April 2007
Does anyone 'in the trade' know if there should be any reason why I am unable to find any motor factors in Bristol with a rotor arm for a 1996 1.4 8v Polo?
I have been to 3 Halfords and 2 Motoman and 3 local motor factors over this weekend and they all have the distributor cap but none of them had the rotor arm. There all had a space on their shelving racks for it so it's not as if it is isn't something they don't usually stock.
My next port of call will be my 'local VW dealer. 'Local' it ain't - other side of town from me and a drive across and through the centre of Bristol = yuk!
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Evening all,
Earlier on I had the pleasure of coming off the Polegate roundabout, going into 3rd, lifting clutch, and....nothing - no drive! The drive shaft on faithful car has broken :-(
Straight on phone to Autoaid (my choice of breakdown cover) and within 20min recovery lorry turns up (not bad for a Sunday!), I tell him what's wrong so he doesn't waste time fixing it, loads up, and drives me back home to Brighton. Very straightforward journey back home, and then unloads my car outside the house, and as I get my card out ready to pay him, he gets in his lorry and drives off (I had already signed the sheet before he unloaded the car). Now this is the third time ever that I've had to use my autoaid cover in the last 10 years, first time I had to pay, but the last 2 times the drivers haven't asked for any money from me - which was what I thought Autoaid was all about! (pay a low premium but have to pay for recovery and then reclaim the money back)
Do any of you know has this changed now or have I just been really lucky on the time I've had to be recovered the last 2 times? Not complaining, just wondering :-)
Ben Read more
Funny you say this. I called out autoaid recently - puncure with stuck alloy wheel- came to pay, guy just said that I didn't owe him anything. I said I thought I needed to pay and claim - man just said job sheet said I didn't! Have heard nothing since, presume that the driver assume it's an autonational claim (the non pay and claim arm of the company)
Hi folks, I am presently the owner of a 185,000 mile 405 non turbo diesel estate. I am a courier and it is the best motor I have ever worked out of. The question is, does anyone know how difficult it would be to drop in an early 90bhp hdi engine and box out of a 406? Any advice etc would be very gratefully received!
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Cheers for the advice folks, y'all have a nice day!
Just wondered because with nothing to do today I thought I'd take a look at the one in my Passat which I have owned for five years from new.
The filter was completely caked..
First thought was one of being ripped off having had my car serviced by my local VW dealer every year.
Having looked at the service book, however, there does not seem to be any 'box' to tick to indicate that it has been changed so is the changing of this discretionary?
Cost me £10 for a new one from Halfords. Read more
Both my Renaults get a pollen filter every service ( 12k and 18k ). The "used" ones look black by then and air-flow is starting go decline and they can start to give off " 'orrible odours". I would change them at the start of each summer.
Am i alone thinking that user manuals for cars do not give much information on minor maintainance. On my last couple of cars apart from how to change a bulb....that seems to getting hard on alot of cars now....anything that needs doing is usually followed by the instruction to go to a main dealers without delay . I may be getting cynical but it amazes how much is down to wear and tear and not covered by car warranties. Read more
1) Because they are French
2) See Above
;-)
Anybody recommend a mobile smart repair in Gloucestershire area?
Have scraped the wheel arch and bumper on a MKIII Mondeo and it will require paint and filling but I need the car for work so a mobile job is required.
Many Thanks Read more
2000 Yaris 1.3 CDX about 60K
The bolt in the assembly joining the anti roll bar to the main suspension arm has snapped.
I need to get it to a garage to get it replaced ( and its friend on the other side).
When cornering at much greater speed than normal the bit left attached to the ARB scrapes on the steering rod making a sound not dissimilar to shot pads.
(I was not expecting it to be pads, one month after a good MoT so was at first a little puzzled what the noise could be)
Are there any serious problems if I limp it to my garage ?
This is the first mechanical failure we have had.
I think it is speed bumps that have shortened its life.
Fortunately it occured close to home. Read more
When I couldn't trace an annoying rattle on a Focus, I took it to the local Ford dealer where the workshop foreman (so he called himself) diagnosed a worn ball joint on the front anti-roll bar assembly.
He said, referring to the anti-roll bar, "I don't know why they fit them, they don't need them".
Ford could save a fortune in research and development if they listened to people like him.
A national tyre chain told me my Maz6 needs a certain Bridgstone tyre, in fact a certain compound*. The same goes for RX8, they would'nt sell me anything other than what was currently on the car. In the end I did'nt need the tyre but was I being spun along?
I have always had Fords and they seem to fit whatever band at the time, Good year, Conti etc..
Cheers.
* I had an image in my head of me driving around with a white band around the tyre. In fact, how long before boy racers copy this!!!!?? Read more
Slightly off thread; there is a sensible law in Germany (Is it the same here?) that supplier will only fit tyres to your car with the appropriate speed rating. Can't see it could ever be required to fit a specific brand or compound unless only one firm supplies that size of tyre, in which case you have to buy it.
Tried to change a Megane cc indicator bulb today for a neighbour. Never managed it. Took the front wheel off and the inner plastic wheel arch but even folowing the instructions in the Renault handbook we still could not get the bulb out. Why why why do they make these jobs so difficult for the diyer. He is off to Renault to part with some hardearned just for a bulb change. Stupid i think!. Read more
I've had 3 headlight bulbs go on the offside of the Megane hatch in 3 years (does anyone think this is particularly unusual?). I failed to change it on all 3 occasions & ended up going to the local garage (each time they asked to pop the bonnet until I pointed out it was only "accesible" through the wheel arch). First couple of times they asked for a fiver for the 10-15 minutes of swearing they (& I) endured. Third time they had it up over the inspection pit with the wheel off and charged £20.
The offside indicator went over Easter. I thought I'd give it a good effort myself - work clothes on, trolley jack & axle stands out. Took about 40 minutes of sweating & swearing just to get the wheel off (has anyone else suffered stuck wheels before?). I tried accessing the bulb & then realised that I needed an orange one, not the clear one Halfords had sold me.
So I put everything back to go & get the correct bulb & it turned out it just needed a wiggle to get it working again! What a PITA.
I had already mentally noted to check the procedure on any potential new car, but it does seem to be becoming the norm to make it hard for owners to do their own simple maintenance.
Noticed over the last couple of weeks that my 1996 Peugeot 406 1.9TD executive, when coasting downhill that the engine management light comes on.
As soon as i touch the brakes or accelerator the light goes out.
Had no problems with the engine, no strange noises and pulls fine.
Any ideas?
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Browse
No point TBH - Halfords have the cap in stock and I now have the arm from VW so job done.
Thanks anyway.