November 2007
Hi there, I have a 1998 Escort turbo diesel estate with the Endura engine without the intercooler. I bought it last week with a suspected injection pump problem. I asked the guy when the problem started and he said it was used daily for years with no problems, until he went on holiday for two weeks. When he came back the idle was unsteady, it was smokey, there was a lack in power, slow to rev, poor MPG e.t.c. I have changed the fuel filter, blead the fuel system, checked for air in the fuel system, cleaned egr valve, used injector cleaner in the fuel e.t.c. I have noticed that instead of the turbo coming in at around 1500-2000 rev's as it should, it comes on at 4000-4500 rev's, when this happens it runs like a dream until the rev's drop below 2000 rev's and then there appears to be no boost again. Occasionally it will catch me out when pulling off because it does actually work sometimes, but just as quick, it doesn't work properly again. I have read about the advance solenoid, will this cause the problems I've described if faulty? How would I go about checking if this is at fault. When I turn the ignition on I hear one loud click, which I think is the throttle position sensor, and a series of quieter clicks very quickly. Many thanks in advance. Martin Read more
hi,
picking up civic today.
a few questions, what's the mpg like, any owners out there?
and is it a chain or belt?
i presume chain.
any owners with any views on the car, mines 2002 model.
thanks Read more
thanks for that.
bit surprised about the belt but i won't be too concerned, as any belts that have snapped haven't been honda ones really have they.
obviously i will get it changed in a year or two though.
My Focus is using an excessive amount of engine oil. Every 1000 miles the oil level on the dipstick falls from Maximum to Minimum and obviously requires topping up once again. The car has done 109000 miles, at such a high mileage I would expect some use of oil but not this much. I have checked around the engine for leaks and not found any. There is no oil dropping down from the engine on to the floor (even put sheet of cardboard under engine overnight to detect any oil leak drips). There are no visable signs of oil being burnt out of the exhaust and no smell of burning oil inside the car. The car is running normally performance wise except for some engine 'pinking' under load at low revs.I am confused as to a possible cause of this problem, has anyone had a similar problem or can suggest anything please? Read more
jimbob
There have been oil consumption issues with that engine. They were often run in on full synthetic, which stopped some of them bedding-in the rings and they will always use a bit of oil.
One litre per 1000 miles isn't desperate - just keep it topped up, as the last one I saw do this was allowed to run out of oil and these can't be rebuilt.
The new engine was properly commissioned and doesn't use a drop, but a few litres of oil would have been a lot cheaper.....
Hope someone has some ideas on this!
My Mum has a 54 reg Jazz which has been for it's first MOT today at 20 000 miles.
Although it passed (after two new front tyres were fitted beforehand) it had an advisory that, quote, " The steering system is slightly tight"
The friend who took it for her remarked when he returned it to Mum that the steering was indeed a lot tighter than one would expect for that car. Mum never noticed it as she only drives her car and no others to compare it with. I suggested she checked the PAS fluid level although I cant imagine that would need topping up.
I also asked her if she had bumped up any kerbs and her momentary pause said it all; it appears she does this often : o (
I said she might have damaged the rack - is this possible, probable or not?
Thanks as always for any input
Stuart Read more
Update on my Mum's Jazz steering.
Firstly, thanks to Simon who indicated that the car should have a three year warranty.
My Mum thought it was two years so she managed to get the car into Honda within a few days of the warranty expiring.
Honda confirmed that it needed a new steering rack and said that the car was DANGEROUS to drive as it was.
This was rather alarming as the car had passed it's first MOT a few days before with just an advisory on the steering.
Mum was given a hire car and told that the part would take a few days to arrive and then work would start. I told her to call the garage and say that no work should be done until it has been confirmed that the cost is covered under warranty.
Honda dealer called back when the part had arrived to say that the work would be carried out under warranty.
My Mum was very impressed by the Honda Dealer who kept her informed very well. She asked the service receptionist what the fault was with the rack (well, I asked her to ask!!) and the mechanic who did the work actually called her back and said it was 'wear and tear' and that they had 'done a few of these'.
At 20,000 miles that is a bit worrying but overall Mum is happy, the car that she raves about is back and she has no bill to pay, again thanks to Simon who alerted me to the fact that the car should have a three year warranty
SWMBO and I have decided we want a good DVD recorder as a Christmas present to ourselves, one which will be all singing and dancing, ie able to record and playback on all digital and analogue channels without a problem, ie you can watch and record at the same time without having to watch the channel you are recording from.
Also it must be easy to set up, I am a technophobe when it comes to these things.
