July 2008
As a bit of fantasy buying name your dream VED bargain at your (realistically) dream price.
Mine. BMW M3 2001 £7,000.
At that price screw the VED. Read more
Have just bought a 2006 hybrid. Love it, and am getting about 53mpg.
Only problem is a persistent creaking/rattle from the dashboard area, especially when cold. Seems to be coming from the area around the radio/heater controls - these creak when pressed hard.
Does anyone have any ideas how this could be fixed, please?
Cheers, Tony Read more
My Freelander drifts to the left on almost any road. The rate is about 1m left to 70 - 100 metres forward. Local LR dealer (main agent) states that this is a safety feature so as to avoid hitting the ARMCO on a motorway; this view is endorsed by Land Rover customer relations. They call it camber sensitivity.
Has any one had similar experiences?
BN
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See Honest John, D Teleg, 6 July, SKODA x2. Parallel story is it not?
BN
I have a high mileage, 1997 Renault Laguna 2.0, 8 valve petrol, which has developed an engine vibration/misfire starting at about 2000 revs. It has done this three times whilst I've had it. The causes were:- 1.Piston ring failure dropping the compression on one cylinder. 2. Failed valves doing the same. 3. The same again different cylinder.
All were repaired successfully except on the last occasion when the misfire remained, to the extent that cylinder does not even fire at tick over.
All investigations have failed to find a cause - compressions are fine, no obvious bore damage, no leaks, the cylinder head is good and the fuel injectors have been replaced though they were firing properly anyway.
A Renault specialist advised that the engine management showed nothing wrong and suggested that a pattern part coil was a common cause of misfires on Renault engines. They replaced the coil for the affected cylinder, the second coil and the HT leads were later replaced but still the problem persists. Everyone is baffled so if anyone has any ideas they would be gratefully received, before I have to put the car out of it's misery.
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You have been remarkably - suspiciously - unlucky with this engine? If correct; that catalogue of disasters would suggest that it suffered an "incident" in it's earlier life.
First identify the misfiring cylinder. Then spray a little brake cleaner into the intake at idle and see if that pot starts to fire on it. If so; fuel; - if not; spark, air or compression; so do a running compression test for a sticky valve.
A vacuum gauge on the inlet manifold may show something useful too.
Ok, not quite, but check out page 20-21 of this tech magazine....
dennis.cerosmedia.com/1P486392452998d485.cde
Nice concept, could prevent a few of those car-park dings although might need a needle and thread to repair it instead... Read more
Stretching it a bit, me thinks...:-)
I bought a BMW OBD2, 16 pin plugin reset tool to use on my 2005 320d. I follow the instructions for use. At the point of reset the 3 lights (yellow, green and red) flash continuously (they should go off then come back on to indicate reset) and the reset does not happen. I sent the first tool back to China and when the replacement arrived the same problem occurs. Should I have bought direct from China? The seller suggest returning the second tool.
The car is not yet due for service should I wait and try again when it is?
Has anyone bought this type of reset tool and had a similar problem?
John Pulman Read more
is it a digital or analouge type service system?. I suspect it has a can network for that age. Does your have I drive or CBS service reset system?. If its CBS you will need an advanced tool & you will need to carry out a very specific procedure.
In May i left my 405 1.9 TD sat for a week while i was away. When i came back it would not start, the engine turned over fine but it wasn't even trying to fire up. I primed the fuel system using the squidgy rubber pump and it fired up no problem. The car hasn't been left more than a couple of days since and has been fine with no starting or running problems until last night. The car has just been sat for 4 days and when i came to use it last night i had the same problem, i primed the fuel system and it started fine and it started fine this morning. I am thinking that air is getting in somewhere under the bonnet and allowing the diesel to run back into the tank, but i don't know where and i can't see any leaks. Has anyone else had this problem on the peugeot 1.9 TD engine?
cheers
Jon Read more
I've had this problem for 18 months, I just kept priming it until last week when it would not hold the fuel in the line at all. When I saw from 1 of the replies that the priming pump had non-return valves fitted, I tried a new one and it solved the problem. The valves must deteriorate slowly, with the cold causing the problem to be exagerated(mine was better in the summer).Anyway, the new pump cost me just under £20 from a Peugeot dealer.
