July 2006
What would you consider "normal" freeplay on an engine mount?
I started to wonder after noticing the Mondeo's exhaust tailpipe "bouncing" quite heavily on startup and also (to a much lesser extent) on tickover. It is also possible to "rock" the engine at the mount around the cambelt cover fore and aft by hand. Car has also become quite "jerky" when on and off the throttle in the lower gears in recent months.
Rubber looks okay from what I can see, but is this kind of movement normal?
Cheers
DP Read more
Wife's car has been written off by insurer - no fault accident and other party admitted fault. Never been in this position before so not sure how it works.
Does her contract of insurance continue or does it die on payout (payout coming from other insurer - not hers)
Does shee need to chase recovery of her excess and other costs from the other insurer or should her insurer do this?
Does a gap insurer have any input into the value of the payout on the car? It does affect ths size of the cheque he will be sending us.
Read more
So that would be:
Churchill (a Direct Line brand) vs. Tesco (a Direct Line brand).
to the same call centre.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
According to today?s Telegraph there are 1.55 million untaxed cars on the road, of which 3 out 4 are thought to be involved in other criminal activities. 1.3 million late payment notices were issued but these only resulted in 465,000 people paying up. 216,000 people were taken to court but of these only 21,600 paid up. Gives one some doubts about the effectiveness of the legal system and the work of DVLA and makes one wonder how this road charging is ever going to be made to work! Still, DVLA can always make monetyon the side by illegally selling your details to 3rd parties so that's OK then! Read more
report it online here Dave N....www.dvla.gov.uk/public/unlic_veh/unlicenced.htm
Its free as well and does work ................up here anyway........
That is supposed to be the chance of being caught for not bothering to pay road tax. Default rates are going up so now about 3.6% of all vehicles aren't taxed and should be. The whitehall review suggests a third of motorcycles aren't taxed. Even if you are caught people aren't actually paying up the back tax. Debt collection agencies have only just started to be used.
With 4 cars all taxed, 3 of which are due either this month or next I am wondering why I bother! It would be much easier to put the whole lot on fuel. Add 3rd party insurance and the concentrate on taking unroadworthy vehicles and drivers off the road.
With anpr possibly illegal under RIPA the whole area of road tax evasion and enforcement is a mess.
teabelly Read more
The saying ?the law is for the law obiding? springs to mind
Martin, I meant Martyn. Sorry.
Also, I apologise for getting sucked into yet another thread about the sad berk.
I'm starting now - I'll never make another response to, or comment on, any post by or about LAS. If everyone did this, he'd soon drift off.
V Read more
I sometimes puzzle when folks insist that they want "their" car
back and not the settlement. OK I know you get the
odd older car that is written off just for a damaged
bumper that the owner could source down the scrappy and be
back up and running for a tenner. However mostly economic write-offs
are just that... the car is not worth repairing. Better to
fight for a good settlement and go out to get something
nice to replace the old one.
Becuase often, finding a new car isn't straightforward.
I have just spent the best part of 3-4 months sourcing my current car. If it was written off tommorrow I would be absolutely devastated and a cheque for the amount I paid for it is the LAST thing I want because the chance of me finding another one as good for the money I paid within the next 6 months is virtually nil.
In the past few days of hot weather, I've noticed that my A4 TDi 130 has been very smokey even on relatively mild acceleration.
I've cheked all the usual items, ie the fuel consumption is still very good at 50+, the air filter is definately not too bad and the fuel was Shell with a tankfull of BP from yesterday. Oil consumption is still negfligible, and performance is still perfect.
The car has had quite a few hundred miles of fairly hard motorway work, but still smokes a bit more than I would have expected.
What could be the cause ?
Could this in some way be attributable to the extreme temperatures we've been having, as I've been driving in 32+ degrees in the last 3 days. Read more
That's an interesting test, but by creating a vacuum you pulled the pipes together rather than forcing them apart!!
In reality it may stll be valid.
I know there has been some 'knocking' of these guys' purpose recently, but I've had a few collegues had a 'need' for them recently on the national motorway network.
One collegue punctured on the M56 and was 'supported' by a traffic officer within minutes - minor incident.
One other colleague had a major blow out on the M5 last weekend, in the morning, in a new Focus at 70 mph in the outside lane , shredded his tyre, snapped the rear axel, and by the time he had reduced speed, he span into the central reservation (superficial damage to front) but rear severly damaged, as wheel had dug into the tarmac and caused the spin.
Traffic officers arrived within about a minute, stopped the traffic, got family away from motorway, cleared car within minutes.
Colleague waited with car and officers, police turned up after 40 mins, breathalised him, left scene as car was new (no need for checks).
RAC turned up within hour, but get this,........ the traffic guys had got McD's breakfasts for everyone to eat whilst in the RAC truck home (to Cheshire).
How good is that.... this lad is well impressed with these guys. So a big thumbs up for them !
Fortunately, all ended well - his car is bordering a write off - sobering thought for a new car from a blow out ! Read more
Hi AR- one of the thoughts I'd had was that by the patrol car being parked at an angle across the hard shoulder, visually it 'pushes' drivers away from the parked vehicle- ie like a big crash barrier moving traffic away from itself (if you see what I'm getting at).
Always presumed that if hit, with wheels not pointing away from traffic, if hit hard enough could go into other traffic (although would have to be an almighty collision- and as you say would also be one almighty mess anyway).
Had never thought about vehicle being pushed into persons on side of hard shoulder, although now you've said it is seems quite obvious. Assume RAC and AA park with wheels pointing to kerb as would prefer van to go off road rather than in to (broken down) vehicle they're stood in front of.
VW Golf Mk 4 GTI 1.8T 180 bhp vs Honda Civic type r 197 bhp. Which one would win flat out on a straight road. Both cars are standard! Read more
I'm stalking you Marvin :-)
Yikes!!
On Monday I bought my annual supply of unleaded for the mower and stowed the five litre green plastic container on a shelf in the garage.
Sitting up here half an hour ago reading the hottest July thread when Mrs B chimes up from downstairs with her alarm call. Strong smell of petrol round front of house she says, distinctly odd I think, as we run a brace of diesels. Then remember the mower fuel.
Check reveal that petrol vapour has "blown" the container splitting the seam, fortunately only extent of a pinhole, but nonetheless shelf is well damped and paint bubbled. Five litres of petrol donated to neighbour's Audi and container isolated at bottom of garden.
One spark (from freezer thermostat?) and whole lot could have gone woof. Bromptonette's bedroom is over the garage.
Three days later and we'd have been away for three weeks on our hols.
Read more
Some of those 2-wheeled "Kubota" type hand tractors have small diesels - as you say, once you've knackered yourself cranking it, if you don't pull the handle out quick enough it'll pull your arm out of it's socket!
Yes, I know its a bike. Anyone any idea of a URL which would give basic servicing details. I appear to have swopped a few redundant paving slabs for a service.
I have tried the goldwing clubs, but none appear to give free details away.
OK with oil,oil filter, air filter and coolant changes, but would like some info on timing belt changes and whether it is an "interference" engine. Any idea of valve clearances, and whether hot or cold
I really don't want to buy a manual and then give it away, as this would cost more than the slabs
Not helped by the fact that the rear wheel has been replaced by a Scorpion back end!! Read more
Try searching for a Clymer workshop manual
Mark
Browse
Should be quite cheap to replace. Not a difficult job or an expensive part. 1 hours labour plus parts I would expect.