January 2007
I have had a nightmare with my Audi A6 1.9 tdi. Please can someone shed some light where the mechanics cant seem to:
The car has always been reliable until recently the water thermostat clip disappeared, the t-stat fell out allowing the water to drain out instantly the warning light came on and I managed to pull over before the car got to the red line, probably got to about 120c.
When trying to start the car again the engine barely made any attempt and the battery sounded dead, I assume this means the engine partially seized due to the heat? Black smoke and a burning stench came out of the engine.
Car was taken to a garage and they replaced the t-stat and all the coolant, replaced the battery and it all started fine, they ran it for about 40 minutes checked pressure and all looked good.
Two days later the pressure light came again, all the coolant had disappeared with no obvious sign where it had gone. I replaced but by the time I got home (50 miles) it was all gone again. I sent it back to the garage who felt that the head gasket was probably gone.
One new head gasket later I have driven for three weeks doing about 100 miles a day. Went to scotland (600 miles) no problem however on the way back light comes on again, pull over and all coolant had gone, I (stupidly) refil with spare water once the enging cooled down, only to find a hose had disconnected from just behind the engine, RAC replaced and ran the car for 60 minutes to make sure no over pressure or signs of gasket failure.
Drove back from scotland, no problems. Drove for three weeks no problem. Drove to work fine, on way back on comes red light and again no coolant, this time the hose at the top of the radiator has come away.
It suggests to me that too much pressure is getting into the coolant system. Sent it back to the garage who traced it back to a defective pressure cap on the tank. This has now been replaced and my car returned to me yesterday.
After the drive to work, just to check I opened the bonnet to look at coolant level, the top hose is so hard you cannot squeeze it at all, after an hour I tried again and by this time it was slighty flexible so that I could see water shooting back into the reservoir tank.
The car does not overheat, it has new pressure cap, it has new head gasket, why the hell are the hoses blowing off and where is the pressure coming from?
Thank you for any help you can give and sorry for long post Read more
Hi,
I have just been given a Peugeot 307SW 1.6HDi SE as a hire car for 4 days. The thing is, I don't know if it is a 90 or 110 and I'd like to know which one it is. Is there any easy ways to tell?
PS I haven't lifeted the bonnet yet so if there is a great big sticker saying 90 or 110 on the rocker cover, I apologise!!!!!
Read more
It may say which engine you've got on a sticker inside the driver's door shut on the B post. Either that or post the prefix of your chassis number.
HTH
G/F has had new tyres recently put on the front of her discovery. It now handles that bad that anything over 40 MPH sees it wandering that badly it feels safe to drive. Car pulls to the left on power and right when coming off power and wanders badly in left or right hand bends.
The old front tyres were on the legal limit and might have been masking any suspension/geometry fault but it did handle ( as well as a 4x4 can)
Any other ideas as to what could cause this bad handling other than the tyres themselves?
Could the fact that the front axle diff has not had its oil changed for a long time and the diff be causing this problem? Read more
Update:
The rear near side tyre is shagged to such an extent that it's not sitting straight , and it toeing in , new tyres to be fitted tomorrow and hopefully a much improved landie.It's also got a bulge in the side wall so for the moment it's not going anywhere.
Hello
I have an old XJ which has been running OK but a few days ago I had to swerve and mount a pavement to miss a child with their new christmas bike. I drove away and parked about 50m up the road as I was going to the and all was well. Yesterday I drove about 30 miles but it was in three bursts of about 10 miles.
This morning I encountered a problem - 15 miles into my journey to work and then when I touched the brake the car edged to the left, the same side as the kurb I mounted. Then I started getting vibrations through the steering wheel and the car was clearly not happy. I stopped for a few minutes and then the car made it the remaining two miles to the office without incident.
Can anyone tell what the problem might be.
Thanks.
D. Read more
possible brake caliper not working on o/s/f the only one working on n/s/f is pulling you to the kerb, best have the car on the ramp for a front end check also may have bent anti-roll bar, tie rod,etc? good luck.
I'm looking to buy a 1997-2000 Shogun or Landcruiser Colorado to tow our caravan. There still seem to be some nice examples of each out there, especially as I'm happy to buy a petrol one (Shogun 3.5 or Colorado 3.4).
I'd appreciate any feedback from anyone who's owned or traded either (or both). Is there any reason to go for one over the other? Is there anything I should particularly look out for as these cars head towards banger territory? I've checked the car-by-car breakdown (of course) - and ruled out Jeeps and Discoverys.
