June 2008
Went looking at cars today with my 2 kids and pregnant wife (we were looking for an MPV, goes without saying). I was amazed that all 4 salesmen in the 4 different dealerships we went to had a pregnant wife too!! Coincidence or (more likely) a commonly taught sales tactic? We predicted the last one would tell us about his pregnant wife - struggled to keep a straight face! Read more
I have always been an advocate of the "bangernomics" school of thought, having previously owned a string of old crates that have (more or less) got me from A to B)
My latest car, a 1995 306 1.9 xrdt has proven itself to be a little gem. It has never missed a beat in the three years I have had it, and I would like to keep it running as long as possible. My only concern though is the drivers airbag.
How long is the life expectancy of these things? When do they need servicing or replacing, and what are the chances of an old one simply deploying at random?
Any help would be much appreciated. Read more
I realise this is an old thread but it is still a relevant issue. There is surprisingly little concrete information on this subject. Nothing that I could find on the official Mercedes website.
...
Heading down the A77 toward Prestwick Airport at teatime tonight. Sitting at an indicated 70mph (so satnav says that's about 67mph actual) and passed a layby just south of Kilmarnock with an unmarked silver 5 series sitting minding everyone elses business - or more to the point the two traffic officers sitting in it wearing hi-vis tunics were clearly minding everyone else's speed. Mile or so later, not long before limit drops to 50mph with average speed cameras, a sporty version of a C2 (VTR or something, I guess), passed me at what had to be at least 85mph. Few hundred yards behind him, the silver BMW.
By the next layby, the BMW was shepherding him in. Point is, I saw the tunics - and it didn't bother me because I wasn't speeding. Why didn't young C2 driver see them?Maybe he should have got a 'driving without due care and attention' charge to go with the inevitable speeding ticket I'm sure he headed home with. Read more
>>but still find myself breaking when I see a van on a bridge in the
distance on motorways
Is that breaking (wind) or braking (slowing down)?
Oil change is often advised 'every year or x miles, whichever comes sooner.'
I haven't changed mine for three years 'cos I only do a few thousand a year and the revs rarely go above 2500 [Italian tune-up every 1000 miles or so when warm to flush the oilways]. It's six years old in my TR7 which only does a few hundred miles a year.
I inherited a 3-in-1 can which is at least 40yrs old, and it still contains oily fluid which seems much the same as that in my new can.
Can any engineers or chemists persuade me that my engines might be wearing out too quickly? Could it improve with age like certain wines?
Made make/model non-specific. Read more
Why? What would seeing this allow you to say?
I second that. I think there is a lot of "oils musts be changed at X thousand miles or every year" etc. without any evidence to back up the statements.
The only incident I know of where poor condition of oil caused damage: It was a Triumph Dolomite Sprint with a water pump where the seal had been weeping and allowing water to leak in to the engine, and without the owner realising it, the engine had been running on "mayonnaise". This led to big-end bearings getting worn, and that was it - no other damage was found. Thinking of it, I have not heard of big-end bearings failing on any car for many years now.
Hi,
the front passenger seatbelt on my 51 Passat jammed last year. It freed itself after a few days but now it's jammed again and it seems to be staying that way. The main dealer tells me that seat belts are on backorder with the factory and I've been waiting just over 2 weeks now. I'm assured that all suppliers have been checked. Is there anything else I can do? I don't want to risk getting lumbered with "you ordered it, here's the bill" if I can get sorted more quickly (cheaply?) elsewhere.
Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks,
JH Read more
Try Quickfit Safety Belt Services on 020 8206 0101 in Stanmore
I was coming home this afternoon, M271 Northbound on to M27 westbound, broken down truck in lane one running through roadworks, took over an hour to get from Nursling Junction of M271 (J2??) to M27 J4, just a few miles that would normally take five minutes tops.
It took over 30 minutes from J2 to J3 of M271 !!!
Then about 15-20 minutes to get round the roundabout, a considerable part of the delay caused by idiots who were in the wrong lanes trying to get over to where they wanted to be, if you were the driver of the blue MPV or the Clio, you should hang up your driving licences and take up walking!!!!
