December 2007
The outer edges of the front tyres are wearing much more than the rest so I think two new tyres plus wheel alignment is in order. Can't remember the last time had to do this so recommendations for some where in Greater Belfast please.
Happy Christmas.
Alan. Read more
Skoda's life under VW ownership has seen them more or less shake off their 'Skoda joke' heritage. Now they are well reviewed and competent cars. But as the Roomster and new Fabia become familiar on the road, I fear that their hit-and miss styling that has more to do with looking different from VWs than aesthetic taste could make Skodas a laughing stock once again!
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It wasn't me. Mrs P rarely goes in it let alone drive it. I am sitting here trying to put off the moment for starting back up to Wales....another half hour then.....
I have been told that my mondeo (after having fuel pump changed) has a blocked fuel tank breather tube, does anyone know where the breather tube is found? Read more
Sounds like a diesel-petrol should be closed circuit-no breather tube fitted-tank pipes go to evap. canister.
are door mirrors an option on cars or are they part of the MOT? i seem to remember years ago that we were advised to remove them from our motorcycles prior to the riding test , ive just looked in the haynes pre MOT check list and all it says is you are required to have a rear view mirror and it must be adjustable....do door mirrors if obligatory need to be adjustable? thanks.......mj
{Header changed as someone around here has a pet hate for them being called wing mirrors - no names mentioned} Read more
>> I think there is something in EC law that requires the external mirror to be
adjustable from the driver's seat.
Not sure this is true, since most van and HGV mirrors are too big and cumbersome to have interior adjustability.
Certainly, mates VW Transporter (no bigger than a tranny) cannot be adjusted from inside and h'es never failed an MOT.
I`m not sure cold, stop start Diesel gets its merits displayed in the official fuel consumption figures.
We often say or hear said, "you have to do over 12,000+ miles before diesels worth it"
It seems to me most of the cars being discussed are bigger vehicles where perhaps use is being made of the power available.
But what if you`re considering a small diesel and the official figures only show a small MPG difference? It would be easy to think, `I`m retired and doing under 10,000 miles a year I need the petrol`.
Thought I would try it out this AM on a typical 6 mile trip to the shops.
Temperature, just below freezing, ice on the screen.
Start and drive straight off, 20mph for a few hundred yards, then onto an urban city road leading out of town. Stop twice at lights, car has heater blower and headlights on as I climb, still in 3rd gear, up onto a ridge, 1 mile further at around 400feet altitude.
At this stage, the temperature gauge is not registering and computer showing 47MPG.
Onto a motorway for two miles running at 60MPH, onto duel carriageway, halting and queuing at lights and roundabouts. 30MPH zone and enter the city from the other side finally arriving at my destination at the same altitude as starting and the temperature gauge still not quite at `normal`.
The computer is showing 63.5MPG for the small common rail diesel.
We got only 31MPG for a loan petrol car over the same journey, no doubt having to run a rich mixture.
This must be a typical journey for many people in winter, in particular those retired or running children around to school etc.
But why do you rarely hear of the big fuel savings on cold, short journey, stop start use with diesel?
(Diesels driven care that is and not booted forward at every gear change with maximum torque)
Could it be that the official fuel consumption tests flatter Petrol? and what would the difference be if the typical short, still not up to temperature run above were introduced as a measurement? where Petrol has to run rich and waste its fuel.
Regards
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"The old beast is increasingly disliking cold starts- have to hold the key in for a good 5-7 seconds to make sure the engine has started, with a plume of white/grey smoke which could easily be mistaken for a steam train! But after 15 seconds, it settles down, the smoke clears and all seems fine."
New glowplugs short sort that out
--
Phil
During Xmas time I intend to visit Scotland (some very northern parts).
I think it will be a good idea to carry surplus petrol in a jerry can.
Now, can I refill a jerry can in a petrol station? Or it is illegal? If yes, then what's the option to carry extra fuel?
And once the petrol is in jerry can, how do I pour it into the petrol tank? I don't think a normal funnel will allow me to pour petrol in car's tank (because of the stopper on mouth of fuel tank).
Thanx.
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I should have added (but forgot) that there is a 24/7 automated filling station at Scourie on the A894 (main road) in west Sutherlandshire. One has to pay by credit card and there is a maximum purchase of (I think) £40. I have used it on one occasion.
See news.scotsman.com/ViewArticle.aspx?articleid=34982...2
Hello
I have a Peugeot 306 1.9 diesel estate 1999.
I'm having trouble starting on a cold and frosty morning.
The car starts but after one or two seconds conks out.
After a few tries I sometimes go in the house and come out five mins later and try again and eventually get it going but it takes quite a few attempts before it's running.
I took it to one garage and they put in new oil and a new starter motor.
A few weeks later I went to another garage and they put in a new fuel pump idle control valve which cost about £20 plus labour. The mechanic said we'll try it,might help, but it hasn't made any difference.
I find that garages don't always know a lot about diesel engines so they experiment....we'll try this we'll try that and see if it works.
The engine is turning over OK but the cold weather is making it difficult to start.
Any advice would be welcomed. Read more
He also put a meter on to check the voltage so I think the glow plugs are OK as the car is starting OK. Pulling in air sounds a distinct possibility. The battery also looks fairly new. I bought the car in July and it's been OK during the summer but now it's getting cold I'd like to get this problem sorted.The fuel may be struggling to get in.
tinyurl.com/35frde
When will we see the first Jaguar Loadbeta on the road then?
RT's subject line (from a later standalone post) copied into this one as encapsulated the subsequent debate Read more
Midlands TV has reported tonight that TATA has been formally named as preferred bidder for Jaguar/Land-Rover.
Workers are concerned that L-R production will move to Halewood with Solihull sold for housing but that's likely whoever buys them, or indeed if they weren't sold.
Given TATA's approach to other UK industries taken over this may not be a bad thing.
Moved into existing recent thread
I had a nail in back tyre and it was repaired. The tyre is flat again and still losing pressure. Is it worth risking another repair attempt or is coughing up nearly £500 for 4 replacement tyres (joy of 4 wheel drive!) my only option?
I did drive off quite soon after the repair was done so is it possible the glue just didn't cure properly and a second go would be successful?
The tyres on it are about 3 years old max. I think there is about 5mm of tread at least on each tyre so there is at least 12 months life in them.
My head says buy 4 new tyres but my wallet is saying no way :-)
teabelly Read more
i wouldnt want a plug repair if i had a nissan gtr,how many cords were broken in the outer casing?
tinyurl.com/ytmfph
tinyurl.com/3dqhxz
Poor car bumper design is costing UK motorists more than £2 billion a year in unnecessary repairs, according to a motoring research centre.
Thatcham, the Motor Insurance Research Centre, says the bumpers on some cars are so weak that an impact of only six miles per hour can be enough to write them off.
On the Suzuki Swift, the combined front and rear repair costs following the six miles per hour crash tests caused £4,600 pounds worth of damage, which would have written off the car.
The Honda CR-V, Citroen C4 Picasso and the Land Rover Freelander 2 were also rated poor for both front and rear bumpers.
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Those really robust unpainted plastic bumpers were the answer, but people wanted fancy and then the icing of metallic paint.
It rubs off too, onto the vans (robust unpainted) bumper, but never mind ;)
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Often overlooked is the fact that all steering components should be checked for wear before adjusting anything, a quick and expensive laser check is impressive and pointless.