March 2007
Recently purchased a 1600 scenic, petrol auto. The car will only do reverse! There is some forward drive, but not a lot. Any ideas???? Read more
Grateful for some advice. I'm going to do an oil change on our rencently purchased 02 Scenic 1.9 dCi and the Haynes manual instructs that after filling with new oil and replacing the filter that the stop solenoid plug is removed and the engine is then cranked to bring up oil pressure without firing up.
I know this is 'best practise' for any engine, but the Haynes manual does not show where the stop solenoid plug is. So my questions are:
Am I safe to just start the engine (very briefly) until the oil pressure lamp goes out, and then re-check oil level?
or, if the answer is 'no' is there a convenient fuse I can pull which will allow me to crank the engine without it starting?
Thanks to anyone who replies. Read more
HI the stop solenoid should be just under the header tank on the inner wing. with a black round rubber cap on it. where the petrol have a red cap but still in the same place hope this helps
Hi all
My 6month old ML320 CDI has had a persistant oil leak for the past 3 months. I noticed it again yesterday and found that the intercooler pipes are full of oil and the oil is finding it's way out of the cool side of the intercooler. Now my technical knowledge of these things is not great but it appears to me that air is drawn through the turbo, goes through the heat exchanger ( intercooler ) and then goes to the cylinders.
My question is this. If so much oil is going through these pipes will it be damaging my engine in any way, I have noticed more smoke than normal when I accelarate so I presume that oil is bieng deposited into the combustion chamber, and where does all this oil come from?
I have also noticed a vibration under heavy accelaration, could this be down to the turbo blades being coated in oil?
The car has been to the dealers 8 times already and is due to go back in today, I have had enough now even though the car is fantastic.
Any help would be appreciated.
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I certainly wouldn't expect this on an almost brand new car, especially a Merc. How often are you having to top up the oil as a result of the leak? Sounds like the turbo is to blame and I would strongly suggest that the dealer replaces it to see if that cures the problem. I thought this only happened on older turbo diesels which have covered in excess of 100k. I had this with my 306TD and found I was topping up by around 5 litres between 6k oil changes, but as the car ran fine and the problem never worsened, I just put up with it. The icing on the cake came when the head gasket failed at 150k and ended up swapping the engine with a lower mileage one, since when I have never had to top up between changes and that engine is now on the 150k mark and sweet as a nut.
Martin
The gear stick linkage on my Focus (22k) has become loose making it difficult to select the gears.
Is this a common problem, any idea on cost to repair, is it serious? Read more
Though you might want to try a forum search for Adam,
Here it is.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=35...0
Although the links to www.ffoc.co.uk no longer work. So you'll have to look around www.ffoc.co.uk/modules.php?name=Forums for the info Adam is referring to.
Also some more info from Adam here:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=34309
What is the life span of an unused spare tyre?
We have an S reg Mondeo and a V reg Focus both with totally unused space saver spares that are stored in the dark, in the dry, in the boot.
I have read that oft quoted "five years and ditch it" statement. But where has this come from?
I can understand caravan tyres and very low mileage car tyres that have been left out in the UV for many years etc needing replacing.
I recently had an, on the road, tyre on our V reg Yaris dumped, even though it had 3/4 mm tread on it because I did not like the look of the ageing in the walls. I assume it was an original.
I have read that the MoT checks may be changed to confirming the age of tyres and the failing old ones.
I obviously do not want to buy new tyres if the existing ones are still safe.
A visual check shows no problems to my limited understanding and they hold the pressure OK.
I fully appreciate the argument re safety and the "why risk it - change em" advice but is there any other info on the subject?
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The boot mounted spare tyre on the 1929 Riley 9 Monaco
which I purchased as a student was over 30 years old
from the makers marks.. Is this a record?:-))
No.
My ex-army trailer has its original tyres dated 1954.
My 1949 Ferguson tractor has one original rear tyre. I replaced the other recently because the carpet tiles glued inside the cover were no longer capable of stopping the inner tube from ballooning out through the sidewall.
My 1947 British Anzani Motor Hoe has its original tyres.
I was told by a vintage tyre supplier that older tyres made of genuine rubber have a much longer life than modern synthetics.
***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 2 *****
When the football season ends, the Touran is being relegated from the premier league to the bottom of the conference league (North)
what should be promoted in its place.
here is the shortlist (and no you can add nothing else or any other engine combinations)
C4 5DR 1.6HDi SX
Old PICASSO 1.6HDi DESIRE
FORD FOCUS EST 2.0D GHIA
MAZDA 5 2.0TS2
MAZDA 6 EST 2.0TS2
MERCEDES BENZ A160 5DR 2.0CDi CLASSic
NISSAN QASHQAI 1.6VISIA
PEUGEOT 307 S/W 1.6HDi110 SE
PEUGEOT 407 S/W 1.8S
RENAULT MEGANE EST 2.0 DYNAMIQUE
RENAULT SCENIC 5DR 1.6 DYNAMIQUE
SEAT ALTEA 5DR 1.9PDSTYLANCE
SEAT ALTEA XL 5DR 1.9PDSTYLANCE
SEAT LEON 5DR 1.9TDi STYLANCE
SEAT TOLEDO 5DR 1.9PD STYLANCE
SKODA OCTAVIA EST 1.9PD AMBIENTE
TOYOTA AURIS 5DR 1.6i TSPIRIT
TOYOTA AURIS 5DR 2.0 D4D T3
VAUXHALL ASTRA EST 1.9D150 DESIGN
VAUXHALL VECTRA EST 1.9D150 EXCLUSiV
VAUXHALL ZAFIRA 1.9D120 DESIGN
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 5DR 1.9TDi SPORT
and way out of left field
C4 3DR 1.6HDi by LEOB
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF > Read more
Hadnt thought of that < cough >
Doh!
