April 2008
a small oil leak has developed at the front near-side,a Citroen mechanic tells me it is oil leaking through the turbo & dripping through the inter-cooler, he says it is normal,i didn`t think motors had oil leaks as normal is he kidding? tee jay.
moved over from Discussion - Year and Engine type please ? Read more
I've riveted an aluminium plate over an oblong hole in the AX rear exhaust box. The corrosion was dusted away with the angle grinder, some exhaust putty was smeared well into the hole and onto the plate and several pop-rivets are now holding it in place. With electrolytic corrosion starting as I'm typing this, the life of the bodge can probably be measured in minutes. So what? It was a chance to get the car jacked up, use some power tools and figuratively thumb my nose at the motor factors who hadn't got a box in stock. I've felt a teeny bit dangerous as a stream of sparks spattered into the plastic fuel tank. I've grasped a mug of steaming 20hp tea in my green neoprene gloves, passed the time of day with a neighbour, and inadvertently smeared rust and soot all over my forehead. And I've stretched 20 minutes work into 2 hours. Thank goodness I don't do this for a living. Read more
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/7353248.stm
Twix may cause problems. But you can go to work on a Mars. ;-) Read more
I can understand not allowing greasy food inside the site, you wdn't want grease all over your brand new Civic as well as scratch marks made by the crumbs.
But not allowing bottled water within the area sounds a bit OTT, but as long as the workers performance arn't distracted then why should it be a problem?
Help needed! Had this car for 8 years, but two AA mechanics and my mechanic can't locate fault with the remote control door opening and central door locking (CDL). Fuse for CDL keeps blowing, the alarm goes off, the other doors don't open and the immobiliser kicks-in. Something must be shorting out or getting stuck. Someone suggested wiring in the tailgate. Anyone else had this problem and can shed some further light on it? I've been out of action for 2 weeks so any help greatfully recevied to pass on to my mechanic.
Cheers Read more
Yep, that was it. Thank you so much. All fixed.
All this amazing weather we've been having lately has got me thinking about a reasonably priced drop top. As the g/f would use it most it will need to be able to carry much shopping, so an MX5 or similar is out.
Three cars I'm considering are the old style Saab 900, the GM Saab 900/93 or the Audi 80 convertible from the 90's. Does anyone have any experience of these or have any other suggestions?
It would need to be reliable so anything too old is out.
Living in London I like the idea of the Audi as you can get a hardtop for it, but I've always fancied a classic 900. Read more
General opinion on UKSaabs web site seems to be that the 9-3 is a big improvement over the GM 900, especially in drive quality. It looks a lots fresher in my opinion too. There have been problems with cracks in the bulkheads of 93's, but I think these only affect certain years.
In HJ's Saturday Telegraph column today he comments to a reader that he is getting so many reports of failed DMFs/clutches, injection pumps, injectors, turbos, intercoolers and EGR valves on diesels that he wonders whether overall running costs may be cheaper for petrol engined cars.
Now I don't agree with HJ on everything he writes but it was EGR valve problems (and mis-fueling concerns) that put me off a diesel C Max last year.
We have heard various stories on here about the problems mentioned by HJ and there are backroomers who wouldn't buy anything other than diesel because they favour the driving experience.
Do you think the writing may be on the wall, at least for private motorists buying out of warranty cars who have to consider overall costs? Read more
The Fiat Uno is still on sale in Brazil.... on second thoughts maybe not ;)
Regards;)
Potential strike at Refinery - could affect deliveries to most filling stations Nth of the border
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7...m
subject line changed - suggested by a reader ! Read more
Governemnt says there are 67 days of fuel in storage - I do not necessarily believe them - When Jack Straw was in charge 6/7 years ago he said he could not understand why the pumps had emptied so quickly as there are vast stocks on forecourt tanks.
The reason this is not the case is Supermarkets get daily deliveries or at worst every 2 days. They might have the capacity to store 5/6 days of sales in the tanks under the forecourt but they will stock the minimum + a little more as storing big quantities needs an investment of Capital - and at £5.00+ a gallon they never will.
Many punters run their cars till the petrol light comes on then add £10,£20,£30...
and repeat this 2/3 times a week.
I see this when I fill up - I let the tank go to 1/4 ad then brim it - every time I am asked / prsented with a VAT receipt - unfortunately I do not have any Co to reclaim mileage from these days.
In the last week the punter that usually bought £10 cash might suddenly decide to stock up - pays £40 on the CC for a full tank and repeat this with every 2nd car it does not take long to double/triple the takings on a typical forecourt and empty the tanks. This then forces more to fill their tanks and the process repeats - a bit like the Sugar shortages of 30 yaers ago when shops ran out although there was no shortage.
Interesting article today, in the DT, re the best and worst dealerships (by car make) in the UK. No real suprises to be honest.
tinyurl.com/6sxv4r
Read more
............ and that's be re-inforced by the stories I've read.
I tend to ignore bad press regarding car dealers, because it's generally only the dissatisfied minority who publicise their dissatisfaction. The satisfied majority generally say nothing.
Just returned from Portugal and was intrigued by one of their 'traffic calming' ideas. A traffic signal stops you from moving while the oncoming traffic keeps going. The lights then change and you go but the oncoming lot have to stop and watch you go by. Read more
The last time I was there, I noticed that quite a few of the local drivers ignored the red lights and just carried on. If you introduced these in the UK, then I think that they would be even more abused, as there would not be the usual 'danger of death' you gamble with in normal red light jumping, so you would need to back them up with cameras...
The other problem was even if you were travelling below the speed limit, if the car behind you wasn't, then you would still be caught by the red light.
So if the lights have been backed up with cameras, you have the situation of a speeding car rapidly closing on someone who is probably going to stamp on their brakes to avoid a red light ticket.
I suppose the 'no win, no fee' lawyers will enjoy the whiplash claims though.
hi
i have just found that one of my heater plugs is broken .had 3 lads to have a look and all said the same ! that it's a big job .but they say that if they replace the remaining 3 that it will get me by for now . it was when the bad weather started that i have came across the problem ,and don't know how this has happened . but my question is ..will three new plugs make a difference ???
many thanks
jack. Read more
thanks bigtee.
yes it is . they say that the head will have to come off to drill it out ?
Browse
This was in 2007 though and me being cocky with my GCSE in electronics, although on the same car I latrer bodged a a wiring loom job to the TPS, taught be me by an ex BAE engineer! (a close relative).
As it stands I will not carry any electrical work on my car other than like for like fitting of parts but I am much happier diagnosing an ECU fault than working what is causing a clonking nouse on the suspension but then I do fix computers for a living so car electrics don't scare me one bit. I understand much better how a modern multipoint fuel injection system works than a simple carp setup having said that I have adjusted a few carbs for mates in my much younger days (aka 10 years ago).