September 2008
please help i have a noise that sounds like a grating wurp wurp wurp on my focus that only comes when i get to 26 mph after that its gone it is so annoying i have had the rear wheel bearings replaced front discs and pads also the front nearside wishbone and roll bar link none of which have cured the noise its driving me mad can anyone help ? the noise is there when going straight or turning Read more
Hi all,
The ride on my Audi has gradually got worse. Over smooth surfaces at all speeds it is fine but turning and riding straight on the slightest unsmooth surface I can feel every dimple on the road and its driving me mad. Over the last two years I have had the follwoing parts (genuine VAG parts) changed on the front suspension due to MOT advisories and wear /tear;
PS wishbone
PS ball joint
Both ARB stabilser rods
Both top spring rubber mount/bearing
All front wishbone bushes
New tyres recently
None of this has really changed anything with the ride. The only thing i can think of now is the front schokers which are nearly 15 years old
Would you think changing them (front schoks) would help supress the road imperfections better? Im more than happy to drive like this its not totally bad but it wouyld be nice to have a smoother ride?
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YEAH, GET NEW SCHOKS! Have a look at
www.eurocarparts.com/
and
www.vagparts.com/
Hi all,
I have been driving for a living since my early 20?s and currently work for a medium size general haulage firm (approx 20 vehicles) in the East Midlands. All of the drivers have just been balloted on our second pay cut in 4 months and talk is of redundancies if things don?t pick up soon. The amount of work has dropped by 30-40% this year, simply because our existing customers aren?t spending the money. We have no obvious ties to any particular sector of industry however so the slowdown in new-build housing etc isn?t having a savage effect on us, but rising fuel costs are biting hard.
If the worst happens and I do lose my job, what other possibilities are open to me? I?m a very good, experienced truck driver (I hope!) but if no-one?s recruiting truck drivers good or otherwise, what are my other options? I'm literate, numerate, polite and well-presented with a clean licence, 8 GCSE's and a willingness to learn new skills.
Thanks in advance,
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There has been no shortage of drivers for a very long time what there is
is a shortage of jobs paying the types of wages a driver will work for.
The decent companies don't even need to advertise for drivers
as they have a waiting list of people wanting to join them as they offer
a good job with a good wage.
The actual shortage is of good experienced and flexible drivers. There are any number of people who hold a Class One HGV and will pilot one of same from a depot to another depot in a safe and orderly manner. They are known in the trade as chauffeurs or trolley drivers.
The shortage is of drivers who are capable of, and willing to do things like roping and sheeting, know their way round without using a sat-nav and spending four nights a week in a tin box parked up in a lay-by because nobody wants dirty smelly trucks and their drivers near THEIR town, although they're the first to complain when their Daily Mail is late arriving at the newsagents, or the delicatessen's clean out of fresh parsley.
I'm one of the lucky ones; or not, depending on your point of view. I work for a major animal feedstuffs manufacturer who is known as a good employer; the money's not bad (salaried) but even in a quiet week I rarely do less than 50 hours. Work can range from delivering bulk feed to dairy farms ( a bit dirtier, smellier and dustier than your average office!) to taking a little 7.5 tonner up the Valleys with 3 tons of sheep feed in 25 kg bags; this by the way has to be unloaded by hand and oddly enough the farmer's always up the fields when you get there! ;-)
I wouldn't swap it for the world; but as I say I'm lucky and there are a lot of HGV drivers earning little more than minimum wage for that; consequently they go to Tesco's and stack shelves, wouldn't you?
Owing to my advancing years and male gender it is deemed by some that I know a thing or two about cars, insurance and the like. I have been asked to assist a young lady in the correct / best way to proceed following a minor damage incident.
In summary, whilst turning right out of a minor road into a main road, her car (Nissan Micra) was hit on and around the rear offside wheel by a car approaching from her right. There were no witnesses and position of the damage to the rear of her car suggests she was well advanced into her turn when hit by the chap coming from the right. There are small scrapes/dents to the wheel arch and the wheel trim is wrecked. It is possible that the wheel took the full brunt of the impact. All details were exchanged and it seems the other driver was properly insured. The front of his car was damaged (full extent unknown) but I know his number plate broke and fell off.
Her own car is about 7 years old and assuming no wheel / suspension damage - the body damage is minor and matches the other body dents quite well and she wouldn't want it repaired if it cost anything to her. The tyre is fine and on the face of it, a bit of T-Cut and a wheel trim from eBay will 90% sort it out.
My initial advice to the young lady was to tell her insurers that she had been involved in an accident but say that she wasn't making a claim at this stage. Insurers pressed her hard to make a claim, but she stood her ground and they eventually just noted her information.
