June 2005
The time has come to change the cambelt for the first time on my car. At the same time the alternator belt is going to be changed.
I've had a quote from a main dealer for £130 for the two belts to be changed. Does this sound reasonable?
Does the tensioner need to be changed? Or can it be left for the next cambelt change?
The car is a 2000W and has 48k miles and has FPSH
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet Read more
My car has just been serviced, and the engine filled with fully synthetic oil. In the unlikely event that the oil needs topping up before the next service would it be permissible/acceptable to top up with semi-synthetic oil? (It's just that semi-synthetic is what I happen to have already.)
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature. Read more
The answer is you can do it but.......why would you do it?
You're merely watering down the benefits of the fully synthetic.
Cheers
Simon
I'm thinking of buying a car that is being advertised cheap with only a few months MOT remaining, but the person selling it has left it in the drive way for a while due to what she described as a "hole in the exhaust". She also says the noise from the exhaust is very loud.
I'm wondering what is the worst that could be wrong with the exhaust in this case and how much would I be looking at to fix it in the worst case scenario?
She's selling the car for very cheap, it's 10 or 11 years old, but I don't want to buy something that I have to spend hundreds on.
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seems awfully expensive for a middle and rear for a metro. If you can quote the exact year and cc of the car, and what area of the country you are from I might be able to secure a more realistic price.
I recently changed the brake master cylinder on my 1991 Fiesta 1.6S.
It was a pretty straightforward job and I was feeling quite smug about having saved myself a few quid on garage fees. The trouble is, the brakes have felt rubbish ever since.
Firstly, the pedal feels much firmer than it did (OK, you might put that down to the fact that the old master cylinder was worn and had more travel). But it also requires more force to bring the car to a stop. I dont't think the brakes are unsafe, it's just that they don't feel as strong as before.
Plus - and this must be more than coincidence - the brakes don't feel progressive, i.e. a light press of the pedal doesn't do very much, but a firmer press causes the brakes to bite.
I've checked the servo and vacuum pipe non-return valve (as per the instructions in the Haynes manual) and they both seem fine.
Any ideas?
Ta very much. Read more
As you have replaced master cylinder.It will feel different.But I would be inclined to check the rear brake adjustment.. as the rear self adjusters can fail.
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Steve
I own a 2004 Vectra Sri.I am the 2nd owner.When I use the air-con and then turn it off,after a while there is a "stale" smell.It smells like sweaty socks (I imagine).The dealer told me they drained and recharged the system, but it's much the same.How do I get rid of this?? Read more
I had the same problem but some advice in this column a long time ago seems to work. Check the drain pipe, if it's blocked, water tends to drip into the footwells but it's generally noticeable. Every month or so, run the air con as cold as poss for 5 mins and then switch to full heat for 5 mins. Also, use your air con as much a possible. The smell only seems to appear after periods of it not being used. Other than the smell issue, the refridgerant acts as a lubricant and lack of use leads to dried out and ineffective seals which are expensive to replace. The sprays and dealer 'clean outs' are expensive and short lived.
I've just recently had the timing belt changed on my megane along with 2 valves and head gasket. A few weeks after this was done there is a strange noise when i take my foot off the gas and car starts decelerating without touching the brake pedal. I opened the bonnet and tried to locate were this noise is coming from. It seems to to be at the timing belt and alternator end. the noise is like a drill on hammer action. I had a prob similar to this before and i was told it was the bearings on the alternator. Anybody any ideas? Read more
Allan. If you feel you can trust the dealer/mechanic who did the work you should take it back asap. You might save yourself a lot of grief. There might be little time for guesswork here.
Anyone like to suggest a ballpark figure for my MGB.
Its one owner 1977 roadster. 46000 miles taxed and MoTd with an unleaded cylinder head and stainless exhaust.
Bodywork is sound (sills were waxed inside when new) but needs tarting up and probably a respray.
A colleague who knows it's history has expressed an interest in buying it.
Although I've had it for half my life I'm tempted to sell as it it likely to need a lot of attention if I try to use it as my main car while otherwise travelling to work by train.
Advice welcomed!
TimW Read more
Not sure when the programme was made though.
Less than 6 months ago, IIRC.
Everytime I used the car in the last two week, it has stalled at least once per journey. Everytime the car is fully warmed up and the car "shiver" for a second and the engine just stopped. (If I catch it in time before stalling, I can keep it going with throttle and Left-Foot-Braking, though I don't want to practice this all the time especially in traffic or in a bend.) Then engine would just crank over but not start. Eventually, it would start after 2-3 minutes with a BIG cloud of blue smoke.
Furthermore, if the car requires prolong cranking to start, it would also start with a BIG cloud of blue smoke which I can only assume is burnt engine oil.
The car is a Nissan QX 3.0 Auto with 145k on the clock. I pulled the fault code from the car and only the knock sensor is noted by the ECU to be faulty.
Any suggestion? Many thanks, Gazza Read more
Many thanks, I shall clean up the whole lot in the weekend after this. As Aprilia mentioned to me in the past, I cleaned the throttle body and sprayed carb cleaner inside the Idle Control Valve last summer. This improved the idling so I am surprised if it suddenly got clogged up this quickly in the past two weeks.
I have also called Nissan for replacement PCV valve, only 19 pounds + VAT so if the cleaning do not work, I'll change this part.
For the last three weeks, I was on an away job in Germany and at least 50% of the time the car was in full-throttled, maximum speed driving, often full-throttled for 30-45 minutes at each journey and lifting only momentarily for traffic. Maybe a coincident but would a lot of high-speed run affect the idling/throttle body/PCV?
A business associate of mine had a frontal prang in his 02 Rover 75 just over 3 weeks ago. Nothing serious bumper and lights gone, but the garage its at for repair (A rover dealer or was until recently) cannot start the repair as a new front bumper cannot be got for love or money, or so they say.
Is it really the case there are none to be had, or does anyone know where one might be obtained.
He has done a bit of web trawling himself, some spares places show them in stock until you try to pay when the item is not available.
He is getting fed up with the Corsa loaned by the insurance co so any suggestions appreciated.
as always
Mark Read more
Have passed this information on to my associate.
The repairing garage say if it is the case these parts will become available they would expect to be able to repair and return the car sometime in late July/early August, assuming they are reasonably positioned in the back order schedule.
That means 2 months off the road for a minor frontal, lets just hope he doesnt need one of the 6% of spares that are not available as well.
On behalf of my associate, thanks for your help
as always
Mark
Hi Folks,
I'm looking at changing my car and have got my eye on a 2000 Primera 1.8 Sport.
We have a 6' x 4' camping trailer (moderately heavy) which we use a few times a year and were wondering what these cars are like for towing ? (We're currently running a 1.6LX Escort)
Thanks
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Well, it took longer than expected (due to the 1.8 Sport being sold before I had chance to put an offer in!!) but I've got myself a 2000 (W) 1.8 S (with all the SE extras!!), just fitted the towbar (not the easiest one I've done...) and it certainly pulls well.
Thanks for the replies.
Andy
Browse
I've had the belt done - It ended up costing £220. The tensioner was fine. Got the cambelt & Alternator belt done.
When they checked the water pump they told me it was leaking from the bearing. So the pump costed £90 (removal of old one and fitting of new one with parts cost)
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306 2.0 SE Cabriolet