May 2005
My friend has an Alfa Spider 2.0 Lusso which is idling at around 2000/2500 rpm. Apparently the EMS has shown that it was a problem with a lamba(?) sensor, but when changed it wasn't this. Any suggestions on what else it could be, and what the costs might be for this!! Read more
To cut a long story short, I had just dropped off my wife and friend at Manchester airport today and, as I was unloading the luggage, she brought a trolley over and left it without putting the brake on - result, trolley runs into side of beloved Xantia. This car has only picked up two minor dents in 11 years and now it has an extra five. They are at or just above the crease line on the rear wing, so they are very noticeable and very unsightly, although the biggest is only about an inch across, and the other four are very small, shallow depressions.
The car is worth next to nothing but I was wondering about trying to get the dents removed without breaking the bank. Can anyone recommend anywhere? I live in Derbyshire. Read more
Well I would send an e-mail but you have your profile
hidden, any chance of un-hiding it for a day? :-)
Blue, send it via me if you like.
Hi Folks
Recently had a thread asking for advice on best Jags as was looking for one but instead have bought 98 BMW 740i and have to say at this stage the BMW beats the Jag hands down (my opnion).
It holds the road much better and is considerably quicker than either the 3.2 Jag or the 4.0. It handles very well for a big motor and I'm hoping it will prove to relaible.
Not the best on fuel but that is a sacrifice.
Full BMW history 84,000 private owner last 5 years.
So anyone got one any problems?
PS can someone tell me what all the E numbers are IE E34 etc>> Read more
Aw well thanks I think..
The history of repair did indeed see some suspension work done
about a year ago, hope it doesn't have too many problems.
The car drives very nicley and there are no rattles or
squeaks that always bother me in cars.
If I do have problems perhaps I'll look you up.
What year and engine was yours by the way.
Its nice that you can buy a £50.000 car for a
tenth of the price now.
I agree about the QX nice cars, honda ledgens that type
of thing.
Tell you what though, for a big car it's might quick.
Mine was also '98 with 6-cyl. 2.8 I had it from nearly new (when still under warranty). Yours would be a lot quicker than mine.
Mine didn't have rattles and the trim was nice - but they are heavy cars and the running gear takes a bit of a pounding so if you are covering high mileage expect to get through the odd set of shocks, discs, bushes etc.
My advice (unless you are competent at vehicle repairs) would be to find someone good and reliable to service/repair the car - especially someone who knows about the electronics. Stay away from BMW dealers at all costs. When a 700-series rolls onto the forecourt the service manager starts to think about his monthly bonus. They will skin you alive..
A question:-
Is the windscreen on a ZX bonded on, and is it possible to remove it without damage?
Thanks Read more
Yes; very unlikely.
Fitting of these screens is best left to the guys with the tools and experience - particularly as they form a good part of the car's structural strength.
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
I have a budget of about £7500 incl. a VW Passat 1.8SE ('99 with 62000 miles and belts/tensioners newly replaced). I'd like to get a practical, possibly estate, diesel car, with a good load-carrying capacity (stuff rather than people).
Where should I start? Read more
fancy something superbly practical,extremely comfortable and totally hooligan go for a v70 t5
For several years I received an emmissions test report at each MOT, recording CO, HC and Lambda.
Yesterday the report only listed CO and HC. There is no mention of Lambda at all. Why has this been dropped?
It is unusual to say the least for anything to be dropped from an MOT test requirement - or is it now reckoned that it is adequately covered by the other two? Read more
That is true Cliff, but it's 7 seats (excluding driver) not 5.
This was due to some early 90's people carriers not being able to conform to the then new emissions limits.
The manufacturors argued that the new limits should not apply because these vehicles were already in production and are not 'cars'
This range of vehicles was dificult to classify, as it falls somewhere between a car and a mini bus.
It was probably easier and cheaper for the DOT (as was) to ignore them and not apply the new limits, than to introduce a new testing class.
Mrs Barchetta is pregnant. This is good news for us, bad news for the Barchetta which is going to have to go :-(
Now, the situation is this - my brother need someone to take his immaculate Astra Estate off him, as it is too old to be his company car. He'll give oit to me for buttons, and it's ideal for our (suddenly changed) My mad idea is to register it in Germany, where I live, and run it into the ground over the next three/four years, then scrap it.
So, does anyone have any experience of registering RHD cars in Germany? Any dos or don'ts? What documents should I definitely not forget? I've checked the site and can't find any prior discussion on this subject. Any help would be much appreciated.
Barchettaman Read more
...and congratulations on forthcoming Parenthood!!!!
Hi All, after standing at junctions or lights for any length of time as I pull away quite a bit of blue smoke is emited from the exhaust. It only needs to be standing at tickover for 30 seconds for this to happen. No unusual smoke when driving or when on tickover, only when I pull away. Some smoke in morning at first start up. This smoke clears very quickly. I do have the odd day when it does not happen. The car has covered 161,000 miles, has 6000 mile oil and filter changes, and air and fuel filters are change before they are due. Other than this the car drives perfectly. The smoke smells like it is oil thats burning. I suspect valve guide seals my mate thinks it could be blocked breather. I would be grateful for any views. Thanks. Read more
First of all I have to say I'm no expert and am new to diesels ( only in month 3 of what i hope is a long and fun arrangement) but your problem sounds exactly what I had with a 205 GTi and I mean exactly. As i'm new to diesels I'm going to tell you what my problem was with my petrol engine and hope that I dont sound stupid. Valve stem oil seals. they were breaking down and when the car was running there was oil present on top of the seal, when you stop it just sits there and leaks into the cylinder and then when you pull away it burns and you can see my smoke.
Hope I am not an idiot and that this helps you out in your cause.
Here's a bizarre twist in the recent to-wear-or-not-to-wear-one saga.
Contrary to most cities enforcing compulsory wearing of helmet laws where I live, the Mayor of Marikina has issued an ordinance banning the wearing of motorcycle helmets within his city. The reason given (and I quote verbatim) is that "too many robberies and outrages are being perpetrated by holdappers, scalliwags and criminal elements on motorcycles, and the wearing of helmets means that law enforcement officers cannot see their faces in order to apprehend them".
Made me chuckle into my morning mango juice.
Read more
But all of those foreigner chappies look the same, what!
I've convinced myself that the next "supermini" for me with a Budget of £3K is a 2000+ Corsa, but I have noticed that most
BackRoomers seem rather negative towards it?although I looked at the CBC Breakdown for the VW Polo/Golf and I was shocked to see the number of faults compared to those of the Corsa & isnt it the
the 2nd or 3rd best selling model in the UK?..Or am I missing
something here????
Are there any owners of the Face Lifted Corsa who could share their experiences....Im looking at the 1.2 Comfort/Elegance
All comments are appreciated.
Read more
Barryan,
No, but I have owned numerous Vauxhalls over the past 20 years. I have driven Corsa's that were courtesy cars though and apart from the 1.0 litre 'cylinder short of an engine' one, I thought they were generally ok.
The 2000 ones onwards should have remote central locking with deadlocking.
The car has to be inspected annually by a dealer to keep the anti perforation warranty going.
Try disconnecting the AFM. If the idle settles it will need replacing. If not, a soft reset of the ECU is likely to be needed. There's a thread on this on the Alfaowner website in the 147/156 technical forum.
I'll move this thread to Technical later :o)
No Do$h - Alfa-driving Backroom Moderator
mailto:moderators@honestjohn.co.uk