January 2007
Dumb question;
I had all the belts replaced early last year (Mondeo 1.8TDI). For the last month or so I have been getting a squeal from the alternator belt when pulling away, especially on a cold engine. (I know, I should have seen to it earlier). Just pulled up at home and the battery light has come on and wouldn't go out. On lifting the bonnet the belt is whirring merrily round but the alternator pulley is stationary. There is at least 1/2" slack in the belt, is this enough to stop it turning the alternator or am I looking at the possibility of a seized alternator? The Haynes says 2 - 4mm.
Can't get under the car to see if I can move the alternator by hand this time of night as the undertray blocks access. Any informed guesses as to the cause would be appreciated, as this is a poor time of year for a heavy outlay.
--
Read more
As the above topic says, how often do you change yours?
I've had mine since 2004 do i need to change mine yet or not?
Has the sat nav age change all this?
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-) Read more
Every 5 years.
I have tended to get the cheap AA one in Bargain Books, though I have been attracted to the hard back AA ones lately on the grounds that they look more wife-proof.
Hi there - new member today !!
I recently purchased a 2006 Focus 1.6 LX which came complete with it's original remote key and non remote key. As my wife and I share the car I managed to obtain a new remote fob from ebay last week. I then obtained a new key blank from GK Ford and had it cut to match the car. I've followed the instructions in the car handbook to allow the new remote fob to lock/unlock the car but have found the new remote key won't start the car - due to the immobiliser I presume. Can I program this myself or does it have to be done by a Ford main dealer ?
I've found lots of information on the internet relating to Mark II mondeo's which work on my car (programing unlocking all doors / drivers door only etc) but the instructions on how to add a new key to the system do not seem to work.
Any help / advice would be much appreciated.
thankyou
seant Read more
See if the following is of any help. It does say Mondeo, but apparantly it's the same for *most* (if not all) Fords.
www.mirez.co.uk/KeyProg.htm
something in Tim Allcott's thread has reminded me... and so as not to hijack his thread i've started a new one
In April SWMBO and I are off to the States, to visit friends and have a holiday....will be flying in to Houston, Texas and will need a car for 2 weeks.
Anyone with more travel experience than me to the States willing to give me advice on the best way of doing it.
I tend to fly with BA and having checked their ticket prices & the flight travel times (hours travelling) will do so again (i know they've got strike action due in Feb, but am hoping that's sorted by April)........they offer car hire, but i've never used it.
I can sit and play on the web and check all the hire car companies...but...... get confused as to what I need i.e CDW, liability insurance etc........all i want is similar to fully comp over here.
Am i better off going with the airline package, booking from here on the web, waiting 'til i get there and queueing or getting my mate to book me something if i give him my details in advance.
I'm not tight and would prefer ease of use than an absolute bargain, but equally if i can get a deal i'll go for it.
thanks, Westpig Read more
If you hire a lot of cars in the USA, Amex travel insurance is well worth considering (or get an Amex Platimum or above card for about £200 a year).
It covers any cars up to £50,000 with no excess - the rest of the insurance is well above the £20/year sort too.
Can anyone help?
I have not much experience with car engines, but i do know the the basics(i think).
My son has a citroen ax and the cam(timing) belt has failed.
I need to know if this car is a non-interference or a interference engine so i replace the timing belt or scrap the car?
Here is the story!!
While driving, the car just died(no banging or clattering from the engine).
I had a look and found that there was no teeth on the cam belt at the crankshaft.
I rotated the camshaft (clockwise), All seems ok?, not broken or siezed.
Crankshaft turns when trying to start.
Could it just be an old cam belt thats had enough or do we have problems???
Citroen AX 995cl M reg.
Thanks Read more
wow were we just lucky?
Hello all,
I am interested in buying a 2002 plate Fiesta Zetec S 1.6. I've looked on car review sites and tried to get a picture of what they're like to own but there seems to be a lot of variety in peoples opinions. If anyone owns or owned one, could they tell me a bit about them, the pros and cons etc?
Thank You Read more
I had a 2000 (W) one of these from new for two and a half years. As a young male it was a great car to have. I agree with the other posts so far, it looked good, handled very well though not especially quick but did have a harder ride than sportier cars I have owned since.
Being a Fiesta of that age, the 'old-fashioned' shape means it's really easy to park and maintenance and running costs should be excessive. Insurance was group 8 and I had 36mpg overall from mine.
Mine was Imperial Blue, which was a colour unique to that that model. I much preferred the blue interior on that colour (as well as the silver) to the red interior and pink steering wheel on the red or black models.
There was no evidence of rust but you could tell that the arches would rust in the same way my first car did, a 1990 Fiesta.
I managed to seize the rear brakes by washing the car once. I asked a garage to look at them and they had trouble finding replacement bits - they were just drums but different to other Fiestas.
James
Seemingly, the service indicator on the Fiat Grande Punto can only be reset after a service by the main dealer tool.
With relevance to DIY in the future,( after warranty) is there any way around this and are all modern cars the same?
It seems a deterent to doing what amounts to little more than oil and filter changes only to have to pay to have an indicator reset.
Modern times? Any thoughts? Read more
are all modern cars the same?
A lot can still be reset by holding in the odometer trip reset and turning on the ignition. No idea if this applies to Fiat or not though.
My escort recently ran out of fuel (I know I'm an idiot!!). I have followed all the instructions in the Haynes manual and now the car will only start if the primer pump is rapidly compressed. The engine will then run for maybe 30 secs to 1 minute then it shuts down. There is no air at all in the fuel system it just seems as though the pump has given up the ghost and died. I cannot understand how this could just happen as it was working fine up until I ran out of fuel.
Any help or advice on this subject will be most gratefully received.
Thank you in advance. Read more
Once the engine has started it should not stop unless there is a leak in the priming pump;there is no lift pump as such-fuel is sucked up by the injection pump.
It may have been reported elsewhere by someone else, but Chrysler / Jeep / Dodge have dropped the price of dealer servicing by a very welcome 25%.
Lets hope that they are the first of many to do so.
MTC Read more
sorry about the typos
{Murph, I've edited them out so that no one will ever know ;o) - DD}
Hi,
How do i remove the lower thermostat bolt on a 1.8ls 02 plate vectra B ???
I have loosed the 2 power steering bolts but dont really want to remove it.
Hard to access with torx spanner and torx socket. not enough room !
Thanks Read more
Browse
The belt tensioner is manual on these engines. Access is through the drivers side wheelarch after removing the wheel and the access cover that screws into the liner.
To adjust, slacken the allen bolt in the centre of the tensioner pulley by half a turn, and then wind the adjuster bolt (faces downwards at an angle below the pulley) to move the adjuster. Retighten centre bolt afterwards.
As Simon says, has to be worth a go before condemning the alternator.
Cheers
DP