March 2006
when local authority budgets turn to 31st March.
All over Manchester they have just started a programme of upgrading the footpaths. Very nice too, but they ignore the kerbstones, which are generally left in position and the road surfaces are in dreadful condition, but ignored as well.
I wouldn't mind but the footpaths in my area were too bad at all. Certainly suitable for my 18 month old daughter and 81 year old mother to walk on with problems.
Doh!
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive? Read more
We run two Mondeo TDCI 130ps Ghia estates doing long run airport transfers.One is a Ghia the other a Ghia X.The guy running the Ghia X is suffering with back pains since having this car and has been advised by his doctor that it is caused by the new car change hard ride.
The Ghia X has caused us many problems with private hire license as a spare space saver wheel is hard to replace in a steel 17" type , and fit the well ???
Does the Ghia X have stiffer suspension than the Ghia as well as 17" alloys with very low profile tyres.Why do ford fit such a varied combination of wheel and tyre size thru the mondeo range.We thought the ST would just have the harder ride , can any body advise or help on this situation !!!! Varying the seat and lumber position has no effect either.
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It could be that the Mondeo simply does not suit his frame and prefered driving position. What about self leveling, have you looked into that? I would guess that both have it though it could be that it was only std on the X at that time.
If alloy wheels are just fitted with an air gun , will I get wheel wobble ? Or have the bolts got to be torqued to a specified degree ? Reason I ask , just had new alloys fitted tyre garage just put them on with an air gun giving the bang bang bang bang noise as the bolts where tightened. Now my steering wobbles . Yes wheels are balanced and have been re checked by 2 diff garages . Read more
If the alloys are new to your car, another thing to check is do they fit on the hubs flat and square?
Some years ago, Motor magazine fitted Wolfrace alloys to their Blydenstein Vauxhall Firenze Estate project and had the same problem. Cure was to machine the wheels locally to clear hub protrusion.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
Hello wise ones,
Can you help me out with a motoring mystery? What governs how a number plate is fitted to a car? I have noticed that some plates look smooth as if they are stuck on. Very nice. Others have studs or nuts or something, if you will pardon my French, holding the plate on. Sometimes this interferes with the aesthetics including to the point of making certain letters or numbers look different.
Is there a nice way to fix a number plate, to get it smooth, and if so, who does it? Or am I stuck with Halfords and their nuts?
Many thanks in advance.
Alijazz Read more
I replaced the plates on my car with nice GB ones. They came with self adhesive pads which I used.
No mess, no screws, and no screw-damage-based-water-ingress 2 years on. Look good as well.
My Saxo has 91,000 miles on the clock. I put it in to National for oil / filter change every 6000 miles. I put it into garage to get timing belt done previously and will do that also next time it is due.
I check fluids myself.
My question is, is there any point in me putting it in for a "service". Is there anything that would be done other then oil / filter? Is the car at the stage that I just do the oil changes and deal with any problems as and when they happen, as opposed to doing "preventative" servicing?
Hope this makes sense? Read more
Firstly, check that power is reaching the glowplugs using a multimeter at the plug busbar. The glowplug line should be live as soon as the key is turned to the "ignition on" position, and remain live. It is a common misconception that the plugs turn off when the yellow light goes out. The pre-heat time as indicated by the yellow light should be about 5s for these plugs in coldish weather. Leave the "ignition" on without attempting a start - the plug line should go to 0V after about 20s. This is a safety time-out to prevent overheating and flat batteries.
After starting (with luck, in your case) the plugs stay on in post-heat mode. This is a variable time depending on coolant temperature, and can be up to 5min for this engine.
If your plugs draw 20A initially (each) dropping to about 5A after 3s or so, they are OK. Check with a car-type ammeter, connecting each isolated plug in turn to B+.
If your plugs are not Beru or Bosch, change them anyway.
Then check valve clearances; re-shimming this engine is easy and can be done in-situ. Best of luck, report back.
659.
