August 2008
Hi, My 206 cuts out when stuck in traffic or when slowing down at the lights, my mechanic has fitted a new throttle body and a coil pack but its still cutting out.Does anybody have any advice as to cure the problem before I get frustrated and do a basil fawlty on it.
Thanks Read more
When I had the bonnet up on my ford focus 1.8 petrol (Zetec E) I noticed at the front of the engine near where the cylinder head cover joins the top of the engine it looked like there was grease or oil there which I wiped off onto some paper and it looked jet black. I was alarmed to see this although I don't think I have any engine oil leaks as I check the dipstick once a week and the level doesn't change much. I am wondering if it could be from where oil may have been spilt on previous oil changes at the garage. Or could it be from when the timing belt was changed.
Any ideas are welcome ,thanks.
Read more
it may be where the garage had spilt some oil or it may be engine fumes where the oil fill cap has not be fitted right
Hi,
I had to call out the AA yesterday as my new shape Galaxy started belching out smoke from the bonnet in traffic. Diagnosis was clutch burn, which would right itself once cooled down.
Car has been parked overnight, but upon driving a short distance, the horrrible burning clutch smell is still present, despite the clutch itself feeling fine with plenty of bite.
Any ideas how much it would cost to replace the clutch ? Or could there be another problem ?
Cheers
Read more
Might be a different type of clutch but I cooked mine a couple of weeks ago, and it just slipped all the way back home. I left the car for a week and its been fine now though I will know for sure after I have used it more. If the clutch had cooked itself so much that you could see smoke surely damage has been done to the friction plate? At the very least your wife has probably shortened the life of the clutch even if its still ok.
Hi all,
Bit (more) advice please!!!
We live on a newish estate with one main estate road running through the houses.
You HAVE to drive down the bigger road to get to our house.
In roughly quarter to half mile stretch there are no less than SIX speed humps,
both the "cushion" type and "table top" type.
My problem is when i go over the cushion type its scraping underneath the car.
I go really slowly and carefully straddling the cushion and its scraping each time.
The speed humps are a fairly new addition. When they were first put there i called the council and asked about it and was told they were checked and were the correct height.
I cannot believe a standard vehicle cannot pass over them without being damaged.
Its a mini cooper S, which is not exactly a rare car! The piece on the car is below the front bumper, i guess its called a splitter or valance????????????????
I want to have this replaced as its all scraped and scuffed and imo the council should pay to replace this and come and look at the humps and adjust them???
Is this a resonable request????? What can i expect the council to say???
Any help/experience of similar problems greatly appreciated.
P.S Im not saying i want the humps removed, the people on the end of the estate drive with nutters and i have to go so slowly ive actually been over taken.
AND its right outside a school so its a good thing i suppose, although SIX its quite excessive. Read more
I think that a lot of people who drive 'normal' size cars, such as a Focus, don't realise what a difference it makes driving over them in a smaller car where you don't get the 'wheels each side' benefit.
I treat them the same way that I would a pothole of similar dimensions. That is a complete stop before each one and a 5mph crawl over. One road I drive down every day has 1/2 mile of them.
This morning I was forced to give way on a fairly busy urban roundabout to a jogger running on the roadway of the roundabout. There are perfectly good pavements and the usual crossing islands at the entrance to the roundabout.
When I saw the runner approaching in the carriageway from my right I edged forward, ,obviously with no intention of causing a coliision, but the jogger waved his hand at me with a 'keep back' gesture.
I know that a jogger is effectively a cyclist without a bicycle, but when I'm a pedestrian I'd never dream of re-classifying myself as a vehicle and walking/running in the carriageway, unless there was no footway to use. Read more
road tax revenue pays only for the upkeep of Motorways and A class roads.
all other roads are paid for out of council tax
'Road tax' is not hypothecated specifically for roads, it just goes into the general pot at the Treasury along with all other taxation. A Council's income is only partly Council tax, with the majority being government grants coming from the Treasury.
So you cannot say 'that tax pays for that' and even if you do not own a car or ever use anything that goes on a road, you still pay tax for its upkeep.
Hi, does anybody know if its possible to fut a Bocsh fuel pump (from an earlier model) onto a later engine that has a lucas pump on. Will it fit striaght on?
Thanks Read more
Im actuallt talking about the D turbo version, sorry. these posts have been very helpful indeed. thanks.
i have a Peugeot 306 1.9 i have lost my key and need to get into the car how am i able to do this with as little damage as possible?
Read more
fair point on refelextion you are correct whoops
stotty365@hotmail
if you can help?
I was thinking of a Pious for SWMBO (who likes Toyotas, as I do. It sounds as if it would be spot-on for her daily 12 miles each way in heavy traffic.) but blimey the prices! Comparing it against a Focus 1.6 discounted at drivethedeal to under £12,000, it's impossible to justify because it would be aeons before the fuel savings offset the extra outlay.
Does anyone know if anyone sells Prii (I presume that's the plural) cheap? Read more
the baroque engineering of the pseudo-green Prius
Hybrid drivelines aren't really baroque NW. Ferdinand Porsche had a bee in his bonnet about them and was making petrol-electric army lorries during the first world war and kept designing diesel-electric tanks and so forth. Don't think they were all that good though.
The very fine-looking (and also slug-like in appearance although quite rapid) Tatra 603 had a steering column gearchange whose linkage went down the steering column, wnt there through an acute angle and then under the floor for the whole length of the car to the gearbox just in front of the rear axle line. Now that's baroque. 'Only a Czech would have thought of it,' a Czech car-freak friend told me with wry pride.
Actually, I can't find the damn thing!! Any ideas anyone? Read more
As in "look its over 'ere"
My coolant tank keeps emptying. I noticed on Wednesday that it was a little low, by Friday it was completely empty so I filled it up and bled the radiator. Then, after traveling for around 16 miles, it was empty again with the red STOP light coming on and the engine temperature was around 110 Celsius (C). Any ideas what could be causing this as the radiator is completely dry, would this indicate a hose or tank leak???
Thanks in advance,
Walkiden11
Read more
Also be aware that if the engine temperature is regularly reaching 110C on an empty cooling system the leak will be the least of your problems! This needs fixing before you drive it much further.
Did he change the idle speed control valve with the t/body?
If not; both it and it's drive signals from the ECU need checking - as does the stability of the ignition timing; failing coilpacks can spike the ECU on these and ruin the timing and/or idle control circuits.