Looks like the HA Traffic Officers had very little effect on keeping traffic flowing !!!!
slt Read more
Doesnt take much to cause chaos on the M271 and 27, be glad when the roadworks are completed, which apparantly is going to be a few months ahead of schedule.
CBG
Now that we have had.....ooooh.....2 days of summer, I decided to unfold my Brompton so I could cycle from White City to Liverpool Street at end of days work. Why? am I mad?
The central Line is so damned hot this time of year. Cattle on way to slaughter would not be allowed to travel in those conditions. Huh, they're alright, they only have to do it once!
Anyway, the government is trying to tempt people onto their bikes, out of cars etc, so I thought I would give it a bash. At 53yrs old, I am also trying to lose the muffin top and moobs!
Actually, It ain't bad. The only problem I have had is bendy buses. I didn't know that a prerequisite for a drivers job was to be blind and ignorant. It takes ages to pass one when they are at a bus stop, but when half way along, they just pull out, leaving you to be forced to crown of the road.
I tried Oxford St yesterday from Marble Arch to Tottenham Ct Rd. Man, that was utter madness and a real hell on earth. Dozens of bendy buses, cabbies doing three point turns, pedestrians (mobiles clamped to ear) crossing road between stopped buses caught in traffic.
But, I tell ya. I loved it. I did it tonight and will continue to do so whilst fair weather prevails.
Car drivers, I found, were very good, especially if they could see that you stopped at red lights, signaled intentions, made eye contact and waved your thanks. It especially helped if you shook your head in disbelief when another cyclist did a red light, so you thereby showed you were not one of them.
Read more
On a similar note:
I was once driving down a longish road in London looking for a street number, so driving slowly, swerving a bit, etc.
Guy behind starts flashing, waving arms, etc.
I slam the brakes on - making him stop - jump out of my car, charge up to his driver's door and open it...
Trouble is, I've already run out of steam, so I gave him a quick lecture, to which he replies 'yes mate, yes mate' several times.
The encounter finished with me thanking him and closing his door.
Still, better that than a punch-up, because you never know which way that will go and what the consequences could be.
The problem I have is that when driving along the brakes seem to seize up after about 10 minutes. I pull over for a couple of minutes and then the car seems to drive ok.
Please help. Read more
If by 'seize up', you mean locked on, then I've experienced a similar problem.
The servo had light corrosion all over, and had 'shrunk' presumably due to the constant vacuum. This meant the master cylinder operating rod which passed through the centre of the servo was now effectively longer. The servo thought the brakes were applied, and gave assistance, pulling the brakes on.
You can diagnose this by removing the vacuum pipe from the servo. If this removes the problem you know what's causing it. YOU WILL HAVE NO BRAKING ASSISTANCE, AND IT WILL FEEL LIKE SOMEONE'S PUT A BRICK UNDER THE BRAKE PEDAL!!!!
I was able to adjust the length of the operating rod by an inbuilt adjusting screw. The relevant Haynes had the necessary instructions.
hello all,
i have a 1.6 16v zetec escort (has the later black plastic manifold). from cold its starts fine however, revs hold at 2000rpm for approx 10secs then drop down to normal idle, if the throttle is very lightly blipped it will hold again 2000rpm for 10secs even if you havn't pressed the pedal that hard it will hold there, this also happens when stopping at junctions, traffic lights it will hold at 2000rpm then drop back down the normal idle. ive checked all vacuum pipes they all seem ok no splits and are all connected, ive also cleaned out idle control valve this hasnt made any difference.
any help would be much appreciated, thanks
Chris Read more
My 1996 SAAB 900SE has just failed MOT due to up and down 'play' on Steering column. I am reluctant to ask garage to investigate further as cost of repair will be more than car value, especially if they have to remove airbag.
Does anyone know what this could be?
{Note it is not the steering wheel adjustment lock.} Read more
Some good photos of the SAAB bulkhead cracking problem here tinyurl.com/4xaxd7
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Suprised at that, I've been on manufacturer and on dealer run courses and neither of them taught me to do things like that, I'm not a good liar though so I wouldn't have gotten away with it even if I'd tried!