January 2008
Changing my car in May and had pretty much decided to give the new Jag a blast - it's packed with toys, it seems to be getting great reviews and it's a new model (but based on pretty much tested bits) - but then was looking through what else is available and the 5 series is pretty cheap on our list at work - so was considering the 535d, which is a flippin' flying machine by comparison, and I could pretty much get it up to the same spec as the Jag for about the same money.
I know nobody'll have driven the Jag, but has (a) anyone anything to say about the 535d, and (b) new model or older tried and tested number?
Cheers Read more
I have a Transit Connect less than one year old.. when starting in the morning the diesel engine is very noisy ..after 4 or 5 mins everything goe nice and quite and smooth.sometimes it starts quite and smooth but drive it a mile down the road and re start it and it becomes noisy for a short while. Ford have told me this is due to noisy injectors when cold ... are they telling the truth ?????
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It's difficult to be exact about noises - particularly without even knowing the engine type; but none of them should do that.
It might be injector coding, or an injector fault, or..... depending on type. Either way; it needs plugging in at a dealer that understands what they're doing - many don't have a diag tech anymore and will try to avoid these at all costs.
If so can they let me know why the Cardiff Gate roundabout (the one you enter after leaving Asda at Pontprennau (sp)) to get to the A48 or M4 has no streetlights?
It's a 50 limit on the dual carriageway and there is no lighting on the roundabout or on the approach. Read more
There are often accidents on that stretch of road.
It can be a bit hairy going over the roundabout, coming from the M4 side.
There are three lanes on the approach, but only room for two vehicles side by side on the roundabout. If someone goes straight through in the middle lane while you are turning right... not good.
Cheers,
Nigel.
I am about to embark on my MGB restoration and got a brilliant DVD for Christmas that was four hours long detailing a restoration of a car like mine. One thing that they used was a spot welder.
I have a gas Mig and an arc welder and thought that the spot welder looked very handy and easier than drilling holes for plug/puddle welds. Is this the case or would I be wasting money on it? I also have seen spot welding 'attachments' for arc welders. Are these any good or a waste of money?
Thanks as always for any information, hints, tips etc : o ) Read more
>>Also as a general wedling question I have always wondered how you can use a
>>welder, oxy torch, angle grinder etc on a car when it has a fuel tank in close
>>proximity!
Basically as long as it isn't leaking then it is safe to work near or next to it. Is it just as easy to set fire to other things on cars as much as the fuel tank. Things like the interior, sound deadening and the wiring are just as easy to set alight although the consequences may not be quite as dire.
I was sent the following link by a pal who knows I'm interested in cars:
www.disappearing-car-door.com/
Fascinating to watch, but it did make me think it wouldn't prove much fun getting in or out during heavy rain.....
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Assuming the motors are reliable and waterproof, it looks the ideal car to be in if you unexpectedly run off the road and into a large lake. A manual winding mechanism would be quite reassuring, though.
Hi all,
I hope you can help, my sis in laws car a (99) v reg golf 1.9 TDI has just developed a fault tonight where it is cutting out when reved.
I have already had a look over it for any split hoses etc but can't see anything obvious i know it has had a new air flow meter fitted about a month ago.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as the local garage isn't open till monday and she's had to leave her car at mine.
maretz Read more
sorry should of explained better the garage came out and i left them to look at it the bloke just said it was a loose pipe it's all fine, but when driven the power was still lacking to what it should be, it was my sis in law that took it in thats when they told her the turbo was gone, they never gave any justfied reason and i know next to nothing about turbos so your advise is greatly appreciated.
The car was bought from a private sale so she has no come back.
Hi,
I picked up a car for my other half at the weekend which (for £800 at least) is in pretty good condition.
The only issue is when warm and you rev the engine - not hard necessarily, just to 4000 or so when stopped and in neutral or when pulling in 1st, 2nd or 3rd you get a small amount of black smoke from the exhaust.
I suspect that the engine is running rich so have changed the air filter (it was filthy and the crank case breather connection onto the filter box was a bit dirty.) This reduced the amount of smoke. The breather pipe itself was clear and unblocked.
When its not as cold as it is tonight I'll have a look at the lambda sensors as I suspect they are original and the car has done 100,000 miles (with full ford service history). Has anyone any hints and tips for what other fuelling things would be straight forward to check. A guy at work suggested a can of redex injector cleaner.
