January 2008
Trying to change the oil on the Scenic and REALLY struggling with the undertray, or rather one bolt.
I've undone the 3 across the front where it meets the front valance, and the two at the back. These were nicely copper greased and came straight out.
There's another pair about half way back either side which screw into the chassis rails. One of these doesn't seem to impede the removal of the undertray (the bolt head is smaller than the diameter in the hole in the undertray). The other (passenger side) definitely has to come out. Trouble is, the bolt turns, but does not come out. It's not seized as such as it turns quite easily, but it's almost as if there's a nut on the other end of it which needs to be held.
I've taken the arch liner out to see the chassis rail, and it's a box section with no access to the other side of the bolt apart from a tiny hole which is about the size of a 5p piece. I can just about make the bolt out, but can't see any thread on it. I've tried "wedging" it as best I can with a screwdriver while turning the bolt, but nothing.
I can't believe it can be this hard to get an undertray off. It's free apart from this bolt!! Any ideas? Am I missing something obvious?
Cheers
DP
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Ok, so I bought a 207 a couple of months ago. It's a 16v 1.4.......I'm beginning to wish I'd gone for a German car. The build doesn't feel solid and the general drive is sluggish. Do you out there feel the same? Read more
The lamp should go out after a few seconds.
I hope, two and a half years on, they've found that out by now
I attached an extract from 4car's write up on the VAG DSG boxes and it suggests that these thing are bullet proof - what do we think - would you trust one - my BiL has one his A3 and I am concerned for him that IF it does go wrong it will be mega expensive to fix especially as a colleague at work just forked out nearly £3K to repair a 4 year old auto box on an A4 (40K miles) and Audi were not in the slightest bit interested in helping him out.
"Like the previous six-speed DSG gearbox, the new version has been sealed for life. Clutch plate wear is not an issue says Volkswagen, confident that well over a million development miles have ironed out any issues.
As well in-house testing, VW has stripped down gearboxes from real-world customer cars that have recorded as many as 200,000 miles and found wear well within the engineers' tolerances.
However, to ensure life-long reliability, the gearbox's ECU has been calibrated to forbid any potentially damaging gearchanges occurring - and even if you do happen to overheat the clutch, the 'box has been pre-programmed with a failsafe to prevent permanent damage.
This takes the form of a warning light, followed by a very small amount of clutch burning, the smell of which floods the cabin. Carry on with the abuse and the ECU will artificially mimic clutch slip, hinting at a mechanical catastrophe. If this isn't enough, as a last resort, the next time the car comes to a standstill, the drive is completely disengaged until temperatures return to normal.
To improve durability even further, the DSG-7 will not be fitted with any engines producing more than 180lb-ft of torque to prevent the clutch exceeding its operating temperature."
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Are the road versions supposed to stand up to 'repeated launches' whoopwhoop? ...
Hardly the sort of stuff for the high street on Saturday afternoon is it?
Didn't say they were, or that it was normal use. (hence the words "hard driving"). Was just stating that they are NOT indestructable, and that the electronics can't protect the box from hard driving.
PS This was a brand new car. I have trested many manual box cars in similar way and not one of them has gone pop, including some with 100k on the clock!
I'm looking to change my company car from an A3 3-door to a Sportback in the next few months.
I like the look of the streamlined aluminium roof rails that can be ordered as an option but wondered if anyone had any experience in using them as they may look good but as they fit flush with the roof are they much use and what roof boxes can be used with them etc.
Also wondered how practical it is in terms of boot space etc.
Not a very sexy question I know but have a young family now and really want to stay with Audi if I can as my current A3 is brilliant (can't afford an A4 Avant unfortunately). Read more
To answer a couple of questions - the current A3 was the first of the floorpans to be used for the golf V when it was introduced in 2003 (A3 that is).
Like WW I've got an A3 sportback with the aluminium roofrails fitted, asked the dealer for the price of the bars on friday cost was £220 inc. VAT. I had the rails fitted not for "lifestyle" reasons but because they broke up the totally black outline of the car.
