October 2008

David Horn

Hi all,

My dad's having problems with his Rover 75 diesel which has suddenly become extremely reluctant to start. Sometimes it will need nearly 5 minutes of cranking, other times it takes 5 - 30 seconds. Today it started after about 5 seconds and then cut out (actually, my dad says he stalled it after it had no power and couldn't face trying to restart it).

There are no warning lights. Performance is fine once it's going.

It went into the garage yesterday and had the fuel filter changed (they said it cured the problem but clearly not), and short of dragging it to a dealer to see if any codes are logged I'm not sure what the problem is.

Has anyone seen this issue before?

Cheers,

Dave.


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injection doc

I 2nd that as well. Glad it was that simple but it is inadvisable to allow the tank to run below 1/4. Most manufactures now advise a minimum of 20 ltrs in a tank except for the cars with small tanks!. For a CR diesel to pick up any air is detrimental to the pumps!
I Doc

Dynamic Dave


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Pugugly

15 tonnes.

pmh2

Cordoba Vario - basically a Polo Estate

Daughter is currently hiding up the emabankment on the M3, waiting for RAC recovery. Her initial description is that the pedal has 'broken', not the cable, altho it is possible that the pedal has come off its pivot point. It is not a suitable enviuroment to get head under the dash with legs in the slow lane to investigate further! Obvious Recovery options conflict with plans for the weekend away so can anybody give instant advice on the most likely mechanism of failure.

I must give her lessons in driving with no clutch! I am prepared to drive it back here in the small hours around the M25 without the clutch if that becomes one of the recovery options that has minimum impact on her weekend away.
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pmh2

Final closure.

Just replaced the temporary repair with a new GSF cable (auto adjust against my better judgement).

Fortunately I did not believe the the book of lies, which tells you to take out/ loosen the steering column, and relied on daughter to get her head under the dash to fit the new cable to the pedal. The other bits of advice to any future readers of this thread, remove the whole wiper mechanism (only 3 bolts) to make removing the old and threading the new cable easier and get yourself 4 new plastic clips (at 48p each) from Seat to secure the the plastic scuttle shroud.

If your cable breaks like this at the clutch end you will need to buy the clutch arm fastening clip and damping weight from a Seat dealer as they will be distributed over the carriageway at the site of failure.

Enjoyable job even at this temperature, total cost about £29. The clutch now feels like new and very light.




p

jenki

i recently bought a 206cc 1.6 allure second hand. the only problem i seem to have with it is the clutch seems to bite at the very top, (and i mean at the top)
i have asked around and some people have said this is a normal biting point for this model of 206 cc, but its that high i am unsure whether this information is correct.

i was just wondering if anyone could offer me some advice, as to whether they know if it is normal, or if there sound like there may be a problem.

if anyone could advise me how to resolve it ie, if you could adjust it ( i have been told its a hydrollic clutch) or if it does sound like it will need replacing, i would be very grateful for your advice

thanks in advance

jenkn
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Pugugly

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=68032&...f

You've already asked the question here !

Paul Robinson

I like to think I'm fairly knowledgable about cars but I wasn't sure what to suggest for this dilemma - Budget about £10K for a newish car, annual mileage about 12K, as compact and economical as possible but will be required for regular 2/3 hour motorway trips with five full size adults, two of the passengers fairly elderly so comfort is very important. Otherwise not very interested in cars.

What would you suggest? Read more

SpamCan61 {P}

In terms of comfort for 3 adults in the back then I think width is just as important as legroom, in 'normal' car terms then maybe Vectra or Mondeo, most suitable MPVs have already been mentioned I should think, maybe the Honda FRV?, seems a very wide car for its length, so may help from a 'compact' point of view. An Astra is cosy with 3 kids in the back, nevermind adults, Zafira A is a bench in the middle so much the same situation; although I did do a tour of the New Forest with 4 adults and 3 kids ( 1 in a big kiddie seat) in SWMBO's - wouldn't want to go any great distance like that though.

Norman77

Hi,
I've owned this Petrol focus (mk1) for 6 months. Recently it has developed a very slight lumpy idle. Now when the weather is cold it will stall when coming up to junctions. It will behave perfectly some days. Am i correct in thinking it could be the idle control valve at fault?

I have had the fault codes read at a Ford main dealer and none are showing. As i understand it, one of the few sensors that can fail or stick and not generate a fault code is the idle control valve. is this correct?

