October 2007
Hello,
The window on the offside front of my Polo has suddenly become very stiff - the first couple of inches winds up/down relatively smoothly but if I wind it halfway/fully down the handle is very difficult to turn. I'm almost snapping the handle to wind it back up!
Any likely suspects? I'm going to be removing the inside panel at the weekend for a look around.
{inserted year of car into header (found from a previous post of yours) - hope it is correct? - DD} Read more
Some of you may already read the 'Police Inspectors' blog and would have already read this:
inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/speedwago.../
Here's a snippet of the post to give you the jist of the story:
"An enormous pile of Ruralshire tax-payers money has just been converted to Japanese yen in the form of the new 4 x 4 police vehicles.
Sunday night produced my first opportunity to legitimately* deploy the F Division ozone burner. A stolen Transit had ?made off? through some woods from one of our night duty patrols after a failed ATM ram-raid."
The post goes on to explain why they are unable to use the 4x4 to give chase to the stolen transit.
So what a complete waste of money and how disapointing to hear of the struggles the inspector has with the 'system'. Things need to change so our money is spent on allowing the police to get on with their real job.
Seems very comical to me that a transit van can go off road but a 4x4 can't.....
BTW - the blog is very good and well worth adding to your favorites.
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What is the general view on the VAG DSG gearbox after the VAG warranty expires - will it enhance or reduce the value of a car? Read more
Everytime I'm in the Aygo manual and in heavy traffic (50 minutes to do 4 miles the other night) I remember one of the reasons I chose DSG - no aching left leg having to constantly dip and release the clutch!
Lovely looking car that makes the new Laguna seem even blander than it already did, and even makes the new A4 look a touch plain. But maybe a bit too generic for die-hard Citroen fans to call it a 'real' Citroen, especially as only the top models get hydro-pneumatics. Read more
Says in the article that "A soft mode provides optimum comfort while a firmer mode delivers greater body control. A ?Sport? mode can also be selected for an even more dynamic ride."
HJ - Do you know if this choice of driving modes will be available on the manual, as currently the sport mode is on the auto only.
Personally, I think that making it available on the manual as well, which will always be the biggest seller in the UK, could make it a winner, as it may remove the age old critisism of the C5 as being too floaty - people can have floaty if they want but can otherwise as well.
Do you use additional security on your brand new car? I am referring to cars which are less than 5 years old. These cars tend to be fitted with immobiliser and code transmitter in the key fob which makes it hard to hot-wire a car. Just wonder if anyone use stoplok etc.
I know those with high performance cars will sometimes be asked to fit tracking devices or additional devices by the insurers.
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When I had VWs the second press of the button disabled the deadlocks but had nothing to do with the alarm. There was a button on the B pillar (low down) on the driver's side that disabled the alarm.
The Vauxhalls and Ford I have had needed two presses for deadlocks.
I have the choice of a 406 hdi gtx (125K) OR a vectra DTI (120K) both on an X plate and both are under £3,000, Ive test driven both, The vectra pulls better or seems to at least i can feel when the turbo kicks in and has FSH, the peugeot 406 has history upto 100k but owner says he serviced it himself there on in.
Couldnt feel when the turbo kicked in on the 406 (is this normal ?) and the clutch biting point was very high....normal ? ready for a new clutch maybe ?
The vectra seems better but i keep reading a load of horror stories about engine managment etc etc.........
Im just really confused which one to go for, any advice which would cost me less in the long run ? and which is more reliable ? and which is cheaper on parts and repair should anything go wrong ?
Advice please guys :)
Many thanks.
Subject line changed.
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Yes but the OP was six years ago! Why do people resurrect these old threads for no good purpose?
Can anyone tell me how long it takes to change the cambelt on a 1989 Jetta TD?
The car I want to buy is way overdue and I want to know roughly what it might cost.
Many Thanks
Duplicate of a post in Discussion, that post now locked
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Book says 1.6 hours
obviously all the men that know how to do these are all now in retirement homes mind ,so allow 3 hours ;-)
My Neighbour has a Hyundai Accent P reg 1.3.
The headlights will not switch off when the stalk is rotated to the off position.
The backlights work with the switch which I guess rules out the switch.
In the fuse box there is a relay marked H/Lamp.
I have tried the horn relay in it's place but still the headlights stay on.
The owner reported a burning smell under the bonnet but I couldn't smell anything.
The main lights fuse has been removed to prevent the battery going flat overnight.
Anyone got any ideas?
Thanks Read more
I have the same problem with a similar car. Did you ever find a solution?
In my case, removing the headlight relay has no effect on the lights, they stay on regardless, which is very puzzling....
Anyone heard from him- it doesn't seem as though he has been around for over a month?
Hope all is well! Read more
Been in touch with him he's O.K.
Sorry guys,another pierburg problem---My vaux 1600 has a pierburg 2E carb and it's always been a pain.
I don't want another winter with choke hassle so I must fix it.
It fires up ok and runs for a few secs then goes onto megachoke and runs slower and slower until it dies.
I can keep it running by using the accelerator,the engine speed will increase ,but it's still chugging away.
After a couple of mins it will run well enough to drive.
I've checked all the vacuum pipes and the power to the auto choke and vacuum switch-OK.
What else should I be doing??---I also think that the thermostat is stuck open 'cos the gauge takes a week to get going and the heater is never really hot but I don't think this will effect the cold start problem--will it??
Any advice please?!! Read more
then goes onto megachoke and runs slower and slower until it dies.
I can keep it running by using the accelerator,the engine speed will increase ,but it's still chugging away.
Is the choke pull down working properly? Looking from the front of the car, into the engine bay, with the air filter off, it's the large black vacuum diaphragm on the front right hand side of the carb. If you suck on the vacuum pipe, you should see the mechanism move, and be able to build up vacuum. If you can just keep sucking fresh air, the diaphragm is split.
Another difficult fault on these carbs is the bi-metal spring in the autochoke can break loose of its mountings. To check this, take the auto choke off, and try and wiggle the central pin which holds the spring to the housing - if it wiggles, you need a new one.
Check to make sure that the choke mechanism is all free and working - it should be oiled during a service, but I suspect many mechanics more used to fuel injection will forget about that service aspect.
Number_Cruncher


But why do police forces buy them? LR Defender I can understand but not a tarts trolley....
Good question ...because the maker sells them at a massive discount and so the Police will drive around in a Mercedes ML and Joe Public goes ..oh well they must be good because the police have them ..wrong the accounts said yes the guys on ground say give me a car that does x,y,z well and we will be happy.
Quite a few Police hate the cars they drive because they give them back ache, don't have enough room for kit etc Yet the Omega, Rover 827 and Volvos will gone down as generally well loved