July 2005
It is now compulsory in some EU countries to have a refective jacket in in your car Austria and Italy for sure I think Germany later this year.One other unrelated subject the much vaunted German toll system for trucks that uses high end technology and cost millions {against the sticker in the window in Austria}does not work very well and does not pick up trucks that are driving without paying. Read more
Help, mods! I am updating my email address, as requested - now I have to validate the changes. I cannot find the "validate" button. It's driving (motoring link) me nuts. Read more
Topkas,
Forwaord the email that was sent to you and I'll see if I can get it sorted.
DD. dave_moderator@honestjohn.co.uk
Before you fit a new cam belt checkout Continental tyres they have just introduced a new range of belts for most the common models which will last just about the live of the car,some types however still do have a limited live cycle but much longer than the original.The products were featured in AutoBild and received a good press,the tensioners and ancillary parts I presume will still have to changed at the appropiate intervals.
Regards Andy
Read more
Been there, done that, go the T shirt....
Dad's pug 309 SRi 1986 vintage came without the recommendation from Peugeot to change the belt - at all.
At 11 year old with a mere 43k on the clock - it went.
In 1987 Peugeot apparently claimed to have changed the cambelt type in these cars and then recommended regular changes, 4 years or 40k IIRC.
No - I didn't buy it either.
Went to see War of the Worlds last night, which is a great film. Anyway, noticed that the EMP pulse knocked out all the cars - would we be largely OK in Europe because we run mostly diesel engines?
Read more
"Air con gone."
Oh no the Martians are coming and I'm going to sweat as well.
Buy a Landie..
OK so I had to drive from Guildford to Northampton at 1pm on the Friday just past (22nd).
M25 shut 8-10 clockwise so join an empty M25 at 10. Understand those caught in the jam were there for 4 hours plus.
Heading round the M25 it starts slowing up. Traffic report slow between 14 and 23. Can see it stationary up the hill as I glide off on to an empty M40.
Here on the radio of big problems 6 to 8 northbound so glad I chose the M40.
Take the new dual carriage A43 down to my destination. Gliding under the M1 at 15a I see it is at a standstill northbound as well.
Nightmare day for the motorways avoided by me by more luck than judgement. Read more
and I thought I was lucky last night getting through the traffic lights at the bottom end of the A34 onto the M3 and straight though three sets of lights on exiting the M27 !!
Not that I'm a great fan of the channel but Men & Motors is showing a documentary on the above which may interest some of you.
Amongst other things, there's also a piece on the use of magnets and sensors built into road surfaces to govern speed, vehicle proximity etc. Not sure JC and his petrolhead buddies will appreciate that prospect!
It's all a bit 'American' but IMO worth watching and is bound to be repeated, often. Read more
I watched The Caravan Show on Discovery Real Time tonight (I couldn?t reach the remote). Presented by a really disturbing-looking, large-chinned character blinking away behind thick glasses.
Here?s a tip. If your industry already suffers from a dubious image problem and you want to capture a family audience, probably best not to hire a presenter who looks like a flasher. I nearly rang Crime Stoppers.
Hello
Has anyone got got an older 626 2.0 16v with verh high miles, just wondering if buyong in really good shape buy miles at 135,000 is a complete waste. FSH one owner with reg oil changes.
seems fine but tappets slightly noisy.
I guess the question is were they built well? I think same engine as probe? Read more
I'd say that the 626 is one of the most under-valued cars in the UK. They are well engineered, reasonably rust-proof, and drive beautifully. For some reason they are hated in the UK, and the very nice 1991 'H' 2.2i 4WD I had over there for four years lost most of its value before I left for NZ. It was a pity, as it was streets ahead of competition from Sierras, Vectras etc.
The 16v 626 engine should give good life well beyond 135,000 miles if it is maintained. A good high performance oil will usually help noisy tappets, and as long as they quieten down after a few minutes, there's no harm done. The coupe was fairly rare, and there are a few over here, usually called a Capella C².
Spares for them are certainly available from New Zealand, and much cheaper than in the UK, with about a week delivery time.
That series of cars, coupes and estates ran from about 1988 through to 1995. They were also badge-engineered in Australia and New Zealand as Ford Telstars. I bought a Telstar estate in 1993, sold it to my brother-in-law in 1997 when I went to the UK, and he still has it. No problems, running nicely at around 300,000 Km. That had the 2.0 12 valve engine, incidentally. They were the de-facto repmobile in New Zealand,and I doubt if you could have sold a Sierra or Vectra in the same market. Down here people like their cars to last more than five years.
Peeps,
been having intermittant problem for far too long now, i'll explain:
My clio 1.4RT runs fine, starts fine, all ECU sensors fine. However if you go out for a run and the engine gets hot, then you sit on low idle for a while (for example sitting in a queue for a car park, far to often where I live) the ECU "dumps" its throttle setting and starts to Idle at 1400rpm. It stays like this until you blip the throttle where it sometimes clears and returns to 800. Sometimes it takes as long as 5 mins to clear and all this time the engine is getting very hot and the fans going nuts! My diagnostics cant find anything when its running ok, and I havent been able to get the fault to occur when i've got my laptop to hand. Any ideas as to what could be casuing this???
Cheers Read more
I'm trying to remove the front disks from my Mk2 Fiesta xr2i.
I've removed the brake calipers and the screw holding the disk to the hub, but the disk itself seems stuck to the hub.
I've tried bashing the disk with a rubber mallet, but to no avail.
Can someone advise me what I could try? The disks are in very good shape and I don't want to damage them.
Regards
Desperate Read more
Excellent suggestion by 659 - I must try that next time I run into this difficulty.
Thinking about it, as the differential divides torque equally between its output driveshafts, irrespective of whatever speed each wheel is spinning at, as long as both front brakes work, it doesn't matter if the other wheel is on the ground or not. The torque in each driveshaft is always (near enough!) equal.
Number_Cruncher
Does anybody know of an insurance company that will take into account no-claims bonus from another country. I?m trying to sort out a Polish friend in London who?s bought a Passat and if I can find someone who will take into account his current 4-years bonus from Poland the quotes go from £1400 to £500. We can have documents translated.
I think he?s been ill-advised, the car has no tax and now he?s waiting for the V5. It?s outside his house in Walthamstow in a permit-holder bay, not tax, no permit, no insurance. All very messy, I really need to get him covered like now. He?s got the sense not to drive the car but he?s gonna learn pretty quickly that car ownership in the UK is no bed of roses.
Cheers, Dave Read more
It?s just introductory, they haven?t mentioned translation of documents or anything like that. But it?s exactly what No Do$h says - good business sense. The Polish community in the UK is 100,000 strong and this sort of information gets spread around, I?ve heard of three other Poles with Norwich Union since yesterday.
I was married into the Jewish community before I married into the Polish community and if a builder or chippy or plumber or floor sander did one really good job in Golders Green or Hampstead Garden Suburb he was guarenteed work for life.
Browse
.jpg)
"Even better is the fact that they get covered in grease etc and not my clothes. Everyones a winner ;o)"
We are required to wear reflective vests at work and of course some are so dirty that the regular clothes underneath them are much brighter than the vests themselves. i personally don't see the need for them in my workplace, but if wearing one means that I am able to sue the pants of the company if I get squashed (and survive) then I am all for it. Winner indeed 8-)