August 2006
Todays Friday Story
A motorist has been taken to hospital with neck injuries after his car fell into a large hole that appeared in a road in Nottinghamshire.
Police said one car fell into the hole on the B6034 Ollerton Road, just south of Worksop, on Thursday. Several other vehicles were damaged avoiding the it.
It is reported to be several metres wide and at least 1m deep
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/4780947.stm
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF > Read more
I have a 51 plate Focus with a 1.8 TDDI engine which broke down the other day - no power and the temp gauge was off the scale!
The Ford dealer says the water pump is leaking (not broken, just leaking a bit) and fittinga new one will costs hundreds!
Apparently it involves taking half the engine apart and so I get a new timing belt and a big hole in my bank account. I rang a local independant garage and they said stick with the Ford dealer as it's a bit too tricky for them.
Now I have never seen any water underneath the car so I am inclined to think that it's a slow leak, although there does seem to be a tendency for TDDIs to have this fault.
My question is this: if it's only a small leak then would it be worth spending a few quid on radweld to see if that stops the leak? I don't want to do Ford out of business, but over £400 is an awful lot of cash and I can think of other ways to spend it....
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Had this happen to my 2.0l Focus two weeks ago, there was coolant loss (about half a litre) over a two week period, coolant stains on my driveway and fresh-ish water hanging from the a/c compressor (stick your head under the front and look next to the auxilliary belt cover see if you can see/feel any liquid).
The leak started out a month ago as unnoticable and progressed at an alarming rate, cost about £440 at an independent, Warranty Direct paid 50%.
Involves Cam timing & auxilliary belt & tensioner replacement.
I strongly recommend you replace it ASAP as it will get worse VERY RAPIDLY!.
As a footnote, get the pump changed when you get the cambelt changed (100,000 miles) it'll cost a lot less if they already have the belts etc off.
A thought crossed my mind today about length of wheelbase and it's affect on ride quality. I remember a long time back, I think it was LJK in one of his essays said the longer the better. His class standard was the Peugeot 505 or similar (handsome beast especially GTI).
Being the driver of a new shape Fiat Panda which has a tendency to 'pitch' and be affected by undulations in the road at higher speeds I did a bit of research on the web and was horrified to find out (if the figures are reliable) that it is not very well endowed and has the second shortest wheelbase (2299mm) apart from the Smart Four Two (1812mm). Other similar cars have more to brag about down below (C1 2340mm, Picanto 2370mm, Charade 2375mm, Matiz 2345mm). Might this explain it's lack of stability coupled with light kerb weight?
I had a quick glance at the big boys before I finished - (Fiesta 2486mm, Focus 2640mm, Mondeo 2754mm, Skoda Superb 2803mm!!).
So there you have the holy grail of ride quality and composure- find an oldish barge with enough weight to stop and bounce and plenty of length to iron out the undulations. Considering the poor state of UK roads it's the only way to go. Omega anyone?... Read more
Other factors that can adversely affect the ride quality are stiff suspension and low profile tyres. Both improve handling but at the detriment of ride quality.
Certainly agree that a long wheelbase is better for ride quality than a short wheelbase.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
I have today run an experian backgroung check into a Rover Streetwise I was hinking of buying. The car was bought from a dealer in Jan this year for cash, the dealer had bought the car at auction ( disposal of MGR assets).
The check shows outstanding finance from Capital Bank, with an agreement number of MGRXXXXXXXXXXX.
It seems to me that Rover registered the car and took finance out against the car. Does this make sense? And are there creditors of Rover who might have rights over the car ( such as Capital Bank PLC) Read more
As stated previously it's the 1.8 'K' that's prone to HGF not the 1.4. I've owned three 1.4 'K' engined Rovers and had no problems whatsoever.
I have a Mondeo TD 1998 with 205,000 miles. I was pulling my caravan back from Cornwall as its been stored there for ages and we aren't going down again this year. Going up a hill lost all power twice, it restarted ok though. Called the breakdown guys but they just sucked their teeth and were useless and recovery to Beds was going to take days literally. So I soldiered on and managed to get home with a couple of scares where I lost a bit of power now and then.
Unfortunately today I was on my way home and it kept loosing all power again, if I held the revs up it tended to be ok. Knowing the fuel filter was probably old I have just replaced that and its a little better. Occassionally the accelleration is brilliant for a second or so, sometimes sluggish and its still stalling. I have good fuel pressure to the pump. I suppose I could have a blocked injector or still some air somewhere.
