February 2007
Hi all,
I have a problem with my '98 1.8 zetec focus, I went to start it the other day and instead of cranking, it just clicks rapidly for however long I hold the ignition on the crank position.
I assumed this was a battery issue (I hadn't used the car for over a week, in which time we had very cold weather) so purchased a portable jump starter and tried starting with this attached but the same thing still happens.
I'm currently very much stationary!
can anyone help? Read more
I have just noticed that a tyre (Dunlop SP30) bought from a local tyre fitter?s last week has ?INSIDE? and ?OUTSIDE? markings and sod?s law, as you might guess, has ensured that it?s been fitted ?inside out?. If that makes sense.
There don?t seem to any rotation direction markings. The tread appears symmetrical and the only visible difference is that the ?Inside? marked sidewall is smooth whereas the ?Outside? sidewall is ribbed.
I would rather not go to the trouble of having it removed and refitted as I don?t think this does the bead seal much good. Also I noticed these markings when refitting the wheel trim which loses a couple of plastic tangs every time I remove it, however carefully. I have only just araldited the last two back on. Another reason is that I prefer to fit wheels myself as that way the nuts get the correct torque loading and the car gets jacked correctly.
Is there likely to be any other difference in the sidewalls other than that described?
I go to some lengths to avoid driving on or off kerbs. I bought this tyre because all the other tyres on the car are SP10s which are still legal although well over K40 miles. SP10s seem to have been superseded by the SP30s.
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>>>I prefer to fit wheels myself as that way the nuts get the correct torque loading and the car gets jacked correctly<<<
And heres me thinking I was the only one that took the wheels off the car to have tyres fitted , especialy because of the huge jack they place under your car that can remove the underseal. In extreme cases they can crush your chassis if the jacks are not released corectly and all the weight goes on one jack!!......yes it happened to me on a big heavy diesel Galant. And ever since I have removed the wheels for tyre replacement unless they have a 4 poster.
They can also damage the finish on your alloys while removing the nuts.
Hi guys.
I am having trouble with erratic idling on a W reg Ford KA. The idling will go up and down in a consistant rythum for about 9 beats then settle down.
After having a mobile diagnostics it was deemed that the idle control valve was the most likely culprit, even though error readings were not found.
I replaced the valve and a slight difference was achieved. On start up the idling was non erratic but steady and slowly depreciating in revs as the car warmed up. after a few miles the car resumed its erratic idling at all junctions. sometimes the revs will go higher, around 3,000 aprox, and will go back to normal after a slight knock on the accelerator.
The question is, has any body had this experience or any idea what could be causing it. I am leaving a trip to fords as a last resort. grateful for any help. thanks. Read more
Thanks Guys, I am overwhelmed by your support!
I will add that it has just had an Ivor Searl replacement engine put in, but the problem was occuring before this. I would have thought the Valves would be adjusted to a correct tolerance. What is throttle body wear and what would a resolution/ cost entail?
What's the best way from southern England to southern Sweden, by road, preferably avoiding long ferry trips? Read more
Thanks guys.
I'm trying to avoid a long ferry (or indeed any ferry), as I've got a trailer, dogs, and guns to take with me.
I had a look at the eurotunnel site, and interestingly they charge extra for dogs, but not for passengers. Maybe I could dress them up and claim they're kids. I see there's a bridge in Denmark, and you have to go quite a way north to use it, although I imagine there are short ferries further south.
Hi all, new to the Back Room.
I know this subject has been going on for a bit, but I would like to know what fuel economy you are getting if you own a Kia Rio 1.5 CRDI or Hyundai Getz 1.5CRTD (16v 4 cylinder Hyundai engine not the 12v 3 cylinder VM Motori unit).
Not only that but if you could tell me how many miles you've had it for so we can get an idea of how bedded in your car is.
The reason for the request is that I have just acquired one of these as a driving school car and I have been getting 40-45MPG in the 3500 miles since it was made. Now I would expect to get 10% above the 'combined' figure for my own driving and around 10-15% less than the 'combined' for teaching (I had a 1.6 Petrol Citroen C2 as my last teaching car and was getting 38MPG during tuition). This is based on the last 5 or 6 cars I have owned.
So by rights I should be getting 55ish MPG from the Kia as are some of my kin in their Kia's, Clio's etc.
Any thoughts. Can the fuel economy be reduced by 25% just because it isn't bedded in? How long has your Kia taken to "bed in".
Anyone actually gone back to a Kia dealer and they found a problem with the fuel system or ECU or sensors etc.
