June 2008
After reading PUs thread on his bike trip to the Continent and how much he enjoyed it I can say that after 1100 miles in the last week motoring bliss is still alive and kicking in the UK.
An area with no speed cameras, no speed bumps, no potholes, excellent road surfaces with good tarmac, light traffic, the ability to drive how you wish and actually enjoy it, locals who assist you in passing and are appreciative when you do a similar deed, well signposted limits with 300m countdown markers when speed is reducing from NSL to 40 or 30, 20 limits outside school which only come into force at appropriate times.
All still available in the northwest of Scotland and long may it continue, just don?t tell everybody!!
The A3 did 51 mpg over the whole trip too (average speed 42mph according to GPS), another advantage of uncongested roads.
Unlike trips up there a few years ago fuel is the same price as most of the UK ? the only exception was Mull where fuel was about 10p a litre more than the mainland.
Highly recommended. Read more
From standing the van tends to get a jump back, as i put the gear in reverse.
it is "OK" in all other gears???. No slipping on the cluch
The Van is a 1996 Escort 55 van, done 96,000 mile still running well.
X police finger print van. Read more
1.7???
hello people new to forum help needed
ive just bought a renault kangoo 1.9 diesel , i got it qiute cheap because it smokes and also hardly ticks over like its running on 3 cylinders.. but when driven say down the motorway it clears and stops smoking/
i have asked a local diesel expert for advice and he said its probably the advance solanoid
so i purchased 1 from him but before i fitted it i disconected the old 1 and started it up , it ran pretty smooth and the smoke stopped.!
then i took the old solanoid out and fitted the new one and it started smoking and ran terrible again also when you run the engine without the solanoid connected it become louder!
any ideas on whats wrong?
any advice would be good
Subject header given a more meaningful title than the previous one - 'hello people new to forum help needed' as this doesn't give anyone a brief summary of the question being asked Read more
carl
Do a compression test.
Some individual has managed to hit my car in a car park yesterday damaging the sill. According to the car park attendant the incident should be on CCTV, a colleague of mine witnessed the car being badly parked in an unmarked bay but did not see (or was aware of) the actual collision. The attendant stated that for data protection reasons I cannot be furnished with the reg of the car but their procedures state that they can give this info as a download to the police on a disk.
I am guessing that this must have happened to a few hundred BR's in the time, doe anyone know of the best way to proceed on this matter?
Cheers Read more
A registration number is not personal data, it belongs to the DVLA so shouldn't come under the DPA.
Has anyone else experienced problems in getting spares for Mazdas - especially Ford based Mazdas and specifically the first generation 2?
We have been waiting 8 weeks for our Mazda dealer to get an HT lead for our September 2007 2 (1.4 petrol).
Mazda Customer Service aren't interested
Our previous Mazdas (a 323 and a Premacy - both on 53 plates) had no such issues.
Seems especially curious as the 2 is based on the Fiesta/Fusion, uses Ford mechanicals and was built on the same production line as the Fiesta/Fusion
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Local Mazda dealer didn't have a humble air filter in stock for my 323TD. Luckily a nearby car parts shop had a generic one available at 30% less than the original part and it's been going great for a year now.
I recntly traded my dear old W reg 306 2.0 HDI Estate for a 54 plate 307 SW 1.6 HDI. I had done 150,000 miles in just over 5 years at an average MPG of about 52 in the 306. It was just edging off a bit lately, possibly due to the turbo getting a bit tired and therefore needing slightly more throttle below 2K revs. I nearly always fill brim-to-brim and it only ever dipped (just!) below 50 on a tankfull on a couple of occasions!
I purposely bought a 1.6 rather than a 2.0HDI coz the economy is supposed to be better on the 1.6. At 30K miles per year & paying for them all myself, I'm quite keen to get the best economy possible. The 307's computer tells me I'm averaging 56-57MPG & I'd be very happy with that, but on measuring what I'm putting in the tank, it's only 48! Exactly the same driving profile as the 306. I tried driving extra-economically on a long round trip of 1700 miles & whereas the 306 would easily have done 55 driving like that, the 307 was still below 50.
Couple of curious things to note. Last week I was very late for a meeting and did 30+ miles at a steady 80. The computer said I was down to average 54.3 on that tank, but filling to the brim again measured a little under 50, ie better than usual!
Also, if driving on minimum throttle, it seems to jerk a little every now and then.
Any suggestions as to any possible problems given the above symptoms. It's still under warranty if I need to get something fixed!
Cheers!
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CR
The jerkiness could be a software problem; get the latest version uploaded first.
Small diesels shifting a heavy vehicle aren't that economical. [Something that truck operators found years ago.] A big diesel running slower, on a light throttle, will always win. A Lister Blackstone straight-8 was at it's most efficient at 650rpm.
Your high-speed improvement was due to better aerodynamics and the steady speed - it's accelerating all that weight that kills the consumption figures.
