April 2005
I have an Astra 1.7 dti 2001 model with the isuzu 16 valve engine (y17dt) I've noticed that the performance of the engine has reduced and it's become a little sluggish. Also the engine appears to misfire occaissionally when the outside temperature is 6 degrees C or lower. The engine management light has not illuminated so that would imply that the engine management system is ok. I've checked the MAF to see if it was dirty which it isn't. I would welcome any suggestions as to what to look at. I use shell diesel and normally add Millers Diesel plus to the tank. Read more
**Ford deals subject to borrowing £2500 finance from Ford Credit at 10.9% APR for a minimum of 3 months.
- this is in the conditions for discounts (see right) from Drivethedeal on small cars. Surely most individuals can borrow cheaper money via personal loans, many currently advertised at rates nearer 6%? So any "deal" offered by this broker on Ford vehicles may be worth little, or turn out to be even a bad one. We now know why Ford makes more from Finance Division than producing cars. Am I correct (DavidHM)? Read more
Does anybody know of a company that will retrofit cruise control to a Passat (with VW parts). I know that it can be done for the Golf, Octavia etc, however I've not seen anything on the Passat. I guess the process is the same but not sure on the part no's for the bits.
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Has anyone tried the above? My one is crumbling on one side (bits all over hand) and I'm thinking of replacing myself instead of taking to garage. Have swapped one previoulsy on Vectra and wasn't too much fuss even with airbag.
Advise or tips appreciated, thanks in advance Read more
Can anyone tell me why my car (2004 Audi 1.9TDi) is only Euro iii compliant whereas the new model 1.9 Tdi has exactly the same G/Km figure of 157 but is Euro iv compliant ? Read more
EuroIV has nothing to do with CO2 emissions at all. It has everything to do with NOx emissions. To reduce the NOx emissions then I guess some cars have gone for a particulate filter whilst others have gone for tuning engine, hence higher CO2 from tuning. Note a particulate filter can cost £500 for the part alone when it's replaced!!
My Mondeo as a company vehicle saves me a little being EuroIV. I actually hung on with the order until the EuroIV engine was available but it?s only tens of pounds per month saving. If it was a personal vehicle then Euro IV is irrelevant? I get a 3% benefit in kind (BIK) reduction on tax for being Euro IV.
Of course after January 2006, the chancellor will take away the 3% reduction in BIK reduction for new company cars because all diesels (and petrol?) have to be EuroIV compliant by then anyway.
After having a diesel I'd miss the low down torque... And I come from some VAG 1.8T petrols where I enjoyed the torque. So diesel next time anyway... or take money and get own car. Don't need advice because did calculations and company car better this time due to accident and insurance. In a few years... who knows. If I keep getting a 15-20% bonus I could get a Bentley Continental GT!
Anyone else hear this on Radio 4? Fascinating. 'In Living Memory'.
Listen again on Radio 4's home page. Read more
I remember that incident well.
Strange how those earlier ones stick in one's mind whereas later ones are easily forgotten.. I also recall John Derry crashing the DH110 into the crowd at the 1952 Farnborough Air Show.
Spam removed.
DD. Read more
Hello,
I've been trying to find a classic car to buy. One of the "dealers" I contacted has sourced me one.
I have no issues with the dealer, his reputation is such that I'm not concerned about his veracity.
The car concerned is in Italy.
has anybody used this kind of a service before?
I think I should Fix the price (of course!)
Find out exactly what he is offering to do..
IE import and register the car, MOT it and PDI etc.
Because of the nature of the transaction is there anything else I should do/pay attention to?
TIA
:) JaB Read more
A good friend of mine went to work in Italy for two years, locally buying a new Mondeo for himself and Focus for his wife. When the time came to return to the UK, he wished he'd never purchased the cars. Selling them on the local market turned out to be a complete nightmare, so he tried to export them to a friend of his that lived in another European country, and so wanted LHD; his was an even greater nightmare. He did sell locally in the end, but the red tape and beaurocracy was like nothing else on earth.
I read an article in a classic car magazine a few years back about an Englishman who tried to export an Alfa. Required the patience of a saint, and the need to sail close to the wind.
Good luck!
Driving to work, the main A6 passes through a large village about 1/2 mile from the motorway junction. As you might imagine, the volume of traffic is massive (there is an ongoing campaign for a bypass and the residents really deserve one).
A few days ago, the local water board blocked off a short section of one lane of the A6 to enable a new mains to be installed to a new housing development. Temporary traffic lights in place, causing a small delay to through traffic. So far so good.
This morning is bin day. The main road has houses on both sides and the dustcart collects bins from this stretch of the village during the rush hour. This always struck me as slightly foolish as guaranteed to cause the most disruption but acting as a VERY slow moving rolling roadblock on each side of the road in turn.
In my naivety, I assumed that today, they would plan an alternative route to avoid roadworks, dustcart and rush hour colliding. Simple and logical, isn't it?
Naah.
Dustcart takes its normal route at its normal time. So for the ten minutes it takes to crawl through the single lane section, the main road is completely blocked in both directions. And on both the approach and departure sections to the roadworks, the approaching queues prevent following traffic from passing the dustcart, traffic gets stuck in the single carriageway against the lights, still nothing able to move, queues get even longer (back onto the motorway junction, etc)....get the picture?
And all for the lack of a little fragment of common sense.
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The other day I went from Southampton to Avonmouth with 300 empty pallets,
and I returned with 300 empty pallets, all they did was
offload and reload another 300 of exactly the same type!!!!!!!! No
one could tell me what it was all about, they all
just shrugged their shoulders.
Reminds me of the story of a BRS driver in the late 60s early 70s. Left Cardiff docks with a load of tomatoes for Southampton, got to the market, was redirected to Birmingham because value of load was better there. Arrives in Brum and gets redirected yet again. Yes you guessed it, to Cardiff.
Happy Days
--
Alyn Beattie
I\'m sane, it\'s the rest of the world that\'s mad.
Question: are these really necessary?
They're obviously there for a reason, but is it a good one? I lost two last month when I forgot to put them back when changing the fluid.
I went into Ford asking for some and they said they don't do them. Seemed odd as I have microfiche and there's definately a part number listed for them! Halford's were just thick and proceeded upon hearing the word "dust" and "cap" somewhere in "have you got any dust caps for brake nipples please?" to hand me a packet of tyre valve caps!
Thanks in advance.
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Mike Farrow Read more
Scrap yards are wonderful places for small but expensive bits of trim and things like that. I got a bagfull of odd trim clips, carpet clips, door rubbers, nuts&bolts, pedal rubbers "give us a quid" was the cost (on top of the wiper motor I went in for).
Martin
Browse
Perhaps I should have googled before posting above.
Although the following link refers to a Golf GT TDi PD130, I imagine the Passat can't be any different.
Looks like you just need an indicator stalk & some additional wiring - all of which is given in the link, including relevant part numbers.
homepage.ntlworld.com/dgace/cruise_control.htm