December 2008
I have rusty wheel arches on my car. I've sanded, treated, primed, painted, and laquered the repair.
Primer went on fine, as did the metallic colour coat. But my problem is with the laquer. I just cannot seem to get a smooth finish on it. It always sprays on 'speckled'. All the cans are from Halfords. And I sanded the paint coat with 1200 grit paper before laquer.
Can anyone recommend a different laquer manufacturer, or some advice on what I may be doing wrong? Or am i expecting too much? Read more
Did anyone see the documentary on the Mille Maglia that Chef James Martin was taking part in ?
I was wondering why the fact that the car would now have to compete in a future Rally and suceed, to make it profitable when sold, as Jame Martin would make a loss if sold now having not completed the Rally ?
Would that historical fact make that much differenc as he spent almost £1 million pounds to get ready for the Rally, with the car costing a large amount of that ? Read more
"Wow, do Maserati offer a 60 year warranty on their cars??"
No not a Maserati claim but he did pay £300k for an engine rebuild. But his could not be built to the same precision as an F1 engine.
Hi, I have an S60 D5 which has now done 115K miles. About 4 months ago it developed a very rough, noisy idle, with high vibration. Engine performance on A road and motorway speeds is excellent, pulls well, smooth running, 46mpg, etc. I have had the belt and belt tensioner changed but the rough idling is still there. Two garages have had the car on ramps and checked all pulleys, etc and can find nothing wrong. One garage said that they thought the air con compressor is on its way out (very expensive), but another mechanic said they did not believe it had anything to do with the air conditioning as the problem is still there even if the air con is disabled. Interestingly, I can make the rough idling go away by spraying the belt with belt dressing, but it comes back after about 5 mins. I have stayed clear of Volvo main dealers as I know from bitter experience that they charge like raging rhinos and can't really afford a 2nd mortgage right now! To make matters worse the car is very reluctant to start on cold mornings. Any help, advice, thoughts gratefully received. Cheers. Read more
On my S60, the fault rough idling was down to the alternator pulley. This contains a one way clutch that had seized. It was causing lots of vibration on the belt. I had it replaced and its been fine since. I might have done it myself, but you need a special tool to remove it.
How do i change the front main beam headlamp bulbs on this car. Is it an easy task? It looks quite tight to get in there.
thanks
Read more
there is no magic, its very tight especially on the o/s one. Thin fingers and some patience required.
With the cold weather now upon us it is worth checking tyre pressures. They drop significantly (several psi) during cold weather so it's likely your tyres could be running several pounds under pressure which in turn impacts handling, grip and fuel consumption increases to mentioned but a few. Read more
Mine were fluctuating, but now that I've had tyres refitted with a heavier duty bead seal as there is some corrosion on the tyre. The worst I'd had was about a 10psi drop over a couple of days... now there is minimal (checked every friday, as I know that I'll load my car up at the weekend)
I tend to run my tyres at full load, over 100mph as that's what the eco setting is on the new Volvo's... ride goes to pot a bit, but handling seems to be unchanged.
In childhood days, I was told that it is because bigger rear wheels are good over difficult terrains and small front wheels are for easier steering.
But now all cars (tractors as well?) have power steering - so why still its front wheels are smaller?
Read more
This thread and the present cold spell reminds me of the time when I went to a local national tyre firm to collect one of our tractors that had had new rear tyres fitted. It is fairly common practice to put air/water in the rear tyres to add weight and increase traction, usually anti-freeze is added at the same time. Now whether the tyre firm didn't realise this, or they plain forgot, i'm not sure, but i had a very unusual feeling tractor on the run back to the farm! couldn't quite fathom what was causing the surging sensation, until the boss realised that the water in the rear tyres had frozen absolutely solid!
Billy
Hi
Can you help. I have the above car and it has recently started cutting out and leaving me in some dangerous positions. It just stops after a lot of 'clicking' noises from the right hand side of the dash. Sometimes it will start after several attempts, with a bit of smoke coming from the exhaust. Other times it will start and let me rev then cut out again. When I start in the morning there is a whistling noise from the engine when I accelerate away. I have changed the fuel relay fuse after speaking to VAG however this has not worked. The car is completely standard. I again broke down this morning, went back an hour later and it started and drove fine. Any ideas that may help would be appreciated.
Thank you
Tony Read more
I had the similar problems with mine.
After changing the Bosch Coil, High Tension Leads and the ignition, etc, etc I decided to try the internet.
Thanks very much guys.
The problem is now solved. I changed the Rotor and boom the problem is solved. Thanks a mil
From the beautiful Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. Deep in the African jungle.
***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 267 *****
In this thread you may ask any question for which you need help, advice, suggestions or whatever.
It does not need to be motoring related. In fact, in this thread it should not be.
No Questions About PCs. Please use the current "computer Related Questions" thread instead.
No politics
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which we think is not following the spirit of the thread
Nothing that risks the future of this site (please see the small print for details -
www.honestjohn.co.uk/credits/index.htm )
Any of the above will be deleted. If the thread becomes difficult to maintain it will simply be removed.
However, as has been said a couple of times, there is a wealth of knowledge in here, much of which is not motoring related, but most of which is useful.
This is Volume 266. Previous Volumes will not be deleted,
A list of previous volumes can be found:- HERE
PLEASE NOTE:
When posting a NEW question, please "Reply to" the first message in this thread, i.e. this one. This keeps each question in it's own separate segment and stops each new question from getting mixed up in amongst existing questions. Also please remember to change the subject header.
Read more
Beatles motoring llink:
The line "Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire" from a A Day in the Life on Sgt Peppers was almost certainly taken from the Daily Mail.
A councillor in Blackburn asked a question of the borough engineer concerning the state of the roads in the town.
The engineer's reply included the information there were an estimated 4,000 potholes.
The exchange made about 100 words in the Mail.
Good to know the lads were reading a quality newspaper during breaks from creating some of the greatest popular music ever recorded.
anyone know why my expansion tank stays cold when the engine is hot?, also keep getting a smell of hot rubber, ive checked all hoses and cant find anything wrong.
thanks for any help
alan Read more
My (my wifes actually) 1.2 clio .... exact same symptoms... Hot engine cold expansion tank, hot rubber smell from heater, added to that I also have a low pitched squeal from the fan belt area. .... Quite simply the water pump is shot and if you were luckier than I am you spotted it before a head gasket leak.
Anyone that needs to change a worn pump needs to check the cam belt too because if that goes it's a head rebuild at the very least....
Hi,
Any one ever replaced fuel gauge on the cluster unit. i have had a new fuel pump installed and now the fue gauge not working. the garage says it might be the fuel gauge which means changing the whole speedo probably. if so then what happens to the mileage reading that is in existing. i have managed to remove the shrouds and the lower plastic cover underneath the the column and all the screws bu the small plastic trim on the bottom of the clock cluster does not come out to give me access to the two screws holding the clock assy.
can any one help please. Read more
Hi Injection Doc,
i eventually ended up fitting another cluster unit of a mondeo ghia x. the fuel gauge now works but the tripmeter reading keeps flutuating and i don't get correct reading to show me how many miles of fuel is left. Do you think i have to reset on the gauge. the needle on the gauges work perfect. can you help please.
thanks


So general consensus is that its too cold and damp at the moment. Guess I'll have to live with the poor finish until it warms up, as if i dont get the bits of rust treated now it'll be a massive job come summer.