June 2008
I have a g reg 405,The problem is that when driving if i press the brake they work, but if i lift and press them again the peddle goes hard and i loose braking. I have bled the brakes and checked the servo with a vacuum gauge and it holds vacuum. I haven`t noticed any fluid loss
Please help. Read more
1997 Vectra B V6 has started to idle very rich occasionally. Usually only happens after being in heavy traffic. It starts to hunt on idle and the revs are a bit erratic and sometimes the engine just stalls. Dash display normally says 0.2 or 0.3 gals/hour, but when this rich idle is going on it jumps to around 0.8! I have cleaned the throttle body, breathers and IAV to no avail.
Before I cause a fuel shortage, has anyone got an idea what might be causing this.
Thanks
TN Read more
You know how it is, cruising around the highways and byways, concentrating on the job in hand, and having peculiar disjointed thoughts.
Well today for some unknown reason i remembered the small problem encountered when trying to restart my mk3 zodiac after giving it a quick overhaul, decoke, new valve springs, rings, and bearings.
Well, when i went to restart, it wouldn't. So check for the usual suspects, all ok.
Delving further i discovered that the rotor arm was between contacts at firing point, and then i realised what i'd done, IIRC the distributor was driven off the oil pump drive, it may not have been that, but something along those lines (long time ago now), and i hadn't got the gears in the correct place for firing. (maybe it was timed off the camshaft?)
So faced with stripping out again, i instead got out the faithful junior hacksaw, and cut a new rotor arm keyway in the distributor shaft almost opposite, but at 2 o'clock if that makes any sense.
Anyway, changed the leads around, retimed and all good.
Now i know this is a terrible admission to make, and the proper mechs here would have a fit. In mitigation, i was 18. (its a fair cop guv)
Has that triggered any memories, or prompted any confessions of jobs done, and discoveries of rather important parts that should really have been inside the repair. Read more
Should imagine there's a lot more embarrassing stories out there than ours, whats coming up though is how much easier it was to repair simply the odd breakdown, and if you'd got a bit of bottle to have a go at quite major work.
I've definately lost it now, terrified of all this computerised stuff, if either of the cars didn't start it would be a real head scratching time, whereas before we'd just go systematically through the routine of electrical, then more electrical and lastly fuel.
I know a lot of us still change our own discs and pads and do our own servicing, but the makers are trying to make that more difficult, i understand you have a a very strict sequence of events to follow if you own a car with very modern emergency powered braking systems.
Take the E class MB from 03 for example, if you don't follow a set routine precisely, once you take out a brake pad, the car will power up the brakes and pump the piston out to the disc to maintain the correct pressure, hope your finger's not in the way, even opening the drivers door will trigger this.
Thanks for those, keep em coming.
Can someone help me?
How do i re-synchronize my remote central locking
I have a 1998 ford fiesta
Thanks
{Volume lowered - ie got rid of the UPPER case text} Read more
Just bought the above car and I have a question. When I put the foot down and the revs climb to around 3500, I hear the air rushing into the turbo, but then a dull whine appears. Is this normal for the red i engine? I'm aware it has a different turbo setup to normal diesels, but it really doesnt sound right to me. Read more
snipquote!
Just to follow on from the previous message, I don't think I explained it very well.
The droning noise only appears whilst accelerating, and also only if accelerating hard. As soon as I lift off the accelerator the noise disappears. It's as if another pump kicks in to assist with the acceleration.
Haven`t seen much change around the City ring roads in driving habits. Cars surging past on full turbo boost, then braking heavily at the next roundabout.
Made me wonder, where`s the evidence of concern for saving money? Everyone was really flooring it on the ring road this AM. (As always) You could almost hear the pedals being thwacked to the floor as they surged alongside turbo`s hissing, braking, surging and then dropping back at times due to lack of anticipation.
Made me wonder, as belts are tightened in coming months, will this on and off pedal to the metal thwacking continue while ever the car is on the road.
