August 2006
Been wondering this for a while....
Why do some engines mangle themselves when the cambelt snaps, and others just need a new belt?! I'm aware that the older Vauxhall 8-valve engines and some Fiat units (Seicento?) are "non-interference".
Why can't all engines be built like this, so people only have to pay the £200 for a new cambelt-kit, instead of a thousand or more for a recon engine?
The main reason I bought a Nissan Almera was because it's got a chain instead of a belt. Why don't manufacturers stick with chains? Am I being cynical in thinking it's because the dealers will get more money from continuous belt-changes, and all the engine repairs after snapped belts?!
Also, which cars on the road today have "non-interference" engines?
Any comments welcome! Read more
i have recentley purchased the wife an audi tt direct from the finance company our first port of call was cam belt due in this tuesday unfortunately whilst using it today the belt or chain i have been informed by mr AA has broken. Have managed to get the vehicle into a local garage of a mechanic we no well and he said would start tom, has anyone got any ideas fo how severe these are and any likely costs. many thanks. Read more
Hi Neal
Have read your enquiry re Audi TT cam belt problem and the replies with interest.
I have experienced exactly the same. I have X reg Audi T T the cam belt was replaced at 74,000
miles.At time of incident similar mileage to your vehicle. I recently pulled into a car park and car stopped dead. Audi specialist say belt not snapped but teeth missing. No top end compression but diagnosis not entirely clear. May require new engine.
Please can you let me know how your similar horror story was resolved with a view to saving some time and hopefully some cash.
Many thanks,
Chrishicks
P S Just so you know sending this on my mothers e mail address.
Hi
Can anyone tell me what an ETS warning light and the engine managment light may be referring to?
Thanks Read more
This forum is where I will start when the ETM fails on my 2002 S60. Please do read as it will give you very useful info of US and UK Volvo stance. I read of one UK owner who recently got his 99 V70 ETM replaced for free by Volvo UK.
www.matthewsvolvosite.com/chat/phpBB2/viewforum.ph...5
Hello All,
Do little mini 12volt fridge/freezers exist for cars does anyone know? Quick trawl about the place reveals sort of boat/caravan size things but not managed to find something that might be good on hols in the car. Also interested in 12v food warmers!
Yes, I now have a baby and a CMax with 12v sockets to plug things in!
Thanks everyone Read more
I bought a car cool box from Halfords a couple of years ago.
It is best to also buy the main transformer so you can pre-chill the box down.
In Halfords today.
8L box was £44.99 now £21.99
20L box was £69.99 now £44.99
Mains transformers available but I have no idea of cost.
i have a lowe mileage 02 plate Vectra (B) 1800. The water temp is inconstistant and is bugging me! There seems to be no logic to the temp it sits at.It varies positions bewteen the 80 mark and just over 90. sometimes in traffic is near 80 and other times the temp is static for ages and unexpectably jumps up to 97 and the fan cuts in. Other cars i have owned the temp is pretty static. apparantly this is common for Vauxhalls? Read more
one week one and running great !
Ok, the mg ZR 1.8 seems to be pretty reasonably priced, especially second hand. However I was wondering before really considering buying one if it is likely that with the closure of Rover there may be serious issues that I dont know about.
Is it likely that parts will be real hard to get in the future?
If so are they likely to become really expensive?
Finally, if Rover went bust..... is that due to bad cars??
Itd be helpfull to hear what people think as my knowledge of anything mechanical isnt the best!! Read more
After seeing a few more positive posts about the MG ZR, it's proded me have a test drive in one if i can find one in the "plus" spec, although my budget is about £5k or less.
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
Since last Thursday, our C5 2.2 HDI has been reporting an anti pollutions fault. A quick visit to the chap who services the car identified that the turbo is producing excessive boost. He cleared the fault with his diagnostic equipment, not being sure what was causing it, but it has recurred today. Has anyone any idea what might be causing it to happen? Read more
Just had to say. I have a 2.2 Peugeot 406 which had the same problem had change the intercooler as it had a slight leak, also swapped the boost pressure control valve with the egr control valve as the are the same & was about to check & possibly change the turbo. But thanks to this posting I was able to trace it down to the diaphragm which controls the egr buttery fly in the inlet manifold which saved me a lot of time & cost.
So thank you for shearing this info with us!
Hi
I need to change the front brake pads on 2003 C5 estate. The pads look different to the pads in my old zantia.
Has anybody got any tips or pitfalls to avoid? Do I have to adjust the hand brake when i've finished
Thanks in Advance
Read more
If the car has ABS, undo the bleed nipple as you push or wind the pistons back, so as not to force brake fluid back through the ABS pump into the master cylinder reservoir. A fair amount of crud accumulates at the lowest point in the system, just behind the caliper, and it's better not to subject the delicate pump and valves to this. They are expensive to replace! Mike
For whatever reason my mum took her 96 Astra to the local dealer - while it was there they carried out a safety check and reported back that both front springs were broken, and would need replacing at a cost of 200 pounds each.
She brought the car home and I had a look at it, and it seems fine. I ran my hand around the springs from top to bottom, and there's nothing wrong. There's a bit of paint flaking off, but the car is bouncing properly and there are no funny noises.
I have heard that Vauxhalls have a reputation for breaking springs, but surely there would be some indication? Does it only show when they're up on a jack or something? I have a suspicion that the dealer doesn't know what they're talking about, and I fail to see how a spring could cost 200 pounds, unless it's made of titanium and studded with diamonds.
Many thanks,
David. Read more
On mkIII Astras at least, the last coils are smaller in diameter than the remaining coils, so there is no potential for such a contact between the spring end and an adjacent coil.
Another reason (among quite a number!) for springs to fail near their ends is the sudden change of shape enforced by the spring seat - its a stress concentration that is difficult to avoid, but can be reduced by appropriate profiling of the spring seat.
One way to reduce this effect would be to use springs with their last coils flattened and ground - but this costs too much money for mass produced cars, but you will see springs like this for racing applications.
Typically, this stress concentration, in combination with the stress concentration caused by the winding of the spring which makes the stress higher on the inner of the coil results in fatigue crack initiation at this point*. Owing to the large constant stress, and the fluctuating stress imposed on top of that by normal suspension motion, the fatigue crack grows very quickly, and the critical crack size is small - it is therefore unusual to find significant evidence of so-called beach marking on the fracture surfaces.
* on any component bearing a fluctuating stress tiny defects and dislocations all tend to co-locate and grow and eventually form something recognisable as a crack. This initiation phase is governed by the local strain on the surface of the part, and for many parts, this phase accounts for the vast majority of the fatigue life of the part, with the crack growth accounting for the remainder, until the critical crack size is reached - ping!!!!
Number_Cruncher
I've always changed the oil and filter in my year 2000 Golf TDI every 6 months (approx 5000miles) , always using the correct VW spec oil and OEM filters. Recently I read a couple of threads where folks stated that changing the oil so frequently was unnecessary and that the interval could be pushed to 8000 miles without any additional engine related wear.
So am I overdoing the oil changes and therefore spending money for no good reason? or should I stick with my regime in the knowledge that my engine should last past 100K? Read more
Those, who like me, always read threads on the subject of oil changing, may also enjoy reading about the experiences of Honda owners in the USA here: www.hondabeat.com/highmiles.php
My Honda handbook says 'Change the oil and filter every six months if doing short runs' so mine are being changed tomorrow.....but not by Dealer who last year quoted £63 and no doubt this year would ask for more!!
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One of the main reasons we bought a 1.1 Panda.