Other points to note:
- Passed MOT in Nov and emissions were fine
- Exhaust needs looking at. Don't think its blowing but it's a bit loose and needs mounting correctly
- It's not used any noticable amount of oil in the 200 or so miles I've driven
- It's been filled with fully synthetic 5W/40 for the last few years
- Car is a mid-1998 1.25 16v Fiesta Zetec
- I've got another 1997 1.25 Fiesta LX that runs perfect I could swap parts from to try
Cheers, it's cold so I'll stay inside and plan my next move...
Rich
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Rich
The only thing you need to check is the voltage on the black wire from the oxy sensor when the engine is fast-idling at full temp.
It should be sweeping between 0.2 and 0.8 volts. If it isn't; don't automatically assume that it's the sensor - it could be telling the truth.
What Car? has just published the prices for the new KIA Sportage, as well as their Target prices.
However, the car is not even in the showrooms yet (maybe today a few have arrived but that would be the first day then). I am interested in the new KIA Sportage and have been phoning 5 or 6 dealers in the last week, last satruday (4 days ago) they could not even tell me the price, let alone let me drive test it, the car was not even in the UK (unless some rare dealers had got their hands on one?).
How can What Car? have negociated a TP if the car was not available in the UK?
I am baffled.
Are these TP really reliable?
Does the TP make any difference if you'r epart-exxing a car? (can you still hold out of the TP as well as a decent part-ex price?) Read more
Hmm, yes, makes me doubt validity of Target Price somehow (marketing gimmick?)
I know what you're saying about test driving, you are right, I will test drive it of course but I have test driven the current one (outgoing model, of which there are a few left to be had at less than £13,500) and thought it was great, so hopefully no nasty surprise with the new one, I don't mind WD anyhow (do not need 4WD at all).
I have a 2000 Leon 1.6 S Petrol.
First of all this has been an ongoing problem that seems to be getting worse and Seat claim that nothing is wrong with the car. The problem has been occurring since I changed my battery over.
The engine does not turn over without me giving lots of throttle, and when it does eventually turn over it cuts out straight away. I have to keep my foot on the throttle to keep the engine turning over. Once the engine has warmed up the idle sits just below 500 RPM but then as soon as I put the clutch down the rev counter just dies and I loose all control.
Has anyone got any ideas, I am really desperate as I do not feel safe driving the car any more.
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That sounds totally implausible. Wozza "vacuum sensor" when it's at home?
Throttle bodies can fail; but if they haven't cleaned it, then they haven't even re-adapted it yet! Saying it's faulty before those necessary steps smacks of guesswork!
Who are these people? Have they even got the tackle - or the know-how - to re-adapt it?
Just read HJ's review of the Subaru Legacy 2.0R and was somewhat surprised by the comment, "And it was pleasant to tool around town in with its flat four torque characteristics nicely matched to the 4-speed autobox"
Having driven both the manual and auto versions of the saloon 2.0R I would have to say that the manual is a much better car. The 2.0 engine is a lovely smooth unit, one of Subaru's best, but it does like to rev. and doesn't work too well with the autobox (unlike the older 2.5 engine). In the auto version the 1-2 and 2-3 shift points are quite high - the box feels like its hanging on to them for too long. Also the kickdown is a bit too slow.
The manual, on the other hand, is great to drive and 3rd gear is very flexible and almost seems to give better acceleration than 2nd.
Another thing to note is that automatic Subaru's use the 'Active Torque Split' 'box rather than the centre diff as used on the manuals. I think the normal torque split is 65/35 on the autos rather than the 50/50 of the manuals. This does give them slightly different handling characteristics, believe it or not. Read more
Thanks for your input, Aprilia. The transmission code is from the VIN plate, I have no other. After spending an hour reading the owner's manual, it definitely doesn't have VDC as it doesn't light that symbol during the lamp test pre-ignition sequence.
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Well if I hadn't flogged my beloved 535 a couple of months ago it would have been a pleasure to let you have a go in mine......true what they say absence does make the heart grow fonder. Its a superb car, I said this here about my old shape 530d and I'll say it about the 535d - probably the best all round production car in the world - for any money.