June 2007
Mum and dad are both retired, and having done a few far flung trips since quitting work a year or two ago, they're keen to see all the places in the UK they haven't been to yet.
Dad's got his heart set on a camper van, and mum seems to like the idea too. I got excited at the mention of camper van, thinking of a cute VW one that I could steal/borrow, but apparently you pay a premium for a VW one so dad's looking at others. Today he looked at a Bedford one, I think.
Anyone any experience of buying camper vans? What to look for? Common areas of concern?
Thank you! Read more
Hi all,
Well I have been giving my new 51 plate 4life a service..I had noticed a slight intermittent 'noise' from the front end..sounded a little like a bearing....
any way, whilst removing all the belts I discovered the A/c idler pulley bearing was shot..no worries there, but more concerning is that when I put everything back together and started her up there was something not right with the alternator pulley......
basically I noticed that the alternator pulley on the crankshaft pulley was moving slightly...very strange, on further inspection it seems the outer alternator pulley is not connected to the main crank pulley...I can actually move it forwards and backwards with a screw driver.....
please let me say that the 'crank pulley' it self is very secure to the crank...
the pulley made up of 4 'groves' .......going from the Rad end:
1 = A/c Belt Grove
2 = Power Steering Belt Grove
3 & 4 = Alternator belts Grove
3&4 are moving on the main pulley........I'm guessing the pulley is not made from one solid machined piece and the alternator pulleys are pressed or friction welded to the others...this seems to have come a drift....
the pulley can be seen here...the rear two groves are the alternator ones that can move?
i126.photobucket.com/albums/p114/murray_photos/Pul...g
Has anyone experienced this? does anyone know what this pulley is fitted to the crank pulley (interferance fit? friction weld?)
Any Help Appreicated.....also, changing th water pump....huge task or no big deal?
Thanks Read more
Finally........my hyd puller was too big to fit during the main stroke cycle.......so after lots of head scratching and the decision that the A/c rad could not really be taken out I slacken the engine mounts and pushed the engine back about 1.5"...that gave my about 4 turns on my puller, I then spent that last hour bent over in the rain slow getting her off.....some pink flufffy dice had locited the the pulley to the crank.......
anyway, the good news is the key way is fine........I going to surf the web a little tomorrow for a full cam belt kit, new pulley etc, etc..I know that Milners do them but I have been screwed about by them in the past when I was doing some work on Fourtraks......
Right, bottle of Rioja now open.....
During a 100 mile journey yesterday the engine cut out on two separate occasions, each time the symptoms were as if I'd turned off the ignition i.e. the ignition controlled functions went off as well as the fuel cut-off, but both times everything restored within two or three seconds without any intervention on my part. Fortunately both times the problem caused awkwardness but was not life threatening; however as it has happened twice it is likely to be reoccurring.
The weather wasn't wet or hot and the only clue is that both times I was using the indicators, however on the second occasion the hazards worked, so I think the only significance is the higher current draw from the flasher unit.
I am comfortable around basic vehicle electrics but the momentary intermittence of this fault is going to be challenging, so I am hoping someone may have come across this before. A poster on a Fiat Ducato forum apparently had exactly the same problem a couple of years ago, he called out the RAC who couldn't help as the fault had disappeared but suggested it might be the ignition switch. Unfortunately there were no replies or a follow-up post on that forum, however I've got much more faith in the backroom!
I will check all the obvious things today; ignition switch connections, fusebox connections, earths, but my fear is that the problem may be associated with the factory immobiliser or the aftermarket alarm which is linked to this; these are a black art to me; are these likely to cause such a fault?
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One mans junk is another mans treasure Read more
We have a 1988 Fiat Ducato campervan conversion and the engine on ours cuts out but generally only when its torrential rain. We pull over and wait til rain stops 20 mins or so and it just seems to start again. It must be a general fiat problem as I've heard of this happening with fiat punto as well.
Does anyone know when the cam-belt should be changed on this car (1.6 Zetec SE engine).
Is it just on mileage or is it age as well ? Read more
Thanks for all the replies, so at 4 years andd 29K miles I wont have to worry about this while we have the car.
Is it possible to install a Cd multichanger in an '05 Tino which has single CD player is fitted as standard. I particularly want to know if it can be connected into the system so that it can be operated from the console/steering wheel controls. If it can be done, does anyone know where I can acquire the necessary adaptor ("Connect2" don't do one).
s Read more
Hi Andy
I have decided to put up with the single cd player even though I had the multi play on the previous Tino. The gear changing issue has been resolved I was not pushing the gear lever far enough over to the left!
