December 2005
My 1.4 injected Tipo failed the Mot on emissions - tester had never seen them higher at about 9.1 (should be <0.something).
History is that after driving through a very wet patch of road a couple of months back it developed a chronic misfire. New plugs, points and leads failed to cure it, found to be timing, so had new cambelt fitted - ran fine, but consuming way too much fuel. Gave it a treatment of injector cleaner, still no improvement, so put in in for early test to see what else it failed on, with a view to fix if cheap.
It starts and runs fine, except it's doing 25 mpg driven sensibly, on medium runs.
Is there something I'm missing here - say ECU failure? Seems unlikely that the timing is/was incorrectly set (by a professional), given that it's otherwise running acceptably. Read more
Afternoon, anyone got any tips for removing ballpoint pen marks from leather seats? I've tried neat washing up liquid and turps so far but the marks are still there.
Thanks Read more
It's worth keeping some of these baby wipes in the car boot. They are good at cleaning bird droppings off the paintwork. Modern water based paints seem less tolerant of the acid.
I've got a Mark 3 Golf . Where does the Anti-freeze go? I'm not sure how much to put in relation to water aswell, can anyone gimme advice on that too?
Also i recently had the Gear box changed and since then the speedometer doesn't work (rev counter still does though). I picked up a new speedo just in case (the mechanics who did the job told me the wiring was a mess and that a new clock would be needed), can anyone gimme advice on that also?
Cheers! Read more
There are many different types of antifreeze, not all are compatible with the materials used in different engines and not all can be mixed with each other, Make sure you get the right stuff for your engine. If you can completely drain the engine and refill with the right antifreeze you will know it's ok, If you have to top up what is already in the engine, (which might not be the original correct spec) I suggest you collect a glass jar half-full of the mixture already in the car, and add to it some of your new stuff, and watch what happens. If it sort of "curdles" in the jar you know that is what will happen in your engine potentially restricting flow of coolant and goodness knows what else.
I am sure there are very informative threads about Antifreeze on this or other sites to give further info.
Hope this helps
Are the new M25 overhead GATSOs live yet. You know the ones they have just put up by Heathrow and the almost completed roadworks for T5. They are working but are they zapping??? Read more
They haven't installed the units yet. You can see the rectangular holes on the back of the gantries but there is nothing in them.
My old (92) Accord coupe is having to live outside at the moment and I have started to notice water collecting in the offside back corner of the boot.
I can see it appears to be coming in under the rubber seal around the boot lip but I can't see how it could happen because the seal is intact except for one split on the offside front corner that I have tried to repair. There's no rust underneath it anywhere either.
Should I lift the seal again and put some silicone sealant under it (might be hard to get hold of as I'm in France) or is there something I've missed?
Thanks in advance... Read more
Thanks for that, I'll take a look
Seems to be dripping from the rubber seal above I think
I am thinking of buying an after market reversing aid,any reccomendations please. I have looked at the autoexpress best buy selection including the META TARGA a device which fits behind a centre located rear number plate. Does anyone have one ? was it easy to fit & does it work ?. Read more
The cradle is made of black plastic that seems to be reasonably flexible, so presumably will take the odd knock without ill effect. The plate does not rattle on mine, I got a new standard sized rectangle plate from Partco as I broke the original when removing it- there was lots of those sticky pad things holding the plate on.
As above really. One 306 HDi I drove was really quite loud, mine is audible but only slightly.
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you are right, the VW 105PD has a slight whine at low revs 1st 2nd gear when cold.
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TourVanMan < yes its RF reborn >
My partner's reliable but unexciting 9-3 is intermittently showing the engine management system warning light. The performance is not affected and it goes out after a short while and doesn't come on again for a few days. Any major repairs are likely to be close to the value of the car and I am wondering if this something that it is safe to ignore? It is not related to any other warning lights, (oil, elec, coolant temp etc) and seems to mean nothing except that it is mostly off and very occasionally on. Read more
I looked on Saabscene earlier. Theres currently someone on the NG900/9-3 forum with a similar problem. The replies from people say it could be something like a split vacuum hose, faulty temperature sensor, thermostat problem, etc.
Good luck with it, I hope its nothing major...
A friend was breathalysed the other night in what he said was a 'roadblock' type whereby every car was being stopped. No problem in this case but am I right in thinking that such methods are 'outside the law' as it stands. I understood that the police must have a 'reason' to stop you ie your driving has giving them cause for concern. My friend was merely asked if he had been drinking and would he take a test. No other reason for being stopped was stated.
I've no problem with this practice in principle but in reality it would be impossible to operate on anything but the quietestt roads -- which rather defeats the object doesn't it.
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Those who were over the limit would NOT be prosecuted, as
they would have not committed a crime, some of them may
not even ahve the car keys with them.
However those who are (or even those who are not) could
be given the opportunity to pass or fail a breath test.
Having the keys in your hand but not having got in
your car yet, then failing a breath test IMO would be
a sobering thought! I've never been brethalysed but I know if
this happened I would be full of relief that I hadn't
been caught on the road, or even worse killed someone.
Personally I dont think it could work like that. The police would first establish whether you were intending to drive or not. If you told them you were intending to drive, then proceeded to fail a breath test, I'm sure they would take a very dim view on that. Rather than the friendly ticking off about what could have happened, I'm sure you would be escorted to the station to stay in one of their cosy cells. I dont know the law, but there may be enough intent to arrest you for drunk driving, or a lesser charge?
Im totally against drink driving, and me and my mates always walk round the pubs and get taxis when we need them. Im happy with an increased police presence on the streets, and it wouldnt bother me if they sat in pub car parks watching people get in cars. But I dont think Police entering pubs offering voluntary breath tests is the right way to go about it.
I've been breathalysed twice (both green of course) and the first time was not particularly pleasant. If anybody has to do one, make sure you take a very deep breath, and dont stop blowing until they tell you you can.
According to Auto express, Suzuki is going to put the Renault 1.9dci engine into the new Vitara.
Does that mean it isn't as bad as everyone claims? Read more
Or the Mitsubishi Grandis, now available with the 2.0tdi unit from VW. A better buy than the Sharan or the Touran IMHO.
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Have you got a multimeter? If so, disconnect the cts and check the resistance across both terminals...High resistance cold, little resistance at operating temperature....
As Oldman says map sensor, first check is the pipe that runs from the map sensor to the manifold..Remove the pipe, check its not blocked, spray some carb/brake cleaner through it.......