Good luck!
Steve
I've just bought a '95 Jeep Cherokee 4.0l Ltd. with an lpg conversion and for the first few days, it has run perfectly. However, it has now started cutting out at every junction and roundabout while on gas but no problems when on petrol. I have to admit I may have accidentally allowed the tank to run dry on the way to my first gas fill-up but there's none of the backfiring I was warned about. The car's been pretty well maintained and it has a Mandini single point system. I dearly want to solve this and start enjoying it again. Any suggestions? Read more
I bought a new Vapourizer on E bay for £80 delivered for a 4.2 Nissan Patrol conversion. Made in Turkey. Fitting cost £45
Cutting out : check the vehicle's water level in the cooling system. If low that could be a cause of the cutting - out problem .
The junction I am talking about is the M3 J4a coming from the Southbound carriageway.
You exit the motorway, loop round 180° and come to a roundabout at which you can turn left to go back over the motorway, or right towards Farnborough (mentioned for ease of reference later).
100 yds or so before the roundabout itself, a separate left hand lane appears which becomes a left filter lane. Separating this lane from the roundabout, and traffic coming off the roundabout from Farnborough, is a large concrete "island" with kerbstones. In other words, it's very distinctive.
As you take this filter lane to turn left, the island eventually tapers and disappears to merge with the traffic flow coming from Farnborough. It is at this point that I am confused as to rights of way.
Traffic from both the motorway, and from Farnborough join a single carriageway (motorway bridge). There are no Give Way signs anywhere, and no road markings of any description except for those coming from the Farnborough direction who are treated to one of those curved, left pointing painted arrows on the road that you always see in advance of a double white line on a single carriageway. This is placed just before the concrete island disappears and the two roads merge.
Who has right of way here - the traffic coming from the motorway, or the traffic coming from Farnborough, and what is the significance of the arrow?
I only ask because I had an somewhat heated debate through open windows with a chap in a white van yesterday, and it's been bothering me whether I'm right or not. ;-)
Cheers
DP
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The hooked arrow would tend to indicate the traffic from Farnborough should merge left, so the onus (but maybe not a legal obligation) is to move across and merge with the traffic already in the left lane. Isn't there some general precedent though, that you should always give way to vehicles on your right?
The other thing is, that if you're ahead and he simply drives in to the side of your car, then he surely would be guilty of careless (or maybe maybe dangerous) driving?
I guess the circumstances are the same as any where 2 lanes merge into one - there's one I use most days and it's always a battle of wills. Traffic going straight through a roundabout from 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock clogs the left lane - I (and others) approach from the 3 o'clock position so have no alternative but to come off the roundabout into the right lane, which immediately ends.
The hooked arrow is in the left lane urging the driver to move to their right so I'm convinced that we have priority in the right lane but drivers in the left lane (barely moving) do everything they can to block us out. I was so annoyed recently at a Porsche that left a gap and then blocked me as I merged that I drove at his car - but he thankfully sprinted out of the way.
There seems to be divided opinion on whether you must serve the needs of other drivers, ie must sit right on the speed limit and overtake any slower moving vehicle at the first opportunity, regardless of whether or not you yourself are in any kind of hurry.
I personally leave room for people to overtake, but if I wish to potter along at 50 mph on an A-road, I surely will and if I get stuck behind a lorry doing 40 mph, unless Im in a huge hurry, I believe im well within my rights not to bother overtaking.
What is wrong with driving at a reasonable, but not fast pace? Is it not so much the pace of the slower car, but the driver behind thinking that they are infact far more important and people should yield to their will? Read more
Nobody should be expected to speed up beyond the legal limit, thats a personal choice as breaking the law should never be an obligation. If one chooses to do so, they must also accept that they will come across law-abiding citizens who they will have to wait for.
Incidentally, the average speed camera section of the A14 near Huntingdon/Cambridge works ever so well and it was so rare that anyone came flying up behind you if you stuck at 70. Certainly made for a stress-free drive.
Browse
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They aren't going for a lot more than that now, expect £11k for an early '01 with c. 100k miles. It's not just the VED, it's fuel, running costs and arrival of the new model. Look at the e36 M3's, they're starting at £4k now