September 2005
Wheres that post gone where the guy had a £3700 P Reg Golf Diesel that had been clocked and was slightly unhappy?
Seems to have disappeared. Read more
On another recent thread concerning possible starter motor problems, it was suggested that a worn flywheel ring could be to blame. It is popularly believed that an engine always stops in the same position, thus concentrating the initial starter wear.
Someone suggested that this was always TDC.
I have experimented by marking TDC with a splash of snopake, and observing over about a dozen stops where the engine has come to rest in relation to this mark.
The results show that the engine (4-cylinder), ALWAYS stops at either 45 degrees before, or after, either TDC on cylinders 1/4 or 2/3. This is I think what might be expected. I observed the engine at the moment of switching off, and as the engine slows to a stop, it either just succeeds in plopping over a compression, or else it just fails to make it over the hill and runs back by a similar amount in the other direction.
There are thus four points around the circumference of the starter ring where wear would be concentrated.
However, with modern pre-engaged starter motors I don't think there is the kind of crash engagement that old inertia motors used to have with the flywheel teeth.
I just thought someone might be interested.
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ring wear could be overcome by rotating the flwheel by 360/n degrees.
Er, surely if you had the flywheel off and were thus able to rotate it, you'd replace the knackered ring gear while the opportunity presented itself?...
please help!!! my clio has developed a starting problem which is annoying and embarrassing. heres a perfect example........
i go home from work at 4.30 and have to pick the wife up at 5.00.
before i pick her up i always go home and have a quick wash and get changed. when i get back in the car and try to start it, it just ticks over untill about the 8-10 time of asking. its frustrating me because it can go 300 miles non stop, be really warm when i try to start it again , nothing. someone suggested it may be a problem with the thermostat not getting a signal from a certain sensor. i have no idea which sensor. any advice will be brill. thanks
stuart03@myway.com Read more
wheres the crank shaft sensor??
According to this Telegraph article if you unlocked the car door after misfilling with petrol it creates a rush of petrol into the injection system. No need to start the engine to cause damage.
Ive never heard of this one before, is it factual?.
tinyurl.co.uk/lt5d
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>>so a good deal of petrol would have been injected into the engine. >>
Might not be so as some diesel would be left in the fuel pipe and be used up first.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Is it usual to have balancing weights on the wheel removed and replaced whenever a tire is replaced and the wheel is rebalanced? And what exactly are they for as its hard for me to see that these little weights can make any difference?
Cheers Read more
Some interesting replies. Having never owned a car with alloys before, I didn't know they existed until I had my puncture repaired. The annoying thing is that the mechanic scratched the inside of my wheel when removing the old weights and I suppose this will happen again when I get a tyre replaced.
ive just been made reduntant from my paint sprayer job..i wonder if anyone could suggest a good online emplyment agency/job search website that caters for the motor trade
thanks Read more
Although not dedicated to the motor industry, www.gojobsite.com/ & www.gisajob.com/ are two sites where you can search for vacancies in certain trades. You can post your cv on these sites too for all agencies in the country to see. (Place your cv on and see how many agencies you get phoning you!)
My brother's into body-building and I've just saw an interview with The World's Strongest Man in one of his magazines.
Apparently he officially hates his Merc S400 CDI. To name just a few:
- new turbo after just 4 months,
- false readings from Distronic cruise control (they all do it sir),
- 7-speed autobox which caused five calls for a taxi.
Is that 7G Tronic box made my Merc or ZF ?
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I am the only Pole over here. Read more
Can't see how having more ratios reduces noise. Having a higher top gear might well do. Like I say, having a torque convertor effectively gives you a 1:1-2:1 kind of 'CVT' range. So choose the right set of five gears and add a TC - with a reasonably flexible engine that should be enough. I'm convinced additional gearsets above 6 are just marketing.
Fuel cost graph on tonights channel 4 news showed a price of $1.75 a gallon on the day before the huricane had now risen to oapprox $2.50, still cheap by UK standards.
Bought diesel today at 97.9p/litre, i reckon within 2 weeks it'll be over £1.00 which is an incredulous amount when not more than 6 months ago it was around 81p Read more
Of minor importance relative to the human tragedy, and at a slight, but I hope permissible, tangent, it would be interesting to know how many motor vehicles of all descriptions have been rendered beyond economical repair by Hurricane Katrina. In view of the area concerned, and the speed at which flooding occurred, it seems reasonable to assume that large numbers of vehicle will have to be replaced from one source or another, whether by US or other manufacturers (It's an ill wind ....), since presumably not all vehicles in the flooded areas were able to get out in time. However minimally, these losses will diminish US fuel demand in the short term at least but, sadly, worsen the overall scale of ecological damage from the fuel leaking from their tanks.
Incidentally, and in the midst of all the comments elsewhere about the apparent inability of the American authorities to deal with flooding (and not just the aftermath of a hurricane), I greatly doubt the ability of our own authorities - or our own population for that matter - to deal any more effectively with major flooding, and its wide-ranging after effects, in our own many low lying coastal areas. I speak as someone who has both lived through a major hurricane, and helped the local authorities and population to come to grips with the death and destruction that followed, and who recalls quite vividly the disastrous flooding of Canvey Island and other areas of Essex in 1953. No one, not even the "experts", really knows in advance where a hurricane will eventually strike land and it is a double tragedy that Katrina ultimately came ashore in an area that is so susceptible to flooding.
A final thought on world fuel shortages ..... stand by for the announcement that more nuclear power stations will be built in the UK - and elsewhere.
Jack
Dashboard display says "Automatic headlights faulty" (they've never worked automatically). Wipers completely dead (only front ones). Some electrical circuitry issue. Renault Assist (aka the AA) no clue. Assume covered by warranty. Off to dealer who says "never heard that one". Third time its happened in 9 months. Had same issue with previous model Espace (01) so it surely not uncommon.
Any advice/experience of same?
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Ok we have the answer. The dealer tells me that the computer was incorrectly programmed in the factory - it's programmed for the higher level model (the Privilege, I think). The computer thought the car had a higher spec, and intermittently, when it could not detect automatic wipers working (because they aren't automatic) it shut the system don.
The computer has been re-programmed to the right model, which should fix things.
In other words, my car thought it was better than it is.
Hi,
I have a Rover 1.6 2003 plate Rover 25 with only 13,000 miles on the clock, i was told the head gaskett had gone when taking it off i was told its to bad to replace and i need a new engine roughly how much do these cost.
All help would be greatfull i really dont know what to do.
Sorry im a woman and have no idea about cars.........
Also i have only had the car 3 months paid £4,000 for it, i brought it private. Read more
When these engines get very hot the pistons and liners are very easily damaged,i had one where the pistons cooled down were left in an oval shape.It is too expensive and difficult to rebuild these with much hope of it running problem free again.Off the top of my head i cannot think of a worse engine than the Rover K series.
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Attention-seeking disorder such as Muchousen's I expect.