November 2006
A friend called round the other evening, in his newish Ford Fiesta Ghia. He was worried that an unmarked warning light came on, and as he had not studied the manual well enough, was puzzled. The car was going well, and there was the frost warning light on. It turned out that the yellow light was telling him there was a message on the LCD panel near the speedo, and this was yet another reminder that the weather was cold. Three things to let you know it's a cold evening.
He asked his father if he ever managed to ride his BSA sidecar outfit in the cold, and he said he always knew when it was cold, and that there was a possibility of ice on the road. I cold tell if I was riding my motorcycle on black ice, because the tyres went quiet. By looking at the layout of the road and the country around you can surely guess where there is a frost hollow, such as on the A1 going down to the services near Grantham.
Is mankind becoming more and more dumb ?
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I discovered by chance that, with the front wheels off the ground, there is horizontal and vertical free movement (maybe 3mm vertically) between the suspension leg top mounts and the body 'turrets' - as if the top nut had not been tightened completely.
This is on both sides. The car is a '52 plate but with only 5000 (genuine) miles on the clock.
The nuts are tight and don't appear to have been disturbed.
Of course there is no movement under load and no knocks or apparent tyre wear (original week 20 '02 dated tyres with vertually no wear).
Any ideas?
Thanks
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Yes can confirm that all is ok. I noticed this when I owned a Ka - got quite worried about it at first!!
My son's 1.6 litre petrol Brava has taken to cutting out from time to time when the accelerator pedal is released. This will happen intermittently, perhaps every few minutes. It can be restarted with no problem.
A clue to the problem might lie in the fact that it runs roughly and surges when started from cold, as though overfuelling. This disappears after a few minutes. Any ideas chaps? Read more
Thanks for this. He drove back to Sussex from Devon this morning and the car behaved itself but in Exeter on Saturday it was cutting out with tiresome (and unsafe) regularity. I did not realise that it had 2 coil packs. I'll pass this on.
Cheers.
The car of choice for Central Roma is the Smart. A regular short smart parks well nose in just like the Fiat 500 used to, Smarts are everywhere. They shrug off dents well too (Every car in Rome is scuffed or dented). Crossing the road is an art for pedestrians. You have to learn to walk at a steady pace and let them drive round you, it works well, but dont stop - you will get run over.
I have in the past week, used every form of transport (train, boat, plane, & bus) to and in italy. It all worked really well. didn't miss the car once.
Good to sea Lancia still alive and well, Mrs RF seems to fancy a baby lancia Ypsilon, and is still drooling over the grande punto. The Thesis certainly seems to be around in fair numbers, and it looks 1000% better in the flesh and has great presence.
And finally, you get all dolled up in your fancy police uniform and you get lumbered with this......
groups.msn.com/honestjohn/policevehicles.msnw?Page...t
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF > Read more
Some of thoe modern Lancias may look nice, but they ain't cheap! They command a hefty premium over their Fiat equivalents that I don't think many of us would pay! UK£13k+ for a Musa, anyone?!
I have a 2002 clio 1.2 16v with 26500 mile on the clock.
It looks like the head gasket or something related to this has failed, as I have water mixing with the oil and the coolant level keeps dropping.
As this is such a young car with low milage does anyone know if I have a case against renault, because i don't know whether its a knackered gasket or a porous or cracked head?
Has anyone else experienced this problem?
All help appreciated Read more
If the car has full Renault service history and then a good will claim against Renault is certainly worth a go, you will have to entrust the Renault dealer with the repair though which will cost a bit more than an independant in the event that Renault dont contribute.
Just thought it would be worth making people aware of Audi TT sensitivity to different tyres on the front. In a nutshell 2005, TT 190
fitted originally with Michelin Pilots all round. After about 13,000 miles ( but only nomimal wear), suffered a punture in front offside. Tyre couldn't be repaired and Pilots no longer available - alternative Primacy.(This was confirmed with several tyre suppliers) After a week or so, driver said car felt skittish and unstable, pulling to the left , but as very poor a road (tramlines) thought it could be imagination. After another couple of weeks still a "problem" so changed the tyres both sides fronts to backs and vice versa, so both Pilots on fronts.- Instant cure. I dare say that some of the more experienced among you are muttering " Thats Obvious", but I'd never experienced it to such an extent with the same make, and supposed replacement tyre. - Hope that helps someone - Very good Jack on the TT though!
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I recently replaced both front tyres on my Mondeo TDCi, which
were Pilots, with HPs and imediately noticed they had a softer
ride ( I though the pressures were out at first), they
did seem a bit skittish until I'd done about 400 miles
and they bedded in, then they were just as grippy as
the Pilots. I've just swapped the HPs to the back and
put the two remaining Pilots to the front, the road noise
is significantly less with the HPs and the Pilots feel harder.
I agree about the softer and quieter ride.
Caught in a traffic jam I get a glow plug flashing light and the accelerator does not work, switch engine off and re-start and its ok again. Any ideas? Read more
Doh!
Saw a Vauxhall Chevette today and it reminded me of when my cousin had one and going along the motorway once, the headlamp came off and came through her windscreen!
Chevettes subsequently had a recall that involved putting some sort of clip on the headlamp to hold it in place. This clip was actually visible from the outside of the lamp!
Any other strange recalls? Read more
My Perodua Kenari was recalled as somthing was found to be wrong with the airbag warning light/system.
The result was a complete dash change and a 'loss' of 3000+ miles from the odo.
Can anyone tell me how to relace the dashboard bulbs in a Citroen AX (M reg)?
I have read the Haynes manual but it does not show this.
Regards, Ian Read more
cannot find the fuse for the cigarette lighter, i can see all the other options or pictures for different parts but cannot find cig-lighter. Renault migane 1.6 `S' Redg. Please help Read more
youll have to check feed at back of the socket it can be a duff socket
if ok then replace with any socket from your local car spares shop (approx £10)
Browse
Ah but that was the beauty of it ! SWMBO had a twin carb'd version, never used the choke, prime the carbs by floorig the throttle a couple of times and it always started regardless of the weather.