July 2008
I'm heading up north on Saturday, heading for Stoke on Trent. I intend using the M5, from junc 14 up to the M6 then on to junc 15. I expect to be leaving at about 9 to 9:30 am. I'm expecting slow traffic, etc where the M5/M6 merge, can anyone advise me of any other long term delays on this route, please?
Thanks.
MJM Read more
Hello all. I was wondering is someone on here can help me.
I have a Renault Espace 1993 L reg petrol 2.849cc .
Problem: Not passing emissions test for mot
Took vehicle previously to a different mot station and it failed on middle box blowing among other things. Please note at this time it passed all tests on emissions.
I have since replaced the middle section & back box with others bought from ebay (second hand but newish).
This time i took the espace to another mot station as the 10 days was up for retest and other station was £5 cheaper!
Problem is it keeps failing on the emissions now. They said get a new lambda sensor, so i did, they fitted it, guess what - it still fails!
the only part of the exhaust system that hasnt been replaced id the cat but they say it seems fine.
Could there be a problem with the middle section or rear section i have replaced which is giving false readings? The middle sectiond DOES have a small dent in it but i would imagine this shouldnt be a problem?
Any suggestions would be welcome as i am not sure what to do next.
Read more
If you have no reading at all[??] from the oxygen sensor; then maybe a check of the wiring betwwen sensor and ECU would be a good place to start.
This is an old Renault....
To check the cat; measure the temp of the pipe going in and the temp of the pipe coming out.
Hi folks,
I'm renewing the shocks all round on my mondeo -got the rears done today. Just one thing I'm bit unsure of; I've reconnected the arms and tie bar etc. and I've noticed that the strut sits to one side of the bump stop seating area and not in the centre. And it's the same on the other side. When the arms are refitted they obviously pull the knuckle and strut into some kind of alignment .. so I'm kinda trusting that! I've never done this before so any advice would be welcomed. Front ones are next along with the wishbones.
On a different topic, I need to have my front seat welded cause it's broken at the joint. But there's an airbag module just above where it needs to be welded. Would this be dangerous?
Thank you for your help guys. Looking forward to your replies. Read more
Have recently taken pocession of a 2nd hand golf GTI 2.0 - & 17000 miles on the clock.
As most usual on a test drive with the dealers rep. all appeared well and the car
appealed to me so i went for it. Its a great car and im very happy with it (having
always wanted to own one) The only thing that annoys me about it is, when i would be
doing some town driving (stop \start) that there is a form of thumping noise that is
felt thru the clutch pedal when moving off from rest in first gear? Its not very loud
and dissapears as soon as the car gets under way. Im confident its coming from the
clutch somewhere? but when i left the car into the VW dealer for a check they said its
nothing to worry about and has something to do with the DMF (dual mass flywheel)
In other words VW dealer says this is a normal type sound on a Golf GTI 2.0 FSI turbo!
Is there anyone out there has the same type of problem? or is aware of some light
thumping sound when moving off from rest. Im considering having an independent
motor engineer check out my car as i just can;t accept that this is a normal 'status
quo' on a car that appears to be of a very high engineering build.
Read more
Been hearing through grapevine of a number of non dmf's deisel's tearing the friction plate from the center boss,My guess would be animals thinking they are rally drivers.These engines produce a lot of tourque and it's not hard to join the dots.Todays drivers don't have any mechanical sympathy,Some of the thing's Ive seen would make you weep.Cant help but wonder if maker's thought dmf's would be a soulution rather than the mess they are.Many times it's down to manufacturers.At least as many are at the feet of drivers.I know a lot of people are having problems,But i,would like to see a table of units sold/fitted and faults reported.I remember doing a clutch(non dmf)one time that was'nt just down to the rivets it had actually welded inself together.Jawdropping!!
Bit embarrassing for someone who thinks they can identify most cars around, but here goes. Can anyone tell me what the red car is in the Liverpool Victoria TV ad, the one the runaway Volvo smashes into first ? Is it a real car or have the boffins retouched the image to create something else entirely ?
Read more
according to "Google" twas filmed in Cape Town, S.Africa, so full marks to the sleuths that suggested it.
Billy
ive bought a yaris its got locking wheel nuts,and no hope of getting the key. what should i do Read more
check in service book for the key number for the nuts (your toyota dealer can order the key with the number) and in all the storage boxes etc, failing that, a garage can relatively easily remove the offending nuts, and either replace them with another set or put normal nuts back on.
