November 2007
I've been driving for over 10 years, including various vehicles from work without any problems. I recently acquired a Mondeo III but, can't get used to the clutch!! it stalls very easily when setting off, it needs at least 2000 revs, and changing gear is as smooth as driving over a speed bump unless I ride the clutch. No other car I've driven is anything like this; is this a characteristic or a mechanical problem? (still got 2 months on the warranty!) Read more
There are 3 diesels in the family - and all of us have nnoticed that when we use supermarket fuel (especially Tesco) we get 3 to 5 mpg LESS than we do when we fill up with Shell.
Fortunately, our Shell garage sells at the same price (sometimes cheaper - even with Tesco 5p off a litre) than the local Tesco and Morrisons, but I've tended to use Tesco simply to get Clubcard points.
At £1.10 a litre though, I say stuff the clubcard!
Anyone else noticed this? Read more
Most forecourts give ~0.4999% short measure as the metering systems are incredibly accurate.
If they're that accurate, then why should we legitimately pay this 1/2% extra on an already (comparatively) expensive product?
Hi a mate at work his Mondeo tdci lost power with EML on. Took it to Ford garage. New turbo sir £1000. He took car home and sourced a new turbo for £500, fitted and all's well. On investigation it seems its the vane control stepper motor thats at fault, a little box bolted on to the turbo that talks to the main ECU and operates the intenal boost vanes via a stepper motor and a linkage. You can't buy this seperate as Garret say that it has to be set up to the turbo !!!! Just seems a waste of a good turbo and money. Another reason not to by a diesel though i love driving them. You lads in the trade is this a common fault ?. Regards Read more
It's an unbelievably stupid idea to mount a stepper motor on a turbocharger. >>
Nowhere near as daft as running unit injector pumps off a belt driven camshaft.
borrowed one of these today and kept my 1967 esso map in the glove box
no idea of the make
no idea how to programme it
but it was brilliant
best thing for me?
it shows north so when i came back from whenst i came i knew i was going in the right direction in relation to magnetic north (ive always used my nose before) Read more
where did you get the silent tom tom voice from?
Had the 2.0 litre petrol estate in Zetec trim for the last 4 years or so, it has 146,000 miles on it and am now looking to replace it.
I need the load space offered by an estate car as I transport a variety of loads on a not too infrequent basis (garden waste/furniture/bicycles/surf boards/luggage). A hard wearing interior would also be beneficial as the mondeo is showing the signs of wear from people getting in it still slightly damp.
I have discounted anything smaller than the mondeo estate and have a real hankering for a Nissan Pathfinder, though I would only be able to afford a one which has lots and lots of miles on.
Seriously though, any suggestions would be appreciated. I reckon my car is worth £1200 and I could afford probably about another £7-8,000.
I do on average 10,000 miles a year, am 31 years old and am a Pisces.
P E Read more
Using Falken FK452s currently, very good, premium brand in much of Europe, US and Japan, not so well known here.
At 117K and after only 35K miles my cambelt failed, the AA man reckoned it was a fault with a item driven by the belt perhaps the water pump, not the belt itself.
No matter, I now have a sad engine.
Can anyone tell me what damage to expect, valves and pistons etc.
Does the cambelt drive any auxillary items?
More to the point what shall I replace the car with?
Because the car is in very good condiiton would it be a good idea to have the engine repaired or a replacement sourced?
If the worse has to happen and I scap the car does anyone know of a recycler of Nissan cars in the Swindon/Bristol area?
Thank you one and all. Read more
If the worse has to happen and I scrap the car does anyone know of
a recycler of Nissan cars in the Swindon/Bristol area?
Not necessarily Nissan, but EMR in Swindon (Gypsy Lane, SN2 8DZ) scrap / recyle all makes to an extent.
www.emrltd.com/services.asp?id=4
www.emrltd.com/uploads/depotmaps/Swindon%20map.pdf
Realising that the official mpg figures are not realistic, what can I expect from the Avensis petrol engines?
Is there any evidence of unreliability from the Toyota diesels, having just read the backroom horror stories about other popular diesels (mondeo, et al).
Read more
Realising that the official mpg figures are not realistic
What Car did an article around a year ago on how cars matched up to their official combined figures. The Avensis 2.2 (150) was one of a tiny handful that exceeded the official figures. I seem to recall that big relatively powerful cars match the figures better than smaller cars; in the latter people drive them much harder so do not get near the mpg that is theoretically possible.
My own 2.2 Avensis averaged easily over 50mpg from new (official combined 47.9). Only since the 20000 mile service has it dropped off by a few mpg - not sure what the dealer did but it hasn't helped the fuel economy!
I run two vehicles with 1.5dci engines and am interested in the long term effects of using cetane boosters such as Millers or premium fuels which also claim to have a higher cetane rating. Is any benefit short term as in it's great for a few k then the engine will suffer from premature wear or failure or are these things good for long trem ownership? No real help from the fuel companies or the makers of additives, naturally.
Read more
Typical diesel clatter is "knocking" modern diesel incorporate knock sensors to optimise injection timing to minimise knock and hence improve refinement.
Hi there,
i've got a pretty old 1999, 110,000 miles ford focus 1.6 LX, and last week the cam belt went on it. I'm thinking i'll just drop a new engine in it, but i can't seem to find anyone who knows about the compatability of the engine types...
I think they've changed the engine from 1999 ish onwards, so i would guess that mine is the old type. Does anyone know if old and new are compatible?
Are the 1.6 zetec engines in older ford escorts the same?
Thanks for your responces,
Tom Read more
Escort Zetec is very different, the one on the Escort is more of a modified CVH 16v engine than a true zetec in the modern sense of the world
Is it possible to use sunflower oil in a 307 hdi i used to have a 306 1,9 diesel and it ran fine on a mix of diesel and sunflower oil but does it work in the new hdi engine. Read more
Thanks for the advice i think i will give the oil a miss to be
honest!
Do a Google search for "ring gumming" or read this (description of ring gumming starts half way down the first post):
www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/viewthread.php?...3
I know you mentioned using a blend of veg oil/ diesel rather than pure veg oil, but who knows what blend, if any, is safe in a common rail engine? You could have a twin tank system professionally installed but they will not warranty the work.
:o(
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Ask the dealer to look at adjusting or replacing the clutch pedal position sensor.