September 2008
Please could you tell me how to remove diesel from a corsa petrol tank-about three and a half gallons worth with little petrol already in?
I've tried using two types of syphon from a car accessory shop with no fluid coming out at all. The tank filler pipe seems very narrow and with a bend on it. Does it also have an anti-syphon valve? Can't see any drain plug under the tank.
If i manage to syphon it out do i need to do anything else like clean out fuel lines or put injector cleaner in the new tank of petrol? If so how much petrol should i refill the tank with and do i then run it or is it better to re-syphon this out also?
Thanks Read more
I recently bought a rover 216 and it appears there is problem with the radiator as it got over heated. I drove for over 70miles without problems and suddenly the engine cut out. It still starts after rolling the engine for some time and allowing it to cool down but the water disappears when ever it i top up .It also gets easily heated up,radiator looks rusty though. I do not want to think the water pump or Gasket is gone as the there was was boiling and flying everywhere in the water storage unit. Has anyone experienced such issues pls as i am considering changing the radiator. HELP PLS!!!! Read more
The clutch actuator packed up, due to a lack of fluid. Filling up the resevoir helped a lot, but do I need to bleed the thing? If so, how? Read more
>>I can't see how to bleed the thing.
Follow the pipe from the clutch master cylinder (aluminium casting bloted to the bulkhead), and it should go to the gearbox or clutch bellhousing area via a length of flexy. There, you either find a slave cylinder outside the bellhousing with a bleed nipple, or, if the slave cyclinder is concentric with the gearbox input shaft, you'll just find a metal block with a bleed nipple on it.
If there's an external slave cylinder, it will be obvious if it's leaking. If it's a concentric type, you'll have to remove an inspection bung, and have a nosey into the bellhousing to see if it's leaking or not.
Obviously, repairing/replacing a concentric type if needed is a major job, requiring the engine and gearbox to be seperated. During such major work, it's usual to fit a complete clutch kit, as the price of the labour by far outstrips the price of the parts.
At the weekend, noticed what seemed to be a clutch issue - the pedal returned to about 3/4 "up", then after a second or two, fully "up", with a "clonk!". The car was very difficult to get into gear, and it was easier to start the engine in gear, clutch "disengaged", and do very careful changes. Obviously, the clutch wasn't working very well!
A quick look in the drivers footwell showed a nice cadmium-plated new-looking 10mm bolt on the floor. After a lot of uncomfortable time spent wriggling about upside-down, getting poked in the eye with pedals, dropping torch onto nose, etc., *still* couldn't find where the bolt went.
So, up with the bonnet, to see whether the linkage could be seen.
Bother. The light dawned!!
No fluid in the clutch fluid resevoir! A quick slosh of DOT3 & functionality restored!
Still no idea where the flippin' bolt came from.
What motoring-oriented red herrings have *you* come across? Read more
cadmium-plated new-looking 10mm bolt ......
It's unlikely it was cadium plated because this has only been used in limited circumstances on cars for yonks because of its toxicity. tinyurl.com/43yc4h
I worked with cadmium plated disc brake components in the 1960s and I just hope it hasn't adversely affected me.
Hi, First time on here so please be gently.
I've had my voyager from new, but the alarm is now playing up. Need advice as to whether to just live with it or fix it.
Alarm went off and would not deactivate, immobiliser is working fine. My wife called the
AA who just went and removed the sounder. But from what I can see there's is still a issue. If you use the remote to lock the doors, then unlock again the indicator
signals flash inside the car but not the exterior lights, so this must mean the alarm is still
on. Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery does not help in reseting.
Thanks in advance,
Ian Read more
Thanks for the feedback, it was replaced after a few years old because of water ingress.
Think I'll open the unit up a take a look.
Ian
Hi guys. This question arises from another thread over in Discussion. Essentially my 5 year old diesel MPV (53 reg) has now done just shy of 25k. It's been fully dealer serviced to date and has just sailed through its MOT but is due a cambelt change with its next service due shortly.