Tyre noise not had a problem currently got Dunlop 205's SP Sports and previously have used Michelin Energy's without a problem other than having problems getting them balanced correctly.
Have you had any problems with diesil air mass filter. I have currently a post running as the engine suddenly loses power as if the rev limiter cuts in. Other posters have replied and stated similar problems. Any views?
Scot
SNIPQUOTE!
Yes, another possible problem. When I bought the Mondeo (1997 2 litre Model) the guy told me he had filled it up with fuel. I now know that he is a habitual liar.
The fuel guage reads MAX all the time, even with ignition off. Is the car full of fuel or is it just shorting out causing it to read max?
I guess my main question is;
Should the fuel gauge return to 'empty' with the ignition off. I know some cars where the gauge stays up but should THIS one??
Cheers!! Read more
What about the trip computer?, this tells you how many miles you have left?
is a guide to the position. It does fall non incrementally. I have averaged 36mpg on holiday in Ireland over 1500 mls ( 2L Estate)
as for keys, dealer charged me £130 for a new programmed fob and key, I could not live with just one and a 'spare'
Hi there,
my friend has a 1998 R, vauxhall corsa 1.0 12v. When she is driving along, the engine revs fine, and all is well. Until she comes to a stop, as the engine returns to idle, the revs drop to 400rpm, and the accelerator has to be used to prevent it from stalling. Once the accelerator has been pressed, and the engine revved to about 1500rpm, the revs will return to normal idle speed.
Does anybody know what this may be?? and if it will be expensive??
Cheers
Dan Read more
Last time i had one of these wonderful 3 potters i changed the whole single point injector lump from a low mileage breaker.
As eacdea says its the stepper motor usually ,you can tell by putting the ignition on and the thing goes in out in out and probably shakes all about.
Fix it and shoot it away OP as you will be replacing the maff next and these are still £150 for this model if you buy one with a name on like bosch rather than kaboschk
A small problem but frustrating....
My Audi A3 (2001) is just back from the garage and they have not fitted the driver's door trim correctly. The triangular plastic corner piece where the mirror is will not push firmly up to its proper postiton. It seems to be because a metal bracket is preventing it. The lower trim can't sit properly either and is preventing the door from shutting properly without damaging the trim. Does anyone know what i need to do to quickly fix this my self ??
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The door panel is held in place with hook type fittings, the panel slides up to remove it.
At the front and back top corners of the panel is a small plastic cover that slides up the reveal a cross head screw, remove these and the panel will slide up off the hooks.
What I imagine has happened is that when putting the panel back on the car one of the hooks hasn't lined up with it's hole. It is a bit fiddly to get all the hooks to line up together to drop the panel back on, so you might have to have a few goes.
I have a peugeot 307 with alloys and locking wheel nuts, one of the nuts is refusing to move with the "nut key", it just pushes the "key " off the nut, has anybody got any ideas how to remove it without damaging the wheel? they are factory fitted and are set back into the wheel by about 3/4" so it is hard to get a chisel in to try and persuade it round.
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Just thought I'd add the advice from my recent thread on a stuck security nut on a Prelude.
I took the advice to hammer an old socket onto it and try to turn it with something bigger than the standard wheelbrace.
It worked fine - except for the pulled arm muscle.
Now I know how easy it is for the toerags to get these nuts off I don't think I'll bother with them again.
We've had floods hereabouts and I doubt Mrs H will have been particularly timid on her commute. We both know where the air intake is. She rang me up to say the temperature gauge (not really a gauge but a collection of yellow, orange and red lights) was showing maximum when she started the car after work. It showed cold, as it would when the car had been standing, then all the lights came on with a sound alarm. The car was clearly not overheating and there was liquid in the expansion bottle. When she got home, the gauge showed 3 lights (normal after a short run) and about a minute later showed all the lights with the alarm. It's trying to tell me something, but what?
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land Read more
Well I've got over my fit of the vapours and we've got a working C3 again. The radiator cooling fan had developed an internal fault causing a short after a few seconds running. The so-called maxi-fuse feeding the fan was blown; this puts the temp. lights on. The temperature sensor replacement was a red herring; but I felt it worth the £10 gamble at the level of knowledge I had a week or two ago. The rad. fan has been replaced with a modified version; there's now a 45 amp relay strapped to a hose that wasn't there before.
My guess is that Mrs H, having been stuck in a queue waiting for traffic to clear a stretch of flooded road , tackled the deep water too quickly and while the rad. fan was running, either submerging it or otherwise causing it to fail.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
Edited as per your request ! -PU
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>>damn things are even slower than
Not all of them, my Brother's California will manage 0-60 in 11 seconds and cruise at 180kph.