May 2008

flatcap

Hi

My friend's auto Orion has developed a problem, the engine sometimes takes an age to start and when it does, idles at around 1200rpm. These symptoms developed after he ran out of fuel.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to remedy this?

flatcap Read more

Nsar

Yes I'll show 'em, who's laughing now?

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/739545...m

Eejit.

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Cliff Pope

I'm suddenly reminded of that old Laurel and Hardy film, where they drive their car through a circular saw at a saw mill. The blade passes between them, but they don't notice until the car splits off in two directions, and then collapses on the ground.

oilman

I get asked many questions about oil so I thought a thread here for all oil related questions would be a good idea and build into a FAQ or reference point for others.

So, put your oil questions here but please give the following information if you would like a recommendation:

Make
Model
Year
Engine size/type

Any mods

Type of use (road/track)

Additional info (max oil temps, current oil used)

What do you want a recommendation for? Engine, Gearbox etc?

I hope this will help and become a useful thread

Regards
Guy Read more

John S

You have to be careful just saying 'Castrol Edge'. As you've found there's more than one Castrol Edge, and the different 'incarnations' meet different manufacturers specifications.

JS

robbo28

How easy is it to remove the speed limiter from a 17 seat Transit minbus
Is it a simple ECU adjustment or more involved?? Read more

mark sephton

Hi have got a ford mondeo mk3 tdci,the fuel ecu,that sits on the n/s front leg behinde the wheel arch is damaged not reparable ihave located another ecu but two of the numbers are difrent mine is 3s7q-9f954-aa the other one is 2s7q-9f954-ea will this one work on my car has i can`t find my exact one can anyone help me. Read more

hogie

I have a fuel leak coming from under the filler pipe leading to the fuel tank. Hard to see exactly where from but it looks like it's coming from some way up the pipe leading to the filler cap. It's not gushing (yet!) just a constant drip. It leaks when I fuel it and when driving but stops when i park up. I believe it's one of the following but any other suggestions are welcome.

1. Perished seal on fuel cap
2. Split pipe from filler to tank
3. Blocked vent pipe allowing system to pressurise

Does anyone know what cost I would be looking at to repair this and where I could get it done? I've just had it MOT'd at Kwik Fit (had a free MOT voucher) but they said they couldn't do that sort of work and suggested "getting the yellow pages out" - yeah thanks for that advice.

Anyway, I live in leeds if anyone knows of anywhere?
While i'm here...Can anybody recommend a good, well price garage near leeds? Really don't want to have to go back to KF. I think i've got a bit of work to do on the car soon (exhaust, timing belt) so would like a few recommendations.

Thanks all

Neil. Read more

ChrisMo

I used a pair of molegrips to release the pipe clips, the arch liner comes out by removing a couple of plastic rivet type things at the bottom, they are reusable. I also ended up removing the filler pipe as well, it is just held in place by the big rubber washer it mounts in.

Problem is it is really really fiddly, I suspect a garage would put the car on a ramp and drop the tank to make it easier to line things up. I can't remember what the pipe cost, somewhere between 10 and 20 quid from a peugeot dealer, they had it on the shelf. If I were to do the job again, I would immediately chuck the spring clips that hold the pipe in place in the bin and replace them with jubilee clips, though access to do them up is limited.

Though to be honest, I'd happily pay someone to do the job it if were to leak again, it was one of those jobs I wish I'd never started, the old pipe came off in about 5 mins, the new one took a couple of hours of frustration to get it back in place with the clips holding it on.

As for draining the fuel, I did the job when there was very little left in the tank, removed the hose a bit enough to be able to get a tube in and syphoned the last few litres out.


Chris

L'escargot

Here's an interesting source of automotive technical data and specifications. tinyurl.com/4hmw5o Read more

billysbarn

I feel honour bound to say thank you to Trevor and the others on the thread for the message below.
I was asked by my daughter to service her T reg Ka. Is that 03? {No, it's 1999 - changed}
To my horror the first plug I tried to remove broke exactly as described in the thread.

Thanks to the info provided that when the top tapered section is removed which I drilled out, the remainder could be removed using a screw thread remover (known as EZ out in the US I belleve)

Here is my contribution which might help others:

I hopefully prevented all the drilled swarf from going into the cylinder using a "DUM DUM" flexible putty equivqlent which I pushed down the hole before I started drilling.
Hopefully all is well now.
( btw my own car is a Lexus Rx 400h which is going really well.)

Thanks again.
Billy

New Sat 7 Apr 01 20:21 Re: Ford Ka - rusty spark plugs - trevor
in my experience it is usually the fact that the plug sidewall corrodes very thin and the top of the plug snaps off leaving the threaded part in the head .usually if the broken porcelain is pulled out of the centre of the plug then a splined
"easy out" can be tapped into the hole in the centre to remove the remains of the plug without removing the head. The only prevention is a coating of high temp. grease on outside of new plugs when replacing them. The threaded piece left in the head isnt usually tight as the tapered seat is usually on the piece that snaps off.

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disco dave

just changed clutch. now it wont start. not getting any petrol. have sucked some through. was working perfectly before. is it the petrol pump ? are there any test i can do to find out. or have i knocked some sensor off somewhere? any ideas welcome. Read more

disco dave

found it looked like a switch under the rubber cover. presed it engine started straight away.great information. when i looked in the haynes i could not find it any where.thanks again.

craig-pd130


I was browsing a 1993 copy of Car magazine over the weekend. It had a test of the then-new 325i coupe which, while not a sports car, was praised for its blend of performance, handling and sophistication.

What struck me was the performance data that Car obtained.

0-60: 9 sec

40-60 in 4th: 7 sec

50-70 in 4th: 7 sec


Back then, this was respectably quick, and beyond what your average family saloon could achieve.

But nowadays, an ordinary diesel repmobile (I know, I drive one!) will match these standing-start times and leave the 325 in the dust on in-gear acceleration.

It's funny to look back and see how things have moved on. Read more

Group B

Last night I was thinking about the first time I drove the Fiesta XR2i my Mum briefly had (H-reg and about 2 years old at the time). I had recently been driving an MG Metro which I thought was "nippy" (not a patch on the 1.8 Cavalier though), but the Fiesta felt a lot more powerful with its 110bhp.
I remember starting it up and thinking, "whoah, 1.6 injection is a big engine in a Fiesta". It also had 185 tyres which I thought were very generously sized.
We only had the Fiesta about 3 months when it got nicked from outside a supermarket and was found on an industrial estate with seats, spoilers and alloys removed, and part of the engine missing!

Re: changed perceptions, to go on about the 405 Mi16 again:
In Evo magazine their description of it a few years ago was "A classic sports saloon".
In Practical Performance Car magazine, they currently describe it along the lines of: "For - cracking 16v engine, Against - in a 405, Verdict - donor car".