March 2005
I went to check over a '04 Mondeo at a car supermarket - a 'friend of a friend' is looking for one.
I was a bit surprised to find it fitted with Hankook tyres, and given the low mileage (9k) thought there might be a 'story' behind this. I couldn't imagine that Ford would fit Hankook at the factory.
Imagine my surprise then when I found this news item:
www.tyres-online.co.uk/archives/newsjun04.asp
So it seems Hankook are now a Ford OEM supplier.
Has anyone got a Mondeo so fitted? Are the tyres OK or should my potential purchaser budget for a new set of Goodyear/Conti, whatever?
I did get savaged by one poster in the past for suggesting that Kumho tyres were OK (I drove briefly on a set and they seemed very good to me) - but what of the Hankooks? Read more
Surfing the H&H Auctions site and came across a barn find Lamborghini Espada for auction at top estimate below £4K
Here is the link: www.classic-auctions.co.uk/
Click on the car auction section and search alphabetically.
Seems cheap for an Espada but expensive for a pile of rust that will annoy the missus for years. Having said that one of the Classic Car magazines ran a feature where a guy restored an Espada for peanuts.
Finally, car is nothing to do with me.
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Just checked and the car went for £6600 + commission etc.
Seems a lot.
I got a problem with a clio 1.4 auto on a K reg.
It'll drive along fine and then change itself down into 1st gear. As this happens, the lights on the car go dim as if it's lost power and the automatic gearbox light on the dashboard lights up. The battery is obviously iffy as i had to jump start it twice last night just to get it home.
Would a duff battery cause this problem? Would reduced electrical power tell the gearbox to change down into 1st?
Any advice would be greaty appreciated.
Thanks Read more
just a quick update.
I've just checked the voltage across the battery with the car switched off and i've got 12.5 volts. When i started the car and checked the voltage across the battery, i got 11.91 volts. I would have expected to see about 14.5 volts. The ingnition light is NOT on in the car. Does this look like a duff alternator?
I cant check much else tonight as it's pitch black out there
Tomboy
Just tuned in to ITV1 to see final qualifying but no not on ITV2 got Emmerdale omnibus, so maybe ITV3? alas no just teleshopping. Well i suppose someones watching that apart from me.
What's going on? Is no-one interested in qualifying anymore?
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Very enjoyable.
Jensen and BAR are not happy bedfellows at the moment, he was fuming when he was interviewed immediately after going out. Of all the people to make a dodgy engine, who'd have picked Honda?
Hi Board,
Hopefully an expert here can help me, my 96 Golf 1.8 is driving me insane (and emptying my wallet!)
Here's the story. Over the winter the car has had problems starting in the morning. The battery is strong, but it sometimes took up to 3 or 4 minutes of cranking to get it to splutter into life. Once started, it was always fine for the rest of the day.
Possibly related, on two occasions (once after unavoidably driving through a big puddle, the second time when driving while it was raining horizontally) the engine cut out and took another few minutes of cranking to fire up again.
I replaced the HT leads and WD40'd everything, but this didn't help, so the car was at a local garage last week to try and fix this. The garage reckoned they had fixed the problem by replacing the distributor (not cheap!).
Since having the car back from the garage it still doesn't start straight up in the morning (but it is better than before), but now it has a bigger problem which is that it is misfiring and losing power when under load between 2000-3000rpm in all gears.
I've just replaced the spark plugs in case that was it, but it hasn't helped. The old ones only had 10k on them - and I'm not a spark plug expert but they looked an OK colour to me.
So now it's had new plugs, leads, dizzy, the only thing left electrical to change is the ignition coil. Before I lay down another 50 quid, does anyone think this is this likely to be the problem?
Something I now remember is that when we broke down after driving through the puddle, it was very dark outside and while cranking the engine I could see an orange spark inside the ignition coil (behind its black plastic cover). Is this normal or a sign of a duff coil?
Thanks for any help!
Mike Read more
Yes, it's had a new "king lead", so I'll try a new coil.
If it's not that, I'm pushing it off a cliff!
Thanks!
Mike
I changed the battery on my 1997 Vectra's remote and need programming again. However I can't open the driver's door with my key (key won't turn!) Any ideas??
Thanks!
Stavz Read more
WD-40 didn't work. I had to 'break-in' through the boot and now my remote works.
Thanks for the advice mate!
Stavz
Hi all,
I had an advisory on my recent MOT (Ford Fiesta XR2i 1.6 CVH H reg 1991) of play in the steering wheel and it is quite noticeable the steering wheel does 'rock' quite considerably but obviously not enough to fail test.
I am now going to sort but am confused as to what needs replacing is it the cyclindrical tube which passes over the steering rack and if so is the bush inside this removable or do I need to replace complete rack. I have recently replaced the lower universal joint. Any help much appriciated.
Regards
Steveo Read more
It could be one of many things, and as mfarrow says you need someone else to rock the wheel gently while you watch/feel underneath.
Presumably the track rod ends and the swivel joints or whatever it has are OK as it has just passed an MOT?
Look at the joints at the inner ends of the track rod, inside the rubber boot. I'm not familiar with your car, but on many these are adjustable by unscrewing and removing shims, or else can be turned through 90 degrees to present an unworn portion of the ball.
I think on many cars it is possible to replace the rack bushes, but I've always shied away from that and just got an exchange rack. Even with new bushes it might still be the rack itself that is worn.
And don't overlook the obvious like the joint clamp not fully tightening, or the steering wheel a fraction loose on its splines. Also the rack mountings.
Good luck
I've recently had my car laser checked which has revealed that my n/s/r wheel is out of alignment- the car has a slight pull to the left which is most noticable under braking.
Is the rear alignment adjustable and if so is this a Honda dealer job or could I expect to find an independent to carry out the work?
Thanks,
9000 Read more
the rear wheel alignment is fully adjustable,as long as your have alignment equipment to measure the settings, no special tools are required,just a couple of spanners so you dont need to visit the dealer,any garage with 4wheel alignment gear should be able to do it for you.
if it aint broke don`t fix it
Does anyone know who would deliver a used car (4x4) from Harrogate to Aberdeen, and what the approximate cost would be? Read more
The two firms that i use and can vouch for are
www.ifslimited.co.uk/
www.broughtonsdistribution.co.uk/
You can probably google and find a quite a few others but i know that these two are reliable and will get the job done properly
Hi
My boyfriend passed his test last week and so we have been out today looking for his first car... We've seen a few but one out of them all has stood out. However, we're after some thoughts and views of other people before he goes and spends the money.
The car we are looking at is a 1998 R Reg 1.4 Corsa Breeze. Its has just over 37,000 miles on it and comes with alloys and a cd player. Its for sale at £2495 but the garage has offered him it for £2350 with 12 months MOT and 3 months tax.
Is this a good deal and is the car going to be ok for a first car? My boyfriend has test driven it and he seems happy with it but as I said wants to hear some other views before he goes and spends so much. He's found insurance for it for £1150 fully comp, which seems reasonable for a first insurance policy on the above car.
What does everyone else think? Read more
Agree with others - there are better cars for your money. My father-in-law recently bought a Corsa for my BiL. Mind you, he's a student, and he got a 2000V 1.2 16V 3dr (with CD player!) at auction for £1200. Makes yours look very pricy, given this car had 6 months tax and flew through its MOT.
Browse
I put a couple of Khumos on the front of my ZT. I'm not too impressed with them. Lost a lot of feel through the steering. Resorted to Continentals on the back, much better.