December 2007
My son recently borrowed his sisters alfa 145 twin spark.
When he returned he informed me the handbrake (also low fluid level)light had come on in the car.
I suspected a burst flexible brake pipe......further investigation tho led to a leaking clutch slave cylinder.
My question is was this caused by abuseie:redlining car and taking of ?
Or was it just a matter of normal wear.......the seal on the "in" side of the piston was pinched while the outter seal was perfect.......to put it bluntly......did the little sod wreck the cylinder?
BTW....80 euro for a new cylinder....shame on you Alfa! Read more
I was looking for more info on this - that doesn't come straight from the horses mouth. What does each feature add to the economy? And what sort of figures are end users actually getting in non-lab conditions?
Tried google but not getting much that isn't fawning press release Read more
max torque is 1800rpm in my car but I'm talking about 1500revs and going down hill - hardly labouring
I had my car stolen over 3 year ago and reported it to the police. When the car was recovered it was found to have accident damage to the front of it. This was reported by the police but there was no mention of an accident so i presumed it had been involved in a collision with a lampost or something. After keeping it off-road for several months I decided to scrap it as it wasn't worth fixing so i didn't inform the insurance. I thought this was the end of the matter but i received a letter from a solicitor of a bus company stating that my car was involved in an accident during the period it was recorded stolen 3 year ago with one of their buses. It states that i must pay £450 within 14 days or they will take it to a county court to retrieve the money. This is the first i have heard of this accident with a bus. Since the car was recorded stolen during this time, and i wasn't the driver, am i liable to pay this? This also happened over 3 year ago so is there any time limit a company can claim? Any advice would be great. Read more
As said give the crime number to the bus company as they are trying to take you for a ride
Drink driving is unforgivable.
However , most of the Backroom will either be hosting or attending family and / or social gatherings over the next couple of weeks at which larger than normal quantities of "festive cheer" will be quaffed. A good time will I hope be had by all.
The awkward part, I find, is when you see someone perhaps getting a bit too "cheerful" to drive. No one wants to be a killjoy but I could never forgive myself if I had not at least tried to help them remember the need to ease up or better still make another arrangement for their travel. The potential consequences to life, limb and licence do not bear thinking about.
What sort of ways do others use to handle this situation in a polite, friendly but effective way which does not cause a scene in the highly volatile environment of the family Christmas or New Year "do" ?
Confrontation is not useful or welcome at such a gathering but nor is subsequent news of tragedy. Read more
"Read news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7147803.stm Act accordingly."
Quote from that item
" fool-proof way ... not drink and drive .... simply to do one or the other."
Just had the Focus MOT'd, and although the front tyres were legal they wouldn't have lasted much longer. The garage suggested Federal Tyres, which I agreed to have fitted. They wern't expensive, but are they any good? Read more
I had some Federals that were made in Morocco. They were hopeless - just couldn't get them to balance.
Peanut
My windscreen washer fluid reservoir is clogged! I've tried to take the windscreen wiper arm off to get at the reservoir but it is welded on, i've tried all manner of losening fluids but to no avail! Has anybody got any suggestions on how to remove the arm or are there any solutions i can put in the reservoir tank that will eat away at the gunk that has collected? I've thought of using sink & plug hole unblocker but it's really harsh! Any suggestions please? Read more
Milton has had several previous mentions - eg
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=56...7
Subaru offers 5-yr warranty on Justy [as per their website]
Not sure about other models though.
Read more
Wonder if they intend to get the cost back though on servicing and parts?
If the cars are reliable it won't cost them anything and there could be additional income through a big increase in service retention beyond year 3.
Swmbo has just sent me a text stating "do you know how to put the fog lights on in the skoda".
I have told her and also advised her I will keep that text for posterity so that the next time she gives me the blank face when I am showing her the controls of the car I will "hit" her with it!
Now, worse case scenario is she is driving in thick fog, unable to see, whilst texting me to find out......
Surely not.......
Women + cars = just shouldn't be allowed!
Just waiting for the next text saying that the lights aren't very bright at which point I will explain the tissue on the light process.......
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2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS Read more
Let us know when you bump into Mr Honda, David. IIRC he died in 1993. ;-)
I've been screwed, absolutely hung, drawn and quartered and wallet blitzed by
a well known motor manufacturer in the purchase of parts for my vehicle.
Their cost for a 7cm long bit of 45mm diam hose and two hose clamps (jubilee clips) a staggering £86.78. (Hose £66.58, clamps x 2 £20.22.. (£86.80) I needed two but only ordered one and had to have a set as I couldn't compare on the vehicle.
On getting the parts I shopped around various factors and came up with a 45mm diam U bend hose that I can get two 7cm parts from at £17.40 and their clamps were £1 each. (£19.40).
A rip off of £67.40.
I'm fuming at this rip off and want scalps. Other than the vehicle Manufacturer which will be like banging ones head against the wall who else can I lodge a complaint with? Officer of Fair Trading and SMMT do not appear to geared up to deal with such matters.
Surely a baN IS SANe on this practice of overcharging.
dvd Read more
Power Sounder for a Corsa £41 plus VAT - Bit much for a fiver's worth of board and components but can't source other than Vauxhall.
In the process of changing it lost a pin from the wheel arch liner and as I was going in to Vauxhall for that also got a clip for the boot carpet and two wheel nut covers (2 lost).
the first part was in stock, boot carpet clip was distribution centre order, wheel nut covers were factory order, took him 10 minutes to locate the parts on the computer system.
I was expecting £10 or so - actual cost around £1.40 for the lot and they let me take the only bit they had in stock away on the understanding that I would pay when the other bits arrived.
I recently bought a car from a Girl racer and am trying to get it back to original spec/looks. I have taken off plastic trims around the headlights, removed a front spoiler but now want to replace blacked out windows. It looks like a thin film of plastic has been stuck on the inside of the windows( (apart from front windscreen). There appears to have a silver effect near the tops of the windows. Does anyone know if this film of plastic can just be peeled off without any trouble? Read more
The film will peel off quite easily with the aid of a hair drier to soften the film.
The trouble starts when removing the glue residue. on the side windows a single edge razor blade will do a grand job, but this method cannot be used on the heated rear screen as there is a very high risk of damaging the heating elements.
Use a glue and tar remover type product, Autoglym do a good one which will be on the shelf at most accessory stores.
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quite common. done a fair few .may have a master cylinder follow shortly as well!
Doc