August 2005
Just got a 1998 S reg Escort 1.6 16v Zetec with 73k on the clock. FSH but no sign of a cam belt change. When should it be changed and how much should it cost? Read more
Is anyone else having a problem with the Kia Pop up ad locking up Firefox. I have tried it on 2 different PC's, One running XP the other running W2000Pro, And I have the same problem on both. When I have Clicked on the Kia Popup (either by accident or on purpose) a new window appears that then locks up the screen and it is a CTRL+ALT job to close it. Am I alone in this? I have emailed HJ but he has said no one else has reported it!!!
As a note, I would like to say that I have no problems with Pop ups being used, but I do have a major issue if the ad companies just assume we all use IE and dont test the ad's properly.
Am now going off to write an email to Kia to explain the problem to them and see if they can kick the ad company into gear (am convinced it is not me) Read more
Version 1.0.6 has been out for quite a while.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
I wonder why oil change intervals vary so much. In the USA they tend to be quite short as well. My Renault is scheduled for 18K which I think is too long. I've had it done at 8K and on the advice of one RTE, I'm thinking of having it done every 6K. Read more
That is strange - you'd think that with (generally) big, low
revving engines, it wouldn't be a problem. However oil is
stunningly cheap in the US - 4 US Quarts (almost 5L)
of Mobil 1 fully synth was just over $20 in Walmart.
Ordinary stuff was 7 or 8 dollars.
"Quick Lube" service centres seem much more popular throughout the US; they seem to have retained the concept of the Service Station where attendents pump the fuel for you, check the oil etc.
Have a read of the forums over at www.bobistheoilguy.com if you're interested in oil opinions over the other side of the pond.
A friend with a 4 yr old Honda Civic reports that every evening his chores include the removal of a fuse from the car. If he doesn't do this he ends up with a flat battery in the morning, he says that the RAC advised him that the fuse was in the a/c circuit.
Has anyone else heard of this, and better, a fix?
Moved from discussion. smokie Read more
I would thimk it very unusual for the a/c to cause a battery drain on this car.Does this Civic have a remote alarm system fitted ?If so ,I would suggest that the boot light be checked to see if it goes out when when lid is shut.
I've just realised that there is still an AA key on my keyring. Is it now redundant? If I broke down I wouldn't dream of looking for an AA kiosk because I would be straight onto my mobile. Do AA kiosks still exist?
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L\'escargot. Read more
Used to go out to fix the AA boxes and some of them where in the middle of nowhere. You would follow a single-track dirt road for x miles and there it would be in a telephone box. The thing that really used to annoyed me was the fact that there was nothing but tress for miles around about and you would go into the telephone box and it would smell of wee and on one occasion someone even left a number two in it some really sad people out there. Drove me crazy.
The Omega is going in for it's MOT today.
Earlier this week the Brake Pad warning light started to come on, particulrly at the start and end of journeys.
I know this isn't an MOT fail, but I put it into my friendly mech anyway for new pads.
Just collected it, and he hasn't changed anything as all pads had at least 1/3rd left on them.
What causes it to display the Brake Pads warning? (It isn't a wire running through the pads themselves apparently).
Is this likely to be a spurious display?
Should I worry?
Read more
I didn't cure anything. The car passed it's MOT with the warning display on. I am not about to go cutting sensor wires, the display reminds me that (sooner or later) I will need to get the pads changed.
I've been looking at the latest tyre test from AutoExpress - available as a pdf download (thanks, colinh for the pointer).
I found it interesting, but something about it surprised me. They tested tyres for wet & dry braking, wet & dry handling, aquaplaning, rolling resistance, noise - even price - but they did NOT rate tyres for wear. Surely if we want to know all those other things, we are going to want to know how well a tyre will wear and how long it might last.
Is there any particular reason why they might not have tested wear rates? I take it that other tyre tests do look at this?
And can anyone tell me if there are other tyre tests available online - particularly British ones (since I assume that in the US tyres are not always the same - and probably have different names anyway?)(Yes, I know about Tyres-Online)
And - while we are on the subject of tyres - if different tyres have different braking characteristics, does that mean that when car mags like What Car test the braking of cars, the difference between different cars may be due more to the OEM tyres fitted than to the brakes themselves? Read more
www.testworld.fi/?sivu=rengastestaus&kieli=en
www.thetyrepressuremonitor.com/tyrenews.html
www.tiscali.co.uk/shopping/which_reports/which_tyr...l
www.ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/32.html
www.nokiantyres.com/vehicletesting_en
www.tyresave.co.uk/tyreinfo.html
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Morning all.
I wonder if you can help, I have got a VW Vento that I'm trying to sort out and for some reason one of the rear seatbelts is torn / chewed. I'm putting it in for an MOT hence need it to be replaced. Got in touch with all the big VW scrappers but no joy. VW want £70 +vat for a new one!
I have heard of a coach company that replaces the webbing on seatbelts e.g uses the other original parts. But I cant remember the name of it!!.
Any suggestions please ?
Checked, and unfortunately the golf does not share the same part (different drop angle)
Cheers
PC Read more
German and Swedish appear to have an auto rear belt for a Vento at £26.50 + vat.
www.gsfcarparts.com
Alternatively, try Quickfit Safety Belt Service, Stanmore
0208 206 0101 (as listed in HJ's Useful Websites, see link from Home page)
I downloaded the AutoExpress tyre test yesterday. In "my documents" instead of a little Adobe/pdf icon, I see just a general file icon. And when I double click on it to open it, I get a message telling me that "Windows cannot open this file" and that it needs to know what program created it. (I run XP by the way). So I manually select Adobe Acrobat from a list of programs, and it opens fine.
So - why doesn't Windows recognise that this is a pdf file? Read more
unprompted by me and with no added costs>>
My son, an IT support specialist, once told me that if I ever installed AOL on my system (not that I ever intended to do so) I would be utterly and entirely on my own...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
having problems with my 1996 n reg 1.3 fiesta every time i slow down at junctions it cuts out the only way i can stop it from happening is to drop the clutch and give it a couple of revs to keep it going its probably something simple but i`mnot mech minded. any help would be great
csitrev. Read more
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Do it now. Fit a full kit and allow for a water pump as well. With genuine parts and allowing for a new auxiliary belt an indy should charge around £200 - £225
NDREW
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Simplicate and add lightness!!