March 2006
Hello
I have a 2003 SRi Astra (1800) and at about 75 mph the steering wheel begins to vibrate. This carries on as i increase the speed.
I have the wheels balanced 4 times and the problem still persists. The car is still in warranty and is going to vauxhall, again, this weekend. Would appreciate any suggestions, or, if anyone else has had the same problem?
Any ideas?
Thanks in Advance Read more
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/4822808.stm
A one(!) mile car share lane is really the way to go Mr Darling..
It'll cure congestion at a stroke.
I can see rubber doll sales increasing tenfold. Read more
There was some other plutocrat who did that in London with a black cab - can't remember who it was. Quite stylish behaviour actually
I'm asking this one on behalf of a friend's car.
He's got a mid-90s Honda Civic 1.5 16v engine I think.
If he leaves the car overnight it seems the battery hasn't got enough grunt to start the engine. But if he disconnects the battery overnight it starts fine. So I decided to measure the current drain to see if it was exessive, but it was only around 30mA, which shouldn't really drain a newish battery overnight.
I checked the charging voltage and that was fine, so it seems the alternator is doing its job.
I'm a bit mystified to how the battery could apparantely lose its charge with just a small current drain. I haven't actually seen it not start myself, so haven't been in a position to test it when it is in the 'morning after' state.
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With the boot closed drop one of the back seats forward and check if the boot light is on, an old favourite, or glove box,take bulb out and try overnight.
Also check starter motor connections for corrosion.
Any suggestions why the front alloy wheels on a two year old Yaris should be bubbling
Regards
John Read more
It is a known problem with the wheels - go back to the dealer and they will get them replaced under warranty without any trouble.
A friend of mine is about to sell his 2003 (53 reg) Passat TDI 130 sport estate with 30,000 miles on the clock. I have a 2001 (51 reg) TDI SE estate with 85,000 miles. If I were to sell mine and buy his, what difference do you think I should be paying ? Many thanks in advance, Charles Read more
I have read numerous accounts of diesel cars being run on various cooking oils...I am thinking of giving it a try.
I have an Astravan 2003 1.7 dti with 35000 miles on it.
Has anyone tried this or is it a false economy.
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Only way you could consider it would be if you converted the engine with a fuel preheater kit at a cost likely to exceed £800. With biodiesel it's the fuel that's converted (from vegetable oil) to suit the engine. Comments above are correct wrt the need to register with C&E (aren't they now merged with IR to become Revenue & Customs?), as well as tendency of vegetable oil to become heavy/viscous at relatively high temperatures. I suppose you could get away with mixing in 5%-10% vegetable oil with diesel, but it wouldn't be something I'd bother with unless you did some more research and looked into the suitability of that particular engine.
--
andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
The XM is dead, (or on its deathbed anyway), long live the ????
My dad's 1993 Citroen XM 2.1 turbo diesel auto estate, which he has had from new, has been recently diagnosed with a myriad of faults that mean it is not cost effective for him to repair as it will probably fail the next MOT which is due in a few months time.
So the question is: what next? If I was he, I would be spending money getting it fixed or lining up an interesting series of cheap motors along bangeromics principles but alas, unlike me, he couldn't tell you which was the business end of a spanner. Plus, he is hitting 70 later this month so has slightly different priorities.
His long legs are getting stiffer (access is one of the very few gripes he has of the XM especially when the suspension is down on the bump stops), so I have been steering him toward considering small MPVs - Picasso and Zafira which are very easy to get in and out of, but a large hatch or mid-sized estate would also do. A seven seater would come in handy only a dozen times a year when we all visit. It does need to be able to sit five and still have a good sized boot for holiday luggage.
As a sports nut, he needs a radio with good reception (another XM gripe) and space enough for two sets of golf clubs with trolleys. The XM's lack of a/c has frustrated him on many occasions over the past 13 years but he has enjoyed the frugal and torquey diesel engine and, of course, the class leading comfort. An auto box is not a must-have, but it would certainly be a nice luxury, however many of the cars below are not available with automatic gearboxes. My Dad has been happily driving my sister's manual Punto on many occasions over the last months, after many auto-only years. (My mother's car is a 1995 Xantia auto).
