July 2008
Looking to buy an estate for the first time so need a bit of guidance!
Requirements are:
Preferably diesel
Manual
Space for a dog
Nice drive/stylish (know this is in the eye of the beholder)
Budget is about £3k, have perused the Volvos, Fords, Skoda estates and they all seem to fit the bill but need some real world experience.
Thanks in advance! Read more
Many threads here about the fragility and the cost of dual mass flywheels, which i confess i didn't know anything about till probably 12 months ago, thanks to the good chaps here.
I always where poss have proper auto's so haven't wrecked one yet.
There's advice to start the vehicle rolling on tickover and then to make the smoothest of changes, which is admirable, but i for one would be bored to death in minutes, and large cities would grind to a halt, and i'm sure that 99% of drivers would be the same.
Do the likes of the Ford transit and its peers have DMF's?
If they do, how come they aren't falling apart all over the place with disgruntled owners jumping up and down and shouting from the rooftops.
I drove transits back in the 70's, they used the V4 petrol which in its high compression form in the Ford cars would blow a head gasket very often, but in LC form as fitted to transit would last years.
Do they use vastly modified drive trains compared to cars?
I thrashed the living daylights out of them, and the current transit and other similar vans are driven with equal cruelty by their current young drivers.
Have you ever tried to beat a diesel MB sprinter off the lights, they could give a motorcycle a run for its money, so how come these vehicles which are usually driven absolutely flat out survive.
Whats the difference then, and if they don't have the dreaded DMF, how come they don't shake the engine to bits, as apparently a car diesel engine would?
Several times, people have been advised against fitting a modified normal solid type flywheel.
Please don't tell me it comes down to the strength of the gearbox or something, as i understand that vehicles like the hilux and other pick ups, 4 x 4s etc have these dratted things and the hilux box is far from weak. Read more
Ok, DMF diesels are problematic - there seems to be substantial evidence for that.
But is it an development & design problem - (ie all DMF diesels are flawed) or poor manufacturing?
I've had a petrol smell coming in through the ventilators for several months. It is particularly noticeable when using the accelerator. Two garages have inspected it thoroughly and found nothing to explain it. One changed the pollen filter but has had little effect. I really don't know where to go next. Can anyone help? Read more
Could it be a leaking exhaust manifold? My BMW has a leaking manifold and it smells like petrol sometimes, also if you have a charcoal canister that could have a leak? Not much help I know but it might encourage more informed people to have a go LOL
Over weekend had a leaky valve on Fiesta, so at 4.30pm on Saturday call into one National chain of tyre fitters - First thing guy on desk says is "I'm about to finish my shift in a minute, but what can we do for you". I tell him about valve. He says to wait while he goes and sees if anyone is free. He is gone for 1 minute, when he is chatting to a guy doing brakes on a car. Comes back and says "IF you give us a ring tomorrow, may be able to look at it then".
I give up and after driving around find another national chain, 10 mins before closing.
Guy behind desk is doing paperwork. Mention problem, he gets up, grabs a few tools and
within 1 minute he has tightened up a loose valve and gave me a spare cap and valve for free. No charge.
Guess where I will be going for my tyres next time.
I really wish I could mention the names of the chains concerned but I guess I cant.
Read more
I had that done at a well recommended independant specialist in Warrington. The fitter somehow scuffed/gouged the face of one alloy and broke the surface of edge of both rims.
They did immediately offer to pay for them to be refurbed, but on an 18mth old car that is prone to wheel corrosion, that messes up the warranty. I'd really only have been happy with new wheels and that wasn't going to happen.
I was gutted really, more so because I thought I'd found somewhere that would take care of them, only to have that hope dashed.
Reading HJ's column arguing for digital speedometers made me cringe. Increasingly car design seems to take no notice in well established ergonomic factors, whether that be i-drive and other control systems requiring you to look at them, not the road, to use them, or speedometers and other instruments going digital.
An analogue display is fundamentally superior in an application that requires the users focus to be predominantly elsewhere. With a well lit, well designed analogue indicator, there is no need to look at it to get a good idea of what it indicates from peripheral vision. Using a digital figure, or even just removing the centre of the needle to allow other instruments to be placed there, completely negates this benefit - an example would be the Honda Civic's rev counter, where you need to look straight at it to see what it reads.
Man people claim that they need a nice digital display so they can see what speed they are going at. Presumably these are the same people that then moan that they can't be checking their speed all the time as they need to look where they are going? The world is slowly going mad! Read more
Go on then gb. We know you can afford it... :o}
In reality may well be a reasonable buy for that sort of car. Saw one the other day I think.
Hi, i've just had a nightmare of a day trying to change a cv gator on my primera. I've done many gators on previous cars but have NEVER had one like this. It just didnt want to come off. Finally after taking out the drive shaftt and clamping it I finally got off the cir-clip. But now I have an even bigger problem as I've lost loads of gearbox oil. I need some help trying to locate where I refill the gearbox oil. Can anyone out there give me any pointers. Any help will be much appreciated.
Thanks
Andy. Read more
Post on here will give you the gen.
>www.npoc.co.uk/
HTH
Phil I
hi,
my vent of aircondition/heater at my clio works on high speed only or sometimes it automaticaly works even the controller on the dash in 0 level mode.
i know that the resistor pack is bad ,i replaced the melt plug.
could you help me to repair this resistor' i heared something about diode/fuse that repairing by. i have a picture of this resistor if you want.
thanks ,
kfir.
subject header altered to give a brief clue as to question being asked Read more
Lost power of engine
I lost power of engine on motorway. I could not get any boost of power of engine.
I press my accelerator up to end and did not get any improvement.
It is first time, my car passed 2000000miles and I did not get any troubles yet.
Could you help if someone had this problem? Please
Read more
2,000,000 and no power. Well that is not a surprise then. Simple things first, how about a blown Turbo hose or a split intercooler. Regards Peter
My 106's gearbox is rattling and whining and I noticed rebuild kits available on Ebay with 6 bearings and 3 oil seals.
Is it a difficult job to replace the worn bearings needing special tools? I've had motorbike boxes apart but never a car one.
Thanks for any comments. Read more
Suggestions and advice please - what is the best car that's reliable, inexpensive, simple and easy to fix, comfortable with reasonable performance, an everyday 4/5 seater ordinary car - not so concerned with size or fuel consumption but want just honest engineering and value - new or newish up to say £12K - does such a car exist in these days of Cam belts, DM flywheels, Ally wheels, Electric windows, Remote door locking, etc. none of which I want in a car - come back the last of the Cortinas? - any ideas? Read more
Non-turbo Impreza or Legacy, virtually bullet-proof.
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Am going to view a few variants over the weekend - the primera estate does look the part, okay in terms of reliability and is the satnav any good on it?
Also the 1.8 petrol in this car, a decent performer?