Cheers
Stevie G Read more
My wife runns a 07 Rio CRDI that she has owned from new . One of the main reasons for bying it was that it is supposed to do 60ish mpg .Miles per gallon on the Rio is pretty poor . After 28000 from new it still only returns 47 MPG . Driven like a saint on a run it will only manage 49mpg . Literature Said 60 mpg ,I know we take that witha pinch of salt but I would expect 55mpg. I run a volvo D5 and get 47 mpg , 30mpg towning a caravan . If I nurse the volvo I get about 50 on a run . So what is it about the rio ? dealer said its all in spec and it will get better when its got some miles on it . Suprise suprise its now out of warranty and still not returning the miles . So someone at Kia are telling porkies . I think we may be contacting Kia direct for an answer .
hello,
i have the above van, it has 108k on the clock and service history.
i have just had it serviced and was told that the mayo/ ceamy paste in the oil cap and the small deposits on the dip stick is a sure sign of head gasket problems.
is this so and what other ways is there of telling the head gasket is on its way.
the van runs and starts fine with no other problems(i hope/think)
any advice would be appreciated...
cheers Read more
hi, i spent a few hour yesterday on the van trying to get to the bottom of this water /oil / mayo problem and.......................
i think its the oil cooler leaking,
i have bypassed the cooler and run the van for 30-40 miles and the dropplets of water have disappeared, the water level is steady and there is no signs of mayo.
so next question -
will i do any hard runing with out the cooler?
is there a good online shop that stock them and much are oil coolers?
steve
Hi, I've just gone to take my dad's 12 month old Avensis for a spin, before he comes back from holiday, and there wasn't enough power to open the door. I used the key and a pathetic noise comes from the front, an alarm running at one volt by the sounds of it. I've followed the instructions in the handbook and it won't turn off, only when the key was in the ignitions, when I take it out the alarm tries to sound again. So I disconnected the battery, dug out my Airflow battery conditioner and hooked it up, but only the orange 'On' light shows, I seem to remember the conditioning light should also be on. I went to the Airflow website but it seems to be sales only, has anyone used one lately? If so, does this sound right? How long do you think it will it take to charge from flatter than a flat thing? If it helps, he's been away for 30 days, and it's been in the garage for all of that time, I parked it up after dropping my parents off.. Read more
Assuming your meter is accurate, 12.3 volts is still too low. As a rule-of-thumb, 12.2 v is 50% charged, 12.5 v is 75% charged. However any battery below 12.4v should be charged to prevent damage.
Both my keys fobs to the Passat have now broken (the silver bit at the top that fits onto a key ring). Managed to locate my wife's handed in at a local Kwik Save which was lucky because I gather that they are over £100 to replace. She wondered why I was so relieved as she assumed that we could pick one up from the local cobblers for £4.99.
I have glued them both with slow setting Araldite which lasted a couple of months before snapping again.
Just wondered if anyone could recommend an easy to obtain glue or compound that will repair the broken bit and stay repaired so that O can have confidence that I wont loose either of them. It looks like an alloy type of meta that has broken. Read more
cgi.ebay.co.uk/vw-key-3-button-remote-ALARM-KEY-FO...m
There are a few on there.
I have a Sony LCD TV and a Sony DVD hard disk player connected together.
Both of them are virtually new and I was thinking of connecting the audio out into an existing Hi-Fi system speakers through the amplifier.
This is a Sharp and over 20 years old which has phono inputs for AUX which according to its book will take an audio signal in from an outside source.
My question is that as both the TV and DVD have audio out phono connections which one should I use or does it make no difference.
I would have to buy some long leads whichever and have seen 6 metre lengths with male phono connections which I presume would be what I need?.
wemyss
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A Blackberry is effectively useless for browsing the web. Something like an XDAII will give you instant email + Blackberry if you want it but it also enables you to read attachments in the format they were sent ie full screen Exel and Powerpoint with real formatting but where it leaves a Blackberry standing is to give you proper browsing with a stylus mouse.
For basic emails Blackberry is unsurpassed but that's all it does well, the rest is massive compromise..
ihope some one can help. im looking into buying a transit , ldv pilot or ducato wih the view of turning it into a basic camper van. Whats the best for economy parts and insurance...e.t.c.
thanks ......Dave Read more
I learned to drive on a two star petrol,(shows how long ago) Sherpa and have had a soft spot for them since.
We have recently got rid of our two Convoys at Royal Mail and got two of the new shape Transits and i miss them already.
Coming from an agricultural background i can appreciate their ruggedness, they would bounce off of banks and whatever a wayward postman would aim them at whereas a Transit leaves bits behind.
Plenty of market traders find a use for them.
If you are on a low budget then go for a good one, ex Royal Mail is good as they will have been serviced regulary.
Browse
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Just a thought; how long did you run it for the last time you used it?
I got home from work today to see Mrs From Next Door pulling up in my wife's car! The reason was she couldn't start her Mazda 6 but needed to collect Nipper Next Door from nursery, so borrowed it.
The background?
Over the weekend, her husband changed a headlight bulb and to gain access had to remove a panel from the wheel arch. To do this he ran the engine for all of 5 seconds from a cold start whilst he twirled over to full steering lock. I know this, as we were nattering at the time, so explained to Mrs Next Door that my money was on the ECU's catalyst protection regime, for want of a better description, preventing fuelling. "Try a long crank with foot on the floor. You won't flood the engine as the computer is stopping fuelling but you will help vent it out". She didn't, and called the AA, who gave a gert great crank with foot on the floor! The engine of course started fine once the overfuelling from the weekend had been cleared.