February 2009
I mean, I know that in several countries Liqui-Moly products are not widely known, but from the people that have tried them, I've heard some wonders... Is that true? I'm planning to use some mineral oil in my Zetec 1.4 SE engine... It would do the job, or should I stick to the well known brands like Castrol, Shell or Agip? Read more
Had a nightmare with my 54 reg car over the last year and won't bore anyone with it now. Details on Parkers!!! I have had a turbo blow, replaced, second one damaged and knackered engine. Extended warranty refused to pay as wear and tear, but on all 17 visits to the garage not once was EGR or CAT checked. Now on new engine with same EGR and CAT and I seem to have lost the oommmpf it used to have, and can't do any better than 34 MPG, and I spend most of my life on the M80 Stirling doing 60 to 70 all the way. Would i be right in thinking that the EGR at least should have been checked or replaced at first turbo blow up. And would that fact that it was never done caused my engine damage after the first turbo was replaced. The second one was only caught as it was in garage every 2 weeks, and it had a damaged compressor and needed rebalance. car had done 50 000 or so, as I have had the infamous dash blow up as well, along with every other fault you care to list! Read more
DP
I had mentioned it a few times but was never taken seriously. Arnold Clark were most unhelpful. That said I bought car at 37 000 and it was serviced correctly to that point, then I had it serviced again 14 000 after I had it, and 1 week after this it was in for oil loss, and been the case ever since. Oil used has been 5W/40 fully synthetic, all filters and turbo were from Renault, and my as regards driving I drive about 400 a week and some times 100 a week depends on where in Central ScotlandWest coast I need to be (work for NHS) and when I get a chance I do give it some welly. In 18 months of having the car I have added maybe 20 000, and it has spent a good 6 months i the garage! I only mentioned that CAT as I currently struggle to get more than 34 mpg! That said, took a Peugeot 4007 GT for a test drive today, and was very impressed.
My sister has a 54 plate 1.4 astra, recently started firing on 3 and then 2 cylinders. only got 27k on it and has two oil changes a year using all vauxhall items as my dad is ex vauxhalls. Inspection at lookers vauxhall found knackered rings and a valve which had a chunk missing out of it which we have kept. Its obviously a material defect in the way its broken. The cylinder was heavily coked too. Is this a common fault. The repair cost 1100 quid all in, which you shouldnt have to swallow at this mileage. Any experiences such as this ???
regards
Dave Read more
Just out of interest, where does she buy her fuel from?
Friend of mine reports "something in the engine affecting the steering (pulling to the left and vibrating through the steering wheel but when I put it in neutral or put the clutch in it went away
Went into garage and it stopped after a while and they put an engine flush through it and have recommended some nice expensive petrol and a good long run"
I cannot see any link between the symptoms, particularly the pulling to the left. Is this traditional power steering or electrical. Ideas??
Suspect it was a misfire and then imagination, but is this sounding any bells with anyone
Read more
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
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
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Browse
I think, with respect, Woodspeed has misunderstood the product. Liqui-Moly are a respected supplier/manufacturer of quality oils and chemical treatments for engines in Germany I believe. Their injector cleaner is particularly good but difficult to source. If their 5w/30 oil meets Ford spec (which if it is a straight mineral possibly WONT) you shouldnt have a problem. If it doesnt then I would not recommend you use it. Use either Ford's own or Texaco Havoline (same stuff) semi synthetic,and you wont go wrong. Be wary of full synthetic on an older engine, it lubricates well but may result in higher oil consumption.