His budget is between £6000 and £7000. His new car needs to be cheap to run (diesel) and reliable (so no Laguna nor 406). He still drives about 8 to 10 thousand miles a year.
Cars on the shortlist so far are:
Citroen Xsara Picasso 2.0 Hdi,
Vauxhall Zafira 2.0 Dti
Toyota Avensis 2.0 D-4d
Ford Mondeo 2.0 Zetec Tdci 130 Bhp
Vauxhall Vectra 2.0dti
Skoda Octavia Hatchback (98-04)
Mazda 6 Hatchback 2.0 D (119bhp) S 5dr
Volkswagen Passat Estate (99-05) 1.9 Tdi Pd (128bhp)
What models I have missed? And are the engines I have selected above the ones to go for? Let's hear it from the BR collective!
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I think I'd be considering the Mondeo, the Octavia and the Mazda 6. The Laguna and 406 would be the stylish choices, but as you say, not as dependable as perhaps you may wish.
One I think that should be considered, is the Vauxhall Meriva CDTi. A 55-year old friend of my parents has one and she reckons it's the best diesel, and best handling car she's ever had (the past one's were a Kia Magentis, Hyundai Accent and before that a Honda Accord).
Hello their, I am thinking of buying an 18 month old Audi A6 3.0 TDI or BMW 530i TDI or E class TDI, in each case the 3 litre version or near equivalent. I would be grateful of some opinions on the respective merits of each marque. I am thinking of keeping the purchase for at least 5-10 years, so durability and reliability is important. 10-15 years ago such a decision in my opinion would have been striaghtforward as Merc were the best, but today al premium band German cars cost the earth for so so reliability and quality...but i any event what do fellow back room guys think? Read more
A bit off the power and not always as smooth as the BMW units,the four cylinder jobs are worse.
The engines stick out the front,this is as stupid as sticking them out the back.
They would be smoother if they were narrow angle v6s.
Also,they seem to produce rather poor consumption figures.
If they were flat sixes and mounted behind the front axle line most of their handling troubles would disappear with no further engineering effort.
The mercifully defunct straight fives were the worst offenders.
Car design is quite hard enough without deliberately designing them wrong in the first place!
Whatever his other blind spots may have been Issigonis did at least know where to put the wheels!And it was'nt a yard away from the bumpers.
Finally,i've never heard anyone else refer to them so glowingly.
Robin
Hi
I know this is a lot to ask, but I could do with some help with a piece of coursework I have to do.
I have to look at the differences between the Automotive Engineering practices and set-ups between Germany and UK. (We can do it on Electronic, Chemical or Construction engineering but Automotive interests me more).
As guidance we've been told to look at: - Attitudes to work, research and development, investment and expected returns, and also size of operations or facilities.
So far I've just searched on the internet and apart from one webpage I've not been able to turn up anything that matches what I've been asked to find.
Any opinions or links to web sites or magazines offering information would be much appreciated.
I've also read these posts from a few years back www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=13573&...e
TIA
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Anyone ??
I've managed to find a bit more info now but am lacking anything about Attitudes To Work and Expected Returns on Investment.
I guess a greater return is expected on the same investment now compared to a few years ago but i don't know how this differs between the two countries.
Aprilias' first hand experience would be welcomed
I've always assumed the real advantage of alloy wheels was to save weight. But changing over some tyres at the weekend I took the opportunity to weigh an alloy wheel and its steel equivalent. Both weighed precisely 14lb.
They are more easily damaged, and difficult to clean, so do we fit them purely for cosmetic reasons? Or are Volvo alloys (like everything else Volvo) twice as heavy as everyone else's? Read more
I dont understand how you can have difficulty cleaning alloy wheels.
You wait until you're my age and suffer from chronic Sciatica!
However, each wheel has nine (I think) recesses into which I have to apply the appropriate sponge/brush and cleaner (shampoo) in order to loosen brake dust etc. I then valet the rubber on the tyres etc, before hosing the lot off and patting dry with my 'leather.'
Before all this nonsense all I had to do was give each wheel a fairly swift circular cleaning motion with a sponge and then rinse down. What was behind the wheel trim did not concern me.
With regard to using proprietary acidic alloy wheel cleaner I think that they are better left well alone IMO.
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Thanks for the information and advice
Much appreciated