All thoughs are greatly appreciated. Read more

gaving7095

I had very similar issues, thankfully I have a local independant & very reliable garage who diagnosed a faulty PCV (valve) which was £50 to replace & £25 to fit and crankcase ventialtion hose (£15 to source & £25 to diagnose & fit). TOUCH WOOD my issues are over now... The car does seem OK.
It seems I was (hopefully :-)) lucky 'cause both of the above parts were relatively cheap to supply & fix. The faulty PCV should have lit the engine warning light straight away but didn't :-(
From all the reading I did it seems that Ford used slightly "dodgy" hoses throughout the Focus engine - hopefully your issue can be easily found & cheaply fixed!

smickers

Has anyone had a problem with the CRV or a 2.2 i-cdti and low down judder when driving and changing up gears in town ?

This is driving me mad as I've only just got the car and have 10 days to take it back for an exchange ...

Its mostly in 3rd or 4th gear at the low end of the rev band and especially bad when the car is half way between fully warm and cold.

It does happen when out cruising along the road in 6th ... I only have 3 months warranty so need this sorted ASAP...

Any help greatly appreciated Read more

pmustang

So sorry should have mentioned, 2006, 6 spd, deisel and 14k miles.

Peter

cliff

My water pump has started squealing a little bit, if I spray some WD40 on the bearing it stops for a short time, is there an additive I can put in the water to help lubrication? Read more

547HEW

Petrol or diesel engine?

cabbie_mick

hi , we have a pegeout 307 hdi turbo 110 on the 03 plate, every now and again the unblock diesel filter light comes on , then on the dash the orange light comes on , it stays on for only a little while , we have had the fuel filters changed , the drain plug cleaned, the link to the computer reset lasted about a week but came on again last night only for about a min or 2 , we have read the book and it says it could be because of town driving and to try to build up a constent speed of 35 and above for 5 mins , have you any ideas what could be causing this thanks cabbie_mick.....
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Screwloose

Just04

If the system was full serviced with new FAP, fill and counter reset; then you shouldn't get the "unblock diesel filter" message again unless your usage is not suited to regenerations.

It's possible that the FAP pressure sensor didn't like the blocked FAP and it's now getting temperamental.... Many places change those as a matter of course.

Alanovich

I have just this morning received a Penalty Notice for an alleged bus lane incursion, in a bus lane just outside Reading Rail Station. The date of the alleged incursion is 22nd June 2008. The alleged offence was spotted by a CCTV camera operative and a penalty notice has finally been issued (dated 7th October 2008). I've looked up the rules around these notices on the tinternet, and it seems local authorities can issue notices up to 6 months after an alleged offence, so fair enough, even if it feels a little late.

I was definately in the area at the time of the alleged offence, as I was picking a gentleman up from the train station at the time and date stated, this was someone who had travelled from London to buy a car from me, hence I have records to show what I was doing that day and I rememeber the time I agreed to meet him at the station. The alleged offence occurred in my car, registered to me, and I know for a fact I was driving it in the area on the date and time recorded. So far, so banged to rights.

I have absolutely no recollection, however, of entering a bus lane, and would be surprised if I had done so as I'm not the sort to do this usually.

So, I have sent off a request to view the CCTV footage at Reading Civic Centre, as the notice states that I have a right to do so. I await a timed and dated appointment, as proimised on the notice.

My question is this. Should I pay the fine now during the 14 days-reduced-to-30-pounds rule, and then claim the money back if it turns out that I feel I didn't commit an offence? Or should I hold out paying until I've seen the footage? If I take the latter course, do I risk missing out on the 14 day payment, 30 pounds allowance and end up paying 60, or even 90 pounds if it goes beyond 28 days? Needless to say, the Penalty Notice does not clarify this situation.

Would appreciate any thoughts from BR contributors.

NOTE: I am not trying to get off the fine if I have commitied the alleged offence - if I see the video and I have done something I shouldn't have, I will proceed immediately to the accounts window in the Civic Centre and settle up. What I'm trying to do is pay as little as possible in the event that I have been a naughty little boy. Read more

Avant

Thanks for that information, Alanovich. I never knew that and I'm glad that my £30 went there (at least I hope it did - I had to send it to somewhere in Sussex).

Would that all fines went to a worthy, or at least identifiable, cause.