December 2008
Hello,
Just wonderd what is life one should expect from a reconditioned starter motor,
The reason I ask is because I fitted one about 14 months ago on the missus mondeo and now it toast is this the norm or should I expect it to last longer,Personally I would have thought a lot longer as they are not cheap and if I have to keep replacing its gonna work out very expensive,
Thanks
Tam Read more
In that it will force companies who have a weak customer ethos to either sharpen up or go out of business. Quick example: local car dealer has all their cars advertised on their website, along with AutoTrader. The cheaper ones all have "0" entered for the mileage in order to solicit visits or calls about the car, when it's clear that they must have some astronomical figure.
Want to lie to me about that? No doubt they'll be lying about service history, faults, and offer shoddy aftersales service too. Just little things that can instantly turn you off a company. Read more
Pat, i hope you're right, but i shan't be holding me breath.
This attitude thing you correctly allude to has been the case for many years, i don't think the newer drivers themselves are any worse than the general population (but acting as a thuggish bully with a large truck does stand out some), though true to say that many thought there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
If they bothered to listen to some of us old hands, we could have told them that virtually any driver at the top of the wage tree works unbelievably hard for many hours in difficult, dirty and often dangerous conditions, and many of them are just not capable of that hard graft.
You mentioned in another thread having the aches and pains the direct result of years of that graft, i'm much the same, there's very few parts that don't hurt a lot of the time.
I wonder how many of the younger one's will be left once this recession really gets going.
hello, ive repaired a catagary c write off BMW 3 series and i need to get a vic check, could anyone tell me where there is a VOSA Vehicle Identity Check test stations (VIC) in berkshire or close please
thanks
{deselected make/model from header as this question can apply to any car} Read more
that done it cheers matey
I know that there is a marking on the sidewall which denotes the tyres age, but can anyone give me a link to to a list so I can check the age of those on my Maxi?! Read more
Thanks folks!
My pick up has leaf springs at the rear, during my pre winter waxoyling session i jacked the vehicle up by the chassis to allow the springs to separate and gave them a good coating of the stuff to lubricate/protect them.
The ride definately improved, but there's always the nagging thought of dirt sticking to the waxoyle and causing wear between the leaves.
I seem to recall some classic cars having their leaf springs bound in some sort of waterproof canvas, and during this years summer i will probably pressure wash those leaves, grease and bind them up.
A chap on another forum wondered whether this would be any good
tinyurl.com/9u7mfd
Or does the BR have any other suggestions for a way of binding/protecting the springs or am i being a tad odd again.;)
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>>graphite grease was to be used between the leaves of the springs.
In this case, the hydraulic dampers will be sized appropriately, assuming that no damping is provided by the spring itself.
I've given this a bit of thought (It's a while since I've given leaf springs any thought at all!), and in GB's case, the suspension damping is provided by two sources, the hydraulic dampers, and the inter-leaf damping.
The hydraulic damping is fairly constant in rate, but, the inter-leaf damping is load dependent. I suspect the lack of damping caused by lubricating the leaves will make itself most obviously felt when the pick-up is fully laden.
In some ways, there's some subtelty in the as designed case.
For the purpose of illustration, I'll wite about viscous damping - the damping ratio is given by
Zeta = c / 2 * sqrt ( K * M )
where;
Zeta is the damping ratio
c is the damping rate (Newton Seconds per Metre)
K is the spring stiffness (Newtons per Metre)
M is the mass (kg)
This equation can be applied either to the sprung or unsprung mass, where one can see that for a given spring and damper combination, the unsprung mass is much more heavily damped than the sprung mass.
However, with leaf springs, the damping rate, c, rises with the mass, so, as you load the vehicle up, the damping ratio does not reduce as it does for vehicles fitted with springs with low internal friction.
I've been a little naughty, as the inter-leaf damping is not viscous damping, but, equations combining viscous and friction damping would soon become completely opaque.
However, for while leaf springs might be termed a crude and agricultural engineering solution, there are clever and subtle details in their specification.
i'm thinking of getting rid of the fiesta zetec s for something else but i'm not really sure what to buy. I've got 7k ish, i want something fun to drive, at least as good to drive as the ZS. I mainly drive on motorways and a roads. I was think S2000 or Focus ST. But i'm not sure if they are a bit 'much' for long distance commute. Any ideas? Read more
Nice dilemma Sooty. You have a reasonable budget and should be able to find something suitable. As for the motorway element most modern kit will cope admirably, especially if you are looking at cars with a bit of power. For A road work you probably already have quite a good car and you will be aware of Ford handling and that any model from that manufacturer is generally good on the twisties.
