June 2006
I just bought a 1998 200k Mondeo TD estate. Not too bad really for £700 with a bit of tax and 6 months mot.
I noticed the speedo was overreading by about 10% and figure its because the wheels look like they are off an escort and are 185/60 R14 and are smaller than Mondeo's.
I have found a set on ebay which are 195/60 R15 is this the correct size?
Thx Read more
Saw one of these in Paris yesterday, it looked huge, much bigger than I was expecting.
Another Chelsea Tractor which will be appearing in London soon then.
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At least they have 7 seats, so if a big family buys one its not quite as environmentally reprehensible.
After about 18,000 miles, I'm told that the bushes on my Ford Ka are sufficiently worn to need replacing. That got me wondering about what factors would have lead to them being so well worn at this stage.
1)Obviously, the roads that one drives over will make a big difference.
2) The quality of the original bushes will also be a factor (and I gather that suspension problems are a known weakness in the Ka).
3) However, since, as every Ka driver knows, it's not what you drive, but how you drive it, I can't just blame the roads and the vehicle - my own driving style will also have an effect. Other than simply driving too quickly, are there other aspects of driving style that might be leading to premature wear and tear on the bushes? Read more
In my case, unlikely to be speed bumps. The Ka has only seen one or two in its life, since it lives a sheltered life, rarely going into cities, and spending its time on single track roads in the Highlands. However the undulating surfaces of these roads may take their toll, as I have been known to get the Ka airborne on one or two occasions when travelling at speed. Hard cornering is much more likely scenario.
Thanks, jonno, for the tip about Powerflex bushes. I'd already told the fellow at the garage just to get a couple of new suspension arms, so I'll not mess him about now by mentioning Powerflex bushes, but perhaps in another few years . . .
2001 Y Mondeo 2.0 Ghia 143K miles £1495 (dealer)
It's on Autotrader.
Do you think this is a good buy, or a big risk? Fords seem to be quite reliable and cheap to fix, aren't they?
What do you think?
(This car is not for me BTW) Read more
Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to leave this one alone, sounds a bit too much of a gamble. There will always be another one.
Does anyone have any opinions of the 2000/1 Polo gti ?
They seem to hold their value and I seem to remember were pretty nippy - 125bhp.
What should one look out for in a used example? Read more
Probably the best Polo in recent years. Make sure the air con works, I looked at one a while back and is was broken. Just needs a re-gas I was told. Yeah right.
Expect a few rattles here and there. And just check for general abuse, no gearbox noises, clouted alloys etc.
I have a 01 Mondeo TDDI and i think one or more glow plugs are not working properly. On starting from cold the engine seems lumpy for 5-10 secs and there seems more smoke than usual. On starting from warm there is no problem. At all other times the engine runs fine. How do I determine which plug(s) may be faulty?
Once determined is it easy to replace them and do I need any special tools and are there any special precautions or tips anyone can offer? Thanks in anticipation. Read more
Using a multimeter, set on ohms (greek symbol omega) or resistance, the resistance on a good glowplug should be less than 1 ohm. You could use a 12v test lamp, disconnect the glowplug, put your test lamp lead on the positive battery terminal and touch the glowplug connection point (small threads), the lamp should light. If it does not light or is very dim then suspect duff glowplug. BTW usually when one glowplug fails, the others follow shortly after, so IMO if you do find a duff one, replace all 4.
I went mad and bought a front fog light kit on eBay (I've always hated the blanks on the front of the car where the fog lights go).
However the 34 pages of fitting instructions are somewhat daunting, especially the bit in the middle where the steering wheel has to be removed!!
Has anybody here fitted these lights (to a 2002-2004 model), and is it as daunting as it looks? Read more
Phil round 'ere people only turn them on the once . Then they're left on permanently.
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I recently bought this 1991 car and was told by main dealer that it was an "absolute minter", however about a week ago quite suddenly it started to splutter, especially under load. It's had new plugs and they are burning perfect. Could it be the leads?
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Yeah I think it does to, it started quite suddenly. Bought car off e-bay and had it checked by Ford dealer!
I risk being branded a philistine here for this but here goes anyway...
It's coming round to time to find a replacement for my 3 year old Megane 1.9dCi - obviously since it's been so raved about the latest Focus had to be a candidate. However I've had the misfortune lately to hire a 1.6 LX on a few occasions lately and found it very disillusioning. OK, so the handling's sharp and the major controls work nicely. But the positives start to run out after that. Noise, especially tyre roar, was terrible compared with my Megane, making a 120 mile trip on motorways and fast A roads feel very wearing - just as well the stereo was OK as you had to crank it up to hear it! And the seat gave me backache after an hour - I might blame this on it being poverty spec (I read ghostrider's view about LX seats a couple of weeks back). But if that's the best the opposition have to offer, I'd keep my Megane thanks. Yes I want a car that's fun to drive but this seems to come with too many compromises to make it a car you'd want to spend any serious time at the wheel in.
So it really makes me wonder what really would be the best small or medium diesel hatch for me (£12k budget, 1-2 years old), that's quick enough, comfy, plenty of toys, and decent handling. I'm not sure I trust the conventional wisdom of the motoring prsss so much now. Who's going to be the first to tell me to to visit the Which website!? Read more
Superbs are, well, superb. I did a non-stop (except for coffee and ferry) haul back from Argentat to Northwest UK last summer in my last motor, a 1.9 TDi 130 Superb, and I could have turned round and done it all again.
48 to the gallon as well.
HI folks,
I was recenly reading something on Citroen Saxos have weak gearboxs however i havent heard of any problems with the 106 gearbox. I was under the impression they were the same cars - in all but name- are they the same gearbox on both cars or different? - which would explain why saxos have some gearbox problems.
On a more general point are parts like electrical connectios and wires the same in all peug and citroens??? i usually find reading reliability surveys that peug's do better than citroens but am curious as to why this may be if they use the same parts
Cheers Read more
no problem with cooking saxo"s that i know of, its the thrashed vtr"s etc with weak gearboxes because of the increased torque of the bigger engines and they werent designed for it.
some parts are interchangeable but a lot of citroen parts are fairly cheap anyway so i wouldn"t bother for most things trying to get a pewgot part to fit.
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No-you need Ford rims,any will do,they don,t have to be off a Mondeo.