August 2007
Hi All,
About to replace 2 of my tyres with Michelin Primacy's which have proved themselves to be sticky, quieter than the OE Pirelli's and Goodyears and have lasted nearly 3 times longer than the Goodyears (and an extra 10k more miles than the Pirelli's).
The question is: What is the difference between Primacy HP's and standard Primacy's?
The Michelin Website does not narrow it down showing both types but not showing what the difference might be. I am running on 4 x HP versions at present.
Anyone any ideas? Read more
Going back to an original problem I had here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=42212&...e
I have since bought a new alternator
Due to electrics problems, I bought myself an internal volt meter, which enables me to see the voltage as I drive the car.
I bought a new battery the other day thinking that my previous one was getting abit old now, so that may be a weak point.
For the first day or so of having the new battery, whilst driving, the voltage showed 13-13.5 volts.
But now, just a few days later, the voltage while driving drops to 11.7v.
At night, with the lights on, and the bloweres on, the voltage is barly above 11 volts.
Is there anything else that could be draining the voltage?
As I said, I have changed the alternator, and the battery.....both in the last 6 months.
Shouldn't the nomal running voltage be at least 13 volts? Read more
I called my girlfriends dad to try and jump start my car. It still wouldn't start, and the jump leads were getting rather warm.
So I resorted to calling the RAC out expecting to have them tow me to the garage.
The RAC man immediately managed to jump start my car.
He checked the voltage, and agreed it was low, and then checked to make sure all the relays in the fusebox under the bonnet were ok....they were.
He thought it could be the alternator, but commented it looked new, and I confirmed this by telling him it was only aboout 6 months old.
He then removed the 3 pin connetor on the alternator, and looked at it.
He noticed that the middle pin of the plastic plug was slightly melted, and came to the conclusion that the spade connector wasn't making a good connection.
He fiddled with it, and bent it slightly in order that it would make a better connection....and it did.
Voltage immediately went up to 14volts, and there was a charge going through to the battery.
He suggested replacing the 3 pin connector.
He went away, and I took the car for a drive, and the voltage remained at 13+volts
When I put main beam on, and the blowers, the voltage goes down to a minimum of 12.6volts now.
I still took the car to the garage for them to check it over....and the conclusion they came to was that the 3 pin alternator connector needed replacing.
They did this, and it cost me £32 to have that replaced, and the rest of the charging circuit checked. All else was fine.
Thanks for your helpful suggestions guys....at least I have made some changes that needed to be made.
Would it be a good idea to change the alternator belt now?....also the power steeering pump belt?...hoepfully to try and get rid of this squeal?
Sorry this is so long winded.....but I thought it best to include as much info as possible to help anyone else with similar problems
Could anyone advise me as to the difficulty in fitting a new clutch pedal on my vw golf gt tdi 1.9 mk 4, year 2002.
Part of it broke off(a plastic bit) while i was driving it and the breakdown service man put a temporary bolt through it to get me home. Now i am having difficulty in engaging gears especially reverse.
Could this be because the pedal is not depressing fully?
To fit a replacement pedal, do i have to remove any of the fascia panels, steering wheel or centre console and do i need any special tools to hold the clutch spring? while replacing the pedal?
I understand that the latest pedals have replaced the plastic bit with metal cos its a common fault.
Thanks
{car details added to header as per the yet again ignored sticky messages - DD} Read more
Brillo- further to previous, associate got the piece welded back onto pedal and reassembled it earlier, currently have the missus test driving it, he couldn't put small spring back in but apparently is not that important (?)
I saw a used car valued at £12,000 at an independent dealer and put a deposit of £500 down. A trade in on amy old car worth £5,000 was also agreed as part of the deal.
The deposit was paid on the condition that work was done to the car.
In the week between putting down the deposit and collecting the car I was offered an alternative deal for a better car, which would leave me better off even if I lost the deposit on the first car.
I went back to the dealer, saw the car again and was not happy with all the work done, although I did not clearly state this at the time. I did explain that I'd seen a better car and been offered a better deal elsewhere. The dealer refused to negotiate the deal being offered.
I walked away, apologising and accepting that I would lose my deposit. I immediately wrote to the dealer, explaining the situation and confirming I wouldn't be buying the car.
I bought the other car, which I'm happy with.
Two weeks later I have received a letter from a law firm saying I will be in breach of contract if I don't buy the first car and liable for losses amounting to nearly £2,000. No evidence of what these losses are have yet been provided.
My household insurance legal advice line says the dealer can indeed recover any losses incurred from my not proceeding with the deal - inclding the cost of works done to the car. Since these works were required to make the car worth what the dealer was asking I find that hard to accept.
I'm feeling this is grossly unjust, as I consider the reasonable losses the dealer suffered are covered by the deposit.
I will be pushing to see what these losses are before accepting any further liability, but wonder if there's anything else I can do.
Anyone else suffered such an experience ? Any advice on gettiong a fair outcome ?
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Update and possible conclusion
Recap: I put a deposit of £500 on a car on the condition work was done to it to make it worth the asking price. Not all the work was up to standard. I saw a car elsewhere in better condition at a lower price. I wanted to renegotiate the price of the car I put a deposit on ? the dealer refused. I walked away and the dealer said I was in breach of contract and liable for losses of nearly two grand.
After the dealer?s solicitor offered me effectively an out of court settlement for £1750 and my asking for justification of the costs ? nothing, for more than a week. My thoughts at that time were that he would just go to court and justify the costs immediately prior to court proceedings. I didn?t want to go to court.
