August 2005
Hi everyone,
I have a Vectra 1.8 LS (Yreg) petrol.
Im not sure theres an easy answer to my question but any help would be appreciated.
The car has done 140,000 miles and is running fine, but about 18 months ago (90,000 miles) the picture of a car with a spanner started coming on intermittantly. Since then it changes to the picture of the engine for a few months and then changes back to the spanner one. Sometimes it goes out altogether but only for a few minutes.
Ive had it reset twice but people just say that the fault is no longer there and all they can do is reset the warning which costs 20 quid and lasts about two days!
Whats the point in fault codes if you can't figure out what causes them?
I change the oil and filter every 10,000 miles and have changed the cam belt with tensioners every 40,000, the car drives fine.
Shall I just live with it or is there anything that I might try?
Someone suggested cleaning the throttle housing?
Thanks for any ideas.
Read more
What's the best way/cleaner,to use to clean the MAF sensor,and how,on a 97 Vectra diesel?
Mine hasn't been touched since I bought the car 3 1/2 years ago,and I think now may be the time to do it. Read more
Well,so far,so good.
I cleaned the sensor last night,and there seems no detrimental effect so far,if anything,it seems to rev smoother.
I'll keep you posted.
Can anyone tell me what a knock sensor is please? I have one on my Subaru Forester. I am given to understand that it may be the cause of some engine hesitation in accelerating away from 1st to 2nd. My ECU was upgraded by Subaru to try to solve the hesitation problem. It worked fine for a couple of days, but now the hesitation is back. Could the ECU be learning from the Knock Sensor and take me back to square one?
By the way, I noticed that none of the Subaru mechanics had dirty fingers. Does this mean that they are now technicians who rely on what the computer tells them? Read more
Apologies for my carelessness. The website is www.subaruoutback.org but it contains
threads on other subies. Good job my head is properly secured.
:-((
Thanks for that, will have a dekko.
How much was a litre of petrol in 1990 - ( and other subsequent years ) Read more
Here you go:
www.eh.net/hmit/ukcompare/
What benefits,if any,apart from cost,can you get from a re-profiled camshaft?
The reason I ask,is because on my Citroen AX autograss car,a lairy cam is £300+,whereas I can have the current GT cam re-profiled to the lairy one for £100,thereby putting the savings to another part of the car. Read more
Sorry for the delay....been away.
This weekend sees the biggest event in our calendar,the Mens Nationals.
For information,see the link below,and then follow the further link at the top of the page for the Mens Nationals.
If you want some spectacular action,then come and see for yourself what it's all about,and then perhaps post back on this site afterwards.
www.yorkshiredales.uk.net/
To get there,take the A1 north,and come off at the B6267 Thirsk split,just after the Quernhow cafe,and at the bottom of the sliproad,turn left,and keep going for about 3 miles.
From the North,come off at the B6267 south,and then double back under the A1,and again,follow the road.
I personally compete in Class 4,which is 1130cc max,with unlimited mods.
However,probably the most spectacular class is 7,where twin bike engine saloon cars,usually Seicento's or Cinqucento's because of their lightness,are usually the favourite.Not surprising with one engine on each rear wheel!!!!!
Class 10 is twin bike engines in a sort of a go kart chassis,and these are quick as well.
Help!!
Trying to install a new radio into a 2002 micra - the old connectors do not match the new ISO ones.
Appreciate any help on what the wires are!
Many thanks Read more
As a cautionary note, looks like nissan are inconsistent in the looms used.
the loom in my micra is not standard!
hwvr- the people at autoleads (www.autoleads.co.uk/contact.html ) are very helpful if you give them an idea of the wiring
thanks to Galaxy for the quick and helpful response
Would you pay extra to have built in pedestrian safety features in your next car ? It seems that the car manufacturers are fighting against it under the belief that buyers will refuse to pay. Guess what, I?ve been reading New Scientist again.
A report states that when a car hits a pedestrian the bumper sweeps the legs from under, the body lands on the bonnet, and the head hits either the trailing edge of the bonnet or the windscreen. Nasty !!
