June 2005
A friend of mine called round wanting to change his clutch cable before it snaps.Looking at it brought back a vague memory of replacing a broken one,the conical bit at the pedal end simply pushing into a clip after removing the old part.As it is I can see no way of removing it,do not want to cut it and cannot remove the through bolt to get the pedal out.Anyone know what the procedure is with these? Read more
I currently drive a 3 series BMW but on a recent holiday in this country I found the space lacking for 2 small kids, wife and all the stuff that goes with it! Me thinks I need an estate but which one? My criteria is as follows:
1.I only drive about 11K a year so I believe that may rule out diesels as being a cost effective propsosal so petrol only?
2.Speed is not a concern of mine so under 2 litre will suffice.
3.Budget of up to 13K.
4.Car can be up to 3 years old.
5.Must be as cost effective as possible i.e when considering depreciation, maintenance, fuel and insurance. This is probably the biggest deciding factor for me as I hate losing 000's on cars!!
My shortlist so far:
1. BMW 318 Touring - My BMW has been extremely reliable and reasonably cheap to run.
2. Audo A4 Avant - Recommended by a friend.
3. Ford Mondeo - Recommended by a work colleague - I had a Ford Sierra once which was a pile of rubbish, so I would need some convincing on this one!
Any thoughts or suggestions most welcome.
Thanks
TJP32 Read more
You'd be surprised about how small a child can be and still cause problems when sitting in the back of a car with not much rear legroom. When deciding on my Skoda Octavia I acknowldged that there wasn't acres of space in the back but thought that my little boy wouldn't need it. However by the time they're 2 years old and you've got them in a car seat that both raises them above the level of the rear seat and positions them several inches forward of the rear backrest they don't need to be swinging their legs too much before they're kicking you in the back. Obviously the further back you position the driver's seat the worse this problem is.
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Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
How long does it take the DVLA to update their records when notified of a change of ownership?
I sold my old car about 4 weeks ago and sent off the log book the next day with all the necessary bits filled in. Over this weekend, I received the tax reminder to replace the disc at the end of June.
What's rather embarrassing is that the buyer actually raised this when he collected the car. Having assured him that I would send the V5 off immediately so that he got the new documents in time to re-tax the car, it now looks like that hasn't happened.
Is there anything he or I can do to sort this out before the end of the month?
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Providing:
- they're not snowed under for some reason
- the V5 was posted to the correct postcode (DVLA have different postcodes for different purposes). Use the wrong one and the paperwork ends up in the wrong part of the building to start with.
- You've written clearly in black ink (they scan all documents and using OCR). Failure to make it clear means the original needs to be retrieved and blue ink doesn't scan the same.
Then it shouldn't have taken 4 weeks. I've seen the various departments work on a tour (when we took over the IT) and they get through a lot of paperwork in no time.
Latest experience of buying a new car was step son's car which took about 3 days to get the paperwork turned around! And I do mean days not weeks. So definately worth chasing up by now.
Rob
8< SNIP 8<
There is no need to repeat something that has already been posted in Technical Matters as it can lead to repetition of answers. DD Read more
Recently received a parking fine and appealed against it as there were no visible road markings. This was also confirmed by the TW's photgraph.
They have replied saying that although there were no markings, there was a sign on a lampost locally. Therefore they are rejecting my appeal, though they have given me a further 14 days to pay at the reduced rate.
I have read many articles in newspapers of drivers successfully appealing against fines where poor/no road markings were evident. Has this apparent loophole been closed ? Or can anybody here direct me to a source of help on this matter ? Read more
DVD...... cheers for that. It was long winded, but it seemed to be exactly as I understood it.
I'm gonna stand my ground here.
Being totally honest I was aware that there were parking restrictions in the streets around where I was attempting to park. However I saw 4 cars parked together and after the last car, several yards of kerb with no apparent road marking before a commercial property entrance. Pulled over, backed in and scuttled of for my dinner.
Returned to find the ticket.
