January 2008
It looks like the predictions that the exploding economies of India, China etc will produce huge environmental challenges are about to be put to the test on India's roads.
observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2235975,00....l
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Hi,
My wife?s car has just suffered a cam belt failure, which the local-ish Volvo dealer has said has caused major damage.
What's worrying me is that the car only has 61K miles on the clock, has always been maintained by Volvo dealer, has belt changed at 50K service, per Volvo recommendation.
They've said that if it was a part failure, then we are covered by parts warranty, but have now said that an oil pump seized ! Convenient!
Many cars don't drop valves, etc, when a belt goes & I'm trying to find out if this is the case with the V40? Any other advice would also be useful, especially as I may be arguing the case with the dealership.
Thanks
Paul
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I have a VW Golf Mk3 1.6cl 94 ABU engine, and I have to replace the clutch pedal urgently because the steel tube fixed to the mounting bracket where the clutch cable runs through is breaking off. As anyone ever took one off, and if so how. Anyhelp regarding this would be helpfull (Diagrams or instructions)
cheers bob
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There are two minor but annoying electrical problems on my wife's 306. The interior lights do not work when opening the drivers door but do with the n/s door. The door switch is not one where it shorts the power to earth but there should be two wires but there is only one on that side. I have tried hard to find a detached cable in the body space without any luck. The switch on the drivers side has two wires connected but the hole in the body is too small to withdraw the switch without removing at least one of the wires so reconnecting could be a problem. I thought of running an extra cable from the fuse box but I don't know which place to connect it to. I am worried I will have to remove all of the dash to get to the back of the switch. The other problem is an annoying intermittent buzz coming from the direction indicator relay, I have changed the relay for a new one and of a different make but the buzzing continues. If you turn on the indicator or hazard switch the buzzing stops (all indicators work fine) but a short while after the indicators are turned off it may resume again, could it be a fault with the fuse box itself? Constructive suggestions very much appreciated.
Regards, Michael Read more
remove the trim at the bottom of the a post, remove the deadning then you can reach up into the space. also if you pull out the square black grommet for the door wiring you can get a couple fingers in
chris
I have a 5 series E39 with factory fitted sat/nav and tv and wondered if anyone has experienced intermittent sound loss with a similar system. The sound goes completely from all sources, ie radio, cd, tv or whatever you happen to be enjoying ! Sometimes turning the stereo off and back on again works - but not always. I have had the amp checked (no probs) and someone else has said i need to replace the radio control unit - but at a cost of £900 am hoping to find an alternative solution. Any suggestions would be much appreciated because as much as I love the noise of the V8 - no sounds in the car is depressing me.........
Thanks
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I have the exact same problem on my 2000 BMW.
What turned out the be the fix?...
I am about to buy the highway code and have seen that it is 132 pages, but I recall that a much thicker book belonged to my parents many years ago that seemed to be a lot more detailed and covered many different situations and potential dangers of each manoeuvre in detail - does any similar book exist now? I don't know if the one I'm thinking of was a Department of Transport book, but it had a brown cover and I'm sure it was not the official highway code book. Read more
This is the book
tinyurl.com/2otfzb
It's the Department of Transport Manual of Driving.
I think it makes sense to get the newer Driving Standards Agency book, which is about 40 pages longer. Hopefully it is better than the old one and not worse.
I guess people on the BR are more aware than most, but the temperature's dropped below freezing tonight and it seems to have caught out the local authorities. Major A-roads around Oxford are un-gritted and covered in ice, and I've already seen one car in a ditch this evening while on a midnight ride.
That is all. Read more
Phil,
Cannot answer all these questions but can go some of the way.
1. Temp sensor on my Xantia (and presumably yours!) is under the nearside door mirror. Even if it were only inches above the road I suspect it can be affected by heat from the cabin/engine - so the mfr build in a margin for error. The OAT guage will not track the real air temperature immediately; the display is "buffered" so it's not up and down like a fiddlers elbow in sun/shade.
2. Water freezes at 0 degrees C but temperature can vary by several degrees over a few metres - see my example above regarding the local canal bend (and I had a similar issue when I lived in Watford also by the canal)
3. Salt/grit is not universal - another issue at the canal bend.
4. I think the alarm analogy is exactly right. The ping point is set to give a warning of the point where, if all the margins for luck are against you you might just hit ice.
Looking for a replacement for the old Previa and have come across a tidy 1998 2.2 Sintra. I've read HJ's comments but does anyone have experience of actually owning one of these? For what it is it seems quite cheap so I guess there must be a reason.
Any and all comments most welcome - thanks. Read more
Whatever you do, don't try a Nissan Serena! I've been in one - most uncomfortable and noisy thing I've ever experienced!
I'm considering the purchase of a Bora, probably 115 pd version. Is there anyting that I need to look out for when looking at one.
Also what BHP can the engine be chipped remaped to
Ta Read more
The difference between the 115/130 and the 150 is that the latter has a Front mounted intercooler and a different turbo, but as you say the 115 can be easily tweaked upto 150, or so I'm led to believe.
Don't know what your budget is - but the 130 would probably be a better bet if you are planning on increasing the bhp....
Hi,
This is a silly question, but it is driving me mad.
My saab 95 has the grills missing on the bumper ( the two that go where the fog lamps are) , i have got replacements, but cannot get them to fit. does anybody know what the V and H markings are on the grills, or advice on fitting them......thanks in advance. Read more
I'm pretty sur they are swedish for left and right - venstra & hengst or somesuch!
As to how they fit, I can't help - but go to tinyurl.com/3cdgrs, register as a user, and you'll soon find out!
Browse
Having seen the spec of this car, it's occured to me not much has changed in 25 years....
My first car had a 652cc two cylinder engine producing about 35 BHP. It was air cooled so did without a radiator or water cooling system; a wasted spark system meant a distributor was an unnecessary luxury; a twin port Solex carb meant no complex injection system (although it did have an ignition computer - go figure that out!). It would do 85 mph if pushed, but would cruise at 70mph no problem. returned about 40mpg. 5 Doors, reasonable sized boot, no driver aids whatsoever (PAS, brake servo - what do you want them for?). Probably cost a bit more than £1300 new though.... but we picked it up for £500 when it was 10 years old and ran it for 50k over 5 years without spending too much on it - real bargain motoring!
Taught me an awful lot about anticipation - no power and no brakes - keep it going at all costs!
1982 Citroen Visa Special BTW