After four weeks with the new Focus estate, I have a very sore neck. My last three cars have had progressively worse head restraints and this car has the worst I have ever encountered. The angle is all wrong, probably about 30 degrees forwards, meaning that the top of the restraint is more or less "shoving" my head forwards all the time. I have tried every possible height and backrest angle and whatever I do the top of the restraint goes bang bang bang against my head with the slightest undulation of the road (don't get me started on road humps!) or else I am reclined so far back that I can barely reach the wheel!
I am all in favour of road safety, reduction of injuries, particularly whiplash, but I can't believe it's impossible to structure head restraints to be comfortable and safe. The Rover SD1 had removeable button-on pads, Renaults have wonderful folding cushions which mould to the driver's head and neck, so why does a mass production car have to be so uncomfortable? Read more
Thanks for the replies so far!
I didn't actually get to choose the Focus, it's a company car. And a Vectra I had some years ago had better positioned restraints, with the passive safety feature mentioned above. The Focus is excellent in every other respect, but those head restraints will be the death of me. (I hope not!)
I came across this article whilst browsing: tinyurl.com/6kdty5
Perhaps inflatable head restraints are the way forward. Well, why not? The old Ford Scorpio had hand-pumped lumbar control adjustment: effective and much cheaper than electric motors which don't last forever.
Something else I miss from cars of the past: that pull-up lever to adjust backrest angle, where you could adjust the seat by leaning towards or away from the backrest. Much quicker and easier than that infernal wheel which is all but impossible to adjust while driving. And not exactly practical for those odd snatched moments of the more intimate forms of in-car-entertainment (sigh...) I don't normally like electrics here, but a recent hired Passat had fantastic electric seat adjustment - electrically heated too for real luxury.
I have been trying (fruitlessly) to obtain a green card from Direct Line to cover Morocco which was always possible a few years ago.
I suggested that even without I would be covered '3rd-party'. I was then told that this was not the case. However, in the policy doucument it states that cover is for:-
"any country which the Commission of the European Community approves as meeting the requirements of Article 7(2) of the European Community Directive on Insurance of Civil Liabilities arising from using motor vehicles (number 72/166/CEE)."
Does anyone know which countries outside the EU are covered? I have searched the web and all policies seem to use similar phraseology without listing countries.
p.s. Can any insurer sell me a green card for Morocco - preferably 'stand alone', although I would consider moving from Direct Line all-together.
Thanks.
Read more
They can obviously pick and choose which countries to cover!
Well they are providing automatically cover for any country covered by the EU directive
>>
My gripe is that they do not state which countries are covered by the EU directive (and it is not just EU countries).
I have travelled to Morocco at least 5 times (as recently as 2 years ago) with Direct Line have never had a problem getting Green card until this year.
Has the directive changed? Or are they following a different one to previously. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that the cover I once had would be similar on renewal.
Had my Mazda 323 broken into this evening, and the radio/cassette nicked. I can pick up a new cheap & cheerful stereo at Halfords, but are there any recommendations for getting the passenger's side window replaced? I've heard of a company called Autoglass, but are there others.
I have 6 years no claims so don't want to do it via insurance.
Thanks
Pete Read more
Thanks for the suggestions. I've done some fiddling around with car insurance renewal quotes on Confused.com and, as far as I can tell, a claim for glass won't affect my premium next time round. So I'll probably go via my insurance and stump up the £50 excess. Then I'll need to find a cheap radio/cassette (actually only ever use the radio) but it looks like you can only get them with CD players nowadays. Halfords here I come.
Autoglass quoted me £172, by the way.
My car recently failed its MOT on high emissions. I replaced the catalytic converter and it didn?t bring down the emissions and it failed again. Anybody any idea?s what else it could be?
Thanks. Read more
Shane
The gases suggest it's too rich; the Lambda too lean. Is there any way you can get it on a 4-gas analyser? Does it run smoothly?
Are there any leaks in the exhaust manifold area? Can you get it plugged-in and the codes/live-data read? The thrust [MAP] and oxygen sensor readings would be useful.
Browse
.jpg)
Download this application and check the info in real time befoe you set out.
www.highways.gov.uk/traffic/11253.aspx
The direct route you describe is 2 hours 8 minues, if there are no delays!