February 2009
I have recently bought a second hand Fiesta 1.3. It makes a rattling noise when idling and which gets faster as the car does to the point where it is not really noticable at higher speeds. Does anyone have any ideas? I don't know if it's something serious I should get checked otu straight away.
All I know about the car is that the last MOT has advisory notes that the front Macpherson struts are getting a bit worn as are the front bushes and the velocity joint gaiter had some sort of wear. The car has obviously had a bump on the front drivers side wing.
Any ideas would be greatfully appreciated. Read more
Virgin make bid to buy Honda F1
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/78...m
A real bid or another publicity stunt? Read more
>>I know that the prius uses recovered energy but isn't that just used to keep the batteries charged?
Same principle of using recovered/conserved energy and releasing it to add propulsive force. Yes, the Prius stores electricity. as does electrical KERS. Mechanical KERS is also permitted which spins up a flywheel. I don't know whether both permitted methods have actually been used - I recall a BMW tech being electrocuted by a protoype electrical one a few months back.
KERS is implemented as a boost button but the principle of conserving energy and then releasing it to do useful work is the same isn't it?
Almost one in five car insurance claims made last year could have been fraudulent, Sky News has learnt, and the increase is being linked to the recession. More details if you Google the above headline.
Several members of the HJ forum seem to have been affected by this upturn in fraud recently. I'm sure the insurers are aware of this trend.
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hi its it easy to fit a roof ariel on my 02 mondeo complete unit including the base as some nerd snapped it last night Read more
On most fords it is accessed from behind the interior light, easy job once you see the underneath of the aerial.
My Ford Puma is dying. Having spent more than its worth in repairs already this year the sad noise its made this morning is forcing the issue and I have no idea what to replace it with.
What I do know is that as much as a liked my Puma I had outgrown it...I was a young single girl when I bought him, I'm now married, have huge dogs which don't fit in it, which can be a problem if I need to go to the Vets, and I often overload it with heavy feed sacks. Its not surprising it died but I was hoping it would last until there were greener large cars to replace it with.
I seem to be the only person I've met who things the Honda FR-v is quite attractive, and I also like the look of the Nissan Qashqui. Ultimately though looks are not as important as practicality. I'm looking to buy second hand and keep for a long time. I live very rurally (I think it was probably the pot holes that have done for the puma) and do a mixture of motorway driving and very rural roads.
Things that matter:
space. The car I borrow to take the dogs in is a Susuki wagon r (which I do not like) and they only just fit...no no smaller rear space.
Insurance. I did have an altercation about 5 and a half years ago found against me. My husband is a new driver (30 this year, passed test 4 yrs ago, with pass plus if that counts). We've been paying just under £800 a year for the insurance, I'd not really like to go over that
Fuel: I have no idea what to go for here. At all. Its all going to kill the world and cost a fortune isn't it? :(
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They've been mentioned in passing, but Volvo V70? Plenty of room, and volvo's are a nice place to be these days.
Just a thought.
BW with your purchase,
Alex.
Hi all,
My current car is a 2005 Golf 2.0 TDI GT, which is coming up for 70k. It has just been serviced at the main dealer, so should be running quite sweetly, however.......
Having just returned from a jaunt to Dover in a company Passat 2.0TDI SE (56 reg), which seems to have the same 140bhp engines as mine, my car seems a) a lot louder and b) significantly slower.
I also noticed that there is a bit of "play" on the gearstick when it is in gear in my Golf, is this normal (again, not present on the Passat)?
Whilst I acknoldege the noise might be pureley down to more sound deadening in the Passat, I would have thought the 2.0TDi should feel more powerful in the Golf, given its reduced size/weight.........
My warranty expires in May, and I am keen to get anything that might need doing, done before then!
Thanks in advance....
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I have a Golf Plus TDI which is noisy when cold but quite when its warmed up. I had a Passat as a replacement car which I found to be much quieter and yes the Passat has much more sound deadening material under the bonnet than the Golf. Yes there is a small amount of play with the gears and they make a click sound when you change gears. This Ive been told by VW is normal.
Hello,
i have a 92 Mk3 engine code AAM. does anyone know what the official timing belt change interval is? I assume its an interference engine?
I was thinking of getting a newer golf and almost settled on a 1600 Fsi Mk 5 but then i keep hearing bad things about having to use ultra low sulphur petrol etc etc
Basically,if i choos a golf as a replacement and i want to keep the car a long time,which would be the best and most reliable replacement model?
ta Read more
60K or 6 years, depending on useage. Regards Peter
If you had three grand to spend on a super-mini, or perhaps the next size up, what would you be looking at? A female friend is asking me and I haven't got a clue what to suggest. She'd like a good compromise between sportiness and economy, and occasional need to carry four people. Thanks for any suggestions. Read more
TVM for the recommendations
Just took off the plastic cover over the air filter box and MAF and found a couple of 2mm plastic/rubber cables which had been worn through to make holes in them, by rubbing on the cover, which I was aware had been vibrating and was noisy. I don't know what these small cables do, but they are hollow inside and I suppose could be part of the air intake. Does anyone know if these holes could be the cause of my lack of power at higher speeds ? Read more
Snipped off small section of each offending vac line to show dealer which lines I needed. Problem getting the right size because they have changed the size and type of vac line they use. Why ? because it kept rubbing on the plastic cover over the air box and wearing holes in it. Exaxctly my problem. Managed to get some slightly bigger hard plastic vac line and used existing rubber hose to join it to the T joints over the air box and the N75 valve port. Road tested it. Problem solved. Power back to normal. Lesson learnt - Look for holes or splits in vacuum lines for this problem, before replacing things like MAF or N75 valve. Vaccum line problems are the most common problem when TDI's go in to limp mode at high speeds. See great article by CANADIAN GRIZZLY on TDI Website forum. Explains every check needed in detail. Be wary of fault codes, vaccum leaks will often come up as N75 Valve problem or MAF problem or Coolent Temp Sensor problem.
A driving examiner is suing for damages after claiming he was hurt by the worst learner driver he has ever seen.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/78...s
A current case so I guess no comments directly about it until the case is resolved.
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Thanks Tony that makes a lot of sense :) So I guess this silly woman was not ready for her test, maybe her daddy pushed her into it too early?
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>>My car man's garage says it is a 'Motor engineer
So did my father's garage Lud.
>>Carp carp carp NC...
Not really Lud - surely you of all people appreciate that if we use words, we should them with some degree of care and accuracy - or else, they lose all meaning and can be used by those who are powerful in society for their own ends (c.f. Lord Rumba of Rio, Alastair Campbell et al. I'm surprised they haven't started a "Ministry of Truth")