September 2006
It's a PC running Windows ME (so you can probably guess how old it is).
For the second time in the last six months I've lost sound. Last time I just downloaded some new drivers and that solved it. That doesn't seem to have worked this time - when I go into the sound properties there is no preferred device for playback, and nothing to choose from. I also can't change the volume - it's greyed out in the sound properties section. The sound schould be coming from an on board ac97
New development this week appears to be a problem with the graphics card - Nvidia GEforce2 MX I think - the display settings suddenly changed the resolution so that everything looked bigger. I've downloaded the ForceWare 80 software from the Nvidia website (doesn't appear to be any standalone drivers) and while this has resolved the resolution issue it's made text appear fuzzy and generally the display is much harder to read. Perhaps it would be a good idea to go back a few versions of this software as it seems that my graphics card wasn't supported in version 70?
Am I seeing the early stages of a motherboard failure - which I guess would mean total PC failure (and I'd better get backing up sharpish) or can anyone suggest ways of bringing these admittedly elderly components back to working order?
Thanks
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Soupytwist ! Read more
Bought a new Sony CDX-GT200 MP3/CD head unit for my wife's Daewoo Matiz. Since the original unit is also a Sony (albeit a model from 1998), I foolishly thought it would simply be a case of sliding it out and slotting in the new one.
Why is it these things never go according to plan! It would appear that the original unit is actually bolted-in inside the dash and won't budge. I have no idea how to remove the dash and as such am not overly keen to attempt it.
Can anyone offer any advice on how to get it out?
Thanks in advance!
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PhiL Read more
Many thanks for that psi, will no doubt come in handy in future.
Pleased to report though that I got the answer from a UK Daewoo forum I came across whilst Googling last night, the Daewoo Owners Club, and managed to fit the stereo today!
For anyone attempting to do this themselves, once you've unscrewed the five screws I mentioned you basically then need to prise off the plastic trim (it's only held on with plastic catches behind the panel which pop out if you prise it carefully round the edges). Once the panel has come away you then just need to disconnect the three switches (rear fog, hazard lights & security) then you've got full access to the stereo cage.
Many thanks to stek88 at the aforementioned forum for his fantastic help (would post a link but not sure I'm allowed).
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PhiL
I had to laugh - I recently read a quick test between a Toyota Avensis diesel and a Passat TDi.
Now while they concluded that overall, the Passat was marginally the better car, they stated that the interior plastics used in the Toyota were considerably better than those used in the Passat....
Oh how times have changed eh! If I was in the boardroom at VW, id fall outta my chair reading that!
Bit sad for VW really isnt it? That a jap taxi is now better quality than their middle-class exec! Read more
Machika, it?s never crossed my mind, so whilst I might not buy a DL3 over the Panny, I probably wouldn?t buy either; an R9 or M6, M8 would be another matter. My point would be that people who like Leica won?t think twice before buying the Leica, even the DL3, and as long as they purchase and ownership expectations are met then they?re perfectly entitled to buy whichever camera they want without having other people denigrate their choice or motivations.
Apologies if this is a daft question or has been answered before.
We have a 1.6 civic auto which has covered only 27k miles from new. We have just received an "invitation" from the dealer to have the timing chain replaced for £200, 2 weeks after an expensive service when it was not mentioned.
I am surprised as i thought if it really needed doing they would have offered to do this at the time of the service.
Is the received wisdom that this is a sensible precaution on an age not miles basis and they simply forgot to tell us before, or are dealers doing this to "cover their backs", and generate workshop activity during quiet periods?
Thanks for any advice or opinions!
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Thank you for all the advice.
will sit tight for the moment.
Hi Folks,
Need your help, I am keen to buy a year old Toyota Yaris, and I have found one around my price range, and it low miles and in really good condition. However the problem is the owner before must have smoked, and the car has a stale horrible smoke smell in it.
The garage had already valeted the car, and I have asked them to valet it again, which they have agreed to do, before I commit to buying it ( already have £100 deposit for them to hold it for me).
Will this car always have this smoke smell, will it fade over time ? Is there a quick fix I could do,
Thanks,
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>>Glass clippings do seem to help to get rid quicker
Really? Should that be glass chippings or grass clippings? Great typo for a laugh.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Edit: I may be a moderator, but I'm still an idiot and posted to the wrong thread!
Cheddar's second road test of the week ;-) - after the Yamaha FZ1 Fazer 1000 that is !.