As Government figures are done on rollers, where weight isn't a factor; when comparing with a lighter car, make a due allowance. A DPF will eat fuel too.
Buyers should be very careful about paying £200 for a vehicle inspection unless they are sure the vehicle is 100% perfect. My daughter paid for an inspection of a vehicle being sold by a dealer. The dealer had a current MOT dated 2/12/07. Being the Xmas season it had spent most of its time standing on his forecourt until the inspection was carried out on the 3/01/08.
The examiner did not road test the vehicle because, he alleged, one of the tyres was worn below the legal limit. He did not mention this to the vendor, who would have changed the wheel, but went on counting stone chips and marks on the trim. The result was an examination that was virtually worthless. The brakes, perhaps the most important aspect of a vehicle were not tested at all.
When I took the matter up with the inspection company they would not say why the vendor had not been informed about the tyre problem, but tried to say there was a coolant leak that also prevented the vehicle being road tested. This was total rubbish as the coolant level was checked as ok and in the final check coolant leaks were ticked as satisfactory. The examiner had noted however that one heater hose showed "signs" of coolant leakage. I had ridden in the vehicle just before the test and there were no leaks. (No doubt 50% of vehicles on the road will show slight seepage at one of their joints and another 50% will show oil seepage.) Oil leaks were not considered a problem by the inspection company .
So be warned, an MOT will only cost you £45 and at least they will test the brakes
Company name removed in accordance with the name and shame policy
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I am looking to colour-code the bumpers and door mouldings on my Ford Focus and would like to know if spraying over the original black plastic mouldings, or buying replacement parts which were already painted (for a different colour, as they did not make ST170's in tonic blue), then spraying the parts the colour of my car?
Thanks Read more
I have a faulty reversing light on a 2004 Ford Focus 1.8. It has been traced to being a possible fault with the connection between the gearbox and the electrics.
Would this be covered in a 2-year dealer warranty I received when purchasing the car last August?
Help would be appeciated,
Thanks
{subject header amended to give a brief mention of the question being asked} Read more
Should be, depends on the wording of the warranty of course. Mostly general wear and tear items are excluded but in general items such as a connector should be covered.
I haver a strange problem with my car sometimes after filling it up with oil it runs very rough on idle but on all four cylinders but after a few minutes the revs drop down to 600 and then it appears to run on 3 cylinders as the engine shakes vionetly.
I have noticed each time this has happened the brather pipe has been loose (it is too short) I need to replace this but can anybody explain how the oil cap breather pipe can cause major idle problems?
Its the old Push rod endura enit btw. Read more
The emissions always look very clean I never really see any smoke out of it all, in fact its just like what you would expect from a brand new car, nothing visible in this weather. The exhaust at the back is however very rusty but its all surface rust and its not blowing.
It uses I would say about 1 litre per 1000 miles, the top end of the engine sounds very healthy but there is a whining sound at idle which may well be connected to this fault. I would say the oil usage was normal for the Endura unit although my friend had one which had higher milleage and never used any.
Its also using a lot of brake fluid which my machanic told me is to do with the hydraulic clutch system but I think this is an isolated problem.
If it is sucking in air where would this be the manifold? The car also overevs sometimes when slowing down but this was fixed by cleaning out the MAF and idle control valve although my machanic says it will need a new MAF.
So could the MAF cause this problem?
Thanks.
I would half be tempted to get rid of it, but despite its problems its a very reliable car and very very nice to drive (when it works) as its a Ghia X.
Edit there is usualy a miss fire at around 20mph in 2 to 3rd gear and sometimes it reallt struggles to get to 30mph under load but is fine afterwards (e.g that low speed it misfires a lot).
I should add its ideling fine now (at 800rpm) but as soon as I add some new oil I know it will misfire again at idle.
Browse
Agree about NW Scotland and particularly the isles. Spent last week of May on Lewis. Except for the main spine most roads are ultimately dead ends but the drives out to North Tolsta and to Timsgarry were absolute delights. Constantly changing scenery and easy progress along emptyish roads, passing places used correctly throughout.
The hidden gem of a drive is the Pentland Road which cuts across the centre of Lewis from Stornoway to Carloway, terminating in what must be the Hebrides only grade separated junction!! (it goes under the main coast road before climbing up the hill side to a T junction). Older maps suggest it's just a by-way but in fact it is now mettalled throughout with the usual spacing of passing places. Signs do however warn that its not grittted in winter.
Mind you there's still plenty of good driving in southern England. A trip from Northampton to Stow on the Wold took us off the A43 at Croughton then on B roads via Aynho and Deddington almost to Chipping Norton. Back via Banbury and the B4525 to Thorpe Mandeville then Moreton Pinckney, Canons Ashby and Litchborough to the A5.
Sensible speed restrictions and traffic calming in the villages but NSL otherwise and little evidence of cameras (though the vans lie up in hotspots from time to time).