September 2008
See: tiny.cc/828Zg
Will this make you nervous about using the tunnel?
I have used the tunnel many times and found it excellent, but every time, there has been a nagging thought at the back of my mind ............ what if?
What thoughts from the Backroom? Read more
I'm sure some of you read the new Fiesta review in last Saturday's (6th) Telegraph. Did anyone pick up on the comment from the (named) Ford Project Manager with respect to dual mass flywheels? To quote:
"We want to get rid of those things - they're expensive, heavy and they go wrong".
Unless this an off-the-record comment isn't it a bit unusual these days for a major manufacturer to make such an admission that the technology it uses might not be particularly reliable? Read more
The art of making diesel fuel systems components is to produce them consistently.
From any maker, these things are about the most finely toleranced things you will ever own - an order of magnitude more accurately machined and lapped than a good mechanical watch.
I am not satisfied that Delphi fuel systems have achieved this consistency and I am further doubtful as to whether the Japanese fuel systems (usually European designs built under licence) have either.
So, for my money, we are left with the major German supplier. These people have been producing diesel fuel systems for years without take-overs, changes of ownership or licensing constraints which rob them of design authority.
Some Delphi fuelled engines are indeed world-beating but I'd rather have one which works fairly well and has a much lower probability of expensive failure. I pay my money into the marketplace as I find it.
659.
iam buying a focus 18 lx 53 reg it said on engin zetec is that ok because ive read all 18 are duratec ive be told to keep away from them keep to zetec is that right is my focus ok to buy or what
{subject header made less vague} Read more
sorry a bout that going back to my focus 53 reg it as two stamps for servic it done 6900 mi on clock . it s from a car dealer he said he got it from fords it looks very clean .inside and out. price i will pay is 3999 dont no about cam belt is it still ok
Hi
My VW beta radio cassette player is locked in safe mode, I have the 4 digit pin code but once i've put the code i don't know what button is pressed next, or is there something i need to press or do before i put the number in?
I believe it says in section 3.4 of the handbook what to do but my section about it is missing.
Can anyone help?
Thanks Read more
hold down the button you would use if you where searching for the next radio station up
ive noticed on several modern cars , for example on the airbox trunking that they have a wierd metal band clamp
id like to ask how on earth are you supposed to re attach these clips , they are like a hook and clasp arrangement , but its near impossible to crimp it and attach the hook piece
im assuming theres a tool for this job
( also how do i post a general car question without having to make up a car make/model?) Read more
I prefer Oetiker pliers for those.
carmagazine.co.uk have an article and photograph of the Accord 2.2 idtec with the auto box that Honda will be showing at the Paris Motor Show.
At long last.
I don't suppose now is a good time to try selling any car but at least now there is a viable and reliable alternative to a German auto diesel.
Hopefully it will sell well and persuade Toyota/Lexus and Subaru to do the same. Read more
Now I know that red cars do fade, so I'm not disappointed or angry.
Also, I thought this had been covered in previous posts but couldn't find anything on a search.
So, our 5 year old Jazz in Monaco Red (solid colour) has slight fading of its paintwork on the front edge of the bonnet and on the roof. It looks like these are areas of the body impacted by weather at motorway speeds. We can live with this but if it can be corrected with minimal damage to the layer of paint, which product(s) would the forum recommend?
I'm inclined to try T-Cut for metallic finishes but if there's anything gentler I would be pleased to know. Is it then worth applying the HJ routine of paintwork protection?
It is interesting to note that this pre-registered car was supplied with dealer-applied paintwork protection and has been regularly washed and polished.
Still a great car, though, looking good and running like new after 46,000 miles. Read more
Thank you, all, for your advice.
Can anyone explain to me why at my local supermarket, I see more and more cars parked facing out of grouped parking areas rather than facing in? Parking facing in means goods can be taken by trolley to your boot and loaded easily. Parking facing out means that the user will either try and ram a trolley between two lots of parked cars or have to heave goods between vehicles to access the car boot.
Is there any sense in this practice? It seems no wonder so many people get parking dings! Read more
I lived in the States for 2 and a half years, the reason they park facing forwards in a spot is that it is compulsory to have a registration plate on the back of the vehicle but not the front.
Therefore, when Chief Wigguns drives up and down in his police car he can see the reg no's of all cars without having to get out.
Can anyone advise me please. Have a 4 year old Signum that is out of warranty and I am very upset that the Induction Manifold and Actuator now needs to be replaced. Not a technical car person myself and wondered if this was the normal life span of an Induction Manifold and Actuator as Vauxhall have quoted over £700 to replace. Have I just been very unlucky and should get over it or is this a manufacturing problem. If latter do I have any grounds to contact Vauxhall to sort.
Read more
Yes, common problem with these engines and as you found out, very expensive. In my experince Vaux will not pay out anyway after the warranty runs out, wherever you bought or serviced the car.
Most aftermarket warranties are a waste of good paper.
Go back to supplying dealer and ask them to fix under sale of goods act. Threaten small claims court if they wont help.
We are independent dealers and stand by our cars for 6 months after sale. We recently had a Kia 4x4 blow its gearbox 5 1/2 months after sale and picked up the rebuild for the customer.
Apparently (article in "The Daily Telegraph", drivers are going to have some sort of rudimentary evaluation of the efficiency of their driving, in terms of fuel consumption. According to the paper: "The new test has been introduced by the Driving Standards Agency in order to comply with European Union legislation.". Um. Anyway, candidates are going to get advice on how to improve. One would think this could be done better during lessons. Read more
Few months back, the fee for driving theory test was increase (not sure if practical was increased too) and they said they'd add more questions on the exam.
Now they are saying they will add economical driving section. Surely, using this execuse, they will lengthen the test time and thus will increase the fee again.
Everything is just eyewash. They just need an excuse to hike the fee every now and then.
It may be 'understood that the lorry overturned on the freight train'. But I'm damned if I can understand how that can have happened.