I've never really struggled for space with this car but I recognise if you have a couple of kids and you're off on your hols you would probably need the extra storage.....
Hi
I am having problems with my 2001 1.4 Xsara repeatedly chewing the front drivers side wheel bearings. The fourth bearing since May last year has just failed.
Also, not long after the first bearing failed the half shaft bearing failed. My mechanic said its only the second one he had to change in 35years. The last time the bearing was changed the mechanic also changed the hub as he thought that might be the cause, but obviously not.
Does anybody have any idea what is causing them to fail? Since the half-shaft bearing failed, Im starting to think the driveshaft could be slightly bent or unbalanced causing a vibration which travelling down to the wheel bearing? Any other possibilities?
I should also note that I do only very little mileage. My commute is only around 8 miles per day. The last 2 bearings failed after 150 and 300 miles.
All advice greatly appreciated
Thanks
{Year and engine size added to header, as per request to do so!}
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Sounds like the old Montego problem.
You can get on rare occasions a distortion of the hub so the bearings don't sit right. No matter how many bearings you fit, it still fails soon after fitment. Get a new hub - preferably with bearings already installed. I doubt if you'll have problems after that - and if you do, take to the Citroen agent to fix under warranty!!!
Just wondering, since I'm getting sick of drivers in Oxfordshire tearing past me without even bothering to cross to the other side of the road, inches from the bike. I hate it, since their slipstream pulls me out into the road and it only takes the car behind to be a bit too close as well and SPLAT. Really unnerving.
So, as experienced drivers, how much room do you give cyclists? Do you always fully cross the white lines to overtake, giving them the same room as a car? Read more
For the record, highway maintenance is the responsibility of local authorities, funded through council tax and treasury grants. My local authority's highway maintenance budget for the current financial year is 5% of their income. So, effectively every householder is paying on average around £50 a year towards mending the roads. The exception to this is motorways and trunk routes which is the responsibility of the Highways Agency, funded through general taxation. There is no direct link between motoring taxation and highway maintenance. To use the same logic that insists that motoring taxation is ring-fenced purely for the benefit of motorists is like saying that pedestrians should be taxed for using the footway, or hospitals are funded by a tax on sick people. It just doesn't work. We all have the right to walk, ride and cycle on the public highway. That's the law. We have no right to drive a motor vehicle on the public highway - we only do that under licence, which can be revoked. Roads existed and people were riding bikes on them long before the first car coughed into life. Roads will continue to exist and people will continue to ride bikes on them long after the last car has spluttered to a halt. Armitage Shanks suggests that the equivalent of 18% of motor taxation is spent on the roads. I don't know, but it's a fair bet that the rest only makes a small contribution to funding the emergency services and the NHS costs of treating the tens of thousands of serious injuries caused by us motorists every year - which is probably nothing compared to the cost to us all for the thousands killed. Viewed from that angle I reckon that us drivers get a pretty good bargain.
Back on topic - the simple answer is to give a cyclist the same space as you would when you pass another motor vehicle. It's a crowded road system and we all have to share it. Perhaps if more of us used a bike for some of our journeys it would be a bit less crowded out there.
I have always felt that it was a bit of a myth that different tyres of a similar quality could or would make a significant difference to the way a car feels on the road. OK, I could have been persuaded that it was possible to tell the difference between very cheap and cheerful ones and top of the range products but would have readily scoffed at there being any appreciable difference between similarly priced mainstream brands when fitted to an ordinary car being used ordinarily if you see what I mean ?
When I bought my car it had Continentals on. Like most people I tend to change two tyres at a time and just always replaced them with Contis to keep it matched up. Not sure why really. Anyway, when the rears needed to be changed a couple of months ago, for some reason I couldn't get my usual tyres at a convenient time and not particulary reluctantly, had Pirellis put on. These didn't feel any different. However, when the fronts were due last week I then had matching Pirellis put on. Before, I go any further I would stress that I have never felt disappointed or disatisfied with the handling or general feel of the Contis.