From reading various press reports, including HJ's, it seemed to me that the 177bhp 2.2 D4D T180 Toyota engine might be the next big thing in diesel motoring this side of a 335d so I was interested to compare the new Avensis T180 with other TDs I have driven and in particular with my own Mondeo TDCi 130 which has over 4 years and 100k + miles provided a fantastic blend of performance, economy and driving pleasure.
I reckon the piezo injected Toyota motor idles more noisily than the Mondeo when cold though when warm it is as quiet and is the only other four cylinder diesel I have come across that, like the TDCi, idles smoothly in a petrol like way rather than the urgent thrum that usually defines a diesel at idle. On the move it is a very refined engine with no sign of any diesely tinkling, pretty crisp and free revving though again no real gain over the TDCi. It soon became apparent that the journalists that have reported that the T180 lacks torque at very low revs are right, trickling along at 1500 rpm or so it feels responsive though when you put your foot down it only really gets urgent once it hits 2000 rpm, in contrast the Mondeo pulls strongly at 1500 rpm and is really on the move by about 17 -1800 and - it has to be said - the 2.2 TDCi 155 is simply stonking in comparison. The difference it seems is that the T180 produces it maximum (400nm) torque at over 2000 rpm where both TDCi motors hit their maximum at 1800 rpm with torque building strongly from below 1500 rpm. I would say that a 320d would also feel more torquey than the T180 below 2000 rpm however I should also say that this particular car had done 1500 miles so was not too tight though may loosen up with more miles. The T180 certainly pulls well between 2000 and 3000 rpm though when revved beyond 3500 where it makes it's maximum 177bhp it did not feel like it has 177bhp relative to the Mondeo's 130. In part that is probably because the TDCi 130s actually produce around 148bhp as standard according to the likes of Superchips so the difference is probably more like 25 to 30 bhp at most rather than the 45 to 50 bhp on paper, and the Avensis is also probably a little heavier.
I have not said much about the car itself because it was the engine that really interested me however the Avensis is very pleasant to drive with a nicely laid out dash, it does not steer as sharply as the Mondeo and feels a little dead around the straight ahead position though it holds the road very well, the ride is very good, better over sharp bumps and pot holes than the Mondeo, and it is nice and quiet at speed despite a bit of wind noise around the mirrors. Talking about 'at speed' the 6th gear ratio offers nearly 40mph / 1000 rpm, ludicrously high for UK roads, at anything less than 75 - 80mph you have very little response when you put your foot down making 5th, in my mind, much more practical for anything other than 100mph plus continental cruising, in fact if you slow down to 50mph, due to the high gearing and lack of torque below 2000 rpm, you really have to change down to 4th to quickly pick up speed again where my 5 speed Mondeo geared to 31mph / 1000 stomps away from less than 50 in top and still offers a relaxed 80mph cruise at about 2500 rpm.
All in all I reckon the Avensis D4D T180 is a very good engine in a good car, I didn't have any real preconceptions of the Avensis itself though the T180 engine on balance does not quite meet my expectations, that of being the next big thing in diesel, however I could certainly live with one and the wife has worked out that you can get a seven seater Corolla Verso T180 which I reckon will be on our list as and when we seriously get around to a new car.
Regards.
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Are you on a commission from Ford, Cheddar?
No, I drive one and when I drive another car I naturally compare it principally withn the car drive most, likewise motorcycles, I am sure you would do the same. I believe my post it is fairly well balanced, I simply tell it as I find it, it is true to say the Mondeo stands up well against this newer competitor however I have praised the Avensis where praise is due particularly it's relative ride quality. Furthermore I have said that a Verso with the T180 engine is certainly on our shopping list.
Oh, and no Aprilia, I did not compare the quality of the electrcal connector on the respective CR systems all I can say is the the Delphi connectors on the Mondeo have stayed quite well, er, connected and the Denso ones on the Avensis were, while I was driving it were also apparently quite well connected.
Regards.
Hi all,
I have an 05 model Accord with the i-cdti diesel engine and I'd like to perform an interim oil change. Having only ever worked/changed the oil on cars fitted with the single screw-on metal can arrangement, I could do with a little reassurance that the replacement will be as obvious as my dealer suggests when I get it to bits!