My advice to her was to then:
(1)
Write to the other driver (recorded delivery), politely blame him for the accident, tell him she wasn't yet making an insurance claim but reserving her position. She would then say she is getting an estimate or two and forwarding them to this other driver in due course and expecting his / his insurer's payment
(2)
Get the tracking / suspension checked to ensure that it's not damaged as this could cost a lot of money to fix and might then lead her to making a claim (fully comp insurance).
Questions:
Am I right so far?
Where do I go for a proper suspension / tracking check?
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If the wheel took the force of the impact, even if it wasn't bent or damaged, the bearing may have suffered damage. My Dyane, when new, was graunched on its o/s rear by a car dealer or salesman in an Aston Martin while parked. The wing was slightly scraped and there was no other visible damage. I didn't think it was worth doing a repair. However, some months later that wheel bearing started to make a noise and had to be changed. I am sure the wheel got a bang and that started the bearing damage.
Economically it seems to make sense to have a conversion to lpg given the mileage I do.
From an emissions POV it also makes sense and my tax bill will reduce.
Trouble is, I cannot find any decent advice as to whether reliability will be adversely affected.
Subaru did not offer a conversion on this engine (Turbo) and their conversion subcontractor was polite, but not helpful.
Other conversion specialists are positive, as you would expect.
Does anyone have any experience of such a conversion please?
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Many thanks. I have decided to scrap the idea.
Interestingly, many of the lpg retailers have not reduced their prices at the same time as the unleaded and diesel, which has also helped me to decide - some are still charging 59.9p per litre, when unleaded has been reduced to approx 95p. Unless the differential is approx 50% there is insufficient saving to offset the installation cost.
I would like to be greener, but have to draw a line. I'll plant some trees instead.
When I was a lad (late 70's to early 80's) I could tell pretty much what car was approaching just from the sound it made. From the whine of a Mini/metro gearbox and exhaust trump of a Moggy Minor to the whine of Pinto engined Fords and rattle of tappety Chrysler/Talbots I could identify pretty much anything.
These days, apart from chavved up Suburus or the occasional multicylinder job pretty much all you can hear as a car passes in the street is the roar of the tyres.
Why is this? (and if you don't know just share your reminicences of by-gone car sounds)
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I was thinking this myself while I was out walking the other day. A moggie minor went past, uphill, with a distintive exhaust note as it was pulling hard. Every other car just had a tyre swish.
I presume it's to do with the size of silencer boxes (IIRC Minors only had one, fairly small diameter), and the width of tyres on modern cars.
I think my clutch is starting to judder first thing in the morning, the warranty will expire in a few weeks and its done 14k. I have always had it serviced at main dealer (55 plate) so I have checked the warranty book. It states friction materials are covered up until 9k miles. So, does anyway know where I stand before I contact the dealer and have it added to the "list" for its service?
Thanks.
James Read more
Unlike other car companies, Mazda's 9000 mile warranty on the clutch has no restrictions - it could be driver error but still covered. But after that, being a wear item then it's not covered. Not unlike all the other car companies.
Can anyone tell me exactly where to find the heater blower module on my T reg Renault Scenic. I know from the manual its behind the facia to the left, but I can't find it there. Can anyone tell me exactly where it is?? What exact bit of facia is it behind. thanks. It's got air con by the way. Read more
The blower fan speed module on these is situated behind the dash on the passenger side.Access requires removal of the top part of the dash(very easy)and also the air trunking to the left end of dash vent by pass door.hth
My girlfriend is not on my trade policy but she's on her own comprehensive policy on her car. She is covered to drive any other cars as long as the car does not belong to her and insured. Is she going to be covered to drive one of my stock cars with my consent? I assume all of my cars are covered by my insurance because this is a trade policy? My trade policy is a third party road risk only policy. Read more
If you put the car on the MID then ANPR stops will not be a problem and, presumably, you do that with any car you drive (at least I do even if within the 14 day requirement) as it costs nothing and prevents hassle.
The only issue I can see is that most (all?) domestic policies exclude any motor trade use so you need to be sure it is SD&P and can be proved as such if needed.
Hi Folks,
First post here so hoping you can help me out!
I've got a '99 V plate focus 1.4 CL. Over the last few months it seems to be getting worse in the sense that when idling it is fluctuating, not by a great deal but fluctuating nonetheless.
Also it seems to be loosing power as now when i put the foot down on the motorway, when in anything above 3rd gear it struggles to move anywhere quickly.
I have also now noticed than between 2000 & 3000 rpm if i put my foot to the floor i start to get a car bucking worse than a bronco!
Any ideas what coudl be casuign this as i am at a loss now!
Thanks in Advance!
Marc Read more
Marc
Look hard for an air leak into either the inlet or exhaust manifolds? Split breather hoses and stuck crank breather valves are common.
thank you for your reply i have had the tires and wheels checked today thay are all ok
so its not them any other ideas please