October 2006
1994 punto55s anyone know how to change and ajust timing belt on this model. my son has been told its a garage only job?
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Hello guys,
Our lodger has just bought a Volvo 440 1.8i (B18U SPFI engine with autobox if it makes a difference) in need of a new head gasket. I can't find a How To anywhere, but has anyone done one of these and is it relatively simple? HWWLTTHMBO is quite competent but any hints would be appreciated!
Tony Read more
I had one of these (manual model). The Haynes manual for this car is a good start. I never had reason to work on this part of the engine, but generally, the car is very straightforward to service and repair.
Hi there
I've been pondering this for ages and wondered what peoples opinions were.
Shortly we intend to buy a new family car.
On the one hand, nearly new Mondeos and Vectras look to be a terrific bargain for about 7 or 8 grand for a car about 18 months old, and they're now very good cars. (even 3 year old new model Accords are coming in for this money now!)
On the other hand they're boring old Mondeos and Vectras!
I could however get a 1998 BMW 7 series (728i) for about 4 or 5 grand with full BMWSH. Okay, it only does about 28mpg and would have a mileage close to 100K, but what a lot of very special car for the money!
My intention would be to keep the car for 3 years and so by my reckoning the BMW would be cheaper over the term with the lower purchase price and the lower depriciation despite the increased mpg plus it would be a lovely big, safe car to waft about in
The sensible bit of me feels a bit nervy about buying something like a 7 series though.....decisions decisions!
any thoughts?
Steve Read more
Now that´s a good idea. Lovely motors, very highly thought of in Germany.
I have been debating for a long time what is the best convertible to buy. I want one which is about 2 or 3 years old, has a 1.4 (or smaller) engine, when the roof is on doesn't look like a convertible, can fit 4 people in if need be, isn't common an essentiallially a little bit different. Being female I sway towards Tigras and Micra convertibles, but i feel these are somewhat cliche.
And of course I ask that the car that is good value for money.
Am i asking the impossible?!
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To give you some idea why they don't make small engined convertibles the (4 seater) EOS we collected last week is 120kg (or approx two people) heavier than my (5 seater) Accord estate - and the Accord is diesel which is normally the heavier version!
Somebody tell me this isn't the Honda research labs.
tinyurl.com/fwer3 {add http:// to the start of the link and copy / paste to view - DD}
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Thanks for the info jase1, I just had to know what it meant.
Shudder to think how many hours (weeks?) of time went in to designing all these.
Very entertaining though.
I agree with comment about bandwidth, the link is already getting slower!!
After a life of 5 years and 4 months my Passat has gone wrong for the first time.
The driver's window won't go up or down, there is just a sound of the motor.
Does anyone please know what to do to get it to work? Read more
Stuart made a passing comment which would have been fine but then someone else came along and started assuming everyone was getting on his back about VWs and starting whining about Fords.
Just a usual day in the BR really.
hi all, i have a rover 600 diesel which i have found out needs a new lower engine stabiliser,what i need to know is where can i get one?that is near me (croydon) or by post ? most rover dealers near me seem to have closed down. failing that how can i fix it? Read more
a big thank-you to all, for your help
I've just gone and done the one thing I swore I would never, ever do. Buy a car for my children. Well, the deed is done and a 1995 Citroen AX Dimension is sitting on the drive, an Ebay special bought unseen that's much better than I expected. There it is, waiting for my lucky children (brother and sister) to fire it up and deploy its mighty 35 bhp on independent journeys of their own, given that they pass their imminent Tests.
I hope that this post will generate a few dos and don'ts, maybe a list of things that Dad expects (like putting petrol in it and keeping it clean). Should I hold the keys and ask for a deposit every time it's used? Do I keep a diary to book its use? Or, will the whole sharing thing just never work and I'll have to buy a car for each child? I'll add that boy of 17 and girl of 20 appear to get on quite well and have long passed the stage of sneering at one another and wanting to set fire to each others bedrooms.
Over to you ...
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land Read more
Insured my 17 yo daughter as only driver of Fiesta 1.1 on provisional licence for no more than £800 - was nearer £700 IIRC. Sons are definitely more expensive.
My spoilt ones never had to pay much towards the running costs - they had little or no income so a bit pointless really. They never had to share a car - I can't see that would have ever worked. Daughter's boyfriend is at college in Winchester and having just passed his test is sharing with his sis in Wokingham. This has only been going a week but already there are problems. I don't see it working.
BMW 5 Series 530d Sport
2.9TD Diesel 4-door Saloon
5 Speed Automatic Rear Wheel Drive
Year: 2002 52
Mileage: 93,000
can someone please look up the value of that as a trade price??
Thinking of going down to an auction and picking it up, but I need to know how much to bid as a maximum. Read more
CAP Black Book says £9225 @ 100k in good condition.
Recent figures have indicated that annual road deaths in the UK have gone down - and put alongside the general increase in miles driven - the conclusion was that driving standards must have been raised.
Was anyone else on here driving down the A1 in the Stamford/Peterborough area between about 6 and 6.30 yesterday evening? The heavens opened, the rain was torrential and the road was like a river. Raised driving standards??? About half of us slowed to 40mph. The HGVs (including articulated tankers) continued on their merry way at 60mph and 10 metres behind them were the white vans and assorted cars trying to get past and resume their 70-80mph.
Competent drivers? I suspect that these may be the same competent drivers who rage on about the irrelevance of speed limits and can't understand why pile-ups happen. Read more
This wasn't aquaplaning more like being afloat for 10s of yards at a time. Also the steering pull was very violent. The 944 isn't particularly light & has 50/50 weight distribution but felt horrific. This wasn't a slightly wet road I'd guess 2-4inches minimum with more in places, not aware of any tyre that can cut through at high speed, as per the Focus that hit a deeper bit & nearly lost it. What with that, no ability to stop, couldn't see......
Browse
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Punto 55 is 1108cc
There are alignment marks on the metal lip which retains the cam belt cover about the 9 o'clock position for the camshaft, and the crank shaft mark at about the half past ten position, viewed end on.
A FIAT belt will have a set of stripes which line up with these markers.
With this engine if you break the belt it generally takes no harm, as it is "safe".