February 2009
hi
i have a 306 1.9td and about once every 5 days to a week it wont start. it will turn over for abit and then start to drain the battery. when it does this i jump start it off a mates car and it fires up fine and will be ok for another week starting ok. its happend i the mornings, evenings in the day etc. today it happened in the petrol station. i need to sort it out as its very annoying. someone said it could be the battery on its way out? any ideas? cheers martin Read more
hi all, my 1991 2.4td surf has an erratic temp gauge, it often goes to the high end, then stays for a while before going back to the middle. the coolant level doesnt drop at all, nor are there any leaks. could this be the thermostat or something else? also the speedo doesnt work. how easy is it to change/check the speedoo cable. i am a novice in the mechanics dept so any advice would greatly help, thanks Read more
The car-by-car breakdown highlights the head gasket as a problem in these engines, so be careful and do not drive it if the temp rises above normal. A blown head gasket could result.
I'm no expert, but the thermostat would be a good place to start- it may be starting to stick shut, which does not allow engine coolant to circulate through the radiator. They are pretty cheap to buy, perhaps as little as a tenner, although have a look at Haynes to find out if it is an easy repair(access to the thermostat can be a problem sometimes).
As for the speedo, I have no idea unfortunately- Haynes again.
Hi, can anyone shed any light how I can accuratley time an engine up for a 2004 mondeo TDCI. I am fitting the old head to a new bottom end (bent rod in old engine). I dont have the flywheel for the new engine right now so cannot lock the bottom with the timing tool. I know the actual settings etc for the full engine as per autodata. Does anyone know the position of the bottom end when its locked? IE all pistons level with number on on compression? Read more
"Breakthrough" was today apparently. I'm not sure why they can get that done in 2 years yet it will be at least another two years to get the road surface down and the A3 open. Read more
Theres a tunnel at Hindhead////wow. Please tell me its to the east of town away from the fantastic golf course there
Over on the Fiat Forum website we are having a bit of a debate as to the effect of tyre width on rolling resistance.
In particular, a contributor is unsure as to whether he should fit 14in wheels shod with 165s or 185s. This is to a 1.2 petrol Panda.
I feel that the difference in rolling resistance between the 2 widths of tyre is minimal and that, for aesthetic reasons, the 185s would be better.
I've Googled for some decent research in this area but have only found a study on bicycle tyres where tyre width seems irrelevant to rolling resistance.
I would value the opinion of some of the true engineers and scientists on this forum.
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Thankyou to all for your opinions.
Hooray! Winter's nearly over...
WSB should be very, very good this year with BMW and Aprilia.
Good British interests too, and Haga will want so show how good he can be on a Ducati.
It will take some time to get used to the new teams and riders, but there are several riders who think they should win this great championship.
Racing is from Phillip Island so will be live in the early hours of Sunday morning on Eurosport.
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WSB / SBK continues this weekend at Valencia - racing on Sunday.
This is looking like one of the best seasons for some time.
For this meeting Robbie Rolfo is replaced by John Hopkins (from Kawasaki Moto GP).
This has to be the quietest Biker's Caff I've ever been in :-)
Next weekend sees the start of BSB - with no Ducatis ! (the only Italian bike is a lone MV Agusta - I remember a time when they would win (another race series though), with one Giacomo Agostini). No Aprilias either - perhaps next season ?
MotoGP also next weekend (Easter) - but the starting grid in this has been falling for some time.
I did try to post this yesterday - but couldn't get any response from the site.
I have an A3 Code AVU and the water pump failed causing a boil up ...replaced pump and head gasket also fitted new rings and glaze busted the bores had head skimmed and pressure tested re ground the valves and the compression is still not as good as id like (around 110) the car will run with a tow but cuts instantly when allowed to drop below about 1200 revs like ive turned off the ignition no missfire just a staight stop. ive tested the spark and fuel at cranking and both are fine and ideas id be really grateful
Thanks Read more
On the other 1.6 A3 engines of that age there is a hall effect sensor G40 associated to the Cam sproket which must be centered on assembly and is in addition to the engine speed sensor. G28. Regards Peter
Just wondered if others have had this problem.
Most of the time, when I click on the homepage I only get the two rows of links at the top. The rest of the page is blank, although I have noticed the text "my content" appears at the left hand side in brackets.
I can get to the back room etc using the links.
Perhaps one time in twenty the page loads ok.
I have tried deleting cookies, temp internet files etc. but nothing seems to work.
It's not that I'm that desperate to see the page, it's just a bit frustrating.
( I'm using WinXP, with IE8 in compatability mode, if it helps ) Read more
SLOW -seems adverts are holding up loading
What happened to "What Women Want" & Ultraviolet on HJ's site?
I notice in "The Daily Telegraph" a reference to "womenandwheels.co.uk". Similar? Read more
It's here :
www.honestjohn.co.uk/ultraviolet
Having a white car in Sweden is hard work. After a winter, we have to clean with a product to get rid of tar thrown up by the studs, as well as rust stains from the metal worn off the studs, and granite dust.
Someone suggested using clay after the cleaning to get rid of all the marks and cleaner residue.
So what is it, how does it work, and how do you use it? Read more
Check out this link on www.valetingcars.com it tells you all about clay bars and why you should use it. http://valetingcars.com/valeting-information.html
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i stupidly haddnt checked the battery water, checked it 2day after nearly buying a new battery. topped it up now turns over alot quicker and starts better so hopefully that will solve the problem