April 2008
My Volvo XC90 has a nasty habit of using up expensive 18inch Continental Contacts,the first set lasted 15k and the second are now getting close at 30k with one n/s rear distinctly dodgy and wearing all on the outside.Last set fitted by Volvo dealer, now closed and nearest 20miles. Dealer claimed tyres needed 4x4 balance cost £180 thank you very much, chap who did it told me "it can be out again in a few miles".What is the best way to prolong life of these tyres which are £150 ago? Specialist fit,tracking, rotation of wheels? Any thoughts? Thanks
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Hi all
I have an old P reg Astra Diesel Estate(isuzu engine) which i've noticed that the temp gauge rises to a 100 and the fan doesn't come on ??
Any Help !!
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Hi Zeldadog,
Just wondering you you managed to fix this problem? I seem to be having exactly the same issue. Temprature guage gets to its highest, fan never kicks in.
Any helpt would be greatly appreciated.
dear all
i have only recently purchased this car and i am somwhat confused about tyre pressure in my 224/45/17 pirreli P7 tyres. According to the manual they should have 38psi or 41psi if fully loaded, this seems rather a lot compared to my other cars where the average would be a lot lower. Incidently i currently have 38psi in all tyres and it does feel like a rather hard drive? should i lower them to ..say 35psi? your advice would be appreciated Read more
Hi Guys,
I have been working on my Matiz for a few weeks now and I have cleaned up the mess left by a chronic rich fuel mix. Now I am trying to figure out why the long term (-100) and short term (-12) fuel trims are so negative.
All the plugs were very sooty so it?s a universal problem.
I replaced an EGR valve that was faulty and I hoped that this was the reason but thinking about it more it probably would account for a small enrichment and not this mega one.
No codes showing not even P0172
Air filter; fine, and no blockages in the throttle body or the inlet manifold.
Throttle position sensor (TPS ), fine; Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) sensor, fine; engine temp sensor, fine; idle air control valve, fine and finally PCV not blocked.
I have not changed the fuel filter but I would have thought a blockage would cause a lean condition.
The fuel return is fine so no blockages.
I took the fuel rail off and connected it to the fuel pump to see if the injectors were leaking; they were fine.
Fuel pressure not an issue, I swaped over a fuel pump from a Matiz that is running without fault and that did not cure the LTFT.
Next stop is a Chevy garage, unless anybody has an ideas.
Many thanks for your thoughts.
Eddie
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Possibly to hell :P but I would like to know if the problem was solved!
Hi,
I'm taking a look at an Alfa 147 from 2001 (Y-reg) this weekend. It's a 3-door with approx. 60k on the clock and leather trim. It's on the market at £3k.
Just wondering whether anyone has any tips for what to look out for or any other useful suggestions?
Thanks! Read more
Maybe as a condition of sale if buying from a dealer?
Personally speaking, and after a bad experience of this, I would always ask for money off, so I can get the work done somewhere reputable of my own choosing. I made this mistake before (with a Mondeo diesel) and found that while the job had been done as promised, it had been done badly, with tensioners re-used and the belt ridiculously over tensioned. Had the water pump not started leaking, prompting investigation and discovery of this bodgery, I might not have even found it before the belt ultimately failed.
From what I know about Alfas, I suspect they are far less tolerant of sloppy workmanship than the barn door engineering under the bonnet of an Endura diesel Ford.
Cheers
DP
Hi, hopefully this will be a quick easy question...
My girlfriend has just sold her 1999 Seicento SX, but has lost her spare blue key. The new owner is collecting the car today and I just wondered how much it would cost to get a new one cut? I can't get it done myself so i'm going to knock the price off the cost of the car...
Thanks, Carl Read more
My wife's Seicento is a 2001 model (51 plate) with two blue keys. No need for a red key.
We once misplaced one blue key so I looked into what we needed to do to get another. It turns out with two blue keys it's fairly easy and straight forward. I cannot remember how much but...
... only one blue key and you need to take the car and blue key to the dealer and get a new key and all reprogrammed. This was a bit more (think about £100 or that sort of ball park).
I have a Peugeot 106 with the 1.5 diesel engine, has anyone experience on running this on either biodiesel or mixing cooking oil with pump diesel?
On another site, which I can't now remember the name of, it recommended not running veg oil with the Lucas pump, but changing it for a Bosch one. However looking at some of the previous threads on diesel pumps, changing them round can be quite tricky.
Any advice gratefully received.
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These cooking oil threads seem to go dead in Winter too. I wonder sometimes what`s happened at that point. Whether cars with tanks full of gel are being dumped, or a transition has been made back to regular Derv.
edit...
My wife's car has had a problem with the alarm since she purchased it.
The problem arises when the car is parked on the drive - all locked up OK. When the sun shines on the car the alarm goes off periodically much to the annoyance of the neighbours.
Is there any way the alarm can be adjusted to stop this happening ?
Or is there any way I can lock the car without activating the alarm - giving the neighbours a bit of peace !!
Any help greatly appreciated. Read more
Well done. As I recall the volumetric sensors, as they are called, are easy to change. They just click in/out. No tools needed. What the availability is like I could not tell you. Sweet dreams!
My sister has a 98 Ka 1.3 with the old Endura E pushrod engine. Oil is absolutely **urinating** out of it. An hour's stop leaves a dinner plate sized puddle on the ground.
Going to have a look at it this weekend. Any particularly common leak points on these engines? I don't think it's the rocker cover, as this had a new gasket and was carefully torqued up when I did the tappets last year. I asked her to check around the top of the engine and she reckons there's nothing there.
Any suggestions as a good place to start?
Cheers
DP
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Had a very quick look today, and I think it's the sump itself, which looks like it is rotting from the outside in. Bottom of the sump is soaked (literally) in engine oil, which stops about half way up. That said I couldn't get right under the car to check the back of the sump, but the front and sides are soaked from about half way down.
I've never seen anything quite like it. Will try to get under it properly next weekend and check, but it looks like I'll be trying to find a good S/H sump from a breaker.
The cylinder head and the top of the block are bone dry.
Cheers
DP
I will shortly be needing new front tyres for my C5. As we are all told, Citroens love Michelins best. I dont know why though. Michelin pilots are about £30 each more that the other tyre im considering;the Goodyear Excellence. Any comments on which one to go for? Is the Michelin worth 30%more. My preference in a tyre is for a quiet comfortable ride. Screeching round corners brings no fun for me, so its comfort im after. Any views please? Read more
Yep costco will fit them, and they now fill them with Nitrogen, what ever difference that will make...............
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Thanks for advice. XC90 is AWD, not 4wd, so only cuts in when needed rather than constant. 4 wheel alignment done at Volvo dealer, I took the new tyres in cos they are a complete rip off for rubber. As my local dealership has now closed I need to find a tyre set up specialist here. Talked to another Volvo driver who was getting around 20k per set, so driving style is probably a factor, wifes car she has a more aggressive driving style than me.