August 2006
I have recently bought a 98 Fiesta Chicane 1.4 zetec for a good price, but since I have bought it I have realised it has a terrible problem which I unbeleivably missed when test driving.
When I first pull off in 1st gear the car jerks and the revs drop just like a learner driver, but if I pull off slowly and ride the clutch the car is fine most of the time. it also jerks if I change into second at low speeds but after that the car is fine when I am driving at higher speeds the car drives perfect.
I took it to my local garage who advised the gear and engine mounts may be worn and need replacing, he replaced them at a cost of £100 the mounts were worn and split but the problem is still there.
my mechanic says the only way to cure the problem 100% is to replace the clutch & gear box at an additional cost of £300 is he taking me for a ride.
The car is also lumpy when engine breaking in low gears and jerks a bit when slowing down so I have to put my foot on the clutch but when I accelerate through the car pulls excellent.
I am starting to think it is an electrical problem rather than a gearbox problem has anybody else experienced these problems????
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Hi,
The last few days when I try to start my Espace in the morning, 2.2dCi 2001 it accpets the key, radio/dash lights up engine cranks but the imobiliser on the dash LED flashes. So won't let me start. No warning lights etc. The OK symbol appears as normal.
Trying the spare key doesn't change anything.
After 5mins of taking the keyin/out it works !
At lunch, 4pm or evening it's fine.
Weird problem. Thought maybe a battery that charges from the ngine may be draining overnight ?
I'm goin to replace the key fob batteries just in case.
Any thoughts ????????
Nick
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I have had the receiver go on a laguna changed at extreme expense and dealer I know cannot get a Vel Satis to go with the same problem he told me if he changes anymore bits he will have to reregister it as a different car.
I need to change the pads on my Espace latest generation, can anyone tell me how to keep the brakes released when I turn off the engine? Read more
There is a hatch in the floor between the two front seats. Lit that and you will see a yellow lever. Pull it while operating the auto brake (press the centre while pulling it) and the brakes release.
i just wondered if there is a fault code reader available for a diesel? specifically for a 306 hdi?
I cant seem to find one
thanks Read more
they are about but not cheap ones. The OBDCII standard applies to petrol engines not diesels. and most cheap code readers just handle obdc.
Snap-on, bosch etc do them but as I say not cheap. The modern stuff that uses canbus seem to be able to be read with the standard canbus kit. dont know about 306 hdi. Is there a way of reading fault codes with a small circuit / bulb or similar ?
Is it bad for a diesel to crank it over while the plugs are doing their thing?
It chugged a bit this morning (Quite a chilly night) but did fire up. It wasn't as quick as usual (About 2 turns of the motor!).
Is a grumpy sounding engine the worst thing that can happen? Read more
About the only thing I liked about our old Polo diesel was that it started its preheat cycle when you unlocked the doors.
I read somewhere a long time ago that the partially burned fuel and sooty deposits caused by improper cold starting of a diesel can eventually foul the injectors, but I don't know how true that is.
Cheers
DP
I was once told that in the 1960s, major motorways were designed for comfortable cruising at 90 mph. This is in terms of things like exits, signs, superelevation (a.k.a. banking on bends) and bend radii. Anyone have any better info?
What kind of science fiction future did they envisage, I wonder?
Where did it all go wrong?
Zebra
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We were once talking to my mate's Grandad about motorway driving and he told us about driving his friends Jag XK140 on the M1 in the early '60's. Doing 120mph he would give cars a couple flashes of main beam and they would neatly pull over for him, then he'd give them a thankyou toot and a wave as he passed. And he'd often get a friendly wave back
So much has changed, coming up behind a car (on a dual though) doing barely 60 in the OS lane, a quick dose of lamps results in quite the opposite. I don't think that that was a cheery wave the driver gave me yesterday anyway.
i have just bought a 'nearly new' A200CDI 3-door. all fine except i notice the wipers are for left-hand drive - the left one has a longer blade and wipes higher up the screen. it is not possible, so far as i can see, to fit a longer right hand side blade without it fouling the left.
does anyone have a solution, please Read more
Sorry \i didnt make my 1st post clear.
I still don't mean to be rude but the only cure is another car !
I have a commute of which around 30 miles is motorway. Depending ont he day, the weather and numerous other factors I might drive to work in a Galaxy, a Landcruiser or a CLK.
The different way they are treated amazes me, especially given that I would be around 80mph with the cruise control on most of the time whichever car I am in.
If I am in the CLK the world either wants to block me, or will speed up every time I try to overtake. Speeding up is always easy to spot since I have cruise control on. But if I come up behind them there is no way they will move out of my way. Why ? There isn't much chance of you being able to out run me if I put my mind to it, and the few cars that could never bother to try. You were obviously happy at whatever speed you were driving, why speed up just because I'm coming past ?
If I am in the Landcruiser I will get tailgated. Usually some some plonker (or "little shunt" as they were called recently) in some microscopic japanese go faster thing. Why would you tailgate a Landcruiser ? You'r e not going to intimidate me and if I do hit the brakes you're not going to do me much damage either. Although I'll be picking bits of your car out of the tyre treads for weeks.
If I am in the Galaxy the world seems ambivalent towards me. It doesn't try to hold me up, it doesn't try to get me out of the way, it jjust seems to accept me. All together a much more peaceful drive to work.
I know the easy thing to do is to say that I drive differently depending on which car I'm in, but I'm damn sure that I don't. I drive netiher faster nor slower, nor in one lane more than another. Its a commmute, I do it day in day out the same way every day.
So why do people tailgate a big car, try to out run a fast car and ignore a middle of the road car ?
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But I want to live. (And I don't mean that as in have fun - I mean actually live)
I'm searching for a car to suit a mature relative. Previous car was a 2.0 Mondeo petrol auto, reliable and 40 mpg on a run, but 26 mpg in the Yorkshire Dales, 95% of the mileage was in the Dales.
So, I'm searching for a reliable 5 door hatch, auto, aircon, OK on hills, priced at about £3 000. CVTs to be avoided at all costs, likewise small Ford autos. 1.6 Corolla or 1.5 Almera seems ideal, but they sell quickly. The 1.6 Astra appears bigger but there are more available. Is the autobox on a 1998/1999/2000 Astra reliable? I've suggested switching to a manual and then the field widens but the relative is set on an auto.
Following a good search through the archives, the Almera seems the logical choice with the Corolla a close second, but it seems to be a sellers market. Is the Astra a good alternative? Or is the Astra auto mpg nearer to Mondeo auto mpg? Read more
Thanks Greg,
Car delivered to the Dales yesterday, ran well on motorway/dual carriageway, vagueness in a straight line has improved after adjusting tyre pressures, but it's not 100%. Surprisingly agile on the twisty roads through the Dales.
The car is spoilt by an aftermarket CD player (Sony CDX-MP40), the display is demented and glows in the dark. Couldn't find the dimmer for the radio or the instruments so I'm sure I must have resembled the late Boris Karloff on the A1 last night ;-)
An old boy who lives round the corner has a very tidy 1984 230E It is a pig to start from cold then runs rough until warm. When warm no probs starting and runs very well
Don't ask why but he wants me to have a look. I would think if it was carb engine it would be a choke prob but since i now very little about petrol injection systems what am i looking for Read more
Any progress?
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Awsome thread, I had to join just to say thanks to all the posters which contributed to this.
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