We in the UK grumble about the fragility of ?body coloured bumpers? which wouldn?t survive a bump with anything, whereas the Americans seem to want the bumper to be undamaged by a collision with a street lighting column at 4 kph.
One proposal is to have the bonnet hinged at the front so that the trailing edge springs up and collects the pedestrian. Like ping-pong so to speak. Another is to have a safety bag on the bonnet. Manufacturers say that the paint finish is likely to be damaged on operation, and customers don?t want that.
It seems that a better selling point from the point of view of the manufacturers is a CD player with surround sound system.
Is this true of back roomers, or do we rise above mundane things to the benefit of - possibly ourselves ?
Read more
The thing is, on this site we often see threads started where someone would like help/advice/opinions on which car they should buy.
Often these people have a list of priorities, such as
Performance
Reliability
Handling
Ride Quality
Space
Image
Low Depreciation
Safety (Occupant)
...and so on
Now in around two years browsing this site, i can't remember anyone choosing a car based upon it's enhanced pedestrian safety features.
Unfortunately it just isn't an important enough factor to most of us, myself included. As i mentioned earlier, if a car i liked happened to have excellent pedestrian safety, then great, as long as it was still competitively priced with it's rivals in all other aspects.
I am the proud owner of a Skoda Octavia TDI 90 which as all the surveys say you can't beat for reliability, build quality, low running costs, economy etc. After 80,000 miles in 6 years I am looking for a car with all the Octavia's virtues but a better ride quality (much better if possible) and a bit more performance to cope with mountain roads etc. I have thought of a Superb and am lining up a 24-hour test drive. Also I have thought of a Fabia vRS 130 or a Corolla 1.4D. Air-con is a must for summer holidays in Europe. I have discounted the Citroen C5 on the grounds of poor reliability but is this fair? Come on you owners of these cars and give me your opinions.
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Whatis often not taken to account with modern diesels is how quiet they are when cruising at motorway speeds. The PSA 2.2 HDI is an extremely smooth and quiet engine.
I have to travel to a funeral in Helston, Cornwall next week. Not sure which day yet, but will probably leave about 11am the day before.
I'm OK with the AA route frm Exeter to Helston (basically A30 and A39) but not sure about the first part of the route. A & M27, then A31 and A35. Looking at the map, looks quite twisty. I thought of A272 as far as the A34, up to the A303 near Andover, then down the A303.
Anybody got any recommendations please? Read more
Prompted by the "Why don't new posters?" thread, I should have reported back.
I went down via A272, A303, A30 route which was fine, but a little bland. Nobody mentioned the A303 closure between Ilminster and the A30 junction though. What struck me as crazy was the suggesated diversion up the A358 to J25 of the M5 at Taunton. I cut down throgh Chard and carried on down throgh Honiton.
On the way back I had a more leisurely trip and took all the illogical routes on the basis that I might see places I hadn't seen before. It was delightful. Bodmin, Liskeard, Plymouth, Exeter, then Honiton, Axminster, Lyme Regis, Bridport, Dorchester. Remarkably quiet and super driving roads and stunning scenery, especially the Dorset bit. The only mistake was cutting through Poole and Bournemouth, rather than through Wimborne Minster.
Well I have been notified that the company is closing my store and I am being made redundant. Super.
If I was able to talk SWMBO into it, what could I spend £10k on, keep for about a year and then sell again. (SWMBO will have graduated by then and be wanting her Beetle).
I don't have anything that I desperately need this £10k for but if something cropped up, I would want to sell and recoup most of my money.
Doesn't need to be the full £10k I spend, but I want a vehicle that is different to my current Saxo and Scenic. Something that would be fun and different.
I am thinking all sides of the spectrum, from a 205 GTI, to an old Scorpio Cosworth, to a Mitsubishi twin cab pick up!
Any ideas for fun and low depreciation? Read more
If you were in the market now i know where theres a lovely 205 1.9 GTi Dimma!
If you want more info on sporting pugs have a look here www.psooc.com
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My P reg played up the light came on intermittantly then became progressily worse it was the camsharft sensor it went through 2 in 18 months when the light comes on it goes into get you home mode Neil