June 2007
Anybody know anything about house alarms? I could do with moving the siren box outside - it's just where I want to put the flue from a new boiler. Unclipping the screw covers on the outside sets off the tamper alarm, and presumably if I did keep going and disconnect the siren, it will go off of its own accord (assuming the internal battery is still any good....).
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen.... Read more
I have just tried to sell my1996 FTO and the purchaser told me there was a problem with the tiptronic Gearbox. He said the electronic regulators on the gearbox had been damaged because the battery had been charged on the vehicle and not been taken off prior to charging. He wanted a £1000 reduction on the price to compensate! Is this true and fair. Any help appreciated.
Read more
the auto box on my fto is playing up. when it first starts off its in first gear but does not change up, then suddenly it will change into third with a bang. after this it stays in third at all speeds. Also when using the manual mode there is only 2nd and 3rd, can you help. rog
Hi,
I currently travel between 25k and 30k per year. I would like a car a bit different from the other rep mobiles (I've currently got a celica) but it's turning out a bit pricey for both fuel and servicing and also I'm thinking about residuals and the fact that I'm pumping up the mileage at a rate of 2k+ per month.
Ideally I'd like a reasonably quick diesel i.e. Fabia vRS, Saab 9-3, BMW etc but they're all a bit out of my price range and I don't want to spend too much and then end up 3 years later with massive depriciation due to the high mileage.
What are the drawbacks of running a cheaper sporty convertible for weekends and summer days - I'm thinking MR2 mk2 and then having a cheap, sub £1k diesel and employing bangernomics for commuting. Can I have just one insurance policy and drive the second car 3rd party under the first cars policy or do I need seperate policies?
Read more
There's a "More cars than drivers?" adverttisement in the left hand column.
You can only ask..:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Hi need to change the fan belt on my other half's 1.8d Fiesta. However the fan belt has split and fell off therefore have no belt to refer to. Does anyone know of anywhere I can get a diagram of the route round the pulleys etc. Haven't tried fitting yet but don't want to get it wrong.
Many thanks
{slight re-jig to subject line - PU} Read more
Thats great thank you
Another thread on the subject of durability of diesel engines but I didn't want to hijack someone else's thread.
Lots of discussion on here about durability of modern diesel engines. But IMHO, the ones who use them more than anyone else, and who rely on them for their income, are taxi drivers. And they probably have the worst driving pattern for diesel engine failure ie stop start city journeys.
Where I live most of the private hire cars are Octavia diesels, but what sort of engines are in the traditional London taxi type / hackneys? Why do these not all fail due to EGR issues? What have they got (or not got) that your average diesel car doesn't have?
Just intrigued how the advice that always seems to appear is to prevent any problems, avoid stop/start journeys and floor the throttle occasionally. Total opposite from what taxis do? Read more
In Berkshire the most common diesel taxi cars are probably Toyota Avensis, Peugeot 406 and VAG diesel Passat/Octavia. But I think Avensis 2.0TD and D4-D outnumbers the rest!
I wonder how many Japanese cars are actually still made/assembled/manufactured in Japan!
I won't be surprised if in few years time the term "Japanse reliability" will synonym like "French reliability".
Honda - UK and China soon (Jazz)
Toyota - France (Yaris)
Suzuki - Hungary (Swift/Ignis)
Mazda - Spain (Mazda 2)
Mitsubishi - Holland (Colt)
Nissan = Renault
Subaru - ?
Daihatsu - ?
Source: wikipedia.org Read more
www.lexus.com/about/corporate/manufacturing.html explains in more detail.
I'm dreading this as the engine bay is so small....
What is the recommended replacement interval for the belt ? I always get the spotty youth in the dealerships, who assures me its 10 years or 80000 miles. Sounds to be pushing it a bit that, any advice ?
Also, what does the belt drive on this car ? The Power steering is electric, and the car is fitted with A/C.
Read more
Thanks for this. I had a new alternator drive belt and tensioner fitted just before the warranty ended to sort out a wierd clicking noise under hard acceleration. The delaership couldn't hae been less helpful (don't think they expect customers to have a knowledge about cars.............)
Hi my handbrake travels a fair way up now before holding is there a quick and easy way to adjust it ?
Ford focus 1.8 ghia T reg
thanks for your help Read more
Hi my handbrake travels a fair way up now before holding is there a quick
and easy way to adjust it ?
Yes, it is very easy to adjust, our Focus Zetec needed adjusting even though the rear brakes were adjusted perfectly.
Basically if you remove the centre console trim around the handbrake itself, there is a single bolto which you will see is the tensioner for the handbrake cable. Just adjust this till there is a small amount of play in the cable with the handbrake off.
Some of you may recall that i recently posted about a loss of power at around 3000RPM at motorway speed on my 130ps Mondeo TDCi.
However, now I am getting a lumpy idle at start up and some smoke from the exhaust. The idle settles down after a while and after I have driven it up the road the idle is perfect.
There is always a burning smell when i start it in the morning, but i presume that this is after the turbo was replaced. As I recall it dumped all the oil into the cylinders and intercooler. Could this oil residue be what is causing the burning smell after a night sat on the driveway?
Anyway, any help on the smoke and lumpy idle much appreciated.
p.s. i have heard rumours about EGR valves - could this be the cause? If so, how do i test to see if the valve is faulty? Read more
I totally agree with aprilla & you could spend a lot of money guessing. Take to a competent diesel specialist & ask for their advice & heed it. Its remotely possible the engine has hydrauliked ( somethink like that) and has a conrod a fraction shorter than the rest causing a slightly lower compression causing a misfire cold .
Have the injectors been recoded? very common problem & they do lose there coding.
Regards Doc
The headlights on my Triumph Sprint motorcycle cosist of 'Projector' lenses. there are 3. 2x Dips and 1x Main. Each contains 55W halogen bulbs. The Dips are adequate but the main very poor for a machine which is well capable of travelling over double the maximum speed limit.
Anyway I have done some research and found aftermarket HID Xenon kits which can be retro fitted to any vehicle. It consists of a bulb and a Ballast Box which has to be sighted within about 18" of the bulb. There is limited space on a motorcycle. I went for a 6000K bulb which gives the whitest light which is infact blue. They consume only 35W.
I had not heard of these kits before my research. The results - Phenominal.
The Dips look yellow in comparison to the main. A huge improvement in safety because I can actually see what is well ahead which is useful on a bike for spotting debris etc.
The cost £109 for the single unit. Double kits can be had for £155, depending on the type of bulb.
These should be standard fit to all vehicles!
--
Fullchat Read more
There is currently one motorcycle with a factory fit HID headlight, the BMW K1200GT. This does not have a headlamp wash system or [I'm sure] a self levelling system. Being factory fit I have to accept it must be legal in the EU, so perhaps for bikes there are slight differences in the law which are not immediately apparent.
I've used an aftermarket kit on my bikes for about 4 years and think they're great but must be well adjusted, and have had no bother with people getting upset/dazzled. Great for safety.
Browse
>>
I cannot help you with adhesive but...
I was visiting my local small plumbers supply place and found a friend there.
He was enquiring about a replacement lid for his toilet cistern.
While we waited a phone call elicited that provided the model number / description ( often under the lid) is supplied then a replacement can be MADE in any colour to the same design for just over £100.
Not cheap unless you compare it with buying a possibly non matching suite and getting one of the boys to swop it.
(A couple of weeks ago I needed to change the 50p siphon diaphragm on mine and it finished up costing me £25 in replacement parts alone and the aggro of realigning / fitting it. )