I think the culprit is probably the fuel pump, and there are a couple on ebay for not much money. I am reluctant to let the old girl die, I have just done 5k of trouble free miles in 2 months and as its the estate there is loads of room in the boot and the engine feels very strong.
Any comments most appreciated. Read more
hi ya dave, i had the same problem on old taxi two years ago, after spending out on a fuel filter, having the injectors cleaned out, it turned out to be the fuel pump that was causing the stalling. also after having this done my fuel consumption improved, hope this helps , claire
just bought a lovely new 306 hdi estate on a Y plate. Im planning on playing with it over the weekend
Ive noticed one or tow things i want to do on it because its gona be perfect when ive finished.
I noticed the clutch is really stiff and when nearing the bottom of its travel theres some 'give' in it. is there anything i can try here?
There also a high pitch squeeling sound from the front end. Very occasionally though. sounds like its comming from the passenger side front. It sounds like a belt or something but i was wondering if these things rang a bell to any HDI owners.
Its only niggles that im planning on sorting next week but just thought id post this for any tips etc
The 1 st job is a new cambelt and full service and re charge the aircon. Im very impressed so far tho. Very smooth and quite quick
Cheers Read more
I think the HDi 90s had cables - at least the early ones anyway. My mate's 2000W certainly does - I've still got the scars from changing it (and the clutch).
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
Where of on Hols soon and we are thinking of getting some "european breakdown cover" - Iam very interested in Europ assist - as they have a deal on for £59.00 for one years cover. It's half the price of my own breakdown company so how does it compare ? Read more
Europ Assist used to supply the breakdown cover for new Mazda vehciles as part of the three year Mazda warranty. They were replaced by the RAC for the three year new car warranty period back in 2007, but continue to provide breakdown cover for Mazda extended warranties.
We've used the breakdown cover twice in the past - both times for punctures - and they provided a quick and efficient service.
(NOTE FROM HJ: SORRY GUYS AND GALS. HENRY K. STARTED THIS THREAD WITH A SENSIBLE MOTOR-RELATED WARNING. PLEASE RESTRICT COMMENT TO THIS. I AM NOW GOING TO GO THROUGH THE THREAD AND DELETE EVERY POST THAT IS NOT MOTOR RELATED IN AN ATTEMPT TO PREVENT THE WHOLE THING DEGENERATING INTO A DISCUSSION OF AIRPORT SECURITY OR A POLITICAL DISCUSSION THAT HAS NO PLACE HERE.)
Re those who drive to an airport, park and take their car keys with them.
With the current level of security at UK airports, I suspect any fancy car keys with their remote operation , because they have transmitters, will have to go in the hold.
I have a basic key for my Mondeo so that should not be a problem for me.
I assume, once this situation is recognised, that there will be a rush for basic keys else you take a risk that they might not reappear from the baggage systems. Read more
This is al minor stuff compared with the laptop problem. Courier
a cloned laptop ahead of a meeting?
There's this great new thing called the 'Internet'.... ;o)
does anybody remember these and did they ever use them and were there any funny tales to tell asa a result?
i used to carry one in its "baco foil" tube but never got to use it....................thankfully?
i thank you..............
(for those that dont know what i am
on about they were like clingfilm and were fastened between the "a" posts and then the doors were shut ,oh and before laminated glass was standard fit) Read more
>>Cant be bothered with this forum anymore either
That's an early bed time during the holidays.
The above has just sat down at the back. Managed to slowly drive it home, hopefully without damage. Someone mentioned the height corrector? We're not at all technical, but having eventually got it up on ramps, with great difficulty, I can see the item that looks like a diagram I've found. There is, supposedly, a plastic piece that goes in it???? Only a £1 or so to replace. Is this so? Is this the possible problem? No fluid has escaped, and the front is rising as it should. Prior to this we've had all 3 rear spheres replaced as the ride was bouncy, and it didn't help much. Opinions please??
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Thanks for the very useful links. Had a good look at the pictures, which helps.
Also posted a message myself as there's so much conflicting advice on that site I'm at a bit of a loss. I'm going out now to give it a spray with proper grease, and look for anything that might appear broken. Someone on the other site commented that it can take 24 hours and several sprays of (they said) WD40 before the HC reacts and loosens up. Rear of the car doesn't respond to the manual height lever - well, not yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Thanks again.
Browse
Sorry Artful. No offence intended - just being playful!