What a revelation the Pirellis are. The whole character of the car is transformed for the better. The steering feels very much more direct and whippy, the turn in feels much more accurate and I feel much more "in touch" with the road.
Now, the thing is, we are not talking about a sports car here, or track day velocities, just a workaday diesel estate being used for everyday purposes. Amazing really how much better it feels. I would not have believed it and would have been first in the sceptics queue. I suppose there must be something in the folklore after all !
I would be interested to know if anyone else has had a similar experience and also wonder if it possible that certain cars just happen to "suit" certain types or makes of tyre ?
As a footnote the car is a Mondeo 3 TDCI Estate Ghia X with a tyre size of 205/50/17 Read more
My memories of an Austin 1300 supplied new with Dunlop C41 cross plies, was that it was a frightening thing to be in - (this after a Mini on radials) - they lasted 6K.
A set of (radial) Pirellis that I can't remember the type of transformed it for the better.
This in 1968.... FJC 417F... probably.
I have a 1993 Astra 1.4i (MULTEC M + cat). Engine code C14SE. It won't start. I've replaced the crankshaft sensor, the fuel pump, the engine temperature sensor and the plugs. All 4 plugs are firing (taken out of the engine and left connected to the DIS, lying on the rocker cover for an earth). There's pressure in the fuel rail (when pressing the Schrader valve). When removing the plugs after cranking, they smell of fuel but are not 'wet' (as, rightly or wrongly I expect them to be). Cranking produces an occasional 'pop' but no other sign of life. The timing appears to be OK (timing light held at the pulley). I'm left with the ECU as a possibility. Any thoughts, before the men in white coats come to take me away??? (The timing belt and water pump were replaced about 2000 miles ago). Read more
It ain't much of an excuse, but: the cylinders are numbered sequentially Nos 1 to 4; the firing order is 1, 4, 3, 2; the outlets from the DIS don't conform to either! They run (from the top of the DIS) 1, 4, 2, 3!! I must have connected them in the belief that the DIS outlets would be sequential from the top - hence only No1 was correct! An expensive lesson!? Thanks again to everyone for their help/advice.
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Watch some of the output first from Setanta before committing. We have it free through Virgin cable and despite the number of rugby matches shown I've never watched one. Very poor production and the widescreen output often isn't a UK version so you get squashed, stretched or really narrow pictures.
I've have recently sold both family cars (Honda Accord 2.0 i-VTEC sport / Mk1 Octavia vRS) and have bought a new Roomster 1.9 TDi. I've decided to run a "banger" as the second car and have bought a 1997 Toyota Camry 3.0 V6 with 92k miles. It is a 4th generation model (1997-2001) and has a full Toyota service history (last service was a "B" and was carried out February 2007). It is due a minor service this year, which amounts to little more than an air, oil and filter change.
According to the service book it is due a cambelt change at 90K miles. I have read that this engine (1MZ-FE) is a "non interference" design and I am therefore tempted to ignore the cambelt, as failure should not result in major engine damage. Can anyone confirm if this is indeed the case, and if not advise how much it should cost at an independent garage. The Toyota main dealer I asked today quoted a not unreasonable sounding £250 to change the belt.
Many thanks.
engine and year details put in subject line for the 8,000,453 time ! Read more
The way I read it, the Camry V6 engine is non-interference - there's no single asterisk after the engine name. This tallies with what I've read elsewhere.
IIRC, there isn't a hard and fast interval for changing the cambelt on these either [I have one]. Toyota originally suggested 90k, but smaller interval if in severe conditions. Helpfully, mine has a sticker on the cambelt top cover saying when it was last changed - applied by toyota at 60-odd k.
Hope this helps.
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I had that on the Mondeo, made the fan sound like an RB211, took the leaf out, all was well.