I had been aware from the time I first looked at the car that the dealer was a member of the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF), who operate a conciliation service for disputes. I wrote to the RMIF asking for the matter to be referred to this service.
Whether a coincidence or not, two days later I got a one page letter from the solicitor outlining some costs ? totalling £1600 including a loss of £700 for having sold the car for less than I?d agreed to pay. I replied to this, accepting some costs ? such as carrying out an MOT ? and not accepting in full other costs ? such as the cost of a service ? since in my view they could easily have sold the car having been serviced a week or two ago as yesterday.
I argued that I wasn?t liable for the work not done properly and I would have suffered losses in having to go back another day to pick the car up. I sent a cheque for £550, meaning I?m now £1050 out of pocket in total, due to the £500 paid previously. I?ve heard nothing for two weeks since, other than the RMIF saying they?ve written to the dealer for his response to my letter to them. I?m fairly sure this will be an end to it. I?m glad I bought my car somewhere else.
Warning to all:
Pay a deposit for anything and you?re entering a legally binding contract. If you want to back out you?re potentially liable for any losses the seller can argue he?s incurred. These losses can be up to the full purchase price, not the value of the deposit. These recoverable losses include any works done ? even if they are needed to justify the agreed price. I wasn?t aware of this ? until it cost me dear. Be very careful.
I have a Vauxhall Movano on a 2000 W plate. 2.8 TD engine. Does this have a rubber cam belt that required changing, or does it use a chain-cam (hopefully!)
Thanks, Dan Read more
Screwloose's info is correct as per Vauxhall's recommendation - Nov 2006.
img501.imageshack.us/img501/6703/movanobz9.jpg
I have just bought my daughter a 1.1 Saxo SX. All fine, except the heater blower in the car doesn't work. When the switch is turned on, the engine revs reduce which I assume means that power is getting through to the switch, but not activating the blower.
Not being very car mechanically minded, is this a common fault? Is it likely to be the fan is seized or possibly something else? Any help would be very gratefully received.
Thank you
Richard1159
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Richard,
I can see you're new to the site, go to "Forum Search" on the right, put "saxo" and "Heater" into the subject line and search and you should find the threads mentioned, this is why we ask for the model and fault in the subject line....
I've just purchased a Vauxhall Movano van and whilst the gear change works perfectly well and goes into/out of gear without problems, the changing feels rather "loose" and "vague". Is this down to worn/stretched linkages? The gear lever is linked to the gear box with what looks like "bicycle brake cables" (sorry its late and I cannot find the appropriate name for them :) )
Is this a maintenance issue I can deal with myself, i.e tighten up or replace the linkages?
Thanks, Dan Read more
Dan
Yes those Renaults do get that way once they've done some serious miles. New Bowden cables might help; but the slackness may be everywhere.
Got a strange fault on a micra headlight one side. 12v is present when I check with meter but when the bulb is put back it drops to 0v. Suspect a dry joint somwhere on that side wiring.
Haynes manual refers to a dim/dip unit that I want to trace but I cant find it. Haynes as usual does not show where it is.
Any ideas appreciated? Read more
No problem - am only "experienced and helpful" when it comes to Nissans though! Dim/dip relay is a common fault on a lot of Nissans, glad you got it sorted.
I've just purchased a van that came fitted with a tachograph and I'm worried that I've let myself in for trouble. The vehicle is a 3.5t gross, so doesn't need a tacho by law, but I've been told some fleet companies use them on standard vans. For a start, I haven't a clue how to use the thing, or what all the controls on it do. When I come to take the vehicle for an mot in a few months time, are they going to insist I have calibration/checks done on the tacho, or can it just be ignored?
Are there any sites on the net that take you through the operation of the things?
Thanks,
Dan Read more
Thinking a bit more about it, they would not be able to get out of the working time directive, so they would have to stop for 30 minutes after 6 hours of work now, just like we all have to.
I have driven both and what like to hear peoples views on what they believe is the better engine?
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Bear in mind that this thread was started in August 2007, and that the 2.0 engine being considered was the PD.
Since 2009 VW, followed with some delay by Skoda, have been replacing it with the CR engine, which is quieter and smoother, but hasn't been around for long enough for a judgement to be made on whether it can cope as well with six-figure mileages as the 1.9 TDI.
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Hi Rodger,
The difference is that the HP's are the latest version of the Primacy. The stock of the others he had was old stock. They are on Michelin's website but they are not currently produced. You chose the right ones anyway.
The HP's that I had fitted are still going strong 25,000 miles on with 4mm left at the fronts. This is pretty staggering considering the torque of the D5 engine and the way I drive. They are more susseptable to aquaplaning but that is the only negative. The main possitive apart from the wear rate is the dramatically improved fuel consumption. I went from 47.9mpg with the Pirellis and Goodyears to now averaging over 55mpg. This may also have something to do with the engine being more settled after 88,000 miles but the instant improvement when I put the new tyres on was an extra 5mpg. Havn't done the maths but suspect that improvement has paid for the tyres pretty much already, certainly covered the extra cost over other tyres.
I too prefer the 16" wheels and think the 17" ones would have broken my spine by now when allied to the not-so-compliant suspension.
Sadly I will not be able to update any further as my S60 is being traded in on Friday for a nice shiny new 5 Series BMW Touring. I wish the new owner (whoever they end up being) a happy time in my lovely Volvo!