Last year I asked one of the garage staff if I should continue bothering with full annual services given the low mileage I'm doing which is mainly off peak social driving with the odd motorway blast whilst on holidays, days out etc. He seemed to think 'intermediate' servicing might be a good idea but didn't seem all that convinced so I'm really not sure. TBH I have no idea if the garage are even doing all the servicing work listed but I clearly don't want to be wasting money on servcing which isn't really necessary. I'm inclined towards getting the cam belt done shortly due to the catastrophic results if it fails but would it be sensible to just get a basic service/oil change done at this point?
Cheers!
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Why not get a quote from a good Independant first and ask their advice.
In my opinion, whilst in for cam belt, just have oil/air filter and oil change only. The milage is low and the car does a varied milage. Why spend more than you may need to.
Followed a really, really ugly car at the weekend. Some sort of Volvo, with a dire derriere. What was it? Read more
The world's highest mileage Volvo is a P1800, at 2.5 million. One owner from new, American obviously.
Someone please post here when a C30 reaches a million miles and then we can assess its reliability.
I'm having a bit of a recurring problem with my Zafira & it appears to be a bit of a common fault. After hard acceleration down a short stretch of road it always seems to stall when I dip the clutch as I stop for the roundabout or junction. It isn't a permanent thing although there is a stretch of road about quarter mile where I live that I can always get this result without fail - as the clutch dips the revs drop to just about 500rpm then it stalls.
Having read up a bit, this does seem to be quite common, but most people seem to get this after long motorway runs while my car is actually fine after a motorway blast - just not when I give it a quick blast.
Where I've read there seem to be 2 possible causes - one school of thought is that the Idle Control Valve is carboned up & needs cleaning or replacing (I'm guessing expensive as apparently it's in the throttle housing) & the other suggests that the EGR valve is to blame & requires either replacement (& a lot of comments seem to suggest that the problem returns after a couple of thou miles) or blanking off by the dealer.
Here's a bit of background on the car:
it has 47k on the clock - suspect mostly from short urban trips.
Most of my driving is short urban trips.
It had a full service in March using genuine Vauxhall parts.
& I use Tesco fuel.
Can anybody help me before I spend a fortune getting a garage to systematically change all these parts until they found the cause or is it a combination of all these things anyway? Read more
Had the opportunity for a brief drive in a new Superb on Saturday. 2.0TDi 170 Elegance with DSG. There's no doubt it's a huge car with loads of cabin space - cabbies doing regular airport runs will be queuing up for them - it will take four passengers and all their luggage easily.
Agree with all HJ says, apart from ride which I found harsh on the 18 inch rims and there is no option to downsize the wheel option on this model. No one touch indicators either - or they had been turned off. It wasn't raining so no idea if no rear wiper is a problem.
About £26k for the spec I drove, which included park assist which the salesman managed to convince every one not to have by saying if either car you are parking between is on the kerb you will end up on the kerb! If you don't want an all singing all dancing model mid to high teens will get you a very large and comfortable motorway cruiser.
The model name in the plastic reflector for the headlights lights looks naff!
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I've got my invitation to the 'ride and drive' event tomorrow - should be interesting enough. I'm more interested in the estate when that arrives on these shores next year!
2005 Vectra 2.2 sri. My air con was working perfectly, then just stopped. The light comes on on the dash when selected and the fan is working but the air temp does not go cold. A friend in a Ford garage carried out a gas check and said there was no leak on the system (his machine checks for leaks then recharges the gas) he repressurised the system but the air con is still not working. The mechanic said it could be the compressor, a probe or a relay. Any ideas, which relay etc.?
Phil.
{moves across to Technical Matters} Read more
It could be the relay as it plays a prominent role to the performance of the AC
The car is fine now.
Thanks yo everyone for their suggestions.