The replacement oil filter box contains the paper filter element but also comes with 3 o-ring seals. The paper element itself seems to be manufactured to a plastic cylindrical former which has an o-ring seal at either end. Of the outstanding three o-rings, the large one I assume is a replacement seal for the screw-on 'cover' for the oil filter housing at the top of the engine, but the other two (different sizes but about 1-2cm diameter) I can't easily imagine a home for! I have a replacement metal alloy washer for the sump plug, so I assume there's no call for an o-ring there... Or perhaps it will indeed be blindingly obvious when I unscrew that oil filter cap...
Anyone changed the oil on their i-CDTI diesel before and thus able to offer some guidance?
Many thanks,
Toby Read more
Thanks very much for that Grease Monkey. As you say - very straightforward once you have taken the old one off! My Accord is now running very happily with a sump-full of fresh oil.
As to avoiding overfilling - I did all I ever do - fill it to max on dipstick, start the engine and let it idle for a couple of minutes, switch off, have a cup of tea(!), and top up as needed. As an aside - I wish the garages would do something similar. The supplying Honda dealer (it was an approved used Honda) had overfilled it by more than a litre when I picked it up, as I discovered when I checked it the following morning. Their excuse was that they have a filling machine which is set to dispense a certain amount of oil and they don't check the dipstick afterwards!!! I'll be checking it before I drive off the forecourt next time they've been at it!
Thanks again,
Toby
my car (12 year old mkIII fiesta) failed it's mot on wednesday. I've been given an estimate of £250 plus VAT to get it through the re-test. can anyone give me an idea if this is reasonable or I'm being ripped off?
offside front (sill to floor) and nearside rear (inner sill) subframe mounting prescribed area excessively corroded.
Offside (front and rear), brake pipe excessively corroded.
Centre exhaust split, needs welding. (passed emissions test)
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Offer him £250.00 cash.
I took one for ride yesterday, 40 miles or so, a mix of motorway and back roads, one or two of the bikers on here might be interested in my experiences.
It was what I thought it would be from reading the write ups, a superb compromise between sports bike and naked, no aching wrists though great wind protection at speed. The bars are actually closer to me than on my upright Kawasaki ZRX 1100 so it almost felt like a scooter as I pulled away for the first time and once on the move it was so well balanced, rock solid and well planted in a ZX7R kind of way though it is a lot lighter that a ZX7R. The engine is nice and throaty at low revs, not as smooth as my ZRX below 3000 rpm however above that it is sooooo crisp and free revving, it's an R1 motor tuned for a little more midrange and a little less top end though BIKE have dynoed one at over 135bhp at the rear wheel, that's over 150 at the crank. I found myself sitting on the M5 at 70 in 3rd (out of 6) just so I could roll the throttle on and off and feel the zing.
And does it fly, it pulls well low down though just takes off around 6000 rpm with relentless rush whatever the gear and while you have to watch the front coming up in the lower gears the weight is well forward so it would be hard to flip.
The press have reported a fueling glitch on these causing a very sharp throttle response, the only thing I noticed was that it felt a bit sharp when rolling back on the throttle after a quick overtake, i.e if you nail it then ease off and then roll the throttle back on again however it was fine feathering the throttle in corners etc.
www.yamaha-motor.co.uk/products/motorcycles/sports...p
Interesting getting back on the ZRX 1100, it felt like home, it has a little more inherrant torque (a longer stroke motor) though not as strong from 5 to 6000 rpm or so, after all athough my 1100 has a titanium Akrapovic exhaust system etc is is actually 1052cc so is ony 54cc bigger than the FZ1 and is a 9 year old bike with an engine that can trace it's roots back to the GPz900R of 1984!
I do love riding the ZRX, it is more traditional, has real integrity and is close enough to the latest bikes to not be left behind dynamically however today's bikes are amazing, the Fazer has a totally contemporary chassis and brakes etc, it would run rings around a four or five year old Fireblade or GSXR and is a lot faster than any Ducati 999, all that and it is a comfortable as a Hornet or Bandit to ride. That appeals to me.
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Thanks Cheddar,
Yes I was just going around the ouside of the NSR400 at "Mansfield"
The bike was "new" when I got it in 2001 but was actually 11 years old at he time (if you see what I mean).
I think the dealer had decided to sell some of his collection, but as I never dealt with the actual owner of the business directly, I never found out for sure.
Good luck on the MT01.
Nick
A Norton Commando was brilliant, 850 interstate in black of course, but Norton for computers is/was like an interferring Mother-in-Law.
Rollocking awaited from mods or MIL tee hee.....MD.