August 2005
Hello All
Does anybody know of a way to get to the air con drivebelt tensioner pully lock bolt (8mm hex in the centre of the pully)On a 1998 mondeo TD? as there is hardly any clearance between the pully and the body work. Does any one know of a special tool for the job? No matter what angle i try from all i end up with are sore knuckles! Read more
Sometimes on my travels I pass a car that has been abandoned. If I remove the car (using a trailor) am I breaking the law, even though it's obviously dumped and the owner clearly doesn't want it? Read more
Got stuck in a bizarre jam last night. Crossing the railway bridge near our house (one lane controlled by traffic lights) the 2 cars in front of me were driving very very slowly.
At first I thought the lead car was having a conversation with the girl on the pavement- but then spotted that in front of him were a family of swans.
Common sense also seemed to prevail as a van came up from the other side, saw what was going on so reversed and stopped traffic going through.
Certainly the funniest jam I've ever been in!
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The smallest bridge 'Over the Atlantic' is claimed to be somewhere in the Western Isles. I have seen a picture of it and it is very small, one way traffic or even a footbridge. Info at
www.innish.com/seilb.html
I suspect one of the instrument bulbs has failed in my 2001 406 radio / CD / RDS / outside temp / computer trip display (the standard one, not the SatNav one), the left hand side being "darker" than the right all of a sudden.
Any help how to remove panel / get at bulbs / change them?
Many thanks. Read more
Info. is very much appreciated Charles....I'll give it a go tomorrow.
Best regards
Thought two ASA verdicts on devices sold by Ecotek would be interesting: www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/non_broadcast/Adj...7 This deals with the air-bleed device "NEW Ecotek CB-26P" Examined in 2004.
www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/non_broadcast/Adj...7 with a product known as "POWER Boost Engine Energizer" 24 August 2005 for this one.
Complaints about effectiveness are upheld, with reasons given.
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The products still seem available, but I haven't seen any ads that I can recall. The Ecotek web site continues unabashed, and outside the ASA remit.
..or is it just me?
My Monterey with semi-knobblies does not like them at all.
rg Read more
Prompted by my post above, I Googled for old time's sake for Brifen and found this impressive series of photographs of a Rover SD1 travelling at 70mph: www.brifen.com/perfhist.htm
Before anyone comments; no, as a motorcyclist I don't want to hit Brifen, but then again I don't want to hit Armco, either.
Driving north on the A34 this morning, doing 70 - 80 mph where possible. An Astra-type van appeared from no-where and sat about 6 inches from my bumper. At first I thought it was police as I saw the familiar neon markings on the bonnet. However, no lights, siren etc. and the word "Medical" in small mirror writing across the bonnet.
I have to say I was pretty shocked by his driving. Very fast and aggressive. I think he must have undertook at high speed to appear behind me so quickly. He undertook me and flew off at very high speed after a mile or so. The words "Urgent Medical" were written on the back door of the van, but in stylised sign writing which leads me to believe that this was some kind of private courier. Could this be right?
I wondered what the legal status of these vans are. I don't believe that anyone has the right to drive in this manner on our roads, even with flashing blue lights. If it was "urgent" and "medical" wouldn't it have at least flashing lights (green, blue or orange - anything to get attention), a police escort or something similar?
This was the first van like this that I have seen, and the only thing that sticks in my mind is the truly dangerous driving. I probably didn't pull over as soon as I could of, but I was worried that if I moved from my lane or touched the brakes to pull into a gap he would have hit me. He was that close. Definitely the worst bit of driving I have seen in a long while. This section of the A34 is stop-start at the best of times and I don't believe he could have stopped without hitting me if the traffic ahead had slowed suddenly.
Anyone know of who this company might be? I would like to enquire if they had an urgent job Oxford-bound on the A34 this morning - and if they made it!! Read more
But the point was that this was a plain white astra van with no lights or sirens present, and the word "Medical" in small letters across the front. That was it. And being driven in a reckless and illegal way. For all I know the guy was on his way to work.
I can understand having vans specifically kitted out with lights/sirens and freeing up police to do what they do best - issue fixed penalties and the like ;o) - but this was just plain shocking.
In the spirit of giving feedback to those who have provided advice -
The orginal post was lost to the great deletion bug a few weeks back so I'll summarise the problem and advice.
53 reg 2.0 Mondy TDCi, 15k miles, smoking like mad especially on low revs and heavy load. Also noticed poor fuel consumption (down to 35mpg) and poor pulling at low revs.
Advice 1. Italian tune up - no improvement
Advice 2 BP ultimate plus Italian tune up - even worse smoke and consumption.
Advice 3 EGR valve stuck, take back under warranty and visit mondeo.org for technical info and back up - bang on the nail. Although it turned into a saga due to dealer disbelief and ordering wrong part etc. but we got there in the end.
I now have back the car as I bought it and I'm loving it.
I can't remember those who offered the advice but thanks for the help. I'll now join the ransk of thsoe who recommend a Mondeo as the car to suit all....
Dan
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Thanks for the feedback.
My Haynes manual quotes a nominal figure of 3.1mm toe-in. This works out at 28’ (nearly 0.5 degrees) on a 15” wheel. That seems quite strange to me when considering that the value for several FWD cars that I’ve previously owned has been 10’ to 15’ toe-out.
Maybe the steering system on the new Fiesta is quite different but I’d like to be certain.
Having access to an optical gauge, I’ve always managed to get long & even pattern life on those other cars.
Any help and techy background on this subject is most welcome.
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My old Alfa 145 had excessive toe-out and scrubbed the inside of the tread. I checked the setting with my local dealer and was told to set it parallel, although I think officially it should have some toe out for the "steering feel".I set the tracking to parallel and did not notice any different feel to the steering but the tyres wore even.I might not have noticed the difference in feel because the Alfa always felt a bit of a barge compared with my 205GTi.
Hello Folks,
Are these cars prone to any cam bearing wear, timing belt tensioner problems, or anything to create a "washing machine-style" whine from the top end?
My neighbour left his standing for two weeks, and, on his return, found that there was a top-end whine. It sounds like a failing camshaft bearing to me. The car is generally well-maintained. I wondered if there weas a history of weakness.
Cheers
rg Read more
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It has. Here's one of the threads, there may be others.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=27320