Sort of, "can only afford £10 worth of fuel love, no food in the fridge" then off up the road, in the old 4w Road-Tractor or fading Luxo-scrote.... thump-thwack-pedal-clack-surge-brake-lurch... 12mpg
Put simply, at what point will smooth economical driving start? Or is it either not understood or ignored by a `want it all-now society?
Will some people choose to just not take the car out instead or will they be seen at the roadside gasping in indignation and blaming something else, such as the car, for having run out of fuel?
;)
Even made myself yawn there, was it worth bothering? Read more
I've tried curbing my speed and acceleration but it's so boring. I've got to have some excitement in the few years that I've statistically got left!
A colleague bought a 1 year old Vectra about three weeks ago. So far the folowing has occurred:
1. Developed a fuel leak - back to dealer for repairs.
2. Rolled back into office wall while manoevering - parking sensors now installed.
3. Garage door fell against car while being moved - knocked off door mirror and damaged door skin - quotes for repair awaited.
4. This morning, windscreen cracked. Repaired today.
Has anyone else bought a car that seemed destined to be unlucky? Read more
I had a 1996 Omega 2.0 GLS for a few years.Nice comfy car, lovely to drive but just about everything that could go wrong on it, did!
Plus it was vandalised. Then someone kicked the mirror off (denting the door as well)
Then plod thought it was stolen (cloned plates)
Then a local quick fit type of branch bust the sump whilst doing an oil change.
Aren't all cars unlucky?
Hello all,
Hope someone can give me some advise.
My first insurance accident claim, shunted into the back of car in front on Friday 13th, no one injured thankfully .
The damage to my pick-up is front bumper, radiator, oil cooler, bonnet and various lights indicators etc. Insurance engineer is valueing repair costs in the region of £3700/4000 which seems high to me as it is mostly cosmetic damage apart from the radiators.
He is indicating that it is not economical to repair as the market value is £4000. I do not understand this low valuation as I cannot replace this vehicle with the same mileage for this but he insists that is all it is worth.
The pick-up is a LWB 2.5TD Double Cab Animal 4WD reg December 2000 with 60,690 miles.
Can anyone advise me if this value is realistic and if not, what action I can take and use against the insurance company.
I always thought that 'insurance' should put you in the same position before the loss, as I have said, this pick-up cannot be replaced at this price.
Thanks in anticipation of replies. Read more
you could replace it for 4k with a similar truck ,look on auto trader or Brightwells auctions ,the money is just about right according to these sites
there is one for sale with 40k miles for £4750 surely you could get a bit of that if you waved cash at the seller
you could always take the money and buy it back and repair it with mostly second hand parts which would make it much cheaper to do
hi i have a peugeot 307 sw 2.0 hdi on a 52 plate, the problems i am having is that when you try to start the car it seems to turn over for about 10 seconds then it try's to fire up but then it just carry'ies on turning over for a further 10-20 seconds then if lucky it will fire up and run, but have also noticed that if the engine has been run and is up to normal temperature you get the same problem and it can take longer to get going, i have replaced the glowplugs and when cold you do get voltage going to the glowplugs, the engine in the car is the 110bhp. any help would be appreciated many thanks markie369
Read more
had similar problem with my 53reg in colder weather and it turned out to be starter motor pulling too many amps and causing havoc with rest of car electrics. fitted new starter and job done!! good luck.
Interesting to note that the most reliable cars in the WhatCar reliability survey were mostly small cars. The least reliable cars were the larger/heavier ones.
Could this be due to the smaller cars not being so highly stressed as a result of power/performance issues and hence things don't tend to break as easily ?
What do you reckon ? Read more
Hmmmm....
"Ford Scorpio owners should be wary, over half of those on Warranty Direct?s books needed warranty work last year."
Well, considering the youngest Scorpio is now 10 years old, is this really a shock?
Browse
Thanks for your advice.
I have found a split in the diaphram of the vacuum pump making the vacuum weak.
Could this cause the brakes to seize as I have noticed the front o/s caliper seems to seize occasionally?
Many Thanks