods. I'm wondering about a dab of white spirit but am seriously worried about damaging paint work further. It's black pearl finish for what it's worth.

Arghh - HELP please!! Read more

El Hacko

or a portable car port?

steveo3002

okay ive purchased some airhorns for my car, the instuctions suggest i i earth the compressor and run a live into the car to a switch via a relay

id rather wire them like this if its safe..fused power wire from batt to compressor, then run a earth wire into the car to a switch rated at 20A which is what the specs say

anyone see a problem doing it this way with proper amperage wire,fuse and switch?? as far as i can tell its how my original horn is wired Read more

martint123

Your standard horn takes a relatively small amount of current. The startup current on a compressor is quite high. In the past I found that you need really thick wire if you want to run the wire into the cabin and back out again otherwise theer is a noticable delay before loud noises come out.

Wire it with short wires and use a relay driven from your existing horn. If you just want a quiet 'parp' then by just tapping the horn button your standard horn will sound, but not the loud ones as it takes time for the compressor to spin up.

Martin

Steveo4869

when I park my ford fiesta (mk3 1.6 h reg) overnight in my garage in the morning a find a small puddle of water underneath the car and am finding trouble locating where it is coming from. The puddle is under the timing belt casing area of the car but there are no hose leaks and coolant loss seems nil or at least minimal. Any ideas of where this is coming from much appriciated.
Steveo Read more

Steveo4869

ok many thanks steve. Will check at the weekend
Steveo