Hi all! First post here..
We've just bought a 98 Ka for the lad as his first car. Nice and cheap, mainly because the inlet valve on the third pot doesn't move.
Clearly a case of worn camshaft and/or follower - the rocker adjuster is fully in and the push rod is straight.
Parts are ordered (top and bottom gasket set + head gasket, cam and followers) and the Haynes book of lies purchased. The last engine I removed was a Dolomite 1850 in 1988 (and a Yamaha R7 in 1999, but that doesn't count), and the last cylinder head was a GSXR 600 in 2003, but I reckon I can still cut it (famous last words!).
I'll try and do a mini blog on here of progress, but the only thing I've never worked on is air con. Haynes are doing the "you'll die" bit if the a/c isn't depressurised by a grown up, but as it isn't working anyway is it reasonably safe to stick a long pointy thing into the service ports to check there's no pressure?
I'll start the dismantling tonight after work.
JC Read more
Well done - reminds me of 30 years ago when I was a young lad. I watched my dad curse as he stripped down the engine of the Vauxhall Viva 1300 (LMY 157L) he'd not long owned - using eggboxes for all the bits as they came off and then spending ages grinding valves by hand. 7 years engineering apprenticeship did him proud over the long nights he spent sorting the thing out.
Pretty much all insurers nowadays offer the £60 windscreen replacement, or free if they can repair it. But if you have this done, come renewal time when you're asked "Have you made any claims in the past 5 years?" what is the correct answer?
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Which God in particular are you refering to?
I am told that Hinduism has two million Gods. Maybe that's why they have so many road accidents in India.
Thinking of buying a Zafira 06 , 1.9 Design from Hilton Garage. Hopefully off to see it on friday, but I wondered on what expereinces people had with this Garage.
Any advice appreciated..
Thanks,
John Read more
Well folks I've been on my travels and here is the tale to tell.
Went to Motorhouse first, but they didn't have what I wanted. They were very polite and helpful (even gave me directions to Motorpoint). Showroom stank of polish!
Then went to Motorpoint - again helpful and again didn't have what I wanted. They did have more cars in the system and tried to get me to place a retainer for something that fitted my bill - but I held back..
Hilton Garage were very nice - if fact couldn't have been more helpful, but there was something about the 'Moonland' Zafira that I didn't like - not sure what, but I walked.
Available Car - nah, nothing there , but jesus it was busy.....
Made my way back to Southend and by chance called in to Geoff Bray in Rayleigh. On the Forecourt was a very smart looking Zafira in Silver Lightning with 9.6k miles on the clock - screen price was £14995!! The salesman came out and started chatting, he said that the car was a great value for money which I had to disagree. I told him where I'd been and what I'd seen for £12,700 (didn't mentioned the extra £100 or so the Supermarket charge). He said 'What will it take for me to buy his car' I told him '£12,900' off he trotted to see he business manager (here we go I thought, there is no way in hell are they going to agree on that). He came back and said £13k and the car is your if you place a deposit now (£500). I was shell shocked. I thought for a while - when said yes..
So I've travelled over 400 miles to buy a car and ended up buying one on my doorstep!!! £13k for a July 2006 Zafira 1.9 (150bhp) Design in Silver Lightning with 9.6k miles is pretty good - I'm well chuffed!
Now - do I buy gap insurance????
Hi. I would be grateful if anybody could advise me what to do. About a year ago my insurance company informed me I had been in an accident and the other driver's insures were claiming against me. This was news to me; I had certainly not been in an accident and when I rang them up, I found it was in a place I have never been to. The other insurers refused to back down and this rumbled on for some time. Eventually ir came to my renewal and I found that most of my NCD had been removed and the premium had shot up. It was now more than I was prepared to pay, so I moved to another insurer. I explained the situation to them and they offered to give me a refund if and when my full NCD was restored. Eventually, after months of letters and phone calls the insurers who were claiming against me withdrew their claim and my full NCD was restored. My new insurers were very good and refunded me my money without delay. I thought that was the end of the story, but no!
Out of the blue I have a letter from my old insurance company informing me that the solicitors for the other driver intent to issue proceeding against me. As you can understand, I am going frantic. I rang them up and explained that the accident was nothing to do with me (again). I also asked how they got my details. It turns out that details were exchange at the scene of the accident and all they have used to trace me is the registration of my car. I can only assume the other driver wrote it down incorrectly, and i don't think it is cloned either - I have had no parking fines or anything else. I also asked, that if they exchanges details, what name did 'I' give. She told me and it was not my name, or anybody I know. I have never lent my car to anybody either. My options are I attend court and defend this or I don't attend and my old insurers will pay out and I will have this claim on my record.
I have checked my records and on the day of this accident I was at work, some 200 miles from where this accident took place. Thanks.
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Isn't this why the keeper has responsibility to ensure the driver
is insured. If not insured the keeper is permitting uninssured
use!
The keeper, owner or whoever simply has to make it a condition of lending that the borrower is insured. I would say to you "You may borrow my car as if you are properly insured", for instance. Should you *not* be insured, I have a valid defence against a charge of allowing and permitting etc.
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HI doc thanks for that. i will check that one out. i have just got a sykes and pickavant unit on its way with the new v5 pod so i will have a look in to all the box electricals this week. could you tell that it was faulty by putting on the brake lites. like the old ford escorts when they dimmed or just with a scaner check.
CHEERS BBB