October 2006
Interesting lead article in this weeks MCN.
Police apparently now filming bikers at bike meets looking to identify those bikers who speed past forward facing cameras.
In an interesting twist one biker approached two guys who stated they were from South Wales police and produced police ID. Upon being contacted by MCN South Wales police insisted it wasn't them and the guys might be bike thieves posing as police officers.
Mighty curious all round. Read more
Here we are after a hundred years of motoring and we still don't seem able to produce mudguards that work on lorries, has the time come to ban anything over 7.5 tons from using the roads when it's wet, on safety grounds? Read more
The problem is rail does not allow for a flexible distribution network>>
Presumably because the track was laid some considerable time ago...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
I'm going to be buying a Mondeo 1.8 MK3 Zetec in the next couple of weeks, and wondered if anyone had any useful tips on what to look for.... it will probably be a 51-52 plate with about 80k miles on it. HJ lists corroded rear brake pipes where they pass over the fuel tank - how do you check for that on a visual ? Ditto rear suspension bushes ... ?
Anything else anyone know to look for ? Read more
Handbrake
Catylst
Rear bushes
Quickclear problems, patces that fo not clear frost.
Discs front chaging
Electric rise chair problems.
Centre rear belt jams if not regularly used, a mot failure.
Clutch.
But if you by a one driver, well mained car, then the clutch and discs should not be a problem as discs often chaned between 40 to 70k
Hi there, i'm chris I have a Hyundai 2001 blue 1.3 accent si
i was driving it in 2nd gear round a grassy roundabout in the rain when i lost control and ended up in the middle of it,everything seemed fine.
A day later i got the Yellow Engine Check light comer on so i called the AA, they said that it might be a malfunction so cleared it, it was coming up with 3 codes , P1128 FUEL VOLUME REGULATOR CONTROL CIRCUIT , P1801 AND P1805 FUEL SHUT OFF VALVE CONTROL CIRCUIT.
It stayed off for about 3 days and came back on so i dissconnected the battery and then true to form 3 days later it came back on again.
The car appears to be running the same as normal so i'm stumped to whats wrong with it.
Surely if there was a major problem then the light would come straight back on instead of the 3 day delay?
Has anyone else had any problems like this and if so what did they do to fix them.
hope someone can help...
Thanks Chris
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Hi Peter i had a dropped curb on the island so i think it may be nothing to do with that,anyone else got any idea's?
Regards
Chris
Where the second hand prices of these two overlap, which do you think is the better buy? Read more
I know exactly what you mean ,I sort of half looked for quite a while for a 2.0 litre 940 as that is what the previous one was but settled for a 2.3lpt estate
it has done 96k but has main dealer history and all bills and mots etc so should be genuine.there are still some good buys to be had but they are getting harder to find . my insurance co didnt like the idea of the 960 insured as an any driver vehicle but are ok about the 2.3lpt for some reason .might be worth checking with your ins co if you pay high ins
I have decided to change the A4 TDi in the next few months.
We will be going for another A4 (know the dealer and are very pleased with the service from him).
The different engine and gearbox options we are considering are:
- 2.0 TDi 140bhp multitronic
- 2.0 TDi 170bhp manual
- 1.8T petrol multitronic
Our current A4 has gone through two clutches in the space of a year (!). I asked the Service Manager if he thought we were doing something to cause this. He has had quite a few clutch replacements on TDis that do a lot of city driving - so apparently not our fault. (We have a seven year old Golf that has never missed a beat).
We do not do huge mileage every year - about 20k - so could take a petrol as easily as a diesel. I like the low end torque of a diesel but my clutch experience is putting me off getting another manual diesel.
The 1.8T is an old engine now but could be an alternative to the diesels.
I would really value your thoughts on:
- Your expeience with the diesel multitronic?
- Your thoughts on the VAG manual clutches?
- Your thoughts on the 1.8T engine?
Thanks for reading,
DF Read more
I could have sworn that the backroom advice was 40000 miles
for a A4 cambelt change??
I can't speak for backroom advice, only for the details printed on the service books and sheets. For a 2.0TDI engine that means 60k for Cambelt.
£700 is a lot, but not £1000 so I'll think about
it and get a quote or two nearer the time. Someone
told me they have to heat up the oil before they
can refill the box - really? It certainly won't be an
independent garage job.
In order to drain the oil from a multitronic you have to heat the oil to operating temperature and then drain immediately. I would routinely take cars out for a ten mile drive around town to get the oil hot, then straight on a service ramp, legs in the air and oil drained out the bottom. It needs care because the oil is hot but that's about it. Then you hang a can of fresh oil from the raised bonnet and it drains into the gearbox under gravity. Takes just over an hour or so in total for that bit.
An uncle was sixty years old yesterday, and one of his pressies was 24 hour hire of a 2007 model Harley Heritage Softail "Bagger" with the new ninety six cubic inch motor. Yup, 1584 cc! In a bike, with two cylinders. Though not the largest capacity full production motorcycle (The Triumph Rocket Triple for example comes to mind with 2.3 litres) it is the largest production motor themselves H-D have produced. Potato-potato-potato-potato through the "shortie" pipes heralded his arrival past my home office window, photographs buzzing on the wall in sympathy and kids running agog to the kitchen window opposite.
