December 2007
Good evening to all, I hope someone can help me, or at least confirm what I'm thinking. My recently aquired escort estate TD is awful on fuel, my previous car was another escort estate but without the turbo. In the old car I used to get at least 110 miles from £10, in my new motor I'm getting around 140 miles to £20. I worked out the figures and it's around 35 mpg, I was getting 50+ from my old car. I'm doing exactly the same journey every day, style of driving is the same, so what's the problem? I'm thinking it's either a dodgy fuel sender beause when I park up at night the gauge reads 1/4 tank say, and when I switch the ignition on in the morning it drops about 2-3 mm and doesn't rise up at all, or maybe a dodgy temp sensor? There are no leaks anywhere in the fuel system. I've disabled the EGR to see if that makes any difference, it never. It's not smokey so It's not chucking unburnt fuel out the back. I'm lost. Any replies greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance to Screwloose:-)
{no mention of age of car, so obtained info from choice made from the drop down menu - DD} Read more
Just watched this program on BBC1 and I say well done to the DVLA and their agencies!!
That stuck up woman with the Jeep deserved all she got and she could not have portrayed a more sterotypical "I only care about me" attitude if she tried!
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2007 Seat Altea XL 2.0 TDI (140) Stylance
2005 Skoda Fabia vrS Read more
I have used iPlayer to download a couple of programmes recently, speed / size seemed OK , seemed to be faster than the C4 equivalent which uses similar software.
Only downloads on IE currently
I have always used the topgear site to look at clips of that don't remember whether the player etc are the same.
My 1992 Volvo 240SE has just failed it's MOT on one point only:
"Front passenger seat cannot be secured in the upright position. [6.2.3]"
What can I do about this?
(1) Could the front seat be repaired, if so how?
(2) I've tried very hard to get a scrap one to replace it; I've phoned about 15 dealers but none of them have a Volvo 240SE. I understand that it has to be a 240 because they have a unique seat size.
(3) If I took the car elsewhere for an MOT test then is there a reasonable chance of it passing? The seat doesn't look too bad to me, in fact, it hadn't occurred to me that there was even this problem (or that it could fail MOT on this).
(4) Could I remove the front seat for the MOT test?
Any other suggestions?
(I'm hoping to get new car soon but would like to keep this car on the road for a few more weeks and then sell it with an MOT (for a few hundred quid).
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Cheers, PU. I'm a bit Pink Fluffy Diced off about it. Ah well. No XK8 for me cos I is in the norty corner now, innit?
Better news on the Volvo MOT though. I googled and ended up at AutoTrader (online). I filled the on-line form in with car & part details and, Hay Presto, up flashed Angel Autosalvage of Dorset who had 2 in stock and a mail-order service. Rang them up, they were very helpful (Thank you) and I paid £30 for salvaged car seat plus £15 delivery.
Just taken car for MOT (at same place) and it's passed. So it's cost me just £45 to get a 15 years old and 151000 mile Volvo through MOT. I'd say that's pretty good.
Here's a link to Angel AutoParts; I'd like to give them a free plug:
www.angel-autoparts.co.uk/
I have recently had my fuel filter changed as my Vectra was running like a bag of brazil nuts ,this seemed to do the trick.I filled up with petrol this evening and when i pulled away the control indicator light came on and stayed on,and it started misfireing !!! Any ideas anyone what it could be???
random words inserted where a swear word was blocked by the filter ! Read more
So now we know that it's a petrol Vectra - well that's progress of sorts.
There's no such thing as a control indicator light, they're known as EMLs or, more universally, malfunction indicator lights.
Now if you could give us the year; engine size and preferably the engine code, then we'd have something to go on.
What would be a reasonabe asking price (spares or repair ) for a 2001 Golf Mk4 1.6 S with 119000 on the clock, FSH but with NSF damage which is wheel, wing, suspension, drive shaft, wishbone, windscreen, airbags deployed, A frame probable damage where wheel battered into frame.
A very rough figure may make me feel better about what I've just sold my daughters motor for :-)
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A-post, doh sorry thats what I meant, showing my ignorance again.
Yes, funnily enough it was unrecorded, motor was bought by a long established local garage, all V5 Transfer to Motor Trade sections filled out etc etc, seemed a genuine enough chap.
Curioser and curioser.
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Drink Lager, Talk Piffle,
Whilst waiting in the petrol station today, I was sad enough to notice that there seems to be about a 50/50 split in the way people mount wiper blades with integral "spoilers".
I found it diffucult to believe that people could knowingly put them on upside down, but then I looked at my own and I couldn't figure out which way they were supposed to be pressed down by the action of the wind.
Would anybody care to take me back to first principles - couldn't find any appropriate info on the Bosch autoparts website? Read more
Only seem to work at motorway speeds in strong winds when they prevent"lift off" near the bonnet edge. Oddly enough this effect seems worse on the passenger side of most of the cars I have owned but the manufacturers suggest only fitting to the drrirvers side and actually claim that 2 spoilers will strain the wiper motor! The worst of the lot seem to be the new flat blade types with a low spoiler all the way along them - they just make a lot of noise and wear out every 6k - I usually get 9 - 12k good wiping before I change conventional types.
Regarding the above news item, there is no mention of sunglasses. These will provide a significant reduction in vision; even so-called prescription lens are just the normal spectacles with a tint added - optician don't normally retest the eyes with the tinted glass. Whilst there may be some benefits from wearing them - is there any legislation governing them?
www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/item.htm?id=4113
Link to the news item included - remember that there are other areas on this site apart from the BR - hard sometimes I know !
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From you post it seems you were wearing prescription sunglasses:
"What if they are prescription sunglasses, and one doesn't have a clear pair readily available?
Exactly what I experienced. "
Not the same as wearing 'reactolite' type glasses which do not work behind glass as the silver halides which cause them to darken are activated by UV light.
These lenses are also pretty useless in warm sunny climates as the action to lighten the lenses is heat sensitive - the warmer it is the harder it is for them to darken. They work best on sunny cold winter days, but be warned if you go into a cold room they will take a while to clear.
www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2222177,00.html
A 42 day ban for doing 90 in a 60. OK for some!
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>> and now this...
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>> news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7130028.stm
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Their memory is notoriouly unreliable.
"I was proceeding along the A5 at 90 mph when I suddenly forgot who was driving at the time of the incident".
Renault Clio petrol automatic,R reg,this car seems to be using a lot of fuel.It is mainly used for short urban trips,and does maybe 20-25 mpg.It has been serviced recently so I guess the filters are ok,any ideas what could be causing this? faulty fuel pump?
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Just to give you my experience of Auto petrol and manual diesel.
Years ago I had a regular trip to the south coast from Leeds in a petrol 1.6 auto Maestro..
It drained a full tank and could not quite make it into Bournemouth without refueling.
On the way up the M1( on this full tank) I had to fill it again about 50 miles south of Leeds.
I later bought a Maestro Clubman D, (non turbo) so same car, different engine and heavier because of the diesel engine.
This car went to Bournemouth AND back up the M1 to the services just south of Sheffield on one tank.
I recorded only 23 MPG for the petrol Maestro on one of these trips....
I'd vote for the "Wife's birthday present" of July. Amusing, short and sweet. Read more
Was that really last August....shocking.
Browse
i think ive cured it, last sunday i started smothering around the turbo manifold (as i was planning to remove the turbo) with wd 40. eventually i found that the van was starting to perform better and running cooler and also fuel comsumption had dropped.
mpg tests are still ongoing but it will go for it now with decent pull all the way through the rev range.
so in short it was a sticky actuator valve (i think and hope