Closer examination revealed that there was a sign on a lampost 20 yards or so away and the remnants of yellow lines. By "remnants" I mean particles of yellow paint within the tarmac only barely visible when stood directly over them. Certainly not visible from any further away and at no point resembling a line of any kind for any distance.
Crossing my fingers and going back to get this on camera for myself.
Hi.
I have a Rover 414i N reg (New Shape).
Could someone be as kind as to tell me where the injection Filter is please.
Can you explain it to me like I've never looked at an engine before.
I'm looking down at the engine and the injection filter is...??
Many thanks,
Regards,
Dave Read more
If you've never looked at an engine before - why may I ask are you fiddling with a fuel filter?
Or am I barking up the wrong tree - are you checking to see if some work has been carried out....?
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
.....are tending to get side-tracked with uncalled for moralising and frequent sniping.
If you write a note like that, I will probably delete it if I notice it, so whilst it would be better not to do it in the first place, I certainly wouldn't bother asking what happened to it. Read more
There will be about three people left posting...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Just lately we've noticed rather more discussion creeping into Technical Matters than we're comfortable with.
We left it for a while in case it was just a phase, however it appears to be continuing.
This forum is for specifically technical issues, matters and threads. If your thread is more of a discussion nature then it will have been moved.
So if you can't find your thread, look in Discussion. And if you could help by thinking about where you should be creating it in the first place, then that would be good.
Mark.
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My spell on the naughty stair seems to have been fruitful, as there are now several replies to the post. Thanks very much for putting it up the list, and for your response.
I travel to the Welsh borders a lot and fancy the idea of a Focus RS, Subaru Impreza, Lancer Evo type car.
However, I am put off by reports that these type of cars have a limited fuel range.
My round trip is 320 miles approx and having to fill up more than normal is a pain. Ideally, I would like to complete the journey without eaking out the remaining fuel after a good blast!
Any ideas on a good, safe, modern, 4 seater B-road blaster that has a decent range?
Alternatively, can you get long range tanks like people used to do for Rnage Rovers and still do for BMW motorbikes?
Any help as always appreciated. Budget 18K.
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What about an Aston Martin Vantage?
Seriously, I would get the car you want and then have it fitted with an extra fuel tank. I recently saw a T5 with a huge tank in the back (don't know why). I doubt the cost of the tank would be that much and I'm sure there would be someone who could supply and fit these, possible even supplying a S/H unit, they could also remove the tank when you come to replace the car.
Here is some reading for you on the subject:
www.volvoclub.org.uk/roadtests/bifuel_01on_roadtes...l
www.hero.org.uk/info/appendixa.html
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If you want to get ahead - get a Van!
Hi,
I Have a Passat 4motion Estate 1.9Tdi (130). It has been in for it's first service after 17000 miles (long life). I have been told that the brake pads need to be changed.
The rear pads are 90% (1000ish miles to go) worn and the front are 60% worn (10,000ish miles to go). I know alot depends on driving style, however is usual for the rear to wear much more than the front.
Any ideas??? Read more
Hi Fozzie
just to say that in Feb this year I had the rear discs and pads changed for the first time since new on my 2001 Passat Estate.
The front discs were worn but serviceable but they needed the first set of new pads since new as well.
Work was carried out by a VW Independant who took the view because of the handbrake working on the rear discs and problems with corrosion the rear discs and pads are often the first to go. At this point the originals had lasted for 72000 miles which I though was acceptable.
All in all I had a major service, brake fluid change, new wipers all round, new brake pads all around and new rear discs for less that £400 all in which was a fraction of what the VW dealer wanted.
17k sounds on the light side to me unless corrosion has eaten your disc surface,
as always
Mark
Browse
Thanks for that guys.I tried to get the bolt out that holds the pedals in but it would not shift.I could not help wondering why,given all the places under the dash,they chose to put a bracket full of relays right by the pedals.Looks like perseverance,lot of swearing and he is going to owe me a few pints.