Currently we have a 36 inch Panasonic television with an integrated digibox so can get most of the Freeview channels and a DVD player and Video ( remember those !) connected to it . The video can only record the analogue channels.
Price is not a major issue.
We did a little bit of research and it looks like we need a hard drive recorder but any recommendations from those of you who know about these things would be appreciated.
Read more
Available at Lidl from the 22nd. November. See their website www.lidl.co.uk
Just stocking up for the winter mornings and saw this.
Anybody tried it??? Did I waste my money??? Read more
More likely that the blades were bagged overnight. In N Norway we removed the oil and fuel from the helicopters as the fuel went to jelly and the oil became so viscous it would not flow round the engine after start-up. Both were kept in heated tanks until needed. The temp was -20C down to -45C...
Done 1300 miles in C4 Picasso EGS. Have noticed that on cold mornings car fails to change from 2nd to 3rd and then 3rd to 4th whilst in "auto" mode, I have to use paddle to change up. Has happened a couple of times whilst warm too. Have tried feathering or booting the go pedal to no avail, end up doing 40 in 2nd......no change up.
Took it in to Citroen and technicians say no fault showing, but you can expect gears to stick until car warms up. I say fiddlesticks to that. Time will tell and see if it gets worse.
Any other EGS users find the same thing happening? Read more
Thanks for your input Aprilla, appreciated. Not being the slightest bit technically competent, I have given the benefit of doubt for now but I closely questioned the guy on the service desk using my old Hercule Poirot powers of deduction:
1. If it is a known element of EGS why didn't they say so when I booked the car in at 8am today? They told me the news at 5;50pm.
2. Why has it only started after 3 weeks of ownership and not before? i.e. it has been pretty cold on a number of days for the past three weeks too.
3. Why did it happen after 70 mile journey? surely it was nicely warmed up by then?
4. Why does it change ok from 1 to 2, then 4 to 5 to 6, but not 2 to 3 or 3 to 4?
Answer? "If it happens again, call and we will come out" I will hold them to that, but intermittent faults are hard to get to the bottom of aren't they.
Now, some of you may think that I change my car more than I change my underwear... but, yet again, I seek counsel. This time on a rather different proposition than normal: as I am "between jobs" but start one very soon, I have purchased a cheap but seemingly immaculate Mercedes 190 2.0. No fuel injection or any of that fancy nonsense, bog standard 2 litre, G reg model.
Any tints and hips from ex-owners or knowledgeable types? First impressions are that they appear to be indestructible.... I am thinking it is old-school over-engineered Merc! Read more
I had an H reg 1.8E which I sold with 200,000 miles and it still drove beautifully (and had original engine, gearbox and clutch).
One thing to look out for - the driver's side font suspension on mine collapsed whilst I was driving it (luckily not on the M42 which I had just left!). The top housing for the coil spring had corroded away and the spring popped out onto the road and that side of the car collapsed. And it had recently passed its MOT. Had it re-welded into place but sold it shortly afterwards. Worth getting this checked carefully IMO.
Otherwise a great car. Change the oil every 6k and the engine will go on for ever!
Pat
Do I need to use the recomended Skoda coolant when doing a complete change? or is this the usual "trying to get you to use the main dealer stuff". Also is it an easy job? Read more
Use VAG G12, price wise it's on a par with any other anti - freeze.
I got mine from a VAG dealer, cheaper than my local Skody dealer.
I have a 306 estate with rear discs and could do with adjusting it slightly as its starting to slip on hills
I have done this via the centre console but i think 1 calliper is tightning more than the other
is there a way of tightning the handbrake another way
cheers Read more
Back off the handbrake adjustment fully ...
Remove rear wheels ...
Check levers on calipers are moving freely ...
If not remove the cables at the levers and use release oil to free them ...
Make sure the levers are back at their stops then without the cables on start engine and press the brake pedal a few times ...
Then refit cables and adjust ... not to tight ... If there too tight they don't let the calipers self adjust ...
If the levers seize up again the next time you check them ... new calipers are required ...
Browse
Hi Kotch. The solenoid in question looks like this:-
tinyurl.com/3d2mrz
You can see the wires going into it. The wires are connected to the multi plug thats clipped onto the slam panel just above the radiator, the plastic trunking that you will see also holds the wires for the stop solenoid and the potentiometer on top of the throttle lever. If there isn't any wires connected to the solenoid then that would explain a few things.
Wow congratulations you win second prize for the longest ever link (175 characters long): Miraculously shrunk to 25 by the use of some internet trickery (TinyURL) to just 25 thus making the post readable !