September 2008
I noticed some oily spattering on the offside of swmbo's Astra this pm. A quick once over sees the whole of the o/s wheel arch lined with something, but nothing on the wheel/tyre. Engine oil a bit low, and topped up accordingly, no sign of any surplus oil in the engine compartment
She had recently filled up, so first thoughts are a diesel spill at the local superstore. The car is now parked 'wrong way round' on the drive, and there is a fresh small, oily patch under the back of the wheel are which smells of fresh engine oil.
I'm hoping it is something she picked up at the garage (though surprised to see nothing on the tyre, it's no more than a mile away). Any other ideas ?
thanks
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We have just purchased a mini one when the steering wheel is turned when staionary it makes a loud whinning noise , is this ok ? Looking at the forums on the internet there seems to be a lot of problems with the mini steering. Has anyone had any similar problems or could give some advice.
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I'd be tempted to make sure that you are there when its discussed - with the car. The very early 02 we had and ran for a number of very happy years had noisy steering....
I was in Germany this week at a trade fair. Outside the exhibition halls was a parking area. I was standing there having my pre-arbeit morning stogie when it sort of came to me that almost all the cars lined up in the car park were German made. In the row I could see and count there were 32 assorted Mercs, BMWs, Audis and VWs. One lonely Mazda.
Probably says a lot about why they still have a car industry.......... Read more
With apologies to whoever first came up with this, there was something doing the rounds a while back which went something like this.......
I'm proud to be British.......
We drive Japanese cars
We eat Indian food
We drink German beer and French wine
We go on holiday to Spain and America
We work for German companies
We watch Japanese TVs
We use American computer programs
We wear Chinese shoes and Malaysian clothes
We eat Austalian beef and New Zealand Lamb
etc etc.........
It's good to be British......
;-)
I read an article recently, (think it was on this site) about car prices and how manufacturers are slashing prices, etc, and I seem to recall that it said that Honda cars are now looking exceedingly over-priced?
What does everyone here think - are they? Read more
In an earlier posting "Pendlebury" refers to Honda's "bullet proof reliability."
That may be true for some models but judging by postings from other readers of
this site it does not appear to be the case with the latest version of
the Civic which is built in Swindon.
You only have to go and look at the owners' reviews on Whatcar of the Hondas to read about all the problems people have with them and often their shock at having a Honda that has mechanical or build problems. If you read them you will soon realise the myth of the Honda engine that never breaks from what I can make out there.
Evening all.
I've just bought a 1995 Saab 9000 2.3 CDE Auto off Ebay for #565, which is buttons for a quality car that's only covered 95k over it's 13 years and has a full service history.
This got me wondering how much the car was when new. Any thoughts?
Cheers. Read more
I bought a 9000 CDE off Ebay 5 and a bit years ago as a temporary car, it was 14 years old and had done 180k miles.
I only intended keeping it 2-3 months but enjoyed it and ended up keeping it for 8 months, and got a reliable, v. comfortable, cheap 15k miles out of it. Mine was only a 2.0 16v non-turbo but it was surprisingly nippy considering.
I think they are great bargains for cheap luxury motoring, provided they have been serviced correctly (although mine hadnt!).
One motoring publication considers the 9000 the cheapest way to a reliable 300bhp car (with easy modification, full turbo models).
Reading in a rival publication how the hapless owner of a Lexus had accessed a hidden menu in his car's interactive display, changed the model details "to see what happened" has now an unusable sat-nav and aircon/heater and his dealer is baffled on how to re-set it to get everything working ---- my mind went back to the day, as a callow youth, adjusting the valves on my 250 Superdream I overtightened the custom made cam cover bolt shearing it clean off in the process......Sunday afternoon in the sticks with no alternative transport.......
Any other confessions. Read more
Thanks PU - that's the missing link, so to speak!
Having taken my Audi A4 1.8se estate to the garage to have a new Air Con motor fitted, i was informed that there were numerous falts found on the the system!!!!! 1) 00603 FOOTWELL/DEFROSTER FLAP MOTOR-V85 BLOCKED OR NO VOLTAGE. 2) 01271 TEMP-REGULATER FLAP MOTOR-V68 BLOCKED OR NO VOLTAGE. 3) 01272 CENTRAL AIR FLAP MOTOR-V70 BLOCKED OR NO VOLTAGE. 4) FRESH AIR BLOWER-V2 DEVIATION FROM DESIRED VALUE. ERROR OCCURS INTERMITENTLY. 5) 01274 AIR FLOW FLAP MOTOR-V71 BLOCKED OR NO VOLTAGE. After speaking to the mechanic he advised me that he thinks it is the actual control panel in the car that is at fault but he didnt seem to to sure. Can anybody confirm this for me please before i go out and buy another. If it is this then can anyone point me in the right direction as to where i may be able to buy a second hand one. thanks in advance. Read more
You need to find an auto electrician that can actually fault find rather than just read codes.
why do we measure engine size in metric units and not imperial. Every other measurements we use regularly are in imperial and always been, but not engine size. Why not and who was the first to us metric for cc? Read more
Question of engine size. It's all very well giving the capacity of a seven-litre unit in cubic inches, because 400 or more sounds OK. But an 850cc car would sound a bit pathetic being called a 52-cubic-inch unit.
Stand by for the US to drop cubic inches to preserve the tattered remnants of redneck V8 macho in these days of little 3-cylinder turbodiesels.
My battery was flat on the Golf when I got back from a 4 day break recently. Same battery from new so I jump started and went and bought a new Bosch Silver and fitted - all fine since. However I recently invested in a cheap multimeter and am now in the position that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
When I check the car battery in the morning after an overnight stand it reads 12.1 V or thereabouts, with car running after a few mins levels out at 13.9V.
A little bit of reading on the web tells me a fully charged battery should read more than 12.1 V and I should be getting over 14V with the alternator running. Is this true?
I suppose my questions are: are these numbers acceptable? Is the alternator on its way out? Could there be a current drain?
Wish I'd never bought the multimeter now!
All help gratefuly received. Read more
...Guess a £7 B&Q meter is £7 for a reason!
tinyurl.com/62cdww
Not long before these get over here then...
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A quick "Parp" on one of those will leave other road users in no doubt of your presence.
Just a shame the headlights and engine will die while your finger's on the horn button.
sounds like it could be the outer drive shat rubber boot, has split. centrifugal force then throws it all out into the wheelarch.