December 2008
Hi BR's,
A relative of mine requires a car to replace her old Vento diesel. She requires a mid sized car with liftback hatch or estate for the dog. The budget is around £1500 pound and MUST have a diesel.
I have suggested that she spends around £1000-£1250 to save a few £££'s back for repairs if needs be as it will be 8-10 years old anything she gets. She has her mind set on the Vectra B facelift 2.0 diesel turbo/non-turbo so a few questions;
Is this engine a chain cam?
Is the Di an NA engine 81bhp and is it suitable for lugging the Vectra?
I have suggested no to get hung up on one model but look at all models that in good condition up and 100,000 miles. I have been thinking of Mondeo 1.8TD, Peugeot 406 1.9TD or even Berlingo's or something from the far east.
Any suggestions or personal experiences? Read more
Just purchased 1998 Corsa,the drivers side door lock had been replaced at some point but came with no key.
Is there a number on the barrel and how easy is the lock to remove
all advice welcome
thanks Read more
no key number on the barrel but if you take the key to the dealer they can photocopy your key send away the result and have a barrel made to order, or on the security pass there is a number of the key, but you will still need to order a barrel to key, same both ways depends if you have a security pass
According to the times, the "North Atlantic Oscillation" has gone into a negative phase. This means its going to get cold, very cold in January. Talk of - double digits is being muttered for night temperatures. Stock up with your favourite anti freezing screen wash.
I have moved from halfords blue to halfords pink (still three for the price of 2) as the blue is only good down to -4
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M40 was fine. A bit white on the extremities between J4-2 but the main carriageway was OK.
M25 had "Skid risk" on the matrix boards, and a nasty glazed look to the road surface where there weren't tyre tracks in thin layers of snow. OK now, but the proper weather is supposed to hit tonight and it is going to fall on already settled snow.
Please can you help me!
I have a 1997 V40 2.0l (non turbo) with an afetrmarket gas conversion which im having electrical problems with.
I took the car to the garage because I had reduced electrical power while driving. The lights went dim (head lights and dash lights) and the ABS and airbag lights came on. After a few miles the power seemed to return to normal, but when arriving at my destination the battery was totally flat.
On taking the car to the garage we tested the alternator and teh battery and the alternator was broken. the battery was not holding any charge so we changed it. The car was fine, until 150 miles later when exactly teh same thing happened again.
While driving the lights went dim (inside and out) abs and airbag light came on for about 2 miles and the battery was run down at our destination.
This time we changed the alternator, assuming that it must be working intermittantly, and this time the car drove over 500 miles trouble free before the same tihng happened again.
This time we decided after testing both the new battery and teh alternator taht there must be a drain on the power or a bad earth. The earths have now been removed clean and replaced and for another 220 miles all seemed well. However about 2 hours ago exactly the same thing happened again. Lights went dim, abs and air bag light on for about 2 miles then back to normal. On destination the battery is flat.
If you recognise these symptoms please let me know or give me a clue eher to look next. Im taking teh car to an electrician tomorrow, but it would be wonderful to have some insight, or some idea of what may be the problem.Any help will be gratefully received. Read more
does it have a battery supplied by a well known tyre & exhaust chain? if it is I suspect it may have a terminal converter pushed onto the battery to convert from a square to round post terminal. If thats the case I would throw away as far as possible before you damage the electrics. Its a very common issue
I have a 1998 Vaxhaull Vectra auto 1800cc. The problem is that since i had the l.p.g. system serviced, it was returned without the kickdown working. Since i can not get any response from the garage that carried out the work (snip, no need to name/shame), could anyone please give me any points to look for. Is the kickdown controlled by cable, vacume or electronically?? Any advice would be gratefully recieved. Thanks. Read more
the only adjustment is on the throttle cable, you need to make sure that there is just a little slack at the throttle body, remove the horseshoe clip, push the cable in till slack, then pull the cable outwards untill the throttle lever just starts to move, then push back in a little, push the clip back on, next push the pedal down to the floor untill resistance is felt then further still you should feel the kickdown "obviosly this is all done without the engine running" this is assuming that you dont have a drive by wire set !
A few days ago I became aware that Surrey CC intends to slap yellow lines the length of my road plus parking bays, signs etc.
It is a totally ridiculous idea that I have written to protest about.
I know this sort of parking restriction cannot happen to all readers but beware.
I only got to know about it by a flyer from a resident of the road.
I have mixed information about the proper processes to inform those affected.
I have been reliably informed that a notice was buried somewhere in a local paper and that satisfies the laws.
I have also been informed that I should have received a letter about the scheme.
Even our local councilor was not aware of what was going on.
Not only is the scheme totally over the top but it will further damage the trade of our cherished local shops/traders, encourage residents to pave over front gardens which is against what HMG wants (many integral garages have already been turned into habitable rooms) and simply displace the existing parkers.
All this because some disgruntled old watsit has been moaning about vehicles outside his pad. A survey identified that SEVEN cars a day stayed over six hours.
So once again beware, It could happen to you.
Has anyone else had this sort of problem?
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Surrey county council highways are incapable of organising any road junction or parking scheem.Over many years I have had dealings with them re road planning and I can say that all the ones I have meet live on another plannet.They have this superiority that what they say goes and we lesser mortals will just have to accept it.
see link below for another SCC mess up in the making
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=70...7
OK - it's not really a problem yet, but the starting from cold is not as good as it has been these past 4 years and 60,000 miles.
The battery is fine and turns over as well as ever, but on the first start of the day the engine doesn't "fire" after the usual half-second or so of turning over. I have always waited for the glow plug light to go out, so I'm not trying to start it sooner than I have been in the past.
At present it's no big deal - I just let it turn over for longer to get it going, but I wonder if this change in its willingness to fire is the beginning of a possible future problem.
PS This has been happening since before the really cold weather here down South. Read more
Hi all, just some info that you may find usefull haynes manual 4785 for the FORD FOCUS PETROL & DIESEL 05 ON will be available in August 2009 and retail at £19.99. Read more
What took them so long to get this manual published ?
The mark Focus III is launched in 2010.
I have recently been having problems with acceleration. The car does not want to rev past the 4000 r.p.m mark when driving. Normally on these Zetec's you feel the power cut in.But now its doing the opposite ! If you back of slightly around this mark and accelerate slower the power then comes back in. The car also feels very sluggish and has a rough idle from cold. Ive had the car plugged in to the Snap-On Heritage diagnostic machine and this has shown no faults !! I have changed numerous componants from a doner car and still the problem persists. Does anyone have any ideas please.
Many thanks Read more
"The M5 motorway in east Devon was closed in both directions after a Land Rover with a gas container caught fire.
The road was closed for an hour at junction 27, the Sampford Peverell turn-off, near Tiverton, after the incident at about 1130 GMT. 26 December 2008
Police said the motorway was closed for safety reasons because the vehicle was dual-fuelled, carrying petrol or diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel."
I have not seen any other reports of other road closures for this reason.
Will this lead to LPG conversions having warning stickers re LPG?
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A couple of years ago, there was a loud `BOOM` while we were sitting in the lounge, rattling the house internal doors. All the neighbours came out to see what it was and a pall of smoke was seen rising upwards half a mile away.
A gas cylinder had been in a shed when it caught fire - the shed being demolished and parts of it blown across the street.
Browse
MUST be a diesel
It wasn't in the end - interesting to note how things change.