Hi
I urgently need some advise please. I have a 95 Ford Probe and it won't start. The garage has said it was the distributor - which has now been replaced - but unfortunately it seems there is now a problem with the factory fitted immobiliser. It isn't a Bosch it is a TEMIC.
Does anyone have any idea of where to locate the information on bypassing this so I can pass it to the auto electrician. Alternatively, does anyone know of any AE's in Edinburgh familiar with the Probe?
Thank you Read more
It depends where you have done the by-pass repair. If it’s been done in the Bosch box, then it needs to be re connected . If it’s been done on the wiring before the box, then no . Leave the box off.
My Astra failed MOT today (thankfully he found the worn ball joint which had been knocking for weeks, despite my usual garage declaring they didn't know where noise was coming from!).
Amongst other things, the O/S front strut is disintegrating! Said he'd never seen one like it before - The flange which the base of the spring sits on is just crumbling away. Its booked in for replacement next week, but they couldn't give me guesstimate of price, as they usually only replace the shock insert, and need to shop around for the complete strut. Anyone know what £ I'm looking at?
Thanks, L Read more
Front struts are generally around the £30 mark,without spring.Not something I would get from a breakers,you do not know how worn they are and,as it contains the damper,should really be done as a pair.BTW if your garage cannot locate a knocking ball joint I would find another.
A colleague of mine has just purchased a 2.1 x type, 53reg. What oil is he advised to use in this vehicle?
All comments will, I'm sure, be gratefully received! Read more
Thanks for the link.
I'm a diesel man myself, so know absolutely nothing about this car, hence the question to the board!
Okay, tonight I did something incredibly stupid.
In the gym car park I looked behind me, saw there was a Clio trying to get around me whilst I waited for somewhere to park. The gap in front was narrow so I reversed, but looked at the Clio trying to get past... and not the Corsa immediately behind me. Other car's bonnet is crumpled, grille caved in, lights and wings are fine, bumper should pop back into place. Basically a typical enough car park accident, small earthquake in Peru, not many dead.
The police didn't attend so little or no chance of a due care prosecution either.
Anyway, on to the question, which is one that I genuinely cannot answer. My car is completely undamaged. Everything is exactly as it should be. Therefore I don't need to make any claim whatsoever for my own car and obviously the other party will be claiming through their own insurance and recovering their excess from me/my insurer.
I've declared the claim to insurance because I don't want whiplash to rear its head in a few days, weeks or months. I've also admitted liability at the scene. However, given that if my insurer picks up the bill for the other party, will I have to pay my own excess? Does my policy (which has 4 months to run) terminate and require me to find insurance again?
In other words, is the excess applicable to the whole policy or just to the comprehensive element, which is intact? Read more
.... and obviously the other party will be claiming through their own insurance and recovering their excess from me/my insurer.
Are you sure? I wouldn't, I'd put it in the hands of my 'legal cover' to claim from you / your insurer. He'd have to do this if he only had third party cover.
We are forever being told that our roads are so congested that the only to manage this in the longterm is Road Pricing.We already have the CONgestion charge in London,with similar schemes being "looked" at for other major cities.
If our esteemed government is really serious about cutting congestion and not about raking in yet more stealth tax,then I propose the following simple remedy which will cut congestion and emmisions.
Ration Fuel.
All drivers will be allocated fuel vouchers.
UK trucks that carry freight will obviously be allowed more.
This would mean that the small efficient cars would do more miles,as would diesels.
Of course this will never happen because we all know that all measures taken by the government to sort out congestion etc,are just a smokescreen to relieve the motorist of yet more money.
I would like to call their bluff though ! Read more
According to the Sunday papers there is already a huge black market in cheap diesel. Simply find a service station near Dover, ask a few foreign truckers if they want to sell some diesel and more than a few will happily do a good deal on some cheap stuff from Eastern Europe.
Browse
So complain to the council - there is a HAUC specification the work is supposed to be done to and the council get paid inspection fees by the utility for inspecting the work - make sure the council do their job.