After plenty of photos and video had been taken we went out for a ride, he on the Softail and me on my Hornet 600; what a contrast! The Hornet, with a puny 599cc (three quarters of one cylinder in the Harley) left the slumbering giant for dead whenever the road opened up, let alone round the corners, and following the Harley on uneven roads I could see it bucking and weaving far more than the Hooner (a 32 deg steering angle doesn't help) but after a session on the Softail's pillion - I wasn't insured to ride, so didn't - it all made perfect sense. Trundling along through beautiful early autumn evening Cotswold countryside, taking it all in and feeling like you're sat on a living, breathing, being. Need to overtake? No need to mess with the gears. 86ft/lb torque at 3,200 RPM sees that it's easily done despite a 326Kg kerb weight! (The Hornet is 176Kg) Potato-potato becomes a flatulent BAAAARK followed by pop-pop-pop-pop on the overrun before the rhythmic potato-potato-potato chimes in again, bike pulsing in harmony. Back on the Hornet and looking in my mirror, the Softail had real presence too, large central round headlamp flanked by two round driving lamps. Even though one of them failed mid ride on this brand new machine, build quality and tactile feel was a world apart from Harleys built during the AMF years and felt right up to the mark. Some nice technology touches too like a proximity key (walk up, sit astride, press starter, engine starts) but the nice old traditional chunky, chromed, function selector switch on the tank was still firmly in place.
During our ride out I thought of you Growler - probably cussing my rice rocket ;-) - and sent you a metaphorical and very sincere "get well".
So, I'd rather give garage space to the GS1200R I rode and reviewed a few weeks back (that bike REALLY appealed) but it's true that the Harley gave a real sense of occasion. Here's hoping my next business trip to Milwaukee allows me to hire one, too (I took leather jacket, gloves, and boots last time - helmet is rented with the bike - but they were all rented out during what turned out to be a Harley celebration weekend).
Photos:
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/vehicles.msnw?action=Sho...2
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/vehicles.msnw?action=Sho...3
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/vehicles.msnw?action=Sho...4 Read more
Sorry, my reply took 10 mins because the phone rang.
Emits over one tonne less carbon dioxide ( in subtitles it then claims than a comparable diesel car).
Any one else find that hard to believe?
Autocar got 44mpg touring out of the Prius and 55mpg from a comparable diesel Focus.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty. Read more
I had one briefly whilst working for toyota - i got no where near the stated MPG figures whilst finding the engine had to be worked hard to get any kind of performance out if it.
I would rather spend £15k on a top spec diesel corolla/focus etc than £17k for a base prius and would imagine it would cause less overall harm to the environment.
In my mind parking on the zig zags by a Zebra Crossing has always been a heinous crime punishable by a week in the stocks, birching, keel hauling, Guantanamo Bay or guillotine.
Low and behold today in the village there were two cars on opposite sides of the road, one on the zig zags and the other on the zag zigs, one actually had it's rear wheels on the crossing, fortunately gridlock had ensued thus prtecting the safety of pedestrian using the crossing. Both cars were driven by elderly women who were apparently picking up even more elderly relatives or friends, I sympathise with the elderly and infirm not being able to walk far etc however this is no excuse for parking on a crossing, an action that is likely to cause the infirmity of pedestrians using said crossing.
Rant over. Read more
If you park too close downstream the pedestrians can't see clearly both ways, and as it's a pedestrian crossing they should be given a bit of consideration. I saw a milkman delivering to a shop yesterday morning, he was entirely over the crossing, I had to squeeze between the railings and his van to get to the pavement.
(headline corrected)
I was looking at changing our spare estate car (T reg mondeo) that only covers about 4k a year, for something a little bit more stylish. It is used to lug stuff around but sometimes I do take it to clients (companies) as our main cars are impractical for carrying everything.
Budget for this vehicle would be around £2500.00
I thought about a new shape Mondeo as they are coming down now. Also considered a C5 but a bit scared on the reliability front. I then noticed that a Saab 9-5 is a possibility and checked them out on eBay just to get an idea.
Why are there so many engine problems on these cars? Lots have had recon engines fitted and many others describe engine failure symptoms. Admittedly the mileages on these are around 142k but is that a lot these days? I don't think so.
I might have to rethink that C5 again. Any other suggestions?
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I also like SAAB but have been put off them by reading owner's comments on Saabscene. You have answered your own question above, they're cheap because they have they have reliability issues and the main dealers charge an arm and a leg to fix them.
As a brand they're trading on their reputation from the 70s and 80s when they used to make solid, some would say "prestige" cars. The latest facelift of the 9-5 is laughable and a Vauxhall Vectra is a better built vehicle using superior trim materials.
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>>>> Strange use of manpower and limited resources!
thoroughly agree with you...........someone needs their backside kicked and a review of the real world