I guess only you know how comfortable you would be with fairly high fuel consumption and insurance costs which would, I'm afraid, be a given with the models you mention.
As a bit of a different alternative and assuming of course that the the size is appropriate, it might be fun to check out the Panda 100hp. Never driven one but they look like a hoot and you could probably get a new or almost new one for your budget.
Have fun looking !
With car main dealers going bust/closing now on an unfortunately regular basis what happens to their new unregistered and pre reg stock? Does it belong to the manufacturer, a finance co or the dealer themselves? If so does this "new" stock find its way into the car auctions? Are these generally as closed sales or as ones open to the public?
Are there bargains to be had. What about the remaining manufacturer warranty? Read more
Indeed you are right GordonB, paying cash to any company, unless you are taking your goods away there and then, is a big gamble. I remember a chain of carpet dealers years ago were pressuring customers into paying cash a day or two before going bust.
I drive a Ford Focus 1.8 petrol which is a 99T with about 78k miles.
I had a service last month and when I got home afterwards and looked at the invoice, it said that the oil used was 10w/40. The next day I told the garage the oil should really be 5w/30 and they agreed to change it. However I have noticed in the last 4 weeks that I have only been getting between 23-26 miles per gallon urban driving instead of the usual 27 mpg for this engine. I wonder if this is to do with the oil change or if it is to do with other factors like colder weather for example. Also sometimes it does not start first time and I've got it in my head that the 10w/40 oil is still in the engine and that this thicker oil is causing all my problems.
Is there any way I can test the oil on the dipstick to find out once and for all ?
Thanks
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Ford Focus 1.8 petrol 78k 1999
I had an oil change last November and the idiot at the garage put in 10w40 engine oil instead of the recommended 5w30 oil. So I went back to the garage the same day to confront him about it and he agreed to change it again and put in the 5w30 (which he really should know and if there is more than one type of oil that can be used for any engine then the mechanic should give you the choose of which you would like used). So I went back the next day for him to change it and he took about half an hour to do it.
Since then, however, and through the winter, I have been getting about 23/24 mpg urban driving whereas before I used to get 27mpg quite regularly. Also the engine has been needing 2 or 3 attempts before it starts, not every day. This starting problem seems to occur not when cold but when the engine has been run up to normal temperature.
What are the items on the car I should test to find the cause of these troubles ?
Thanks
I have an all of a sudden combined problem with our 'K' series 400.When I switch off the engine the cooling fan now continues to run for up to 20 mins.,even though the gauge shows a typically normal temperature(no bubbles,no oil in expansion tank etc).Secondly,the car has become difficult to start when the engine is cold.Once warmed up it runs fine.I have given a bit of thought to the possible cause and wondered if anyone could give their thoughts.
The one thing,looking at the wiring diagram, which could connect the two situations I feel is the coolant temperature sensor,which sends info to the ECU which in turn controls the fuel(including cold starting) and cooling fan amongst other things.So if this sensor goes belly up and sends out a signal that the engine is very hot,then I presume a)the fan kicks in and b)when you start from cold,the ECU is told not to use the automatic choke.Any thoughts would be most welcome as I loathe paying out a small ransom just for having it plugged in at the local dealers!
One final word,does anyone recommend a possible handheld plugin diagnostic tool for using on the car or does anyone know of any technical bulletin on tracking down ECU/sensor faults that can be used instead.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all at Honestjohn. Read more
Well I might as well write to myself,just in case it crops up for anyone else!I decided to take the plunge and pay out £12 to the local Rover parts dept. and fit a new sensor.Hey presto!,sorted both problems in one go-no fan on now and starts straight away on the coldest of mornings.Byeee.
Collected the Mondeo Titanium on thursday which i am absolutely delighted with, seems very well made and drives and handles brilliant also a good range of toys and the sony rad/cd player is fantastic, fingers crossed i hope it turns out to be better than HAT unless i just dropped on a bad one.
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Any idea if the dealers 3 month would cover this.
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Got in touch with the shop who I bought it from and they said that they would have a look at it,Hopefully with a view of replacing it,(fingers crossed)