I believe the Shogun engine is an interfence unit, so timing belt replacement is critical, but I think the Toyota's is non-interfence. Read more
Oops missed that I've already discounted the Shogun GDI engine with tipronic on the basis that neither seems as reliable as their predecessors.
I'd be aiming to keep the car at least 3-5 years.
Hello everyone,
I run a high mileage (>140k) VW Passat 110 TDi and have never tried using additive such as Millers etc. (See previous topics) In September Roly93 mentioned adding 1ml of Acetone for each litre of diesel in a previous discussion thread. Sounds like a good, cheap fuel-saving tip! Please let me know more re Acetone....(would the engine be at any risk?)
(I must add that I acheive >53mpg on any trips over 10 miles [after which my old cruiser is well warmed up] and 49mpg around town on rarer short trips so I'm not overly worried about fuel economy!)
Thanks,
TDi Man Read more
Thanks for your replies. Bye for now....
TDi Man
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6238637.stm
It is good to see yet another motorway section being made quieter. Read more
sister has a 2002 astra 1.6 hatchback. had to replace the brake light switch. rang vauxhall who took the reg number and then quoted £15 for the part. went down to the dealership. the parts guy quoted £19, i told him someone quoted £15 earlier . He said 'oh this one is for the saloon, for the hatchback it is £15' from what i can see the part number for both are the same but the price is different. also why should the saloon pedal box arrangement be different to hatchback.
has anyone come across this or know why this is? Read more
I'd guess its the same as the Vectra with two possible switches. one for cars with cruise control and the basic one.
Do you know if the Nokia 6230i iworks on the BMW 530d touring which has bluetooth preparation. Am am about to buy the car and don't want to pay inflated price for an extra that could be worthless to me! Read more
If the car is an E60/61 5 Series then I can confirm that a 6230i works fine with the BMW bluetooth kit. Not sure about the E39 5s, but can see no reason why it wouldn't... There's a link on bmw.co.uk that will let you check compatibility: www.bmw.co.uk/bluetooth
HTH
Peter
Well, having sold the Porsche 968 last October very quickly (wasn't sane with three kids, and am doing more and more motorway miles, which are a 'waste' in such a nice car), I finally got around to replacing it last week. I bought a 330D SE from Cargiant in their New Year Sale. It is a 53 reg, with 55k miles, and in the 100 or so miles I have done thus far, all appears well.
Couple of questions
PDC - It has the sensors on the back of the car, but no sound is forthcoming when I get anywhere close to objects as I reverse. Can this be turned off, and if so, is it a trip to a dealer to get it turned back on (Or does it simply not have it installed - I am certain that it was part of the spec!)
Nokia car kit - it has a full Nokia car kit installed, and buttons on the steering wheel to control calls. Having tried a a Nokia 6230 and 6233, my assumption is that it is for a 6230. Are there adaptors that exist to convert the cradle? Or should I source a new cradle.....
Centre rear seat belt - this is only a lap belt. On the few occasions the car is used as family transport, it would be appealing to have 3 x 3point belts. Anyone any views on the feasibility of such a modification?
Finally - anyone know of a decent E46 forum? It may be that specifics are best handed somewhere else, but could not find anywhere obvious!
Thanks in advance - happy to bore for ages on how good I think the car is....
Cheers
Jono Read more
I have an 05 plate E46 Estate. Three point in the centre. Shoulder belt comes out of the top of the seat rather than the roof as in some cars. I also have a centre armrest.
Where is your phone cradle? Is it under the front armrest (BMW) or attached to the dashboard (aftermarket)? If it's aftermarket you will need to replace the cradle as Nokia have stopped being generic. For a 6233 you'll need Nokia CR-56. 6230 requires Nokia MBC-15S. This would be simple except that the aerial lead is built into the cradle so you will need to remove dash panels to get it out.. The phone connector is generic though and will fit any Pop Port Nokia phone. The alternative will be to convert the kit to Bluetooth. You remove the cradle and unplug it from the control box. The bluetooth lead then plugs into the control box.
If it's a BMW kit then you can get a replacement holder tinyurl.com/y4fgzu .
Browse
The radiator has a pressure release valve with this NON operating it will blow a hole in the radiator before it would blow of a correctly fitted hose.Seems to me whoever refited the system was in a rush and did not tighten the hoses properly so I would check the remaining hoses.